Looking ahead, over the mountain

An entrepreneur is always busy with today and tomorrow. In doing so, he also creates future opportunities that must be used and so the game begins. But is this feasible?

The usefulness of drawing up a good budget is becoming topical. Entrepreneurs often struggle with entrusting their plan to paper. In fact, it is often dismissed as nonsense. The wallet is outside, we do not know what the potatoes will yield next year or what the milk price will be, let alone the costs?

Budget is a necessity
However, a budget is necessary for raising money. In the 21 years that I worked at a bank, no loan was ever granted without a proper budget for the coming years. In recent years, I have personally experienced how valuable such a budget can be.

Together with entrepreneurs at the kitchen table, I have experienced countless budgets. Sometimes there was nothing on paper yet. Sometimes there was already a first draft and we refined it together. It happened that a budget was drawn up so cautiously that it would not be possible to obtain the desired financing, while the interest and repayment were actually quite bearable. On the other hand, I also saw budgets that were so full of tasks that their feasibility was immediately questionable.

Planning, calculating, realizing
You may be thinking: 'Where does he want to go with this theoretical story?' Does he think I have nothing else to do than philosophize about something that no one knows how it will develop? I understand that, because the paperwork is already big enough. At the same time, years of research and practice show that companies that make well-considered plans and calculate them, actually know how to realize their ambitions and get further.

If you can present a plan with a realistic budget, you can look over the mountain and develop a good future strategy for your company. This provides clarity. Both for yourself and for the parties that can help you achieve the set goals. In this way you can convince a financier of your plan and show why it is also interesting for him to invest in it. This often results in a faster deal with better conditions and rates. I have seen plenty of successful examples of this.

Of course, looking over the mountain is difficult, but it is certainly worth trying. After all, it concerns the future of your company.

Joar van der Velde

Joar van der Velde is a senior relationship manager at Farmers Funding & Advies. He and his wife also own a farm with a holiday park in Herkingen, on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee in South Holland.

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