As I continue my research, I realize that the alpaca industry, the fiber in particular is very high end. While you scratch your head, let me explain. I’ve always known that alpaca was high end, but knowing something and dealing with the reality are two different things. I realize that my natural tendency towards bargain hunting is probably going to alienate me in the alpaca world. I look at the prices and go into shock. I think that the prices are outrageous, but I realize that this is the industry standard and I’m going to have to “get with the program”.
Like I said, we all have our own personal experiences we bring to the table. I have to let go of my own personal crap and let this wonderful thing happen. I know in order for me to be successful in this wonderful business, I can't antagonize the other people in this industry and that means to a certain degree, I'm going to have to get over my high price sticker shock in not only pricing my alpacas but the end items I create from their wonderful fiber. Thankfully, I have mentors who will gladly help me with this.
My sister laughed when I told her my problem. Apparently, she’s been waiting for me to realize that my natural cheapskateness and the alpaca industry were on a collision course. I’ll be taking tours of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Saks, Nordstrom’s and Neiman Marcus. Hopefully that will help. You would think that working for a high end cruise lines for a year would have helped and to a degree it has, but there is a difference quoting someone else’s price and quoting a price you’ve created.
Well, onward and upward.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
From Ideal to Reality
Yes, I was excited before just meeting the animals and wondering about the possibilities, but now that I'm getting a handle on the actual possibilities and not just the ones I imagine, the excitement is building considerably.
I spent the better part of last night reading of alpaca owners blogs like this one and I have found them to be very educational. Everyone has a different point of view and experience and reading those is helpful to me because I'm getting answers to questions I haven't asked yet. And I also realize it could be years before someone reads these and I should try to keep these short. (a lot of reading :-))
This alpaca business can be a pretty wonderful and amazing thing. And as I have read many times, it is not a get rich quick scheme. Which is good, that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for sustainable long term income. I believe I have truly stumbled upon what will be perfect for me.
I spent the better part of last night reading of alpaca owners blogs like this one and I have found them to be very educational. Everyone has a different point of view and experience and reading those is helpful to me because I'm getting answers to questions I haven't asked yet. And I also realize it could be years before someone reads these and I should try to keep these short. (a lot of reading :-))
This alpaca business can be a pretty wonderful and amazing thing. And as I have read many times, it is not a get rich quick scheme. Which is good, that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for sustainable long term income. I believe I have truly stumbled upon what will be perfect for me.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Fueling Impatience
Nothing fuels impatience like excitement. I am so excited about the future. My research is going better than I possibly could imagine.
I have determined that it is going to be very possible for me to support myself through my "golden years" with my alpaca farm. And I have definitely decided that I will expand to have a large farm as fast as it supports itself.
The fiber industry is growing and becoming more successful and I believe I have made the right decision to focus on the fiber side of the business rather than the breeding. I have acknowledged before, and I believe it more than ever, that it would be foolish of me to focus on fiber to the exclusion of breeding but I'm thinking I'll have a 75/25 balance. I almost have enough information to complete my business plan, then away I go.
I have determined that it is going to be very possible for me to support myself through my "golden years" with my alpaca farm. And I have definitely decided that I will expand to have a large farm as fast as it supports itself.
The fiber industry is growing and becoming more successful and I believe I have made the right decision to focus on the fiber side of the business rather than the breeding. I have acknowledged before, and I believe it more than ever, that it would be foolish of me to focus on fiber to the exclusion of breeding but I'm thinking I'll have a 75/25 balance. I almost have enough information to complete my business plan, then away I go.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Why not a big farm?
After my farm visit and thinking over the whole idea of a large vs. a small farm and it occurred to me that if I’m concentrating on the fiber market I might want to consider having a larger farm after all.
I’ll start of slowly and if things go well, I’ll begin expanding. Especially if I can maintain a positive relationship with my chosen fiber mill which I believe will happen. I don’t see a reason why I can’t have a larger farm since I’ll probably need to if I’m going to focus on fiber production. And with fiber animals being much cheaper than show animals, it won’t be nearly as challenging to reach a profitable status.
I’ll have help as I get larger; anything over 50 I won’t be able to handle on my own. The farm that I visited had a live in veterinarian which I will absolutely do once I get a large number of animals, probably around 150. I guess the biggest challenge I will face is selling the goods that are produced. Looks like I have more research to do. Good thing I like research.
