How to Starting a Pear Farming Business

Sunday, October 13, 2013

How to Starting a Pear Farming Business

The pear is a delicious variant of the apple. It is of the same subfamily of the apple. Most of the pears are cold-hardy, which means it can be a viable business if you live at the northern states.

Starting a pear farm may take some time but the fruit is sweet to the bite and the ROI (return of investment) is delicious enough to keep you happy for the rest of the year.

Pears are edible pomaceous fruits produced by a tree of the genus Pyrus. The pears are related to apples in cultivation, production and pollination. These are popular fruits consumed by Americans annually due to their health benefits and sweet taste. The leading states that produce them are Washington, California and Oregon, in that order. It is a $300 million industry. The United States produces about 1.8 billion pounds or 812,054 metric tons of pears on average every year. Pears are produced in 9 states on 65,000 acres. Yields average 29,000 lbs/acre, which is three times the world average. Globally, the top three countries that produce pears are China, Italy, and the United States. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the world produces around 40 billion pounds or 18 million metric tons of pears.

Where to Start a Pear Farm

It would be best to start a pear farm in any of the nine states that have pear farms already. It would be even recommended to start a pear farm in Washington, where the climate is approximately enough for the pear’s growth.

Competition of the Pear Industry

Your main competitors would be the other pear farms. Others use advanced technology but majority of the people use the traditional ways of farming pears. The other farms would outpace each other in production and quality. This is a thing you must remember. You also need to outpace them in production and quality. Hire good people and don’t be tight on budgeting for technology. These are good investments that would help your business outperform and be successful.

Start up Cost of a Pear Farm

In the harsh realities of the economic crisis, the land prices have actually lessened and it seems that land is cheaper to buy. This must be your priority in the first place. The land will be everything for the pear tree. It must be big and be accessible. Remember that the pears need big spaces for them to grow properly. You must hire workers that are knowledgeable in growing pears and apples, as they are closely connected. You have to pay good money for the machinery and facilities necessary for the production and export of the pears. Your market must include far-reaching places as these places give good return of investment for your company.

The return of investment in the pear industry may not take that long as the pears grow relatively fast. You can however purchase genetically-modified pears to help your pears grow at least fast. It may be slightly pricey but it can be thought of as an investment worth your money as these GM pears grow faster and are healthier and tastier than their normal counterparts.

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How to Starting a Pear 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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Sunday, October 13, 2013