Today we’d like to introduce you to Yohan Kim.
Hi Yohan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I quit my full time job as a CPA in January of this year to pursue mushroom farming. People are surprised when they hear about how I abandoned a relatively stable job to try this but mushroom farming is actually a somewhat established business model! People start growing mushrooms in a relatively small space (say 500 square feet) and selling at local farmers markets. If you get into a couple decent markets and aren’t horrible at growing, you can survive and even expand. Of course, more farms fail than not but that’s business for you.
As a Christian, this opportunity seems to have been an answered prayer from God because it fit the intersection of all my life’s desires so well.
There were three main reasons why this path appealed to me and all are individually important to me. First, as a CPA in tax, I would sit at my desk for 8.hours a day or up to 12 during the business of tax season (in spring and in the fall). I really wanted to be at a job where I could be more active throughout the day and do more hands on dirty work (yes, I don’t mind cleaning!!) Second, as someone who’s suffered from mood swings and other health ailments, food and nutrition is an area of life that I am deeply passionate about. I really loved the idea of diving deeper into food production and agriculture in some way and mushroom farming continues to develop my knowledge base in that area. Third, I wanted to be able to throw myself into my work and be my own boss. It has certainly been challenging up to this point and I am yet to break even and get to the point of self-sustainability but I am thankful for this opportunity to try to make it work.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Overall, I would say that God has really opened doors for me in this area and I have been able to acclimate myself to the process of growing mushrooms and selling them with relative ease. Of course, I am not selling huge volumes or making a ton of money but expertise and professionalism comes with time.
I would say the biggest challenges of being a mushroom farmer are just that of any other small business owner. It takes up all of my time constantly thinking about the production process and selling process. And because of the atypical hours (Saturday mornings are market days and always work days), my schedule is a bit misaligned with my 9-5-er friends, so it can be a bit isolating.
Another challenge is also dealing with the uncertainty of it all! Again, I’m still not at the stage of self-sustainability and am drawing from saving reserves and family support so not knowing what is going to happen in the near or distant future is sometimes anxiety inducing. However, I’m all the way in to the last dollar and am confident that things will work out one way or another.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Bmore spore?
We grow and sell gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. For now, I specialize in growing lions mane and oyster mushrooms, which are both delicious mushrooms! I also sell lions mane powder, which is good for the gut system and immune system and supposedly helps nerve regeneration in the brain and body (ericanenes and heriocenenes are the active compounds).
I would say being a local supplier based in the city allows me to serve extremely fresh produce delivered sometimes on the same day as the harvest date. I pride myself on being a life-time learner and being meticulous about every step of the production cycle all the way to the customers doorsteps be it at a farmers market or restaurant.
More so than anything else, I would like the readers to know that there is a local farm growing gourmet mushrooms right in the heart of the city! Pigtown! And while I currently only grow lions mane and oyster mushrooms, I hope to expand to a variety of other ones like king oyster/trumpet, shiitake, maitake, nameko, enoki, etc.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I have had an incredible cast of people who have helped me along the way with verbal support or support. Definitely huge shout out to my family who have been supporting me financially.
I had one early business adviser, Kerry Messmer, who guided my beginning steps, and encouraged me to think through various opportunities at an early stage. She was an amazing sounding board and gave me lots of advice concerning product development, farmers market selling, and cautioning on partnerships with others.
I also had an elderly gentleman at church, who upon hearing what I did, invited me out to lunch to hear more and invited me to a Christian business club where I could hear from more experienced business men.
Of course, I have also been encouraged by various friends who acted as initial sales people on my behalf and helped/visited me at the farmers markets. I would not have gotten even this far without the superbly encouraging people around me who have been cheering me on. Looking back as I answer this question, I have been undoubtedly highly supported by most I meet.
Pricing:
- lions mane – 10/lb retail
- oyster – 10/lb retail
- lions mane (40 g dry) – $18
- lions mane (10 g dry) – $10
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bmorespore.com
- Youtube: @bmorespore
