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The Farmer's Office, Second Edition Julia Shanks

The Farmer's Office, Second Edition By Julia Shanks

The Farmer's Office, Second Edition by Julia Shanks

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Summary

The Farmer's Office, Second Edition is the complete guide to starting, managing, and growing an agricultural or farm business. Fully updated and expanded to include tutorials on basic farm financial management, QuickBooks, business planning, navigating uncertainty, business growth, and thinking like an entrepreneur.

The Farmer's Office, Second Edition Summary

The Farmer's Office, Second Edition: Tools, Templates, and Skills for Starting, Managing, and Growing a Successful Farm Business by Julia Shanks

The no-nonsense, practical guide for farm-preneurs to grow a successful farm business completely revised and updated

You launched your farm because you love working the land and producing food. Yet to succeed you also need to think like an entrepreneur. The Farmer's Office, Second Edition is your must-have toolkit for starting and growing a sustainable agricultural business.

Written by a consultant and entrepreneur who has supported hundreds of farm-preneurs, this essential resource is fully revised and updated to empower farmers to make sound decisions and manage their farm business for success. Topics include:

  • Detailed descriptions of accounting and business concepts
  • How to write a business plan for a new or growing venture and access financing
  • Setting up and using QuickBooks for day-to-day sales and expense tracking, as well as for more complex tasks such as budgeting, cash flow analysis, and cost accounting
  • Leveraging financial information to refine operations, improve profits, and develop strategies for growth
  • Managing debt and cash flow challenges
  • Planning for business growth and expansion
  • Adapting to external shocks and learning to pivot
  • Understanding mental blocks that can limit an entrepreneur's success.

Enhanced with detailed case studies of real farm businesses, The Farmer's Office, Second Edition is your personal business coach, providing guidance for all the business skills needed to succeed as a businessperson in a competitive and rapidly changing world.

The Farmer's Office, Second Edition Reviews

Filled with excellent, real-life examples, this is the best book I've seen on the business side of running a small farm. Written by someone who clearly has first-hand experience and understands how market farmers think, The Farmer's Office clearly illustrates the ups and downs and ins and outs of making the dream financially sustainable. This is a great book for both farmers just starting out, and experienced farmers looking to improve their businesses.
Josh Volk, Slow Hand Farm

This book will guide you from setting up your farm, to how to make tough business decisions when things aren't going so great, and to scaling up when things take off again. Whether you love spreadsheets or barely tolerate them, you should read The Farmer's Office!
Dan Brisebois, the Farmer Spreadsheet Academy, host, The Seed Growers Podcast, farmer, Tourne-Sol Co-operative Farm

Every farmer aspiring to sharpen their business management skills should have this book in their toolbox. This latest edition offers a comprehensive overview of what to track, how to use data to make decisions and, most importantly, how to move forward with a minimum of pain and anxiety. All of which is illustrated with updated case studies of real farmers confronting real business challenges and figuring it out.
Mary L. Peabody, business coach, University of Vermont Extension professor emeritus

This comprehensive guide, filled with detailwwed graphs, spreadsheets, and charts, offers a clear pathway to mastering your finances and truly comprehending your farming enterprise. This isn't just another business book, it's a farming financial masterclass.
Michael Kilpatrick, farmer, The Farm on Central, educator, Growing Farmers

If you're dreaming of starting a farm, then The Farmer's Office just became your first official "must read." I wish this book had existed thirty years ago when I started farming.
Forrest Pritchard, NYT bestselling author, Gaining Ground

Julia's second edition is even better than the first. In addition to all its critically important and usable information, and its many new chapters, she's added an easy-to-use guide to help you decide what chapters are most important for where your business is now.
Dorothy Suput, founder, The Carrot Project

Whenever I encounter a struggling farmer, I send them off to read Julia Shanks's book. This is a must-read for anyone working in agriculture.
Lennie Larkin, author, Flower Farming For Profit

Farmers of every level of experience will find valuable ideas in this book.
Ellen Polishuk, Plant to Profit, author, Start Your Farm

