Special Note from Marc MacDonald, Owner of Boer Goat Profits Guide

Howdy!

Thank you once again for taking my Boer Goat Profits e-course!

This business plan template is an unadvertised bonus for customers who

have taken the e-course, and is meant as a companion to my comprehensive
program on how to start profitably raising and breeding Boer goats
(including interviews with 6 success Boer goat farmers, and 1 world-
renowned Boer goat professor!)

To learn more, please visit:

http://www.BoerGoatProfitsGuide.com/specialoffer/

In this free business plan template I’ve provided some important questions
that you need to ask yourself before starting to raise Boers. By answering
some of these questions you might save yourself thousands of dollars!
(Okay, I know- now I’m tooting my own horn a little too much!)

I really hope you get a lot out of this free template, and that you decide to
start raising Boers soon. As I mentioned to you before, demand for goat
meat is growing like crazy – now’s the time to jump in!

To farming profits,

Marc MacDonald
Boer Goat Researcher

P.S. If you would like to learn more about my groundbreaking program,

please go here:

http://www.BoerGoatProfitsGuide.com/specialoffer/
 Annex A: Boer Goat Business Plan Template

“Failing to plan is planning to fail”

Alan Lakein, Author

It’s a well-known fact that many businesses fail within the first five years of
their existence. But many of those businesses fail because they didn’t think
through their business before they got started.

Take a look at the following list of 10 leading causes of business failures:

1) Insufficient business/enterprise planning
2) Lack of adequate capital in the start-up and growth stages
3) Going into business for the wrong reason
4) Manager gets worn out and/or underestimates the time requirements
5) Family pressure on time and money
6) Being at the wrong place at the wrong time
7) Lack of market awareness
8) The manager falls in love with the enterprise and cannot make objective
decisions
9) Lack of financial responsibility and awareness
10) Lack of a clear focus

You can see in the list above that many of the reasons why businesses fail is
a lack of planning.

Having a plan helps you develop a vision of what you want your business to
be, define how you will build it, and determine if it's working.

To start, proper identification and written descriptions of a mission and goals

for a Boer goat operation will provide a strong foundation for the
development of a complete business plan.

Take a moment to write down your mission and goals for your Boer goat
operation:
1. Mission Statement:

(Here’s an example to get you started: “The mission of John Smith Farm is to be the
largest provider of high-quality Boer goat breeding stock in Lubbock County, Texas”)

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

2. Specific Goals of My Boer Goat Operation:

(Examples: “Achieve $500,000 in annual profits within 5 years”; “Increase my herd size
to 100 goats within 2 years”)

Goal #1: _____________________________________________________

Goal #2: _____________________________________________________

Goal #3: _____________________________________________________

Goal #4: _____________________________________________________

Goal #5: _____________________________________________________

In the next section of your business plan, you should be thinking about the
niche you want your Boer goat business to operate in. In other words, will
you specialize in selling breeding stock to other producers? Selling meat
directly to consumers off your farm? Selling meat to wholesalers?
3. The niche my Boer goat business will specialize in will be:

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Next you want to define the target market for your business. Your market
will include where, and to whom, you will sell your goat. Take a moment to
answer the questions below:

4. The geographic area that my Boer goat business will focus on will be:

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

5. The ideal customer for my Boer goat business will be:

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Competitor analysis is an extremely important aspect of any business. After

all, you won’t be the only farm in your state selling Boers (but if that was the
case, it would be great for you!).

Give some thought as to who will be your competitors, along with their
strengths and weaknesses. (Hint: think about how you can turn your
competitors’ weaknesses into your strengths.)

6. My major competitors will be:

Competitor #1: ________________________________________________

Strengths of this competitor:

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Weaknesses of this competitor:

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Competitor #2: ________________________________________________

Strengths of this competitor:

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Weaknesses of this competitor:

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Competitor #3: ________________________________________________

Strengths of this competitor:

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Weaknesses of this competitor:

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

Related to competition, you need to decide what promotional methods you’ll

use to market your Boers. Will you only rely on word-of-mouth to spread
the word about your business? How about advertising in newspapers? How
about the Internet?

