When was the last time you sat down to decide on changes or upgrades to make your business stronger? If it’s been more than 12 months, you’re overdue for a check-up. Consider the idea of going to enterprise-level analysis.
Going enterprise is like going pro. Let’s think of golf. We all know amateurs who play a pretty decent game and impress their friends. Maybe they even win a prize at the co-op golf scramble. Sure, it’s fun, but it’s not a business, in fact, they don’t play as much as they’d like because they have to make money doing something else.
Pros, on the other hand, have committed to the craft and decided it is their business. Their best efforts go toward building it, getting better and acquiring the coaching and professionalism tools required to compete against other great players. Taking a business to enterprise level has nothing to do with size, number of employees, annual sales or whether it’s a part-time endeavor or one providing the livelihood of three families.
Enterprise-level businesses in agriculture have these things in common:
- Long-view oriented; looking toward the next generation.
- Profit-minded ventures that add income.
- Set up with business, inventory and accounting structures and processes.
- Most importantly, serious businesses that are careers.
No matter what size of business you have now or wish to build, you can convert your business to enterprise level at any point.
How many times have we made plans to get more organized, more professional or just clean up — only to put it off? It’s certainly true for most of us at one point or another; we may like the idea of improving some aspect of our business and we may even jot down some plans, but yet when tomorrow comes, something more pressing always keeps us from implementing the new goal.
You know what that’s called? Working. Or, more specifically, working in the business. Our essential daily tasks actually prevent us from turning pro. This difference starts with a mindset shift. If you want to turn pro – go to enterprise level – set aside time to work on the business, not just run the business. That’s the critical first step.
Enterprises Verses Side Businesses
An Enterprise Business:
- Aims for intentional growth through planning, budgeting, and strategic goals.
- Has a dedicated marketing budget with return on investment metrics.
- Always evaluates success based on a long-term view of the business.
- Offers a career opportunity for the leaders to do important work or industry involvement, even if it is part time.
- Has potential to be passed to another generation.
A Side Business or Poorly Run Large Business:
- Expects only ‘accidental’ growth such as gaining customers only from word-of-mouth or referral.
- Has little to no marketing budget and/or does not use metrics to evaluate success.
- Often has no plan for the business to grow, change, or adapt.
- Adds only marginal income or barely breaks even.
- Offers no sense of a satisfying career for those involved at all levels.
- Has limited chances of being sustainable for another generation.
Sarah Beth Aubrey’s mission is to enhance success and profitability in agriculture by building capacity in people. She provides executive coaching as well as peer group and board facilitation.
Join Sarah Beth Aubrey at the 2021 Top Producer Summit. Learn more and register now!
