Money issues: Under investing or getting in over your head
There's a balance that you need to find between buying everything you want right away and only getting what you need at the moment. You don't want to take on too much in the beginning without being profitable.Often, to get land you will have to take a loan or lease space, sometimes there's machinery or fencing needed all of which costs money to buy. How are you going to get those bales of hay or livestock to your land? What about the seeds to grow those vegetables? They all cost money.
Use everything you have before expanding. Often new farmers (and businesses) will want to expand before they can really support that expansion. Be smart about available space. Could you grow on arbors instead of flat land? Could you mob graze so you have smaller pieces of land being used for short time periods. There are lots of options for thinking outside of the traditional methods. Looks at some of those to grow smart.
Tmorrow or rent where you can. For instance, instead of purchasing a tractor that costs a lot upfront and will depreciate over time, is there the possibility that you could you borrow one or rent one from a friend? There are places that you can rent equipment and although you still have a cost associated with renting it might now be as much as purchasing. This is a good idea for equipment you don't use very often. Or, what about no till or low-till? There are ways to get started without burying yourself in debt. You don't have to buy everything at once. Be smart about it. Go slow to incorporating types of operations on your farm. This is where the plan comes in. How will year 1 be different than year 5? How will you have grown?
