Overview

The no-nonsense, practical guide for farm-preneurs to grow a successful farm business — completely revised and updated. You launched your farm because you love working the land and producing food. Yet to succeed you also need to think like an entrepreneur. The Farmer's Office, Second Edition is your must-have toolkit for starting and growing a sustainable agricultural business. Written by a consultant and entrepreneur who has supported hundreds of farm-preneurs, this essential resource is fully revised and updated to empower farmers to make sound decisions and manage their farm business for success. Topics include: Detailed descriptions of accounting and business concepts How to write a business plan for a new or growing venture and access financing Setting up and using QuickBooks for day-to-day sales and expense tracking, as well as for more complex tasks such as budgeting, cash flow analysis, and cost accounting Leveraging financial information to refine operations, improve profits, and develop strategies for growth Managing debt and cash flow challenges Planning for business growth and expansion Adapting to external shocks and learning to pivot Understanding mental blocks that can limit an entrepreneur's success Enhanced with detailed case studies of real farm businesses, The Farmer's Office, Second Edition is your personal business coach, providing guidance for all the business skills needed to succeed as a businessperson in a competitive and rapidly changing world.

Full Product Details

Author:   Julia Shanks ,  Jean-Martin Fortier
Publisher:   New Society Publishers
Imprint:   New Society Publishers
Edition:   Second Edition
Dimensions:   Width: 19.10cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 22.50cm
Weight:   0.671kg
ISBN:  

9780865719934

ISBN 10:   0865719934
Pages:   336
Publication Date:   13 February 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

"Foreword Gratitude Preface Disclaimer How to Use This Book Chapter 1: Introduction—Why Bother Understand What Makes You Money (and Why) Invest in Your Business Plan for Growth Plan for Slow Periods Avoid Out-of-Control Debt Weather Covid-Like Pivots and Other Disruptions Keep Your Eye on the Prize Chapter 2: Building the Foundation: The Financial Statements and Basic Accounting The Income Statement—A Summary of the Operations The Balance Sheet—What You Have and How You Got It The Statement of Cash Flows—Where Cash Rules the Roost Tying It All Together Underlying Principles Chapter 3: Planning Your New Venture Chapter 4: The Business Planning Process Getting Started The Business Planning Process Business Plan Writing Guide Creating Financial Projections Chapter 5: Financing Your New Venture Save Money Borrow from Friends and Family Outside Organizations Financing Sources Preparing for Investors Chapter 6: Setting up a Bookkeeping System (and QuickBooks) QuickBooks (and Bookkeeping) Best Practices Choosing a Bookkeeping Software The Initial Setup QuickBooks: An Overview of Things You'll Do Reports in QuickBooks QuickBooks Terminology Chapter 7: Day to Day: Using QuickBooks for Cash Management Create Your Annual Budget by Month The Bank Feed Regular Bookkeeping—Every Day-ish (10 minutes) Review, Refine, and Stay on Target—Every Month (1 hour) Big Picture Planning - Year End (1 to 2 hours, plus cleanup) QuickBooks Quick Tips Chapter 8: Digging into the Numbers and Beyond Section 1: Calculating the Cost of Production Section 2: Allocating General Production Costs and Enterprise Analysis Section 3: Marketing and Pricing Strategies Section 4: Benchmarking Measuring Success: Keep Your Eye on the Prize Chapter 9: Stabilizing Your Business Managing the Hole Should You Stop or Persevere? Key Takeaways Chapter 10: Growing Your Business Establish Goals Is ""Growth"" the Right Strategy? Deciding How to Grow Growing Your Team Marketing Key Success Factors Chapter 11: Building Resiliency into Your Business Model The Process to Pivot Shifts vs. Pivots Building Resiliency into Your System Chapter 12: Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Mindset The Entrepreneurial Mindset Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable Money Shame Mental Models Time Management Being the Employer of Choice Decision-Making In Summary Epilogue: Final Words of Wisdom Appendix 1: Sample Income Statement Accounts Appendix 2: Sample Balance Sheet Accounts Appendix 3: The Business Plan Appendix 4: Suggested Accounts for Chart of Accounts Glossary Endnotes Index About the Author About New Society Publishers"

Reviews

"Filled with excellent, real-life examples, this is the best book I've seen on the business side of running a small farm. Written by someone who clearly has first-hand experience and understands how market farmers think, The Farmer's Office clearly illustrates the ups and downs and ins and outs of making the dream financially sustainable. This is a great book for both farmers just starting out, and experienced farmers looking to improve their businesses. —Josh Volk, Slow Hand Farm This book will guide you from setting up your farm, to how to make tough business decisions when things aren't going so great, and to scaling up when things take off again. Whether you love spreadsheets or barely tolerate them, you should read The Farmer's Office! —Dan Brisebois, the Farmer Spreadsheet Academy, host, The Seed Growers Podcast, farmer, Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm Every farmer aspiring to sharpen their business management skills should have this book in their toolbox. This latest edition offers a comprehensive overview of what to track, how to use data to make decisions and, most importantly, how to move forward with a minimum of pain and anxiety. All of which is illustrated with updated case studies of real farmers confronting real business challenges and figuring it out. —Mary L. Peabody, business coach, University of Vermont Extension professor emeritus This comprehensive guide, filled with detailwwed graphs, spreadsheets, and charts, offers a clear pathway to mastering your finances and truly comprehending your farming enterprise. This isn't just another business book, it's a farming financial masterclass. —Michael Kilpatrick, farmer, The Farm on Central, educator, Growing Farmers If you're dreaming of starting a farm, then The Farmer's Office just became your first official ""must read."" I wish this book had existed thirty years ago when I started farming. —Forrest Pritchard, NYT bestselling author, Gaining Ground Julia's second edition is even better than the first. In addition to all its critically important and usable information, and its many new chapters, she's added an easy-to-use guide to help you decide what chapters are most important for where your business is now. —Dorothy Suput, founder, The Carrot Project Whenever I encounter a struggling farmer, I send them off to read Julia Shanks's book. This is a must-read for anyone working in agriculture. —Lennie Larkin, author, Flower Farming For Profit Farmers of every level of experience will find valuable ideas in this book. —Ellen Polishuk, Plant to Profit, author, Start Your Farm Julia Shanks's new edition of The Farmer's Office gives us vital tools that can help new as well as old and experienced farmers survive, evolve, and hopefully thrive! —Brett Grohsgal, owner/farmer, Even' Star Farm, co-author, The Farmers Market Cookbook"

Author Information

Julia Shanks is a chef, entrepreneur, and business consultant who provides business assistance and coaching to new and established farm and food entrepreneurs. She has an MBA in entrepreneurship and is co-author of The Farmers Market Cookbook. She lives in Cambridge, MA. Jean-Martin Fortier and his wife Maude-Helene Desroches are the founders of Les Jardins de la Grelinette, an internationally recognised micro-farm famous for its high productivity-profitability using low-tech, high-yield methods of production. He lives in Quebec, Canada.

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