Niching Case Study: Stacey Murphy

ATTN New Veggie Growers & Brown Thumbs: I can teach you to harvest more veggies in a small space with ease. Grow your own food in 2 hrs/week

bkfarmyards.com

#sytycn2015

Tad’s Rating:

10/10

Contest Rating:

9/10

Average Rating:

9.5/10

Tad’s Comments:

10. Stacey! What a wonderful thing. This is interesting . . . In terms of clarity it’s a 10/10. (In terms of credibility I notice it’s like a 6/10.) I find myself wondering, “how can she promise this for any climate? She might not know how to grow food where I live. And only two hours a week – surely it would take more? And grow ALL of my own food? Is that what she’s suggesting? What if I live in an apartment? Wouldn’t I need to invest some capital in getting started and time in setting it up too? Etc.” Sometimes offers can seem too good to be true and that, ironically, is not a good thing.

Regardless, I’m a HUGE fan of anyone who teaches anyone how to grow their own food.

Niching Contest Participant Comments:

8/10: I’d like to see the last two sentences switched, since harvest doesn’t precede growing, and it made me pause. I’d like to know a bit more about the Who: are these urban pioneers, new home owners, greens, apartment dwellers, small-scale farmers?

10/10 so clear . . . so need this. I kill every plant I get my hands on. Love that you offer this and say a time frame! /full_width]

Stacey Murphy’s Reflections:

Over time, I’ve figured out who my courses are NOT for. On my sales page, I include some qualifiers: growing zones 5-8, growers with 0-3 years experience, 100-1000 square feet plots, etc. During the growing season, I grow 25-50 pounds of produce weekly off of 500 square feet (which feeds between 3-10 people their weekly veggies). It’s hard to promise that others will approach the same yield without knowing their experience and soil. I also know my course has an urban bias since I farm in NYC. Thanks for your additional questions around up front time investment. Very helpful. I realize now the 2 hrs is misleading as I spend that amount of time farming and an additional 1-2 hr / week harvesting. And of course, new growers are not going to be as fast as a farmer is. I’ve never tried to fit it all into 1 140 character niche statement before. This was a great exercise for me.

The Revised Niche:

n/a