Oh Steve, such a business guy! lol Thanks for the great info and for being so transparent. Kind of a weird idea but maybe get a special guest next week that you can interview? Maybe Captain Matt?
Enjoyed the information, as a business owner I appreciate the no hype advice. I am planning on commercial operations in the Spring, this year has taught me some insights to raising worms. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Steve, thanks for this info! Im a business owner (jewelry) and starting a worm farm and castings business as a second income. As a business owner id like to say alot of your business advice is spot on especially if you arent starting with a lot of capital and just an idea! Work the process. I like the start from beginning and just get to step 1. You can have the most amazing products but if you cant sell then you go no where. Being a business owner is definitely a different challenge to life 😂. Thanks for the info! Have a great day!
Great info. I had an aha moment watching this. Ive been thinking about selling seedlings (tomatoes/peppers/etc) at the farmers market along side of 1lb bags of vermicompost. When I start my own seeds i start them in vermicompost. If i were to sell started plants in VC for a slightly higher price. It opens up the conversation about vermicompost and possibly buying additional VC. Thanks Steve!
Glad it was helpful Craig! And yes, this is a good idea. I assume your customers will know not to continue growing in straight VC but I suppose you could offer them some as a supplement to their growing media!
Hi thanks for all the videos and information. Also, thanks for calling me back a few days ago about building the frame for the UWB. I have been doing this a while now and the bag is so great, I still have a bottom rack of a shelf full of bins I hope to add to another UWB at some point. I have gone from 0-1 selling some castings. Most of my customers are a small group of home growers who run a "farmers market." Staying at 1 has worked for me it is enjoyable and just my pace.
Great show Steve. I learned quite a bit and I’ve been studying the art of worm farming and it’s business aspects for years. Thanks for talking the time to share.
Thanks for the info it was great.Brand new to the worm farm but hoping to one day down the road talking years here to build a income for retirement.I got 10 yrs to go but really wondering even if this is possible living in Texas as we have the most miserable summers here.Wife says no to indoor worms so I have them in my shed for now monitoring them every day.Bins get a little worm :) I mean warm I seen lower 90s inside the bin but my worms seem to be ok.I currently have both NC and RW. I think my ideal is more in the selling worms to fisherman and such,the castings will be for me. Thank You
I was wondering if it's financially feasible to buy a small ice-making machine and put ice on top of them during the summer instead of watering them? Will this help keep temps down?
I saw in the live chat that someone mentioned multiple times that lime would lower pH and no one corrected them. Just so people get the correct info, Lime raises pH while Sulfur lowers pH.
Hi. Just stumbled onto your channel and this past stream. I just started my Vermicompost Business and funny enough it is called “The Urban Worms”. I say this is a small batch vermicompost business but we will have also Frass, Worm Tea, worms…high concentration on education and consultation. I have a question, assuming you’re in an Urban setting…how did you explain your business concept to the local city government? They can’t seem to conceptualized compost of any sort, in a bin?
Hey Holly! We're not really an Urban company, per se, so we didn't approach any city governments or anything. That said, city regulators don't know what to do with vermicomposting. The name suggests composting and that's typically the default regulations/ordinances that vermicomposting falls under by default.
Hi Steve listening to your recorded video. I heard you say you import your bags from China or Mexico. Also heard you are a veteran. I get the business model but what is the worth of having bags made in the USA. I won’t say I don’t use any products made in China because it’s almost impossible but I will pay more to have a product made locally as long as the difference isn’t ridiculous. At the end of the day I feel my extra cost is an investment in the future of my children and country. Curious on your thoughts
I get it Billy. It was really important for me to cultivate sourcing outside of China. China arranges their manufacturing so the various factories are within just a couple of miles from one another. And they can retool their factories much more quickly for multiple products than US factories can. My product is made in 3 factories......one for the tubular steel, one for the connectors, and another for textiles. Those factories are within 3 miles of each other in China so the speed and cost of transportation is much lower. We've mitigated that a bit with Mexico, but even then, it's a little more difficult than it seems on the surface. Using US manufacturing and remaining a viable business can be possible at volumes far greater than what we are doing right now.
It depends on how much you want to spend. Most any compound microscope with 400x magnification. There are binocular or trinocular depending on if you want a camera. Omax Microscope has model M8311 which is the most popular for an inexpensive option.
Hey Patriot! You can e-mail me at steve@urbanwormcompany.com to discuss, but I offer a one hour Zoom call. Before the call, I send you a questionnaire to fill out so I can efficiently spend the time with you and understand ahead of time what's going on. A couple of days after the call, I send along a set of recommendations customized to your situation. People find the advice very helpful! See below for a link: shop.urbanwormcompany.com/collections/urban-worm-services/products/business-consultation
