Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses

The following publication, Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses, was conceived in 1996 by a planning team for the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) to address the evolving business planning needs of beginning and experienced rural entrepreneurs.

This Guide was developed over a period of seven years by a team of University of Minnesota faculty and staff, individual farmers and consultants. It incorporates recommendations on content, language and organization from the review process as well as examples from five of the review team’s business plans.

MISA followed one of the farm reviewer families, Cedar Summit Farm owners Dave and Florence Minar and their family, throughout their planning process. The Minars’ planning experience—their initial exploration of values, brainstorming of goals, and research into on-farm milk processing, markets and financing—is incorporated throughout this Guide’s text and Worksheets. A completed business plan for the Minars’ Cedar Summit Creamery is attached in Appendix A.

We hope this Business Planning Guide will assist today’s alternative and traditional business owners alike with the creation of a holistic business plan rooted firmly in personal, community, economic and environmental values. With a business plan in hand, today’s farmers and rural entrepreneurs will be able to take that first step toward the creation of a successful and sustainable business.

Each section is provided in PDF (print-friendly) format and will open in a new browser window. After printing a section, close the new browser window to return to this page and continue on to the next section. PDF documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free download.

Front and Back Cover Pages

Table of Contents and Introduction

Planning Task 1: Identify Values - What's Important to You?

Planning Task 1: Values Worksheets

Planning Task 2: Farm History and Current Situation - What Have You Got?

Planning Task 2: Farm Assessment Worksheets

Planning Task 3: Vision, Mission and Goals - Where Do You Want to Go?

Planning Task 3: Vision, Mission and Goals Worksheets

Planning Task 4: Strategic Planning and Evaluation - What Routes Can You Take to Get Where You Want to Go?

Planning Task 4: Strategic Planning Worksheets

Planning Task 5: Present, Implement and Monitor Your Business Plan - Which Route Will You Take, and How Will You Check Your Progress Along the Way?

Planning Task 5: Implementation and Monitoring Worksheets

List of Footnote References

Resources, Glossary, and Appendices

Print copies of the Business Planning Guide are available from the MISA office for $17 plus shipping. Please contact MISA at 612-625-8235 or 800-909-6472; or email: misamail@umn.edu