Jenny (00:28)
Hey, Lindsay. Hey, Shannon. Thanks for coming on the podcast with me today.
Shannon (00:30)
Yeah, thanks for having us.
Lynds (00:34)
Yeah, of course. I'm excited to be here.
Jenny (00:37)
Thanks. So I wanted to ask you guys first off, how long you've been in business? Because I think all three of us are kind of like around the same ish. Not really sure.
Shannon (00:47)
Go ahead, No, again.
I know.
Lynds (00:52)
Shan, we've never done like an interview where we're being interviewed together. So I'm like, who goes, I guess. This is ninth season. This is my ninth season, think. Ninth year.
Shannon (00:54)
I know, we're used to talking over each other. Yeah, you go.
Jenny (00:55)
You
Shannon (00:59)
Same. Same. β
okay.
Jenny (01:06)
awesome. OK, this is my 10th for flowers.
So I'm the same. That's so interesting. OK, so we've all been doing this for like a while now, right? I want to know why you guys are still here doing it and what keeps you going.
Lynds (01:09)
Okay.
Mm-hmm.
Shannon (01:23)
Well.
Yeah, well, I mean, for me in particular, I love the ever-changing environment of farming. Now, does it come with its own difficulties? Absolutely. And I feel like Lindsay and I talk really, really honestly about the hard things with farming. And sometimes there are months that it feels harder than it is happier.
Lynds (01:27)
That's a good question.
Jenny (01:29)
That's a big sigh moment.
Shannon (01:52)
But β for me, it allows me the freedom. It gives me creative outlet. It gives me business outlet. get to be at my home. I get to work for myself. To me, I get to make my own schedule. I get to have something that's mine. And I'm just like that kind of personality, I think, where I just really enjoy the evolution of things, changing, tweaking. And I feel like that's...
Lynds (02:17)
Mm-hmm.
Shannon (02:18)
what my farm looked like nine years ago is like literally nothing like it looked like now. And that makes me happy. That's how it should be. I guess I've just always really relished in that. I loved it. I love the ever-changing. I love showing up and it's different every day. β That's why I do it. And it's all non-farming related things in some ways. It's more lifestyle, I think, is why I keep signing up for this crazy gig each year.
What would you say,
Lynds (02:54)
Yeah, there's, I mean, there's times that I've thought I'm like, this is kind of feels like farming is like being in a emotionally abusive relationship sometimes where you're just like, yeah, it's great. Everything's great. And then it's just like get beat up, not physically, but you're like emotionally beat up. And then you're like, I'm still coming back for it. β No, I, Shan, I think I agree that I feel all of those same things. love to be able to be creative. I mean, I...
Jenny (02:56)
What about you, Len?
Shannon (03:05)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Lynds (03:21)
I've been in horticulture since I was 16, so many years of this. And so I never could find what I wanted to do in the industry. I knew I wanted to be in agriculture or horticulture in some capacity. I just like, did public gardening, at Arboretum's, I did the landscape side and did construction and managed crews.
β and did all those things, but I just, when I fell into farming and it just was kind of an accident that it sort of happened and started growing things, it was all those same reasons. I love being my own boss and β having an idea and being able to create it. Like that's my jam. Like I love being able, I'm an ideas person. So when I get that idea with a workshop or something that I want to bring out, I feel like,
I just have the creative freedom to do it. β And it's hard. mean, it's hard. There's definitely, we've all, I think all three of us have our conversations together where it's like, man, it's taxing on some days. But β I've learned more about myself through owning a business and farming, which is something that I really love, β being able to learn things about myself and show up in a better way.
And I also love having a team of people that is invested in what we do too. And like we have such a great, we have so much fun genuinely with the people that I work with. Like we have a fantasy football league this year, you know, like it's just like, we're just all, you know, so we're just in work together and outside of work together and it all feels, it, I don't know, feels really good. So, yeah.
Shannon (04:55)
Mm-hmm.
Jenny (04:59)
That's awesome.
Shannon (05:04)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, but...
Yeah.
Jenny (05:09)
feel
like that was something that was really unexpected for me, is like having that investment in your team. And for me, when I started, I didn't ever really think about that, but it's a huge piece of it.
Shannon (05:17)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, and this is entrepreneurship
though. I really like take flower farming out of it like talk to any entrepreneur out there who has a dream and is doing all the gritty things to get there and all of that like that time that time is so hard and you don't really you don't see the beauty in it until you're like nine or ten years down the road that like how silly you were like the things that you did that weren't right and how much you've learned grown all of that
Lynds (05:28)
Mm-hmm.
