“I’ve always loved animals,” says Kaitlyne Peden, one of six children who grew up on a farm and is now realizing her own dream of raising happy animals to help the community enjoy the very best meats.

Last summer, though, she was looking for a job and wasn’t having any luck finding a role that might tap into what she knows and loves. After visiting WorkBC Vernon and meeting a career advisor, the facilitator of the StartUP entrepreneurial skills training program happened to pass by and explained its path to self-employment.

“It just clicked,” says Kaitlyne, who was already living on land her parents own and share and had long been thinking they should make use of it to raise pigs and hens, and sell top-quality meat. “I knew that was something I really wanted to do.”

So began the journey to building Sweetpea Farms, home to happy pigs, pasture-raised poultry and gentle, lard-filled skincare inspired by nature.

During the 20-week StartUP program, Kaitlyne discovered that while she knew animals, she had a lot to learn about running a successful business. The business model canvas exercise gave her a roadmap; guest speakers helped her see how to use social media and cashflow spreadsheets to make sure she was making a profit on her goods and her time. After all, rearing and selling animals involves a lot of steps, feed and other vendors along the way.

“There are a lot of different costs, and you need a good way to keep track of it all—and also to know how much you need to mark up to make your profit.”

All of that hard work on her operations and financials helped Kaitlyne to see she would need capital to buy chicks and pigs as well as materials for new pens and feed—and with spring already underway, she’d need that funding sooner than later.

That’s when Kaitlyne turned to the loans team at Community Futures North Okanagan.

“I was slow and steady, but I got it done,” she says, of the application materials that gave her an even more in-depth picture of exactly what it would take to make Sweetpea Farms successful. “When I got the call that the loan had been approved, it was such a relief.”

Now she would have the funds to buy that feed, build that pen, and pay for chicks and pigs already scheduled to arrive within weeks.

Now, she could devote just a little more energy on the other big business project in her life, the Enterprize Challenge hosted by Community Futures North Okanagan. Learning how to give a strong pitch, market her farm and make connections with participants and mentors, she says, was invaluable.

In this Dragon’s Den-style competition, Sweetpea Farms was one of five businesses to advance to the finale.

“It was pretty surreal. I was in the midst of cleaning out pens and going on feed runs, and my animals had all just arrived—and then I was working on my pitch, but Enterprize was such a great tool to build on what we’d done in StartUP.”

Kaitlyne went into the rest of spring and then summer working hard and on that ‘I can do it’ high. Here she is, now, selling whole chickens directly and at some markets, and getting ready for fall’s butchering season.

“I know my business has a lot of potential and I have opportunities to keep growing,” she says, of the moisture creams and lip balms she’s making from her animals’ by-products, and the hobby farming coaching she hopes to offer someday.

Looking back, Kaitlyne is thankful for the people at Community Futures North Okanagan and WorkBC Vernon who cheered her on.

“I don’t think I could have done the StartUP program without Chelan. Her teaching style, she just makes you feel heard and gives you one-on-one time if you need it. Scot and Hal were fantastic too. Any time I hear someone say they’re struggling to find a job, I say, go to Community Futures. My career advisor still checks in with me and asks if there’s anything else I need. They’re just always there.”