Access to Cash Creates Opportunities
This fall it has been energizing to engage with hundreds of ranch business owners from across North America through the Executive Link Program we lead, as they tackle tough challenges and exciting opportunities in their businesses. At our fall Executive Link (EL) meeting we do a ½ day continuing education program. This time John Haskell […]
Read MoreRFP Successes
The Ranching for Profit School is sometimes called the “MBA of Ranching” or referred to as “better than college.” The RFP School has an amazing curriculum that can have enormous impacts on the alumni and their ranches, but I don’t like those comparisons. Here’s why: you will hear and interpret things differently in each stage […]
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 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 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 MoreTop 10 Tax Preparer Conversations
I just finished my first round of Executive Link meetings. In addition to being a facilitator I also presented the continuing education session where we dug deep into economics, finance, and income taxes. Although it can be a dry and boring topic, we had great discussions during and after the presentation. A common request from EL members was […]
Read MoreA Perspective on Gross Margin from Aaron
Aaron Helmick is a pain in the rear. Even worse he is a dairy farmer from West Virginia pain in the rear. 😆 Somehow Aaron managed to marry Tara and that vastly improved his chances in life. Aaron and Tara are alumni of Ranching for Profit and Executive Link. They are amazing and thoughtful people […]
Read MoreA Business Mind Shift from Treg Ulmer
Treg Ulmer and his wife Courtney are members of the Executive Link program and building a business in Ohio. Treg shared some thoughts with me around balancing profit with other reasons why they choose to ranch. I encouraged Treg to write a ProfitTips column on this subject and I’m excited to share that here, with […]
Read MoreBumpers for Decision Making
“When I bowl, I need the bumpers to keep the ball heading towards the pins, as my wife Maggie and I make decisions on the ranch we need bumpers to keep us heading toward our goal.” This statement was made by Austin Troyer at the recent Executive Link meeting in Billings, MT. Austin, Maggie and […]
Can Small Scale Operations be Profitable?
I often hear from people operating on a smaller scale that their limitations of size make it impossible for them to be profitable. “I only run 12 cows and operate on 30 acres. I can’t possibly be profitable!” The limitations to profitability are usually self-induced. When we look inside this operation what we will likely […]