Winter 1999

What Will 1999 Bring For Your Business?
We all know that owning your own business is risky. An agricultural business has all the usual risks plus a lot of additional circumstances over which you have no control.  Still, having a plan is the best insurance for success. So during these short days of winter take some time to assess where you are in your business. Did you make the goals you set for last year? Note some changes you’d like to implement this year and write down the steps you need to take to reach your goal. Finally, write a vision statement for yourself about where you’d like your business to be a year from now. It’ll make fun reading next year at this time and you’ll be surprised at how this exercise can keep you on track.

Did You Know?...

  • Between 1987 and 1996, the number of women-owned businesses in the U.S. has grown 78 percent!!
  • The top growth industries for women-owned businesses between 1987 and 1996 included agriculture!!
  • Women-owned businesses generate $2.38 trillion annually.

Why Some Businesses Don’t Last
Below are 10 reasons commonly cited as to why businesses fail.

  1. Choosing a business that isn’t very profitable. Even though you generate lots of activity, the profits never materialize to the extent necessary to sustain an on-going business.
  2. Inadequate cash reserves. If you don’t have enough cash to carry you through the slow months, your prospects for long-term success are not good.
  3. Failure to clearly define your market, your customers, and your customers’ buying habits. Who are your customers? How are you going to reach them? How loyal are your customers to you and your  product/service? 
  4. Failure to price your product/service correctly. You must clearly define your pricing strategy. You need to have a good understanding of your costs. Your final cost has to be within the customers’ ability and willingness to pay.
  5. Failure to adequately predict cash flow. When does money need to be paid out and when do you expect to see money coming in? Identifying these points will help you judge when and where cash flow is going to be weak. What’s your plan for these times?
  6. Failure to anticipate or react to changes in the marketplace. It is dangerous to assume that what you have done in the past will always work. Challenge these assumptions often. What is your competition doing differently? Have there been changes in the marketplace that will affect your business? Is your product/service still what the customers are asking for?
  7. Overgeneralization. Trying to do everything for everyone is a sure road to ruin. Spreading yourself too thin diminishes quality. What business are you in?
  8. Overdependence on a single customer. Whenever you have one customer so big that losing them would mean closing up shop, watch out. Having a large base of small customers is usually safer in the long run.
  9. Uncontrolled growth. Going after all the business you can get drains your cash and often reduces overall profitability. Don’t leverage yourself so far that you’ll be unable to pay your bills if the economy slows down.
  10. Believing you can do everything yourself. One of the biggest challenges is knowing when to let go. Build a team of professionals and let them help you. Give employees responsibility and authority. Take time away from the business. Keep things in perspective and avoid burnout.

Building a Team of Professionals
When should I consult a professional? How do I select the right professional for my needs? Who should be part of my business team?
No matter how small or how new, every business can benefit from the expertise of a team of business professionals. Any time you start something new, or make a major decision about your business, it’s worth making a quick call to a professional with whom you have an established relationship. This can save you a lot of time and money later and you will benefit from receiving a second opinion that you are not overlooking any major concerns.  Minimally, it’s good to have a business counselor, an accountant, and an attorney on your team. Legal and tax issues are the major reasons to seek out expert advice. These fields change often and professionals will know how the latest changes are going to affect you and your business. This way you can anticipate issues before they become problems.  Here are a few tips that might help you when working with a professional:

  • Find someone that you’re comfortable with. A professional relationship should be based on mutual respect and trust. If you don’t feel that you or your business is being taken seriously, find someone else. If you feel intimidated and reluctant to ask questions then the match is not the right one.
  • Find out what communication method works best for both of you: phone, Fax, e-mail, or regular mail. Not every question requires a face-to-face meeting.
  • Ask about billing rates and payment procedures up front. Be prepared to give an estimate of about how much contact time you’re likely to need.
  • At the end of the interview, review any points that have been agreed upon for services to be provided, further research to be done and projected completion dates. Include the tasks you have agreed to complete.
  • Mark all of these deadlines on a calendar.
  • Ask if s/he will consult other professionals as needed, and who s/he works with already. This can be important when discussing complicated issues that require input from a number of individuals.

A Woman to Remember: Louisa King
The first president of the Woman’s National Farm and Garden Association, King was born in New Jersey in 1863. She was one of the founders of the Garden Club of America. In 1921 she was the first woman to receive the George White Medal of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the highest gardening honor in the US. She was also a fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain. She died in 1948.