I’ll start of slowly and if things go well, I’ll begin expanding. Especially if I can maintain a positive relationship with my chosen fiber mill which I believe will happen. I don’t see a reason why I can’t have a larger farm since I’ll probably need to if I’m going to focus on fiber production. And with fiber animals being much cheaper than show animals, it won’t be nearly as challenging to reach a profitable status.
I’ll have help as I get larger; anything over 50 I won’t be able to handle on my own. The farm that I visited had a live in veterinarian which I will absolutely do once I get a large number of animals, probably around 150. I guess the biggest challenge I will face is selling the goods that are produced. Looks like I have more research to do. Good thing I like research.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Alpacas: Pets or Business?
Donald Trump says, "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life".
This quote pretty much summarizes why I am so excited about having an alpaca farm. I want to do something fun and that I'll enjoy. I love animals. I always have. Having a farm is so me I can't believe I haven't considered this before. The freedom of being my own boss will be a very welcome latent effect of starting my farm.
I went on another farm visit yesterday (yes I was scared) but it was a very nice farm. It was huge. There are over 400 animals. Again it was pleasantly educational. The farm's owner kept emphasizing the financial end of alpacas and continuously reminded me that they are a business and that by having them, I am going into business. This is the part of the alpaca business that disturbs me. Her focus is on the breeding end of the business and I'll have to say from the number of ribbons she and herherd have won, she's very good at it. She emphasizes the very thought process that have turned me off of the breeding end of this business. Yes it's a business and yes the alpacas are livestock. But I view them as pets and I try to treat them with the same respect I want to be treated with. I can't look at an animal and say because your face is long your not good enough to breed. She is very good at looking at the animals and detemining who was show quality and who wasn't. I would love to learn how to do that. What amazed me was that in spite of how hard core business she was, she was very sweet and very loving with her animals.
She has so many that they all have name tags. And that's great for visitors. When we were discussing animals, we could address them by name rather than "that one". She has several that I liked but her prices are bit a high end for me. I view it like this: in everything cars, homes, clothing, restaurants there are different levels to meet almost everyone's budget and comfort level. She sells high end (Maserati) and my budget and comfort level is economy. The last time I flew I had a bargain seat and had to wait until the first class people got on and off the plane first but at the end of the day, we all took off and landed at the same time. I might be paying economy prices for my herd, but I still have good quality animals.
Being the savvy businesswoman that she is, she realizes that there are going to be more people like me visiting her farm and she's already preparing to divide her herd into two levels so that they are affordable to everyone. I hope that the animals I liked fall into the affordable tier and are still available when I'm ready.
This quote pretty much summarizes why I am so excited about having an alpaca farm. I want to do something fun and that I'll enjoy. I love animals. I always have. Having a farm is so me I can't believe I haven't considered this before. The freedom of being my own boss will be a very welcome latent effect of starting my farm.
I went on another farm visit yesterday (yes I was scared) but it was a very nice farm. It was huge. There are over 400 animals. Again it was pleasantly educational. The farm's owner kept emphasizing the financial end of alpacas and continuously reminded me that they are a business and that by having them, I am going into business. This is the part of the alpaca business that disturbs me. Her focus is on the breeding end of the business and I'll have to say from the number of ribbons she and herherd have won, she's very good at it. She emphasizes the very thought process that have turned me off of the breeding end of this business. Yes it's a business and yes the alpacas are livestock. But I view them as pets and I try to treat them with the same respect I want to be treated with. I can't look at an animal and say because your face is long your not good enough to breed. She is very good at looking at the animals and detemining who was show quality and who wasn't. I would love to learn how to do that. What amazed me was that in spite of how hard core business she was, she was very sweet and very loving with her animals.
She has so many that they all have name tags. And that's great for visitors. When we were discussing animals, we could address them by name rather than "that one". She has several that I liked but her prices are bit a high end for me. I view it like this: in everything cars, homes, clothing, restaurants there are different levels to meet almost everyone's budget and comfort level. She sells high end (Maserati) and my budget and comfort level is economy. The last time I flew I had a bargain seat and had to wait until the first class people got on and off the plane first but at the end of the day, we all took off and landed at the same time. I might be paying economy prices for my herd, but I still have good quality animals.
Being the savvy businesswoman that she is, she realizes that there are going to be more people like me visiting her farm and she's already preparing to divide her herd into two levels so that they are affordable to everyone. I hope that the animals I liked fall into the affordable tier and are still available when I'm ready.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Alpaca Shopping
I live on AlpacaNation. I have learned so much from that site. I have also learned quite a bit from the websites of various farms. These sites have been such an invaluable source of information for me, I can't wait to get my site set-up so I can share with other people like me.
