Friday, August 13, 2010

It's a Bittyful Friday

I have to be very quiet ! The Hobbit is quite upset.

You see,the farm is for sale and she doesn't like it one bit.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Don't be sad Hobbit, the Tuttles Farm is unlikely to sell any time soon, if ever. The asking price is not realistic given the conservation easement on the property and other factors (proximity to a highway and bisection by a busy road). Once the farm passes from the Tuttles hands, much of its uniqueness and charm will be lost. Potential buyers will see all of this and flinch.

Connie said...

I am sad to hear this. I know it means employment for many. Even if they do not sell, will they be able to continue?

Unknown said...

If the Tuttles show resolve, they can surely turn things around, though turning around the shop will probably be a lot easier and be achieved more quickly than turning around the farm.

Have you ever perused a survival manual, the kind that tells you what to do when you are lost in a forest, a desert or at sea? They are much different than what you might expect and they all come to the same conclusion, that 80% of survival is an unwillingness to give up. The rest is common sense and a few standard survival techniques. The survivors are the ones who don't give up.

They is enormous goodwill in the community towards the Tuttle Farm. Everyone loves the Tuttles Red Barn but many are not so crazy about the Tuttles prices! My intuition is that the Tuttles have lost a clear understanding of what their customers are really looking for and are willing to pay. By learning to really understand their customers and meeting them part way, the Tuttles probably can greatly improve turnover and profits in the shop. This is a standard marketing exercise. Given the unique nature of Tuttles Farm, there are resources available to the Tuttles at relatively low cost to help them undertake this sort of effort.

Turning around the farm, as opposed to the shop would be trickier, probably involving the introduction of more modern farming techniques and specialization on fewer more highly valued crops. Again, its a question of will. And again, there are resources available to the Tuttles should they decide to go try to turn the farm around.

The Tuttles are 75% of the way they want to go, they just need the determination to turn the farm and shop around. This may sound like the incantations of a high school coach, but its the kernel of the solution and the problem.

August 16, 2010 7:07 PM

The Hobbit said...

Kitty perhaps if you e-mailed me we could continue our conversation