Janelle Brown: Smarter Than Your Average Brown (Maybe)

[SongbirdHollow]

I think she has a pretty good chance of success with this one. There’s a farm near me in Virginia that does pick your own flowers* and they are doing well. They also have a sunflower field and a corn maze in the fall. Special weekends with food trucks and music. A little farm shop with honey, jams and gifts. Photo ops. 

*how it works is they sell you the vase/container and lend you a pair of scissors. You wander the rows of flowers and create your own bouquet. People love it. Great for kids, dates, and Instagrammers. 

[Orcinus orca]

2 hours ago, SongbirdHollow said:

I think she has a pretty good chance of success with this one.

Except you have to clear fields, plant, weed, fertilize, water, and maintain.  And you are unlikely to get a cash crop in the first couple of years.  It might be great when you have things established but it takes time and a LOT of effort.

[65mickey]

It takes a lot of effort, hard work and money in addition to luck that a drought or hurricane won't come along and wipe out the entire crop. I looked up flower farms close to the area where I live. There were at least 4  pretty upscale operations with greenhouses and gift shops. The have flower arranging classes and events.  Most were built on developed land that had been in the family for years. All of this is to say that starting a flower farm does not just happen on a whim. 

[Absolom]

23 hours ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

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.

The flower farms and greenhouse operations are a labor of love not huge money making schemes.

[65mickey]

I wonder if Janell, Maddie and Caleb understand this.

Edited October 7 by 65mickey

[LilyD]

Quote

I wonder if Janell, Maddie and Caleb understand this.

Let’s see….. one has a very poor business record, doesn’t seem to be doing well with finances and seems to be traveling more than anything else. The other is already heavily pregnant with baby no4 and has 3 little ones, which includes two with special needs. That leaves Caleb to do the job. (Is he still working as an engineer btw?)

So, to answer your question: Nope!

Edited October 8 by LilyD
Forgot to add quote

[LotusFlower]

10 hours ago, LilyD said:

Let’s see….. one has a very poor business record, doesn’t seem to be doing well with finances and seems to be traveling more than anything else. The other is already heavily pregnant with baby no4 and has 3 little ones, which includes two with special needs. That leaves Caleb to do the job. (Is he still working as an engineer btw?)

So, to answer your question: Nope!

Sadly, I agree with this.  As for Caleb, isn’t he a plumber?  I could have sworn they moved to N.C. because he got a plumber’s apprenticeship there.  Am I making this up?

[Joan of Argh]

1 hour ago, LotusFlower said:

Sadly, I agree with this.  As for Caleb, isn’t he a plumber?  I could have sworn they moved to N.C. because he got a plumber’s apprenticeship there.  Am I making this up?

Caleb is an elevator mechanic 

[65mickey]

To me this endeavor makes about as much sense as buying an $80,000 Rv and planning on living in it without doing any research into how to set the Rv up and bring in water, power and heat let alone how to get it from the sales center to the property.  

[Meow Mix]

I certainly hope Caleb hasn't quit his job to do this full time.  As I understand it, elevator mechanics are in high demand.  Also, I think he had a union job which means very good benefits.  Given that Evie will probably need more medical procedures in the future, he would be a fool to throw that away.

[ginger90]

I doubt it very much he will be leaving his job.

[ginger90]

[Sasha888]

Jetting off to LA to stay in a beautiful hotel room and ordering room service actually does seem pretty glamorous to the millions of people who are struggling to buy groceries in this economy, Janelle.

If Janelle fails miserably at her flower farming venture, I'm going to find it hard to have any sympathy for her, due to tone deaf, out of touch posts like this.

[LotusFlower]

4 hours ago, Sasha888 said:

Jetting off to LA to stay in a beautiful hotel room and ordering room service actually does seem pretty glamorous to the millions of people who are struggling to buy groceries in this economy, Janelle.

If Janelle fails miserably at her flower farming venture, I'm going to find it hard to have any sympathy for her, due to tone deaf, out of touch posts like this.

Agree.  And I’m probably in the minority here, but I don’t understand posts like this.  You’re in a hotel room watching a rerun, eating a salad.  Who cares?  Why is that important to share?

It’s the part of social media that I hate.  The over-sharing. 
 

[BAForever]

1 hour ago, LotusFlower said:

  You’re in a hotel room watching a rerun, eating a salad.  Who cares?  Why is that important to share?

It’s the part of social media that I hate.  The over-sharing. 
 

