Why We Scaled Back to 100 Birds (The Real Story)
Hey Reader,
This week I broke down whether 100 layer chickens are actually profitable. But there's a personal story behind why we landed on exactly 100 birds this year that I didn't share in the video.
The reason: We stepped back from the farmers market.
After years of Saturday markets, we decided to focus on our direct customers while we evaluate our next growth move. Should we scale chickens to 300-500 birds? Expand cattle? Grow the pork operation?
So this year became our "strategic pause" - just 100 birds to keep our core customers supplied while we crunch the numbers on where to invest our energy next.
Here's what stepping back taught us: Sometimes you need to scale back to scale smart. The farmers market was great for getting started and building our brand (I still recommend it for new farmers), but long-term it wasn't the best use of our time.
Having fewer birds gave us bandwidth to actually analyze the business instead of just working in it.
Watch the full breakdown:
The numbers might surprise you, and whether you're thinking about starting with chickens or already scaling up, this analysis will help you make smarter decisions about your next move.
Till next week
P.S. What's your biggest growth decision right now? Hit reply - I read every response.