I'm thinking that this blog is a good starting point, so I'll keep this up even when I get my site up and running.
Now that I've decided how many animals I want and what kind, the new decision is who buy next. Fortunately, I have plenty of time to make this decision. I have decided that I want to buy Red Shogun from Rick and Patti. Especially since they have such a great program that will allow me to buy him without breaking my bank. I'm still on the fence about Malea.
Malea is a great girl and breeding age which is what I want, however, I'm thinking I need to expand my genetic pool and buy from other farms or ranches. Buying Malea does fit into expanding my genetic pool because she isn't related to anyone else at All American. We'll see. I guess a lot will depend on if she's still available when I'm able to make my next purchase. My next acquisition must be a female because Keona has no one to be in her field with. I'll have three boys and I don't really need anymore, but there seems to be an abundance of males available.
I saw one ad that has me very tempted. There's a trick trained alpaca who gives "high twos". Beyond adorable. If I had extra money, I'd snatch up him and his two buddies. (I will need fiber animals) But since I don't right now, I have to be sensible and get a female next.
Of course I'm going to wait until the raffle results to see if I win Chai Tea. That would be great. She comes with a breeding to any male of the farm including Captain Morgan. I think I could add some serious value to my herd by having offspring of Captain Morgan.
I'm thinking that this blog is a good starting point, so I'll keep this up even when I get my site up and running.
Now that I've decided how many animals I want and what kind, the new decision is who buy next. Fortunately, I have plenty of time to make this decision. I have decided that I want to buy Red Shogun from Rick and Patti. Especially since they have such a great program that will allow me to buy him without breaking my bank. I'm still on the fence about Malea.
Malea is a great girl and breeding age which is what I want, however, I'm thinking I need to expand my genetic pool and buy from other farms or ranches. Buying Malea does fit into expanding my genetic pool because she isn't related to anyone else at All American. We'll see. I guess a lot will depend on if she's still available when I'm able to make my next purchase. My next acquisition must be a female because Keona has no one to be in her field with. I'll have three boys and I don't really need anymore, but there seems to be an abundance of males available.
I saw one ad that has me very tempted. There's a trick trained alpaca who gives "high twos". Beyond adorable. If I had extra money, I'd snatch up him and his two buddies. (I will need fiber animals) But since I don't right now, I have to be sensible and get a female next.
Of course I'm going to wait until the raffle results to see if I win Chai Tea. That would be great. She comes with a breeding to any male of the farm including Captain Morgan. I think I could add some serious value to my herd by having offspring of Captain Morgan.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Planning the Herd
I've sat down and thought long and hard about my herd and what I want it to be. I'm taking some cues from the number of herd dispersal sales I'm seeing on Alpaca Nation. I'm definitely going to keep my herd small and grow it slowly. It's very tempting to want to have a large herd but I'm bearing in mind that alpacas are living creatures and have not asked to be born or live on our farms. And I'm remembering they live for 15 - 20 years so I have to be prepared to care for them that entire time.
The most disheartening thing I've seen are listings for animals that are 15 years or older. I don't understand this. If an animal has given you 12+ crias over the course of her lifetime, doesn't she deserve to live out her retirement on your farm? No animal I own will ever not have a home. Even the crias I sell will have a space on my farm.
I have decided that I will have 6 females and two, possibly three, males as my breeding herd. As for my fiber herd, I'll let time dictate how and when I acquire them. I'm planning to have six fiber animals, male or female. I know I know I don't want more than a dozen animals of my own and I plan to agist an additional dozen. And I realize as a write this that I've already put my number above 12 but anyone who knows me won't be surprised. I love animals in general so much that the only surprise will be if I can keep the number down. :-)
The most disheartening thing I've seen are listings for animals that are 15 years or older. I don't understand this. If an animal has given you 12+ crias over the course of her lifetime, doesn't she deserve to live out her retirement on your farm? No animal I own will ever not have a home. Even the crias I sell will have a space on my farm.
I have decided that I will have 6 females and two, possibly three, males as my breeding herd. As for my fiber herd, I'll let time dictate how and when I acquire them. I'm planning to have six fiber animals, male or female. I know I know I don't want more than a dozen animals of my own and I plan to agist an additional dozen. And I realize as a write this that I've already put my number above 12 but anyone who knows me won't be surprised. I love animals in general so much that the only surprise will be if I can keep the number down. :-)
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