Turning Dreams into Reality: Stacy Fields' Entrepreneurial Journey from Raspberry Farm to Bakery

0:02Hi, and welcome to this week's episode of the Epic Entrepreneurs podcast where we are all about helping business owners just like you achieve success. So we don't do fancy smancy. We don't do flashing lights. We don't do a lot of things that a lot of podcasts will do. These are just real stories about real people and their entrepreneurial and business experiences. We go into their wins, their challenges, and their learnings. So we hope you enjoy it.

0:37Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs powered by Action Coach Growth Partners. You likely went into business to have more freedom and flexibility so that you could spend more time with your family, do more things or travel or enjoy your hobbies or whatever it is that you like to do in your spare time. We're here to help you find better ways to make more money, build better teams and get that time back so that you can have that freedom and flexibility. We'll help you simplify things and make sense of business, investing, and wealth building so that you can be epic and achieve all your dreams and goals.

1:10And now, enjoy the show. Hello, I'm Stacey Fields. My family and I have a small raspberry farm in Fletcher, North Carolina called Raspberry Fields, which led over into another business called Mini Batch Bakery, a local 7th Avenue historic Hendersonville bakery. Well, welcome on board. Let's talk about how did you even get in the raspberry business in the first place? Oh, so lots of people ask us. So my husband and I moved to the area almost 10 years ago now, and we took about two years trying to find property in Henderson County. That's not a small task to find a nice piece of property that's affordable these days.

1:47And so we found one, we looked up, and it was just a few more acres than we anticipated. It ended up being a little over 10 and we were looking for about two acres. So in our gusto to justify our land purchase, we said, hey, why don't we just grow something on there? How hard can it be? Right. So we did some research. My husband's an avid reader and he loves looking at the numbers. And so we talked and we landed on raspberries because the soil and the climate is very conducive for that. it's a produce that you can grow in a small footprint. You can have an acre of production and still get a nice amount of fruit from it.

2:32And so it was more of a hobby farm when we got started. That was the endeavor. That was the idea. And I always grew up with raspberries. Both of my grandmothers had very large family farms and gardens. And so growing up, working with them, raspberries was just part of the family garden. It was just part of what we harvested, what we canned, the jams and the jellies and the fresh berries that we would just have all winter. That was just part of what I had growing up. So that's very nostalgic for me, very close to home. So did either one of you grow up on a farm? No, no, no. Neither one of us grew up on a farm.

3:13Growing up, my husband is originally from Wilmington, so he grew up as a small boy helping pick up sweet potatoes and bringing in hay. And he even had some tobacco work that he's done as a smaller kid. So we've always been in agriculture in some form or fashion, but never owning or running the operation. So you did your research and figured out that this would be good. So what's the, I mean, you had to have some other kind of business to be able to buy the farm in the first place. What's that about? So by trade, my husband's a contractor. and I work in the construction industry. I'm a window and door sales professional.

3:54And so we met in construction. We moved here because of construction. And so those careers afforded us the opportunity to invest in the land and to create this hobby farm, which for the last seven years has been a hobby farm. And the definition of that is you put money in it, you don't get money out of it. And so we're working on developing the area just so it's a good legacy for our family. It's a lovely place for people to come and visit. We hope to add an agro-tourism leg to it where people can come out on the farm and do things. So, you know, we're just hoping that that continues to be a jewel of the family, more so than a breadwinner.

4:35We both still work in construction currently. Right. So you've got this farm, but you want to make money on it, right? I mean, it's not. Oh yeah, that's the goal. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I mean, otherwise, I mean, if you were making money just doing the farming, you might not, you might not have opened the bakery. So tell us about the bakery. Yeah. So, well, let me step back one second. I'll tell you about the bakery. So I jokingly say we don't make any money on the farm. Typically what we do is we let the farm stand as independently as possible. And any funds that we do get, any proceeds that we do get, we just turn right around and put back in.

5:10We fix the roads or we amend the trellises or whatever. You know, we're just putting the money right back into the farm. So I guess that's a more fair way to say it. Yeah. So as we go to farmers markets and sell berries and sell jam, I've always baked all my life. So we started adding bread and muffins and cakes and cupcakes and different things to our lineup. And so that demand increases to where we were able to open a brick and mortar. We did that this past year and it has been quite the learning curve to say the least. So let's, so, I mean, there's a couple of lessons here. One is you had good business in another job.