Work Safely With Portable Power Tools
Hand-held power tools are lightweight, portable and convenient to use. Because of that, it’s easy to forget that they’re dangerous. Unsafe use of power tools can result in: electrical shock, fires, severe cuts, puncture wounds, or injuries from flying debris. It’s important to understand how your tools work and how to prevent accidents.

  • Before you start work with a tool make sure you are familiar with starting, stopping, and any safety instructions. If this is your first time, read the instructions.
  • Be sure that your work area is clean. Oily rags, sawdust, papers and clutter can easily be ignited by sparks or heat.
  • Don’t use power tools if the work area is wet. Electricity and water don’t mix!
  • Make sure the tool is turned off and unplugged before you make adjustments or install new blades, bits, etc.
  • Wear appropriate shoes and clothing. Tie back long hair and remove any jewelry.
  • Protect your hands, eyes, face and lungs by wearing protective equipment.
  • If you’re using an extension cord, make sure it’s a heavy-duty cord.
  • Use the proper tool for the job. Don’t force a small tool to do a job that requires a heavy-duty tool.
  • Keep guards and shields in place.
  • Keep tools clean, sharp and in good operating condition.
  • Don’t use power tools in areas with chemicals or other flammable liquids.
  • Immediately turn off and unplug any tool that sparks, overheats or causes an electrical shock.
WAgN Program Outreach Staff: New Address
Please note that Beverly Bishop and Debra Marckres have a new office address:
WAgN - UVM Extension
29 Sunset Drive, Suite 2
Morrisville, VT 05661-8331
Beverly: tel: 802-888-9451 or 802-253-4353
Debra:  tel: 802-888-9455

WAgN Discussion Groups
    WAgN discussion groups are now taking shape in several parts of Vermont. While background, education and age may vary widely, the people in these groups have found they share a common interest in Vermont agriculture and the challenges of starting and running ag businesses. In June of 1997, a cadre of farm women from the Brattleboro area formed the nucleus for the first WAgN discussion group.  Since then, this group has worked with each other and with WAgN to grow into a mature self-directed community.
    Now there are groups in Rutland, Burlington and Morrisville. Each group glows with its own unique characteristics, making it a demanding but stimulating undertaking to help each maintain the energy that brought the groups together in the first place. Personal experiences,  as well as the stage of the member’s business, alter the dynamics as the memberships ebb and flow with the seasons.
    Why Discussion Groups?  Support for the groups  is one of WAgN’s responses to participants of Growing Places and other WAgN events, who wanted to maintain the connections they established during training periods. They relished the support, information and resource sharing; relief from the isolation of home business; and the opportunity to talk with others who understand the rigors of an agricultural business. In addition, discussion groups are one more way for WAgN to understand and respond to participant needs, and to provide a format for participant self development.
    Although it is difficult to measure how group members have benefitted through their involvement with discussion groups, we have seen some exciting developments such as new partnerships that have blossomed, leadership roles that participants have assumed, the exchange of information, and/or the sharing of expertise and services.  Better still, it’s the invaluable insight of participant needs that WAgN has gained by working with the groups over the past year and a half.
    Ordinarily, groups meet once per month from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Meeting dates may vary, but usually they are as follows: Rutland: third Monday; Brattleboro: fourth Monday; Morrisville: second or third Thursday; Burlington (not set in stone).
For information about joining or starting a discussion group, please call WAgN’s discussion group coordinator, Beverly Bishop, at 802-888-9451 or 800-435-5634.

Vermont Welcome Center
As you may have heard, the State of VT Information Center Division is constructing a new Southeastern VT Welcome Center that will open by July 4, 1999 in Guilford, VT.  We need your help to define the region's character and attractions for the new center!  After all, no one knows the region and its visitors like you do.  Tours and Detours is the way to explore VT - based on your interest and preferences, whether it's a fascination with Revolutionary era sites or a yen to get into the wilderness or into an artisan's studio.  Using 15 categories, Tours and Detours reveals the surprising range of recreational, natural, cultural, historic, agricultural, and artistic attractions offered in every region of VT.  Above all, it helps visitors explore those rewarding "roads less traveled" for which VT is famous.  A series of meetings to discuss and decide on themes is being scheduled between now and July.  For information on these meetings, please contact Helene Tingle, the Tours and Detours Coordinator for the State of VT Information Center Division, at (802) 828-5889.

