Keith,

As I am not in the business of selling orchids commercially, I will leave
the business side to those knowledgeable folks who have already commented.
But as far as motivation and happiness, I'm glad to throw in my 2 cents.

If you cannot fathom continuing in your current profession and cannot make
adjustments that will allow you to be happy in it, then at some point you
must make a change. We get one bite at this apple called life, my friend.
Just one go 'round. This is not to say that one ought to go over the falls
in a barrel. Planning is essential, as all have advised. But I am reminded
of a man who once told me how much he hated teaching middle school. When I
asked him why he kept on doing it, he said he only had "eleven years til
retirement". Eleven *years*?? I was speechless. And this is not to mention
that if he hates his job, what good is he to the kids he is purportedly
teaching?

There is a maxim that I hold dear, and which I shared with those who
attended my seminars. Do something you love. Success will follow your
passion, provided you add common sense planning to the passion. Maybe the
something you love will prove to be other than a commercial orchid business;
this I cannot say. But be happy.

Just my philosophical take on the whole issue.

Diana

Diana Kulaga wrote:
Keith,

As I am not in the business of selling orchids commercially, I will leave
the business side to those knowledgeable folks who have already commented.
But as far as motivation and happiness, I'm glad to throw in my 2 cents.

If you cannot fathom continuing in your current profession and cannot make
adjustments that will allow you to be happy in it, then at some point you
must make a change. We get one bite at this apple called life, my friend.
Just one go 'round. This is not to say that one ought to go over the falls
in a barrel. Planning is essential, as all have advised. But I am reminded
of a man who once told me how much he hated teaching middle school. When I
asked him why he kept on doing it, he said he only had "eleven years til
retirement". Eleven *years*?? I was speechless. And this is not to mention
that if he hates his job, what good is he to the kids he is purportedly
teaching?

There is a maxim that I hold dear, and which I shared with those who
attended my seminars. Do something you love. Success will follow your
passion, provided you add common sense planning to the passion. Maybe the
something you love will prove to be other than a commercial orchid business;
this I cannot say. But be happy.

Just my philosophical take on the whole issue.

Diana

Hi Keith, I would say Diana's advice is best-- find a nich is good-- &
the spreadsheet is a waste. Diana said "do what you love success will
follow"-- little plagerism there-- a lady wrote a book named "DO WHAT
YOU LOVE, THE MONEY WILL FOLLOW" she is 1/2 right-- doing what you love
is rewarding but IN ORCHIDS-- the money WON'T FOLLOW. The Chinese &
Taiwonese {same folks I guess} are going to dominate the market with a
$1.00 per plant cost & us small folks will never be able to duplicate
THAT!! Best advice you have gotten is: DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB. There
is a plethora of small growers/Brokers getting into the show part of
the business who are "PRICE CUTTERS" & they are ruining the hobby
market for the growers who try to do it for a living. They seem to
think that if they pay $8.00 for a plant it is profitable to sell it
for 10-12. {they can't even spell spreadsheet} I just did a show in Ft.
Pierce where the "Price cutters" out numbered the serious growers.
Several serious growers said they didn't want to come back under those
circumstances. Bad news is: the "Price Cutters" are destined to go out
of business soon --- then the shows will be bad & the whole deal
collapses. Show chairmen don't want to eliminate the "Price cutters"
as----- guess what???? ---- they buy from them & swear they are getting
a good deal. My advice {worth what you pay for it} is: If you will love
all that is involved in an Orchid Business, then go for it. But if you
expect to make a living wage-- STAY AWAY FROM ORCHIDS. Good news is:
There are very few years when you have to pay income tax { that is
funny, but not a joke}. After all is said & done -- you had better do
your homework before you invest serious $$$$$. Best of luck to you, Bill

I have decided Bill's advice is very good: forget spreadsheets. They ARE a
waste of time.

"Bill" wrote in message
oups.com...

Diana Kulaga wrote:
Keith,

As I am not in the business of selling orchids commercially, I will leave
the business side to those knowledgeable folks who have already
commented.
But as far as motivation and happiness, I'm glad to throw in my 2 cents.

