VermiCo Quick-Start Program

During this past year, our family left the suburbs of California behind and settled in a small town in southern Oregon. The time was right for transition in our lives. I had recently changed careers, we had a long-standing desire to return to the Northwest, and the door opened to purchase property with a home and land from some friends.

As we prepared for the changes ahead, we were interested in starting a business that would allow us to use our land and yet not demand full-time attention. The field of vermiculture was attractive to me due to my love for growing things, and my interest in organic gardening and farming. I began researching the opportunities in earthworms, and one of the books I read was Peter Bogdanov’s Commercial Vermiculture.

When we found out about the Quick-Start Program VermiCo was offering, it seemed the perfect way for us to get started. We needed the experience and guidance of someone who had been successful in a  business like this before, along with the basic tools to get such a business up and running. We met with Pete initially to find out more, and began to consider whether this would be a family business that would work for us.

The more we considered it, the better the Quick Start Program looked. We decided to make the investment in this program part of our transition plans, and shortly after moving here, we met with Pete and his wife Layne for an intense day of training in every aspect of the business. The wisdom and insights they shared, the support they offered, and the procedures they explained took much of the fear out of starting something totally new. This training, along with the knowledge that we could contact them at any time when questions arose, gave us the confidence to launch Heritage Acres Vermiculture and Garden Supply in September of 2001.

The insights and tips provided by the Bogdanov’s in developing our Web Site have been invaluable—they helped us launch our site in a timely manner. The response to our Site has been excellent, with gradually building sales, and many requests for the printed catalogs that Pete and Layne helped us develop. It has been exciting to be in contact with people interested in vermiculture from all over the world. We were surprised and delighted by one large order for books and materials from Moscow, Russia! We are looking forward to creating a network of growers and worm enthusiasts that will help improve and build the Vermiculture industry, and our business, over the long run. The business has been challenging, and fun, and we look forward to exploring new ways of building relationships and providing quality products and service to our expanding customer base.

Sincerely,

J C. English