Getting excited for this sold out event!

Farm Marketer is a proud media sponsor and I am getting excited to learn and network. They have a great lineup of speakers for attendees.

I will be doing a handful of interviews. Tossing and turning a bit. A lot to do before I make it there.

Your Event Attending Friend,

Tracy

“The race of life is a marathon, not a sprint.” Tony Robbins

Somehow, I missed this memo and it feels like I have been sprinting since I was a teenager. Always rushing to go to sports games, 4-H events or speeding off to go see Anthony on the weekends back in our younger dating years.

Fast forward to 10 years ago and my sprinting changed to building a business. This business goes by the name of Farm Marketer and is the largest agriculture real estate website and a leading agriculture media company. I remembered when I started. So many things to do, so little time and only me to do them. When I first started it was me, my old clunky Toshiba laptop, the trusty office phone, and my rented office space. My goodness, how quickly time flies.

It didn’t take me long to dive right in and begin the sprint commonly known as entrepreneurship. At first, you start sprinting in a million directions until you hunker down, organize your priorities and figure out your priorities. The crazy thing is that when you are a business owner, you really are a jack of all trades. You are the website person, the graphic designer, the digital marketer, the IT troubleshooter, the marketer, the accountant, the strategist, the salesperson, and the CEO. Just a few hats to wear.

However, the most important thing a starting business needs to figure out and focus on is revenue. Assuming you have a great product and service established, you need to get selling. So many people believe the “build it and they will come” but I am sorry to tell you that is a load of hogwash. This isn’t a field of dreams here. I personally wonder how many companies fail to start or die quickly because they run out of money. I know 82% of businesses fail because of cash flow, however, I am saying maybe even a few steps back. How many business owners launch and then stare at their google analytics and wonder why the sales aren’t falling in the door? I hate to tell you. It usually just doesn’t work this way.

Throughout the entire 10 years of Farm Marketer, I have had to do lots and lots of sales calls. Rejection after rejection, I had to push through till I made my first sale, more rejections and then the next sale and so on. To say it’s been a sprint is 100% accurate. Not sure that I could have done it any other way. I did it. I built one of the leading agriculture media platforms in Canada. My shins are sore but I made it!

Now here I am today and nowhere do I feel like I can stop sprinting, however, I think it’s time to start the team relay sprint versus the single sprint. Hum. Just maybe. Let’s think about this. There is definitely merit to the quote and Tony said it so it cannot be wrong. Circumstances permitting I live a long and happy life. That means I have another 30 plus years of working. Hint, I don’t plan to retire young. So maybe, I need to pull it back to marathon speed, strong and steady, instead of sprint speed to make sure that I can finish the race ALIVE, happy and healthy. Hum. Just maybe. Definitely need to think on this.

Your Sprinting Friend,

Tracy

‪Hey my fellow farmers! Did you know that over 82% of regular businesses fail because of lack of cash flow? What is that # for the agriculture industry where we only get paid once a year and need to pay bills year round? 

That is why I recorded episode #25 for The Impact Farming Show. In this episode, I interview Dave Gallant from Canadian Canola Growers Association about Cash Advances as a financial management tool. Watch my short “Tracy’s Thoughts” video and make sure to head on over to Farm Marketer to watch the full episode. I included the link below as well.

I recorded this video at #AgExCon18 Conference by Farm Management Canada

You can watch the full interview at Farm Marketer Here

#cdnag #ccga #farmbusiness #cashadvances#businessmanagement Farm Marketer

I love agriculture. I really do. I guess I feel that way in part because I am a farmer. Or maybe because both my parents grew up on a farm and my maternal grandparents and their farm had such an impact on my life while I was growing up. Both good reasons! However, I think it likely has more to do with the fact that farmers are such salt of the earth people (translate to good and honest people). I know not all farmers are good or honest, however, there is just a down to earthness in farmers that you don’t find in any other industry.

Does it come from working the land and animals? Maybe it comes from being outside in mother nature versus pounding the pavement. More likely, it is because many farmers still belong to a strong community whereas the city dweller has lost that connection?

Maybe I am way off! Am I being romantic? Maybe a touch, however, I don’t think I am entirely off. I deal with people from all walks of life and farmers definately are very different than people from other walks of life that I deal with. There is truth to that!

That being said, I have enjoyed two days at the Ag Days show interviewing new show guests, randomly chatting with farmers and running into long time industry colleagues.

The feedback that I have been getting about the show is amazing. People are noticing, listening and complimenting me. It’s been great! I do believe that we are onto something.

Feeling good, tired and accomplished! I am off to bed!

Your trade show loving friend,

Tracy