2025: Growing More Than Just Seeds

Every year feels faster than the last, and 2025 was no exception.

Owning and running a small business can sometimes feel like you’re constantly behind — like you’re working flat out but not ticking enough boxes. But sitting down to reflect on the year has made me realise that, while it hasn’t been perfect, I’ve genuinely given it a red-hot crack.

A lot of you have come to appreciate the honesty and transparency behind Survival Seeds, so this is one of those yarns that blends both business and life, because the two have become very hard to separate.

From a business point of view, 2025 was our biggest year yet in terms of revenue. It hasn’t been our most profitable year, and at times it feels like we’re spending more to make less — but that’s the reality of operating post-COVID, in the middle of a cost-of-living crunch. I’m not chasing superyachts or private jets. I’m chasing freedom, balance, and something meaningful. And while that’s still a work in progress, I’m genuinely enjoying the journey — and heading into 2026 with more clarity and energy than I’ve had in a long time.

JANUARY

A Wake-Up Call

The year didn’t start particularly well. In January, I was bitten by an Eastern Brown snake after making a stupid mistake and I very nearly lost my life.

It was easily the most intense and profound experience I’ve ever been through. I recently caught up with Mick Metcalfe, the critical care paramedic who saved my life that day, and even he was surprised by how well I’ve processed the whole thing mentally. I put that down to being open, honest, and owning my mistake.

I don’t recommend a near-death experience — but it certainly puts things into perspective.

Here I am In the Critical Care Unit of the Toowoomba Base Hospital the day after fighting for my life from an Eastern Brown snake bite

FEBRUARY 

The US Launch (and a Reality Check)

On the 4th of February, we went live in the USA after a huge amount of work that involved forming a partnership with a well-known father-and-son seed business from Texas called Victory Seeds.

I essentially tried to replicate the strategy that got Survival Seeds off the ground here — hiring US-based content creators to grow our seeds and make ads. I threw thousands of dollars at paid ads and also tried Google Ads, both of which proved to be money pits.

I completely underestimated how hard it would be to crack the US market. There’s far more competition, less interest in supporting small local businesses, and Amazon has the seed kit space well and truly covered. Damn you, Jeff.

I recently pulled the pin on the US venture entirely. I’m only one bloke and already spread thin. Shout-out to Jon and Dave from Victory Seeds — genuinely great humans. I wish I could’ve made it work for many reasons, not least of all to grow something alongside someone else. I don’t have a business partner, and that would’ve been nice.

Planting Calendar Pre-Sale

We ran a pre-order for our new planting calendars. We’ve done a couple of these over the years, and I’m still incredibly proud that so many of you trust us with your hard-earned money and are willing to wait for a product we don’t physically have yet.

Pre-sales are a fun way to build hype, help finance stock, and gauge interest — but this one had me tearing my hair out. We only just met the promised deadline, by one day, and that was way too close for comfort.

These are relatively cheap items, and while the vast majority of people are patient and understanding, the idea of not living up to my word genuinely caused me sleepless nights. We haven’t run a pre-sale since — and we may never again.

MARCH & APRIL 

Quiet Seasons and Self-Doubt

This is always a quiet time for us, and for most online businesses. Every year I get super stressed when sales slow right down — you’d reckon I’d be smart enough by now to recognise the pattern, but it still sucks because the bills keep coming regardless.

Like every year, I started questioning everything, assuming the worst and feeling like a failure. In 2026, I’ve vowed to prepare for flood in drought, instead of panicking when a predictable quiet patch rolls around.

Working for the Man

This year I felt so much self-doubt that I actually went back and worked for the man for a while. I picked up a three-day-a-week marketing role with a Not-for-Profit here in Toowoomba on what was genuinely solid money. I went in with the best intentions, but I’m pretty hectic in a work environment — I like to do things my way and move quickly. That didn’t suit their style, and after a couple of months we decided to part ways.

To be honest, I probably could’ve done what was expected of me in a few hours a week and spent the rest of the time working on my own stuff while still getting paid, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. A weird mix of stubbornness, arrogance and passion, I guess.

In hindsight, it’s a good thing I walked away. It was completely unsustainable, and there’s no way I could’ve kept Survival Seeds running — let alone growing — while working three days a week.

Another lesson learned: as challenging as working for yourself is, I thrive in the uncertainty and chaos. I’m actually pretty good at kicking myself up the arse every day.

