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Is Opportunity Interest, Real Interest?
An opportunity cost is the lost benefit of choosing a different option. The opportunity cost of going to college is losing out on four years of wages; the true cost is tuition plus lost wages. At the Ranching for Profit School, we include opportunity interest as a cost on owned livestock herds, because there is […]
Read MoreDangers of Free Time
Free time is dangerous to those who have been raised to believe that one must always be physically busy in the ranch. A business in our Executive Link (EL) program recently eliminated a major enterprise that wasn’t working economically and hadn’t been for some time. They were able to make this brave decision, with the […]
Read MoreWorking Backwards
One of Stephen Covey’s seven habits of highly successful people is to “start with the end in mind.” We use this a lot at our Ranching for Profit School, particularly during the evening coaching sessions when students are preparing their economic numbers. The Ranching for Profit economic model breaks down a business into gross margins […]
Read MoreThink Outside the Office
In the Ranching for Profit School we challenge you to separate your life from your business. Too many ranchers identify as their work and never develop a sense of who they are outside of the ranch. Not only does the business suffer as a result, so does the rancher’s family. There are many ways to […]
Read MoreFeedback Loops to Aid Decision Making
If you were to come upon a car wreck, which turns out to be your neighbor with terminal cancer, would you worry about their next chemo appointment? Probably not, your first concern would more likely be CPR or stopping the bleeding. This is about the extent to which we generally discussed the feedback loop at […]
Read MoreLearners With Top 10 Qualities
We have just finished a spectacular collection of Ranching for Profit Schools. Since this past December we have conducted 7 RFP schools that each had an average attendance of 50 amazing participants. Hands down the quality of the participants makes for a good school. We are so fortunate to work with outstanding participants that I […]
Read MoreMission Before Profit
Successful businesses have mission and vision statements. This allows planning and decision making easier for managers and owners. These statements are posted on websites, above the front door, and in the break room to keep reminding us why we are there, and why the customers are there too. The mission is the purpose of the […]
Read MoreLeasing Like a Boss
This morning I found a great post on the Executive Link private Facebook group. A current EL member was looking for input on information that he should share with the landowners of various properties that he leases. There were several great suggestions ranging from wildlife population status to water infiltration rates. After weighing in myself, […]
Read MoreHow to Communicate with Your Team
I think it is safe to say that most ranchers love ranching because they are surrounded by animals more often than people. However, it is critical that ranchers aka business owners know how to communicate with their human team effectively. Before we start, let’s remember two important elements: one is to treat your ranch/farm like […]
Read MoreEconomic Planning
Dwight Eisenhower said, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” Eisenhower might as well have been talking about ranching. Speaking of planning … How is your economic plan coming along for next year? Things are changing rapidly. Costs and returns have taken some dramatic shifts in the past few years. The […]
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