Janelle Brown: Smarter Than Your Average Brown (Maybe)

[islandgal140]

I love the way both Christine and now Janelle have turned "just look at the flowers" into a triumph!

Nice to know that there is somewhere in the USA you can get 150+ acres for under $300k. 

[BAForever]

Re Janelle's farm- my brother-in-law lives on 20 gorgeous acres in rural Wisconsin with a insulated barn. Literally every time I've been there and we are sitting outside, someone will drive onto property to inquire about having a wedding there. Know nothing about what Janelle is doing business-wise, and it's hard work, but a possible wedding venue site isn't the worst idea.

Edited September 24 by BAForever

[Joan of Argh]

1 hour ago, AZChristian said:

The Roloffs seem to have done well with their pumpkin farm over the years.  Built-in marketing by having the TV show.

I know nothing about flowers, but I applaud anyone who has moved away from Kody Brown.  ANY life is better and more profitable than what they already had with him.

Well if Janelle runs things like Roloff farms she’ll be trucking in full grown flowers.

Matt Roloff has a small vanity patch of pumpkins and doesn’t grow the pumpkins he sells, he has them trucked in from actual pumpkin farms.

[ginger90]

[Meow Mix]

Ok, I have so many questions about this.  I hate to be negative, but starting and sustaining a farm is very hard work and even if you do a lot yourself it costs a ton of money.  Neither Janelle nor Maddie have shown much in the way of follow-through skills.  Janelle has tried several careers that she lost interest in and how many areas of study was Maddie passionate about that got dropped after a semester?

Here are some questions about all this:

Was the land purchased outright or is there a loan involved?  They will need to take that into account if they have payments to make.

What kind of infrastructure is on this land?  Electricity, water, etc?  Are there any buildings they can use since they think they are going to host weddings?  If that stuff isn't there, what is their timetable for getting things into place?  No one is going to be interested in using a wedding venue where they have to bring everything in themselves including porta potties.

What are they going to grow?  If it's pick your own, what are people going to be willing to go out there and pick?  What will grow in NC?  How will they handle weeds and pests?

What is their plan for greenhouses, soil prep, infrastructure to host people?  We have a farm about an hour from here that does a big business in the fall with pumpkins, hayrides, etc.  They've been around forever and have built up with more stuff to do there over time.  

I'm sure there are more questions I'm not thinking of right now, but I wonder how many of these questions they have thought of.  I guess it's good that they are selling T-shirts to raise money instead of begging with a GoFundMe and at least this isn't another scammy MLM, but I will be surprised if they make a go of this business.  Maybe they're in talks with TLC to build a show around it.  It would be fun to see Kody's head explode over that.

[ginger90]

45 minutes ago, Meow Mix said:

Are there any buildings they can use since they think they are going to host weddings?

They haven’t said this is what they’re doing.

[Gramto6]

5 hours ago, BAForever said:

Re Janelle's farm- my brother-in-law lives on 20 gorgeous acres in rural Wisconsin with a insulated barn. Literally every time I've been there and we are sitting outside, someone will drive onto property to inquire about having a wedding there. Know nothing about what Janelle is doing business-wise, and it's hard work, but a possible wedding venue site isn't the worst idea.

Right @ginger90! It was just a thought put forth by @BAForever in the above quoted post.  I think all Janelle has said is that they are going to grow flowers.

[LilyD]

13 hours ago, ginger90 said:

It’s a real job and can potentially pay pretty well. There are plenty of employment opportunities that aren’t 9a-5p.

True, I switched from high school teaching to private tuition. But I’m bound by time: Few can come earlier than 4pm, and teaching after say 09.30pm is also pointless as most are too tired or lack in concentration at that time a night. That leaves me with about 25 one-hour slots a week.  (Week days as very few will want to come for lessons in the weekends) Great for a part time job, but I honestly don’t see how this would work fulltime. Maybe some will come for chess lessons in the weekend, but still…

Not that I find Tony one to work fulltime though😉

 

[Orcinus orca]

2 hours ago, LilyD said:

Not that I find Tony one to work fulltime though😉

When would he play with his dolls, er, action figures?

