Contemporary Business 14th Edition by Louis Boone, David Kurtz

تمرين 10

Amos Miller Runs His Farm Just Like His Life Amos Miller runs a small farm in Pennsylvania that is known for high quality, nutrient-dense foods-goods that are increasing in demand. The thing that makes Miller different from other farmers is that he's Amish-so he conducts his business without the modern conveniences that other entrepreneurs take for granted. A decade ago, when Amos took over Miller Farm, which was started by his father Jacob, the two men decided to focus on the increasing demand for nutrient-dense foods. Growers had already saturated the market with organic meats, dairy, produce, and other foods; but they hadn't yet begun to fulfill consumer requests for products known to provide the most nutrition in every bite. So Amos and his father began to expand the farm's product line to include grass-fed beef (no hormones or grains), milk-fed pork and veal, pastured chicken, and 16 varieties of vegetables (including fermented ketchup, cabbage juice, and tomato salsa). In addition the farm makes and sells spelt noodles, muffins, sourdough and soaked breads-all with organic ingredients.Amos Miller does all of this, including marketing and transporting his products, without computers, electronics, a cell phone, automated machinery or farm equipment, or electricity. According to Amish custom, Miller doesn't even drive a truck or car. He transports his goods to foodie events and other locations by hiring a driver and refrigerated truck. And he can't allow photographers to take his picture-so no one who hasn't met him in person knows what he looks like. His only concessions to modern necessities are a generator in order to refrigerate certain foods (such as cheeses) and a landline telephone in order to keep in contact with distributors and mail-order customers.Miller doesn't seem to mind that it takes a bit of extra effort to reach his market. He gets to maintain his traditional lifestyle while running a successful business. Miller Farm is now reaping more than $2 million in sales per year. "I can't meet all the demand," Miller admits.
-Do you think that Amos Miller's strict adherence to a certain lifestyle will ultimately help or hurt his business? Why?