Income: Help Me Design 'Outside-the-Box'

My husband and I are used to thinking the way our (Millenial) generation was taught to think: In order to get income, apply for a corporate job of the maximum $$$ amount you can get based on your degree and experience.  

I know that Permies don't exclusively think this way, so I need other ideas from you creative and designer types: please help me brainstorm several designs for income based on these major constraints:

We want to continue homeschooling, so one parent will have to be able to do that

Our current living expenses require about $60,000/year (our only debt is a mortgage)

Only one of us has a college degree

We want to stay in the mid-south region of the USA where we live

Both of us are very introverted

I have several years' experience teaching online and in person

My husband has a natural aptitude for mechanical processes /objects, particularly motor vehicles

Currently he is the breadwinner, but I don't want him driving trucks on 3rd shift anymore, and so I keep thinking I need to apply for HR jobs in a 30-mile radius of my home. But there are surely other ideas?

Knowing what I do of you, I can't see you liking HR, too many people.

Also, knowing what I do of you, I'd say you'd be a great teacher for homeschool classes.  You are in a town, see if you can think up a class or six that people might pay to have their kids taught. If you can get some money coming in doing what you thrive at (Teaching!! You are excellent at it!) it can give him more flexibility to change his path.

Around here, mechanics who can come out to your farm are worth their weight in gold.... Might be worth his time to start taking classes online to learn how to do things to cars or tractors that people would pay to have done where the vehicle sits. Even if it's small things for people's cars, without taking it into a shop.

The thing either of you will do best is what makes your eyes light up and doesn't feel like work to you. Start thinking what makes you both HAPPY.... In  the path of your happiness will be the way for you to thrive.

Hi Rachel,
Thinking outside of the box is difficult for me sometimes too. It is always a balance of doing something that makes you happy... and also still being able to live and eat and have a house.

Whether it is money or energy or a host of other things... trying to think of ways to reduce costs is just as valid as earning more money.

These are a few ideas. How about writing a book and self publishing. I think Pearl's idea of getting some classes is great. How about an online business. Some people make decent money finding things at flea markets and yard sales, cleaning them up and reselling. Perhaps making home goods. Jelly, pie, herbs, wood crafts, sewing crafts, etc. You could sell online so there is less human interaction.

There was a company in Rio Rancho, New Mexico that I thought was an amazing organization. It was called, Center for Hands On Learning. It is now closed (I'm not sure why). The organization (CenterForHandsOnLearning.org) designed curriculum kits for public schools. They focused on STEM.
I always though this would make a great cottage industry for someone who knew about food forests, permaculture, syntropic agroforestry, composting, growing food and other hopeful themes that would harness the natural curiosity and energy of kids. Is there a niche in the curriculum development market for hands-on-learning kits for kids that might enable you to take home-schooling ingenuity beyond your home and into the hands of other kids in private and public schools or after-school programs? You might even get some help from Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard Project
Combining your love of permaculture and homeschool curriculum could lead to a "lifestyle job" that would feed your passions, supplement your income and help cover mortgage costs. Part of your homestead could become the "laboratory" for your business. Writing off the portion of your mortgage that goes toward the business may off-set profits. A local or state economic development office helped you craft a business plan.
Good luck with your adventure Rachel!

One thought that comes to mind based on your husband's background would be to work as a diesel mechanic for a trucking company. They would be able to give him a first shift job, and he could use his skill and experience. There is a shortage so pay would probably be real good.  Meanwhile, I see a philosopher, like yourself, learning an art like basket weaving that could bring in additional income. Items like baskets with lids, woven backpacks and quivers fetch a good rate.  Weaving in general, would allow you to work while you homeschool.

Why not put permaculture principles to work for you?

Both you and your hubby could figure out how to offer rainwater catchment or  solar to folks.

Or maybe offer classes to teach about making compost teas?

Maybe teach regenerative land planning?

this might be as simple as finding something that other people want or need help with.

Reconsider your life and relationship to money.

How much money do you actually need to survive?

How much money do you actually need to be happy?

Do you have food, shelter and community?

Then what do you need money for?

What you value and what your real needs vs wants are??

Action speaks louder than words ...

Thank you, wonderful Permies! (My husband was amazed by these insightful, kind, and generous answers to my OP--I told him that's how y'all always are!)

I totally get that "the yield of a system is theoretically unlimited (or only limited by the imagination and information of the designer)", believing this also to be true when it comes to livelihood and providing for true, real needs. So that's why I borrow the imaginations of anyone that will let me. Love you guys!

