I got an email the other day from a farmer/student, Will. He was working through the homework from our class, had a bunch of questions, and wanted to schedule a coaching session to go through them. Something troubled me about this …
Steven had an itch on his back for a couple of weeks. At first, he thought it was just a bug or spider bite… nothing unusual since he works in the fields most days. He figured it must have been …
Talia has been raising and selling livestock for the last 5 years. She sells the chickens, pork and beef at farmers’ markets and direct to her customers who pick up their orders from her farm. Up until this point, she’s …
I’ve long espoused the skills needed for a successful entrepreneurial (farm or otherwise) business: financial acumen: you need to know your numbers and what they mean operational proficiencies: you need to be able to produce a high-quality product efficiently marketing …
This was the feedback I got from one of my culinary school instructors. I recall the specific drawing that prompted this: I had sketched out the plate presentation of a trout dish with green beans and risotto. I submitted the …
Over the last few months, I’ve been working with a farmer on her business plan for building out an on-farm processing facility. She wants to take her heritage breed pigs and create custom, value-added charcuterie. It’s a big investment of …
I started using QuickBooks in 1997 when I had my catering business. Though I always thought of myself as a “numbers person,” I had no idea about balance sheets or liabilities or even equity. As I went through the initial …
A beginning farmer asked me recently, ‘I want to sell my products to restaurants. I know many restaurants usually buy from Sysco… so how do I price my products to compete with Sysco?” In short: you don’t. As I’ve long …
Melissa and Sam King own and operate MSK Farm: a diversified vegetable farm with a value-added kitchen. On the farm, they grow vegetables that they sell to wholesale and retail clients. In addition, they take some of their farm products …
“Behind every successful business owner is a team of supporters who helped them succeed.” I was thinking about the more outdated (and sexist) version of that quote the other day as I listened to Emily Round share her QuickBooks experience …