Today we’d like to introduce you to Molly Harrison.
Hi Molly, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
• Last year, I was working as a nurse and needing to step back from full time hours for the success of our family. I learned about Porch Pumpkins in Dallas, Texas and loved the concept! A turnkey service that takes a dirty, heavy, yet glorious part of the fall season, and makes it simply magical.
• What made me hit “go”—I was on a trip to a football game with friends taking the train from Chicago last fall. I listened to a podcast about a highly successful pumpkin concierge service in Dallas called Porch Pumpkins. Nothing like the rush of a kid-free trip that makes you do crazy thing! From there, we bounced around what seemed like 1000 different names and nearly that many Instagram handles to match. The real OG’s are the ones that have followed 2-3 of my Instagram handles!
• I started late in the season last year, in October, and quickly realized that it is hard to sell this product if people can’t see what it looks like. I asked many friends if I could use their porches as “models” for my project. Cold calling homeowners and friends of friends to use their front porch as a display. How willing everyone was and what truly set me up for success this year. I had two great friends, Kelsey Kerbs and MK Minnis, donate a Sunday so that we could go around and get content! We put up and took down so many pumpkins that day—all supported by my Grandfather-in-law’s old Radio Cart wheelbarrow. Truly the most efficient day of my life!
• From there, got my first customers—friends, family, random DMs—it was thrilling! One of my first houses, I delivered late at night and the homeowners had told their daughter that the Pumpkin Fairies were coming overnight to deliver pumpkins. The idea of being a behind-the-scenes, Santa-like figure makes this job so fun! One moment your porch is bare, and the next it is exploding with an array of orange and white pumpkins!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
• We are just in the infancy of our business and the number of lessons I’ve learned feels like it could be a 100 year old company.
• Looking back, it feels like it has been a relatively smooth road, but, again, we’re young. It has been a persistent cycle of identifying problems / barriers, identifying possible options, and choosing the best solution. It’s so interesting starting your own business, you may know so much about certain aspects and be so out of it on others. Having great mentors is the only way you can be successful.
• I was confident in the pumpkin display part—having an eye, laying it all out, etc. What I had lots to learn about was things like sourcing pumpkins, marketing a business, creating a website, renting trailers, driving trailers, etc. There are so many seen and unseen aspects of a business to wrap your head around.
• My mentors and friends, though, have always been the go-to when I have questions or don’t know that I should have questions. Those who created my smooth path include, Mark Stadler, a friend of mine from college who is a hugely successful pumpkin farmer. Mark connected me with colleagues at Balls Food Stores, including Lou Malaponti, who really believed in my vision and became a partner in sourcing and storing pumpkins.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Village Pumpkins KC offers two services–pumpkin package porch delivery to your home and custom pumpkin packages for businesses/special events/etc. We offer four pumpkin packages–platinum, gold, silver, and bronze–with over 30 to 70 pumpkins delivered in each. The customer picks their package, the week they want delivery, and if they want us to pick up at the end of the season. Delivery, design, and disposal all without lifting a finger! The most common question I get is, “What do you do to keep squirrels away?” I deliver every package pretreated for squirrels and pests and with delivery, I recommend different ways to continue to keep the pumpkin package critter-free. If someone is wanting pumpkin delivery to a business or event, reaching out to me is the perfect way to create those custom order exactly to their liking!
Who else deserves credit in your story?
• One thread that has pulled through this entire process has been the consistency of others willingness to help. If you want to believe in the goodness of humanity, start a small business. I have rarely asked a question of a friend, mentor, colleague, or stranger and been met with silence. If there is a story in my business, it is the shoulders of others that I am standing on.
• Mark Stadler and Lou Malaponti – as mentioned before, they took my ideas seriously and used their expertise to GROW my idea; first people to show me what is possible and remove barriers to starting
• Husband—cannot have a successful anything without the backing of the most important person in your life. Lucky to have Matt
• Pat Carr—the first mentor I spoke with; he asked the right questions and didn’t hesitate to guide me through the process of starting a business
• Kelsey Kerbs & Mary Katherine Minnis— as mentioned before, the girls who sacrificed a football Sunday to help me decorate porches and were my first confidants with this business
• Mary Brain—my first customer x 2 years in a row
• Kristen Christian & St. Ann’s Journey Ladies— couldn’t ask for better women in my corner
• Jo Marie Scaglia – so willing to give me her time, resources, and mentorship, a real champion for small businesses!
• Blish Mize Connor—really saying “go for it” when it comes to small businesses; we all need a Blish in our lives!
Pricing:
- Packages start at $250
- $75 for end of season removal
Contact Info:
- Website: https://VillagePumpkinsKC.com
- Instagram: @villagepumpkinskc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578081942095
Image Credits
Fallon O’Connor
