Diary of a Poultry Farmer: Before you quit to farm, read this checklist

My article, In defence of vilified telephone farmers elicited mixed reactions, with one reader seemingly getting frustrated of why I had not pinpointed when was the right time to quit to go into farming.

Today, I will talk about what you need to consider before you quit your job to go into agribusiness but first, I will share this story. Sometime back, I got an email from Julius Fondo from Kilifi County.

“I am planning to quit my job as a programmes coordinator with a local NGO to become a full-time poultry farmer,” he wrote. “Do you think that is a good idea?”

Fondo had read in newspapers about poultry farmers who had become ‘millionaires’ and felt it was time to tender his resignation and become his own boss.

He even mentioned that Julius Gaya, a Member of County Assembly for Karachuonyo ward, was his role model.

I understood his dilemma. When I started out, I was tempted to quit my job to give the venture all my attention.

I knew the huge untapped business potential in poultry industry, which is worth $6.3 billion (Sh648 billion) (Seeds of Gold July 9, 2016).

Sometimes I would wake up on Monday morning and make a pledge: “This is going to be my last month working for anybody.”

Reality would set in month-end when I looked at my expenses against the pay cheque. I realised I was working my office day job out of necessity.

MINIMISE RISKS

Deep down, I knew I needed the income from my job to not only make ends meet but also to fund my poultry venture.

Okay, unless you are Donald Trump with a helping hand from a billionaire daddy, whatever business you begin, there will be a start-up phase when you will be scavenging for every shilling to keep it afloat.

Please underline this: Entrepreneurship is not for risk-takers but for those who do due diligence to minimise risks before plunging in.

It is foolish to believe in overnight success. Believe me, if you see a person who has achieved great things today (here I don’t mean your average ‘tenderpreneurs’), chances are he or she was working for five to 10 years before anyone even noticed they existed on planet earth.

To come to my decision, I used a seven-point score card, which looked at whether I had a sound business idea and plan, adequate finances, time commitment, ready buyers, family support and the discipline to be my own boss.

I needed to be sure I had a sound business idea backed by a solid plan. A simple test for a sound business idea is this: “Are you selling a solution to a problem your customers care about or the product you are making?”

Now, if the answer is the former, consider quitting (Seeds of Gold, February 11). A business plan helped me to translate the ideas in my head on to paper and subject it to scrutiny by potential investors.

When I checked my finances, I was slightly below what professionals advise as the threshold for quitting. “You must have at least enough savings to live on for six months and to fund the business before you decide to quit,” one told me.

OWN BOSS

I had factored in rent, medical expenses, school fees, fuel, utility bills, food and emergencies that may arise.

I fared well with time commitment required to run the business. I could run my poultry venture in the evenings and weekends without having to quit but I had to hire a trusted fulltime manager.

I didn’t have ready-to-go buyers for my products and needed to wait until I had a pool of regular customers. At least, I secured the support of family and close friends, including my wife and children.

Someone told me that “talking to family and close friends will help you realise if you’re going after something that you really want to do, or just escaping your current situation.”

Another thing I considered was whether I had the discipline to be my own boss. Many people think if they can be their own boss, life would be better.

But some experts say that not everyone is meant to be a business owner.

Based on my unfavourable score, I decided to first test the waters without giving up my 8am to 5pm job. When my score improves, I will let you know.