7. The main ways I will market my Boer goat business will be through:

a. ___________________________________________________

b. ___________________________________________________

c. ___________________________________________________
Now we get to the boring stuff – the financial planning
Planning the costs
of your Boer goat business might cause you to yawn, but it’s necessary - so
let’s get to it!

Starting a Boer operation is going to require both upfront and ongoing

investment from you. In return, you expect to get some money back in the
form of profits – hopefully much more than you put in!

The upfront investment will consist of “capital investment” - in other

words, money that you’ll use to buy assets to start your business (assets like
land, fences, and the Boer goats themselves).

Take a moment to look at the categories in the sample Capital Investment

table below. Then come back to the table once you’ve figured out the
investments that will be necessary for your own business.

Capital Investments Required to Set Up Boer Goat Business

. Investment
Land .
Crop land (10 acres)
.
Improvements & Facilities
Utilities (enterprise share)
Pole shed (15’ x 30’)
Perimeter fencing
Cross fencing
Fence line feeders
Pens
Total Improvements & Facilities
. .
Stock .
Breeding does
Breeding bucks
Predator control dog
Total Stock
.
Equipment
Electric fencer
Hoof trimmers
Small tools
Truck (enterprise share)
Waterers
Total Equipment
.
Total Investment

Next step in estimating your costs is to look at how much money you’ll be
spending to keep your business going – in other words, the estimated
operating costs. You can combine an estimate of these costs with estimated
revenues.

Below is a sample budget sheet that includes estimated costs and revenues,
and arrives at an estimated profit at Year 3 of a Boer goat operation:

Sample Budget Sheet

Projected Revenues No. Weight Price Year 3 Your Snapshot
Meat (weanling) bucks
Meat (weanling) does
Breeding doelings
Cull does
Value of increased inventory
Government grants
Total Projected Revenues
.
Projected Direct Costs
Feed costs — Does
Hay
Grain
Salt & mineral . .. .
Feed costs — Weaned . .. .
offspring
Hay . .. .
Grain . .. .
Total Feed Costs . . .
Pasture management expense . . .
Veterinary costs . . ..
Bedding . . .
Marketing . . .
Fuel & repairs . . ..
Machinery costs . . .
Facility repairs . . ..
Utilities . . .
Office expenses . . .
Manure removal . . .
Interest on operating . . .
Total Projected Direct Costs . . .
. . .. .
Return Over Direct Costs . .. .
. . .. . . .
Projected Indirect Costs .. ... . ..
Operator labour (X hours @ . .. .
$X/hour)
Land taxes, licences & . .. .
insurance
Depreciation on . .. .
improvements
Depreciation on equipment . . .
Total Projected Indirect . .. .
Costs
.
Total Projected Direct & . . .
Indirect Costs
. . . .
Gross Operating Profit . . .

Once you’ve gone through all of the steps outlined in this Boer Goat
Business Plan Template, there will still be some nitty-gritty questions that
you will need to ask yourself.
Asking these questions of yourself will allow you to develop a mental
“action plan” to get your business up-and-running. (Here’s another tip: write
down the answers to these questions, then prioritize them by date. This will
give you a timeline that you can follow to set up your business.)

The following questions are from Jack Mauldin’s excellent website,

www.JackMauldin.com:

Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Environment:

 Do you have sufficient fencing to keep your goats in and predators

out?
 Will you need any cross-fencing to separate some animals?
 Will you need some type of guard animal?
 Do you have sufficient shelter for your animals during bad
weather?
 Do you have the ability to pen up sick animals?
 How will you transport animals?
 How will you pen animals to doctor?
 Will you have to supplement grazing with grain/hay?

Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Animals:

 Where will you purchase your animals?

 Where will you sell your animals?
 How will you track breeding sire if you will be registering
animals?
 How close will you monitor and participate in birthing?

Medical Questions to Ask Yourself:

 How will you gain knowledge about medical requirements?

 Is the vet in your area that is knowledgeable about goats?
 What type of maintenance program will you have for goats?
 What type of medical supplies will you need and where will you
get them?
 How will you learn how to administer medicine?

General Questions to Ask Yourself:

 What type of goat manuals and magazines will you get?

 What type of record keeping will be required?
 Will you join any goat associations?
 How will you determine price to pay or set for animals?