Monica Baietti-Schniebs is a graduate from the PeopleVET program, and recently closed a loan with PeopleFund in October. Her agricultural startup, The Worm Doctor, educates people about the benefits of worm farming and worm by-products. In this testimonial, she reflects on the excitement of starting her own business and how PeopleFund supported her along the way.
On December 19th, 2014, I was overwhelmed with emotion when I saw the delivery truck coming down the street. I had been crafting this idea for a year, and to finally have the equipment arrive to make The Worm Doctor a reality was a dream come true! It is hard to
break free and trust yourself to go on your own adventure, and I was finally seeing the fruits of my labor.
Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would want anything to do with agriculture! I am not much on dirt and mess; so when I was first introduced to this idea, I thought it was nuts! After a bit of research, however, I could NOT believe the information I was finding; worm farming could be very lucrative if you worked at it.
I attended a Texas Veteran’s Commission event in San Antonio and heard the President and CEO of PeopleFund, Gary Lindner, speak, and I knew I wanted to be a part of their team. He spoke about getting people connected with the resources they needed to be successful so that they could be empowered to determine their own life path. To me, that is the American Dream; you have control over your entire day because you operate your own business.
In September, when I started attending class in San Marcos through PeopleFund, I was extremely nervous–I was so afraid I would not be able to communicate this great idea! PeopleFund helped me craft my idea and present it in the correct business and financial language; it was so great to be in an environment surrounded with people who wanted to help me succeed.
I personally feel as if there is a lot of restriction in the world, and I wanted to break free from all of it. I wanted my time to be spent solving problems that could help people live a better life, and to my surprise that is through the earthworm! There is so much the earthworm provides.
When I think to myself that all I have to do is get these six incubators going and I could provide for myself for the rest of my life is empowering and overwhelming! I appreciate PeopleFund giving me the opportunity to pursue my dreams of owning my own business.