Phil Patterson wrote:I want to develop a plan to live on a homestead in the future. I've learned that there are a lot of different ways to earn money on a homestead, and that it's rare to be able to live completely off what you can grow and sell. Knowing this, I want to determine how I will make most of my money, and build a plan around that. However, the sheer amount of options is a bit mind-boggling.
What are some common activities homesteaders do that can provide a significant source of income?
Have a large nest egg and plan to be in the red for the first year or two. Write off the business expenses for your farm. For the first year or two it might be a good idea to have a work at home job not related to the homestead. Once you have a nest egg or work from home JOB (notice I said job, not business, not income producing hobby, but job you can rely on a paycheck or direct deposit from) then start developing your farm income.
You do not need to be living on a homestead or small farm to start your farm income and business name. For instance I sell strawberry runners and strawberry jam, I propagate the runners from containers and grow bags. Is it ideal? No, but it gives me the
experience and income and networking for when I have a homestead. Start growing vegetables where you currently live and instead of focusing on just your food and canning, sell some at the
local farmers market. See what your customer base is like and what they will want in the future. I sell plants, jam,
sourdough bread, pies,
soap and candles that I make by hand either on my bus or in an apartment depending on my circumstances. I know my current market is saturated with handmade soaps so I won't be focusing on that as much when I have a homestead, I also know there are multiple egg vendors so investing in a flock of laying hens would not be ideal in this area.
There are a lot of homesteading like
income streams that you can do from a city or town to build up clients and a website etc. Do you have any skills or talents that other farmers in your area do not have? Do you see your local farmers market lacking any particular item or items? Is there a home delivery CSA? What items does your market have too much of, if any of these products pique your interest what would you have to do to have customers come to you instead of the other vendors in the area?
One of the best selling items that I do not have the skill set to provide are burl would sculptures, it is amazing to see someone come to the farmers market with a log and carve out an eagle or a
bear in front of the patrons! People will leave tips like they are a street performer and other people will pay more for the pieces created on site than the ones in their booth.