and president of Snow’s Garden Center in Belmont and his new venture The Blue Ridge Farm in Nelson County. The area is blessed with an abundance of gorgeous scenery, rolling grass and mountain views that more and more entrepreneurs want to enjoy, though not without consideration of the terrain’s demands and desires. Sharon Merrick, REALTOR® with Roy Wheeler Realty Co., explains as well that “many people want privacy, but they don’t want to be too remote. Many are relocating from densely populated areas where they’ve lived in subdivisions or tight quarters.”
FEBRUARY 12 - FEBRUARY 18, 2020 ISSUE 2906
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Marketing
COMMUNITY
Ventures in the Countryside:
A Rural Entrepreneur’s Guidebook
CAAR REAL ESTATE WEEKLY WWW.CAAR.COM
T
here are many considerations when starting any business, and for rural entrepreneurs there is a laundry list of practical concerns both unique and familiar. Is there a local labor pool large enough to support the venture? What does access to resources such as internet and transportation look like? Will potential customers be willing to make the hike for the offered services?
Country Benefits The most auspicious time to reach out to businesses making their way in the countryside may not have been during the first snow of the season. For many, state maintenance ends before their property lines begin, meaning they are on their own when it comes to inclement weather. The tradeoff though? “When I’m out there I feel like I’m on vacation,” says Corbin Snow, owner
BY EMILY CURRIER
When Snow began looking for an additional location for his family-founded business, he started in Charlottesville and Albemarle County before he discovered a property on Route 151, also known as the Brewridge Trail due to the bountiful numbers of breweries, wineries, and distilleries along the corridor. He originally planned to build a garden center on the site, but as he considered the property and the existing structures, he began to formulate a different plan: an event venue with a reception or wedding barn and onsite rentals via AirBNB. Lower Sherwood Farm, a llama farm halfway between Charlottesville and Scottsville, also employs AirBNB for their marketing efforts, exclusively advertising their llama walks as a special ‘experience.’ Another family-run business, Lower Sherwood Farm was founded in 1986 by current co-owner Paige McGraph’s mother. They began doing tours of the farm, featuring 39
