“Welcome to the Resilerator™! Please…complete your Resilience Self-Assessment before our first day of class. We’re looking forward to learning with you!”
This is the message clients get the week before embarking on their learning journey in our business education program, the Resilerator™. Filling out this extensive survey – comprising dozens of questions covering 9 topics of business resilience – is a substantial assignment to complete before the first day, but it's well worthwhile as it is a crucial part of the learning process.
The Resilience Self-Assessment (RSA) is a tool for agricultural business owners to evaluate the status of their knowledge and business. The completed survey is multipurpose:
- It enables the course instructor to understand the characteristics of the businesses that will be in the class.
- It is a first encounter with some important topics and terms.
- It provides a road map for the topics that will be covered in the class.
- The RSA also supports participants in their weekly goal-setting, as it guides clients in identifying their business’ needs, increasing ownership in the process of adopting new practices.
For us at FarmLink, the RSA is also a powerful learning tool. Instructors use it to understand the incoming class, and education and lending staff use it to learn more about the impact of the Resilerator course.
And beyond the container of the Resilerator course, the RSA can be understood as a source of data, which FarmLink can use to build an in-depth understanding of our clients. Compiling the data from the RSA not only gives a comprehensive description of who is taking our classes, but also can be understood as a baseline of clients’ knowledge level and typical practices before taking the course or engaging with FarmLink’s services. Further, when farmers take the RSA again, years later as a post-survey, it helps us fill in the picture of change in business practices over time.
“Frankly, I feel like I've pulled my head out of the sand, so to speak. The business side scares me and makes me feel vulnerable – but this content and class have been the good kick in the pants I need. And I also feel less overwhelmed/intimidated by approaching certain topics.” - Resilerator Participant
What we’re learning about impact
Starting in late 2023 and early 2024, FarmLink asked prior Resilerator participants to take the RSA for a second time, two or more years after the first time they took it. FarmLink staff then analysed and compared pre- and post-results. We compared scores from before and after to see if there was an increase in knowledge or an improvement in business practices. The results showed that there was not only an increase in scores, but that this increase was statistically significant! This means it was not coincidental that these scores went up; it is very unlikely such an increase could have happened by chance. To be sure, we cannot attribute the improvement directly to the Resilerator alone, but the course, along with other services from FarmLink, and additional years of business experience, all contributed to the increased business resilience seen in the higher scores.
Indicators of Business Resilience
This initial round of analysis focused first on three topic areas for comparison: Accounting, Taxes, and Credit. These topics were chosen as foundational indicators of business resilience. The accounting section aims to assess if a business owner has an adequate double-entry accounting system and if they understand how to manage a business from a balance sheet perspective. An example accounting question is “How do you keep track of your income and expenses?” with a range of responses from “I don’t” to “I hire a professional bookkeeper.”
The tax section assesses if a business owner has adequately addressed common tax issues, how consistently they have filed taxes for their business, and if they file the correct forms for agriculture. It asks “How do you usually complete your income tax forms?” with answers ranging from “by myself” or hiring someone along a spectrum of credentials. The section on credit and cash flow asks if business owners know how to work with a cash flow budget, if cash flow is a problem for their business, and what their experience with applying for loans is. This section explores questions like, “Do you know how to separate your business cash flow budget from your personal cash flow budget?”
“I feel like I have a better understanding of the whole picture of the work flow, tasks, and management of my business. Using the course topics I've now made a business handbook for myself as a guide to keep myself on track with the admin tasks I need to do and as well as my business goals.” - Resilerator Participant
Increases in RSA Scores show Growing Business Resilience
We chose three or four priority questions from each section to form an aggregate score to compare before and after. Participants select answers that are scored with 0-4 points, so each section in the analysis had a maximum amount of points possible between 10-12 points. We had 21 complete RSAs from “before” in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and all the “after” responses in this analysis were from early 2024. We saw an increase over time of about 2-3 points on average in each topic area, which is an indication of positive change over time in clients’ business knowledge and practices.
We cannot say the Resilerator course caused the changes in scores. Participants had 2-5 years of additional business experience, and various other interventions between surveys. However, taking the Resilerator was certainly an important influence on a business and made it clear that the course topics in our analysis are foundational for business resilience.
“To me, [being “Resilerated”] means having gained a clearer understanding of how to build and manage my agricultural business with confidence. I now feel more equipped to face challenges and make informed decisions, knowing that I have the right tools and strategies in place to navigate the complexities of farming. It's given me a renewed sense of purpose and direction in my business.” - Resilerator Participant
Join the Resilerator to Assess your Business (twice!) with the RSA
Are you ready to take the next step in building your business’ resilience? The ResileratorTM can help you make an honest assessment of your current business knowledge and practices. The course guides you through each of the topics covered by the RSA and helps you to create goals that align with any gaps you identified through completing the RSA. And three years in the future, when FarmLink reaches out with an invitation to take the RSA again, you will have the opportunity to revisit the topics and see where you’ve made strides and where there is still space (or urgency!) for adjustment. FarmLink will continue to be here with access to capital, support for secure land tenure, and opportunities to build knowledge for resilience. Learn more about the Resilerator here.
