The Brain of Your Farm Operation: The Office
Dorothy asks the Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz,’ “What would you do with a brain, if you had one?”
He replies “Why, if I had a brain, I could…” and then lists off all the things a fictional scarecrow would do with a brain, like talking with flowers, hatchin’ thoughts, and figuring out why the ocean is near the shore.
What would you do if you had a brain? Or more importantly, what are you doing without a brain? Of course, I mean your office space, not your actual brain.
When you think of an office, many things may come to mind. Some people have an area in the shop, a room in the house, a crowded workspace with a few other family members and employees, or wherever their laptop is because they are all digital. Some may think of a crowded “big city cubicle” or their dream professional office space with enough room, a big desk, and a nice heavy door to block out noise form the conference room or bathroom next door.
Listen to the Ag View Pitch about improving your office space:
Send the Right Message
Whatever your current or ideal office looks like, I am a large proponent of buying, building, or even renting the office space you and your farm team need for a professional work environment that allows you to fully utilize your skills and talents, and send the right message to your customers, landowners, and co-workers.
Working with farm businesses across the United States and Canada has brought to light the office space as a major point of contention, bottleneck in business operations, and black eye on hiring quality candidates for professional farm businesses.
I want you, right now, to think of other businesses you know which gross 1, 5, 30+ million dollars. Do you think they have a professional office space? Would you expect them to? How would it affect the way you do business with them? If they do not have the professional space you expect, how does it frame your outlook on their operation? The idea here is most people understand the need for a professional space to grow business and uphold the standards expected of your business.
3 Reasons Farms Have Not Upgraded Their Office:
- Cost: A $25,000 to $400,000 renovation for a nice office can be common.
- Adequate Space: Most of you have built successful businesses without the need for a fancy or updated office space, and saved money along the way.
- No need: It has just been me or one other along the way, and we have made due with our own offices or a shared space. What would be the advantage of a nice office?
5 Reasons You SHOULD Upgrade Your Office:
- Profit: It will make the farm business more money than it will cost. This is No. 1 for a reason!
- Separate Work and Personal Life: Put a physical barrier between your office and your home, or make it easier to disconnect
- Professional Meeting Space: Tailgate meetings are important. So are professional meetings in an environment built for serious discussions
- Talent Attraction and Hiring: The world is focused on retaining key employees right now. Professional offices draw in the quality candidates you seek to hire.
- Future Growth: Bringing family back into the operation? Adding team members? Build a space for growth and future positions.
Don’t believe me? Ask someone you know who invested in their office what their thoughts are! Maybe you don’t want to, because they are your competition- what does this say about their business decision? Ask someone farther away, then, if that is the case. I am sure you will get a lot of feedback, good and bad.
The main reason I want to share this message and encourage you to think about it is the stress, communication issues, and stunted business growth or family dysfunction not having a professional space causes when we work with farm operations. It can be crippling.
What would you spend to elevate your business? What would you spend on a new piece of equipment to make you more money? How much would you write a check for to improve your family relationships?
If you’ve been thinking about improving your office space, what are you waiting for? This may be your sign.
Shay Foulk is a farm business consultant with Ag View Solutions, providing profit management and business analysis. He farms and runs a regional seed business with his wife and father-in-law in Illinois.
Connect with him:
shay@agviewsolutions.com
@FoulkShay
agviewsolutions.com
