Cottage industry plans are starting to launch, and I couldn’t be more excited

Our biggest goal here at the Homestead has always been to mostly, if not totally, support ourselves with our efforts here on-site. These plans have changed and evolved dozens of times. I am sure they will continue to be modified going forward.

Many of the issues we’ve had in the past have been because of our location: We simply weren’t close enough to a large market to be profitable, and the local economy would never be able to support my microgreens and winter salad green sales, or Mike’s gourmet mushroom plans. I was quite disappointed to make this realization. I had visions of busy Farmers’ Markets and gourmet chefs drooling for our produce.

But everything I learned about growing microgreens and winter greens has not gone to waste. My family gets to eat healthy, organic produce all winter long, and I always have enough to share with my coworkers and dialysis patients.

Waiting for Inspiration

It was around a year ago when we finally realized we weren’t going to support our Homestead through growing produce. We had to formulate a new strategy. Many evenings were spent tossing ideas around, trying to figure out what could potentially bring income to the Homestead.

One epiphany we had was the realization that no one single income stream was going to supply our needs. We were going to have to have several. Our location was one issue. Fortunately, my kids know just about everyone in our small town, and have a good reputation with the locals. We started brainstorming ideas that would appeal to the people in our community.

Ultimately, three main ideas have made their way to the forefront: Jenny (when she has time) does house/room cleanouts. She has been busy with her two outside jobs all summer, so she hasn’t been able to take on any new jobs recently. But there is definitely a market here for her services. It’s something she loves to do and she is awesome at it.

Justin came up with the idea of chicken coop constructions after seeing those cheaply-made WalMart coops going for hundreds of dollars. After a couple months of discussions and negotiations, a local businessman bought the tools and supplies we were lacking; he will be paid back after the first couple sales. There is a good bit of interest in the community, and our location right on the main road will allow us to put one out front to increase exposure.

The third local income stream came about so randomly, I have to mention it here. A while ago I posted a blog “When Manifestation Is Effortless.” It recounted the amazing way in which the Universe lined up to provide us with 2 notebook computers, which Mike and I desperately needed.

Little did we know then that the Universe had much grander plans in store when it led us to those little computers. Turned out, these “awesome” notebooks had some major limitations which needed to be overcome in order to be useful to us. This led to Mike’s discovery that he had a passion and innate talent for fixing computers, which gave him the confidence he needed to actually set up a network server for our entire household from scratch. Fortunately, Mike has two uncles who are total computer geeks and have been for decades, so whenever he got stumped he had a couple resources to bounce ideas off of.

It didn’t take long to discover there were virtually no computer repair shops nearby. People had to travel 20 miles just to get a cracked phone screen fixed. I bought Mike the “Midvale Computer Repair” sign and he put some fliers on the local stores’ bulletin boards. He has his first customer, and we are depending on word-of-mouth for business. It’s kind of how it works here, and we’re good with that. There is also potential to sell computer parts online. Apparently, there is a growing market for old-school Windows 98 computers and classic games. Who knew?

Market Diversification

We don’t believe the local economy could support us completely with these businesses. It quickly became obvious that we would need to expand our ideas to products and services we could provide on a global scale. This would require Internet and social media savvy. Experience Level: Zero. But we’re learning as we go and having fun figuring it all out.

Here Comes the Lab!

Mike’s love of all things mycologic has led him to his true passion: Growing and propagating mushrooms. Selling mushrooms locally wasn’t going to cut it for us income-wise, so he has modified his original plans while still being able to pursue what makes him happiest. With the equipment, knowledge, and experience he already has, he will be able to produce spore prints, mycelium syringes, and inoculated substrate to fellow mycologists so they can grow their own gourmet/medicinal mushrooms at home.

I am also excited about the new lab because that means soon I will be able to make kefir (a delicious cultured milk drink full of healthy probiotics) and kombucha (a delicious fermented tea drink full of healthy probiotics). We will have a place to make wine. Justin has plans for low-alcohol priobiotic beer. There is a high-quality distiller for making essential oils and hydrosols that can finally be put to use. So many things we have been wanting to do but just didn’t have the space or facilities for them.

My Plans

All my kids have wonderfully innovative ideas to help bring income to the Homestead. My goals are a little less focused on actual dollars, but are more geared toward producing things of value for the family. Retirement age looms large in the not-too-distant future. I am hoping to expand my blog once the lab is set up, as I will then have a nice, clean location to do my projects. There are plans for many more how-to articles. YouTube instructional and informational videos are on the drawing board. A small Etsy shop brings in a couple dollars here and there.

I have realized that over the decades I have amassed a wealth of knowledge about many things, including:

• Organic gardening
• Companion planting
• Winter greenhouse growing
• Seed saving
• Canning
• Dehydrating
• Lacto fermenting
• Essential oils
• Tiny house living
• Minimalist lifestyles
• Travel nursing
• Nutrition and health
• Reiki
• Spiritual growth and enlightenment
• Trauma healing
• Dog training
• Living in a multigenerational household
• Homesteading

Not an exhaustive list by any means, but still, fodder for dozens of blog posts and YouTube videos. These are all things I am deeply passionate about. I couldn’t imagine a better retirement: Having the time to do ALL the things I love to do while teaching others through my writing, photos, and videos. And at the same time, producing useful things for my family.

“Where’s the Money, Lebowski?”

I have long contended that eventually we would find something which would allow us to leave the time clock/paycheck world behind. Thousands of brainstorming sessions have occurred over the years. I think 99% of those ideas never panned out.

But recently, we have taken a much different approach. Instead of looking at the situation as a problem which needed to be solved, we began exploring what would make us happiest. From this new perspective, we began to receive inspired ideas with real potential to fulfill our dreams.

We also finally realized that there is no such thing as a get-rich-quick scheme. We understand that any plans we implement are going to take time to develop and grow, and we’re finally ok with that. And as things develop and grow, our plans will naturally evolve. What we envision right now is probably not how things will end up.

But there is a momentum and a positivity going on here that I have never felt before. It’s a very exciting time at the Homestead, and I look forward to being surprised and delighted by what’s to come.

“The only constant in life is change”

Heraclitus