Some of you may have been dreaming of a simple life on the farm, especially after spending most of your days in the city. Something about the smog, noise, and high cost of living just makes you want to pack everything and go. So what’s keeping you? If you’re worried about letting go of your job and losing your main source of income, you should know that there are ways to make money on the homestead. It may not be as lucrative as working for a big firm but the benefits of living on a homestead are definitely something worth a look.
Also, with the way things are right now, we’ll see more and more people out of jobs. Many will be struggling to put food on their tables. Before you join their ranks, you need to act now. Figure out how you can make money at home so you don’t have to depend on your current work or business. As they say, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Work From Home
Guess what? You can live on a homestead and not quit your job. If possible, make arrangements with your company so you can work from home. Turn a room or corner in your home into your office.
Just make sure you have everything you need to perform your duties as you would back in the office. This will depend on the nature of your work though you’ll likely need a laptop and a strong internet connection.
Blogging or Vlogging
Aside from working from home, you can also make money online. Some people are earning from blogging or “vlogging.” These can be rewarding if you know what you’re doing.
First, you need to carefully choose a theme. Engadget, for example, started out as a simple blog about techie stuff that grew into a multi-million company. It raked in $5.5 million a month in 2017, according to Forbes. Perez Hilton is a popular yet controversial gossip website that also started as a blog. It earned about $575,000 a month in 2017 thanks mostly to a variety of companies advertising on the website.
A vlogger is a video blogger or someone who posts videos on a regular basis. What about depends on the vlogger but it’s usually for entertainment purposes. Since you’re curious or already into homesteading, maybe you can start a vlog about it. If you’re interested in becoming a vlogger, check this out.
Again, the key to being a successful blogger or vlogger is to have a theme that you are passionate about. You also need a vast imagination and a penchant for writing and talking. Now while blogging and vlogging are viable money-making options, they are not for everyone. Unless you find your niche and market, you won’t be making that much moolah. Still, it doesn’t hurt to try, especially if you have some time on your hands.
Open An Online Store
A lot of businesses are struggling right now and many owners have resorted to selling their products online to survive the pandemic. It’s now common to hear of businesses closing their physical stores yet still offering their products online.
If you’re one of these struggling business owners with lots of products on hand, your best option is to sell them online. You need to build your website and apply some internet marketing strategies to make sure people see you when they Google whatever product or service you’re selling.
You can still operate your physical store but ideally, you want customers to pre-order so they can pick up and go. A better option is to have the item delivered so there is less chance of coming in contact with other people. You only have to deal with the courier, who brings the item to your customer. As for payment, you can do online transactions.
Grow and Sell Produce
The most common way to make money on the homestead is to sell produce. I’m pretty sure you have a farm or at least a garden on your homestead. If not, it’s definitely time to start planting.
If you own a large property, you can grow plenty of produce. After subtracting your self-consumption, the rest of your harvest can be sold. You can take your produce to a farmer’s market, offer them to your neighbors, or package them properly and sell them online.
When you take your produce to the farmer’s market, place them in wooden crates. They make transport easier and your products more pleasing to the eyes. The Rustic Brown Wood Nesting Storage Crates from MyGift come with a chalkboard front panel and cut-out handles
Sell Plants and Seeds
When you purchase seeds for your garden, you don’t always get to use all of them. Save the leftovers so you can either plant them next season or sell the seeds. It’s good to buy heirloom seeds since most people prefer them.
With 40 different vegetable seeds, the Pure Pollination Non-GMO Heirloom Vegetable Kit is definitely something to look at when you’re starting your garden. The kit includes seeds of arugula, cabbage, carrots, chives, corn, cucumber, eggplant, kale, lettuce, oregano, parsley, spinach, squash, tomato, turnip, and, watermelon, among other varieties. That’s around 16,500 heirloom vegetable seeds you can plant or sell later on.
You can also save the seeds from your harvests. Collect the seeds after the season and then dry them. Pack the dried seeds in small bags and sell them.
