Success Stories

 
POLLY CREECH
FLOWER FARMER

Former numbers cruncher now digging the farm lifeStory and photos by Trudy Sharp, RSC public information officer

Creech moved to Athens for a job 16 years ago, after completing her degree from the Ohio University branch campus in her native Portsmouth. Development near her home was increasing traffic, so she started looking for property in the country about five years ago. The perfect 10 acres was in nearby Albany. "Places with good soil can be hard to find. The really heavy clay is impossible to grow things in and it takes years to improve it. I found this place in January of 2000. Every 50 feet I put the shovel in and turned it over and it was good. I was thrilled!"

Traffic noise may have instigated her address change, but it was health issues that caused her to seek a new career. "I was doing fiscal administration for a behavioral health care nonprofit. Due to the stress on the job and the resulting disabilities, I decided to make a life change. I knew it would take a couple of years and I was still going to continue to work. That first year, I found this place, which was rented at the time, but I could start making plans."

Creech was experiencing severe muscle-pain, loss of strength and dizziness. "I was in slow, painful, walking-through-water motion all the time," she explained. Her long-time doctor diagnosed depression. "I'd tell him how if I stooped over I couldn't get back up. He kept wanting to give me higher doses of antidepressants. I would take them and be a zombie, more lethargic and gaining weight. Obviously, that wasn't helping and I got worse. I went from full-time work to part-time because I simply physically couldn't do it."

A self-described "disciplined, type-A" personality, Creech kept pushing herself. "Pretty soon there just wasn't anything left. I was basically bedridden for about nine months. There were days that I probably slept 16 or 18 hours. Then I'd get up, walk to the mailbox and be exhausted. It was the most physically and emotionally challenging thing that I'd ever faced."

Creech saw a newspaper ad announcing a new doctor in the area. "It said he was open to working with people who wanted to be highly involved in their own care and willing to try non-traditional therapies," she remembered. "He's an M.D., but sounded more open-minded. I took a list of questions to see if he could diagnose my symptoms."

Dr. Robert Godfried performed tests that confirmed several stress-related conditions. "I had chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome. We also identified an overgrowth of Candida yeast in my intestinal tract that was contributing to the seriousness of a lot of the symptoms. The depression was real; it just wasn't the only thing. I was still working part time and finally came to terms with the fact that I needed to go on disability and take care of myself."

She referred herself to RSC in 1999. "I knew about the agency and the services it provided," she said. "I knew I didn't want to be unable to support myself."

Athens Counselor Cindy Hatton remembers the early visits with Creech: "At first, the issues she was dealing with were accommodations by the employer. She asked for permission to work some hours at home. However, the employer wouldn't approve that."

"It was like a kick in the face big time," Creech recalls. "I couldn't function well enough to take on a new job - I knew that - but I was beginning to acknowledge that I needed to find something different to do."

After 15 years, Creech had a lot invested, so she tried to keep her job and work through her issues with Hatton's help. "I took nine months off and then went back to work full time, but it was too much after about six weeks. I was getting really weak again so I went back to part time."

In discussions with Hatton, Creech mentioned an interest in working with flowers and being self-employed. "I told her about EnterpriseWorks and we took off in that direction," said Hatton. EnterpriseWorks is an entrepreneurship program that involves classroom instruction, market analysis and completion of a business plan. The first class basically talks people out of becoming self-employed. ("Thank God it works!" emphasized Hatton).

In Creech's case, an assessment showed that she had what it takes to be her own boss. "Of about 50 questions, I answered 48 of them that I'd be a good entrepreneur," Creech said. "It was like a light bulb coming on." She told instructor Jackie LeBerth, "I think I qualify!"

"We're not easy on them in that class," states LeBerth, regional coordinator for EnterpriseWorks. "We try to say in the most upfront, honest-to-the-point-of-brutality terms this is what it's like to be self-employed. I'd rather know you're making an informed decision if you decide to move forward."

While she was still working, RSC paid for Creech to attend additional EnterpriseWorks classes that helped her develop a business plan. Hatton and LeBerth remember Creech's attention to detail.

