Why Develop a Business Plan and Who Should Be Involved in the Planning Process?

New and experienced business owners, regardless of history or current situation, can benefit from business planning. As an experienced producer, you may develop a business plan to: map out a transition from conventional to organic production management; expand your operation; incorporate more family members or partners into your business; transfer or sell the business; add value to your existing operation through product processing, direct sales or cooperative marketing. It’s never too late to begin planning! If you are a first time rural land owner or beginning farmer who may be considering the establishment of a bed and breakfast or community-supported agriculture (CSA) enterprise, business planning can help you identify management tasks and financing options that are compatible with your long-term personal, environmental, economic, and community values. Business planning is an on-going, problem-solving process that can identify business challenges and opportunities that apply to your marketing, operations, human resources and finances, and develop strategic objectives to move your business beyond its current situation toward your future business vision. Once developed, your business plan can be used as a long-term, internal organizing tool or to communicate your plans to others outside your business.

Use your business plan to:

• ·         Make regular or seasonal marketi Make regular or seasonal marketing, operations, human resources and finance decisions.
• ·         Pursue long-term personal, economic, environmental and community goals.

Develop a business profile for communicating within or outside your family to potential business partners, lenders and customers. Before you begin working through this Guide, take a few moments to consider where you are in the business life cycle and why you are developing a business plan. Are you just beginning? Ready for growth? Planning to consolidate and transfer out of the business?  Based on your position in the business life cycle, what do you want to accomplish? Do you need to explore a critical finance- or operations-related challenge that you currently face? Research a perceived marketing opportunity? Prepare for an anticipated internal change in human resources? Most likely you have several, interdependent planning motives. This Guide is designed to help you work through many of them. Be aware, however, that retirement and farm transfer issues are not treated directly in the text or Worksheets. If retirement and business transfer are your critical planning issues, you may benefit by working through the first few tasks (identifying values, reviewing your history and current situation, and identifying your vision and goals), before talking with an attorney or financial consultant to help you develop specific business liquidation or transfer strategies.