We decided to buy land. Not rent.

Land was the first thing that we decided we wanted to own when considering building our business.

It is also the most expensive and sparsely available commodity in Yellowknife.

Many have probably been asking why would they want to take on such a large expense during the onset of their new business?

The answers is complex, one which we are sure has some naivety in it, but also one that we wouldn’t change.

Reasons Why We Purchased Land

Reason 1: Control

We looked at purchasing land that our company would ultimately own because it would give us control to do what we want. We have a short-term vision for the land, but we also have a long-term vision for it as well. One that spans 5, 10 and even 20 years from now. Not owning the land could jeopardize those plans at some unknown point, putting a wrench in our growth.

Reason 2: Diversification of Products

When we first started talking about our future ambitions we were approached by one or two community-oriented land owners who expressed an interest in renting or leasing us space. We were very grateful, but what was often missing in these conversations was the bakery component, or rather a building. We see the bakery as the foundational core of our business. The thing that will bring us financial stability while we build soil for the market gardens over the next several years. Investing in renovations of a space that we didn’t ultimately own didn’t make sense to us.

Reason 3: We want to live there

Eventually we want to live on the same property that we are growing and baking on. There are many perks to this, one being the simplicity of no commute.

We do currently own a house in Yellowknife and have 7 years of equity built up in it. Fortunately, we didn’t have to sell it right away to allow for the purchase of this new property (living on the new property is not yet an option), but we plan to in the near future to either pay down some of our high-interest loan or to use as capital in a future expansion – more soil, new plots, greenhouse build, new ovens, delivery vehicle etc.

Reason 4: Additional Revenue Streams

This reason definitely touches on Reason 1 and 2, but is worth noting. In owning the land we have some flexibility to utilize unused parts of the land and the building. We can rent out these parts during our startup to help tide us over until we are operating at 100%.

Renting may have been easier and lowered our start-up costs and O&M but the argument could go either way so we ultimately chose to pursue the purchase of a commercial property for our business.

Read More of this Series

Part 1: We Decided to Buy Land. Not Rent.
Part 2: Financing the Bush Order Provisions Business Plan
Part 3: Finding the right property for Bush Order Provisions
Part 4: Hurdles of getting Financing Approved

We are running a Startup Fundraiser while we are in our renovations phase, raising funds for the expansion of Bush Order onto a commercial property where we plan to build a commercial market garden and artisan bakery. See our fundraiser perks below.