Nowhere does the old adage “failing to plan, is planning to fail” more applicable than when preparing to launch a new business enterprise or service company. Regardless of the greatness of your product, unless you carefully plan in advance how to operate a profitable, sustainable business, your business success will be limited. The goal of the Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center is to help you succeed in that planning process and this is why we have launched a new tool, Assessing Your Farm Business Plan.
Assessing Your Farm Business Plan is an interactive assessment to assist farmers and agri-entrepreneurs in evaluating the potential of their farm business planning success. There are 54 statements in the assessment to which you rate your degree of agreement. The statements are categorized into nine sections covering topics such as Mission and Goals, Marketing, Implementation Strategy, Human Resources, Inventory, and more. Along with each statement, you will be provided with valuable feedback to give you plenty of food for thought as you plan your enterprise. At the end of the assessment, you are provided with a total score and general recommendations for your business plan. This tool provides you with the opportunity to assess the components of your plan and make revisions before investing your valuable time and resources in the new business.