Virtual Classroom Session on planning an agribusiness in Hawai’i. Cohort participants will engage in a collaborative workshop on how to get started with their value-added product ideas, and have the opportunity to map out their Business Models and create a beginning Business Plan.

• Practice mapping out the steps of the Business Model and the Value-Supply Chain
• Consider which activities of the chain you want to perform, and which ones you want to outsource
• Review funding options
• Review available resources

“Start small to reduce risks—add value with the easiest, least risky, and most inexpensive methods first. For larger investments in value-added, write a business plan and calculate financials for at least two years to evaluate risk/benefit scenarios.”

• Adding Value Guide, by Craig Elevitch and Ken Love, Pg 6

Business Plan Intro

• Creating a business plan allows you to organize your value-added product idea into necessary goals and objectives to create your product and bring it to market.
• The simplest way to start a Business Plan is by mapping out your Business Model. This consists of the 5 core elements every business needs.

Business Model:

• Product – What are you selling?
• Customer – Who are you selling it to?
• Distribution – Where can they get it?
• Revenue Stream – How do they pay for it?
• Value-Proposition – Why should they?
  • “A basic principle of value-added is to differentiate one’s products from the mainstream.” Adding Value, pg 1

General Tips for all Business Startups:

• • Stay organized.
    • Start a Business Plan, keep track of files
  • Track ALL expenses
    • Separate business bank account
  • Understand your taxes

• State of Hawaii Dept of Taxation – Tax Facts 31-1

• Choose your business structure
• Obtain necessary registrations/permits/licenses
• Get business liability insurance

Business Structure 

– The legal structure of your business,

• Sole Proprietorship
• LLC (Limited Liability Corporation)
• Corporation
• Cooperative
  • ex.) Hawai’i Ulu Cooperative
• Non-profit – 501c3

– Helps determine your tax classification

• Sole Proprietorship
• LLC (Limited Liability Corporation)
  • Single Member vs Partnership
• S-Corporation
• Corporation
• Nonprofit – 501c3

Introduction to The Kohala Center

The Kohala Center is an independent, community-based nonprofit focused on research, education, and ‘āina stewardship for healthier ecosystems. By turning ancestral knowledge and research into action, we cultivate conditions that reconnect us with our place, water, food, and people, so that communities in Hawai‘i and around the world can thrive—ecologically, economically, culturally, and socially.

• Rural and Cooperative Business Development Services
  • Eric Bowman – Business development
    • Video Introduction
    • The Kohala Center services
  • Theresa Young – Cooperative development
  • Megan Blazak – Grant opportunities

• download: PDF of the Module 3 Curriculum
• download: .docx of the Module 3 Curriculum