5:53So you had a business and a job and you took that, some income from that and invested it in property. And that's, so you made an investment in property and now you're, you're, you're making, the property is making some money and you're reinvesting that and make the property more valuable. Correct. So that's, that's, I just want to make sure that, you know, our listeners get that lesson because that's the way to do it. You start a business and then you begin to build wealth through investing in property or other businesses or potentially the stock market. So, all right. So now you've made the investment.

6:29Your farm is, we'll call it self-sustaining. It's not making money, but you're improving the farm. Now you've got this bakery. So let's talk about the lessons of opening the bakery. You said there was plenty of lessons. Oh, yeah. So I guess the first lesson, you know, is there's lots of hats to wear and each of us have our own strengths and weaknesses. And some of the hats that we wear, we like to wear. We wear them longer. We wear them with ease and comfort. And then when you open a business and it's a small business and now you're challenged with things outside of your normal wheelhouse, now that hat's really uncomfortable.

7:09You don't like to wear it. You throw it off and that goes to the other side of the pile. So that particular item that you detest, whether it's tracking the sales tax or, you know, following up on this item or that item. Now those become your burr in your saddle. That's why I like to refer to it. It's the place that rubs, that creates that sore that turns into the really big wound. And as a small business owner, you get blinded in the fury. Oh, I've got to go over here and do this. And I've got to talk to this person about that. And I've got to make this new radio ad. And, you know, all the things that get in the way, the to-do list that never ends.

7:53And you can easily lose sight of the small things that then become big things. And I think as a small business owner, the biggest challenge is trying to step back and go, how do we navigate all the things and have a good team, have a good work balance life? And I laugh about that sometimes because people talk to me about my life work balance. And as a small business owner, I think every entrepreneur will kind of laugh. It kind of runs in tangent. Your life is your business and it's all the same. But, you know, there are family issues. There are your children. There are your spouses. You still have to have that time away for yourself.

8:39So figuring out the rhythm, figuring out what really is important. I think Covey said it best. It has to be both important and necessary. It doesn't necessarily mean that the urgent is the thing that has to happen. And that's quite a loose paraphrase. It's been a while since I've heard from Covey. I think that gets the gist of it. But yeah, so it's just the challenges of everything being thrown at you at once. And sometimes when you start a different type of business than what you're normally used to, and you've got different questions of logistics, it can get complicated sometimes and overwhelming.

9:24So when you did the farm, did you make it a business? I mean, did you set it up as a separate corporation? We didn't set it up as a separate because we never intended it for it to really take off and be its own entity. We really thought that this would be a cute little way to improve the property and increase our investment. It never was meant to be something built like it has been built. We still have it privately held. I mean, it's not its own entity right now. We did separate the bakery out, but it just doesn't. I was just curious. I mean, you may want to, you know, it might be something. I mean, that's a question for a lawyer.

10:06Yeah. Well, you know, we've talked about it. Once we do the agrotourism step and we're really having people out there, it will be a separate entity because there's a lot of legality and there's a lot of protection. You've got to have. Yeah. Insurance. Yeah. You've got to have those umbrellas in place. Yeah. Yeah. Somebody falls down while they're out there and hurts their knee or something. Yeah. It happens. It's the stuff that I never thought about the first time I went in business. Yeah. You know, I had an employee walk across the floor and blow out his knee. Well, that's workers' comp. We did nothing.

10:38He did nothing. His knee blows out. It's workers' comp because it's at work. Yeah. And that's, you know, that's something that most people don't know or don't learn in any kind of schooling anyway. So, all right. So, all right. So, the bakery. You decided to do the bakery because it seemed like the next natural step to, you know, in this process. So tell us about the bakery. So we have a cute little spot down 7th Avenue. So the location is perfect. We really hope to be able to hang on long enough to see the foot traffic and the things that the city are planning to change the streetscape and things come down through there.

11:19So the foot traffic on 7th has been rejuvenated. So we hope to see that. The bakery has sweet treats right now. We have plans to add soups and sandwiches and salads and different things to the list so you can come in and have breakfast and lunch with us. But it's a super small space and we have to be very cautious about how we add things because the back of the house has to be run efficiently for the front of the house to be successful. So we're going through the logistics of that right now. My husband and I were just in there last night walking through it and talking about maybe what makes more sense for us to focus on.