"Polly had all of the financials under control," LeBerth recalled. "Cindy will remember when she came in with a production schedule. She had it down to the minute. She'd listed all the seeds she planned to buy, when she'd plant them, how they'd be spaced, how many days to germinate, the temperatures it would take and when they'd produce." Hatton and LeBerth can kid Creech about the 17-page report now, but they know it's those details that will make her successful.

The farm began operation during spring 2002 and is now Creech's livelihood. "I grow a variety of flowers - things that bloom in early spring and all through the season up until frost. I try to have a crop that's in really peak condition all through that time," she said, explaining her business strategy. "The first year, I did about 95 percent annuals because that was the only way I could get blooms to sell. Last fall and spring, I put in a lot of perennials which will continue to provide flowers with less maintenance."

A little more than one of her 10 acres is planted so far. "I think that I'll keep it about the same for the next year or two," said Creech. "It's plenty of flowers and I want to focus on developing my marketing to sell every stem that I grow. I take a big load of flowers to the Athens Farmer's Market every Saturday. I grow flowers that can be used fresh or dried. That gives me a wider option of what to do with each bloom."

Creech's wreaths and bouquets are displayed in local restaurants and at galleries in surrounding towns. She's developed working relationships with several area florists and is gaining a reputation for quality products. "Most of my wedding orders are from people who see my booth at the farmer's market. They look at the various flower booths and come back to me and say they like my flowers the best!"

LeBerth pushes Creech on the importance of marketing, "because if you don't have customers, you just have a very nice hobby." However, she doesn't have to convince her to charge a fair price for what she does. "People struggle with that. Polly understands that if she wants this to be her livelihood, she has to charge money."

One of Creech's sunflowers will cost $2 at the farmer's market. When a woman questioned her price, she replied, "I see your point that it could seem expensive, but they last seven to 10 days and they're not going to shed all over your table. Although you think the price is too high, this bucket of sunflowers will sell today."

Creech's business is thriving, despite a start-up that exemplifies how erratic farming can be - year one was dry and year two "was the wettest season since the 1800s. If I can get through these two, a normal year might just be easy! A lot of flowers rotted in the field. Some of them never got planted. I probably composted 5,000 plants," Creech lamented. "I just acknowledged that they weren't going to make it."

"That's one reason that Polly's successful at this," said LeBerth. "She's already established a reputation for unusual flowers with very vibrant colors and staying power. So if she tried to peddle something less than top notch, she would hurt herself in the long run. It took a lot of self-discipline to yank them out and compost them."

To shore up her plan for such inevitabilities, Creech is diversifying. She learned about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education grants of up to $6,000 to individual farmers who are doing something innovative and replicable. With support from the local extension service, she proposed constructing a shrimp pond. Creech received the grant, built the pond and loaded it with 5,000 Malaysian River shrimp in June 2003. She takes shrimp orders at her farmer's market booth - $12 a pound. The pond should eventually produce 450 pounds per year, Creech estimates.

According to LeBerth, niche market crops are the wave of the future and a good bet for Creech. "If she doesn't do as well on her flowers, the shrimp can pick up the slack. If she loses some shrimp, then she has a banner year with a flower that flourishes."

It's Creech that's flourishing now, and she believes that the nurturing she received from Hatton and LeBerth is why. "Jackie kept me focused on my business plan, and helped me understand the importance of networking and supporting other small businesses. Cindy inspired me to pick up the pieces a little at a time and start the process of putting my life back together. She helped me cope with my 'invisible' disability and transform the  sense of betrayal I felt from my company into a sense of hope."

Creech also credits Dr. Godfried. "He encouraged me to make lifestyle changes that would support my long-term recovery and to understand that until I did, he could treat the symptoms of my ailments but the cause of those symptoms would still be present.

"It's been a long process involving decisions that were once too gut-wrenching for me to consider, but now that I've made the transition to a lower-stress lifestyle, I can appreciate the wisdom of his advice."

Polly Creech has turned her face to the sun and is ready to bloom.