Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

Publication: Tayo Solagbade’s Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS Page (PSIP) Newsletter

Date: Monday 30th September 2013

No:109

Title: Earn Extra Non-Farm Income at Zero Cost

Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [Tel: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic) ]

Blog URL: http://www.tayosolagbade.com/blog

Archive (For E-mail only version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view

Archive (For Blog version started 24th September 2011): Click here

Hi,

Please find below the latest issue of my Speaking IDEAS newsletter.

No. 109: Earn Extra Non-Farm Income at Zero Cost

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NB: If you ever find yourself wondering what else I’ve written, some days after you’ve read THIS Speaking Ideas newsletter I send out on a Monday, here’s what you can do to find out: Point your browser to www.tayosolagbade.com/sdnuggets to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays) in line with this publishing schedule

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By learning and creatively employing public speaking (and creative writing), farm business owners can effortlessly generate substantial ADDITIONAL income streams, outside sales of normal farm products.

Smart thinking farmers can do this, IF they get more organized. Adopting a BOPMS can help. It will free you up from routine farm demands, so you can nurture this extra line of multiple income streams.

This issue of my speaking IDEAS newsletter provides details you can use.

Discerning Farm Decision Makers Often “Get It” – But Most Others Rarely Do

Since 2006, I have actively updated my Cost-Saving Farm Business Ideas website. One purpose has driven me over all these years. It is to serve as a catalyst for empowering Farm Business Owners ANYWHERE, to make more profits.

To make them see the need to move to a superior level of doing what they do, if they hope to achieve superior outcomes.

Traditional experts may not be able to help them do that.

Why?

Because people steeped in tradition rarely have the courage to break away.

My training as an Agricultural Extension Services professional equips me to play the role I have chosen. But it is my exposure to World Class Process Management techniques that has really helped me see farm business performance improvement from a refined perspective.

Just like others, a farm business is a batch production process. As a result, it can – and should – be subjected to management, using best practice systems.

That’s why I conceived, and offer a Best Operating Process Management System(BOPMS)™ development and implementation service for farm businesses.

However, Integration of Best Practice, In Farm Operations, Is Not Something You Can Really “Learn” From Textbooks

Neither is it taught in a business school.

Most of it will have to come from input provided by competent experts.

Now, I do not claim to be the only one who understands this.

But I have moved around a lot over the past 10 years – and interacted widely with experts and CEOs of all kinds in the farming industry.

One thing is crystal clear to me:

If any others out here have even the slightest understanding of how to implement anything as beneficial as a Best Operating Process Management System (BOPMS)™ , they are doing a VERY good job of hiding it.

Hint: I wanted to add up to 4 exclamation marks to the end of the last sentence above. But I restrained myself. Know, however, that that is how serious I think this is.

Adopting Best Practice Will Boost Your Farm’s Reliable, and Reproducible, Profit Making Performance!

You cannot keep running your farm, without establishing formal systems for ensuring it works right on a consistent basis

If you do, you will not get the results you want, as often as you should.

And over time, that will deny you valuable long term gains.  Even worse, when you get good results, you’ll NOT know what you did to get them.

As a result, you’ll be unable to REPRODUCE them next time around.

Consider This Example:

If your first batch of poultry layers goes through a full year without suffering a disease outbreak, it could be due to your team’s good management…or your incredibly good luck.

If it was due to more of the latter, you may be at a loss as to what to do if, by accident, your next batch of birds suffers a disease outbreak.

But if it was due to sound management practices based on a formal system, you would ALWAYS know what to do to keep disease out from each batch.

Of course no farm ever stays 100% free of infection.

But well managed ones rarely have serious – or repeat – occurrences. And that’s why their long term outputs and profitability are rarely disappointing.

A Best practice system will free you up to develop indirect, but highly profitable additional income streams.

This will happen because you’ll have less need to run around your business chasing employees to do what they are paid to do. The system will make it easier to get them to do their jobs. And it will provide YOU, the owner, with powerful tools (reports and performance indicators), to quickly identify anyone failing to conform.