Shannon (05:45)
And then also like you just have a farm family. And I think that's what is the best thing. It's like you really do develop these relationships because of the ups and downs of farming. does have to, it tends to create like that we're gonna band together type mentality. So it really is, it's like a family. that's one of the coolest things you get to do with having employees for sure.
Lynds (06:09)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. I also am like, I don't think I would have any friends. Now I'm like, who would my friends be? Like all of my friends have changed. I feel like in the last 10 years, like all of my closest people that I text, they're all forming friends. β yeah, that's great.
Shannon (06:11)
I second that.
Mm hmm. Yeah.
Jenny (06:25)
to have friends that really understand it because what we do is, well, just to be an entrepreneur first off, I feel like it's pretty rare. Like, I don't know that many people that just own their own business. But then to have somebody that can actually relate to the unique challenges of flower farming is like, you have to have those people in your corner. yeah. I know for me it's been.
Shannon (06:39)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Lynds (06:42)
Right.
Yeah.
Jenny (06:48)
like the personal growth aspect of it is really important to always feel like I'm actually like improving and learning new things. That's really been what keeps me going. But so many people just, they get started in this and I feel like it's harder than they expect it to be. And they work really, really hard and maybe like burn out quickly or feel like the effort isn't worth what they're getting in return. Like, what, what do you think?
separates people who kind of go down that path and they're like, I don't know if I want to keep doing this and they stop versus those that keep going. Like what's, what separates those kinds of people?
Lynds (07:30)
Well, Shannon and I, we actually talk about this often because from like a coaching mentoring standpoint, like how do you β facilitate, help facilitate what it is? Because there's been a lot of times we've had the conversation of like, was, why, why were we successful in this? And like, we didn't quit and we're not quitting. I think some of it comes down to personality. I think it's grit. I think we talk about grit often where β
you know, like it or not, we live in a world where everybody wants an easy button for something and we want to be told exactly what to do. we say it all the time on the podcast, we're like, there is no easy button. And it's like, I think we're all so, everybody's so thirsty and hungry for knowledge because they want the thing that's gonna make it feel easy. And I think when you finally accept that like every phase of your business requires grit and it's hard for a different reason.
Shannon (08:06)
Mm-hmm.
Lynds (08:28)
β But I think it's just a, I think a lot of it's mind, I think a lot of it's mindset and having that figure it out personality where just like you said, Jenny, like you want to learn and you want to improve. And that, know that's how all three of us approach what we do. I mean, there's so many times we're like, okay, there's a problem, let's just figure it out. And I've had many things come up on my farm, problems where you're like, it sucks.
Shannon (08:42)
you
Lynds (08:57)
But, β you know, yeah, it sucks. But at the same time, I feel like I'm glad that I'm the one that I'm like, glad that it's my problem, because I know I can figure it out and handle it.
Shannon (09:11)
flower farming is sold as a dream, especially now, even more so than we first started. When we first started, like, we didn't have this like visual of what it would be like. And maybe we just like, maybe we did a little bit, but not the way that they do now with like all the floret visuals and we live in a visual business. So.
And obviously our Instagram feeds and stuff show the beauty most of the time and not as much of the hard stuff. So I think people get into it for even a little bit different reasons than how we originally started. β and I think they all have this moment where they're like, β okay, and we see this a lot too when we talk to people. They're like, wow, okay, this is this is hard. This is like.
Lynds (09:55)
Mm-hmm.
Shannon (09:58)
I'm losing more money than I'm making. My seed starting plan's not working out. The flowers that I thought I had aren't growing and all of it. And we had those, I've course had those things happen to us too, but I also didn't have a super high expectation for myself of what it would be, I guess. I feel like that is the hard thing that new growers and stuff are dealing with now. It's like comparing the...
Lynds (10:01)
Mm-hmm.
Shannon (10:27)
the beauty of the visuals to the reality of what farming is. And what separates is grit, longevity, consistency, all of those things. It's just pushing through the hard times. a lot of times when we hear from people that it's like the first hard thing that they've done, I'm like, woo girl. Hey, every year it's a new hard thing. And usually the hard thing is something that went perfectly and wonderful last year.
So, you know, that's the hard thing. it's like you just have to learn to be so resilient in farming and flexible, I guess. That is it. like, I joke, I joke, because we said the other week when Lindsay and I were talking, people are getting soft. I like my customers, like nobody wants to be in the heat and they're always like, oh, it's so hot and all that. But I feel like just just general grit and toughness is just. I don't know, it's just different.
