How To Turn Your Homestead Into A Hustle

Homesteading is the ultimate lifestyle for those who want to lead a healthier, more sustainable and self-reliant lifestyle. In an age where our lifestyles can generate enormous carbon footprints and contribute to widespread deforestation, animal habitat loss, water wastage, and species extinction many homesteaders see it as the sensible antidote to a world that is spiraling out of control. Homesteading is, for many, a journey rather than a destination. A journey that will have different goals that change and evolve as you grow in confidence and proficiency. Once you’ve learned to sustainably feed yourself and your family you may find that you’re ready to turn your passion into a profession and turn your homestead into a hustle.

However, while successful homesteaders share many common traits with successful businesspersons, proficiency in one doesn’t necessarily lead to proficiency in the other. If you wish to make money from selling your crops or the products you make from them, you’ll have to…

How To Turn Your Homestead Into A Hustle

Build alliances

One of the most difficult mistakes to learn in business is the folly of attempting to do everything by yourself. Only by building fruitful alliances can you hope to translate your success in homesteading to success in business. Whether it’s with Grain Brokers, farmers markets, local stores and distributors you’ll need to take the time to network and build relationships. Of course, if you have samples of produce or products to wow them this can make for an excellent foot in the door. After all, selling your own products will most definitely turn your homestead into a hustle.

Build a brand

In the bustling and busy marketplace of the late 2010s, even small nascent enterprises like yours need to consider their branding. This is a key component of how you and your products are perceived by customers. It will also determine their relationship with you. It will determine the tone of voice you use on social media.  And it will determine the way in which you interact with customers and prospects online.

What kind of business do you want to be? In an era where more and more consumers are increasingly concerned about the ethical price tag of the products they use, how will you use your sustainable methods as a selling point? These are important concepts to consider to before you turn your homestead into a hustle.

Cultivate your customers

Your customers are like your crops. They need you to keep a close eye on them. They need to be cultivated and cared for. Leave them unattended for too long and they’ll either wither (lose interest in you) or be poached by hungry scavengers (your competitors).

Making a sale is great, but retaining a customer is even better. Once you’ve gained a customer’s business keep them coming back with special discounts, exclusive offers and incentives that will keep them coming back to you. When you wish to turn your homestead into a hustle your customers need to be number one. And they need to feel as though they are.

Educate others

Don’t be afraid to share the secrets you have learned. Today more and more of us want to live a more sustainable life that’s more ethically led and free of waste. The insights you’ve gleaned throughout your homesteading journey can be extremely useful to your customers and build value in your brand.

The more you let customers and prospects peek behind the curtain through your blog posts, videos, tutorials or other forms of content marketing, the more you build trust in yourself and your brand and the stronger your customers’ investment in you becomes. This is why the know, like and trust factors are so important when you turn your homestead into a hustle.

Are you ready to turn your homestead into a hustle? What will you do to make an established reputation and grow your customers this year? Share your plans in the comments below.