Workbook
Level 12 · Scaling
Work through these exercises with your own product, market and numbers. Review your answers with a mentor, a farmer group or a business adviser. Print this page to fill it in by hand.
Exercises in this level
- 12.1 · My readiness check
- 12.2 · Write my first system
- 12.3 · Choose a growth step
- 12.4 · My twelve-month growth plan
Part 1 · Are you ready to grow?
Exercise 12.1 · My readiness check
- Answer the five signs above with a yes, partly or no, and a reason.
- Mark the two weakest signs and write what you will do about them.
- Write the one thing that makes you want to grow, and whether customers are really asking for it.
Part 2 · Systems and people
Exercise 12.2 · Write my first system
- Choose the job that goes wrong most often.
- Write it as five to eight short steps that a new person could follow.
- Ask someone to follow it and note where they got stuck, then improve it.
Part 3 · Ways to grow, and their risks
Exercise 12.3 · Choose a growth step
- From the table, choose one way to grow and write why it fits you.
- Write what would have to be true for it to work: supply, quality, customers, cash, people.
- Write a small test you could run in one season, and how you will judge the result.
Part 4 · Pace, cash and capital
Exercise 12.4 · My twelve-month growth plan
- Write your growth step in one sentence and your first three actions.
- Redo your cash-flow plan with the new volumes and mark where cash could run short.
- Write the five numbers you will watch every month and the level at which you will slow down.
- Write who you will ask for advice and how often you will review the plan.