The Worm Farming Alliance


NOTE: This post was originally written in January of 2011. Since I will continue to refer people to it (so they can learn more about the WFA) I’ll also be providing progress reports etc in the form of “updates” at the bottom.


The Worm Farming Alliance

Hi everyone – sorry for the lull in posts as of late. Hopefully this post will help to explain why I’ve been a wee bit preoccupied these last few weeks.

As you can probably guess (assuming you don’t already know), I’ve been working on a new website/membership called the “Worm Farming Alliance” (WFA). The main goal behind this new project is the creation of a top-notch information/opportunity resource for those people who are interested in entrepreneurial vermicomposting (and related fields). I know that a LOT of people are only interested in pursuing vermicomposting as a fun hobby (likely most of the RWC community, in fact), and that’s great – but there are certainly others who are keen to learn how they might go about starting up their own “worm business”, or further develop a business they’ve already established. This is a big part of why I wanted to put together a completely separate website.

I’ve been an entrepreneur at heart for most of my life – and have started up various small businesses over the years – but interestingly enough, I’ve steered well clear of any sort of vermicomposting business for most of the 11 years I’ve been a passionate “worm-head”. Why? Because I assumed it was the type of venture that required a lot of “land” (i.e. a country property), lots of expensive equipment, and LOT of pavement-pounding-go-get-em zeal – none of which I had, or could afford!

In spring of 2008 I finally decided to suspend my doubts/fears, and I started dabbling with my own small vermicomposting businesses (one that was mostly online, and another one firmly planted in the “real world”). While it certainly hasn’t all been a bed of roses (especially with the “real world” biz), I’m SO glad I ended up taking the plunge. It’s been a lot of fun, and has also provided me with an important source of revenue (helping me on my quest to stay free from “the man”! haha).

Initially, I assumed my worm businesses (primarily the “real world” one) would gradually take up more and more of my time, and end up as my primary “career” focus. What’s actually happened, though, is that I’ve been continually drawn back to my (mostly unpaid) work here at Red Worm Composting. Finally, it dawned on me that my “ultimate” vermicomposting business is NOT the creation of a large-scale, thriving “real world” enterprise, but rather a primarily-online business focused on educating/inspiring others. I won’t say that taking this road has been easy (it’s actually turned out to be a rather scary balancing act), BUT, as Robert Frost might say, it has indeed “made all the difference”!

OK – let’s talk some more about the Worm Farming Alliance!

There are five KEY areas the WFA will focus on: 1) Mentorship, 2) Education,
3) Collaboration, 4) Community, and 5) Advancement (that’s right, I’m hoping this will grow into something of a “MECCA” for entrepreneurial vermicomposters – haha).


MENTORSHIP – One of the best ways to become successful in any field is to find people who are doing what you want to do (and doing it WELL) and to learn from them! When I was just getting started with my own “real world” business I certainly could have used a LOT of help, but alas, I basically just had to figure things out for myself (character building for sure – but probably a LOT more frustrating than it needed to be).

Apart from providing a fair amount of mentoring myself, a lot of the more experienced WFA members will undoubtedly be assisting those who are just starting out.

—–

EDUCATION – Starting up this type of business requires two different (but equally important) forms of education. For starters, we need to educate OURSELVES – about vermicomposting (etc) and of course about setting up and operating a successful business enterprise. Secondly, this type of business tends to require that we spend a fair amount of time educating OTHERS as well. My aim is to not only provide members with top notch educational resources (such as the “Modern Worm Farming Video Course”), but also to help members educate others (via presentations, websites etc). Obviously members will be educating each other as well.

—–

COLLABORATION – One of the major points I try to hammer home in my “Modern Worm Farming” training is the importance of zoning in on our strengths/weaknesses/experience/passions when designing our “ultimate” business. A lot of entrepreneurs seem to take great pride in “wearing a lot of hats”, but the fact of the matter is that we are living in a world of increasing specialization. If you try to do EVERYTHING yourself, you’ll likely end up completely burned out and disheartended (been there, done that – bought the T-Shirt). There are ALWAYS going to be others out there doing some of what you are attempting to do, but with FAR more skill and passion!

I’ve accepted the fact that I won’t likely ever have the passion/skills to become a successful wholesale worm grower/seller – but that’s ok, because I know I can team up with others who ARE, and we can both benefit as a result (I’m big on educating/sharing/inspiring, so naturally I’m better suited for the promotional side of the equation)!
I am really looking forward to seeing what sort of strategic partnerships can arise as a result of the interactions among WFA members!

