Homestead Finance - Increase Your Self-Reliance... - Self Reliance

How to Make Money from Your Homestead – 101 Ways to Earn an Income!

How to make money from your homestead
How to Make Money from Your Homestead! 101 Ideas to Earn an Income by The Self Sufficient HomeAcre

Ideas for Making Money from Your Homestead

Do you want to make money from your homestead? You’re not alone! Many people dream of leaving the ‘burbs to buy a little farm and earn an income from it. Most of us had ancestors who farmed for a living and there’s something romantic and practical about wanting to live more simply. My family raised beef and pork when I was young and I loved farm life, even though it was a lot of work.

Earning an income from your homestead can increase your self-reliance and supplement or replace a 9 to 5 job. It might seem like a crazy idea, and I don’t recommend diving in without doing your research first. However, with planning and the right setup, you may be able to quit your day job and finance your homestead with…your homestead!

Check out my eBook How to Make Money at the Farmers Market for step-by-step instructions on starting a farm stand or selling at a farmers market!

Check out these Holiday Side Hustles!

This post contains affiliate links or advertisements as a means for this website to earn income. As an Amazon, LLC affiliate, I earn a commission on qualified purchases made through these links.

How to Start Making Money from Your Homestead

There are many factors to consider. Do you live on a road with a great deal of traffic? Is there a major city with a busy farmers market nearby? Do you have any local travel destinations that attract tourists to the area? Are there nice restaurants nearby that would purchase locally raised fruits, vegetables, and meats?

Brainstorm and list all of your ideas and add them to the list below. Cross off any ideas that won’t work due to the up-front investment, amount of land needed, or your time limitations. Now research the ideas that can be accomplished on your homestead with the resources you have or can afford to invest in.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Do Your Business Research

Take time to research the regulations in your area. Don’t invest in a home business that is subject to rules you can’t abide by.

Research the length of time before you can expect a payout on your investment. For example, a pumpkin patch should bring money in the year you plant it. However, an orchard may take 5 years or more before you make your first dollar. Start out with projects that will earn money in a short period of time and invest in long-term projects as you are able.

Diversify your homestead-based business by choosing several different income streams in case one product or service is a bust. Remember that what is profitable this year may lose money next year so never rely on just one project for your income.

Talk to the head of your local tourist information center, the chef at a local restaurant or the vendors at an area farmers market to see what opportunities exist and whether the market is crowded.

Take some business classes or read up on how to fund, start, and run a farm-based business. Check out this article Can You Make a Living from a Small Farm? for more ideas. Another good read is Resources for Small Farmers and Homesteaders.

101 Ideas for Making Money from Your Homestead

  1. Start a homesteading blog
  2. Sell photos of flowers, scenic views, animals, or your garden
  3. Write a ‘how-to’ book or eBook on homesteading subjects you excel at
  4. Start a roadside veggie stand
  5. Create and sell ceramics, windchimes, or garden art to sell
  6. Sell produce at a farmer’s market
  7. Plant an orchard and sell fruit
  8. Make jam and jelly
  9. Sell cider and apple juice
  10. Grow mushrooms
  11. Sell cutting flowers
  12. Start a pumpkin patch – Choose the Best Pumpkins for Your Homestead
  13. Create a corn maze
  14. Start a campground
  15. Grow Christmas trees
  16. Sell heirloom seeds
  17. Create hand-knitted items for sale
  18. Start a petting zoo and sell feed from a vending machine
  19. Raise heritage breeds of livestock and sell breeding stock
  20. Start a rescue farm – offer paid tours and take donations
  21. Set up an Airbnb cottage
  22. Start a bed and breakfast
  23. Propagate plants from cuttings to sell
  24. Start a greenhouse/nursery
  25. Make Adirondack chairs for sale
  26. Create paintings or drawings of homesteading subjects
  27. Plant a cottage garden and take reservations for wedding parties
  28. Remodel a barn and rent it for special occasions
  29. Sell pork or beef by the side through a butcher
  30. Ship hatching eggs
  31. Make hand salve for sale
  32. Sell dried herbs
  33. Raise bees and sell honey
  34. Sell specialty feathers
  35. Make essential oil products for sale
  36. Create herbal candles
  37. Start an antique shop
  38. Make quilts for sale
  39. Teach homesteading classes
  40. Sell baked goods
  41. Make relish and pickles for sale
  42. Create a country cookbook
  43. Host farm-to-table dinners
  44. Sell farm-fresh eggs
  45. Raise fish in an aquaponics setup
  46. Plant pussy willows for cutting and drying
  47. Make wreaths and garlands for the holidays
  48. Sell holly for Christmas decor
  49. Raise turkeys for Thanksgiving
  50. Start a pick-your-own organic strawberry patch
  51. Raise asparagus for sale
  52. Plant blueberries, raspberries, or other small fruits for a fruit stand
  53. Make specialty cheeses
  54. Build picnic tables for sale
  55. Raise heirloom grains for seed or for sale
  56. Sell pastured ducks and duck eggs to specialty markets
  57. Make country home decor for sale, including stenciled crafts
  58. Start a Youtube channel with how-to instructions and monetize it
  59. Plant Harry Lauder’s walking stick for crafters
  60. Raise fiber animals and sell raw or processed fiber and yarn
  61. Make dryer balls from home-raised fiber
  62. Plant everlasting flowers for crafting
  63. Weave blankets or wall hangings
  64. Harvest wildcrafting products for sale
  65. Build tool sheds and playhouses for custom sales
  66. Salvage old barns and buildings and build repurposed crafts and furniture
  67. Give demonstrations of old-world skills and sell the products created
  68. Make mason jar baking mixes
  69. Create walking sticks or canes from saplings
  70. Start a blacksmith shop and sell wrought iron tools
  71. Make goat milk fudge
  72. Sell beeswax candles
  73. Make beeswax lip balm or peppermint foot balm
  74. Board horses
  75. Farm sit or chicken sit for a fee
  76. Repair old barns and outbuildings for a fee
  77. Raise and train livestock guardian dogs
  78. Make old-fashioned wooden toys
  79. Plant sweet corn for sale
  80. Create corn husk dolls
  81. Raise pigs for pig roasts and rent the roaster
  82. Host country line dances and sell your own home-made refreshments
  83. Sell produce to restaurants and grocers
  84. Raise herbal products such as ginseng
  85. Make greeting cards with photos from your homestead
  86. Sell bunches of wheat or oats with a gingham bow
  87. Create potpourri for sale
  88. Raise rabbits for meat, fiber, or pelts
  89. Host a corn boil and sell raffle tickets for a bushel of sweet corn
  90. Start a dude ranch
  91. Raise melons for sale
  92. Plant broom corn and sell it for crafts or make brooms
  93. Host a flea market and sell home-raised products
  94. Plant a vineyard and sell grape juice or winemaking kits
  95. Raise specialty hops for brewers
  96. Plant barley for straw and grain sales
  97. Raise game birds for a local hunt club
  98. Start a landscaping business
  99. Plow snow in winter
  100. Sell hand-carved items
  101. Start a crafters barn and rent spaces to vendors