[precious pupp]

On 9/22/2024 at 4:39 PM, Liddy52 said:

Please don't hold your breath!

That's right.  If Kody and Robyn don't get a cut of the profits, they're not going to give a rat's ass to promote it.

[CalicoKitty]

Maybe a seed farm?  There used to be one where I used to live.  Developers bought the land, and now it is a subdivision, but it was so pretty to drive by and see all the flowers growing in huge rows, all divided by color.  They would need a lot of employees to harvest the seeds, though, so maybe not.

[ginger90]

gwendlynbrown if you haven't checked it out yet, this is your sign! @madison_rose11 and @janellebrown117 are building beauty from the ground up @taedafarms

 

[Orcinus orca]

Does anyone know if '"taeda" has some meaning?

[ginger90]

On 9/28/2024 at 3:27 PM, Orcinus orca said:

Does anyone know if '"taeda" has some meaning?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DARlDsrPJwn/

Edited September 30 by ginger90

[Denize]

Christine would spell it with a Y.  Start small with the flowers, Janelle. Coninuing to run it as a timber farm would be much easier to manage, especially for one who likes to travel multiple times a year.

Edited September 29 by Denize

[Meow Mix]

That answers one of my questions.  Since this land was already used as a timber farm, it's possible that there is some infrastructure already there for them to build on.  As much as I like flowers, I think they would have made more with timber.

[GeeGolly]

I hope Janelle keeps track of her sneakers. 🤣

[RoxiP]

There was a lovely show on Magnolia Network several years ago called "Growing Floret" about a family whose business was raising flowers for the seed crop...of course it was also absolutely beautiful because of the stunning numbers of flowers grown.  I believe it was based either in Oregon or Washington state.  It seemed to be reasonably lucrative but of course like any agriculture-based business dependent a lot on the perfect conditions coming together.  

[BAForever]

Any small business is a risky proposition, there are so many ways to fail. I *really* hope Janelle, Maddie and Caleb have a good business plan and are seeking help from professionals in both finance and horticulture. Nothing would make SADKRAB sadder than a Janelle success. It scares me though, a new business in a new city during scary economic times. Fingers 🤞 

[Meow Mix]

And don't get me started on the whacked out weather we have had in NC lately.  That makes any agriculture based business dicey right now.

[Denize]

Pine forests have acidic soil, conducive to growing azaleas, camellias, rhododendron, hydrangeas, magnolias, heather, cyclamen, periwinkle & lily of the valley.  I prefer to see them living in the wild, not dead in a bouquet or on wire hangers on the wall of the dining room.

Edited October 1 by Denize

[LilyD]

17 hours ago, BAForever said:

Nothing would make SADKRAB sadder than a Janelle success

A Janelle business success would be the perfect opportunity to formally change DABSARK’s name to SADKRAB☺️

[ChristmasJones]

What part of North Carolina is this in? Hopefully not the area affected by the hurricane.

[Meow Mix]

23 hours ago, ChristmasJones said:

What part of North Carolina is this in? Hopefully not the area affected by the hurricane.

The land is in the eastern part of the state near Greenville.  The damage from Helene is on the other side of the state in the mountains.  There is risk of damage from tropical systems where their land is, but hopefully they won't see something as horrific as what they are dealing with in the mountains.

[Elodia]

I'm really excited to see what comes of it. Janelle is going to need a lot of helping hands, especially since Maddie is pregnant with baby number four.

[jschoolgirl]

On 9/30/2024 at 10:31 AM, RoxiP said:

There was a lovely show on Magnolia Network several years ago called "Growing Floret" about a family whose business was raising flowers for the seed crop...of course it was also absolutely beautiful because of the stunning numbers of flowers grown.  I believe it was based either in Oregon or Washington state.  It seemed to be reasonably lucrative but of course like any agriculture-based business dependent a lot on the perfect conditions coming together.  

It’s Floret Flower Farm in the Skagit Valley of Washington. Their beautiful photograph of masses of flowers in a pickup truck bed went viral a few years ago and brought them a lot of attention. They have a strong social media presence.