11:57Because that is another hard thing in business is when you open up into something that you really enjoy doing, you want to say yes a lot. You want to say, yes, we can do that. That sounds great. Let's do that. Oh, wow, that's very attractive. Let's do that. And so the cautionary tale in that is, yes, do what you love, but don't do what you love till it kills you. Don't do the thing that seemed like a good idea, but on paper it really wasn't. In the construction business, my husband and I always talk about when we do a remodel or we're doing something for ourselves, we're always talking about the dollar amount investment.

12:37How much money should we put into this project and how much money are we going to get back out? Because even though we're living there, this is the color of paint I want on the wall. It all still comes back down to what can you get back out of it? You should never put something, you should never put more in the house than what you can get out of it. Same thing with a business. You should never put more into it than you can get out of it. And I think all of us as human beings, as living, breathing, feeling, relationship, connecting human beings, we want that feel good. We want that approval. We want that sense of accomplishment and purpose.

13:15And sometimes we can lose sight and justify us doing something in our businesses that maybe that was the thing that burned us the worst. And so lead with your heart and your head, but make sure it checks out with the numbers. I love that. Lead with your heart and head, make sure it checks out with the numbers. Basically, what you're saying is most decisions are made on emotion. yeah unfortunately on sun well almost they all are technically i mean you know by a buying decision i mean it's still but what you're saying is take the motion out of it and use the logic to make sure that it that it that it still works in other words and i love what you said never put more into it than you can get out of it so looking at it as an investment rather than a hobby i mean you said you had a hobby farm, but you guys have looked at it a little differently than most.

14:12That's a term for a small farm in a lot of ways, which 10 acres was more than you wanted, but it's still a small farm. Anyway, that's great. So I love that lesson. Yeah. Just to say, yeah, you're right, Bill. It is emotional. Life is emotional and a small business for a lot of people, especially if it's a husband-wife team, that's a child. That's something that you've nurtured and you've grown and you own and you're responsible for. And if they don't have their manners when they're out in public, then that looks bad on you, all these things. And so, yeah, it is very emotional. And just having, I think when you get to a point where your business has beat you up so much that you are willing to step away from the emotional side of it just momentarily.

15:07It's not to make the whole decision. It's just to get a different perspective. And my husband is the best one at that. He's very analytical. He's very logical. I lead mostly with my heart and with my relationship nature. But he has helped me see that there is a way to look at the numbers, not as failure, not as success, but just it tells the story. And sometimes you can't see the story. And make sure you have all the numbers and make sure that the numbers were, you know, quantitated correctly. Make sure that you did consider the non-tangibles because enjoying what you do has a value. Being close to home has a value.

15:51Having a flexible schedule has a value that maybe it doesn't show up in a traditional number. So you have to account for that somewhere. But like you said, Bill, sometimes the numbers just don't lie. What are you selling? Okay, this is selling and this is selling well. That surprised us. Let's move in that direction a little further. And maybe the thing that we thought would sell isn't can go to the wayside. I got a quick question that just occurred to me. So you guys started the farming with some farming experience, but didn't really grow up in the, I mean, you had relatives and you worked on farms and stuff.

16:27How about the, how about the food business, the restaurant business? Did you, did either one of you work in restaurants? Oh, Lord, no. Lord, no. No. Okay. I love that. Yeah. Okay. So, yeah. So you're, I mean, you're learning it all from the ground up. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. School of hard knocks. Yeah. We signed up for that one long time ago. Yeah. Yeah, no. Well, I mean, you know, I've talked to a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs over the years. And one of the things that I noticed is that most people, I mean, if you asked them, like, would you have done it if you knew what you knew now? There is a pretty high percentage that probably would have said no.

17:06And a lot of them are super successful at. Oh, yeah. They didn't know what they would have to go through to get there. But now that's the deal. So other than the numbers, let's dig in. I'm going to ask you some quick fire questions about EPIC, which is an acronym. So the E stands for education. What would you say is the importance of education in building businesses? Oh, wow. The more you know, the further along that point you start at. I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. This goes way back. So in high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I just knew I wanted to own some businesses or a business or be successful.