If you cannot fathom continuing in your current profession and cannot
make
adjustments that will allow you to be happy in it, then at some point you
must make a change. We get one bite at this apple called life, my friend.
Just one go 'round. This is not to say that one ought to go over the
falls
in a barrel. Planning is essential, as all have advised. But I am
reminded
of a man who once told me how much he hated teaching middle school. When
I
asked him why he kept on doing it, he said he only had "eleven years til
retirement". Eleven *years*?? I was speechless. And this is not to
mention
that if he hates his job, what good is he to the kids he is purportedly
teaching?

There is a maxim that I hold dear, and which I shared with those who
attended my seminars. Do something you love. Success will follow your
passion, provided you add common sense planning to the passion. Maybe the
something you love will prove to be other than a commercial orchid
business;
this I cannot say. But be happy.

Just my philosophical take on the whole issue.

Diana

Hi Keith, I would say Diana's advice is best-- find a nich is good-- &
the spreadsheet is a waste. Diana said "do what you love success will
follow"-- little plagerism there-- a lady wrote a book named "DO WHAT
YOU LOVE, THE MONEY WILL FOLLOW" she is 1/2 right-- doing what you love
is rewarding but IN ORCHIDS-- the money WON'T FOLLOW. The Chinese &
Taiwonese {same folks I guess} are going to dominate the market with a
$1.00 per plant cost & us small folks will never be able to duplicate
THAT!! Best advice you have gotten is: DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB. There
is a plethora of small growers/Brokers getting into the show part of
the business who are "PRICE CUTTERS" & they are ruining the hobby
market for the growers who try to do it for a living. They seem to
think that if they pay $8.00 for a plant it is profitable to sell it
for 10-12. {they can't even spell spreadsheet} I just did a show in Ft.
Pierce where the "Price cutters" out numbered the serious growers.
Several serious growers said they didn't want to come back under those
circumstances. Bad news is: the "Price Cutters" are destined to go out
of business soon --- then the shows will be bad & the whole deal
collapses. Show chairmen don't want to eliminate the "Price cutters"
as----- guess what???? ---- they buy from them & swear they are getting
a good deal. My advice {worth what you pay for it} is: If you will love
all that is involved in an Orchid Business, then go for it. But if you
expect to make a living wage-- STAY AWAY FROM ORCHIDS. Good news is:
There are very few years when you have to pay income tax { that is
funny, but not a joke}. After all is said & done -- you had better do
your homework before you invest serious $$$$$. Best of luck to you, Bill

The short answer is "No." The "big orchid business" end of the field has,
as many previous posters have noted, already been taken over by foreign
interests supported by ridiculously cheap labor costs as well as government
subsidies. If that hasn't yet gotten to your neck of the woods, don't
worry, it will be there soon. I wish I could get someone to pot for me for
80 baht/day ... Heck, I can't get good help for $80/day.

The "small orchid business" gets no benefit from economies of scale -- you
get no volume discounts on the plants and supplies that you buy, shipping
costs a lot more when broken down to a per-plant basis, etc., etc. And
then, as Bill mentioned, you end up competing (if you do shows and outside
sales events) with folks who aren't really trying to make a living at it,
but rather just to support their hobby, or make a little "pin money" to
supplement their other incomes. Or, you have a walk-in retail location,
with expensive rent, insurance, marketing, etc.

Orchid society talks can be good or bad, but unless you want to be on the
road all the time -- in which case you can't be home growing your plants --
they are unlikely to be a major factor towards earning a living. You aren't
likely to speak at the same OS more than once every 2-3 years; how many of
them are in your immediate neighborhood???

At the last orchid show I did, there were 11 orchid vendors. I know for
sure that 9 of the 11 have another source of income and couldn't survive
without it. For 8 of the 9, it's retirement income; for me, it's an
unrelated job that I've downsized but been unable to totally quit. Of the
other 2, one is a second generation business in which several family members
work (and some of them are old enough to be collecting retirement income).
They do 40 shows a year to try to make ends meet, and have a wholesale
operation. They also grow and sell plants other than orchids, and tell me
they are expanding those other product lines, but not their orchid
operations, because the orchids become less and less profitable every year.

The talk about interest in species orchids has proven, for us, to be mostly
just that -- talk, not $$. Fifty to 100 of any given species will pretty
much saturate our local market, even if I manage to get one that none of my
local competitors has.

