The question of whether farmers are entrepreneurs or business owners can be argued either way.

My view is a smaller cohort are entrepreneurial, and a larger percentage are business owners, with many exceptionally good operators in the latter category.

There are a few farmers I know who under any definition are entrepreneurial, when these people speak, I listen. They are invariably thinking many steps ahead and have a definitive end goal in mind when they start out. Often, the outcome may look a bit different than initially anticipated, as circumstances necessitate a rethink mid-stream.

A good mate, Al Jawhari, is a case in point. While he owns a farm in the Adelaide Hills, his main game is starting and running technology businesses. He was also chief executive of Lightforce for three years, a name well known in agricultural circles.

His CV would max out my word count, but a few brief points include being born in Egypt. Being involved in agriculture in Egypt. Also, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Egyptian Air Force. Moving to Australia in 2013, starting multiple businesses and being an adjunct professor at UniSA, and holding various directorships.

His current business is the successful Starke Advanced Manufacturing Group, which has a presence in multiple countries.

Al has a different take on the word entrepreneur. He prefers to call himself a commercialisation expert. In his mind this is what he does best. His record would suggest this to be true. He also has a good balance in other areas of his life.

Being commercial has to be a major consideration of any enterprise. After all, this aspect funds any other activities the business owner undertakes. Of course, there needs to be a balance, as other important things can fall by the wayside if money is the only motivation.

When Al is assessing opportunities, he looks for niches that have yet to be identified. He never tries to compete where there is no discernible advantage.

Another maxim Al lives by is the ability to focus. Once an opportunity is recognised, he and his team have a laser-like focus on pursuing the strategy that leads to great outcomes. As he says, speed beats talent. Speed to market is a key factor.

Another interesting point he made was having a low-friction business model. Achieving this entails pinpointing and eliminating choke points in the system. This is easier said than done but is crucial for success. Also, the ability to package up services that makes your business proposition attractive to customers.

While a farming operation is different to an advanced manufacturing business, a lot of the same principles apply. Finding something you are good at, passionate about, that there is a market for is a great start.

I know a lot of agri-businesses use a similar methodology when assessing opportunities. Having focus and clarity around what you are trying to achieve goes a long way.