While the presentation will focus on plant propagation for a profit from a small/backyard nursery stand point if you want a successful permaculture business you will want to attend this talk. Within permaculture perennial plants represent an extreme expense and an incredible opportunity. In this 60 minute presentation Jack Spirko will bring his 20 years of business management, marketing, technology and sales experience to the plant propagation niche. In this presentation you will learn… -The 4 “abilities” of any successful business -Why story based marketing is critical to small business success -How a 4×8 bed can produce a minimum of 15,000 dollars in plants -Exploiting niches and creating markets in the plant propagation world -Two critical things every successful business must create to survive -The concept of selling appreciating assets and how to clearly market that -Knowing what to produce and what to resell and how to transition between the two -Developing local markets with simple tactics and low cost marketing -Understanding the larger national/international opportunity Learn more at permaculturevoices.com.

1. Building a Successful Plant Propagation BusinessBuilding a Successful Plant Propagation Business
Presented by Jack Spirko, CEO PermaEthos, LLC
The Two most Important Definitions a Business Owner Can Know
• Marketing - exposure to a belief
• Sales – transfer of belief
These are what we call, absolute definitions, commit
them to memory.

2. The Guy Who Should beThe Guy Who Should be
Giving this TalkGiving this Talk
Nick Ferguson,
“Propagation Specialist”
He Propagates More than
Just Plants!

3. All Successful Businesses have AbilitiesAll Successful Businesses have Abilities
There are many but these 6 are critical to success
• MarketABILITY – the ability to tell your story
• ReferABILITY – the ability for others to tell your story
• ProfitABILITY – the ability to yield a surplus
• RepeatABILITY – the ability to sell to a customer many times
• AdaptABILITY – the ability to evolve and be sustained
• ScaleABILITY – the ability to grow sufficiently
The Plant Business Has These In SpadesThe Plant Business Has These In Spades

4. An Example of a Story that Sells a PlantAn Example of a Story that Sells a Plant
The Phoenix Tears Goji – A True Story – The Best Always
Are
• Chinese workers on the transcontinental RR brought them to America
• Found on a Ranch in Utah in the Sinks of Dove Creek
• Survived and Self Propagated for 160 Years
• Tested and confirmed to have some of the highest nutrients percentages
• The individual that found them makes 40K a year on a 80 foot row of them
• But you have to pay him a royalty to tell his story and sell his version
• However most of this story applies to all Goji Berries

5. To Put Things in PerspectiveTo Put Things in Perspective
Goji Soft Wood Cutting Simply Stuck in Wet Soil for 5 Days

6. The Layout of our FarmsteadThe Layout of our Farmstead

7. An Orchard that Fuels a NurseryAn Orchard that Fuels a Nursery

8. Bitter Sharp
• Brabant de Bellefleur
• Cap of Liberty
• Dufflin
• Foxwhelp
• Golden Hornet
Sharp
• Court Pendu Rose
• Crimson King
• Esopus Spitzenburg
• Harrison
• Northern Spy
• Rhode Island Greenling
• Ribston Pippin
• Zabergau Reinette
• Sugarloaf Pippin
• Hyslop Crab
Cider Apples Going into this NurseryCider Apples Going into this Nursery
Bitter Sweets
• Brown Thorn
• Bulmers Norman
• Chisel Jersey
• Cimitiere
• Coat Jersey
• Dabinette
• Ellis Bitter
• Medaile D Or
• Muscadet de Deippe
• Muscadet des Lense
• Vilberie
• Yarlington Mill
• Nehou
Sweets
• Airlie Red Flesh
• Pomme Gris
• Cannon Pearmain
• Goldrush
• Grimes Golden
• Mother
• Nelson County Crab
• Roxberry Russet
• Smith’s Cider
• Sierra Beauty
• Virginia Beauty
• Virginia (Hewes) Crab
• Wickson Crab
• Whitney Crab
• Yates
• Yellow Bellflower

9. • Scion Wood
• Blackberry Cuttings/Layers
• Designer Autumn Olive/Goumi Cuttings
• Southern Wine Grape Cuttings/Scion
• Goji (cuttings)
• Aronia (cuttings)
• Elders (cuttings)
Nursery Products of this OrchardNursery Products of this Orchard
• Herb Roots/Cuttings/Divisions
• Comfrey
• Valerian
• Echinacea
• Bee Balm
• Lemon Balm
• Stone Root
• Blood Root
• Dream Root

10. Primary Methods of PropagaionPrimary Methods of Propagaion
• Hard wood cuttings
• Soft wood cuttings (intermittent mist)
• Propagation from seed
• Grafting
• Layering
• Division
All but one of these are simply different methods of cloning!

