Business Ideas | Small Business Ideas: Starting Own Almond Farming Business

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Starting Own Almond Farming Business | Almond Farming Business

If you want to start your own almond farm, you should pick an ideal location where the weather is good for growing almond trees. The soil should be well drained and rich in nutrients to ensure maximum growth.

Taking good care of the trees is vital so you will need to hire extra help.

Starting an Almond Farm

An almond farm can be expensive to establish but if you know what to do, you may be able to succeed. You will need to choose an ideal location for your farm. You can check out the available land properties in your area. If you have a vast land that is not being used, then you can convert it into an almond farm. A business plan can help you to secure funding especially if you need to purchase the property. The plan can also help you in the day to day operations of the farm. It will serve as your guide and your key to success.

Planting Almond Trees

Once you have the farm, you can now check out the local nursery. You can get the seedlings there. This is also the best time to get extra help so that you can begin planting the trees in their right places. Make sure that you inquire about the proper spacing of the almonds so that they will not compete for the soil’s nutrients. Determine the best time of the year to plant the almonds to ensure maximum growth. Make sure that the trees are maintained properly so that they can grow quickly. Almonds usually take about five years before it can produce crops. With an ideal weather, the almond trees will bloom and pollination can begin. Pollination usually takes about 3-4 weeks but if you’re lucky, it can happen in 2-5 days. As you can see, it will take some time before you can make harvests and so you might want to find alternative income opportunities. You can plant other crops in your farm that will provide you with income in the coming years.

When the almond trees are ready, you can now begin the harvest. You will see maximum production when the almond trees are 6 to 10 years old but the trees can still produce almonds for over 50 years. The almond nuts can be stored or you can also sell it if you like. If your resources permit, you can also build a store in your farm where the locals can get almond products. This is a great opportunity to make money. You can also find customers from other places with the help of the internet. You will depend greatly on the weather in your region especially when the almonds are already in bloom. So before you decide to start an almond farm, you need to study the local climate and weather.

References

Starting Own Almond Farming Business | Almond Farming Business

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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