Well, I’ve completed the Annie’s Project course and I must say it was a great experience. I had high expectations when I signed up for the class and I wasn’t disappointed.
One of the most useful lectures during the course and a topic I looked forward to the most was learning to develop and write a business plan. In fact, I think it is so useful that I would like to recap the information I learned. Of course, this is a very condensed version because this column is short and I am not an expert on the subject.
Developing a business plan is not an easy task and shouldn’t be taken lightly. A business plan should define your business, identify your goals and mission statement and it should serve as a roadmap for your business.
You might be thinking, “Why do I need a business plan?” but as Agricultural Business Specialist Gordon Garriker, Annie’s Project instructor, explained business plans are important for many reasons: it sets your business up for success, it’s important for communicating your goals and objectives, it takes a look at your business as a whole and it develops new business opportunities.
In general a farm business plan includes eight sections: executive summary, farm description, strategic plan, production and operations plan, marketing plan, personnel plan, financial plan and appendices. Each one of these sections is very important and should be written with a lot of thought and research.
If you’re like me you might be wondering what to do with your business plan once you have it written. Well according to Garriker, you should conduct a routine review of your business plan to evaluate progress, identify detours and determine how to address them and to attract financial resources for your business. Garriker stressed that you should update your business plan yearly.
I must admit that even after attending Annie’s Project that I have not written my own business plan yet, but the reason why is simple, I am nowhere near ready to start my own business farming but if and when the time comes, I will have the tools and resources for completing the daunting task.
If you are interested in developing a business plan the University of Missouri Extension office should be able to help you get started.
Best wishes,
Lynzee
