When you can’t find farmhands the old-fashioned way, it might be time to think outside the fence posts.
That’s exactly what the founders of Yellowstone Farmstead did. The agricultural venture, nestled at the Montana side of Yellowstone National Park, began as Shugabeet Farms — a solo project launched by sixth-generation Maine farmer Sage LeBlanc. In 2024, she joined forces with fellow East Coaster Allison Larew, former Garden Director at Chico Hot Springs, to grow their shared dream of a sustainable, community-rooted farm.
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But finding the right team to bring their vision to life wasn’t easy.
“I remember looking at Sage and we had gone through applications and I was like, ‘gosh, I wish we could grab from a bigger pool. I was like, it’s our time to try TikTok,” Larew told 4KXLF News.
After combing through nearly 4,000 TikTok applications, the pair hired 12 new employees — mostly women. The farm has grown to 10 acres since then.
But it wasn’t just social media that brought Yellowstone Farmstead to life. It was their entrepreneurial spirit that turned a shared dream into a thriving, boots-on-the-ground business.
From the desert to the valley
It didn’t take long for word to spread. Within just a few months, a dozen new hires packed up and moved to a remote stretch of Paradise Valley, Montana, leaving behind lives in places like Texas, Oklahoma and even Alaska.
Adriana Lopez was one of them. She left the Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona for her first experience living outside the desert.
“I’ve never left the desert. First time. My family was like, “She’s going where? What is she doing? It was scary. It was a big leap for me,” she said.
To help ease that leap, the farm offered free on-site housing in exchange for just 15 hours of work each week — a perk that’s hard to beat. The founders leaned heavily into social media to find the right people, and it paid off.
Roughly 90% of local businesses now use social media to promote their services, and 78% say it’s crucial for driving revenue, according to Synup’s Social Media Marketing Statistics. For this small operation in Paradise Valley, platforms like TikTok weren’t just a marketing tool — they were the bridge between big dreams and the people who were ready to chase them.
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Planting roots in passion
For Larew and LeBlanc, building a business wasn’t just about making a profit. It was about turning a dream into something tangible. They set out to build something far beyond the average farm, but bringing that vision to life took more than just grit and good intentions.
They secured land through a deal with Church Universal and Triumphant — a group once known for its doomsday prophecies — and rolled up their sleeves to convert former church housing into apartment units for employees. They built greenhouses, plowed fields and planted thousands of seeds — not just in the ground, but in the future they envisioned for themselves.
It’s a workload most would call overwhelming. But when you’re chasing something you believe in, it barely feels like work at all.
“I pinch myself every single day. I really do. This is my life’s work. I don’t care if I ever make a cent,” said Larew.
That kind of passion isn’t just poetic — it’s powerful. Jay Chaudhry, self-made billionaire and founder of cybersecurity firm Zscaler, told CNBC Make It that passion is the real game-changer when it comes to building something that lasts.
“If people don’t have passion,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how much experience they have. It just doesn’t matter for any job. You won’t have that internal drive to keep working toward solving problems and moving ahead.”
Whether you’re planting carrots or coding apps, investing in your passion may just be the most rewarding decision — financially and personally — you’ll ever make.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