Each of you, make lists of what makes you happy, what makes your eyes light up, not thinking work, thinking everything you have ever experienced, what made you HAPPY?
And then, what factors did those have in common?
And from there, what can you think of that would ALSO have those factors in common?

I did an exercise from a book one time, my answers will look NOTHING like yours, but the questions were worth considering. My answers were in red text....

*****
Years ago I did an exercise from a book, Gay Hendricks “The Big Leap”  on what EXACTLY is your Zone of Genius? What makes your heart sing, your mind dance, what keeps you up all night in sheer excitement? This is part of my responses. The black text is the questions asked, the red is my answers the bold is what I realized is my exact Zone of Genius. We all have one, learning to see it is hard. Selling my work will never be mine, creating it is.

What do I most love to do? Design something interesting that fits odd parameters.
What work do I do that doesn't seem like work? Design stuff. Secondary is make neat things that exist only in my head before that. Designing is the best part, but seeing it happen is fun too.
In my work, what creates the highest ratio of abundance and satisfaction to time spent? There is the problem. “in my work” the things I get the highest satisfaction from are NOT the things that produce the most abundance. THAT’S what needs to change.
What is my unique ability? To see possibilities, to fit things together in nonstandard ways. I look at the world differently than most people.
I can both see the concrete reality of what the parameters and resources are, and can visualize what solution can be made from those resources that fit the parameters.

I’m at my best when I’m: working out a nonstandard solution to a nonstandard problem.
When I’m at my best the exact thing I’m doing is: looking at the problem, investigating the resources, thinking on it, researching it, drawing it out if needed. (Although drawing limits me too much, that’s really a last stage thing on most designs.)
When I’m doing that the thing I love most about it is: the challenge, can you DO that with this stuff? Seeing the possibilities expand, not only can I do THAT, I can do THIS too! And THAT!! Whee!!

******
Clipped from this post:
https://permies.com/t/132656/Pearl-Castles-Projects#1040257
There was an example of a project I did after that part.

So the questions are:

What do I most love to do?
What work do I do that doesn't seem like work?
In my work, what creates the highest ratio of abundance and satisfaction to time spent?
What is my unique ability?
I’m at my best when I’m:
When I’m at my best the exact thing I’m doing is:
When I’m doing that the thing I love most about it is:

That book was more for people who have a lot of skills, and are trying to figure out how to focus them to make the most money. For you two, answer the questions for both and WORK type stuff, and for LIFE EXPERIENCES type stuff. Make each answer a list!! This is a good way to brainstorm and recognize your own patterns.
What ARE the patterns of your happiness? THAT'S where you start thinking about making money!! Not before that.  

Pearl Sutton wrote:Each of you, make lists of what makes you happy, what makes your eyes light up, not thinking work, thinking everything you have ever experienced, what made you HAPPY?
And then, what factors did those have in common?
And from there, what can you think of that would ALSO have those factors in common?

This is the sort of thing that careers advisers for schools ought to use, although sometimes it take a bit of maturity to understand one's self of course.
Many people tend to under value their skills. My husband does a bit of car repair work for people and really could charge far more for the work he does. Having worked in the industry he knows how cars think so is pretty good at getting to the root cause of an issue, rather than swapping out boxes unnecessarily. Actually what he needs is to be better at saying 'no' to jobs that to be frank are beneath him (simple mechanical stuff and servicing) but in a rural area his customers are also our shop customers and goodwill means a lot. Home made jam is often underappreciated (so much nicer than 'shop jam'. Cost out the time involved in making some of the stuff at our local craft fair and the people are really underpricing their goods.

I think there are a lot of good ideas on the residual income streams thread and others in that forum too.

Just throw out there maybe your husband could buy a truck and haul for local farms businesses etc. Ones involving permaculture folks in your local communities. Also if you home school there has to be more mother's in the area that do the same. Y'all could all come together and build one day and so could the husbands. Barter each other for skills, food, etc what have you. Keep it simple.

Even if it's a small group whatever funds your consort makes from the corporate world he could put into something where those funds could now be circulated amongst y'all. It won't be overnight but the key is detachment. I feel like the key is pockets.

Small pockets of folks everywhere building and coming together.

I know lots of single mothers who come together and home school, buy bunch of land, look up charter schools. Etc. small business association SBA has bunch of good info. But at the same time y'all are doing great it takes a lot of guts to detach from this system we been programmed to put energy into lol. Much love to you and yours.