Fish farming is undoubtedly one of the most profitable agricultural ventures anyone can invest in. The best part of this business is its versatility. This implies that both large and small business owners can take advantage of this agricultural venture’s profitability.
Aside from raising capital, one of the most important things you should have in place for a successful business is a well-written business plan. There are several reasons you should have a well-written business plan for your business and one of them is that it helps to attract investors.
So, if you are looking to write a commercial fish farming business plan, we have put a guide below to help you do just that.
1. Industry Overview
In most countries, the aqua industry, which includes fish farming, is one of the most competitive. However, because of the impact of agriculture on the economy of most countries, farming implements, seedlings, machinery, fertilisers, etc. are often subsidised by most governments. This gesture is often the governments’ way of encouraging small business owners to invest in agriculture.
Your fish farming business plan should begin with an overview of this industry. In this section, you will write the major source of revenue in the aqua industry, which is the sales of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. Your industry overview should also include basic information about the prospect of the industry and the factors that determine its success. For instance, the success of fish farming is heavily tied to the consumption of seafood.
2. Executive Summary
One of the top benefits of investing in fish farming is that it requires small capital, creating the perfect opportunity for small business owners. For instance, in Nigeria, you can start a small fish farming business with as little as N500,000.
Since you may not have the initial capital to invest in multiple fish species, your executive summary should indicate the species of fish you intend to start with. You can indicate that you will be starting with catfish and venture into grooming tilapia as time goes on. Also, your executive summary should include the products or services you intend to sell to customers. For instance, you can start by selling fresh fish and grow into drying and packaging them as time progresses.
You should also indicate your target audience in this section. For example, “our target audiences are restaurants and open market.
3. Company Description
This is where you give your investors or readers quick info about your company. In this section, you will write the mission statement, overall objectives and goals, and business philosophy or core values of your company. Also, you will need to talk a little about your competition in this section. For instance, a majority of the people in fish farming in Nigeria are small business owners.
This is also where you should talk about the strength and competencies of your business. Since fish farming requires skilled manpower, it will be great to indicate that your team consists of highly trained professionals. Finally, in this section, you will need to write the legal ownership of your company. For example, you should write something like “(name of your company) is sole proprietorship at the moment; however, we remain open to other business structures such as LLC or PLC as time goes on”.
4. Products and Services
This is where you indicate the processes involved in starting your fish farming business. So, in this section, you will start with prepping the site, fertilising your ponds, buying fingerlings, feeding them, the time it would take for them to mature, and selling them off.
You should also include your customer profile; however, you should keep in mind that doing this can be challenging. The reason for this is that most people eat fish; hence, profiling everyone can be such a difficult task. However, your typical customer profile should include seafood/fish wholesalers or retailers, fishery coops, and farmer’s markets.
5. Marketing Strategy
The marketing operations of fish farming are quite minimal since you will have solidified your relationships with some of your customer profiles listed above. However, small business owners in this agricultural venture will remain tasked with the responsibility of maintaining existing relationships.
In this section, you will also talk about pricing. How much do you intend to sell your products? For example, you can choose to sell a fingerling between 0 and 1 month for N30 and a 2-month Juvenile for N50. Conduct some research on the average pricing of these products among your competition to help guide you on the rate you should charge.
A good place to start is using more affordable rates than the competition, as this will draw more customers to you. Also, remember to include your sales forecast in this section.
6. Operational Plan
In fish farming, you will most likely have to feed your fishes twice daily. This is typically between 6:00 and 8:00 in the mornings and 5:00 and 7:00 in the evenings. You will also need to replace a quarter volume of water from your pond daily.
Your operational plan should also include your production processes ranging from washing your ponds to notifying your customers when the fishes mature. Furthermore, you need to include your inventory and the number of employees in this section.
Other things to include in your operational plan are:
· Your Suppliers: Where are you getting your fish feed from?
· Credit Policies: Do you plan to sell your fishes on credit? If not, you should write it in your business plan. That way, it becomes a policy that is written on stone.
Conclusion
Small business need to observe strict safety measures to protect their fishes. A well-written commercial fish farming business plan will help guide you towards running a successful business at all times. It will also help in keeping you focused and in attracting investors.