MacFarlane Pheasants has the distinct pleasure of being considered North America’s largest pheasant farm, but still retains status as a small business. How can this be? There are a few factors that contribute to a business’ classification as a large or small business: size and scope.
Classifying by size gives a sense for what the company works with by considering and evaluating its sales revenue, employee number, and its reach – regional domestic vs. international. Classifying by scope broadens the view of the situation. By taking the information learned from the size criteria then looking at how that sizes up to competitors both inside and outside that business’ industry there begins to be a sense for how that company stands in comparison to the rest of the business world.
Looking at MacFarlane Pheasants through these lenses, the shape of the landscape they are situated in becomes clear. Classifying by size, you come up with this information: 75 full and part-time employees, $11,000,000 sales, 1,900,000 gamebirds hatched in 2013, 500,000 mature gamebirds shipped, and 200,000 food pheasants produced. With these statistics, by comparison within the pheasant industry, it gains the title of the largest pheasant farm in North America. Where it is able to retain its “small business” standing is when compared to similar industries with much larger companies – such as Tyson Foods or Purdue chicken – that are monsters in their field.
So, while in its own sphere of influence MacFarlane Pheasants is the largest on this continent with the greatest market in all our business units – chicks, mature pheasants, and food products, in the grand scheme of the business world it is in we can still be considered a small business.