Daisy took us to the zoo and finally got to see her favourite animal — a giraffe. Lia let her buy an insanely overpriced stuffed monkey (much to my disgust), and she still absolutely loves it.

The Survival Pantry going strong! Choko season is in full swing…who eats these things ;) 

MAY & JUNE

We Lost Bonnie

On the 2nd of May, we sadly said goodbye to our beautiful Bonnie — far sooner than we ever wanted to.

Bonnie was nine when we adopted her from the RSPCA in late 2024, and she fit into our family like she’d been with us forever. She was a gentle old soul. We don’t know much about her life before us, but it was clearly filled with a lot of love. She was incredibly well-mannered and polite — if a door was open, she wouldn’t come in unless she was invited.

Except for one day, when she ran straight into my parents’ caravan and jumped up on the bed. That, combined with the fact she was always drawn to men, made us think she may have been the best mate of an elderly bloke living in a caravan who had to surrender her due to health reasons. But we’ll never really know.

She was fit, strong, and healthy, until one freak accident at my parents’ farm where she tore her ACL while playing with the other dogs. I was very close to going down the surgery path, but after scans of her other leg, the vet told me there was a 90% chance it would fail within a year of operating.

I made the incredibly hard decision to have her put down — a choice I know many people won’t agree with. I knew this injury marked the beginning of the end for Bonnie, who had been so active and vibrant. She had many more good years in her if it wasn’t for that injury.

It was absolutely horrible, and I still carry a lot of guilt that we couldn’t give her a longer final chapter.

Daisy cuddling Bonnie, and a picture Freya drew recently (late November) showing Bonnie resting under the silky oak in our backyard, with what’s meant to say “I miss Bonnie” and a love heart.

Mum and I at the annual Tiny Homes Expo here in Toowoomba. I don’t do many events these days, but we always love this one — such an amazing, eclectic bunch of people and a nice change from staring at a screen. I may be 35, but my incredible Mum is still the biggest supporter of Survival Seeds. 💛

Our Best Email Promo Ever

At the beginning of June, while stressing my hair out over slow sales, I decided to run a promotion offering a free planting calendar with every order over $100.

Ironically, it did more harm than good. Conversion rates actually dropped. My best guess was that people who didn’t want to spend $100 felt like they were missing out, so they didn’t purchase at all.

I decided to scrap the promotion, but before doing so I sent a few emails explaining exactly what was going on behind the scenes and letting our loyal subscribers know we didn’t want them to miss out.

I’ll never forget an incredibly rude and condescending reply from a woman — one I feel compelled to share, because anyone who has ever interacted with us knows we consistently go above and beyond for our customers and supporters. This is the first paragraph of her email:

“Just some well intentioned but direct feedback — I genuinely have no idea why we needed that behind the scenes look into your promos and conversion rates. Revealing the monetisation strategy breaks the fourth wall between the customer and the company — the one where you pretend you're really passionate about me growing my own stuff and I pretend you don't need to push the margins to the max because you're a small business and that is really hard. This is a really, really bizarre customer engagement strategy. The ‘honesty-woe-is-me-FOMO’ content is really strange. This is a huge turn off the brand for me.”

Well Catherine — if you’re reading this (and I hope you are) — that email campaign turned out to be the most successful we’ve ever run and gave us a huge financial boost during a very quiet period. Honesty isn’t always comfortable, but it works for us.

I may sound petty, but I could tell you the names and details of every negative customer experience we’ve had since starting Survival Seeds (I won’t) — because there have been so few. Our customers and followers are genuinely incredible supporters.

Freddie

I was pretty negative about getting another dog — it felt weirdly soon after saying goodbye to Bonnie — but one night at the dinner table our deep-thinking eight-year-old Grace said, word for word, “a house isn’t a home without a dog.”

A few days later, Lia found a litter of Dachshund x Jack Russell puppies on Gumtree, and I somewhat begrudgingly agreed to go and meet them.

As it turns out (I totally knew this already), you don’t take a bunch of kids to meet a litter of puppies without falling in love. So Fred — Freddie — Frederick — Fredrico is now a very loved member of the family, and we absolutely adore the little man.

Meet Micky

My folks are horse people, and growing up out west I was once a horse kid too. Mum had been looking for a quiet pony for years before she finally heard about Micky through a friend of a friend.

