Entrepreneur Observation Report Essay Research Paper This

There is also the prospect of composting rabbit droppings,

bagging it and selling it at the farmer?s market. This would

nearly cancel out the cost of feed. Rabbit compost is

renowned among gardeners as the best fertilizer because of

the super efficient digestive system of rabbits.

He hasn?t been able to figure the profit percentage yet, but

says it will be quite a while before he pays for all of his

expenses as doe often need to have a few litters before

they become good mothers. He does do all of his own

accounting, and book keeping of rabbit due dates weaning

dates etc. In four years he plans on going to college, but he

said his business has great growth potential and could be

quite large by then. He also went on to say that he could

sell the business to our youngest sister who has raised and

shown pet rabbits before, thus letting the business continue

for a few more years.

He is not currently marketing any rabbits he does have

several baby rabbits but they aren?t quite at the age to be

sold. He will initially use personal selling, for this he will call

people we sold chickens to last year as well as other

people that have shown interest in acquiring chickens. The

price for a rabbit won?t be much different than it was for a

chicken. Though many people might hesitate at buying a

rabbit instead of a chicken, he believes this is only because

they are uninformed about rabbits. He is also considering

the idea of putting an ad in the local paper to increase his

direct sales. He knows that he will produce more rabbits

than he will be able to sell directly so he also has permanent

buyer lined up that will come pick them up and pay by the

live pound. This buyer could do many things with the

rabbits, most will probably go to processing plants, but

some could go to research facilities. This situation is what

he calls a no lose situation.

He has read several books on raising rabbits, which

suggest talking with local

Supermarkets about buying your rabbit meat for them to

resell, this is something to look into. While he plans on

using the farmer?s market to sell his composted rabbit

droppings to home gardeners, he also plans on using this as

an opportunity to advertise his rabbits.

Because his rabbits will be used for food and possibly

research, his product is for both the consumer market and

the industrial market, though the consumer market is much

bigger.

The fact that he will sell a rabbit for roughly the same price

as a chicken the year before I consider the price of his

rabbits to be low to medium. Due to the fact that last year

we charged a little more per chicken than the supermarket

it will be a great price for a rabbit which usually goes for a

little more than a chicken. He is able to price the rabbits

this low because he is producing them compared to buying

each chicken as a chick and raising it from there like we did

last year. His lack of competition is a key factor to any

success he experiences through his limited marketing

methods. It also makes his rural location less relevant.

I do believe that he is more of an entrepreneur than a small

business owner, manager, or technician, because he is

always looking for a way to advance his business. He is the

owner, manager, and technician, though he doesn?t have

anybody to manage he does have to manage his time

around the rabbits. Sometimes he can expect ten or more

rabbits to have babies within a couple days and must check

them constantly to make sure every think is ok. He plays

the role of technician when he builds cages, and maintains

cleanliness.

I don?t think this business could ever become a franchise

although it could become a very large company with

thousands of rabbits, and several employees. If it were to

become a franchise I think it would best be managed by the

franchisees. I think this would eliminate any hierarchy or

bureaucracy involved in most franchises. Of course there

would be a main office to coordinate advertising and to

offer help to franchisees with questions or problems.

I don?t have too many suggestions except to attempt all of

the plans he has thought of. I also think that he needs to

make a profit before he starts expanding any more. Once

he gets into the cycle of raising and selling the rabbits he

can then begin to expand, but not before then.

This is really a business that has a lot of potential, and had a

lot of things going for it. It is proof to me that the only

successful entrepreneur is the guy that gets the idea and

does it, not the guy that just thinks it would be a good idea

for someone else to do.