Previews of Coming Attractions...

Orientations:
January 11, February 2, March 16, April 6, May 20, June 15.  Burlington.  Call WSBP at 802-846-7160 for times and locations.

Getting Serious:
January 11, 14, 18, 21 Morrisville
February 4, 11, 18, 25.  Burlington
March 1, 8, 15, 22.  Burlington
April 5, 12, 19, 26.  Burlington
June 3, 10, 17, 24.  Burlington
Please call the Women’s Small Business Program at  802-846-7160 for further details.

Start Up:
January 22 - May 2.  Burlington
Graduation - May 7
Call WSBP at 802-846-7160 for further details.

Growing Places Now Offered At A New Time!
For those of you who have been yearning to take Growing Places but haven't been able to give up a month of Saturdays, cycle 8 may be for you!! The upcoming class will take place on weekday evenings, starting March 10 and running for eight consecutive Wednesdays through April 28, from 5:30 - 9:00 at the Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center.

As always, the class will help participants explore the possibilities and realities of owning an agriculture-based business. Participants will develop a comprehensive goal for themselves and their businesses, identify and evaluate current resources, examine marketing strategies, and explore agencies and organizations that provide support and assistance to farmers. For registration materials for Growing Places, please contact WAgN's main office.

Other Related and Interesting Events...

Herbs for Winter Health Workshop
Jan 23.  UVM Horticulture Farm in South Burlington, VT.  Call 864-3073 for more information.

Vermont Farm Show
Jan 26-28.  Barre Auditorium, Barre, VT.  Contact Jon Turmel 802-828-2500

Producing Meat with Dairy Goats Seminars
Feb 6.  Manchester, NH; Feb 7, Waterbury, VT. Contact Carol Delaney, 802-656-0915.

Northeast Organic Farming Association of  Vermont Annual Winter Conference
Feb 13 at the Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center.   Please contact NOFA-VT,  802-434-4122 for more information.

Cow Handling Pasture Meeting
Feb 18.  Derby, VT.  Contact Colleen Helenek,   802-334-7325 ext. 13.

Creating Successful Grower Marketing Cooperatives
Feb 20.  Albany, New York area.  For more information, call Regional Farm and Food Project, 518-426-9331.

Ornamental Vines for Vermont (10:30 - 11:30 am)
Seed Swap Social (1:00 - 3:00 pm)
Feb 21.  UVM Horticulture Farm, South Burlington.  Bring a bag lunch and attend both events!  For more information and to pre-register for the morning lecture, call 802-864-3073.

3rd Annual Vermont Grass Farmers' Association Conference
Feb 27 at the Vermont Law School in South Royalton. The theme is "Grass Into Gold: Farm Diversification Value-Added Products and Marketing" and will feature Ed Martsolf, holistic management consultant.  Following the morning keynote by Martsolf, workshops will be held on the following topics: custom heifer grazing, farmstead cheese, marketing your own meats, pasturing poultry, milking goats and sheep, and more!
For more information, please contact Sarah Flack, 802-656-3834.

Holistic Management and Whole Farm Planning Course
Mar 1-3.   Location TBA.  Contact Sarah Flack,   802-656-3834.

1999 Massachusetts Farmers’ Direct Marketing Conference and Trade Show
Mar 4.  Boxborough, MA.  For information and registration, please call Charlie Touchette, Federation of MA Farmers’ Markets 413-527-6572.

Enhancing Organic Dairy Operations Conference
Mar 27-28.  Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT.  For more information, contact Lisa McCrory  802-728-4416 or 802-434-4122.

Master Gardener Basic Course for 1999
Feb 9 through May 18 on Tuesdays 7:15 pm to 9:30 pm  (except for March 23 - Spring Break).

Classes will be held via Interactive Television at the following locations:  Colchester, Rutland, St. Johnsbury, Randolph Center, Brattleboro, Canaan.  The training is adapted to local needs and the Vermont environment.

To receive your certificate as a Vermont Master Gardener, you must complete both this Basic Course and an in-community internship of 40 hours.  For further details, please contact Robyn Osiecki at 802-656-5427.




WAgN
Women's Agricultural Network
590 Main St., UVM
Burlington, VT  05405
(802) 656-3276
or wagn@zoo.uvm.edu

 University of Vermont Extension and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, notional orgin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status.