Agree @LotusFlower!  Just like the ridiculous dummies from Little People Big World, when your livelihood depends on your presence on social media, this is what you do- post inane things. That must be exhausting knowing there's always a newer, younger, more ambitious "influencer" coming for your followers.  

[CalicoKitty]

2 hours ago, LotusFlower said:

Agree.  And I’m probably in the minority here, but I don’t understand posts like this.  You’re in a hotel room watching a rerun, eating a salad.  Who cares?  Why is that important to share?

It’s the part of social media that I hate.  The over-sharing. 
 

Precisely why I canceled Facebook and do not have any other accounts.  Who cares??

[ChristmasJones]

In terms of people like Janelle and Christine, who both sell MLM products (at least I think they both still do).... with folks like this, I think their "regular" social media posts are part of their need to draw eyeballs for their "business".    Janelle has never seemed comfortable being a self-promoter type - recall her photos of her meals while she was supposedly a health coach.  

 

[mythoughtis]

Janelle’s room service post didn't bother me.  I knew she was making fun of herself.  Here she was in a ‘glamorous’ city, but rather than out sightseeing- she was eating in front of the tv.  Just like she’d be doing at home.   

[ginger90]

[SunnyBeBe]

If the farm actually happens, I will go visit just out of curiosity.  I’m about 2 hours away.  

[Tuxcat]

On 10/27/2024 at 6:14 PM, SunnyBeBe said:

If the farm actually happens, I will go visit just out of curiosity.  I’m about 2 hours away.  

On a recent podcast she was asked about her plan and she said "flowers." When asked to elaborate she said "I don't know, we want people to be able to come, and yeah flowers, doesnt that sound nice? you know what I mean?  and I don't know, whatever that ends up looking like."

So it's gonna be awhile lol

[Orcinus orca]

5 hours ago, Tuxcat said:

On a recent podcast she was asked about her plan and she said "flowers." When asked to elaborate she said "I don't know, we want people to be able to come, and yeah flowers, doesnt that sound nice? you know what I mean?  and I don't know, whatever that ends up looking like."

So it's gonna be awhile lol

Solid business plan there, Janelle.  No possibility of it being anything but a huge success with that brilliant planning.

[Auntie Freeze]

It's an active logging area right now, isn't it? So there'll be some income from that while they work on... whatever.

[Elodia]

They're already selling "Taeda Farms" T-Shirts. And I think, this will be it. Merch of a farm with no flowers. I like Janelle, but I don't think there will be flowers one day. She won't follow through.

[ChristmasJones]

23 minutes ago, Elodia said:

And I think, this will be it. Merch of a farm with no flowers.

But will there be flowers on the t-shirts? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Elodia]

6 minutes ago, ChristmasJones said:

But will there be flowers on the t-shirts? Inquiring minds want to know.

They're growing flowers on tees.

[LilyD]

13 hours ago, Auntie Freeze said:

It's an active logging area right now, isn't it? So there'll be some income from that while they work on... whatever.

If it’s currently a logging area, it’s going to be a nightmare to change it into suitable and workable agricultural land! They may have taken down the trees for logging, but that still leaves all the roots underground. Trees often drain the soil from most valuable nutrition too.

It sounds almost like CP 2.0: Buying without thinking. 

 

[BAForever]

I'm really really really hoping that there is a business plan with local experts knowledge. I like Janelle and a successful business with kill Kody. But after the ill-planned Vegas and Flagstaff moves and the RV debacle, I'm not convinced Janelle is good at any of this. It's always possible that the show has paid more than any of us know, and she is flush with cash. Her recent living accommodations don't support that thought, but I'm hoping. 

[LilyD]

2 hours ago, BAForever said:

It's always possible that the show has paid more than any of us know, and she is flush with cash. Her recent living accommodations don't support that thought, but I'm hoping. 

I’m hoping that too.
Her living accommodations won’t give us much to go on, by the way. Janelle always seemed very money-conscious about spending money on rentals or houses. She said she didn’t need huge houses with 6+ bedrooms as her kids could share. Her Flagstaff rentals were also very modest, compared to Meri’s and Robyn’s.

[Chalby]

On 10/12/2024 at 4:59 PM, LotusFlower said:

It’s the part of social media that I hate.  The over-sharing. 
 

Exactly! And then there's the opposite end, involving "fake" outings or interactions that are nothing like their real lives, or never even happened.