Micky is a very special little man — calm, friendly, and absolutely loves being around people. This photo was taken the first day the girls met him, and it didn’t take long for the brushing, plaiting (mane and tail included), and slow led walks with kids riding to begin.

I have absolutely no aspirations — and definitely not enough money — to become a pony club family, but we do love Micky, and we're all stoked that he is now part of the crew.

This was the first time we all met Micky, and the girls — who’d never been on a horse — all hopped on for a ride (a very slow walk on a lead), then brushed, plaited and thoroughly pampered the little dude.

JULY & AUGUST

The Best Mum

No long-winded story here — just a funny photo and a shout-out to an amazing mum who toilet trained Daisy in less than a week.

Taking the potty in the back of the ute to the shops isn’t something I would’ve ever thought of, but thankfully Lia did. When nature called mid-outing, Daisy got to stick to her potty-training routine like a pro — even if it was in the car park at the shops.

A Rare Night Out

As most parents with young kids know, a full night without the kids is hard to come by — and this was our first in over two years.

Thankfully, we have some very supportive grandparents nearby, and we’re starting to get a few more chances to do this.

We’re not big drinkers or partiers, but on this night we really let our hair down to celebrate Lia’s birthday.

SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

A Swing and a Miss

We dropped our canvas gardening aprons in late September. I was feeling bold and decided to put the tagline “BUSY GROWING SHIT” on them — turns out I overestimated how widely my bogan QLD humour would be appreciated. Totally understandable.

That said, the quality, design, and colour choices are genuinely great, and the people who’ve bought them absolutely love them. We’re selling them for just $30 including shipping (at the time of writing this), and once they’re gone, we may do a plain version with no tagline.

Yet another lesson learned...

Carnival of Flowers. Very Toowoomba. Flowers aren’t really my thing, but the wind gusts on the ferris wheel gave us a good laugh (and a few tears).

Bought a cubby house off Facebook Marketplace. Saved me a lot of money and a heap of time building and painting it. The stairs are still on the to-do list, but it’s already hosted plenty of tea parties.

Tomato Seed Kit - Version 3

I launched the third iteration of our much-loved Tomato Seed Kit in late October, and I’m happy to say this one went off with a bang. It was always going to be a popular kit — who doesn’t love growing and eating heirloom tomatoes? — but this version is our first to feature recyclable paper seed packets.

To help cut down on labour (we’re a small team made up of me and a few casual high school seed packers), we engaged another seed company to pack these using a machine.

The seeds are amazing and the packaging looks great, but the process itself turned into an absolute saga. I won’t go into the details, but let’s just say the old adage “if you want something done right, do it yourself” proved very true. Relying on another business hasn’t been a great experience, and in hindsight, I wish I’d just employed another local.

We’re still working through a few issues, but next up we’ll be launching version 3 of our Medicinal Herbs and Edible Flower Kits with paper seed packets. We’re also looking into getting our own seed packing machine — which is proving to be far more complicated than it sounds. Don’t worry, we won’t be sacking any of our packers; there’s plenty of other work to do. But long-term, this will be instrumental in growing the business.

NOVEMBER & DECEMBER

I Actually Won Something

I won a B Grade doubles tennis competition with one of my best mates, Jai. I picked up tennis a couple of years ago and, most of the time, it honestly feels like I’m getting worse — so this was a pretty cool personal achievement.

Working from home and for myself means tennis has become a bit of a social saviour for me. I absolutely love it.

Black Friday Sales

I’ve always been a bit anti-BFCM. It felt overly consumerist, so we never really participated. Then I noticed how intentionally my wife was waiting for the sales to buy specific Christmas gifts, and it suddenly made a lot more sense than Boxing Day sales.

Most of us are feeling the pinch and everyone loves a deal, so I decided to have a crack at it this year.

It was rushed, messy, and far from perfect, but it was definitely worth doing. Next year, I’ll have a much better plan from a marketing perspective — and a lot more stock.

New Potato Grow Bags

I decided to drop these right in the thick of BFCM sales, mostly because I clearly love the chaos. Since then, we’ve launched a range of regular grow bags alongside the potato grow bags.

We really need to move away from free shipping site-wide because these are bulky but relatively cheap, and they’re costing us a fortune to ship. That said, they’ve proven to be a genuinely successful product — the most successful one that isn’t specifically branded as Survival Seeds.

