I spent the Thanksgiving break at one of my favorite places… at Even’ Star Farm in southern Maryland… and home of my dear friends Brett and Chris. You may have already heard the story of how we met – Brett …
For Robert Ellis, of Crooked Oak Farm, his Square device is a necessary evil of selling at the farmers’ markets. He accepts credit card payments because he’s committed to top-level customer service, and most customers prefer that payment method. But …
Over the Labor Day weekend, a black couple went to a “pick-your-own” (PYO) farm outside of Boston to savor the waning days of summer and enjoy a little farm experience. As they walked back from the orchard to the farm-store …
Dear Julia: We are talking more seriously about hiring a bookkeeper – finances just keep getting de-prioritized as on-farm work needs to get done – and wondering if you have recommendations and methodology for working with people around sensitive data …
A few years into my catering business, I started to notice a seasonal trend. I was booked from October through December; slow January to March; busy again from April to June; and then slow from July through September. Contrary to …
When I first wrote The Farmer’s Office, I naively thought that if farmers just understood why bookkeeping was so important, they’d be motivated to implement new business management practices. If I had thought about some of my own behaviors and …
One of the more stressful aspects of living in the time of covid is making the physical connections with people. On a personal level – being able to hug our friends and family; or share a warm smile and touch. …
Last month, an aspiring entrepreneur named George called me. He’s launching a line of gluten-free marinades, and he needed help with his labeling. I asked a few questions of background – was he producing and selling the sauce yet? Not really, …
When Tremont 647 opened in 1996, Andy Husbands hired me as the pastry chef. My pastry experience was limited to what I learned in culinary school and a short stint as chef in a café in Washington, DC. Like many …
The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting virtually everything for everyone, from our health and families to our businesses. More than ever, you need to think like a business person/entrepreneur. You need to adapt to the rapidly changing business landscape, which is …