11. • We are first a permaculture demo site and homestead producing
food, medicine, animal products and providing a place to learn.
• We are second a small farm producing duck eggs
• We are third a plant producer / nursery
• Why?
• We love to practice and teach permaculture
• We desire to produce our own food
• The ducks create a customer base
• We believe in the local food movement BIG TIME!
• Growing plants becomes like printing money
• We can propagate more than we can ever plant
Our System ExplainedOur System Explained

12. • 16 foot work/planting/grafting bench, constructed of Trex and an Outdoor Sink
• Two seedling beds and two intermittent misting beds (capacity 30,000+ plants)
• Two 1500 gallon poly tanks with rain catchment
• Surflo pump with filtration to provide mist and irrigation pressure
• Located with filtered morning shade on the east side of an out building
• Large grow out area to be mulched with cedar mulch
• Total area is roughly 600-700 square feet, room to put in more beds if we desire
• 6 bed veggie garden, with irrigation can be converted to propagation at any time
Our Initial Nursery Set upOur Initial Nursery Set up

13. Our Initial Nursery Set upOur Initial Nursery Set up

14. Our Initial Nursery Set upOur Initial Nursery Set up

15. Our Initial Nursery Set upOur Initial Nursery Set up

16. Our Initial Nursery Set upOur Initial Nursery Set up

17. Forget Selling for a Minute – What if you wanted to full on plant a 1 acre
permaculture food forest, and get it planted in one season, what would it cost
you?
Understanding the MoneyUnderstanding the Money
Plant Type Count Price Ea. Total USD Time Each Mins. Tot. Hrs.
Trees 255 25 $6375.00 5 1275 21.25
Support Sp 675 3 $2,025.00 2 1350 22.5
Bushes 450 20 $9,000.00 5 2250 37.5
Vines 25 20 $500.00 3 75 1.25
Herbacious 450 5 $2,250.00 2 900 15
Seed $600.00
This gives us a total of $20,750.00 less a hard seed cost of $600.00 so
a final plant cost of $20,150.00 divided by 97.5 hours yields a return of
$206.00 an hour you pay yourself to plant a food forest!

18. • Specialize in something
• A website is NOT a business – Hardest Worker!
• Develop compelling stories about what you sell
• Focus on “the market” not the “permaculture market”
• Don’t try to emulate me or anyone, BE what YOU are
• Develop your skills, develop your knowledge
• Consider the house flipping model, (buy, improve, sell)
• Become a local expert
• Share your knowledge until you are told to shut up, then shut up
• Never apologize for your price
• Get started, make plants, I don’t care how once you start it is addictive
• Spread the addiction
What I Would RecommendWhat I Would Recommend

19. • Timing
• Tools
• Diseases and Pests
• Disease Prevention
• Growing Medium
• Intermittent mist
• Site and Cost Assessment
• Propagation Methods Including
Consider Our Plant Propagation CourseConsider Our Plant Propagation Course
• Seed
• Cuttings
• Division
• Root Cuttings
• Layering
• Grafting
In short our course provides
everything you need to know to
set up and start propagating
plants now.
To get a things running for direct
sale or propagation for your own
site.
Instructor Nick Ferguson has
been in the horticulture business
since the age of 12! Over 20
years!
Cost – $350.00
Use Discount Code
“pv2ppc2015” for 25.00 off for
the next 30 days

20. • The Big News – PermEthos in
Conjunction with Mark Shepard's RAD
are developing one of the largest
Permaculture/Restoration Agriculture
farms ever developed.
How Much Opportunity is There?How Much Opportunity is There?

Alcoa Aluminum in Arkansas

1400 Acres

100 Acre Research/Ed Facility

Pecan and Chesnut Overstory

Apple Understory

Alley Cropping – Aronia/Elders

Holistic Grazing Management
The Planting Requirements on
this ONE Project Show How
much work needs to be done.

Pecans – 11,000

Chestnut – 1,200

Honey Locust 2,800

Aronia – 28,000

Elders – 57,000

Total Plants – 100,000+
Again this is ONE project for
ONE customer!

21. • 8MB USB Titanium USB Drive Contains the Following
• This presentation with expanded content
• Building a Permaculture Business (From PV1)
• Episodes 1-20 of The Duck Chronicles
• $50.00 off our plant propagation course
• $100.00 off our online PDC (a big bonus coming)
• 20 dollars off my MSB program (will not expire)
• 40 of the Best TSP Podcasts of all Time
• Six part series on food forest design
• Four awesome Geoff Lawton Interviews
• 3 Additional Presentations
• Power point decks for all 5 presentations
• Full explanation of my site design plan
• Some other cool stuff

22. Building a Successful Plant Propagation BusinessBuilding a Successful Plant Propagation Business
Presented by Jack Spirko, CEO PermaEthos, LLC
To learn more visit:
www.PermaEthos.com
www.TheSurvivalPodcast.com
www.DuckChronicles.com
Find Cool Stuff at:
TheSurvivalPodcast.com/permaculture
Social Media:
Facebook- FaceBook.com/survivalpodcast
Twitter - Twitter.com/TheSurvivalPodc
YouTube - YouTube.com/survivalpodcasting
“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the
cultivation and perfection of human beings.” ~ Masanobu Fukuoka.