Oregon Cactus Sellers
It’s a small business story in a small town setting with small cacti on the table. It’s also in Medford, Oregon. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Then you haven’t been to the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market, or seen the cactus booth.
Moments ago, she sold a cactus each to a mom and her two sons, sending them away with this simple instruction: “Water them every two or three weeks.”
She and her husband, Chuck Timberman, have been bringing their cacti and other succulents to the market for about 10 years, setting up beneath their Timbermanor Nursery banner. Although they are a familiar sight, their booth doesn’t attract the crowds that swarm around some of the other vendors — those selling starter plants for the garden, fresh produce and flowers.
Call Timbermanor Nursery a business, if you wish. The Timbermans look at it as “a hobby that pays for itself.”
That sounds exactly like how we started. Except we’re in California, not Oregon, and in a giant metropolitan area, not a small town, and we started as a backyard nursery, not a Farmers Market booth, and we always did better than break-even. On the other hand, we do tell everyone to “Water them every two or three weeks.”
