PEACE RIVER, Alta. (Staff) – This fall, Alberta regional agri-food consultant Karen Goad has had three phone calls from farmers wondering about the prospects for snail production.
It’s just one of the dozens of value-added ideas that farmers are checking, she said.
Helping people make those ideas work was her topic at the recent Peace River farm women’s conference.
Whether it’s cake decorating, goat production or custom sewing, a farm diversification should start with a person’s hobby or interest, she said.
“The best reason for diversifying is because the family wants to,” said Goad. “The want-to must be there for more reasons than money.”
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She said people who make a success at a new business tend to be planners who are creative, have a strong work ethic and who communicate well, especially with their families.
Peggy Marce, also with Alberta Agriculture, told the workshop there are basic questions that would-be entrepreneurs must ask. These are: Is the product or service something people want or need? Do enough people want it so it’ll become a good business prospect? Can I provide it cheaply enough to make a profit?
Once a person has an idea and has done lots of phone calls to research his or her business plan, it should be put in writing. The plan will include what is going to be sold, to whom, how it will be made, where funding will come from and how to advertise the goods or service. Then the licensing requirements at all levels, municipal, provincial and federal, should be checked.
To this point the entrepreneur has not had to spend much money, just time, said Marce. Now dollars must be spent in manufacturing a consistent product, packaging and labeling, test marketing and selling.
Would-be business owners must also decide whether they want to be a proprietorship (one person), a partnership (two people) or a corporation (creates a legal “person”). Each structure has different implications for liability, financing, income tax and name registration.
Goad said there are staff, pamphlets and sometimes, money, from most government levels to assist new business beginnings.
