Photo by Kristen Angelo
Tahoma Growers has a grand total of six employees. Four of us are related, and three of us live together. “Eclectic” is a good word to describe our group of two accountants, an electrician, a grower, a mason and a salesman. When we started, only one of us was a farmer; today I can proudly say we all are.
I often reflect on the starry eyes we had a year and a half ago, and laugh at our naiveté. How could we know that something as basic as electricity was going to take six months longer than expected?
Our phrase of the year has been “trial and error.” And I don’t think we’re alone on that. If I could go back to the beginning, I would focus on three areas to ensure the success of our business.
– Communication: How can communication even be an issue? Between cell phones, email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., under-communication should be a thing of the past. The small town of Goldendale, Washington has battled the information age by building limited cell phone and Internet towers. Create a system of communication from the very beginning that won’t leave room for misinterpretation. By selecting a point person who is well-organized and proficient with traceability systems, miscommunication can be largely avoided.
– Core values: Outline your core values and stick to them, no matter what. It gets competitive out there, and you can’t always offer the same services as a farm with deeper pockets. This will happen, and when it does, just go back to these core values. They’ll prevent you from harboring any resentment that naturally creeps into a competitive atmosphere. They’ll remind you that there’s a market for every grower. This is a win-win industry.
– Tenacity: I’m pretty sure that every farm has had their share of obstacles. Mother Nature gave us several obstacles, including starting a fire about 10 yards away from our garden, breaking our fence and providing ground that was almost impossible to dig in. In the end, she also gave us high-potency, sun-grown cannabis, but not without teaching us something about tenacity first.
Shelby Talmadge is a co-owner of Tahoma Growers, a family-owned producer of all-natural, eco-friendly cannabis in Goldendale, Washington. She also handles marketing for Marijuana Venture.