Feature
Meanwhile, the couple had taken out a
second mortgage to pay for helicopter-
pilot school for Chris. Unable to find a
job that gave him enough flight time and
with debts to pay off, Chris went back to
working on cars. Benzakein, who seems
to thrive when she has almost nothing
to work with — a quality she traces to
her parents, both self-employed — had
started freelancing for a trade journal,
Growing for Market. She gave herself the
target of writing 50,000 words, just so
that one day she would feel confident
enough to write a book — a goal she
fulfilled this year. (The book, a generalized
guide to growing flowers, has sold 44,000
copies.) But the magazine work also
provided her with an excuse to call up
veteran growers and ask them about
her own business, which was struggling.
One of those calls — to an Idaho grower
named MaryJane Butters — would not
only change her life but also, because
of how she applied the advice