We live in a very small town but we have at least seven B&B's, I have been thinking of trying to provide to them: eggs(the ones that have blues, greens and pinks shells), fruits(the ones that are in seasons-such as peaches, raspberries, blackberries,plums, cherries, figs and blueberries!) -flowers (for all their rooms and tables),herbs for cooking , goats cheese and milk! I know I will not get rich but I really think this is a market that I can jump into before anyone else in this area does. I don't use pesticides and very little commerical fert. What do you think? Can it be done? Will it at least pay for it's self?How do I market my products?

Any other ideas? Thanks Debbie T in NC

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), February 16, 2001

Answers

Response to Opinions Please!

I think it sounds like an excellent idea. But you have to be able to provide what you say you will on a regular basis. Can you do that? If your tomato crop gets eaten up by grasshoppers is there a farmers market nearby so you can fall back on that. Just in case of an emergency. But, if there are several B&Bs around, it seems like a good deal for you and them. Go for it.

-- Joe (jcole@apha.com), February 16, 2001.

Response to Opinions Please!

Debbie,

If your state allows the sale of milk and eggs without a license, your coved there, otherwise check with your county extension office to tell them your ideas, and which ideas would require a license. They are often very helpful, and can offer suggestioins for no license products.

You can sell flowers, and probobly fruit and veggies that have no preperation work done on them. I'd write up a letter detailing what you have available, or what your expecting, to the 3 B & B closest to you first, then follow up with a call. If you don't want to be held to certain varieties of anything, you could just offer grate prices on whatever is fresh and beautiful, give them a call, and deliver what they want. Flowers and fruit are usually sure winners. After you've established one regular customer, began to pursue another. Take good care of one, before adding on. If a client seems reluctent, offer to provide them with sufficient free samples in a weekend to let them appreciate the comments of their guests, then your goodies would have sold themselves.

Good luck!

-- Marty (Mrs.Puck@Excite.com), February 16, 2001.

Response to Opinions Please!

My recommendation would be to visit the owners of each one and feel them out on this. I think most B&Bs serve a cold breakfast of cereals, fresh fruit and doughnuts, so I don't know if eggs of any color would be of any interest to them, much less cheese. Really don't know how interested they would be in fresh flowers. Feel out your market and your ability to serve it. Do keep us informed.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 16, 2001.

Thanks everyone! I have had several friends stay at 3 of the B&B's. They do sever hot breakfast at 2 of them (don't know about the others) ( they severed 'German Pancakes', boiled eggs,in cute little 'egg cups' with snips to cut the egg top off)and fresh fruit was offered all day long and had cheese, veg, and crackers for snacks. They severed tea with mint sprigs at the 3 I know about).They order flowers year round from a local florist at 6 of them. All seven do bridal shower 'brunches'/wedding party brunches etc. with hot breakfast foods. I haven't thought about the license for the sale of eggs and milk but will check it out! Thanks again!

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), February 16, 2001.

Give the one's you'd most like to do business with a call, introduce yourself and let them know what you have to offer them. Set up an appointment, convenient for them, to pay avisit. Take samples of what you have available at that time along with an idea of what else you can offer. Have prices in mind and if possible have a price list available. Remember, these people are used to dealing with commercial quantities, so find box or container sizes that are familiar to them so that they can compare accurately. Don't promise more than you can deliver. The best way to ruin a budding business relationship is to promise, not deliver and leave them scrambling to cover. Invite them for a farm visit so that they can see you are what you promise to be. Start small and build to the level you want.

-- ray s. (mmoetc@yahoo.com), February 16, 2001.

Debbie, I don't have any experience in this area, except that I stayed at a bed & breakfast that prides itself on fresh, locally grown/raised foodstuff, preferably organic. The host serves hot, delicious breakfasts. Her operation is not very large -- I think her max. capacity is about 10 people at a time -- so I don't think she buys in too large a capacity. She also is a very busy woman, with other enterprises, so reliable suppliers are no doubt crucial. I also noticed some flowers about her place (it was November, so I'm not sure how much she could get then that was local).