Internet sales aren't what they used to be, either. When I was first listed
on the Orchid Mall, I think I was the 12th listing, and did a fair amount of
business that way. Now it appears there are 1200 just in Florida! Lots of
those new listings are those same "backyard growers" mentioned above, just
supporting their hobby and therefore not including any overhead expenses in
their prices. Shipping costs have gone up, plus the news media continues to
scare people to death about Internet scams, which makes customers more
reluctant to buy.

In this area, it's actually more profitable to provide orchid-related
services than to grow and sell orchids. I do know some people making a
modest living boarding orchids, repotting, and providing home care for other
people's orchids. Kenni


"Keith Kent" wrote in message
...
I know there are some growers/sellers here ,those of you that have turned
your hobby into a bussinnes i have a personel Q! Do you make enough
money(profit after running costs) from selling orchids for it to be the
only income? I know this is a broad Q as it depends what income the
individual requires to live to the standard they are happy with. I am
asking this Q as i am hopefully embarking into the selling side,initially
hopefully to cover the heating costs.But my dream would be to be able to
pack my job in and have a fully up and running orchid nursury that is my
nursury/full time job.
I would need £20,000 min wages after tax etc a year to be able to fully
live from it.
But i have no idea what orchid nursuries turn over as obviously this sort
of info isnt normally disclosed.I suspect things are quite tight
financially,but if this is true how are bussineses able to keep running?I
am basing this on the UK ,were i live i feel there is a market here as
there isnt a lot of growers in the UK so choice is very limited .I know
that in other countries like USA choice isnt a problem?
Thanks for any input
Cheers Keith

Bill,

I thought I took care to say that planning is important. I would never go
into business without a plan. Flexiblity needs to be there, but you can't
just jump willy-nilly over a cliff. I certainly didn't mean to imply that a
spread sheet is a waste of time! People have various ways of accomplishing
the planning phase, but I believe that it's crucial.

I didn't read that book you mentioned, LOL! Just my way of looking at life
in general.

Diana

"Bill" wrote in message
oups.com...

Diana Kulaga wrote:
Keith,

As I am not in the business of selling orchids commercially, I will leave
the business side to those knowledgeable folks who have already
commented.
But as far as motivation and happiness, I'm glad to throw in my 2 cents.

If you cannot fathom continuing in your current profession and cannot
make
adjustments that will allow you to be happy in it, then at some point you
must make a change. We get one bite at this apple called life, my friend.
Just one go 'round. This is not to say that one ought to go over the
falls
in a barrel. Planning is essential, as all have advised. But I am
reminded
of a man who once told me how much he hated teaching middle school. When
I
asked him why he kept on doing it, he said he only had "eleven years til
retirement". Eleven *years*?? I was speechless. And this is not to
mention
that if he hates his job, what good is he to the kids he is purportedly
teaching?

There is a maxim that I hold dear, and which I shared with those who
attended my seminars. Do something you love. Success will follow your
passion, provided you add common sense planning to the passion. Maybe the
something you love will prove to be other than a commercial orchid
business;
this I cannot say. But be happy.

Just my philosophical take on the whole issue.

Diana

Hi Keith, I would say Diana's advice is best-- find a nich is good-- &
the spreadsheet is a waste. Diana said "do what you love success will
follow"-- little plagerism there-- a lady wrote a book named "DO WHAT
YOU LOVE, THE MONEY WILL FOLLOW" she is 1/2 right-- doing what you love
is rewarding but IN ORCHIDS-- the money WON'T FOLLOW. The Chinese &
Taiwonese {same folks I guess} are going to dominate the market with a
$1.00 per plant cost & us small folks will never be able to duplicate
THAT!! Best advice you have gotten is: DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB. There
is a plethora of small growers/Brokers getting into the show part of
the business who are "PRICE CUTTERS" & they are ruining the hobby
market for the growers who try to do it for a living. They seem to
think that if they pay $8.00 for a plant it is profitable to sell it
for 10-12. {they can't even spell spreadsheet} I just did a show in Ft.
Pierce where the "Price cutters" out numbered the serious growers.
Several serious growers said they didn't want to come back under those
circumstances. Bad news is: the "Price Cutters" are destined to go out
of business soon --- then the shows will be bad & the whole deal
collapses. Show chairmen don't want to eliminate the "Price cutters"
as----- guess what???? ---- they buy from them & swear they are getting
a good deal. My advice {worth what you pay for it} is: If you will love
all that is involved in an Orchid Business, then go for it. But if you
expect to make a living wage-- STAY AWAY FROM ORCHIDS. Good news is:
There are very few years when you have to pay income tax { that is
funny, but not a joke}. After all is said & done -- you had better do
your homework before you invest serious $$$$$. Best of luck to you, Bill

Oh, no! Al answered in two sentences! We are in deep trouble here.

