At last ... I have touched a sheep! After a long five weeks without physical work I spent at least 10 minutes helping push sheep up a race for crutching ... phew, I need another 5 week rest now. They were Romneys and I have to say I liked them (Oh Lord, King of the Wool Shedding Sheep please forgive me).
I was there to meet Ben Allomes, former Share Milker of the Year and past President of Young Farmers. What a guy! His attitude was so positive, his clarity of thought exceptional. He and his wife Nikki started straight from University with no money. One of the first things they did was write down goals and a strategic plan. The main target was $1 million of equity in 10 years ... they did it in 7! He embraced debt and got excited by it. He was adamant that the only way to progress from a standing start was to be in the top 5% of operators. He drew me a graph of how equity grows and the process he went through. The shape of the graph was one I’d seen a number of times before from first generation farmers:
OK this just shows how crap I am with computers but its years are on the x axis; $ on the y!. They could be any values, I've just chosen 10 years and a million dollars - work with me here. Ben argues that this is typical of building a business from a low capital base. Some people give up in the middle of the graph thinking they are getting nowhere. He also had a view that the progression is made up of three crucial stages. The first third is gaining, perfecting and implementing skills. The second third is making contacts and proving to these contacts you were worthy of progression (hence opportunities arise). The final third was profiting financially from the previous 66.66 (recurring)%.
Second Rule of First Generation Farming Club - Be Persistent!
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