Do you want to start a grasscutter farm? If YES, here is a complete guide to starting a grasscutter farming business with NO money and no experience. If you are looking for an agricultural business to venture into with high-profit returns, then the grass cutter farm is the ideal business you should consider starting. There are loads of business opportunities in grass cutter farming.
Grasscutter is one of the healthiest meats in the world, and it is widely eaten in all the continents of the world. Among all the wild rodents, grasscutter is the most preferred. Grasscutter farming is a highly profitable business that has been further developed from small scale farming into a global industry in most countries where it is farmed. Grasscutter farm is easy to start, and very cheap to maintain and its turnover rate is short while it yields good returns on investment.
Its meat commands a higher market price than the flesh of other domestic animals because it possesses low fat, high protein, and a unique taste. Establishing a grasscutter farm is cheap as it requires less space to rear. Starting a grasscutter farming business has its challenges, but that does overshadow the fact that it is a highly profitable business.
So, if you plan to start your own grasscutter farming business, this article will guide you to make an informed decision.
17 Steps to Starting a Grasscutter Farming Business
1. Understand the Industry
Grasscutter is exploited in most areas as a source of animal protein. In times past, grasscutter was ranked among the wildlife, so it became expensive to get, and it is therefore hunted aggressively. Unfortunately, this led to the destruction of the environment through the setting of bush fires by hunters.
But as we moved towards the early 2000’s it became domesticated, thereby making it widely accessible and acceptable. It has also reduced the environmental destruction that accompanies its collection from the wild. Grasscutters contribute to both local and export earnings in the countries where it is being farmed.
The grasscutter farming industry is a fast growing industry which is very active in the united states of America and some other countries. A report also has it that grasscutters are relatively inexpensive and easy to farm while their farming has little damage on the environment in which they are farmed.
In the grasscutter farming business, if you can conduct your market research and feasibility studies very well, you will find it easy to sell your grasscutter because it doesn’t run out of consumers and there are always food processing companies out there ready to buy from you.
2. Conduct Market Research and Feasibility Studies
- Demographics and Psychographics
The demographic and psychographic composition of those who need grasscutter is not in any way restricted to a particular group of people. Grasscutter consumption is not limited by culture, religion or race. This makes the market widely popular and all encompassing.
So, if you look to define the demographics of your grasscutter farming business, then you need to make it all encompassing. It should include households, businesses, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, supermarkets, and food hubs that rely on the supply of grasscutter.
3. Decide Which Niche to Concentrate On
There is no specific niche area of specialization in the grasscutter farming business. This is because every farmer simply farms grasscutter for sale, though some grasscutter farmers may decide to go into packaging and processing of grasscutter meat instead of just selling directly to the market.
So, if you are planning to start your own grasscutter farming business, then you need to define your market to know how to get your grasscutter and its other product to your customers.
The Level of Competition in the Industry
The level of competition experienced in the grasscutter farming industry depends largely on the capacity of your grasscutter farm. If you can successfully include grasscutter processing and packaging to the services you render in your grasscutter farming business, then you are likely going to experience little or no competition. For example, if you are the only one into grasscutter processing and packaging in your location, you can successfully take control of the market for a foreseeable future before you start having competitions.
4. Know Your Major Competitors in the Industry
In every industry, there are always brands that perform better and are highly regarded by customers and the public than others. Some of these brands have been in the industry for a long time, most of them have been known for how they conduct their businesses and the achievement they have made over the years.
Here are some leading grasscutter farms in the United States and around the world;
- Hilltop farm inc.
- Kruger’s farm
- Serenbe farm
- McCall Farms
Economic Analysis
When starting a grasscutter farm business, you have to get your economic analysis right if you intend to start the business with the sole aim of generating profit. You need to know how you would grow and expand the business and start exporting processed and packaged grasscutter within your country and other countries of the world.
When making the economic analysis for your grasscutter farm business, you would need to examine some key factors such as access to cheap labor, access to the market, and good climatic condition. At regular intervals, you would need to continue to review these key factors while running your grasscutter farm business. As a grasscutter farmer, you need to perfectly understand your competitive landscape if you want to 5. Decide Whether to Buy a Franchise or Start from Scratch
For the grasscutter business, you would be better served to start from the scratch as you can hardly get the franchise of a grasscutter farm to buy.
Besides, starting your grasscutter farm from scratch is less stressful when compared to other small scale businesses which would require detailed groundwork before starting the business. With a grasscutter farm, all you need is to secure your business license, get your startup capital, secure a good land in a good location suitable for aquaculture, build contacts with key stakeholders and then leverage on every marketing tool at your disposal especially the internet to market your grasscutter.
You should also take note that most of the big and successful grasscutter farms in the industry started from the scratch and they were able to successfully build a solid business brand.
