Farmbase win came at just the right time
Starting a business doesn’t just require a great idea, it calls for a raft of skills you don’t necessarily have when you start out, which is why Carly Waddleton says winning Shop Local earlier this year was a gamechanger.
Waddleton and co-founder Elena Soanes are the brains behind Christchurch-based Farmbase, a website that provides farmers with details of the rules and regulations that apply to their properties, alongside a directory of rural professionals who can advise and help with projects and compliance.
Farmbase was the Canterbury winner of
2degrees’ Shop Local campaign, of which Stuff is a partner. Shop Local supports local businesses by giving them the chance to win a helping hand with marketing and advertising packages worth $20,000.
Waddleton says the win came at just at the right time for the business, which was officially launched at Fieldays in June.
‘‘As a small business, it was great to suddenly have the door opened to all this shared experience. Everyone at
2degrees has been so open to sharing their knowledge with us. They have given us insights into our markets and helped clarify the direction we are going in. Beyond the money, it’s been incredible,’’ she says.
‘‘Neither Elena or I are marketing or advertising people, we started Farmbase because we care about what’s happening in the rural sector. But suddenly when you own a business, you have to become experts in all these other areas.
‘‘Having this support from the Shop Local campaign has propelled us forward at a much faster speed that we could have otherwise.’’
That new perspective has helped the pair, who both come from a regional council background, tweak their original concept for the business following the launch. Initially, the platform was free for farmers with rural professionals paying a monthly subscription fee.
But they’ve now made it entirely free, moving to a sponsorship and partnership model instead.
‘‘When we were at Fieldays we saw how hard the rural sector and businesses have been hit recently. Not just by Covid, but by supply chain issues, increased regulations, and staff shortages. We really think it’s the right thing to do.’’
Waddleton says the amount of interest they’ve had in their site since the launch has been encouraging, with plenty of positive responses to the way Farmbase aims to make life easier for farmers.
‘‘As anyone in the farming industry knows, there are national regulations and rules, industry best practice standards and regional variations – navigating all that isn’t easy,’’ she says.
‘‘That’s one of the things we are really proud of, we saw a problem and we’ve gone in boots and all to try and solve it.’’
Her advice for other new businesses? Get your entry in for the current 2degrees Shop Local campaign running now.
‘‘It’s a huge opportunity for growth,’’ she says.
‘‘As a small business, it was great to suddenly have the door opened to all this shared experience.’’