Diana

"al" wrote in message news:Lm9%g.2940$hK.2255@trnddc02...
I have decided Bill's advice is very good: forget spreadsheets. They ARE a
waste of time.

"Bill" wrote in message
oups.com...

Diana Kulaga wrote:
Keith,

As I am not in the business of selling orchids commercially, I will
leave
the business side to those knowledgeable folks who have already
commented.
But as far as motivation and happiness, I'm glad to throw in my 2 cents.

If you cannot fathom continuing in your current profession and cannot
make
adjustments that will allow you to be happy in it, then at some point
you
must make a change. We get one bite at this apple called life, my
friend.
Just one go 'round. This is not to say that one ought to go over the
falls
in a barrel. Planning is essential, as all have advised. But I am
reminded
of a man who once told me how much he hated teaching middle school. When
I
asked him why he kept on doing it, he said he only had "eleven years til
retirement". Eleven *years*?? I was speechless. And this is not to
mention
that if he hates his job, what good is he to the kids he is purportedly
teaching?

There is a maxim that I hold dear, and which I shared with those who
attended my seminars. Do something you love. Success will follow your
passion, provided you add common sense planning to the passion. Maybe
the
something you love will prove to be other than a commercial orchid
business;
this I cannot say. But be happy.

Just my philosophical take on the whole issue.

Diana

Hi Keith, I would say Diana's advice is best-- find a nich is good-- &
the spreadsheet is a waste. Diana said "do what you love success will
follow"-- little plagerism there-- a lady wrote a book named "DO WHAT
YOU LOVE, THE MONEY WILL FOLLOW" she is 1/2 right-- doing what you love
is rewarding but IN ORCHIDS-- the money WON'T FOLLOW. The Chinese &
Taiwonese {same folks I guess} are going to dominate the market with a
$1.00 per plant cost & us small folks will never be able to duplicate
THAT!! Best advice you have gotten is: DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB. There
is a plethora of small growers/Brokers getting into the show part of
the business who are "PRICE CUTTERS" & they are ruining the hobby
market for the growers who try to do it for a living. They seem to
think that if they pay $8.00 for a plant it is profitable to sell it
for 10-12. {they can't even spell spreadsheet} I just did a show in Ft.
Pierce where the "Price cutters" out numbered the serious growers.
Several serious growers said they didn't want to come back under those
circumstances. Bad news is: the "Price Cutters" are destined to go out
of business soon --- then the shows will be bad & the whole deal
collapses. Show chairmen don't want to eliminate the "Price cutters"
as----- guess what???? ---- they buy from them & swear they are getting
a good deal. My advice {worth what you pay for it} is: If you will love
all that is involved in an Orchid Business, then go for it. But if you
expect to make a living wage-- STAY AWAY FROM ORCHIDS. Good news is:
There are very few years when you have to pay income tax { that is
funny, but not a joke}. After all is said & done -- you had better do
your homework before you invest serious $$$$$. Best of luck to you, Bill

Kenni,

Now there is a business, boarding plants is good... over near Naples I saw
some people making good money off the snowbirds on that orchid service while
these people are back up north.

I once toyed with the thought of buying 5 acres, fencing it off into 30' x
30' pens, install a lockable gate on each pen, throw some shade "starter"
cloth or plastic over the top, add a master sprinkler system and selling
condo "screened pens" to rich high-rise condo city slickers that want to
grow 50 or 200 orchids outside.

I know all these fat cat Russians buying condos in Miami would go for it...
they would probably want to grow some tomatoes and cabbage also inside their
pen, but that's OK.

Mick

Yes - my money!
Some in FirstRay's, some in Juno Beach orchids, some in Parkside
Orchids, some in Just Pat's .... etc.
Bob

Ha ha ha! Good one Bob.

--
Cheers Wendy

No Spam Email Address Invalid

bobc wrote:
Yes - my money!
Some in FirstRay's, some in Juno Beach orchids, some in Parkside
Orchids, some in Just Pat's .... etc.
Bob