6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face
If you decide to venture into the grasscutter farming business, one of the major challenges you will likely face is the presence of established grasscutter farms in your location. The only way you can avoid this challenge is to create your market; shift your primary focus to households, individuals, hotels and small restaurants that may all need a steady supply of grasscutter meat.
Some other threats and challenges that you are likely to face in the course of your grasscutter farm business are a global economic downturn that can negatively affect disposable income of households, bad weather and natural disasters, unfavorable government policies and the arrival of a competitor within the same location. There is hardly anything you can do concerning these threats and challenges other than to be optimistic that things will take a positive shape for you.
7. Choose the Most Suitable Legal Entity (LLC, C Corp, S Corp)
For this business, you can either choose a general partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), or a sole proprietorship. Ordinarily, the sole proprietorship option should have been the business structure ideal for a small scale grasscutter farm business especially if you are starting-up with modest capital. But for obvious reasons most business owners prefer a limited liability Company.
If you intend is to grow the business and sell your grasscutter all across the United States, then choosing sole proprietorship is not an option for you at all. Limited Liability Company, LLC or general partnership will be ideal choice
Setting up a limited liability Company will protect you from personal liability. That is incase anything goes wrong in the business; you only have the money being invested into the limited liability company at risk. LLCs have simpler and flexible operating structure as you don’t need a board of directors, shareholders meetings or other managerial formalities to run your business successfully.
These are some of the factors you would need to consider before you choose a legal entity for your grasscutter farm business; limitation of personal liability, admission of new owners, ease of transferability, investors’ expectation and taxes.
8. Choose a Catchy Business Name
When it comes to choosing a Business title=”business name” data-wpil-keyword-link=”linked”>business name, you should be creative as whatever business name you choose will determine the kind of perception the public to your business. Typically, it is the trend for entrepreneurs to follow the industry trend they intend to venture into while naming their business.
Here are some catchy names to choose from when starting your grasscutter business
- limpa Bay Grasscutter Farms, LLC
- Nike & Son Farms Ltd
- Andelon Grasscutter Farms, LLC
- Light Ocean Grasscutter Farms Ltd.
- San Diego grasscutter Farms, Inc.
- Champion Vance grasscutter Farms Ltd
- Nature Deal Grasscutter Farms Ltd
9. Discuss with an Agent to Know the Best Insurance Policies for You
In most countries of the world, you won’t be able to operate a business without having some basic insurance policy covers in place as required by the industry you intend to operate from. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to make a budget to cater for insurance, and it is important that you consult with an insurance broker to guide you in choosing the best insurance policies for your grasscutter farm business.
Here are some of the basic insurance policy covers that you should consider having to start your own grasscutter farm business in the United States of America;
- General insurance
- Farm Equipment and Auto Insurance
- Liability insurance
- Commercial Agribusiness Insurance
- Health insurance
- Workers Compensation
- Payment protection insurance
- Business owner’s policy group insurance
- Overhead expense disability insurance
10. Protect your Intellectual Property With Trademark, Copyrights, Patents
If you are thinking about starting your own grasscutter farm business, you may not worry about filing for intellectual property protection/trademark, because your business nature allows you to run it successfully without having any legal issues with anyone.
11. Get the Necessary Professional Certification
Aside from the general knowledge and ability you might already have in grasscutter farming, one might still need to acquire professional certification as this could distinguish you from the other grasscutter farms. Acquiring professional certification also shows your overall commitment towards the business.
It also shows your level of competency and skill in your chosen career, and that you are well informed about the latest trend and development in this competitive market. For the grasscutter business, you don’t need any special professional certifications, just have sufficient knowledge about the management of grasscutters, animal health, breeding and kidding practices.
Note: An average grasscutter farmer in the suburbs in the United States of America does not have professional certification. This does not and should not in any way affect their ability to grow their grasscutter farms successfully in the United States to enviable heights.
12. Get the Necessary Legal Documents You Need to Operate
It is quite important for every business owner to have the necessary documents in place before launching a business in the United States. It is a well-known fact that one would not be able to run any business successfully in the United States of America without the proper documents to back it up. This is because the law strongly recommends those documents to run your business in the United States.
Here are some basic legal documents expected of you to have before legally running your own grasscutter farming business in the United States of America;
- Business Plan
- Business License
- Certificate of Incorporation
- Business and liability insurance
- Employment Agreement
- Employee’s Handbook
- Assistant’s licenses for assistants
- Health inspection Certificate
- Operating Agreement for LLCs
- Insurance Policy
- Tax Payer’s ID
- Farm Partnership Agreement
- Operating Agreement for LLCs
- Fire certificate Appropriate
- Driver’s licenses for drivers
- Proof of ownership and vehicle license
13. Raise the Needed Startup Capital
Starting a grasscutter farming business made to a standard can be capital intensive especially when you want to start-up a large grasscutter farm capable of supplying grasscutter beyond your immediate community.