Another way to make money on the homestead is to plant your extra seeds in grow bags or starter pots like the ones from Huvai. They have a 100-piece set of 4-inch plastic nursery pots perfect for growing seedlings. The set also comes with 100 waterproof plastic plant tags and a couple of mini garden tools for digging and transplanting.
Once you grow the seeds into seedlings, you can already sell them. Some people prefer seedlings since they don’t need to do most of the dirty stuff. Herbs are quite popular so make sure you grow extra plants to make a profit.
Sell Dried Herbs
The fresh herbs you don’t sell can still earn you some money. Just make dried herbs out of them. There are two ways to do this. One is to air dry and the other is to use an oven.
For the first method, all you need to do is cut (not break) the herbs from the plant and then wash them with cool water. Pat them dry with a paper towel then tie the ends with a string and hang them. Wait and check on them regularly until they’re dry.
You’ll want an herb drying rack if you’re doing lots of herbs at a time. HORTIPOTS Herb Drying Rack has six layers of three feet wide drying space. That’s a lot of dried herbs to sell. The breathable mesh net is BPA-free so there’s no worry about bad chemicals on your herbs.
If you prefer the quicker method, simply place the fresh herbs on a cookie sheet after rinsing and patting them dry. Next, put the tray in your oven set at 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Leave the oven door open for better airflow. This will take one to two hours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5UyMNlDPKs
If you have a dehydrator, which is something homesteaders would love to own, use it to dry your herbs. The Excalibur 3926TB 9-Tray Electric Food Dehydrator is a good investment for you to make money on the homestead. It has 9 trays, which is equivalent to 15 square feet of drying space. That means you can dry lots of herbs in one go.
Raise Poultry for Eggs and Meat
Every homesteader raises chickens or plans to start one day. That’s because there are lots of benefits to having them. For one, they’re a huge step to self-sufficiency.
When you raise chickens at home, you have a steady supply of egg and poultry meat. The more layers you have, the more eggs you can consume and sell. The same goes for broilers or the chickens you raise for their meat.
Ideally, you want free-range chickens. They produce healthier eggs and tastier meat since they’re not injected with steroids and other nasty stuff. Both fetch higher prices in the market. Plus, free-range is less cruel. You will need a chicken coop, though. Check out the link below to get some ideas.
Other than chickens, you can also raise quails. These birds produce nutritious eggs at a dependable rate. They can also be raised for their meat.
Another reason why you should look at quail raising to make money is that it occupies a relatively small space. For this to work, you’ll need a quail cage. The Comfort Plast Quail Egg & Farming Cage has three floors with three compartments each. It can hold up to 108 quails.
While it is ideal to raise free-range quails, they can also be raised in a small cage. This is perfect if you don’t have much space in your homestead. You only need 0.5 to 1.0 square feet for each quail. One square foot of space is suggested for each mature quail.
Raise Rabbits
As cute as they are, rabbit meat is tasty and nutritious. Rabbits don’t eat too much and take up little space in the homestead. Best of all, they surely breed fast. So if you don’t have anything against eating rabbits then breeding them is a worthwhile moneymaking venture for homesteaders.
Sell Compost
Animal poop makes great fertilizers. They’re rich in nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, and other nutrients that plants love. Simply mix them with your compost pile and wait. Once the compost is ready, use some for your garden then pack the rest to be sold. There’s quite a market for organic fertilizer, especially now that lots of people are into gardening. Here’s a good article to read if you want to earn from large-scale composting.
Sell Food
Even before the pandemic, some people have been selling food online. Customers can pre-order food and the business owner will deliver it themselves or through a delivery service. A lot more people are doing this nowadays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs_bqaCF1xs
While you can sell freshly cooked meals and baked goods, you can also offer your prospective clients preserved products. Most homesteaders do food preservation to have an abundant supply of long-lasting food products. They do this so their excess harvest doesn’t go to waste. Preserved food also sells well.
