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Starting a new business means that everything we are doing needs to be worked out.  How will we get jobs?  How will we get TO jobs?  What will we do on a job?  Every single aspect of the business is a challenge- but I mean that in a good way.  These challenges present decisions that need to be made- and making these decisions is what makes it all rewarding.

 

Jungle Brothers is a tiny operation, but we have the same issues that a large company would have.  No matter what size the business is, resource allocation is a top issue at all times.  Resources can be finances, time, equipment, personnel.  There are limits to what can be used.  Those resources will shape what you can do, and how you do it.

 

One of the initial goals I had when starting this business was that it had to be sustainable.  I don't want to take out any loans- even from the family account. The first few months I scrambled for every scrap I could find to create plants that we could sell.  In the nursery business, it takes months before you will see any income from the plants you make.  So diversifying into service was really important, just to generate some cash to keep things running.

 

We started by using my tools from home- the things I would use to take care of my own yard.  This was fine on the first job- but by the second job we ran into problems.  Two tools broke on the very first day, and honestly it was a really big decision to invest in the company and buy new tools- and I'm only talking about $75 here.  But when you've got $35 in your account, $75 is a LOT of money!

 

 

This picture shows the current state of the greenhouse.  There are a lot of resources shown here, for things that still have over a month to go before they can be sold!  Whether it is the benches, the gravel, the plants, the pots.  It all takes investment of capital, with a very long wait to see any return.

 

 

For that second job,  I had to borrow money from the family account to buy the tools to finish the job.    Since then, a major focus has been upgrading tools, and buying what we need to do more.  Each job we do is springboard to buying new equipment to complete another job.  We're even getting to basics- creating a work uniform- because the crew (my sons) were getting complaints from their mom about ruining good clothes while out on a job.  

 

The challenges keep coming- every job brings something new and interesting.  Currently we are running up against issues with a vehicle- an SUV just doesn't cut it for a landscape company- but that is where we are now, and that is okay.  We're going to rent trucks while we need to- because financing a vehicle means putting the Jungle Brothers on the wrong side of the financial equation.  We want to be sustainable, and live within our means.  And if that means renting trucks and tools, so be it.  At least we've got cool uniforms!

 

It really is a long series of challenges to run even a small company.  But bit by bit, job by job, we keep re-investing back into the business.  Whether it's tools, uniforms, more pots, soil, etc.  It all goes back into something that will be used in the future to complete more jobs and generate income.  The goal is to create something that is sustainable and comfortable.