Today we’d like to introduce you to Payton Fisher.
Hi Payton, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hello, my name is Payton Fisher. I have always had an entrepreneurial way about me. I love business and watching growth happen. Over the years, I have owned many different businesses and learned a tremendous amount of knowledge from everyone. When my wife Katie and I got married in 2010 a fire was lit under me and I kicked it into high gear.
I made it a goal of mine to get rid of all my debt and become debt-free. We did the Dave Ramsey style of budgeting, saving our receipts, and figuring out where all of our money was going. I started small; trading cell phones then trading up, iPads, computers, motorcycles, etc. We moved up to North Dakota to work in the oil field to help make our goals happen. We made a great deal of money and decided to move back to southern Utah and buy our first house. In between then and now we have owned 13 different businesses and 5 different houses.
I developed a month, if you’re going to fail, fail fast. I learned quickly once I started something I thought was going to love and it turned into a flop or something I didn’t love I would move on; “failing fast”. I want to love what I do, not just think it is an ok job. In 2022 now three houses later (trading up), we made it a new goal to be 100% debt-free by paying off that house. My real estate job made this happen. Though being financially free was liberating it was not all that it was cracked up to be. I dug deep and tried to figure out what makes me happy and it was being with the land.
So with great persistence, hard work, and showing up, we were able to create a contract and purchase a farm and garden center in Hurricane, UT. We changed the name to Fisher’s Garden Center and also started an agritourism business called Fisher Family Farm. The last 18 months have been the hardest and most emotional learning experience of my life. All our eggs are in one basket and with that, I’m realizing the only way to grow is through hard times.
With all the hard and with all the emotions my family and I have truly loved creating/developing a growing garden center and agritourism business. My creative/artist self gets to run wild. I’m able to be grounded with being in the dirt, being in the soil, and watching life happen. My kids have been given an opportunity to develop new skills, take care of animals, and run free.
We have worked hard to create a space for members of the community to come back to the basics, be with the land, see animals, and have fun. Our goal is to provide enough value for a family to want to be together, have fun, and make memories that last a lifetime; then our job is complete.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has not been smooth the road has been bumpy, gone in circles, turned around, twisted, and all in between haha. Sometimes we feel like, “Woah we have got this!” and then a new challenge arises and the road starts to shift. Although I think 99% of success stories are like this. Our biggest challenge has been financial. We tried to scale quickly and in that process spent money quickly.
Though the money was spent quickly, it did make it so our events were amazing and brought value. Other struggles have been trying to manage positions, scale, logistics, and marketing. An additional challenge is all of this stuff here on the farm is new to us, so we are learning and having to spend money along the way to see if it works or not. Owning a farm is not a big money maker it takes a lot of money to make it function and work.
As you know, we’re big fans of Fisher Family Farm. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Fisher Family Farm is located in Hurricane, UT. We are an agritourism business that provides opportunities for families and friends to come back to the basics and enjoy nature. We offer multiple events throughout the year for all to enjoy. Events include youth farm school a 5, 10, or 12-week educational program, Easter egg hunt, kids’ summer farm camp a 4-day educational program, back-to-school bash (165ft slip-n-slide), fall festival, and Christmas. In the spring/summer our garden center has all the veggie/flower starts, pants, trees (fruit and shade), and shrubs.
We love to have fun and want not only the kids but also parents to have fun too. Our 165 ft slip-n-slide in the summer is sooo fun and got everyone involved. Our easter egg hunt last year was unreal with the amount of support. During the adult hunt, it was exciting to see the inner kid come out in the parents. This last year at our fall festival, we added a zombie maze providing something fun for teenagers and adults. Christmas is always so beautiful! We have over 150,000 lights that line the trees, making up a walking path displaying the lights in fun and creative ways. During the evening community members can sit by the campfires roasting marshmallows, drinking hot chocolate, watching a movie, and enjoying the lights.
Along with the light, the is also an amazing walk-through display of the life of Jesus Christ. It is a powerful, spiritual, and can be an emotional experience. It goes from birth until resurrection ending with a love wall. The end wall allows people to express something they have felt during the walk-in in written form. A message of hope, peace, joy, etc. with others. Last but certainly not least our youth farm school and kids summer farm camp allows kids to experience what is like to be a farmer. They do chores, learn about plants, and animals, where our food comes from, how the food gets from the farm to the store and so much more. It is so cool to see their eyes light up as they figure these things out. They learn a lot of hard work!
Here on the property we also have slides, a pallet maze, tire swings, a petting zoo, tractor train rides, horse rides, and more. Brand-wise, I think what makes us most proud is when we get out in the community and people recognize us and let us know how much they love what we are doing. This lets us know a few things, we are providing something meaningful and our marketing is starting to work.
The best part of being in this industry is the farming community is so wonderful. Everyone is all about helping each other out. Agriculture is starting to fade and being able to encourage and help build everyone up is a beautiful thing.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I have two colors of eyes! One brown and one blue.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fisherfamilyfarmhurricane.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fisherfamilyfarmut
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fisherfamilyfarmut
Image Credits
OnPoint Photography