Invest in canning equipment so you can make your own canned goods, jams, and jellies. You’ll need a water bath canner like the VKP1130 Harvest Stainless Steel Multi-Use Canner from Roots & Branches. If you don’t have one yet, you can use a large stock pot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Yx3e4QZUA&t=3s
You’ll also need canning jars, jar lifter, tongs, magnetic lid lifter, wide mouth funnel, jar wrench, and bubble popper. The Norpro Canning Essentials Boxed Set has all these except the mason jars.
Sell DIY Soaps
One skill that will come in handy during the apocalypse is soap-making. Just think about it. If the world ends, soap companies will be a thing of the past. Still, you need soap to clean up. If you know how to make them and you have the materials needed then you’ll have something to barter for other items.
Even without the apocalypse, you should still learn how to make soaps. For one thing, you don’t have to buy commercial soaps anymore. Also, homemade soaps will help you make money on the homestead.
Soap making has become quite popular among stay-at-home moms and anyone who wants to make extra profit. You probably bought one yourself or know someone who’s selling their homemade soaps.
If you want to make money selling DIY soaps, you need to make your products more attractive. Start with the scent. You want your soaps to smell good, of course. You need essential oils for that. Spark Naturals have a variety of essential oils that you can choose from. Some of the popular scents are lavender, frankincense, grapefruit, lemon, peppermint, and rosemary. Of course, there are other essential oils and oil blends that will work on your homemade soaps. Spark Naturals Aromatic Essential Oil Kit comes with seven different essential oils and oil blends. The essential oils are Bergamot, Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint, Wild Orange, White Fir, and Ylang Ylang while the oil blends include Shield, Respire, and Zen. Try different combinations to find your own scent. You can also try other essential oils from the Spark Naturals stable.
Next, consider the size and shape. You can go with the classic rectangular bar or something cuter such as heart-shaped soap. These will be possible with the help of soap molds. The Ozera Silicone Soap Mold pictured here comes with six cavities that measure 3.1 x 2.2 x 1 inches each. That’s about the right size for a regular soap.
Another thing to consider for your soap-making business to thrive is labeling. You need a good name and great packaging. Plus, you need to promote your product.
Sell Homebrew Beer
Ever imagined yourself as a beer magnate? Who wouldn’t want to get rich selling something you are passionate about, right? Beer lovers will get a kick knowing they can make their own beer. You know what? Those who love beer probably know this already.
If you dream of making money by making and selling beer, there are some things you need to know. You need to start small. Get the Mr. Beer Complete Beer Making 2 Gallon Starter Kit or any starter kit of your choice. See first if you have what it takes to brew your own beer.
You can also buy other ingredients to find the best beer suited to your taste. Once you’ve got the right concoction, ask friends and relatives to try your beer out. If you get an okay, it may be time to start selling your homebrew.
Woodworking
Do you have the skill to make something out of a pile of wood? Use it to your advantage by creating pieces of furniture like stools, coffee tables, bed frames, and shelves. Aside from saving money by not buying pre-made furniture for your home, you can also sell your creations.
Start your woodworking business by building a few items then post pictures on social media so other people can see them. If they’re impressed, they can buy your creations or commission you to make something for them. This is a good way to make money out of your hobby.
You’ll need the right tools for this business venture. Start off with the basic ones such as a hammer, saw, drill, and maybe even a grinder or sander. You’ll also need a tape measure, screwdrivers, and clamps.
Once your business gets going, you can invest in more tools. A power jointer, thickness planer, and circular saw are must-haves for woodworkers. They make the job faster and easier. This is important since the sooner you finish a project, the sooner you can get a new one. Plus they make your work far better.
For your circular saw, get one like the Makita 5007Mg Magnesium 7-1/4-Inch Circular Saw. Makita is a popular brand known for its high-quality tools. This particular circular saw has magnesium parts that lessen the tool’s weight drastically. This makes it easier to carry and handle.
This is just a short list of the many ways you can make money on the homestead. We didn’t even get to tackle raising domesticated animals such as pigs and goats, beekeeping, candle making, sewing, and other potentially profitable hobbies. If you want to know more, follow us on Gentleman Pirate Club. In case, you have other income-generating ideas, please feel free to share them with our readers.
