Synopses & Reviews
Turn your hobby farm into a successful businessNo experience in farming? No problem! The Profitable Hobby Farm gives you all the tools you need to launch a thriving hobby farm business. Based on the author's expert guidance and the motivating experiences of other small farmers, it shows you how to blend strategy, marketing, and money management in order to prosper.
The Profitable Hobby Farm provides sound, friendly start-up advice on a variety of topics essential to making an initial foray into a local foods venture.
- A must-read book for raising and selling local, sustainable foods
- Includes sample business plan, grant application, marketing and advertising plan, and other forms
- Lengthy resources section directs you to additional reading
- Also by Aubrey: Starting & Running Your Own Small Farm BusinessWhether it's growing heirloom tomatoes, raising free-range chickens for their eggs, or making organic wine or cheese, this book shows you how to turn your hobby into a profit.
Synopsis
A down-to-earth guide to profitable hobby farmingThis book gives you all the information you need to start your own local foods business. You'll get plain-English advice from a self-proclaimed farm-girl-turned- entrepreneur on:
Trends in niche agriculture and local foods
creating a business plan for a small-scale or hobby venture
assessing your home marketplace and uncovering niches not yet served
financing options, especially grants and cost-sharing programs
free or low-cost marketing ideas
basic strategies for surviving the first year in business
and more
Whether you want to create a small hobby business or start up a full-time venture, The Profitable Hobby Farm is the book for you. Thoroughly researched and packed with information for putting ideas into action, this is your blueprint for building a sustainable local foods business.
Synopsis
Turn your hobby farm into a successful businessNo experience in farming? No problem! The Profitable Hobby Farm gives you all the tools you need to launch a thriving hobby farm business. Based on the author's expert guidance and the motivating experiences of other small farmers, it shows you how to blend strategy, marketing, and money management in order to prosper.
The Profitable Hobby Farm provides sound, friendly start-up advice on a variety of topics essential to making an initial foray into a local foods venture.
- A must-read book for raising and selling local, sustainable foods
- Includes sample business plan, grant application, marketing and advertising plan, and other forms
- Lengthy resources section directs you to additional reading
- Also by Aubrey: Starting & Running Your Own Small Farm BusinessWhether it's growing heirloom tomatoes, raising free-range chickens for their eggs, or making organic wine or cheese, this book shows you how to turn your hobby into a profit.
Synopsis
A down-to-earth guide to profitable hobby farmingThis book gives you all the information you need to start your own local foods business. You'll get plain-English advice from a self-proclaimed farm-girl-turned- entrepreneur on:
Trends in niche agriculture and local foods
creating a business plan for a small-scale or hobby venture
assessing your home marketplace and uncovering niches not yet served
financing options, especially grants and cost-sharing programs
free or low-cost marketing ideas
basic strategies for surviving the first year in business
and more
Whether you want to create a small hobby business or start up a full-time venture, The Profitable Hobby Farm is the book for you. Thoroughly researched and packed with information for putting ideas into action, this is your blueprint for building a sustainable local foods business.
About the Author
Sarah Beth Aubrey was born into a family of farmers and was raised to believe, like Scarlett O'Hara, that it is land that sustains after all else. In addition to operating her company, Aubrey's Natural Meats, Sarah writes and speaks extensively on agriculture, the rural lifestyle, and small farm development.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments v
Introduction vi
Part One: Creation and Veraison
1 The Case for Small-Scale Farming and Local Foods Ventures 2
2 From Idea to Inventory: Planning and Assessing the Market 24
3 Funding Assistance 41
4 Rules, Regulations, and Legalese 65
Part Two: Fresh Business Ideas
5 Creating a Cooperative 88
6 Agritourism: Recreation as a Business 103
Part Three: Selling, Marketing, and Prospecting
7 Wholesale and Retail Pricing Strategies 124
8 Where and How to Sell 149
9 Marketing Ideas 174
10 Keeping (and Keeping Track of) Customers 198
Part Four: The First Year of Your Journey
11 The Lifestyle Change and First-Year Transition Tips 224
Finale: The Prints You Leave Behind 247
Resources 248
Sample Business Documents 255
Index 269
About the Author 275
Photo Credits 276