Re: young entrepreneur

Very interesting, Auralie. Give them my best. As I understand the seed business on the non-production end, it's 90 percent marketing--and the web has greatly changed that and, no doubt, will change it a lot more in the next decade or so. Since he seems to know something about selling seeds on the net, an apprenticeship with a traditional seed merchant may be a waste of time. What he really needs to do is to develop reliable sources of the kinds of seeds he wants to peddle--and figure out all the goofy laws and USDA regulations regarding importing botanical material. [All that paranoid nonsense may well put his dream out of reach unless he moves to Spain and writes off the US market.] But the main thing, I think, is reliable sources. There are many indigenous people who make their livelihoods by gathering and selling seeds; the challenge is to find them. 

On Apr 20, 2007, at 5:47 PM, Aplfgcnys@aol.com wrote:


I know a Navy man who has a interesting hobby.  Actually, he
is my granddaughter's boyfriend or whatever the proper term is
these days.  Everywhere he goes, and being in the Navy he
goes a lot of places, he visits parks and botanical gardens, and
pockets any loose seeds he can find.  Sometimes with permission,
but not always.  (I have often done this myself, so I can't be
critical.)  Then he sells them on EBay - apparently does a pretty
good business this way.  He will be out of the Navy, hopefully,
in the fall, and plans to go to college to be an accountant, but
what he really would like to do is specialize in unusual and
exotic seeds.  The accounting plan is just because he is a
very practical young man and knows he needs a skill.
What advice should I give him?  What would be his chances
in the world of horticulture?  Maybe he should start out at
one of the big seed houses to learn the business?  He does
love plants and growing thing so much, I hate to see him give
up his great interest for a dull profession like accounting.  On
the other hand, I'd like him to be able to provide well for my
granddaughter if that's what they want.  Of course she is talking
about going into environmental law - she graduated this spring
from Washington State - and that doesn't pay well unless, as
she says, you go to the "dark side."
Auralie
************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. 

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Island Jim
Southwest Florida
27.1 N, 82.4 W
Hardiness Zone 10
Heat Zone 10
Sunset Zone 25
Minimum 30 F [-1 C]
Maximum 100 F [38 C]

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