7 lessons for young agribusiness entrepreneurs

There are few things experts advise young entrepreneurs who are establishing or managing agribusinesses to keep in mind if they hope to expand their enterprises. One, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to running a business. If you go into your business and try to manage it the same way as your father, friend, sister or […]

There are few things experts advise young entrepreneurs who are establishing or managing agribusinesses to keep in mind if they hope to expand their enterprises.

One, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to running a business. If you go into your business and try to manage it the same way as your father, friend, sister or brother, it might not succeed for a variety of reasons. Perhaps your business’s location differs from the others and responds accordingly. Perhaps the clients are of a different income bracket, such as middle-class or lower-class, or perhaps your amount of investment is too small to make the methods effective.

The second one is that the business journey is a learning curve. Since there is no one right approach to do a task, you must be adaptable and make necessary adjustments. Even if you had a brilliant idea, the market will force you to change it. Perhaps you introduced something new for your company, but the market requires a change, therefore you have to make the necessary adjustments.

Third, keep in mind that the business world is highly unstable and avoid getting too comfortable with your current level of success. You never know what tomorrow will bring. As a result, modify appropriately. Utilise peak seasons wisely to boost your revenue and even make wise investments with the proceeds.

‘Better pay for journalists will curb fake news, misinformation’

AGRO SOLUTIONS: Benin’s sugarloaf pineapple classified ‘World’s Sweetest Pineapple’

Having grown up on a farm with his father, Mr Tom Salonek, the founder and chief executive officer of Intertech, has described the four farm lessons that have shaped his career as an entrepreneur.

Fourth, control the activity. He said, “When growing crops you control planting, weeding and harvesting. You obviously cannot control rain, sun and temperature. The only way farmers keep from going crazy is to focus on things they can control.  This lesson is particularly useful for salespeople who should focus on their attitude, the hours they work and the contacts they make.”

Fifth, take note of everything. You may gain a decent understanding of how things are going in business by watching and conversing with others in the field. If you are a young person operating a business or planning to start an agribusiness and you appear unaware of what is going on in the area where you are operating or about to move in, you could make a lot of mistakes, simply by not paying close attention to what is going on. If you run a farm and employ people, pay close attention to everything they do, even the smallest details as they could have an impact on the company, either directly or indirectly.

Sixth, keep learning. Mr Tom Salonek, while describing the lesson he learnt from his dad said, “I remember asking my mom as a confused kid.  Dad took a lot of agriculture classes from local organisations learning how to be better at farming.

“He never stopped learning and teaching me the importance of this value,” he said.

Keep yourself abreast by learning every day. Read about what can help you in the business and what others are doing. Learning from other people’s mistakes is very important. There are people who have travelled very far in the business journey; they can provide valuable insights that would help your business.

Lastly, network is important.  Networking, forming connections and taking initiative are key components of small business operations. It takes a lot of effort and perseverance to build a successful business, therefore, it helps to have a network of friends and acquaintances to lean on for support. You are more likely to advance as a group if you surround yourself with individuals who have comparable motivation and aspirations.