1. Follow Your Gut
The recipe to Evelyne’s success is a carefully thought-out approach, which she generously shares with anyone who dreams of starting a farm business:
“The key is to listen to yourself,” says Evelyne. “When you’re getting started, you face pressure from every direction. You need to take the time to build a business that reflects who you are.”
She uses a story to illustrate her point. Early on, an agro-economist suggested that Evelyne and her family invest heavily in large facilities. They instead decided to move at their own pace and invest gradually, allowing the farm to evolve as they learned.
“Every farm should be unique, aligned with life goals and values. In our field, agriculture is what we do for the rest of our lives. We need to build something that makes us happy,” she stresses.
2. Choose an Adaptive Approach
According to Evelyne, agriculture puts farmers at the heart of a region’s economy, especially when they sell in short food supply chains. “We’re among the first to know if the economy is going well or not. We have a finger on the pulse of citizens’ personal finances. This is why we need to be resilient and ready to adapt,” she explains.
3. Make Connections and Work Together
Before wrapping up, Evelyne insists on collaboration as the final key to success. “Don’t compete with the other farms around you. We all work hard. So, build a network and focus on mutual help instead of getting in each other’s way.”
With her wise words, Evelyne Lussier provides a human lens on starting a farm, and her tips are relevant to every stage of the entrepreneurial journey.
Learn more about Evelyne’s farm by visiting her website, Facebook page or Instagram page.