Unlike our seed kits, which we hand-make, these can simply be ordered from the supplier and sent straight out, which makes life a lot easier. And honestly, after everything you’ve read so far, it’s nice to have something work — because a lot of what I try business-wise doesn’t.

Papa / Dad / Geoff built the kids’ Christmas present. He realised how damn busy I was at this time of year, so he ripped in and got it done — hugely appreciated, especially as my to-do list feels like it just keeps getting longer.

Launched Sprouting Seeds

Finally — and not without a lot of hard work and plenty of hiccups along the way. The Survival Sprouts Kit and the full range of sprouting seeds have easily been the hardest products that I have developed, with complications at every stage — from seed supply, to product design, to a typo in the instructions that set me back about six weeks.

They haven’t exactly launched with a bang, but all of our advertising is still focused on garden seeds. I’m by no means defeated — I think these are simply going to be a slow burn and I am really excited about their potential.

Photographing the new Sprouts Kit with the incredible Kat from Foodie Shots. As a small, budget-conscious family business, there are only a handful of contractors I work with who are true professionals at their craft — and Kat is one of them. It’s so cool to see her in action.

Christmas Break & a Shout-Out to Bek

I actually took a proper break this year to disconnect and reset — a lot more than I have in previous years.

One of our seed packers, Bek, has stepped up to help with packing orders, and it’s been an absolute godsend. It’s given me more time to stay on top of emails and day-to-day admin, and — more importantly — to spend more time with the family.

I’m a bit of a control freak, and packing orders is weirdly satisfying because it’s the end point of so much other work, so it was something I always did myself. But Bek is very switched on and a fast learner, and having her help on the days where there are three to four solid hours of order packing has been huge.

Christmas Day with the fam at my folks’ little farm, 10 minutes north of us.

Seed Santa hasn’t knocked off — still shipping loads of orders. Our small local post office has very limited space, and Survival Seeds is taking up a fair chunk of it over the busy period. I know I’ll complain when it comes, but part of me is already looking forward to the February sales slump.

SHOUT OUTS

A bit cliché, I know — but I want to shout out the people who make all of this possible. I don’t have a business partner and manage everything myself, but there’s no way Survival Seeds would exist without these people.

On a personal level, my mum Wendy and my wife Lia need a mention. We’d loosely talked about Lia getting more involved in the business, but she chose to do her own thing — and I think that was the right call. That said, she can get shit done like no one else, and the door is always open, honey 😉 Thank you for the support, patience, and for keeping everything else in life ticking along.

Mum — you’ve been the number one supporter of what started as a crazy little idea during COVID lockdowns. That support never goes unnoticed or unappreciated. xx

Kim, Bek, Micah and Pieter — absolute legends. The seed packers who keep this whole thing moving.

Ben from Korokiko. I worked with Ben years ago at a marketing agency, and these days he looks after our Google Ads — and so much more unofficially. Running a small e-commerce business can be a lonely game, and digital marketing moves fast. Ben’s the person I sanity-check ideas with, the one who calls bullshit when I need it, and the one who keeps me on track when I start overthinking. No fluff, no buzzwords — just solid advice from someone who knows his stuff. We’ve worked together for over two years now, and having him in my corner helps more than he probably realises.

If you’ve got an online business and you’re looking for someone like Ben, shoot him a message and let him know Stu from Survival Seeds sent you.

Mylene — an awesome graphic designer who balances client work alongside her own small printing business and has done a heap of great work for us this year.

Andreas — website designer and all-round wizard. A beautiful new website is launching soon thanks to him.

And Farrukh, and more recently Shahzaib — web developers who regularly stop what they’re doing in the wee hours to help me fix something I broke by poking around where I shouldn’t.

BRING ON 2026

Running and growing Survival Seeds is by no means easy, but I genuinely feel like I’m on the right path and excited to get back into it after a well-earned break.

It’s taken five years, but I have more clarity now than ever about how I want to continue growing the business.

I’ll probably keep getting shiny object syndrome and disappearing down a few rabbit holes with product ideas that don’t quite work out, but I won’t let that stop me from trying new things I’m genuinely passionate about.

If you made it this far (well done), you’re a true supporter of small business, and we genuinely appreciate every one of you.

With all the ups and downs life throws at us, I hope everyone finds what they’re looking for in 2026.

Stuart :)