Northwest Redworms

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If you are interested in starting a redworm/redworm castings business I can help you get started.
  
I was asked this question by Susan:
To start a business how does your program work?
 

Susan,

First you grow a zillion worms, try to sell them to all of your best friends (who now think your crazy), give some away, because you don't think anyone will buy them and then you send me an email in desperation hoping that I will give you a decent wholesale price for everything (since you put so much time into it you want to feel that all of your time was worth something). Then.....

Someone comes out of no where, buys a pound of worms and you think..."this was easy".

That's kind of what I did. The temptation to quit was there, but I enjoyed seeing the work the redworms did.  

 

There are Scams out there that ask for $1,600 (or more) for a start up kit (a few books, a very basic business plan, 25 lbs of redworms and a compost container). Chances are many of your initial batch of redworms will die since you didn’t have the information or compost ready when the redworms arrived. The person that sold you the kit is making his business by banking on the failure of those that buy from him.


My program is this.

  • Become a customer.
  • Do some reading, "Worms eat my garbage" is a good start. It answers questions that everyone asks and when you get customers you will get questions.
  • Not all composts work the same. I have bins that are side by side and one will with redworms and one stays the same. Not everyone will have success the first time, so it makes sense to start with minimal investment.
  • This kind of business can work at any level. If you just want to sell a couple pounds a week/month then just plan on that and if you get to many customers refer them to someone else. If you have extra redworms just contact someone who sells worms and let them know you have extra. It is surprising how often even the biggest suppliers have to turn down customers due to a lack of inventory at certain times of the year. Often during peak season.
  • When you want to expand get more information. A customer base is something that takes time, but I know of pet stores that are asking for redworm vendors that I haven't responded to since I know I do not have enough to keep up that demand.

In short, get a book, get a redworm bin (a cardboard box will work in a pinch, but they may eat it), get some compost going then get some redworms. Watch them eat, see that they will stay alive, watch for them to lay egg capsules (very important) and see the end result (castings). Once this is all working you know you can do it. If you want to become a supplier then we can talk more about drop shipping, packaging, and payments.

 
Question #2: I don’t have anyone interested in buying any redworms yet!

 
Think of it like this. If you don't know anyone that would want to buy redworms for composting, it may be because they don't know why they should. If no one in your area knows why you should compost with redworms then you could probably say you have an untapped market in your area (and that would be good).

 

 

I hope I was helpful. I have had lots of questions that this can address. The impression I want you to have is this, this is not a get rich quick scam, it's a business that requires some hard work and can be enjoyed. Best wishes,

 

If you would like to start a business see our redworm businesses page.