An Introvert Is Forced To Speak

And we're back for installment #2 of Accidental Ag. A lot has happened in the past week. I've reserved a spot on Facebook and X for Accidental Ag which I've included at the bottom of the newsletter so there will be more to come on that in future installments.

Let’s get into it!

From the field:

It's been a business development kind of week on the drone front. There is a lot to love about being a business owner, however, making cold sales calls to prospective customers isn't at the top of my list.

Once I actually get into the conversation, I don't mind it at all. However, it's the anticipation of actually dialing the number and not knowing what you're going to get on the other end that gets me nervous. I've heard stories from others in this industry where they pull a phone number of someone they think is a farmer, and it turns out that person has been dead for 10 years. Awkward…

What usually comes out during these conversations is that one of the main benefits of this drone technology - it can work into tighter spaces and steeper slopes than other options. I fully anticipate having a lot of very challenging fields with big elevation changes and tough entry points.

The tricky part of planning is that I don't know whether someone who expresses interest is going to want me to fly 100% of their acres, or just the fields that are difficult to get to.

I have a certain targeted # of acres I believe our team can handle this year, so I need to fall somewhere around that number. Can’t over-commit, but I don’t want to under-commit by a wide margin either.

I’ve had varying responses this week, from a 15 second conversation stating they are good to go and don’t need drones, to a 15 minute conversation getting my “expertise” on a variety of topics as it relates to spraying and drones. Should be some business that comes from a couple of those conversations, which I’ll shore up in the late spring.

From the office:

One of the things I've realized from my initial conversations with small business owners is that they want to better understand how to set themselves up for year-end taxes. My experience with taxes is taking a course in college, studying it for the CPA exam, and then 1 year of part-time work my first year out of school.

Long story short, I'm not as much help on these questions as I’d like to be.

So I'm trying to fix it.

I've inquired about a seasonal, part-time job as a tax reviewer. It's a delicate dance, because I don't want to appear like I'm the competition, trying to extract knowledge that I can then use to steal their clients. But really, my skillset is a compliment to a CPA firm - there's very little overlap. Having a basic understanding of taxes will be about as close as I come to offering a similar service. Bookkeeping, tax preparation, etc, not my wheelhouse.

As of today I’ve called one firm in particular on two separate occasions to explain my situation and what I’m looking to get out of the role, why I’d be a good candidate, etc. I like their location, the role itself, and the part-time nature of it. This will allow me to stay focused on 2 businesses while still gaining experience that will be valuable. Hopefully there’s more to come on this!

Meanwhile - I’m pushing forward on a site called Upwork. Upwork is a place that connects clients who need help with a project to the right type of talent that can accomplish the work of said project. I’m “applying” for projects ranging from Excel expertise, to financial analysis, to potential fractional CFO work. My first project netted me a whopping $30. But it took a grand total of an hour, and I learned a new Excel formula in the process!

What I'm reading:

There will be a select few of you that will appreciate what I'm reading this week - you know who you are. For the rest of you, sorry. The book is called Tax-Free Wealth by Tom Wheelwright. As I try to grow my skillset in understanding tax strategy better, this book is seemingly breaking down the complexities of tax into something that's easier for me to understand on a few different topics.

Thanks for hanging in - until next week!

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