OFI 1280: Business Opportunities Related To What You Already Know....Farming | Re-Cap Of Episode #402

Tomorrow we are profiling an agricultural entrepreneur using multi-level marketing to leverage his knowledge of farming to create his off-farm income.  I thought that my interview with Megan Dwyer from 2018 when we talked about all the different entrepreneurial endeavors she and her husband were involved in to support their farm would be a great tie in.  The original show notes are below. SHOW NOTES KEY IDEAS:  Our guest today is from a serious, farm family.  Megan Dwyer and her husband, Todd, are determined to make it in farming.  They both farm with their parents.  Her with hers, his with his and vice-versa.  They have their own farm as well and are striving to build a life in which farming is their primary occupation and it can be passed along to their children. To support their farming endeavors, Megan and Todd have started a number of farming related businesses.  This brings in supplemental income from off the farm.  It also gives them multiple streams of revenue so they do not become overly reliant on the farm in the case that commodity prices sink or input prices skyrocket. The services they provide through Ag Authority include: Providing 360YieldCenter SureFire Ag Systems Precision Planting product lines Wyffels Seed VR recs Tile repair and fabrication They serve Northwest Illinois and are building great reputations in the agricultural community.  Megan is also a certified crop advisor, giving her the knowledge and credibility she needs to serve their clients well. ADVICE FROM MEGAN: TRUST YOUR TEAM: You need somebody to partner with that you can trust. STRENGTHS: Focus on your strengths.  Too often we give our attention to our weaknesses and only bring them up to mediocre.  Why not give attention to your strengths and make them even stronger. SMALL: Start small and grow slowly.  It you go too fast or try to do it all at once, you increase risk the possibility of business failure. PERSONAL HABIT THAT MAKES MEGAN SUCCESSFUL: MENTAL REHEARSAL: Megan does something that is very useful for all of us, in or out of agriculture.  Before talking to a customer she mentally rehearses how she will handle different situations if they come up.  This is something that I used to do as a police officer, and I was impressed that this is something that Megan does in her business as well. BEST BUSINESS ADVICE EVER GIVEN TO MEGAN: BE THE EXPERT: "If you're not their #1, be their #2".  This was a profound statement.  You cannot win every time. When you don't, make sure you keep your position as #2 in the case that something ever changes with their #1. CONTACT INFORMATION AND LINKS: Ag Authority's Facebook Page: LINK Megan's Email: [email protected] More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald: