Quite often I hear from people that they cannot find a job or that they always lack money. Once in our family there were similar conversations, but at one moment I realized that something needs to be changed. A few weeks after realizing this, I came up with a brilliant idea - to do a business for growing and selling tulips. Now this is the main item of our income. I will tell in more detail about how all this happens.
The main features of our business
I will say right away that we started our business right away with large volumes - we grew just over 40,000 tulips. To do this, we had to install large greenhouses. If your initial appetites are smaller, then a large starting capital is not needed. Please note that for the forcing of 2,000 bulbs, you will have to build a greenhouse with an area of about 40 m2 - For this, the territory of almost any homestead farm is quite suitable. A significant plus of this is that in order to start conducting such a business, you do not have to register it with the tax. In our case, it all started on a large scale and we had to rent a large plot of land for doing business, which we had to register.
However, I want to note right away that in the absence of a business registration, there is no possibility of selling goods to large commercial organizations. Actually, if your initial production volume is small, then this is not a problem at all.
The correct calculation of the scheme for growing tulips is the key to success
For the first time, we decided to organize our business so that the flowers bloomed right on March 8 - the day when they become the most popular. To get the desired result by this date, we purchased the bulbs in mid-August, after which we ensured their storage at a temperature of + 2-5 degrees until December.
In December, the male half of our close-knit team set about preparing boxes of soil (I’ll say right away that sandy soil is ideal for forcing tulips out). The prepared soil was laid out in boxes, and then bulbs were planted in it. The ideal time for planting bulbs is mid-December.
After planting, the boxes should be removed in a dark place, the temperature in which does not rise above + 9-11 degrees. Here they should be held for several weeks, until the first sprouts begin to appear.
As soon as the leaves appear 8-10 cm tall, you can transfer the boxes with bulbs to the prepared greenhouse, heated to a temperature of +15 degrees. In such conditions, they need to be grown until the buds appear.
Additional conditions to be provided to plants in the greenhouse
It is worth noting that tulips are quite unpretentious plants. However, for their cultivation in a greenhouse, certain conditions should be provided.
The first thing a beginner businessman should pay attention to is the level of humidity. It should be high enough - about 80-85%.
Particular attention should be paid to the quality and type of soil in which tulips are grown. If there is a desire to get a plentiful and strong "crop", it is worth giving preference to fertilized sandy soil, which, moreover, should be limy and disinfected. In the process of planting, you need to make sure that in each hole there is a bed of sand, and on top there is a sod coating.
The biggest risk is the late flowering of tulips
I can say that the biggest risk in our business is the late flowering of tulips.I remember that last year it happened that a small part of them blossomed not on March 6-7, as it was planned, but 10. I want to say that tulips are a one-day product that is unrealistic to sell after March 8.
About the sale of goods
The most difficult thing in our business is to sell goods. I’ll tell you right away that selling 2,000 tulips a couple of days before the holiday is quite a difficult task even for a large city, to say nothing of small settlements. That is why buyers should be sought in advance, and it is best to agree on a wholesale supply.
Flowers can be offered both personally and through social networks, as well as negotiate sales in the market.
About approximate expenses and income
I can say that the business of growing tulips in the greenhouse by March 8 is an occupation that requires relatively small material costs and hard, painstaking work. Below is an example of the costs that an entrepreneur incurs if he grows 2,000 flowers per 40 m2 land (initially I made a calculation based on just such indicators).
Average cost of a 40 m greenhouse2 - 30,000 rubles. I want to say right away that the specified amount does not include costs associated with providing certain temperature conditions and humidity indicators. According to my calculations, one 40 m greenhouse2 costs about 100,000 rubles. About 20 boxes can be installed in such a greenhouse by planting 100 bulbs in each of them (total 2,000).
For 2,000 bulbs, you will have to pay about 30,000 rubles (provided that the planting material is bought in bulk). To store them until December, you will need to purchase a separate refrigerator - we took a used camera for 10,000 rubles. Closer to December, you should take care of the purchase of fertilizer - the average waste for this is about 10 rubles per bulb.
In total, if you sell all the flowers at 60 rubles / piece, then the revenue from one greenhouse will be 120,000 rubles. Of these, 100,000 is spent on maintenance of the greenhouse and 20,000 of net income remains. A little, but I look at it differently: after five forcing, each such greenhouse reaches self-sufficiency.
I can say on my own that building a huge greenhouse complex is a rather risky undertaking, because it requires large investments - about 3 million rubles, and the sale of goods is given no more than 3-4 days a year.
Some people, having learned about my pattern of earnings, began to offer me to engage in the sale of goods to the final buyer, they say, so the price of a flower is much higher than the wholesale - you can earn much more. I don’t argue, but I believe that the demand for my goods can never be guessed, and even though my income is relatively small, all the risks are borne by the owners of flower shops who purchase the products I offer - I lose nothing at the same time. In any case, what to do with grown tulips is up to you.