17:46That seemed to be the reoccurring theme in my life. So I went to school. I went to Appalachian. I got my business management and economics degree. And I was like, yeah, I can conquer the world. I've got some education. Well, you know how that goes. You get out in the real world and that's when the real education works and starts. But and the same thing with the farm. We had an idea, but we didn't move forward with the idea until we read a number of reports from NC State and Virginia Tech and Michigan where the schools had done studies on what variety of raspberry grew best in what climate and how much yield you got per acre.

18:26and what do you do with the berry once you produce it and how you can, how's the best way to grow the berry. We did a lot of research. We just, you know, I kind of jokingly say, yeah, my grandmother's had them and that was it. No, there was a whole lot more number crunching and information to that. The bakery items we'd sold six years, you know, who consistently came and bought every week. So that's how we started the brick and mortar. The certified home kitchen at home just couldn't handle the volume anymore. The dining room table was the packaging facility and the front porch was the storage facility.

19:11And so there just had to be, there came a point, a pivot point where we either had to completely stop or we had to move forward to the next stage. And that's where you really, in the next stage, we probably could have done more due diligence at that point. It was just a pressure cooker for us as a family. We just had another child. And so with a new baby in the house and the businesses in the house, you know, something had to give. We just had to get some things out from under the same roof. So, yeah. Yeah. So do your homework basically is what is the message there. All right. The P stands for planning.

19:49So you obviously did some planning around this if you did your research. So what's importance of planning? If you have a business idea and you think it's great, scratch it out on paper and then go to someone or a education facility that will help you develop the full business plan. The full business plan gives you a window, an opportunity to see some of the things that you know to look for. Go talk to a person who maybe jumped into a restaurant, if that's what you want to do. Go find a very, your favorite restaurant that you love to dine at. And if you can squirrel that owner away for just 15, 20, 30 minutes, ask them what was the thing that they weren't, that blindsided them the most?

20:36What was the thing that had they, like you said, Bill, had they, you know, looking on this side from the other side, what would they have told themselves? And get that information, get the data, because that helps you assess when you open a business, you're married to it. You're there. You're always a part of it. You lay down at night and you talk about it. You get up in the morning and you brush your teeth and you're talking about it. So it consumes you. So those things that you can put on paper that seem to be the, well, I don't know the answer to that kind of question. Go find an answer for that.

21:11That will help you hundreds of times over when you're standing in the midst of the fire. I guess you could equate it to like a war. You don't want to be sitting in the trenches trying to figure out how to shoot that gun. You want to know how to do that when you're there. Yeah, put it on paper and get a business plan. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we help people all the time with the plans. So real quick, quick shot. I is inspiration. Where do you find inspiration? Oh, that mostly comes from the Lord. He keeps me going 100%. There's a driving light in my life that tells me to keep going. There's more work that I have to do and more people I have to reach.

21:55And sometimes it's not always clear what I have to do and how I need to do it. But being out with people, loving them day to day, that's my inspiration. My husband and I share that sentiment, that spiritual journey that we're on. and our legacy to our children, that regardless of where they're at or what they're doing, they are to be aware and helpful to their fellow man. This is the inspiration that we have for all of our businesses. I love that. Yeah, I really like that. I resonate with that a lot. Yeah. And the last is the C, which is commitment, which is if you have a good reason and it sounds like you do with your love of the Lord, then it gets easy to commit to things, right?

22:39Right. So what's it? Yeah. Yeah. So what's your thoughts on commitment? Yeah. Commitment is something that comes deep down. It's rooted in something stronger than yourself. True commitment, true loyalty comes from the things that really matter. Your true purpose. It's not about the bottom dollar. It's not about how much you grossed last year. It's not the car you drive. These are things that come and go. They rust and destroy. That is not what will sustain you. To go back to that war scenario, it's not the thing that sustains you in the ditch. So I think that the commitment that we have to be that light in the world is what carries you through the good stuff and the bad stuff.

23:25yeah it's not easy i mean you've got to have a reason to get up in the morning and i love that i love your i love what you said there there's probably a lot more here um but you know we're sort of at the end of our our time here so listen thanks for being here gosh bill it's been a pleasure thank you so much and until next time all the best thanks for joining us for this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. Here's four things you can do. First, you can listen every week on Biz Radio Mondays at 1. Second, you can subscribe to the podcast. Hey, you get it. The more subscribers we have, the more cool things we can offer you.

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