When Julia Coffey returned to her home state of Massachusetts, she couldn’t find a job. After some time on the job market, Julia started to think entrepreneurially and quit her job search, choosing instead to apply her previous work experience in mycology to building her own small business—Mycoterra Farm.

While on the West Coast, Julia had spent four years working for Paul Stamets of Fungi Perfecti, a master mycologist. This experience emboldened her to begin organically growing mushrooms and selling them locally. Each week she quickly sold out at the farmers’ market. In year two she quadrupled her business. Now in her third year, demand continues to outstrip her supply and requests are now coming in from restaurants and farmers’ markets in Boston.

Julia’s business, Mycoterra Farm, is expanding and hiring. What she thought would take eight years to achieve has happened in less than four. Julia and Mycoterra Farm are a small business success story—revenue positive, creating jobs and loving life in western Massachusetts! For a fascinating lesson in mycology, stay tuned at the end of her story!

This is another segment in CareerFuel’s “How America Works” series, a collection of job search and small business success stories. Do you have a small business success story? If so, we would love to hear about it!

Videography by James K. Blake III