News Articles
Planning for the New Year
January 4, 2010
As we study the global economic crisis of this past year, one important factor emerges. One of our frailties as humans is our ability to forget lessons we should have learned and remembered. Because we convince ourselves that things are different this time, we tend to make the same mistakes repeatedly. Yet there are people and businesses who avoid falling into these delusional traps. How? By adhering to important values and sticking to basic principles while continuously striving to understand trends in the market and the implications for their businesses.
While there are no silver bullet solutions, there are steps that all of us can take to improve our chances for success. These steps include:
- Plan - Develop a written business plan in conjunction with your “board of directors,” a group of professionals and advisors that you work with routinely on your farm. Every business can benefit from the different perspectives that your key trusted advisors can provide.
- Develop Contingency Scenarios – There are events that may be unlikely to occur, but could have an immense impact if they do occur. Understand what it means to your business if one of these events should occur and determine if you are properly positioned to survive it.
- Reposition – Things have changed. Assumptions that were once valid may no longer be true. Determine how your business may need to reposition itself for future success.
- Rigorously Examine Your Current Financial Situation – Work with your lender and accountant to be sure that your assets and liabilities are productive. Get rid of non-productive assets. Make sure your debt structure is appropriate for your business. Ask your AgChoice loan officer about Biz360, our new risk assessment tool that can help to evaluate many areas of your business.
At AgChoice, we practice what we preach. We plan, develop contingency scenarios, reposition and carefully examine our financial position. Customer-owners remain the heart of our business, and we look forward to meeting customer needs at an even higher level throughout the new year.
May 2010 bring health and happiness to all.
We are an equal housing lender.