The Rural Voice, 1990-01, Page 29and willing to take a chance."
"Sometimes it's hard to try some-
thing new because you know people
are going to talk about you, she adds
with a smile. "But as long as they're
watching your every move, it's a
compliment, really. It's just a matter
of getting over that fear of making a
mistake."
Pat remembers one attempt at
promotion which she describes as
"really sticking our neck out." Four
years ago, Kim suggested they hold a
buyers' dinner for all their breeding
stock customers.
"Kim's mother and I were con-
cemed because there were so many
different personalities - people who
had never becn together. The only
thing they had in common was that
they'd bought cattle from us! That
first year we were nervous."
Every buyer received a card in the
mail, with the following invitation:
Before the autumn weather's near,
We'll entertain our buyers here.
We'd like you for an evening meal
Because we made a cattle deal.
And you can always rest assured -
Because you bought a Polled Hereford.
As it happens, Pat recalls, "It
turned out to be really good! Some
of the shyest people came back and
bought cattle from us again, and now
they never miss our annual dinner."
Whether it's boosting breeding
stock or their hormone -free freezer
beef, Kim and Pat are aware that
promotion has had a direct bearing on
business. And there's always more to
try, a different promotional tool to
match with a different aspect of the
business.
"We've put a real emphasis on our
breeding stock," Pat says, "and that's
done really well. Now we have to
expand our female market, and we
could focus even more on our freezer
beef."
Selling purebred semen is a new
venture and could also benefit from
some extra attention, Kim adds.
"Maybe this winter we should spend
some time knocking on doors."
"The way it seems to work," Pat
says, "is that you pick one thing and
focus on it. Then once it gets going
you can look around and work on the
next." Promoting a farm business, she
adds, is continuous. "It never stops."0
THE RRSP STORY
Well, we're coming up to RRSP time once
again. But there needn't be the usual big
rush! RRSPs can be purchased at any
time throughout the year and the earlier
the better! For example, if you at age 45
start contributing $1,000 just before the
deadline and continue to contribute the
same amount annually until you reach age
65, you will have accumulated $64,000'.
However, had you started contributing to
your RRSP a few months earlier in the first
year, at the end of 20 years you would
have accumulated $70,400'.
The chart below illustrates a far more
astounding result. A. Head begins
contributions of $3,000 at age 25 and
ceases contributing at age 30. However,
B. Hind doesn't start investing in his
RRSP until age 31 and continues to
contribute $3,000 annually until he's 65.
At the end of 40 years, there is a
difference of $178,850 between the two
contributors. A. Head only invested
$18,000 and B. Hind invested $105,000!
The moral of this story? It pays to invest
in an RRSP and it pays to invest as early
as possible.
• assumes a non -guaranteed 10% interest rate
A. Head
B. Hind
Age
Contribution Accumulated
Value'
Contribution Accumulated
Value'
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
$3,000
$3,000
$3,000
$3,000
$3,000
$3,000
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$3,300
$6,930
$10,923
$15,315
$20,147
$25,461
$28,008
$30,808
$33,889
$37,278
$41,006
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$3,000
$3,000
$3,000
.$3,000
$3,000
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$3,300
$6,930
$10,923
$15,315
$20,147
60
61
62
63
64
65
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$444,288
$488,717
537,589
$591,348
$650,482
$715,530
$3,000
$3,000
$3,000
$3,000
$3,000
$3,000
$542,830
$600,413
$663,755
$733,430
$810,073
$894,380
o)3 the co-opethtois
Insurance/Financial Services
LIQUID MANURE -A Valuable Resource!
Custom Contract Spreading
Saves Time & Money
+ Complete line of agitation and pumping
equipment
+ Operators with 17 years experience
+ 4 terra tired vacuum floater trucks,
high capacity - fast, timely and
economical service
+ No job too large or too small
+ Free estimates
For competitive rates & superior service, call
GREENER ACRES
519-371-2345 Evenings call George - 519-371-2323
JANUARY 1990 27