Marketing

Beginning Farmer and Ranchers Development Program
Kohala Center
NOTES from class on February 9, 2019 by Jim Crum
Presentation by Pomai Weigert (for registered Students only) here

GoFarm’s Agribusiness plan 
Make a quick Business Plan and Goals (12 months)
Business Name = “One Farm Revolution”
1 Year = 2019 GOALS:
– Farm/Production: Try out different crops and growing methods to determine what crops are
– Financial: expect a loss
– other: buy or borrow some equipment like a BCS
TASKS: 
– Farm/Production: 
– Financial: 
– other:

Business Plan:
1. Exec summary – why is the big idea, what are you asking for, and what are you going to provide. Usually write this at the end
2. Operations – who is going to do it all?
3. Marketing – confirm there is a market, where will I sell it and how
4. Financials – “Managing money so you don’t have an emergency. Cost of crop production in details (machinery, seeds, labor, water), and crop planing and harvesting cycles to be sure the market need matches market cycle”

Developing new market streams for what you grow:
– industry opportunities and overview
– influence and control: large land owners, traditional ag commodity and export, seed science, academia/research like UH, travel/tourism, food movement (us), Aloha aina stewardship, women in business
– market shifts (3-5 year shifts) food manufactures and culinary/cocktail, educational pathways, tech and social media, politics (ag day at capitol and Ma’o farm was only one that showed up), global travel/tourism, large land farm (A&B, C&H, Kamehameha) templates and trying to compete with small farmers, multi industry collaboration with tourism- what is marketing and why is it important- branding and how it can make a big difference

Marketing strategies
– innovate and collaborate: is Hawaii ahead or behind? Yes. Both. Diversify to be safe. Multiplier effect = creating win/win collaborations
– place based communications: activate your Aloha skills. Show respect, don’t tell people what’s right. Know the community and make connections to gain contacts.
– the Nicher, the Richer: what’s your expectation? Start small and have a unique concept.
– location is everything: is there a ready made market? What is the market and competition? What are the compliance requirements. Understand what people in your community are eating. 
– advice and ACTION — what is you economic model for your goal?— what are higher price point to increase revenues. Doesn’t need to be for all revenue streams — stay organized with efforts and resources. — focus on less waste of money and time. A marketing plan help focus this. — business planning questionnaire. 
– value added products and how to stay diverse 

Branding basics
– 3 second attention span
– Caniba (canba) app can help with Branding Basics.
– strong brands are 1-3 words and make a personal connection and memory
– people decide based upon feeing.
– 3 seconds, 30 seconds, or 30 minutes stories
– your past, present and future
– how are you innovative and innovating.
– what is your value perception and does your price point match your branding
– who do and can you partner with.
– Instacart – search price points for different products to know pride points. 
Marketing is the net- Product- Price- Place
– Promotion (why do they want to buy it from YOU) Branding is the bait- a unique concept- friends/partnership- financial capital- time and engagement. 

Tips & Thoughts: – look at at least 3 cash crops and 3 revenue streams- think about resources in the room. People you are sitting next to may know the answers- there is no fast track to success- there is no one way to success – find people that are the kind of weird that is in sync with your kind of weird- know the language of the community you want to serve- failure will happen. Learn how to fail fast and then get back in the game. – it’s competitive right now so start small with friends and places you already go to see if they are interested in your products – make sure your business is ready and you know how much you can produce before you make it public- is there a restaurant that you can grow for directly?- there aren’t any one person success stories. – Ag Parks are a good idea and may be coming for small/young farmers. – “value add” grants from USDA to collaborate with others to make things like jams and breads. – if you want something, bring something. Like a goodie bag. Through your support, this is what we are able to do- know and connect with your community and collaborate with them to ensure there is mutual support- seniors are the kapuna and overlooked market whose opinions were valued by the community. The other bookend are the children- if you don’t have a good vibe about a possible business partner, don’t work with them- it takes about 18 months to see a return on marketing- be positive about partnership opportunities- consider give-aways of stuff you’d give away otherwise to bundle with a sale- promotions and tests are farmers markets and social media
Ideas:- water buffalo: great in Tropics and for milk and as draft animals – educational component should be included- farmbots: open source robots for gardens- connect from local Buddhist community that gets Fukuoka- grow to order network of farmers and restaurants for meeting farm to table needs.