Julia Shanks's new edition of The Farmer's Office gives us vital tools that can help new as well as old and experienced farmers survive, evolve, and hopefully thrive!
Brett Grohsgal, owner/farmer, Even' Star Farm, co-author, The Farmers Market Cookbook

About Julia Shanks

Julia Shanks brings a broad range of professional experience to her clients; from pilot, to chef, to serial entrepreneur, she combines the practicality of an accountant with the creativity of a chef. Julias career started at the FAA as an aviation analyst, and quickly took a turn into the culinary arts. Julia worked as a chef for 15 years, launching several food businesses. After earning an MBA in entrepreneurship, she taught graduate and undergraduate accounting at Babson College. As a business consultant and coach, she supports owners of small- and medium- sized food and agricultural businesses to achieve and maintain financial and operational sustainability. Together with Brett Grohsgal, she co-authored The Farmers Market Cookbook. Julia lives in Cambridge, MA.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Gratitude
Preface
Disclaimer
How to Use This Book

Chapter 1: IntroductionWhy Bother
Understand What Makes You Money (and Why)
Invest in Your Business
Plan for Growth
Plan for Slow Periods
Avoid Out-of-Control Debt
Weather Covid-Like Pivots and Other Disruptions
Keep Your Eye on the Prize

Chapter 2: Building the Foundation: The Financial Statements and Basic Accounting
The Income StatementA Summary of the Operations
The Balance SheetWhat You Have and How You Got It
The Statement of Cash FlowsWhere Cash Rules the Roost
Tying It All Together
Underlying Principles

Chapter 3: Planning Your New Venture

Chapter 4: The Business Planning Process
Getting Started
The Business Planning Process
Business Plan Writing Guide
Creating Financial Projections

Chapter 5: Financing Your New Venture
Save Money
Borrow from Friends and Family
Outside Organizations
Financing Sources
Preparing for Investors

Chapter 6: Setting up a Bookkeeping System (and QuickBooks)
QuickBooks (and Bookkeeping) Best Practices
Choosing a Bookkeeping Software
The Initial Setup
QuickBooks: An Overview of Things You'll Do
Reports in QuickBooks
QuickBooks Terminology

Chapter 7: Day to Day: Using QuickBooks for Cash Management
Create Your Annual Budget by Month
The Bank Feed
Regular BookkeepingEvery Day-ish (10 minutes)
Review, Refine, and Stay on TargetEvery Month (1 hour)
Big Picture Planning - Year End (1 to 2 hours, plus cleanup)
QuickBooks Quick Tips

Chapter 8: Digging into the Numbers and Beyond
Section 1: Calculating the Cost of Production
Section 2: Allocating General Production Costs and Enterprise Analysis
Section 3: Marketing and Pricing Strategies
Section 4: Benchmarking
Measuring Success: Keep Your Eye on the Prize

Chapter 9: Stabilizing Your Business
Managing the Hole
Should You Stop or Persevere?
Key Takeaways

Chapter 10: Growing Your Business
Establish Goals
Is "Growth" the Right Strategy?
Deciding How to Grow
Growing Your Team
Marketing
Key Success Factors

Chapter 11: Building Resiliency into Your Business Model
The Process to Pivot
Shifts vs. Pivots
Building Resiliency into Your System

Chapter 12: Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Mindset
The Entrepreneurial Mindset
Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable
Money Shame
Mental Models
Time Management
Being the Employer of Choice
Decision-Making
In Summary

Epilogue:
Final Words of Wisdom

Appendix 1: Sample Income Statement Accounts
Appendix 2: Sample Balance Sheet Accounts
Appendix 3: The Business Plan
Appendix 4: Suggested Accounts for Chart of Accounts
Glossary
Endnotes
Index
About the Author
About New Society Publishers

Additional information

NGR9780865719934
9780865719934
0865719934
The Farmer's Office, Second Edition: Tools, Templates, and Skills for Starting, Managing, and Growing a Successful Farm Business by Julia Shanks
Julia Shanks
New
Paperback
New Society Publishers
2024-02-13
336
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a new book - be the first to read this copy. With untouched pages and a perfect binding, your brand new copy is ready to be opened for the first time

Customer Reviews - The Farmer's Office, Second Edition