Lynds (10:57)
Yeah.
Jenny (11:01)
Yes.
Lynds (11:11)
Yeah.
Shannon (11:26)
There is a personality that's successful.
Lynds (11:28)
Mm-hmm.
Jenny (11:28)
Do you think you
can learn grit?
Lynds (11:32)
I, yeah, I think that, I think.
Shannon (11:36)
Mm-hmm.
Lynds (11:38)
like any self-improvement thing, if it's something that you feel like is you're struggling with, I think you could learn like, I in a victim mentality? Am I, do I overanalyze things? β I β like, you know, if you, you're self-aware enough to know that you feel like you don't have it, I think you could, I do think it's something that you can work on. β One other thing though, when Shannon, when you were talking and like Jenny with that question, it's really like also the people that are
Shannon (12:08)
Mm-hmm.
Lynds (12:08)
focused
on the financial side. I think that's one thing that we all did very early on where I knew it was important to make money. Shannon and I had other jobs. β And so there was like, β you know, we were putting all the money into our businesses, but like the whole thing for me was like, I'm not doing this if I don't have, if I'm not making money. β
And I knew just growing up in an agriculture world that like the margins are different with farming than it is a service based industry. And so that was a big important piece where we focused on business. in your early years too, it's really hard because a lot of people that are doing this have never grown anything before or they've grown a vegetable garden or they're new to agriculture. And so there's this whole learning curve about growing things. And then we're like, hey, you need to learn how to market. You need to learn.
accounting. Also, you've got to be a manager. there's so many hats that you're wearing. And oftentimes they have families and full-time jobs. it's a lot for people. And I think, that's such a good point too about the fantasy. I think it's about year three that that fantasy gets busted because year one, you're like, hell yeah, I grew something. And then year two, you're like...
Shannon (13:08)
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean.
you
Lynds (13:27)
feeling more confident and you've got it, more people are hearing about you and then you're through, you're like, I'm still not making money. I'm investing a lot of time in this. It's like a real year where you're really in it. β And so I feel like that's kind of the phase, but yeah.
Shannon (13:38)
Yeah.
I think interesting talking about whether, okay, the question is
can grit be learned? Like it's honestly, that's really got me thinking because it's such a unique character trait. And I think there's nothing that shines a spotlight back on yourself more than entrepreneurship. I mean, you have to be so self-reflective in that space for sure.
Lynds (13:52)
Mm-hmm.
Jenny (14:07)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Shannon (14:07)
And I think like there's type A, I
consider myself type B, like I'm not a perfectionist at all. β And so I think type A people probably tend to struggle because they're like more perfectionist or harder on themselves. And farming, what I've learned is that in general, like I have to be happy with good enough or 90 % or 70%, you know, and that's, feel like that's like a learned thing. It's like we want it to be perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect.
Lynds (14:18)
Mm-hmm.
Shannon (14:35)
all the time, but farming is an imperfect career path. It's full of imperfections. So I feel like there are certain personality traits that have some internal grit more than others. I think so. So just knowing yourself and knowing how hard you're have to work to kind of overcome some of those things that are just ingrained in you, you know, growing up, just your whole, your whole personality is so important. β But yeah, knowing thyself, one of the hardest things we do for sure.
Jenny (14:44)
Shannon, that was a good little rant. I've never had this problem before. I wonder if it's something with Riverside. I don't know why that would be happening now.
Lynds (14:44)
Dang. Shannon!
I don't know. I don't know.
She'll pick it up. Damn. Mm-hmm. Yeah,
Jenny (15:00)
You guys are probably used to doing this.
Lynds (15:04)
it's a
Jenny (56:06)
Now, if you're a flower farmer who wants to work less in the business while putting more profit in your pocket, like Karen or Krissa and Bill or Leanne or any of the students that I've had in the podcast lately, registration opens up for the six-figure flower farming business program on November 4th, 2025. That's a Tuesday, November 4th, 2025. Sign up for the waitlist at trademarkfarmer.com forward slash waitlist to be the first to know about it.
and also get an extra special bonus when enrollment opens. That's trademarkfarmer.com forward slash waitlist. There's also a link in the show notes that'll bring you to that page. I would love to see you there. So go ahead and sign up for the waitlist now and I'll see you in the next episode of the Six Figure Flower Farming Podcast.
