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What It's About
A carpenter and his partner find a way to level-up their hustle using mushrooms.
Business Model
Product
Skills Required
Foraging & Marketing
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
Medium
Words of Wisdom
If you're thinking about getting in on the "fun"-gi business, David and Shannon suggest, "begin with learning how to grow mushrooms for yourself. Learn as much on the front-end as possible, and focus on a simple process and focus on one area."
Fun Fact
The first Flow Hood they shipped to a customer arrived damaged. Since the item was so large, it wasn’t cost-effective for the customer to ship it back. The insurance claim was denied, which was very disappointing. They knew they had to make it right for the customer and in the end, the best solution was for David to fly to Ohio with his tools and fix it. Using frequent flyer miles, David flew to the customer’s house and fixed the equipment in person. It ended up being a relatively easy repair and the customer was thrilled. David got to make a new friend while building goodwill.
Notes from Chris
Episode 1003
Daavid Eberhardt is a man of many trades. A master carpenter by day and a forager of fungi by weekend, David enjoys learning about the process of creating, building, and discovering how things work. Through all of his studies, wild mushrooms have remained his favorite subject. A few years ago, he and his partner Shannon moved to Asheville, North Carolina. They were drawn to the nature of the area and soon learned that there is a large community of foragers and even a local Mushroom Club. David excitedly began learning more about the local mushrooms and even started growing them in bags all over the house. Soon, he and Shannon had more than they knew what to do with … and his stock was taking up "mush"-room in their house. He began making various extracts to share with family and friends. Friends loved that they could use the extracts for medical benefit without having to eat a whole pile of mushrooms. The friends encouraged David and Shannon to sell them, so they took their advice and began bottling and labeling extracts. They didn’t have a plan to do much besides offer these organic treats organically—but soon they began receiving repeat orders and decided there was something bigger growing under the surface. It was also around that time that the term “functional mushroom” began showing up in mainstream media. People were catching on to the health benefits. Whole Foods released an article about medicinal mushrooms being a top food trend in 2018. That article mentioned that the only limitation was supply. It was all Shannon needed to hear. She immediately showed it to David and encouraged him to expand his mushroom farm. Together they were able to forage a side hustle, naming it Phenomenal Fungi. David handles all things mushroom while Shannon handles the website and sales. They began by selling edible mushrooms to restaurants and the extracts at local farmers markets. The extracts became a big hit among locals. They contained health benefits to boost the immune systems and act as a natural antibiotic. Some of the extracts are even being used with cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and people who experience dementia. David has also been playing around with a mushroom that can be used as a natural pest control. Sales have been a bit spore-adic since launching Phenomenal Fungi in September 2018. In January they decided to create an Etsy store to reach a wider audience, where David began selling equipment like flow hoods (a piece of equipment that allows mycologists (people who study fungi) to work with cultures in sterile airflow). Their advice for anyone wanting to forage a similar side hustle is to start simple and focus on one sales channel. When they launched Phenomenal Fungi they created a Shopify store and Etsy shop. While this works for them today, it was a lot to keep up with two different sites in the beginning—it was more than a little truffle. If they could go back, they would have started with one site, refined it, and expanded when that one was running smoothly. In the future, David plans to share his knowledge through online courses for others wanting to learn about growing mushrooms. They’re also looking to expand their production to include more species of mushrooms and a larger variety of extracts.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Phenomenal Fungi: Whether you're looking to grown your own or try their mushroom extracts, check out Shannon and David's website.
- Etsy Store - Phenomenal Fungi: You can find and learn more about the flow hood that they sale at their Etsy store.
- UShip: Have a big product you need help shipping? This is the company that David and Shannon use for their larger orders.
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Quote of the Day
"Learn as much on the front-end as possible, and focus on a simple process and focus on one area."
—David Eberhardt and Shannon Barrett #SideHustleSchool
