Agritourism – Hugh McPherson

31 Dec 2024

Quote from The Rock – Beginning of the End Part 2

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Seasonal Business

His job is to be ripped. Our jobs are much different, but we often end up keeping similar hours. Watch the full post from The Rock above on IG. Hey Gang, Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a. The Rock, captures a focus on his way out of the gym in the post above. While quoting his friend, he says, "I don't HAVE to work out, I GET to..." Massive Thank You from me for your friendship, business, interactions, emails, calls, and texts throughout 2024. Working with you, for you, and beside you in business is an absolute pleasure. Agritourism is a big family. The society of…

28 Dec 2024

The beginning of the end – Part 1

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Seasonal Business

Writing down wins and frustrations makes directing your improvements for next year much easier. Hey Gang, It really hits me at the end of the year. It's that momentous feeling of time passing, of a cycle being completed, of one more crack at the bat, of a closing or ending. In our Fall-focused businesses, November is clean-up and recovery, December is recuperating and family time, and the week between Christmas and New Year's, for me, is reflection, so this blog is the "beginning of the end." Duke Ellington said, "I don't need time, I need a deadline." New Year's is an elegant…

14 Dec 2024

It was risky, but I tried it and made $1.61.

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Seasonal Business

Pictures of "The Roost" Hey Gang, It's the off-season for us "Fall-focused types" or hammer-down time for you Christmas tree people, but either way, it's time for the most exciting topic: Accounting! In my collegiate years, Accounting 101 at Penn State was one of the first televised courses, meaning it was a live video feed of the professor in some undisclosed location broadcasting old-school through wires to dozens of classrooms. Now, accounting might be one of the most boring classes, to begin with, AND it was remote (before that was ubiquitous, kids), AND it was, for me, HARD. At one point, I was…

29 May 2024

ALR report part 1 – Gritt’s Farm is a bunch of quitters.

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business

Strawberries, donuts, cinnamon rolls, sweet tea, and blueberry cake for a light, healthy mid-morning snack between sessions at Gritt's ALR. Many of us came to learn more about the food service and the Gritt's Team, led by Stevie, delivered. Hey Gang, At these kind of events you hear presenters going on about all the things they do, but Greg Huber took me aside on a NAFDMA bus tour and reminded me to ask, “What’s the story behind the story here?” The weather was picture-perfect for nearly all of our two-day, three-night NAFDMA ALR in Charleston & Buffalo, WV. We rolled in the…

19 Mar 2024

Overhead.

Agritourism, Employee Management, Family Business, Seasonal Business

Hey Gang, I've been feeling a bit hectic lately. Yes, even I get that hectic feeling. You know the feeling: too many projects, too little time, days slipping away as things are getting done, but you don't feel like things are moving forward. I'm a big list writer; I learned it from my Dad when I was young. As is typical for young people, I revolted against anything parental and stopped listing things out, writing things down, confident that I had so much talent I could "wing it." You can imagine the result. I "winged it" straight into a crash landing and quickly…

15 Jan 2024

Take your own advice.

Agritourism, Employee Management, Family Business, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business

Make your list, check it twice, but don't make too many resolutions - Even this list is too long! Take your own advice. I never think of myself as particularly swayed by remembrance, nostalgia, or special dates - I can eat birthday cake anytime within a week of my actual birthday, for instance. However, Christmas & New Year's Eve likely create the most profound internal feelings: a sense of momentousness. Christmas is my heartwarming family time. Kids are back from college; in the past, we'd created Christmas magic with Legos and stuffed animals. Family games and meals make it a cozy time…

02 Jan 2024

Part 4 – The “Day of” & “Post-Apocalypse.”

Agritourism, Employee Management, Family Business, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Seasonal Business

The 2023 Sunflower Festival Apocalypse before we hand-replanted... Not the best look! Below, the tent in mid-self-destruction. Part 4 - The "Day of" & "Post-Apocalypse." The last three weeks, we covered what we learned, discovered, and uncovered as the weather handed out an old-school rainy season over much of the upper Midwest to the mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast US. If you missed the other three blogs, take a few minutes to find and read them, as the process is sequential. We thought first about choices made "Years in Advance" regarding the very structure of our businesses to create a more stable operational…

26 Dec 2023

Part 3 – Pre-season Actions & Systems.

Agritourism, Employee Management, Family Business, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business

The light beam from the watch tower on a misty October night at Maize Quest. Part 3 - Pre-season Actions & Systems. The last two weeks, we covered what we learned, discovered, and uncovered as the weather handed out an old-school rainy season over much of the upper Midwest to the mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast US. If you missed the other two blogs, take a few minutes to find and read them, as the process is sequential. We thought first about choices made "Years in Advance" regarding the very structure of our businesses to create a more stable operational…

19 Dec 2023

Part 2 – Strategic & Pre-season, the first 4 of a dozen.

Agritourism, Family Business, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business

Our lavender festival brings guests and revenue into late June & early July which coincides purposefully with blueberry picking season. Part 2 - Strategic & Pre-season, the first 4 of a dozen. Last week, we started looking at how to plan for what turned out to be a rainy season (and for future rainy ones). We're breaking our planning & strategies out into five categories. Years in Advance Strategic Choices Pre-season Actions Day of Weather Event Post-apocalypse Today, we'll briefly review "Years in Advance" and then move through "Strategic Choices" & "Pre-Season Actions." Years in Advance. Some choices that enabled us to survive 2023's…

12 Dec 2023

Three lessons from a plain ol’ rainy season: Part 1 Year’s in Advance.

Agritourism, Family Business, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N8zACnXLdA The video above is "Time to wash the pumpkins" was our spoof on the old Dunkin Donuts commercial we made one rainy fall day years ago. Three lessons from a plain ol' rainy season: Part 1 Year's in Advance. It wasn't a disaster. Being hit by a tornado, hurricane, flood, or fire - is a disaster. It was a plain ol' rainy season, and it just kind of sucks. We aren't used to rainy seasons; our last one is back in 2018. The last one this pervasive was back in 2002. Measurable precipitation every weekend from Labor Day through Oct 27th, with the…