[RoxiP]

23 minutes ago, jschoolgirl said:

It’s Floret Flower Farm in the Skagit Valley of Washington. Their beautiful photograph of masses of flowers in a pickup truck bed went viral a few years ago and brought them a lot of attention. They have a strong social media presence.

It truly was a wonderful show.  

 

On 9/30/2024 at 7:58 PM, Denize said:

Pine forests have acidic soil, conducive to growing azaleas, camellias, rhododendron, hydrangeas, magnolias, heather, cyclamen, periwinkle & lily of the valley.  I prefer to see them living in the wild, not dead in a bouquet or on wire hangers on the wall of the dining room.

If they are indeed starting a seed business then hopefully the end result will be beautiful gardens!

[Liddy52]

3 hours ago, RoxiP said:

It truly was a wonderful show.  

 

If they are indeed starting a seed business then hopefully the end result will be beautiful gardens!

I follow several flower farms including Floret, Sunflower Steve, Three Porch Farms and one in Colorado whose name escapes me right now.  For all of them, it has taken lots of extremely hard work and some lean times. A good part of Sunflower Steve's crops were devastated by the weather this year. Three Porch Farms has also had their share of struggles this year. The flowers they all produce are beautiful and I love to see their successes, but this business requires years to be profitable and is not for the faint of heart. I do wish them all the best because there is nothing I enjoy more than beautiful flowers.

Edited October 3 by Liddy52
Because " their" and "there" mean different things.

[ginger90]

Posted this morning:

[laurakaye]

Man, I get hot and tired planting, weeding and pruning my small front yard garden.  I applaud Janelle for starting a business, but planting and caring for a zillion flowers?  Along with her Plexus shill?  And Maddie about to have another child?  Surely Caleb can't quit his job to help out a business that might not see profit for a few years.  It sounds ambitious - too ambitious - and like others have said, follow-through hasn't been Janelle's strong suit when it comes to self-starting a business.

But if I could have a dream job, starting a cutting garden from seed might be it.

Do we have any inkling if Janelle ever got her cut of Coyote Pass?

[Roslyn]

On 10/3/2024 at 10:27 AM, Liddy52 said:

I follow several flower farms including Floret, Sunflower Steve, Three Porch Farms and one in Colorado whose name escapes me right now.  For all of them, it has taken lots of extremely hard work and some lean times. A good part of Sunflower Steve's crops were devastated by the weather this year. Three Porch Farms has also had their share of struggles this year. The flowers they all produce are beautiful and I love to see their successes, but this business requires years to be profitable and is not for the faint of heart. I do wish them all the best because there is nothing I enjoy more than beautiful flowers.

I have quite a few flowers that were developed by Floret in my garden right now. Sunflower Steve's story of finding one odd ball sunflower in a field and just letting it grow to collect only a few seeds is quite fascinating.

And on topic...Go Janelle and get your hands dirty on the farm. A good chunk of my garden is flowers vs just vegetables these days.

[Joan of Argh]

I’m fascinated with this whole thing.

I can’t imagine buying 150 acres of pine forest or whatever it is that she purchased at the age of 55 and thinking I’ll start busting ground and growing flowers.

Janelle doesn’t look like a picture of health to me, she’s been overweight for years and I’ve never seen her do anything as physical as farming plus Maddie is pregnant again.

Does this property have water, electricity?

It seems to me that she’ll need some type of farm machinery, tractor, trucks and where will she live while she pioneers this homestead? Does Janelle have the bankroll to finance an operation like this?

The whole idea makes my head spin! 😵‍💫

When Janelle and Maddie were viewing that acreage in Montana with the realtor I kept thinking “Ugh.. 150 acres of scrub brush and tumbleweeds 45 minutes to the nearest town, Hell NO!”  ✋🛑

[CalicoKitty]

1 hour ago, Joan of Argh said:

I’m fascinated with this whole thing.

I can’t imagine buying 150 acres of pine forest or whatever it is that she purchased at the age of 55 and thinking I’ll start busting ground and growing flowers.

Janelle doesn’t look like a picture of health to me, she’s been overweight for years and I’ve never seen her do anything as physical as farming plus Maddie is pregnant again.

Does this property have water, electricity?

