Expanding Slowly Pays Off

There is a Chinese Proverb that says “Be not afraid of slow growth, be afraid only of standing still.” While this is likely speaking mostly about personal growth, it speaks true for expanding businesses, as well. Pushing growth too fast when your business isn’t ready for it often has devastating effects, but not putting in the work to grow at all leads to stagnation. 

Patience and planning aren’t always enjoyable but tend to pay off in the end. For us, this is showing itself to be more true than ever right now. We’d been wanting to expand for quite a while before we signed the paperwork on the warehouse we dubbed “The Foundry,” but we were set on staying out of debt while doing so.

Expanding at Last

There was an abundance of excitement surrounding that day when it finally came, and plans for the space quickly formed. Grow rooms, lab space, offices, and a workshop area all were allocated their designated places. Then COVID19 brought everything to a sudden halt, including the restaurants that make up the majority of our clientele. Business slowed so dramatically it was almost non-existent. 

In plenty of ways, our expanse was at the worst possible time. We did accomplish our goal of staying out of debt while expanding, but that meant using our savings to pay two months of rent on the new space. With an abundance of work to be done to get the space ready, a large shipment of building supplies had just been ordered, also. We were left with no cash flow and employees we had no way to pay. Things looked incredibly grim. 

Instead of giving in, however, we sat down together to reevaluate all aspects of our business. We started selling fresh mushrooms from a stand; bringing back bittersweet memories of our beginnings at the local Farmer’s Market, joined a couple of local CSAs, and even created our own. New products have also hit our online store. With our slight refocus and the support of our community, both local and online, we’ve managed to weather the storm so far.

We’re Still Progressing

As improvements to our business are in the works, The Foundry is likewise coming along. Our first grow room is operational and the work continues. Plans for the space are slowly taking form, and we look forward to using it to its full capacity. One day, we hope the entire team will be able to all come to work together and utilize the space. 

Progress has been slower than we’d like, but we’re glad to still be moving forward after vast amounts of uncertainty on how we would. We recognize that this has been hard on just about everyone, and it makes us appreciate our community even more. Now that we’ve made it this far, it’s easier to recognize how much stronger we’ll come out after this is over.