Securing a large farm land, building a good and conducive pen, purchasing your first set of grasscutters and other farm tools are going to take a large chunk of your startup capital, but if you eventually decide to start the business on a small scale, you may not need to source for funds externally to finance the business.
When it comes to financing your business; it is always advisable to write a good business plan. This is because a good and workable business plan will make it easier for you to convince your bank, investors, family, and friends, to invest in your business. Here are some ways you can source for startup capital for your grasscutter farming business;
- Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks and properties
- Raising money from investors and business partners
- Applying for business grants
- Source for soft loans from your family members and your friends
- Sell of shares to interested investors
- Applying for seed funding from government and donor organizations
14. Choose a Suitable Location for your Business
You can start out your farm from your back yard. However, you may also consider starting big if you have the resources. Location is often a challenge for most startup businesses and starting a grasscutter farming business is no exception.
Before choosing a location for your grasscutter farm, make sure you conduct thorough feasibility studies and market survey. In the course of this study, you could come across similar farms that just closed up business in the location you intend to start your own grasscutter business. This is why you need to gather as much knowledge and facts before choosing a location to set up your grasscutter farm.
Here are some of the key factors you would need to consider before you choose a location for your grasscutter farm;
- The demography of the location
- The demand for grasscutter in the location
- Traffic, parking, and security
- Accessibility of the location
- The number of grasscutter and related businesses in the location
- The local laws and regulations in the community
15. Hire Employees for your Technical and Manpower Needs
When it has to do with starting your grasscutter farm, you will need to construct standard housing, get a good source of feed supply, and acquire other grasscutter farming tools. If you are on a low budget, you can choose to purchase all you would need as fairly used.
When it has to do with leasing and renting of land for your grasscutter farm, the size of the grasscutter farm should determine your choice. With enough start-up capital at your disposal to run your grasscutter farm, you could make plans for long lease or out rightly purchase the land.
The number of employees required to kick start this business with you should depend on your proposed size and your financial outlay. Averagely, for a large scale grasscutter farm business, the services of the following set of employees would be needed; Chief Operating Officer (you can take up this position), General Farm Manager, Farm supervisor, Farm workers, Accountant, Sales and business development Executive, Cleaners, and Security Guards.
In the minimum, you would need about 5 to 10 key staff members to run a standard medium scale grasscutter farming business effectively.
The Service Delivery Process of the Business
When it comes to the service delivery of a grasscutter farm, the process is quite straight forward as a grasscutter farming business can be successfully run with little or no supervision.
When the pen and the required facility has been readied and your specific breed of grasscutter purchased and placed in their respective pens, then twice daily preferably morning and evening, the grasscutter should be fed and the place kept clean.
Once the grasscutter is matured and ready for the market, they are slaughtered and sold off to buyers or taken to farm markets, grocery stores, restaurants and hotels, and any other places that need grasscutter meats.
It is of importance to note that though the service delivery process stated above is the ideal for a grasscutter farm, the farm may also need to adopt any service delivery process that will help them guarantee good returns on their investments.
16. Write a Marketing Plan Packed with ideas & Strategies
As a grasscutter farmer, you need to prove that you have what it takes to manage a grasscutter farm. So, if you have plans to start out your own grasscutter farming business, you’ll be higher served to first build your capability before sourcing to provide grasscutter to hotels or food processing and packaging companies.
The entry barrier for grasscutter farming business is low. This enables additional players to come into the trade. So, when drafting your plans and techniques for your grasscutter farming business, make sure you produce a compelling personal and company profile. This may boost your market opportunities once you start selling your grasscutter.
This are some of the platforms you’ll be able to utilize to promote your grasscutter business and its produce;
- Introduce your business by taking your booklet and introductory letters to households, restaurants, hotels, food process and packing corporations that need grasscutter meat
- Promptly bid for grasscutter contracts
- Do roadshows in targeted neighborhoods from time to time to sell your grasscutter
- Advertise your grasscutter farm in community-based newspapers, radio and native TV stations
- List your business and product on native directories
- Promote your grasscutter business via the net
- Encourage referrals
- Be part of native chambers of commerce and trade around you to promote your product
17. Develop Strategies to Boost Brand Awareness and Create a Corporate Identity
Whatever industry you belong to, the market is going to be dynamic and would need consistent, complete awareness and promotion to still charm your target market. Below are a number of the platforms you’ll use to spice up your awareness and build company identity;
- Sponsor relevant community-based programs
- Place adverts on print and electronic media platforms
- Leverage on the web and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Google + etc., to market your business
- Install your billboards in targeted locations all around your town or state
- Distribute your handbills and fliers in target areas
- Contact households, restaurants, hotels, food process and packaging firms that require regular provide of grasscutter in your target areas informing them of your grasscutter farm
- List your grasscutter farm in the phone book
- Advertise your grasscutter farm on your official web site and use methods to tug traffic to the location
- Make sure that you create branded shirts for your worker to wear