It seems to me that she’ll need some type of farm machinery, tractor, trucks and where will she live while she pioneers this homestead? Does Janelle have the bankroll to finance an operation like this?

The whole idea makes my head spin! 😵‍💫

When Janelle and Maddie were viewing that acreage in Montana with the realtor I kept thinking “Ugh.. 150 acres of scrub brush and tumbleweeds 45 minutes to the nearest town, Hell NO!”  ✋🛑

Does she still have the RV?  Is it insulated so she can live it in the winter?

On 9/25/2024 at 6:52 PM, CalicoKitty said:

Maybe a seed farm?  There used to be one where I used to live.  Developers bought the land, and now it is a subdivision, but it was so pretty to drive by and see all the flowers growing in huge rows, all divided by color.  They would need a lot of employees to harvest the seeds, though, so maybe not.

 

[ginger90]

6 minutes ago, CalicoKitty said:

Does she still have the RV? 

Yes

[Absolom]

2 hours ago, Joan of Argh said:

When Janelle and Maddie were viewing that acreage in Montana with the realtor I kept thinking “Ugh.. 150 acres of scrub brush and tumbleweeds 45 minutes to the nearest town, Hell NO!”  ✋🛑

I'm right there with you.  I was going why?  Just buy a house in town and drive out to view the land when you feel the urge.

[BAForever]

15 hours ago, Absolom said:

I'm right there with you.  I was going why?  Just buy a house in town and drive out to view the land when you feel the urge.

I'm with you @Absolom. There's such a romance with rugged landscapes with these people. I love a mountain view, but all the work involved in building a home on a site like Coyote Pass or the Montana acreage  is staggering, expensive, time consuming, etc. I like Janelle, but she can be really dumb at times.

Edited October 5 by BAForever

[65mickey]

Janelle is a prime example of how not to handle  finances unless one's goal is to grow old and have zero retirement plans. She needs a financial advisor who will give her tough love and talk some sense into her. She has gone from one financial disaster to another. You would think after seeing it was going to be next to impossible for them to develop Coyote Pass she would not be investing money in more raw land. Janelle seems to be easily manipulated into jumping into risky get rich quick schemes. Remember how Kody convinced Janelle, Meri and Christine that it was time to take the equity out of their Vegas homes and move to a more expensive part of the country. Then convince  Meri and Janelle to give Robyn that equity so that she and Kody could buy a $890,000 home.  As far as Janelle doing any real physical labor on the farm I'll believe it when I see it. 

[Yeah No]

34 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

Janelle is a prime example of how not to handle  finances unless one's goal is to grow old and have zero retirement plans. She needs a financial advisor who will give her tough love and talk some sense into her. She has gone from one financial disaster to another. You would think after seeing it was going to be next to impossible for them to develop Coyote Pass she would not be investing money in more raw land. Janelle seems to be easily manipulated into jumping into risky get rich quick schemes. Remember how Kody convinced Janelle, Meri and Christine that it was time to take the equity out of their Vegas homes and move to a more expensive part of the country. Then convince  Meri and Janelle to give Robyn that equity so that she and Kody could buy a $890,000 home.  As far as Janelle doing any real physical labor on the farm I'll believe it when I see it. 

Yeah I don't see her doing any physical labor on this farm either. I'm honestly beginning to think that Janelle has a self destruct button. She picks THE least realistic ventures both from a logistical point of view and her ability to actually do the job well. Then when they inevitably fail she just moves on to another one without even acknowledging them ever again. She never learns and doesn't realize how it looks to other people. It's really starting to feel pathological to me and how many times can she do this and not completely ruin herself financially?

[GeeGolly]

How many backyard gardens did Janelle start? Half a dozen or so? And I believe she was only successful twice. Once at Garrison's and the other time at Maddie's. I get it, even small gardens take time and effort, so really Janelle has already shown gardens really aren't her thing.

Janelle should have just bought a home with some acreage and started small with a roadside stand. Then if it didn't happen she'd still have a nice piece of desirable property that could eventually be sold for a profit.

