Hello
Hi, I’m Paul Schiefen, founder of Root Down Consulting. I’ve spent more than two decades owning, operating, and helping manage small businesses, including more than 14 years helping run Jardin du Soleil, a working lavender farm in Washington State known for its agritourism experiences, retail, and community events.
Today, I work with small-business owners, farmers, and rural entrepreneurs on the practical challenges of running and growing a business — from strategy and financial systems to operations, retail, events, and agritourism. My approach is grounded in real-world experience and focused on helping people make clearer decisions and build businesses that work better for them.
My Story
I’ve spent more than 20 years building and running businesses, from owning and managing an insurance agency in California to helping operate a working lavender farm here in Sequim, Washington.
In 2011, my family and I took on Jardin du Soleil, where my work has included everything from field operations and distillation to retail, events, staffing, financial systems, and tourism. Over the years, I’ve helped develop and manage visitor experiences, festivals, workshops, products, farm retail, and seasonal events, while also dealing with the day-to-day realities of running a small business.
That work naturally led to broader involvement in tourism and economic development. I’ve served in regional tourism leadership roles, worked on festivals and community events, collaborated with local businesses and organizations, and spent years thinking about how small businesses fit into a larger local economy.
Over time, I realized that many of the challenges I was dealing with weren’t unique to farming. Small-business owners everywhere wrestle with pricing, staffing, cash flow, systems, growth decisions, customer experience, and figuring out what deserves their attention next.
That led me to create Root Down Consulting and later to work with the North Olympic Development Council, where I supported farm and food businesses with business planning, strategy, financial questions, grants, market development, and practical problem solving. I’ve also completed Team Jefferson EDC’s business advising cohort, which added a more formal advising framework to the hands-on experience I already brought to the work.
Today, I help small-business owners sort through challenges, evaluate opportunities, improve operations, and make better informed decisions. Sometimes that means developing a business plan or financial model. Sometimes it means fixing a workflow, improving a retail operation, planning an agritourism project, or simply having an experienced outside person help make sense of a complicated situation.
My approach is practical, collaborative, and grounded in lived experience. I’m less interested in handing you a generic playbook than in understanding how your business actually works and helping you find a path forward that makes sense for you.