Turning hobby into business

"I would say to myself that while I have been working for others all my life, wouldn't it be much more beneficial if I could work for myself sooner?" says Ms. Suao Yang Xiong, a Hmong retired lady who turns her vegetable patch hobby into a small business that generates income for her to live on. Let's have a look at how her journey started.

Chinese green castard (Soua Yang Xiong) Source: Soua Yang Xiong

Ms Soua Yang Xiong (Niam Tong Ze Xiong) used to work as a teacher back in Thailand while she was still a refugee at a refugee camp in Thailand. Recently also she also taught Hmong class for Hmong youth in Cairns with Far-North Hmong Youth Society as well as facilitating as an instructor who taught line dancing to Hmong women in cairns. However, she likes growing different vegetables as a hobby to send them off for Rusty Market, a local vegetable market in Cairns, far-north Queensland, Australia, which sells mainly local produces.

Growing vegetables reminds the Hmong community of their subsistence agricultural life back in their homeland, Laos, where not many Hmong in Australia practice anymore except their backyard vegetable gardens.

Ms. Yang Xiong says, initially, it is not my plan to turn my growing vegetable patch into business but just purely for a hobby for fun or to stay active and healthy, or just to kill time as I am a retiree. But then again after I grow veggies for some times, I decide to grow regularly and supply to the local vegetable market in Cairns and eventually grow more variety for my own booth as I am also running a stall for myself.

Ms Soua Yang Xiong at her vegetable stall at Cairns Rusty Market (Soua Yang Xiong) Source: Soua Yang Xiong

In terms of growing vegetables, people might have their own different ways to do it, but for me, I prefer milmart, some kind of ash leftover from burnt sugar cane stalk fiber along with sugar cane mulch and Australian Seasol seaweed organic solution to improve the soil quality, vegetable roots and stimulate growth as it should.

The reasons I do this is because soil condition in Australia is totally different from Laos where you can just plan anything and they will just grow, so it is a different story here in Australia. You can grow your crops but without organic fertilizers, vegetables, corn or rice will not grow as they should or may not taste sweet or taste good as they should, says Ms. Yang Xiong.

My husband and I rent this plot of land of one and a half acre and he will plow it, then I will manually organize the vegetable plans to whatever size I see fits. This is a very laborious duties but I like doing it. After the plans are ready, I will sow vegetable seeds for two to three rows of vegetable plans by hand per day. I grow different Asian greens ranging from Chinese green custard, chive, choy sum, bok choy, and Shanghai bok choy, coriander and lemongrass and sometimes grow okra and cassava which will take longer time to yield the products. Normally I will do 5 to 6 rows some time up to 10 rows of vegetable plans, one variety per plan, so I have enough vegetable for my stall. So I will rotate this vegetable farm with different vegetables all year round. However, one week of earning from selling these vegetables is enough for the annual rental fee.

Ms. Soua Yang Xiong's husband Tong Ze Xiong at her vegetable stall at Rusty Market, Cairns (Soua Yang Xiong) Source: Soua Yang Xiong

In terms of harvesting, it has to be the exact same time and the same hour, because this will keep vegetable at the same size, so there are reasons for that.  If not, then vegetables will grow so fast and you would not be able to keep pace with it or either way, they will be oversized. So I harvest them early while they are still young. 

But turning your passion from a hobby into a small business is no joke. Ms. Soua Yang Xiong admits it requires her commitment, dedication, and responsibilities, as she has to handle everything from scratch until getting the final produces for her stall.

Apart from having to look after her vegetable gardens, and get them ready, she still has to arrange everything in order in a loadful pick up ute, whether be ordering more vegetable produces that she doesn't have, or additional fruits and then transporting these produces to the market (Cairns Rusty Market), unloading, and setting up her store to be ready for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Besides all these, she still has to get up early each morning at 3 am to get all these things done.

Initially I just do it for pleasure and for leisure, but afterward, when I turn my hobby into a business, it becomes my responsibility for my passion and for my customers that I serve. That is to grow and provide the type of vegetables they love to buy. In addition, it requires generosity and kindness, that is to give in order to receive something back which generate my income, It is virtually the essential principle of doing business, says Ms. Soua Yang Xiong.

Ms. Yang Xiong adds that she has 8 tables in her stall and it cost her about $638 dollars for three days weekly. 

But will the earn from selling her vegetables cover all of her expenses and still generate enough income for her to have a life?

She says that if you take the credit of serving yourself and don't count other factors like labor, transports, fertilizers, water bill, renting, along with other expenses and compare that to those who work in nail and beauty shop whose earning top $200 per day then it is worth your time.

In terms of comparing someone who does 9-5 jobs and managing a stall selling vegetables at Cairns Rusty market which sells local produce, Ms. Yang Xiong says that it is much better running the stall.

At my age, I am already up to the hill and if I am still working for others, It requires that you are agile physically and mentally fit. So this is something that fits a senior person such as me which create an opportunity to stay connect, interact and engage with the community. So it is a choice I make as I am the captain of my ship where I run my life with a subsistence income. Vegetable will taste better if I grow myself. If I don't take any action then I would not have the know how to. I have been working all my life for others and I regret that why don't I start working for my self sooner, says Ms. Soua Yang Xiong.

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