[65mickey]

I doubt that Janelle will ever have a house. She keeps taking what ever money she has and throws it away. First Coyote Pass, then giving the equity in her Vegas home to Robyn, then the RV and now on 156 acre raw land with no improvements to grow flowers. And this doesn't include her inheritance that she spent on the Lehi property or her retirement funds for the move to Vegas. I'll bet that the bulk of the money used to purchase this land came from Janelle not Maddie and Caleb. 

Having a paid for home in retirement is a great investment. I have a feeling like someone else said she is looking to live with Maddie and Caleb and her other children on a rotating basis. 

[ginger90]

6 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

156 acre raw land with no improvements to grow flowers

The only description I’ve seen of the property is it’s zoned as agricultural. Is there more of a description available somewhere?

[65mickey]

It was described this way in an article in The Sun arguably a questionable source but in this case I believe it is probably correct. Another source that I read referred to it as undeveloped land. 

Edited October 6 by 65mickey

[Pickleinthemiddle]

49 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

How many backyard gardens did Janelle start? Half a dozen or so? And I believe she was only successful twice. Once at Garrison's and the other time at Maddie's. I get it, even small gardens take time and effort, so really Janelle has already shown gardens really aren't her thing.

Janelle should have just bought a home with some acreage and started small with a roadside stand. Then if it didn't happen she'd still have a nice piece of desirable property that could eventually be sold for a profit.

Just from looking at the surrounding area.  This land still has timber that can be harvested at the right time.  So they will also have that for some earnings.  They wouldn't use the entire 156 acres for flower farming.  Doing a little research, a one acre farm could generate $30,000 in gross sales.  But flower farming is hard work.  Any type of small business farming is hard work.

  

[lookeyloo]

Maybe Janelle can spend her "dotage" living with her grown children on a rotation. That way she won't ever need her own house and she doesn't seem to mind not having a permanent residence. Some people find this a nifty way to handle old age. When and if she ever gets to the point of needing a nursing home there is the Medicaid ones and she won't have to spend down to qualify. Maybe that is her plan. I always said I wanted to become a burden to my children in my old age. Not really though. 

[65mickey]

1 hour ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

Any type of small business farming is hard work.

And you are the mercy of Mother Nature, droughts, hurricanes, floods and late cold snaps not to mention insects and pests. 

[Sasha888]

I agree with what you are all saying about the way Janelle spends money and runs from one thing to the next.

I will say this though - if this latest venture fails, she may lose what she invested in the flower business, but hopefully she would at least still have the land to sell before she moves on and licks her wounds yet again (provided she doesn't lose the land to the bank - which I suppose is a possibility, considering past choices).

It's at least an improvement over her decision to buy an 80 thousand dollar RV, and spend money to create a parking pad for it, on land that Kody could still lose by not paying it off, with no electricity, water, or sewer to hook it up to. Not to mention an RV holds its value like a cut banana.

Baby steps...

[65mickey]

Unless she uses the property as collateral to finance everything that is needed to get the flower farm up and running like expensive equipment and getting water out to the property. I mean you don't just go out there and throw some seeds in the ground and hope for the best.

[precious pupp]

It just seems like a huge, risky undertaking, considering the investment and time required.  

[Joan of Argh]

Remember when Janelle was going to put greenhouses on the coyote plague property and have a Farm to Table restaurant. 

meanwhile she was posting pictures of her meals, grey looking over cooked veggies served on cracked chipped plates.

I really don’t think she understands how mediocre, well actually how embarrassing it looked.

Remember the turnip or whatever it was that she had rolling around on her floors for a couple weeks that the dogs played with until Janelle decided to turn it into her supper or the grape tomatoes she found laying on the ground that were rotten but she was excited that she’d just found her lunch!  😂

I think Kody leaves the idea of a reconciliation with Janelle out there because he views her as a naive person who’s easily convinced to hand over her money.
                            

 

[LilyD]

7 hours ago, Joan of Argh said:

I think Kody leaves the idea of a reconciliation with Janelle out there because he views her as a naive person who’s easily convinced to hand over her money.

I'm afraid you're spot on with this observation. And if she doesn't hand over her money to the wrong person, she invests it throws it down the drain on some stupid or ill-considered business plan. 

I just don't understand how she's unable to learn from her past mistakes!