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Janice Spaulding and her husband, Ken, run a 28 acre sustainable
farm in Maine. There they raise both meat and dairy breeds and run
the well-known Goat School, a nationally trademarked school that
hosts acclaimed workshops, twice a year,on all aspects of goat owning
and care. Janice and Ken are also authors of the book "The
Goat Book" and have been featured by Hobby Farms and various
other sources for their expertise in goat care, cheesemaking, farm
marketing, and much more. The pictures included in this story are
from Janice and Ken's farm.
Why are so many people afraid of competition? What makes it so
scary? Should it frighten us in the goat business? No, absolutely
not! As iron sharpens iron, competition should bring out the best
in people, not the worst!
Competition serves a purpose in all facets of business. Look at
Wal Mart for example. I remember when everyone was saying Wal Mart
was going to put everyone else out of business. Did they? Not really,
now that they have been around for a while some people won’t
even go there! I for one would rather go just about anywhere else
than Wal Mart! Do they still make money? Yes. Do they serve a purpose?
Yes. Does everyone go there? NO!
If a goat farmer should move in down the road from you will he be
competition? Not necessarily. If he is selling a different breed
of goat he won’t compete at all, if he is selling the same
breed, will he then be competing for the same customers that you
have? Let’s look at this for a moment.
This farm suddenly moves in and it has whole bunches of goats you
are all nervous that he is going to put you out of business, what
should you do? This is really going to put you on your toes, isn’t
it? Do some research! Is he selling his goats to a meat market is
he selling breeding stock like you do, or does he sell fiber, milk
or cheese? What makes your farm stand out from his? How does his
stock really look up close and personal? Are his goats well muscled,
have wonderful fiber, nice udders, solid on their feet, and friendly,
or are they skittish, and mediocre?
This may seem like a silly question, but what does the farm itself
look like? Is it clean, neat and welcoming? What about barns, out
buildings and storage? One term the insurance industry uses is “pride
of ownership”, how does your farm measure up in this category?
Is there junk in your yard, do your buildings need painting, is
your grass mowed, do you have cobwebs and such in your barn? Does
your place look like summer camp for the Munster family? After all,
how difficult is it to put a rag on a broom and take the cob webs
down?
 What are you
doing to attract potential buyers? Do you have clear concise advertisements,
or are they over wordy with grammatical and spelling errors? Take
a good look at your advertising because this will separate your
customers into classes and determine who will answer your ad and
who will not! Remember spelling shows knowledge! Not sure? Look
it up in the dictionary! Using your computer? Hit spell check for
goodness sake! No matter what the size is, think of your farm business
as just that, a business. How comfortable are you going into a store
that is dusty, dirty and smells bad? If a store sells beds and mattresses
and you are looking for a table and chairs are you going to buy
a bed instead? No, you will go to another store and find that table
and chairs!
Goat farms are the same way! If people don’t find what they
are looking for they will go to another that has the merchandise
they want!
We welcome visitors at any time because we know that the farm is
nicely presented, clean and our goats are well cared for and healthy.
Competition doesn’t bother us at all!
Have a minute? Visit us on the web at www.mainegoats.com
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