Monetize Your Goods: The Business Side of Homesteading

Homesteading offers a rich, rewarding way of life. It can also offer a reward for your bank account if you choose to market yourself as a business and sell your products. Even if you have a small hobby farm, you can earn a living from your land. Rethinking your homestead as a small business is a good start to monetizing your products. Hayford Marketing shares several strategies small businesses use to create a niche within the market, and it all starts with branding.
Managing Your Homesteading Business
Chances are good that you have a lot of questions about the business side of things. Maintaining the paperwork, financial records, and tax information for your homestead may seem like a major undertaking, but it doesn’t need to be. Dive into tools that are available. You’ll find there are not only answers to your questions, but there are resources and tech tools available to help. Your local chamber of commerce, for instance, is a great go-to for tips, news and networking. 
There is also software to help you stay on track with your income, payroll, tax payments and more. What is payroll? Payroll is the process you use to pay your employees. By using payroll software instead of hiring an accountant, you can save our business significant funds. The right software will automate tax deductions, record keeping, and payday alerts. 
Branding Strategies
Most of us are keenly aware of varying brands in the marketplace. We are inundated with ads from companies distinguishing themselves in one way or another to sell their products. Homesteaders who wish to monetize need to develop a brand around their business that reflects the goods, personality, and intent of the business.
As you set up your homesteading business, consider what sort of name you’d like to use. Whether you choose something clever, meaningful, or simply use your surname, it will be the first introduction to your product.
In thinking about your brand, consider how you want others to perceive your business. An important part of branding is establishing yourself as unique and valuable. What values do you want your business to convey? Think about how to show those values through your marketing, and through your product’s exposure to consumers.
Marketing and Sales
The marketing techniques of your homesteading business can have a direct impact on sales. Small business owners, particularly homesteaders, may need to have a marketing strategy that is seasonally relevant, depending on the type of crops you are producing. Beekeepers who have inventory on hand or homesteaders who butcher meat may have a more consistent, year-round marketing plan. 
Developing a social media page for your homesteading business is a free and simple marketing strategy. Social media pages offer you a blank canvas to show the world what your business is about through the use of pictures, product updates and anecdotes to connect with potential customers. 
Creating an online presence through a web page devoted to your homestead can also be a method of selling products. If you opt to create a website, consider creating content that others might find useful, such as articles about your homesteading practice or health benefits of the products you offer.
If you have a local farmer’s market, it is an ideal place to sell your goods and connect with potential customers. It may also be beneficial to consider a cooperative marketing strategy with another homesteader who offers different types of products. These types of collaborative strategies often work well for small business owners, as they expand name recognition within the marketplace.
Branding, marketing, and selling your goods will certainly boost business, but how you manage your homesteading business is another important factor in success.
Homesteaders can successfully monetize through strategic planning. As your homestead grows, developing a system for managing the business will help you stay on track and enjoy a long, satisfying career. 
Hayford Marketing offers solutions for entrepreneurs including IT, marketing, lead generation, and office management services. 614-273-5303