To be successful in this venture, the Agripreneur must be in animal spirit. It’s not a lazy man venture; he or she must be ready to break the ice. There are eight (8) parameters that one needs to consider before investing in any facet of agribusiness, either catfish production or poultry production or anyone whatsoever. I will elucidate these points below:
• PASSION
Yes! Passion, this is key to every successful endeavor. Passion is the fuel that burns inside every successful business; it is the drive towards having a successful dealing. Passion will not make you regret or feel bad about your failure because it is normal in every circumstance.
Passion is what you conceive within yourself that makes you feel you can actually be successful in what you what to do, it won’t make you get frustrated even when the whole world is against your business.
Agribusiness, just like other businesses, requires a lot of passion for one to break even. Looking at the nature of the business, it is not what a lay man would want to do. It might look disgusting or irritating, also arduous and strenuous but with passion all these will look at a mere house chore.
A small scale poultry farmer goes to his farm daily, seven (7) times a week, with no actual resting period but the willingness or drive that makes it easy for him or her is the passion conceived by the farmer for it. It is not because of the daily or monthly profit that emanates from the business but the love for it.
Passion is what anybody who wants to be successful in agribusiness should first go and develops because it is the only medicine that will heal the wounds of challenges when they surface. It is the only palliative measure during hard times.
• KNOWLEDGE
This is where most investors are getting things wrong. Truly, money is a major factor to run a business, but there are some prerequisites that will aid the efficiency of the money one of which is knowledge.
Most investors make a big mistake by hiring a manager on a new farm without personally knowing the rudiments of the business itself. To enhance transparency, the investor must seek basic knowledge about the business because knowledge will compliment passion; it will make the passion everlasting and meaningful.
As a potential agripreneur, after acclaiming your passion, knowledge is the next equipment you need to procure for you to run your business successful. No time is much or wasted in acquiring knowledge, it is possible one has a plan of ten (10) years business plan and decides to acquire knowledge for seven (7) years to ensure the success of the business. Believe me, the remaining three (3) years is enough to build the ten (10) years dream provided the knowledge is well acquired.
Knowledge is the remedy to problems and obstacles, obstacles and problems are threats to the success of the business. Conversely, knowledge is the success to the business.
However, knowledge is not static. Knowledge revolves daily therefore one need to ensure he or she has updated knowledge about the business.
• PLANNING
After acquiring knowledge one needs to plan, as it is popularly said, he who fails to plan, plans to fail. Planning is like arranging bricks during the process of a building construction. Planning is done based on the acquired knowledge and not the capital per se. Also, passion makes planning interesting; it rekindles the business spirit after the knowledge has been acquired.
Knowledge without planning is meaningless; it is from planning choice fizzles out.
Planning will indicate the size of the business, the capital to start up, the targeted audience, the duration of the business, the labour required. Planning will show where to reduce cost of production to maximize profit.
Planning will show the picture of how the business will look like. It is the template of the business idea. Planning should be done in a way that it would accommodate changes. The planning must be strategic as it must purport or project the aim of the business if not; it’s not a good one.
• FUNDING
Capital is very crucial, it makes the plans feasible. Passion is the fuel for every business so also money is the driver for all businesses. After successful planning, execution follows; this is where the need for money sets in to carry out necessary duties like the purchase of equipment and other valuables to ensure the smooth running of the business.
Capital could be raised through lending, personal savings or help from family and friends but loan is not advisable, one should not startup a new business with loans. This will weigh down the business spirit and if not carefully handled, the business might be in the state of moribund.
No matter how meagre the startup capital might me, it is advisable to make it work like that; a new business should be started small and allowed to grow into an empire. Money should be carefully spent and spent on purpose, that is why planning was mentioned to guide against excessive spend.
• IMPLEMENTATION
This is the process of using the knowledge acquired about the business, following the laid down plans with the aid of the passion when capital is available to bring about a successful business.
Just like the “fill in the gap exercises’ in our elementary English language, implementation is the gaps to be filled in these context when the aforementioned parameters are available. This is where the laid down plans are put into action with the aid of capital as I have said earlier; money is the “driver”. This is where all the aforementioned points will be put to test, with the aid of the planning. This will show how successful the business will be.
At this juncture, everything will look easier and interesting provided there is a solid plan, by the virtue of the result. The farmer must be more sensitive and attentive to detect loopholes and observe the impressions of the plans, how effective they have been what amendment needs to set it, what are the areas to concentrate on.
This is where the competitors have to be considered, observe closely their weaknesses and let these be your strength. Emulate of their strengths and capitalize mostly on their weaknesses, for therein success lies.
• BRANDING
This is what distinct your farm products from its contemporaries, it is commonly called packaging. This should be the strength of every business, this is the selling point. Truly, there are so many farms around with similar products but yours must be distinct. This is where your knowledge sets in, this is why you must have updated knowledge about your venture, and you must follow trends. Study your consumers carefully, observe their needs, relate it with your competitors’ weaknesses and make it your strength. Do not adopt the local ways of doing things; create standards irrespective of the amount of your startup capital do something tangible and commendable. Let your product beam out good impressions by giving it a decent look. Advertisement is key; create awareness as much as possible.
The level of your branding determines the level of your success in the business.
• MAINTENANCE
This is the act of making the business relevant anytime, any day. It is making the business stay ahead the packs always. It entail constant evaluations, this could be of any form. It might be from the consumers or the co-workers working at the farm. The business must be consistent and formidable. It technically means monitoring the gesture of the business
• PRAYER
Prayer is key, prayer is paramount. For every development Divine intervention should be sought after. Pray as much as you plan, equate the two and try to strike balance. Do not plan or implement or initiate any development without praying. Also do not pray alone without any plan to bring about development. The two work together to yield a result.
I believe with all these, a business can thrive and stay above board.
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