Heather Coiner and Ben Stowe own Little Creek Hat Farm in rural Roseland, Virginia. Sitting in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the farm produces vegetables, breads and baked goods that it sells via farmers markets throughout central Virginia. Even before getting married and moving to Virginia, the couple had discussed going into business together. Ben had considerable vegetable farming experience and Heather had run a bicycle-delivered bread subscription program in Toronto, Canada. Heather notes, “from the very beginning, we wanted bread and vegetables to be hand in hand… we were really clear on the products we wanted to focus on.” The couple started the business in 2013, renting land from an already operable farm. Heather and Ben immediately slipped into the previous farmer’s spot at three different farmers markets and were immediately able to earn a weekly income. Their start-up costs were low, but they were paying rent on much of their equipment. Slowly, they began... Read More