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Many of us dream of starting our own business and reaping the rewards that it can bring. Not only do you get the chance to put your business skills to the test, but it also lets you be your own boss, set your own hours and make money from something that you enjoy doing.
Unfortunately, many people do not pursue their dreams in farming because of a lack of funding or go diving in without a thought to how they are going to finance their dreams. Some people start their agricultural business by borrowing money, and while this is not necessarily a bad thing, starting off in debt is never ideal, especially if you do not have any income coming in to pay it back.
Here are a few ways of getting the money together to start up your own farming business:
Research potential startup costs
Before you start saving for your farm, it is a good idea to figure out how much you will need to get it up and running. By this, we mean things such as animal feed with natural ingredients and additives, farm equipment, training, transportation, etc. Shop around as well to see where you can save money – for example, red diesel can be a cost-effective method of fueling tractors and other farm transport.
Do not be afraid of approaching other farmers if possible and asking them to get an insight into startup costs as well. They may suggest something you had not thought of. It is also always worth having an experienced farmer to guide you as a mentor.
Put aside funds
Once you have a rough idea of the sort of money that you will need, you can then work out how soon you will be able to launch your farm or agribusiness. Use that information to incorporate your startup costs into your monthly budget. By doing this, you may find that you need to make cuts in particular areas, which leads us into our next point.
Get creative
When it comes to making savings for your new business venture, you may have to make sacrifices and get creative with the money that you can spend. Some of the easiest ways to save some cash are by cutting out nights out, takeouts and eating out, not buying coffees to go and getting rid of any unnecessary subscriptions such as Netflix. Sure, it may be tedious and trying for a while, but sacrifices are necessary sometimes to fund dreams!
Set up a separate business account
Following on from the previous point, open up a bank account, especially for money towards your agribusiness. By putting it away, you are less likely to dip into it to fund other things, but it also allows you to see how close or how far away you are from your budget.
Pick things that are affordable to look after/grow
How are you going to make money from your farming business? If you’re growing and selling crops, pick options that are very affordable but have high-profit potential. Do some research and find things with low purchasing costs so you’re not spending too much money.
The same goes for any of you that might breed or sell livestock. Companies like Superior Farms have a lot of success raising and selling lambs because they’re cheap to acquire yet also offer multiple ways of making money. You can sheer the fur and sell it to clothing companies or raise the lamb for food purposes. It’s up to you, but if you do have animals on your farm, pick ones that don’t cost a lot to look after yet can provide high-yield gains.
If you can put these five tips into place, you will be well on your way to saving for your very own agricultural business venture!
Growing Forward 