This post was most recently updated on April 12th, 2023
Whether you are looking to make money homesteading, or just want to make some spare cash from your backyard we have you covered. Here is a list of simple, minimal investment required ideas for making money from home.
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Some of them are more involved, and all of them take a little investment of time and knowledge to get them off the ground.
Making a full-time income from a homestead might seem like a stretch, but a small income stream from several different places can add up to quite a large volume with some time and some effort.
Or in smaller doses, they can become a nice little bit of pocket money for a rainy day.
You may also like to read about our 33 traditional homesteading skills that you can learn anywhere.
RELATED: Best animals to raise for a profit
Get a free video on how my friends went from 0 to 160 Acres, making $30k/month from their land, and exactly what they did to get there, from this link.
Your life can change in under a year, ordinary folks can have a truly extraordinary impact, while living a life that feels aligned to you. AND you can get it to pay for itself so you don’t need to wait 10 years of working a day job to get there.
If you want some real action-oriented guidance gathered from experience be sure to check out the course that my friends Jaymie & Shelby have put together. You can read more about it here.
In the mean time, here are some really useful ideas for you to start making money from your homestead today.
Making Money from the Garden
One of the most obvious ways to make money homesteading is to use the garden. Most homesteads, or homes with a yard can use their space to make money with a large garden.
There will always be a market for fresh, organic produce. You can also use a basket of fresh produce to barter for other goods and services. If you need help getting a garden started check out our super thorough and uber practical gardening course!
- Grow a herb garden – fresh herbs sell well at farmers markets and local cafes/restaurants will buy them if you can give them a regular supply. Heirloom varieties are all the rage these days.
- Grow edible flowers
- Grow beautiful cut flowers
- Grow an orchard or berry patch and run a pick-your-own or sell at a market. Preserved strawberries are a bit hit!
- Grow a large vegetable garden and sell high profit plants like salad greens, radish, carrots and other greens. For more information on this style of gardening check outUrban Farmer Curtis Stoneor JM Fortier.
- Grow a worm farm and sell worm castings and red wrigglers or tiger worms to other gardeners.
- Use local waste and convert it into compost to sell on.
- Raise vegetable seedlings from seed for other people’s gardens.
- Raise natives, berries or other trees to sell on.
- Learn how to graft fruit trees and market them to others.
- Grow a glass house full of tomatoes and sell them – heritage ones sell really well!
- Rent your land to graze horses or other stock.
- Grow and cut hay and sell to other small holders.
- Grow mushrooms.
- Garlic is a cash crop, especially when grown organically.
- Grow Christmas trees – this one needs some space and some time.
- Grow common herbs used for herbal medicines
Making Money from Animals
You do need some land to raise some animals, but you would be amazed how little space is needed for a pair of small milking goats (they do need a friend), a few chickens or a colony of rabbits.
As with anything you will need to check the local rules around selling animals or animal products. If you have lots of land, of course your options to make money homesteading are much more diverse.
- Sell cow or goat milk
- Run a cow share program for milk or beef
- Raise a few beef calves
- Breed, raise, train and sell goats for milking or meat
- Start a rabbit colony and sell fryers to local restaurants/consumers.
- Sell start-up kits for breeding rabbits including housing, food and a breeding trio.
- Breed any animal and sell the babies – chickens, quail, sheep, goats, cows, rabbits.
- Quail eggs sell well to the restaurant market and you don’t need lots of space.
- Start a pet boarding kennels.
- Sell chicken eggs – people will pay a premium for happy hen eggs.
- Duck eggs – there is a market for free range duck eggs
- Pet rabbits – the fancy mini lops sell well
- Raise meat chickens or turkeys for the holiday season.
- Buy in day old chicks and raise them to point of lay and sell them on.
- Incubate eggs and sell the resulting chicks. This is especially useful for rare breeds.
- Raise pasture fed anything – people pay a premium for pasture raised meat, eggs and dairy products.
- Bees – the world needs more responsible beekeepers – and if you do it well, you will be rewarded with liquid gold.
Making Money Online
The internet is a big place and there are plenty opportunities to make money on it. Be wary of rip offs and scams and always, always do your research!
Many people who make money homesteading do so from their blogging activities. A blog is an online journal where you can document what you are up to, share how-to posts/recipes and other information. It doesn’t even have to be homestead related!
- Build your own blog, see here for exactly how to get started
- Run an etsy or felt store.
- Sell used items on craigslist or trademe.
- Freelancing/coaching.
- Start an online store selling your products.
- Become a virtual assistantand run your own business from home. Usually you can earn $30/hr or more
- Transcribing –Doctors and lawyers are often looking for help
- Proofreading– many bloggers will pay someone to proof read!
- Scoping (legal editing)
- Even fitness ordiet coaching
If you already have a blog up and running and would like an in depth, step by step course to learn more making money with your blog, I strongly recommend the eBook Make Money at any Levelwhich is written by another fellow homesteader!
Making Money from the Kitchen / Lounge / Workshop
There are local regulations around what you can make and sell from you kitchen, but with some research and some set up you will be amazed what you can make and sell.
You can sell them online, at the Farmer’s Market, or take them to local county fairs. This is one of the ways you can make money homesteading without needing too much space or land.
- Develop your own line of soaps, balms or lotions.
- Make beeswax wrap covers for food.
- Make and sell jams or jellies.
- Cheese.
- Cake making for birthdays.
- Bake cookies for busy parents – healthy or diet specific options would be profitable.
- Candles.
- Knit – especially for new babies.
- Sow.
- Crafts.
- Make woodcrafts or toys.
- Make metal work signs or furniture.
- Build animal coops or houses.
Making Money Through Teaching
Chances are if you have had to learn something, someone else will be keen to learn it too – you can probably work out a way to get them to pay for the knowledge!
- Run classes at your homestead teaching cheesemaking, preserving, fermenting, etc.
- Write a book or ebook.
- Write an e-course.
- Start a Youtube channel.
These are all best accomplished once you have a blog to market them through!
Making money on the homestead is generally not a one and done idea, usually people wanting to make money homesteading will bring in revenue from multiple sources.
At Piwakawaka Valley Homestead I make most of my money blogging, hubby still works in town (until we pay off this darn mortgage!) and I also have a few eBooks, run local (paid) workshops and we sell spare eggs.
Do you have anything that you do from home to make money on the side? Do you have any other suggestions? Please tell me in the comments below!
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