She also tries to support local artisans, and a lot of her "decorations" are things for sale -- dried flower wreaths, pottery, etc. That might be another avenue you could pursue if you are "crafty". If you want to take a peek at her place go to: Pederson B&B

-- Joy F (So.Central Wisconsin) (CatFlunky@excite.com), February 16, 2001.

debbie, i think it is a fabulous idea and i wish you all the luck with it. i agree w/ starting small. keep us updated.

-- amber (ambrosia75_@hotmail.com), February 17, 2001.

Yes, wonderful idea! I would like to chime in with my agreement of the advice to start small. There was a little produce stand up the way who started out trying to please everyone and they went under quickly. The main thing they did wrong was to spend their money and time in the wrong places. What little money they started out with they spent on lots of exotic choices of produce instead of on good equipment. Not many people bought the endive or spring mix (fancy salad mix), but everyone bought green beans, squash and watermelons. They spent so much time hauling the exotic stuff in and out of their big house fridge (they didn't have a good fridge at the produce stand ~ spent the $$ for that on the exotics instead) that they worked themselves to death ~ and the exotic produce still wilted. Also, they didn't know how to sell it to all the local "rednecks" who wouldn't know a baby eggplant from a big grape.

My point is, go with what you know at first. Then you will be more successful in delivering what you promise AND you won't be all stressed out about whether or not you can deliver at all. What kind of flowers, veggies and fruit have you grown so much that you know just about exactly when they will bloom/produce fruit? What kinds of cheese have you made already so many times that you could do it blindfolded? I'd start out promising those as your staples and offering others as they ripen/bloom.

Only take on as many B&B's as you know you can supply, even if it's only one at first. How much of each of your staples do you know that you can produce ~ enough for one B&B or six? It won't matter if your staples are exotic or not, but I guarantee you what will matter is that they are good products (fresh and tasty) and delivered on time. Dealing with only a few B&B's at first will give you time to learn the ropes of actually supplying these things (When to pick? How to wash? What to pack them in? What will your "route" be? etc...). After you get a bit of experience under your belt and get yourself in a good groove, you can start supplying more B&B's and ask them if they have any other requests that you could try to fill. But I wouldn't promise anything until I'd tried producing it more than once.

Sell your service as much as you sell your products. Hubby and I have a successful firewood business and we sell not only cords to homeowners, but bundles to convenience stores. We did our homework and found out that our competition in the bundling biz didn't offer mesquite for BBQing, so we promised what we knew (oak) and offered mesquite when we could get it. We also promised great service and made that our second priority, second only to the quality of our wood. We planned to have bundles packed and ready to be delivered immediately in case a store manager forgot to call us until the Friday afternoon before the 4th of July weekend to tell us that they were out (I call everyone once a week to check on them and Kenny travels around every other week with a trailer load of bundles to physically check, but sometimes they still run out unexpectedly.). We started out with one store as a customer and now have 19 with more coming in every day with word-of-mouth being our main advertising! And this after only one year of selling bundles!

Good luck to you. I know you can do it! Just start out small and slow and give yourself time to learn ~ you'll be hiring help in no time!

-- Wingnut (wingnut@moment.net), February 17, 2001.

Debbie,

My wife and I own and operate a succesful bed and breakfast, Fairlea Farm Bed and Breakfast.

Your products are just the types of items we use. We don't care what color the egg shells are. We're interested in what's inside the shells.

To get started, stop by the B&Bs with samples of your produce. Introduce yourself and show them what they can purchase from you.

Delivery is a very important feature. Arrange for weekly deliveries (or more often).

Charge a fair price for your produce but don't undercharge.

Before you leave, ask if there are any items you aren't producing that they would be interested in buying. You might also ask if there are services that they would be interested in buying from you (such as gardening).

Good luck.

-- walt (longyear@shentel.net), February 17, 2001.

Find out from your local agencies what you can and can not sell. These vary by state. Some allow direct dairy sales, some dont, so check in to that first.

Then visit them. Let them know your available and would like to serve. Schedule an appointment and take along a big basket of samples to leave.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), February 23, 2001.