Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Sound advice Gary. I reckon!

GD,
I have no doubts what so every in your wise words. I can be witness to this, i have tried two "small businesses".
One in process control and one in IT, Both of which i feel i have more than sufficient knowledge in. One never even got off the ground, and the other one was sending me (my girlfriend ) broke.

I have a very close friend that is an oustanding external sales person in the process control field, and i believe he could operate a sucessful business, but ask him and he thinks he needs another year or two.

Smarter man than I.

Thats why i am completely happy working for my boss, i am payed very fairly and i have seen the effort he puts into the "paper" side of the business. I know my weaknesses, and am under no illusion that i could even come close to doing what he does.

There is another solution, put on people that are GOOD at the three areas you need..........but then you over heads kill you.

I think you should be VERY confident of your OVERALL abilities before considering making any hobby a business, and letting someone else in the "know" look over your business plan is great advice

Steve

There is nothing more that I would like to do as to turn this hobby into a source of income (my primary job)... but I knnow that I woiuld go broke too trying as I dont have the head to run a business... pitty though!

Well, sounds like a sensible bunch. Of course planning and business knowledge is crucial, we are talking business after all.

I ran a newspaper, given complete control. Doubed the size and tripled the circulation in 1st 6 months whilst dropping the ad content by 13%.

My next business I did what I was told could not be done. Created a working comedy circuit here in NZ. Many had failed. When I walked away from it it collapsed.

Now I'm not sure if I was talked down to like a kid with his head in the clouds or not. But it felt like it. Most likely nothing but my ego - it's all about me!

I've never beeen motivated by money if I was you can be sure I'd be filthy rich. That's my brothers motivation who now owns a TV channel.

Me, I'm a goddamn wierdo who thinks an oasis is better'n millions... Which brother has a better life? The filthy rich one!

I've never sold a dud I got this 'morality' problem about business. You can be sure I've done everything in my power to give a fair deal, or good opportunity, or it just doesn't happen.

I'd love my plan vetted before it's vetted here. I'm even going back to business courses when I don't have to. I believe it's important for me to centralise focus during the time of the course and revise as much as possible.

Poor Tutors

i would love to see what type of plans you've come up with.

on a semi-related note, my womans parents are sitting on 17 acres about 20 mi east of here, and they are both avid gardeners.

AA......I'm sorry if you miscontrued the intent in my post. It was more about the general discussion on business and it was initiated by the story of the Canadian folks who it was suggested had gone belly up.

I wasn't reflecting on anyone's abilities but simply providing a caution that if people are thinking of going into an aquaponics business (or any other kind of business for that matter) they should understand what they are doing if they don't want a close look at hell.

Very true.

I'm sorry Gary I'm taking too much personally lately Mum has been put in the 'too hard' basket last night by her cancer team who recommend 'quality time' rather than quantity. In other words they're filling her with opiates and have given up.

I feel so powerless I've bitten a few times at unrelated things. It's sound advice my apologies again.

I am sure we all understand...
Everybody seemes pretty level headed about those things AA...

You sure have had a colourful past haven't you AA, mony jobs , many interests
Me, one job, many interests

Yep. Colourful. The amount of jobs I've been through reflects many periods trying to 'settle down' or 'grow up'. I've loved nearly every job I've had despite what it was for the experience and learning that came with it. But when I got good at things I grew restless again. Never bored with comedy or writing as art thankfully, just not for me as a business. I do write stories/articles for cash occasionally though.

Aquaponics has never bored me, too much to learn. Marine science alone I could spend my life and know only a bit of it. Years later in Aquaponics I still suffer information overload.

I passed business plans on to other folk how to run the comedy and a small paper. They did it their way it didn't work. They were competent capable people, but I'd done the math marketing and PR properly and stuck to it.

Bringing me hopefully back on topic hehe. Business and Aqua.

I hope to achieve, with the plans for the greenhouse, a model sufficient in size to give potential owner/operaters a rough outline of what is needed to make an honest go of it.

Your input would be invaluable vetting this material Gary. As would the groups.

Of course there are so many variables it is impossible to give proper figures so most of the work would still be needed to be done by each individual.

'My' actual business plan involves utilising small and medium systems to introduce Aquaponics to NZ over 3 1/2 years whilst performing small scale hydro system conversions... Then the large greenhouse of my own.

(Shudder)..............sounds like me............i'm hoping refrigeration will give me 10 good years.........good thing is there are so many "areas", that one could move to a diferent specialty and start all over again


TIme will tell

in teaching the govt. keeps changeing what they expect from us , I guess it is like a new job every 3 or 4 years anyway... maybe that is why it never gets boring....

LOL, it probably more like they can't decide what htye want from you!

It weird being online during the day...............playing hookey from school, technically i'm enroled in an apprenticeship but i got a call from a mate who is always on time and was told "don't bother going in".......i think i have AC/DC fundamentals covered ok. LOL. called the boss and might do a job or two later See there are benifits of rocking up 1 hr late