Level 1 · Part 1
Farming as a business
Why it helps to ask who will pay, for what, and what it truly costs.
A business is an activity that provides something people value, in exchange for money that covers its costs and leaves something for its owner. Farming, processing, transporting and selling food can all be run this way.
Thinking like a business owner does not mean forgetting your family, your land or your community. It means making your decisions on purpose, with information, instead of by habit or luck.
Three questions to ask about any product
- Who will buy it? Name a real kind of buyer, not 'everyone'.
- What does it truly cost me to produce and deliver it? Count everything, including my own work.
- What could go wrong between the field and the money in my hand?
Selling is not the same as earning
A full sale at the market does not mean the business earned anything. If the costs were higher than the money received, the more you sell, the more you lose. You only know once you have counted the costs.
Exercise 1.1 · Describe your product and your buyer
- Write down one product you grow, make or sell (or would like to).
- Write down who buys it today, or who you think would buy it. Be as specific as you can: a household, a market trader, a restaurant, a processor.
- Write down what that buyer cares about most when choosing where to buy.
Background reading for this part:
- Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) — International Labour Organization (ILO)