Ten Steps For Vegetable Garden Success

Ten Steps to Veggie Garden Success

Successful gardening doesn't come by accident, and in my opinion, there is NO SUCH THING as a green thumb. Success comes from good pre-planning and thoughtful follow-through. It's knowing what each vegetable plant needs to grow to a successful harvest and giving each plant what it needs.

15 Garden Chores for Early Spring

Early Spring Garden Chores

Although the term “early spring” for me in Zone 6 Ohio may not be the same time as the “early spring” for your garden zone, for this article, early spring means that time of year when winter seems to be coming to an end and intermittent freezes and thaws are happening in the garden. The first signs of Spring!

Epsom Salt for Roses and Bloomers!

Epsom Salt for Rose and Bloomers

You may have heard that Epsom Salt is a great, safe, effective and economical garden amendment for use on your flowering plants. But what is Epsom Salt and why is it so popular among rose gardeners?

15 Common Reasons for Veggie Garden Failures

15 Reasons for Veggie Garden Failures

I personally don't believe there are people with “green thumbs.” Successful gardening of any type takes good planning and dedication to follow through. Your plants are like children; they need what they need when they need it and not when you have time to do it.  

The Role of Vinegar in Canning

Which Vinegar to use in Canning

The Role of Vinegar

If you have been looking into the process of canning your own food, you've undoubtedly noticed a lot of talk about safe canning.  Some of the most-asked canning questions relate to the correct use of vinegar.

Monetizing Your Homestead to Market Success

Monetizing Your Homestead to Market Success

by Lance Cody-Valdez

You’ve got a homestead you can be proud of and have plenty of homemade products that you know people would be willing to buy, ranging from soap to cheese to woodcrafts and more. The only problem is getting your products out on the open market!

If you’re looking to monetize your hobby farm, look no further—this guide from The Homestead Village Blog will break down everything you need to know about monetizing your farm’s products from start to finish.

Establish Your Business

Planning to sell goods means planning to operate a business. It’s important to consider forming your business as an LLC—it reduces your personal liability and provides tax advantages. While this can be costly using the services of an attorney, you can save on cost, time, and paperwork by using a formation service online. Each state has different requirements, so be sure to check them before going forward.

Create a Brand

Firstly, you need a brand that your future customers can associate with your hobby farm. If you don’t have one already, make sure your farm has a unique name. Add some signs to the farm and any place where you think you might invite customers to do business in person.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to start an online website for your hobby farm. Make sure to register a domain name and website title that is similar to the physical name of your hobby farm.

By building a brand, you’ll ensure that no one forgets where they bought that excellent homemade chair or delicious goat cheese from, setting yourself up for future profits and success later down the road.

Marketing Your Goods

After creating an iconic brand, you'll need to market your goods so people know that they can buy from you! Marketing in this day and age is best undertaken as a mix of in-person and digital marketing.

In-person marketing can include:

• Putting up posters in your local community

• Putting ads in your local newspaper

• Setting up signs on the road around your hobby farm

Digital marketing means:

• Using digital ads, like Google Ads, to advertise to locals in your area

• Creating a top-tier website to make it easy to order your products online

As you market your goods, be sure to emphasize:

• What you sell and your products' prices . What makes your hobby farm unique? Is it the atmosphere, the types of products you offer, or specific aspects of your products, such as a unique flavor of food?

Collaborate with Graphic and Web Designers

As you draw up a marketing campaign for your homesteading business, it might be wise to branch into online marketing. If you make a website to sell your goods or want to come up with creative, attractive online ads, odds are you'll need to speak to a graphic designer or web designer.

Hire a graphic or web designer with a strong portfolio and examples of their prior work. That will give you an idea of whether they’ll be good for your entrepreneurial endeavor or if you should find someone else.

Once you find someone, be sure to communicate with them regularly. As you swap ideas, compress any JPG files to email important information or design ideas back and forth.

Selling Products for a Profit

As your marketing train leaves the station, you'll need to ship your products efficiently. That may mean enlisting the assistance of a shipping company to get your products to online buyers.

Alternatively, you can sell your hobby farm products in town by having a “shipping day” once per week. You can take orders all week, then load up your truck or car with all the products you sold to ship them to customers or to meet buyers in person if the customers are from your local community.

As you sell your products, be sure to keep a detailed record of each profit or loss. Good accounting is the hallmark of a steady business no matter the industry!

Be the Homesteading Hero You’ve Always Wanted

At the end of the day, selling your hobby farm products is more than possible: it’s profitable! As you reach greater success, you can take those profits and put the money back into your farm to expand their operations. Who knows? In no time at all, you might be running a bustling entrepreneurial enterprise from your backyard!

This article is brought to you by The Homestead Village Blog. Homesteading is a journey, an adventure, and an ever-evolving quest to make our homesteads more beautiful, run more efficiently, and be the haven that we've dreamed of creating for ourselves and our families. For more information, please visit my website today!

Part Sun? Part Shade?

 

Part Sun?  Part Shade?

Determining Sunlight Exposure in Your Yard

Determining the sunlight exposure in your growing spaces can be less confusing if you know the reason behind the sun exposure terms used on seed packets and plant tags.