At Dudley Peverill Associates, we’ve seen it time and again, farmers and estate owners with a brilliant idea, but paralysed by the pressure to make it perfect from day one. The truth? There’s no such thing as a flawless launch. In diversification, the winners are the ones who start before they’re ready and refine as they go.
Just start
One of the best pieces of advice we’ve come across comes from Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson: “you can’t optimise what doesn’t yet exist. You don’t need a perfect business plan before you make your first sale, you need a customer.”
On our own home farm, we sell Christmas turkeys each year through a simple click-and-collect system. It’s a one-time, seasonal connection with our customers. Over time, we added pigs in blankets, sloe gin, and more recently our own on-farm honey.
After listening to Alex Hormozi talk about the value of connecting regularly with customers, we sent out a simple email to our turkey mailing list. The subject? Hayfever and honey.
At that point, we had no packaging, no postal system, and no e-commerce setup. But we didn’t need any of that. Why worry about logistics when we had no sales?
Within 48 hours, we had sold 50 jars. Demand came first. Solving the rest followed quickly. And crucially, we’d just built a new micro-market with almost zero upfront investment.
Validate, then scale
This is the approach we encourage our clients to take; validate, then scale. Take Aedda’s Farm Distillery. Working with us, they began market testing by offering tasting trials and pre-sales at local county shows before their liqueur range was even finalised. The feedback shaped their product lines and built a loyal following before a single bottle hit the shelves.
“Dudley Peverill helped me create a strategy for my farming estate, which increased my understanding of diversification opportunities available. They helped me understand how best to tackle each project, to drive my business towards my end vision.” Mr Nicholson, Aedda’s Distillery
Speak to Us About Your Project
If you’re sitting on a diversification idea but are unsure where to start, let us help you take the first step. We offer a free initial consultation, no matter how early-stage your idea may be. Contact us now!
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