—–

COMMUNITY – One of the strange things about the vermicomposting industry is that there has never really been a successful group for professionals. Excellent forums like Vermicomposters and Worm Digest certainly indicate that the hobbyists have their acts together in this department, but for whatever reason it’s never really happened for the “pros”. That’s not to say that there hasn’t ever been a strong sense of “community” among those in the industry. During the mid to late 90’s there was actually a LOT of progress in this department – thanks in large part to the efforts of individuals like Mary Appelhof (who sadly passed away in 2005), Peter Bogdanov (who has basically moved on to other things) and Rhonda Sherman (who, thankfully, is still working hard to unite the community via her annual NCSU Worm Farming Conference). Strangely, much of that momentum seemed to subside in the years after Y2K (it’s a conspiracy, I tell ya!! haha).

There is significant strength in numbers, and a STRONG community of professionals can lead to…

—–

ADVANCEMENT – We (entrepreneurial types) all want to create a successful, deeply satisfying business enterprise, right? Well, we should ALSO be focusing on the big picture! Vermicomposting is still a relatively obscure (by mainstream standards) field of interest. Recruiting a LOT more new vermicomposters will not only be good news for the planet, but it will obviously be good for our “bottom-line” as well.


OK, so what’s the dealio, Bentley?!?!


(NOTE: Again – this was originally written quite some time ago. please be sure to also read the “UPDATE” section at the bottom of this post)

The Worm Farming Alliance will be officially launching shortly after I complete the Modern Worm Farming Video Course. It will be a monthly-subscription-based membership, likely starting at about $7-$10/mo (plus $47 as a one time payment for the course, which can be accessed regardless of whether or not you remain a member of the WFA). The membership itself is basically “ready” (although more content etc will certainly be added between now and the launch), so I’m really keen to kickstart the WFA community.

As such, I’ve come up with what I like to think is a pretty good deal for “Early Birds”. In a nutshell, I am offering life-time membership to the WFA (and all future resources added to it) for a one-time payment equivalent to the cost of the course itself – $47.
The trade-off, of course, is that you simply need to be a bit more patient than those who sign up after the launch.


Questions & Answers


1) Is the WFA an “official” vermicomposting (“worm growers” etc) association (i.e some sort of governing body)?


Absolutely NOT – while I certainly has some idealistic “big picture” plans (as touched on earlier), this might be more appropriately considered a sort of “private club”. That being said – it is also important to mention that the front half of the website (WFA blog, resources pages etc) will be completely accessible to the public. I’m not trying to create some sort of snobby, elitist group here (quite the opposite in fact) – nor am I hoarding information and only allowing those who pay to benefit. I’m pretty sure that my work here at Red Worm Composting provides enough evidence of the fact that I’m not that type of person.


2) Why does it cost money at all?


A LOT of time/energy/capital has gone into this project (and plenty more over time). It is also intended for those who are focused on and serious about various aspects of entrepreneurial vermicomposting (and/or similar fields), so creating a “barrier for entry” helps to ensure that we end up with people who REALLY want to be there, and who will make more of an effort to benefit from the resource.


3) What if I’m a total newbie and/or a hobbyist? Is this the right group for me?


If your goal is simply to have fun vermicomposting, to grow big plants etc, you will likely be better off sticking with public sites like Red Worm Composting and Vermicomposters. If on the other hand you have an interest in potentially starting up some sort of eco-business venture (or if you already have one), you want to learn how to build/promote websites, or you just generally have a keen interest to learn more about all of this, then you may want to take advantage of the lifetime-access opportunity. Bottom-line, I am certainly not trying to exclude anyone, BUT, this is definitely not just a general (hobby) vermicomposting membership.


4) What’s the difference between WFA and “Worm Farming Secrets” (WFS)?


I was hired in Spring of 2007 to write newsletters and a manual for WFS. I continued with the newsletter writing until early 2009 – SO, I am pretty familiar with that project (am in NO way associated with it now though). Although they got started with a membership site (still not sure why that was discontinued), all it is now is the newsletter list and the manual (which likely has not been updated or added to since it was released early in 2008).

Not to belittle that resource (especially since I put a lot of heart and soul into my work there), but the WFA will be absolutely nothing like it – other than the fact that “worm business” will be a prominent topic I guess. The Modern Worm Farming Video Course alone will be an incredibly valuable resource, and it’s just one part of the WFA.


5) What’s the difference between the WFA and the “Inner Circle”?


This project has gone through many different stages. I actually came up with the name (and purchased the domain name) back in 2007. I knew for sure that it was something I eventually wanted to put together, but at that time I still hadn’t even started up my own worm business. In the fall of 2009 I once again started thinking about the project, and ended up doing a small launch for those people who wanted to learn more about all this “Modern Worm Farming” (I didn’t actually have a name for it then) stuff that’s gradually been coming together in my noggin. My goal was to work closely with this group (they would almost be like a “beta testing group”) before launching the actual guide and Worm Farming Alliance membership in the spring of 2010. Well, long-story-short, things didn’t end up working out as planned (many different factors coming into play) and, while I DID provide the group with many e-mail lessons, a community forum etc, the actual course and WFA membership didn’t come to fruition.

