How to Start a Bamboo Farm

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Start a bamboo farm by following these 10 steps:

Plan your Bamboo Farm
Form your Bamboo Farm into a Legal Entity
Register your Bamboo Farm for Taxes
Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
Set up Accounting for your Bamboo Farm
Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Bamboo Farm
Get Bamboo Farm Insurance
Define your Bamboo Farm Brand
Create your Bamboo Farm Website
Set up your Business Phone System

There is more to starting a business than just registering it with the state. We have put together this simple guide to starting your bamboo farm. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What are the costs involved in opening a bamboo farm?

Bamboo farming will require an initial investment to purchase equipment and then prepare your land, if you’re not already farming. But, if you’re already a farmer, the switch to bamboo isn’t that hard. As previously noted, bamboo can take up to five years to sprout and establish so begin your transition while you still have other cash crops in rotation. Bamboo seeds aren’t too expensive either — usually about $3 to $5 per 100, depending on the variety. Bamboo can be tricky to germinate and grow from seed, though, so you may need quite a bit of seed to get started.

What are the ongoing expenses for a bamboo farm?

Like most farming businesses, the ongoing expenses include farm equipment care and maintenance as well as purchasing new equipment and supplies, such as irrigation systems and fertilizer. Bamboo is fairly pest-resistant, which reduces pest control costs. Advertising, insurance, and shipping costs also will continue to factor into ongoing operating expenses.

Who is the target market?

Your target market will consist of younger, DIY customers, between the ages of 30 and 65 as well as wholesalers and nurseries if you run a large enough operation.

How does a bamboo farm make money?

Bamboo farmers make money by selling their harvested — and sometimes processed — bamboo to wholesale companies. If you plan to open your farm to the public, you also may sell established clumps to consumers for residential and ornamental uses.

How much can you charge customers?

Bamboo is a relatively inexpensive crop to grow, and you can pass those savings on to your customers. Two-gallon, potted clusters retail for $40 to $60, depending on the variety. Some giant or more rare varieties can command higher prices. Check your competitor pricing when conducting your initial market research.

How much profit can a bamboo farm make?

Bamboo farming can generate $30,000 to $50,000 annually, but your market and farm size will play a key role in determining your profit margins.

How can you make your business more profitable?

You can combine bamboo farming with the farming of many other nursery and ornamental plants. Flowers and edible herbs make great additions to sell to visiting customers.

You also could create decorative, living potted displays of your bamboo. By placing a few species together in pots, you can charge customers more for these ornamental takeaways and impulse buys.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Business Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

Your state’s business records
Federal and state trademark records
Social media platforms
Web domain availability.

It’s very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

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STEP 2: Form a legal entity

The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation.

Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your bamboo farm is sued.

Form Your LLC

Read our Guide to Form Your Own LLC

Have a Professional Service Form your LLC for You

Two such reliable services:

Northwest

($29 + State Fees)
LegalZoom
($79 + State Fees)

You can form an LLC yourself and pay only the minimal state LLC costs or hire one of the Best LLC Services for a small, additional fee.

Recommended: You will need to elect a registered agent for your LLC. LLC formation packages usually include a free year of registered agent services. You can choose to hire a registered agent or act as your own.

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It’s really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN for free through the IRS website, via fax, or by mail. If you would like to learn more about EINs and how they can benefit your LLC, read our article, What is an EIN?.

Learn how to get an EIN in our What is an EIN guide or find your existing EIN using our EIN lookup guide.

Small Business Taxes

Depending on which business structure you choose, you might have different options for how your business will be taxed. For example, some LLCs could benefit from being taxed as an S corporation (S corp).

You can learn more about small business taxes in these guides:

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Additionally, learning how to build business credit can help you get credit cards and other financing in your business’s name (instead of yours), better interest rates, higher lines of credit, and more.

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

Separates your personal assets from your company’s assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Open net 30 accounts

Net 30 accounts are used to establish and build business credit as well as increase business cash flow. With a net 30 account, businesses buy goods and repay the full balance within a 30-day term.

NetMany net 30 credit vendors report to the major business credit bureaus (Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business Credit). This is how businesses build business credit so they can qualify for credit cards and other lines of credit.

Recommended: Read our best net 30 vendors, guide and start building business credit.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business’ expenses all in one place.
Build your company’s credit history, which can be useful to raise money later on.

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from Divvy and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate an aerial sports instruction business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.

In addition, certain local licensing or regulatory requirements may apply. For more information about local licenses and permits:

Check with your town, city or county clerk’s office
Get assistance from one of the local associations listed in US Small Business Associations directory of local business resources.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Learn more about General Liability Insurance.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers’ Compensation Coverage.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren’t feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners, we’ll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

Recommended: Get a logo using Truic’s free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker.

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a bamboo farm

Bamboo farming can be profitable — if you connect with the right customer base. Finding customers can prove challenging, so it’s important to make an initial splash with a niche business. Advertise at local nurseries, hardware and garden centers, agricultural supply stores, and other related shops like those selling landscaping supplies. In addition, as previously noted, consider teaming up with local landscapers to offer exclusive bamboo varieties. Many of these businesses will have bulletin boards for displaying flyers and business cards. These businesses also can provide word-of-mouth advertising value each time they mention or recommend you to a customer.

While traditional print, billboard, and TV/radio advertising can still be effective, you should focus on lower-cost alternatives from online media if you want to watch your overhead. Creating an online presence through a website and social media platforms allows for greater broadcasting at a fraction of the cost of traditional media advertising. Online advertising also can prove successful with proper cross-linking. Find related services and businesses and then offer them a symbiotic marketing plan in which you both increase traffic via cross-pollination on each other’s advertising media platforms.

Remember to post lots of pictures of your farm, the varieties of bamboo you offer, and customer installations of your products. You also can offer online ordering and shipping — within reason — to help spread your advertising worldwide.

How to keep customers coming back

Loyal customers stay loyal because of how you treat them over time. Talk to your customers, get to know their needs and preferred style, and recognize their patronage. Remembering the names of your frequent customers and a little personal information about them can have a huge impact on their feelings of connection to your business.

For your wholesalers, offer annual sales or rebates for continued bulk orders. Even if you offer nothing more than a friendly gesture, wholesale clients appreciate the personal attention. A customized item, such as a bamboo pen holder for their company offices, can provide a great reminder for your business partners as well as added advertising for you.

Still unsure about what kind of business you want to start? Check out the latest Small Business Trends to help inspire you.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

All legitimate businesses have websites – full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Using our website building guides, the process will be simple and painless and shouldn’t take you any longer than 2-3 hours to complete.

Recommended: Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders.

Other popular website builders are: WordPress, WIX, Weebly, Squarespace, and Shopify.

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2023 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it’s fair pricing.