Advice needed + How to not start a business

[maniek00000]

Hi,

My name is Jacek and I'm from Poland. I need advise if I should start business or not. First, my story shortly as possible:

I joined this forum 2 years ago, since that I become serious wantrepreneur. I dreamed about being rich but I've never started to take action, just read, read, read.
Last summer I decided to go all-in. I saved money for living, left my job and... spent all summer pretending I'm doing something (I don't remember if I did something at all). After that, I took a job at printing house. It was nightmare, I had to work 12-hours shifts 6 days a week, because I become the only guy who could operate one of their machines.
March this year I was so sick of this job that I decided to quit. At a meantime I was exposed to an offer of buying a farm with a grocery shop. My friend, who have telecom company, told me he will lend me some money for private financial participation for banks. I contacted few banks, one of them gave me nice offer and I started completing documents. People who have farm to sell, want to retire quickly. They already gave me the grocery and the land to seed what I want. After month the bank who promised to give me a loan got fusioned with another and they completely changed their policy.

Making long story short, before fusion my installment was 69k a year for 30years. I can earn about 25-30k a year from grocery, I get 30k/y from government for cultivate the land + I can earn something from selling crops. Earnings from both can't be scaled, but let's say it should pay for itself with little of my work and time, so I could start another, scalable business. That was a plan.

Now, during last three month:
- my friend resigned from giving me money but I raised them another way
- bank changed length to 15 years so my installment will be 96k/y, now I will have to earn 40k in next year extra and I have got no idea how
- my father started to have some health issues and I do his work as well, so I work at bakery from 5AM to 10/11AM and at my grocery from 4 to 9PM

The question is should I still go for it or should I resign?? What do you think??
I have payed 20k in advance to stop others from buying this farm, but i will lose this money if I resign.
I am in deep shit right now.

Few lessons I learned:
- don't leave your job if you haven't proven to yourself that you are action taker
- don't trust nobody
- always try to be prepared for worst case scenario
- small business also requires huge amount of work and time, but you fight for smaller rewards

That's it for now. It could be much longer but I don't know if my story is interesting at all

 

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[SteveO]

You are learning lessons the hard way. You should have setup the contract in a way that you could get your money back if you were not able tobtain financing that was acceptable to you.

You need to figure out how much money the crops are going to make for you. If it is not enough to make what you need to make the business work, then you will be better off cutting the bait.

Don't give up easy though. Talk to other banks and look hard at ways to increase cashflow from this business.

 

[maniek00000]

I have been at every bank around my area and only this one could give me fair offer because they specialize at financing farmers. This farm has three buildings which can be adapted for production line or warehouse or for something else. In our country it is relatively easy to get money from government if you are farmer and you want to invest in your farm. Also farmers have many tax advantages that's why initially I decided go this way

 

[Ninjakid]

Not just trying to be the devil's advocate here, but do you actually know anything about farming?

Farming isn't just like another business. There's a ton of variables at play and many of them are beyond your control. Three minutes of torrential downpour can wipe out your entire crop, for example. And there's many more.

Point being it's very rare for someone who hasn't grown up farming to make any sort of living having their own farm. But if you've farmed before and know a lot about it, then by all means give it a go.

 

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[maniek00000]

Yep. I have grown at a village helping my grandparents and uncles with their farms so I know "something"about it. I decided to go for it. Actually I have nothing to loose. Thanks for responses

 

[kkompoti]

Farming isn't just like another business.

Yes it is .

Three minutes of torrential downpour can wipe out your entire crop, for example.

Greenhouses

Point being it's very rare for someone who hasn't grown up farming to make any sort of living having their own farm. But if you've farmed before and know a lot about it, then by all means give it a go.

I have no family experience in farming.(Only one acre of olives to produce the oil for my family) I was only being raised in a village and neighbours had sheep and crops. I m now at age 30 a 3 years experienced beekeeper with 10 hives and i have recently bought my first chickens for egg laying and then selling..
I plan to go on other ag ventures when i will grow my beehives to 100 and my chicken to 100 also. Goats,Greenhouses for lettuce, chicken for meat later on are on my business plan.
p.s. i have a slowlane job. all the earnings of the above are being invested into the above business plan.

 

[Jon L]

I'm in software, so I certainly don't have any expertise in farming. (I managed to kill most of the vegetables in my garden a few years ago).

That said, are you growing the right kind of crops? Is there something you could grow that would be more profitable?

Here's another random thought: if you're in the right area, you could turn your farm into a tourist attraction. Take a look at this place. They have maybe 20-50 acres. They offer hay rides, etc etc etc. In the summer, they easily have 1000 people there every weekend day. Not sure how much money they make, but I'm sure its quite a bit. They started out small, and in the last 5-10 years, have turned this place into an amazing business. We take our kids there probably once a month. The kids love it.

http://www.avilavalleybarn.com/

 

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[devine]

I'm in software, so I certainly don't have any expertise in farming. (I managed to kill most of the vegetables in my garden a few years ago).

That said, are you growing the right kind of crops? Is there something you could grow that would be more profitable?

Here's another random thought: if you're in the right area, you could turn your farm into a tourist attraction. Take a look at this place. They have maybe 20-50 acres. They offer hay rides, etc etc etc. In the summer, they easily have 1000 people there every weekend day. Not sure how much money they make, but I'm sure its quite a bit. They started out small, and in the last 5-10 years, have turned this place into an amazing business. We take our kids there probably once a month. The kids love it.

http://www.avilavalleybarn.com/

It's a pretty good business to deliver fruits/vegetables/cheese/etc on a subscription basis, i.e. people just receive their products N times a week and don't worry about anything.
That's what my team currently builds, but without having our own farming/production.
Having a farm, it sounds like a superior business.

 

[Yung1]

Hi,

Last summer I decided to go all-in. I saved money for living, left my job and... spent all summer pretending I'm doing something (I don't remember if I did something at all). After that, I took a job at printing house. It was nightmare, I had to work 12-hours shifts 6 days a week, because I become the only guy who could operate one of their machines.

This line stands out to me more than anything: It was nightmare, I had to work 12-hours shifts 6 days a week, because I become the only guy who could operate one of their machines.

What were you doing that other people could not do at this print shop? We're you a specialist to the point where you could buy a machine like this of your own and start a business out of it?

I know this is way off of your original farming plan but I feel as though you could make a business out of this if you are a specialist and can beat out the company you previously worked with.

I think getting financing for this type of business may be easier as well, not sure.

 

[maniek00000]

What were you doing that other people could not do at this print shop? We're you a specialist to the point where you could buy a machine like this of your own and start a business out of it?

My post is from last year, I am surprised for responses and thanks for interest. This machine was only a part of production line, I think whole line is worth many millions. I don't want to invest so much.

My original post is from last year, I am suprissed for responses and thanks for interest. This achine was only a part of production line, I think whole line is worth many milions. They couldn't find anyone because of responsibility not because of skills. If I made any mistake, everything went to the bin, few minutes of inattention worth few hundreds from my paycheck.

At the moment my friend is taking care of farm, he pays me for using my land. I have small store, we are doing fine, 600k a year in sales. Now I am working on going online. Next year I will also cultivate the land, mostly organic vegetables.

I have 800 square meters of magazines. If anyone has nice product and want to export to Poland we can arrange a partnership

 

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