The One Ratio Every Business Owner Needs to Know

My clients often ask me about benchmarks and ratios. They want to know how their business financials compare to industry standards. What’s the appropriate profit margin for a farm business; or what…

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What I learned about business from tea sandwiches

When I launched my catering business in 1997, I was starved for work. While I had a clear mission of the kind of events I wanted to do, I also needed to pay the bills.  So when a prospective client…

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Actionable Sales Goals

How much revenue do you want to earn in the coming year? $150,000? $300,000? If you’ve read books like The Secret you know that you need to put out into the universe what you want. But putting down…

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Making it Happen: Self-Publishing, Part II

In Part I, I shared the process by which I created the manuscripts for The Farmer’s Kitchen and The Farmer’s Office.  For as difficult as this may have seemed, it really was the easy part.  I wrote…

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Ego Check: Is Your Pride Hindering Your Success?

Food is personal. Small businesses are, too. Entrepreneurs share their passion and drive with their customers; I am continually inspired by the heart and effort that my clients commit to their…

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A Guide to Buying and Selling Local Foods In New England for Buyers and Producers

Last month, Noelle and I had the pleasure of attending the SBN Local Food Trade Show. Fifty vendors and hundreds of other food producers and buyers were in attendance for a lively day of networking…

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Giving Back and Making it Count

How can a food business authentically and effectively align its charitable giving with its business model? Food based businesses, such as restaurants, farm and food producers are regularly asked for…

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Financing A Sustainable Food System in New England

by Lisa Sebesta How can we finance a sustainable food system in New England? In late January, 125 people gathered for a one-day session to tackle this question. Obviously, it’s difficult, if not…

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Looking Back: Past Articles

Here’s an overview of the different articles we’ve written in the past four years. They’re always available in full on our website.

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Six More Tips For Growing Your Business

One of the lessons I’m reminded of time and time again is that the skills that make a great entrepreneur in a start-up company are not necessarily the skills needed to grow a business. Starting a…

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