FAQ

What is Backyard Riches?

We are a rapidly growing community whose members are developing thriving businesses right in their own backyards, homes and neighborhoods by meeting the explosive demand for locally grown food, which is now an $7 billion+ industry. We include beginners, as well as established successful business owners who have gone through the Backyard Riches programs and who are now known, trusted and respected in our communities, and beyond, for providing high-quality healthy food.

Backyardriches.com brings us together to learn, problem-solve, collaborate and share experiences and expertise to ensure our own continual improvement, and everyone’s long-term business success.

We’re eager to welcome you to the very traditional business of growing food, taught and supported in a very non-traditional way. Backyard Riches is proudly sponsored by SPIN-Farming.

What is SPIN-Farming?

SPIN stands for s-mall p-lot in-tensive, and it is a non-technical easy to understand and inexpensive to implement system for taking a backyard, front lawn, neighborhood lot or basements to new levels of productivity that go far beyond traditional home gardening practices. Its systematized approach teaches you how to grow and sell like a pro. Outlined in the first seven SPIN guides is everything you need to create an income-producing garden in months, not years. SPIN was developed by a Canadian named Wally Satzewich. He is the lead contributor to the Backyard Riches site.

Who is the typical Backyard Riches member?

There isn’t one. Some of us are long-time gardeners. Others never had dirt under our fingernails. We have half-acre suburban backyards, or don’t own any land at all. We are young and just starting out, or older and on our third or fourth careers. We span geography, generations, income and social status. But here is what we all have in common:

We like being outdoors.
We like physical work.
We want to be our own boss.
We like the idea of providing a product everyone wants and needs.
We want to build successful, independently owned businesses.
We are ambitious and motivated.
We learn best by doing.
We like sharing our knowledge and helping others follow in our footsteps.

By joining us, you are part of a program that is established enough to have a track record of success, but new enough that you can contribute to its development.

QUALIFICATIONS

How can I tell if I’m right for your programs? Like, are there any qualifications?

None. Success with our programs is not determined by education level or prior work experience. What you do need is a desire to make money, a talent for growing, good business sense, and a willingness to spend time and energy learning and building a business. If you have all this, Backyard Riches programs and forums make it easier, faster and very low risk to get started, which greatly increases your chances of success.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

What can Backyard Riches do for me?

We can show you how to make money growing food, and connect you with others who have succeeded, to provide you with support and continual learning and professional development.

How do I become a Backyard Riches member?

You become a member by purchasing one of our two programs – Seed to Cash in 14 Days or Less, or Grow Your Way to $100k. As a member, you get access to the forum where BYR members offer advice, answer questions and provide support. You also get exclusive access to additional free or paid programs, like coaching and webinars.

Can I purchase a Backyard Riches membership without purchasing your programs?

No. Since the Backyard Riches community uses its understanding of, and familiarity with, the Backyard Riches programs as the basis for its interaction, membership is open only to those committed enough to learn about our system by purchasing one of our programs.

What makes Backyard Riches programs different from other gardening or farming approaches?

Backyard Riches programs do not teach you how to garden. They teach you how to make money gardening, using the SPIN-Farming system. It is as close to a franchise as you can get while still accommodating the creative and place-based nature of growing. The growing techniques are not, in themselves, breakthrough. What is novel is the way a SPIN-based business is created and run. SPIN provides everything you’d expect from a good franchise: a business concept, marketing advice, financial benchmarks and a detailed day-to-day workflow. In standardizing the system and creating a reproducible process it really isn’t any different from McDonald’s.

When you learn SPIN via the Backyard Riches programs, this is what you will be able to do:

1) Make significant income from growing spaces that are less than an acre in size.

This means you don’t have to own much – if any – land. To get started you can use a backyard, community garden plot or vacant lot.

2) Start up with minimal gear.

This means you do not need to a lot of money to start up. Minimal investment produces a much better bottom line, sooner.

3) Grow what you sell, not sell what you grow.

This means you will have steady, predictable income and cash flow using precise revenue targeting formulas so that you run your operation like any other type of small business.

4) Manage all your tasks efficiently.

This means you will plan a day-by-day work flow, so that you do not get overwhelmed or burn yourself out.

How do I decide between Seed to Cash or the $100k Pro Program?

Base it on your gardening experience. If you have less than a few years under your belt, start with the Seed to Cash in 14 Days or Less program. If you are an experienced gardener and are ambitious, go for the Grow Your Way to $100k program.

We advise most people to underachieve. What craters most aspiring professional growers is they are too ambitious in the beginning, they use too large a plot, set too high a revenue target, get overwhelmed, lose control and give up. The bigger plot you start with, the lower your chance of success. That’s just how it goes. Plus, this is an entirely new way to learn commercial growing. People have to get used to it, and it’s just easier to manage if you low ball it. So the best decision is to pick the program you think will be easiest for you to accomplish. That way you can graduate on to the next level quickly and confidently.

If I go with the Seed to Cash in 14 Days or Less program, which level should I to start at?

Aim low, that is, pick the level that you think will be easiest for you to accomplish. That way you can graduate on to the next level quickly and confidently.

Most people overreach in the beginning. They get overwhelmed, lose control of their operation, and give up. You increase your chances of success by starting modestly.

If you have never grown much in your garden, or have never grown at all, it is best to sell just to friends and family since they will be more forgiving if you have gaps in production. You should not launch a CSA program or develop restaurant clients until you are sure you can produce a wide variety of vegetables week after week.

Here are some specific guidelines on which program level to choose:

Pilot Program is best if you:

are a novice gardener, or have never grown at all
have limited, or no, growing space (you need 100 sq. ft. total; containers such as Earthboxes can be used)
have about 15 hours to implement the program

Think of the Pilot Program as a lemonade stand scale operation.

Production Program is best if you:

are an intermediate gardener
have limited growing space (you need 1,000 sq. ft.)
have about 32 hours to implement the program

Think of the Production Program as a part-time hobby operation.

Continuous Production Program is best if you:

are an experienced gardener
have a good size growing space, or access to one (you need 2,000 sq. ft.
have about 123 hours to implement the program

Think of the Continuous Production Program as a full-time operation.

What is the point of following a step-by-step program?

Following a step-by-step program keeps you focused on what matters most to you success. And it gives you a way to set incremental goals so you can quickly and confidently progress to higher levels of achievement. Specific benefits of a system-based program are:

Reduces startup and development time.
Eliminates much trial and error.
Shortens the learning curve.
Provides specific benchmarks to measure progress.
Provides more control over outcomes and income.
Makes collaboration easier.

Best of all, you can be confident that Backyard Riches programs work because many others from widely varying backgrounds and locations have succeeded with them.

ORDERING

What do I get when I order?

You get a series of pdf guides and membership to the forum which is a collaborative community of Backyard Riches growers around the world who ask and offer advice and contribute improvements to the SPIN system. As a member, you access the forum by logging in at Backyardriches.com. The forum contains a searchable archive of over 4,500 posts which is also a great source for self-help.

Seed to Cash in 14 Days or Less includes 3 guides – Pilot, Production and Continuous Production. Grow Your Way to $100k includes 17 guides.

How do I receive what I order?

After your payment is processed via PayPal you are immediately presented with a screen from which you can download your pdf guides.

You are sent an email that will detail how you access the forum.

ACCOUNT QUESTIONS

Can I get coaching without purchasing the programs?

No. All Backyard Riches coaching sessions are based on the content in our programs. The coaching makes use of the SPIN lexicon, concepts and step-by-step instructions outlined in the pdf guides.

The purpose of coaching is to help you implement the system outlined in the guides, and perfect your mastery of it. It is much easier to do this once you have read the pdf guides and have them in front of you during the coaching.

How do I change my membership email address?

To change the email on your membership , just let us know and we will do it for you. Please send your request to info@backyardriches.com Be sure to include your old email and new email. We will then set up a new membership for you, and you will be sent new log in information.

How do I cancel my Backyard Riches membership?

Though we would be sorry to see you go, we have made it is easy to cancel your membership. Just follow these easy steps.

1) Email Backyard Riches at finance@backyardriches.com stating that you want to cancel your membership, and the reason you are leaving the group. Put Cancel Request in the subject line, and be sure to provide the name and email address associated with your membership. We will issue a refund, if one is due you.

2) Next, cancel future payments to Backyard Riches in your Paypal account. Here is how you do that:

Click on My Account in the tool bar at the top of the page
Click on Profile
Click on My Money
Click on My pre-approved payments
Click on Update
Click on SPIN Backyard Riches in the list of pre-approved payments
Remove SPIN Backyard Riches from the list

Do you have a money back guarantee?

Yes. Our programs include a money back 100 day, 100 % money back guarantee.

If you purchase our programs, read the pdf guides and join our forum, but don’t think it’s worth the price you paid, just send us an email at info@backyardriches.com with “Cancel” in the subject line within 100 days of your purchase and we’ll refund your payment in full. A refund typically takes 10 business days.