To create wealth, money is needed

June 2019

Marius Greyling, Pula Imvula contributor. Send an email to mariusg@mcgacc.co.za

Surely you will ask the question ‘why an article on wealth?’ what has it got to do with agricultural management? A valid question, but a counter question. Why are you farming?

Wealth is, per dictionary, described as having an abundance of valuable or desirable possessions or money or is the state of being rich. Being wealthy or rich is having a great deal of money, resources, or assets. A wealthy or rich person is thus one owning a lot of land and/or other property, businesses, having a lot of savings, investments and so forth. The common reference with all these items is that their value is expressed in R-value or then money value.

Back to our basic question of why are you farming? Surely, to make money. You can only make money if you work for somebody and earn a salary or you work for yourself and pay yourself. Interesting, most of the wealthy people of today are entrepreneurs. In other words, they have their own business/businesses. Thus, we are back to our fundamental statement, to make money from your business you must make a profit to save money to buy other assets or possessions. If this is not true you will never become a wealthy person. However, we all know to make a profit from farming is not that easy because of all the risk involved.

In several of our previous articles we have discussed ways and means to assist in making a profit. Diversify, improve the quality of your product, improve the marketing, produce, are just a few aspects discussed. Mostly this was all a bit technical, thus let’s look at a few other hints from a more personal perspective to assist your profit-making efforts and thus to eventually create wealth.

BE AS COMPLIANT AS YOU CAN
Comply with the laws and rules and regulations of our country. Doing so will result in fewer worries and concerns. It frees up positive energy and time to focus on money-making aspects of your business. Is your tractor licensed properly or do you worry about it? By not being compliant could eventually cost you money.

Remember, you do not farm in isolation. Something you do or do not do on your farm could affect the entire industry. The latest out-break of foot-and-mouth disease was apparently caused by someone moving infested livestock irresponsibly. The listerioses outbreak last year originated in a factory that was not cleaned up to standard and caused havoc to the entire pig industry. The outbreak of rift-valley disease during 2010 also comes to mind. Sheep were not inoculated as they should have been, with dire consequences to the sheep industry.

To be compliant is being responsible. It requires some self-discipline and could save you money.

BE PRODUCTIVE
Be productive by planning in advance and anticipate problems before they arise. We are not always as productive as we can be. Consequently, we are less efficient and waste time, and ‘time is money’. Plan for backup methods should your normal systems, such as for communication or power be disrupted. Spare batteries and modems could be of assistance to keep the systems functioning.

USE DOWNTIME EFFECTIVELY
There are always less busy periods on a farm. Use these times to do preventative maintenance to your machinery and equipment. This helps prevent machines and equipment from breaking down unnecessarily during the busy times. You will all know how frustrating it can be when the harvester breaks down during harvest time or the planter during the planting season. In many cases, such a breakdown could have been prevented by timely maintenance. Preventative maintenance also extends the life of the equipment and saves money in the long run.

STAY HEALTHY 
By resting, exercising regularly and eating healthy you stay healthy. Being healthy assists in clear thinking, greater energy, speed and efficiency. 

BE CREATIVE AND USE YOUR COMMON SENSE 
Making the effort to be creative also pays off whilst a lack of or not using your common sense is a liability in a business. Make a point of applying practical, workable solutions to problems. Do not be afraid to consult with your employees regarding practical solutions.

BUILD POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS 
Building positive relationships with everybody involved in your business – your family, employees, suppliers, customers and consultants. Positive relationship will reduce stress and improve productivity. Be a good listener by making time to listen to other people. 

By building positive relationships you are building a solid reputation based on integrity and responsibility. This will directly influence the value of your business. People will respect you to be trustworthy and will be at ease to do business with you and provide proper service.

HAVE A STRONG MINDSET
Lastly, having a strong mindset is incredibly important in helping you push forward in your business ventures and to never give up. Business is never easy, but it is worth it. It is always worth creating the income and the life that you want.

SOURCE
Information used in this article was taken from an article ‘Simple ways to create wealth’ by Peter O’Halloran – Farmer’s Weekly 7 December 2018.

Publication: June 2019

Section: Pula/Imvula