The good news is that the IC group is being merged with the WFA (and many of them are already “inside”), and things are rolling along MUCH better this time around in general!
8)


6) How does “Worm Farming Alliance” tie in with “Modern Worm Farming”?


The two are closely tied together – and in fact, as mentioned, the MWF course will be found (once complete) inside the WFA. I think the main two parts (basically the course and the community forum) will serve to balance eachother out quite nicely. The course itself is based mostly on MY experiences and areas of interest/strength – so it won’t necessarily cover every “worm farming” topic that people might be expecting to see. The WFA community, on the other hand, will contain an incredibly diverse group of people, coming from a variety of backgrounds, and bringing something different to the table – so I think people will be able to get a very well-rounded education as a result!


7) Now that you’ve got your big-shot WFA to keep you busy, are you just going to abandon Red Worm Composting?


Not in a million years – quite the opposite in fact! Like I said earlier, this new direction I’ve been heading in has resulted in me trying to find a balance (between the overall “mission” – which includes a LOT more work on RWC – and revenue-generating work).

As the pieces of the puzzle continue to fall into place (various planned projects being launched etc), I know it’s going to be a lot easier to mellow out and get back into the really FUN stuff again (not to say there won’t be plenty of RWC posts added between now and then)!

SO…with ALL that being said, I guess there’s just one last question…

Who’s coming with me, man?! Who’s coming with me??
😆


UPDATE (Fall 2011): This year has turned out to be something of a slow ‘n’ steady “development year” for the Worm Farming Alliance. Getting this project off the ground has proven to be a substantial undertaking (can’t say I’m too surprised though). The KEY is that progress is being made, and all things considered I’m pretty pleased with the way things have been coming together (especially given the fact that this group started as an idle daydream in my head a few short years ago). We currently have more than 130 members and the forum (which was pretty quiet over the summer) has over 1100 posts – many of them demonstrating the fact that my idealistic notions about people sharing openly with one another were not all that far-fetched after all!

Since we’re still not QUITE where I want us to be for an “official” launch, I decided to put together a fall promotion – offering one final chance for people to secure “life-time access” memberships for the “Early Bird” price. You can learn more here:
WFA Fall Promotion

I have also put together a new mini-series for those wanting to get a taste for the sort of content that will be shared within the WFA:
7 Fun Ways to Make Money With Worms

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Comments

  1. lol. Your last couple questions reminded me of the scene from Jerry McGuire when Jerry is trying to rally support from his soon to be ex-coworkers at Sports Management International.

    All he leaves with is Dorothy and a goldfish.

    I’m not saying that is going to happen to you…lol.

    I’m in.

    Or should I say “you had me at…” Nah, I can’t go there. 😉

    • Bentley
    • January 26, 2011

    Good eye, John!
    The very last (non-numbered) question was indeed a tribute to Jerry McGuire, as well as the movie Half Baked (which features a funny version of that famous Jerry McGuire scene).
    JM is definitely a (fictional) hero of mine – every time I get all wrapped up in my crazy, idealistic ideas and rants I always think of him – and take solace in the fact that he ends up winning in the end!
    😆

    • Frank
    • January 27, 2011

    I am there!

    +Frank

    • brenda bowen
    • January 27, 2011

    I will follow you anywhere Bentley but I am not drinking your worm tea lol. Keep up the great work.B2

    • Jan
    • January 29, 2011

    A question, Bentley – we are new to vermicomposting, having just purchased our first order of worms from you. But we are gung ho and passionate about this – I’m looking down the road, and after we study and learn more would want to explore the business side of this. Dp the ecobusinesses which would branch out from vermicomposting involve the sale of worms, or the sale of castings – or both? Just curious what to expect and how to think about this.

    • Bentley
    • January 30, 2011

    Thanks Frank/Brenda! Great to have you both involved.

    JAN – really good question. Interestingly enough, I try to avoid recommending any one type of business – the big push is to get people to create something based on their own interests/strengths/experience. I think your best bet is to sign up for the worm business “mini-course” and see what you think of the material. If it resonates with you, by all means sign up for the WFA (and feel free to ask any questions that need answering along the way before then). We’d love to have you!
    Hope this helps
    8)

    Here is the mini-course page:
    https://www.redwormcomposting.com/modern-worm-farming-mini-course/

    • Brad
    • February 2, 2011

    Hey Bentley,
    Just signed up for pre order. Keep up the good work : )

    • Bentley
    • February 2, 2011

    Thanks Brad – I appreciate that!
    Great to have you on board
    8)

    • Penny
    • April 20, 2012

    So I apparently got involved in vermicomposting a bit late, tried to sign up for the early bird/ extended worm farming alliance but alas it was no longer available. Is there a link to sign up for a non early bird membership? I have been so exited about trying to have a small (possibly bigger than small) business involving my worms. My little worker worms and i have discussed their role in employment and we were all in agreement. They would work hard and multiply fruitfully and we would have a cool little business.
    Please email me a link when it is available. Thank you
    Penny and her worms.

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