Waiora Valley Farm and Gallup Brook Fencing in Cambridge, VT

When Vermont Small Business Center’s Broadband Business Advisor Patrick Ripley got on the ground in the first of the e-Vermont community visits, Troy and Jessica Steel of Waiora Valley Farm and Gallup Brook Fencing in Cambridge, Vt. were among the first business owners he encountered. “Troy and Jessica are classic Vermont business owners, running multiple ventures simultaneously, while also holding outside jobs at different times of the year,” Ripley said. “They work hard, and aren’t afraid of a challenge.”

Troy and Jessica had been considering building a website for their farm, which raises organic pigs, sheep, turkeys and other livestock, but weren’t sure they could take on building a second website for their fencing business. With the help of Vermont Small Business Development Center counselors who spent hours working one-on-one with the Steel’s, Troy and Jessica worked through the development of both websites. By spring 2011, www.waiorafarm.com and www.gallupbrookfencing.com had launched and have been working hard for both businesses ever since. It didn’t take long for the Steel’s to see results.

“Our websites have been really helpful, especially the fence site,” Jessica said. “Lots of people are finding us through it, and they are able to see fence styles before they call us. Troy says that people act like they already know him when he shows up at their farm for the first time.”

The additional business led Troy and Jessica to hire a full-time employee for Gallup Brook Fencing, as well as a bookkeeper to assist with additional accounting needs. “I knew Troy and Jessica would rise to the occasion,” Ripley said. “And in doing so, they not only benefited their own businesses, but also Vermont’s economy through job creation and increased revenue.”