From Poop To Profits – Transcript - Izzit.org

TRANSCRIPT2002 Filmore AvenueErie, PA 16506Phone: (888) 242-0563www.izzit.org© 2009, 2013 izzit.orgV. 01/13

1From Poop to ProfitsTranscriptFor a list of additional resources to use with this video go towww.izzit.org/products and click on the From Poop To Profits video.MICHELLE MUCCIO: When Barnes and Noble opened a mega bookstore in Erie,Pennsylvania, Kathleen Cantrell could have gone out of business. But instead, she didsomething else. Kathleen took a big risk, she moved to a new location, added a cozyreading nook and coffee shop, and emphasized making special orders for regularcustomers.Now, Kathleen provides book lovers with a special, localized treatment, in a unique andappealing alternative environment. She makes a lot of people happy, and she’s makingmoney. Kathleen Cantrell is your basic entrepreneur.Brad Morgan is not your basic entrepreneur. Far from it, he’s done something amazing.Brad’s story begins a few years ago, when his back was up against the wall.BRAD MORGAN: Our County Extension agent, wonderful man, Jerry Lindquist, firstyear we was in business, he come here, evaluated the books, looked at our financialstatement, and he looked me right square in the eye, and he says, “You’re broke, get out.You cannot possibly make it.” And I looked right back at him and I says, “What have wegot to do to get this right?” Well, at that point in time, the average rolling herd averagefor this county was like fourteen or fifteen-thousand pounds of milk per cow. He says,“Brad, in order for this thing to float, you’ve gotta be well over twenty-thousand poundsof milk per cow.” Well, at that particular time, there was only one herd in OsceolaCounty that had that kind of production. By the second year, we was the top producingherd in Osceola County, and by the third year, we was the sixth highest producing herd inthe State of Michigan. So, out of necessity, you put your butt in the corner, you’d besurprised what you can achieve.MICHELLE: For over ten years, Brad led the region in milk production per cow. But in1999, milk prices plummeted. Suddenly, Brad was in trouble. But like Kathleen Cantrell,he didn’t give up. He quite literally found new prosperity, right under his feet.BRAD: We always bought our feed here, so we had to find a way to dispose of themanure. It was costing me about twenty-five-thousand dollars a year to dispose of themanure.Well, my father and I was talking, and basically I says, “Dad, I’ve done some research onthis, and I think we can compost this manure, and I think we can make it a marketableproduct.”1

3Joe would do, is he would basically come in and he would test it, he would analyze it, hewould scrutinize it, and to the point to where he was almost offensive. And I’d write himanother check, and I’d write him another check, because as I started watching ourprocess, as we was learning, he was learning, as we was learning, he was challenging usto do more, and consequently, it shows up in the marketplace.We’ve developed eight different product lines, and now we’re even growing that in to beprobably ten or twelve by the end of the season. The Dairy Doo obviously is our baseproduct. We’ve got that kind of down to a science. The Dairy Doo is basically calf pinmanure, ah dairy cow, any kind of manure that we can get out of a dairy herd, or a beefherd. We’ve probably taken this to a level that nobody else has probably looked at, andwe’re probably a little more meticulous about it. We can make a very nice compost, andit’s a lot more stable than what most people even recognize. If we’re going to make, gothrough this much time and effort, this much energy to make a product, we feel we haveto be the best on the marketplace.It’s interesting, that’s the thing. It’s fun! When you can take a raw product, that had novalue, and turn it into a product that has extreme value in the marketplace, from largeproduction agriculture, to small production agriculture, to homeowner, to garden, golfcourses, its wide open.MICHELLE: Successful entrepreneurs never take their eyes off the customer’s needs.Customers’ freedom to choose in the market keeps the entrepreneur on target. Theentrepreneur’s freedom to innovate means the best for customers. You might say thefertilizer of entrepreneurship is freedom. Kathleen Cantrell has found ways tosuccessfully compete. She works hard. Her business creates jobs. And if she doesn’tcover her costs, she’ll fail.Brad Morgan could have failed, too. But he refused to accept government subsidies.Instead, he bet on his own ability to turn a waste into a profit. He offered gardeners a highquality product, and another choice. He took a big risk investing his money up front. Butin the end it paid off. Brad’s compost is in such demand, he partners with other farmers tomaximize production.BRAD: Well, our goals when we first started this business, we thought if we could sellthirty-thousand dollars worth of product, we would be just tickled pink. Our goals for thisyear will be well over a million and a half. That’s not a big company, but there’s anopportunity out there.MICHELLE: By “out there,” Brad means the free market, where people can choose. Ifthey don’t choose his product, he fails, but the customer wins either way. Brad servestheir needs, or his competitors will. If government doesn’t create too many barriers, Bradcan succeed. His customers will reward his hard work and risk with profit. It’s calledcapitalism. And it’s that simple.3

4BRAD: And then, when that checkbook doesn’t balance, and there isn’t enough moneyto go around, and I mean, you’re constantly fighting the financial battles that we wasfighting, it puts a lot of stress on the family. On the other hand, I look back today, and Iwouldn’t rewrite that book for no love nor money.Are we successful? Yeah, but I’m not sure it revolves all around money. My successwill be measured when I’m long gone. I have visions of a grandchild or two, or three,actually being involved in something that I built. If you have a vision, go for it. Ifanyone of these kids come up with an idea or a project, I’ll support them a hundredpercent. But if you’re going to do it, do it, and do it well.MICHELLE: Do it well. Pursue your vision. Given the incentive, and the freedom toinnovate, entrepreneurs enrich themselves, while making the world better for all of us.For a list of additional resources to use with this video go towww.izzit.org/products and click on the From Poop To Profits video.4

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