Most importantly, you will discover you have less need to manually check that operations are carried out according to set standards.

The “FREE Time” a BOPMS Gives You, Can Be Channeled to Exploring Ways to Earn Additional Income – at Zero Cost

I honestly believe too many farm business owners are focused on traditional ways of making money.

Please understand. I’m not saying this because I do not yet have a farm.

Instead, I say it because in the course of providing support to farm business owners, I see them leaving too much money on the table.

That’s how the Americans put it. And why should you leave money on the table?

You Can – and Should – Make MORE Money Outside What Your Farm Produces!

1. Who says the only way to make money is by selling your farm products?

2. Who says you need to stay all the time on your farm?

3. Who says people who come to your farm should only buy farm products?

A. If You Run a Farm Business, Nothing Stops YOU From Charging Fees to Teach Others to Start Theirs

What stops you from developing a whole range of Training Modules, for teaching others how to run EVERY single type of farm enterprise in your business?

Indeed, what stops you from having a “Training and Development arm” of your farm business?

You need not employ new people. Your existing farm hands or operatives can do it – and you’d pay them agreed extras, based on what you make.

Please don’t say they’ll be too busy to do the above.

I’ve seen how many farm businesses out here run.

It’s their planning and implementation of operations that’s not right. More often than not, with proper workplace organization, YOU, and your existing hands will be able to play many other useful, income generating roles!

Take it a step further.

Again, what stops you from having an “Information Publishing arm” of your farm business?

Nothing – absolutely nothing! – stops you from authoring your own range of branded information products. For example, you could author information products on rearing different farm animals you actually rear on YOUR farm.

B. And Nothing – Absolutely Nothing! – Stops You From Offering PAID Consultancy & Advisory Services to Serious Enquirers

If you really want to do this right, you will leverage the fact that you own a farm business to boost your name recognition and credibility as an expert.

So many people are out there about to retire or resign.

Many dream of doing what YOU are already doing.

But most are not sure who to turn to, for expert information – and guidance.

Don’t deny them the opportunity to benefit from your real world relevant expertise. Don’t leave them open to being messed up, by some textbook expert!

1. What stops you from writing articles and offering talks, in which you share stories about real life farm management experiences you’ve had?

2. What stops you from having a few pages on your website, dedicated to promoting your range of branded information products?

People can make payments to download them, and use, without needing to come to your farm. Same applies to the range of training events you could offer. And also the consultation.

And you can also announce that you are available to deliver talks, run seminars and organize workshops if/when invited.

Again, for a fee. If you wish, offer a few free ones to test the waters.

If you think you – or your people – won’t have time, that would be because you’ve not adopted best practice systems in your farm business

In Guinness Nigeria, we did our jobs as managers, and still authored training modules – and work instructions – on different plants and processes.

Then we conducted training sessions, and competency assessments.

Rarely did any aspects of our jobs suffer. The company’s output instead grew, as more competent personnel “graduated” from our training efforts.

During the time most of this happened, I was a shift brewer. I, for one, authored many of such materials, while still working shifts.

It happened that way because we had best practice systems in place.

Any Competent Farm Business Owner Can Earn EXTRA Non-Farm Products Based Income

I tell many farm business owners how I earn income by selling my knowledge in form of information products. And also how I create and sell my farm support software products.

If I can do that without owning a farm, ANY serious farm owner can do it too.

You’ll make MORE money using the same overheads.

Even better, as you do what I propose, more potential buyers of your farm products will discover you, and choose to buy from you.

You will dramatically cut down time, effort and money you expend in running your business.

In other words, you will end up literally eating your cake and having it!

In essence, what I’m saying is: Don’t just think outside the box, GET YOURSELF OUT OF IT, so you can maximize your God-given potential!

Need More Details of How to Make The Above Ideas Work for YOU?

If you need more specific details of how to make use of the ideas I’ve shared in this newsletter, send me a message using this request form – with “Re: No. 109: Earn Extra Non-Farm Income at Zero Cost” in the subject line.

[Monday]: No. 108: How to Sell More Successfully