Remember that saving money on your homestead and garden will help stretch your budget while you wait for the homestead income to grow.

How to Make Money from Your Homestead - 101 Ideas to Earn and Income: The New Homesteader's Almanac
Set up a roadside stand or sell at a farmers market.

Host Events on Your Homestead

If you live in an area where there is a thriving tourist center nearby, you could entice customers and earn money by hosting events such as an Easter Egg Hunt with homemade candy sales and a small petting zoo.

In autumn advertise a corn maze and pumpkin patch with apple cider, donuts, preserves, pumpkins, gourds, and other fall goodies for sale.

Host year-round sales with a renovated barn divided up into stalls for crafters or antique dealers. Set up a cafe or ice cream stand to keep shoppers in the store longer. Sell seasonal items such as bedding plants and daffodils in spring, produce in summer, and autumn decor in fall. Host special events such as a pioneer festival or a 4th of July picnic with homegrown goodies for sale and vending machines for refreshments.

There are probably a million and one ideas for how to earn money from your homestead!

What is the most helpful idea you read in this article? Do you have additional ideas for earning an income from your homestead or small farm? Share your ideas in the comments!

How to Make Money from Your Homestead - 101 Ideas to Earn and Income by The Self Sufficient HomeAcre
Can you quit your day job and ear a full time living from your homestead? Perhaps you'd like to supplement your income with a homestead side hustle? Here are over 100 ideas to #EarnIncomeOnTheHomestead

27 Comments on “How to Make Money from Your Homestead – 101 Ways to Earn an Income!

  1. I would love this book because this is my dream. We have chickens and I have so eggs in the past buy looking to add more and get my 12 yr old involved.

  2. I am very interested in the book because I am a beginner and am looking for solid information. It helps to learn from others who have successfully done this.

  3. Thank you for the great suggestions. I would love to have a small homestead that generates some steady income for my family.

    1. I think a lot of people will be looking into this in the coming years, Wen. Thanks for stopping by. I hope that some of these suggestions are helpful!

  4. Hi Lisa! Nice to “meet” you. I found you because Mary at Marysheirloomseeds.com recommended your blog. I bookmarked it — it looks like a fantastic resource.

    Best wishes,
    Amy

  5. Thank you for hosting! This is what I featured the week of 8-10 to 8-14 on my blog. On Tuesday was Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. Wednesday was Double Crust Cherry Pie. Thursday was Double Crust Bluebarb Pie. And winding up this final week of Fruit Pies was my Double Crust Peach Pie. Enjoy!

  6. I have pre-ordered the book. I am retiring next year and hope to get my little slice of heaven to homestead.

  7. Lisa,
    Thanks so much for choosing my post as one of your features!! I gave you a Shout Out on Face book and will also do so in my next post!! Love the list you posted on how to make money from your own home!!!
    Thanks so much for hosting each week!! Stay safe, healthy, happy!!
    Hugs,
    Deb

  8. What a delightful opportunity. As I’m headed toward a tiny urban homestead I’d be most interested in the book on beginning homesteading. Thank you.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.