Goal Reset

I had established three main goals over the past four months. They were, after revision as follows.

Goal 1: Produce 50 - 60 lbs of mushroom weekly

Goal 2: Start growing medicinal mushrooms (starting with lions mane)

Goal 3: Generate grain spawn in house to meet my growing needs using agar or liquid culture

I have gotten to the point where I am producing some 30 lbs a week and as my production becomes more steady it will rise to around 50 - 60 weekly. I have successfully cultivated lions mane which seems adequately high quality using the side fruiting method. And I am in the process of testing agar and liquid cultures methods to generate grain spawn. All these goals will soon have been met, so it is imperative that I create a new set of goals to work towards.

Right now, I am in the process of gearing up for two farmers markets. One is the Govanstown market held at the Loyola campus every Wednesday and the others is every other Tuesday at Baltimore. I am confident that both will go well and I will be able to sell maybe between 20 and 40 pounds weekly between the two of them. Therefore, I am not setting this as a goal as it will soon be a part of regular operations.

Another current challenge is increasing sales avenues. I have been giving out samples to many friends my age but I am realizing that young people in their 20s and 30s who do not have particular interest in gourmet mushrooms are not my best target audience. However, I have had a few promising signs: (1) the farmers markets will be a large sales avenue taking up to half my product, (2) there has been interest expressed in the purchase of refined lions mane powder, (3) I was able to connect to the a group of middle aged ladies who may become a significant source of purchase as they already buy from a further Virginia based distributor but who does not prioritize them, (4) quality of other growers seems to be substandard based on cap size, cluster formation, and overall presentation, and (5) I have only been getting good feedback about the quality of my produce which will only get better with time given my obsession with production quality.

Therefore, demand will take care of itself and I should work on expansion of processes. Therefore, my next three goals to do within the next month are as follows:

1) Research exact requirements for warehouse that allows me to scale up to 500 - 1000 pounds a week (water supply, power supply, licensing, potential locations, cost) and start searching seriously by the end of the month

2) Create professional grade extracts of ground powders and industry-tstandard tinctures by processing lions mane mushrooms in house

3) Start drafting standard operating procedures for all operations focusing on high level of quality and cleanliness that can be used to train employees and qualify for licensing.

As my first farmers market days approach by the end of the month, I will also need to work on building my digital brand by building out my website to make it more professional and acquiring all other necessary selling equipment - trinkets such as business cards, stickers with the logo, labeling machine, etc. will all be helpful. This next month is critical as I achieve consistency in production and lean into developing the sales channels.