We were lucky to catch up with Caitlin Ackermann recently and have shared our conversation below.
Caitlin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers
In 2015, we had decided to work together full time. I had just graduated college, and the idea of getting a job with my graphic design degree was terrible. We had sold our Vermont maple syrup at farmers’ markets around Boston for a couple of years, but with winter around the corner and Massachusetts markets coming to a close, we didn’t know how we’d make money to survive. So we thought… what about Florida? The market season runs through the winter, and everyone loves real maple syrup, right? So we loaded a truck and trailer with maple products, crossed our fingers, and drove to The Sunshine State. We had literally pennies in our bank account, looming bills coming up, and prayed that the syrup would sell. If not, we’d be one of the many businesses that would fail in the first few years. The first week of markets were so bad, making only a fraction of what we needed to make in order to get by until after sugaring season in the spring. We sat on the Boca Grande beach with our heads in our hands, and tried to think of a new plan. Sell everything on Amazon? Go home to waitress and shovel roofs? Then, we found the right markets, and it started working. And it worked and worked and worked and we sold out of every single thing we brought down. 8 years later, we’ve found the best-of-the-best markets, we’ve made real relationships and have met SO many people, and truly love our second home in Florida.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
When Ian was 13, he got a job working for his neighbor making maple syrup. That’s where he learned everything he needed to know about sugaring, so when a sugarbush came up for sale in our home town, he knew he could turn it into a business. In 2012, at ages 19 and 24, we purchased 36 acres of 3,200 wildly growing sugar maples on a west sloping hill. After realizing that sugaring was our passion, we spent the next few years purchasing more land and maple trees until we reached 10,000 maple trees on 148 acres.
Because it seems like everyone makes their own syrup in Vermont, we began traveling to Massachusetts to sell our products at farmers’ markets. In 2015 after I graduated with my B.F.A. in Graphic Design, we took the plunge and went into business full-time together. We then came up with the idea to attend markets in Florida in the winter, and were able to grow our online store from all of the people we met on vacation. We realized that our love of maple syrup and traveling could go hand-in-hand, and the cherry on the top was that we got to meet so many people from around the country.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
When Ian was 22, he bought his first piece of land from his grandmother. We were so young and poor the only thing we could afford was a mobile home that we found on Craigslist for $3,000. We dragged that up into the woods, and lived in it without power and water for 2.5 years. It was so cold in the winter we would bring the mattress in the living room next to the wood stove to keep warm, and on the nights when the wind chill dipped to -40 degrees the water in the toilet would freeze solid. That was a rough couple of years. We were able to save up enough money for a down payment on a business loan through a company called Vermont Economic Development Authority. VEDA gives loans to people who write business plans proving they can make the payments with the money they make off the land, because they’re trying to keep small businesses and farmers in Vermont. Ian cut down the trees and milled the lumber to build the sugarhouse to save money, and we were able to buy a cheap evaporator to get by. With the initial land loan, we were able to keep buying land with maples on it, proving that we could indeed make more money, and pay the loans. When we first started this project we were so young, people assumed we had been given the business by our parents. It was actually Ian’s business oriented mind and VEDA that was able to get us started, and keep growing as the years went on.
Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?
This past year we decided to expand our business into other areas and diversify. We already burn wood to make maple syrup, so Ian thought it’d be a good idea to go into the firewood business. Luckily, two firewood businesses were for sale near us, so after looking at the equipment and number of firewood customers, we purchased them both. The equipment was quite old and needed a lot of work, but we’ll be able to get by with it for a few years before we upgrade. Because of this business, we were able to hire our first full time employee, so he splits firewood in the summer with the wood processor while Ian delivers it, and during the winter and spring sugaring season works in the woods. Along with the equipment came the client list, so Ian spent months calling customers to let them know we were taking over the businesses. In the end of this October 2023 we completed our first firewood season, and they split and delivered 986 cords of firewood for people to burn this winter.
Contact Info:
- Website: ackermannmaplefarm.com
- Instagram: @ackermannmaplefarm
- Facebook: Ackermann Maple Farm