Desperate times for anyone accustomed to social media or tv fame. Easy come and easy go for most. 

All of them will have a brutal wakeup call, once viewers/ fans jump the ship.

[Tdoc72]

The show is a year behind but do we even know what happened with Coyote Pass?  Did they pay it off?  Split it?  Lose it? 

[LilyD]

It was confirmed out here, that it had been paid off last year.

Having said that: I am currently rewatching the bit where Janelle is talking to Kody about paying off CP. Some of the things she said were pretty interesting:

" If we don't have the cash to pay it off we need to do some different financing

"If we can't do the balloon payment that's coming up in about 3 to 4 months, they can technically take the whole property back. We signed a really bad contract, we were not smart."

"I know I'm financeable...so I am thinking about taking on the debt"

The conclusions I draw from it: Yes, dodgy financing with another balloon payment construction.  No, they don't seem to have the cash (available at least) to pay it off and are looking at other means to finance the lot (again)

It awfully sounds like robbing Peter to pay Paul!

 

[65mickey]

So you think that Janelle might haven taken out a loan to pay off the ballon payment on Coyote Pass when Robyn and Kody own the lion's share of the property? If she did that she is dumber than I thought. 

[smarty]

15 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

So you think that Janelle might haven taken out a loan to pay off the ballon payment on Coyote Pass when Robyn and Kody own the lion's share of the property? If she did that she is dumber than I thought. 

I really hope she didn't have to pay it off all by herself.  They owed $292,400 on it, and at BEST Janelle's 1/4 share of the entire original purchase price of $820,000 would be $205,000.  Her legal 1/3 share of one plot (piece with her, Kody and Meri) plus 1/2 share of another (piece with just her and Kody) would only be $145,000.  Kody making Janelle figure out how to finance all that money when he stands to gain 75% of the land as it's legally titled is CRAZY and indicative of how he doesn't have their best interests at heart! 

[surfgirl]

Why would you think she'd do that? She's trying to get money out, not out money in. 

[65mickey]

8 hours ago, LilyD said:

If we don't have the cash to pay it off we need to do some different financing

"If we can't do the balloon payment that's coming up in about 3 to 4 months, they can technically take the whole property back. We signed a really bad contract, we were not smart."

"I know I'm financeable...so I am thinking about taking on the debt"

The last sentence is what she said to Kody.

Edited Friday at 10:03 PM by 65mickey

[Denize]

11 hours ago, surfgirl said:

Why would you think she'd do that? She's trying to get money out, not out money in. 

If they didn't pay it off, the previous owner would get the property back and Janelle would get $0.00.

[surfgirl]

3 hours ago, Denize said:

If they didn't pay it off, the previous owner would get the property back and Janelle would get $0.00.

Yes but I don't think she has that kind if money or access to it. She's got no collateral or anything other than a trailer. And she'd be a dope to bail those gridters out and I don't think she'd do that.

Edited Saturday at 09:01 AM by surfgirl

[65mickey]

She hasn't mentioned the RV in a long time. I hope to God she sold it. I wouldn't consider it an asset more like a money pit. Maybe before the season is over they will address how they paid off the property.   

 

[ginger90]

2 hours ago, 65mickey said:

She hasn't mentioned the RV in a long time. I hope to God she sold it. 

 

She recently posted about having someone move it for her. It’s something Garrison would have done for her.

[Gramto6]

5 hours ago, 65mickey said:

Maybe before the season is over they will address how they paid off the property.   

 

I wouldn't hold my breath on that one!! 

[Quickbeam]

On 10/8/2024 at 4:38 AM, LilyD said:

Let’s see….. one has a very poor business record, doesn’t seem to be doing well with finances and seems to be traveling more than anything else. The other is already heavily pregnant with baby no4 and has 3 little ones, which includes two with special needs. That leaves Caleb to do the job. (Is he still working as an engineer btw?)

So, to answer your question: Nope!

I know about Evie, which other child has issues? 

[BAForever]

4 minutes ago, Quickbeam said:

I know about Evie, which other child has issues? 

Her son Axel (?) was diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) at about 2. He had some delays attaining beginning language. Not sure how he's doing now. 

Edited Saturday at 08:30 PM by BAForever

[Quickbeam]

15 minutes ago, BAForever said:

Her son Axel (?) was diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) at about 2. He had some delays attaining beginning language. Not sure how he's doing now. 

Thanks! That’s a lot especially with #4 coming.