“Business planning is a critical component to any operation. Even though a ‘seat-of-the-pants’ approach to farming might work, it takes too long to figure out if a decision is a poor one; you can waste years doing the wrong thing when you could have been doing the right thing.†Greg Reynolds, Riverbend Farm owner/operator.
Regardless of whether you are a beginning entrepreneur who has recently inherited a business, an experienced farmer who is considering on-farm processing, or a retiring business owner who is looking to pass on the farm, business planning is important.
It is an ongoing process that begins with the identification of values and ends with a strategic plan to address critical management functions.
Like many rural entrepreneurs, you may have a strong sense of the values that drew you to the land or inspired you to begin a business.
You may also have a clear set of personal and business goals that you would like to pursue “when the time is right.â€
But, if you’re like most farmers and rural business owners, you run into problems when trying to incorporate values and goals into day-to-day business decisions.
How can you build a balanced and sustainable business one that reflects your values and is successful in the long run? Unlike most other business planning tools, building a Sustainable Business: A Planning Guide for Farmers and Rural Business Owners take a whole-farm approach.
You will consider traditional business planning and marketing principles as well as your personal, economic, environmental and community values those less tangible things that are a part of your thoughts every day, but which often don’t become a planned part of your business.
You will be asked to integrate values with business management practices throughout this Guide
