Homestead Business Ideas: 25 Great Ways to Make money homesteading
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Hi friends! I have compiled a list of 25 homestead business ideas for you! These are ways to make money homesteading that I have either done myself or friends have been successful with. Most are fairly low-cost to start up (maybe not the livestock or the ones that mean you have to build something, lol), and suitable for all kinds of skill levels.
I know I already have one disclaimer at the top, but this post is pretty heavy on the affiliate links. If you follow and purchase anything from my affiliate links, there is no extra cost to you, but I might receive a small commission. My affiliate income allows me to keep blogging which in turn allows me to stay on the farm, raise our son, and live this lifestyle in general.
Now, let’s look at this list of homestead business ideas so you can start to make some money homesteading!
1. Start and Monetize a Blog
Everyone tells you to start a blog nowadays, don’t they? I’m going to also, but I’m going to send you to my coach and mentor Sadie Smiley so she can tell you how to do it the right way. Yes… really. There is 100% a right and wrong way to start a blog.
Sadie offers so much free information, and her classes are spectacular. She walks you through exactly how to set up your blog and teaches you the information you need to be successful. You just need to show up and do the work.
She is a no-nonsense, “normal” (I mean, what actually is a normal person?”) person, who just puts it out there for you. She can help you get your blog up and going AND monetize. So many people out there just want you to buy their program and then leave you hanging. Sadie isn’t going to do that.
When done correctly, blogging can be a highly lucrative income stream. It might possibly be the biggest income stream on this list of homestead business ideas. It is NOT a get rich quick, make money today option, but it will pay off in the long run IF you put in the time and work to get it going. If you want to try your hand at blogging, my favorite web hosting provider is BigScoots. They have the best customer service and are so easy to work with. My favorite place to get domain names is at NameCheap. Again, they are easy to work with and affordable.
2. Offer Breeding Services
If you have your own buck, bull, stallion, boar, ram, or any other intact mature male breeding stock, then this might be an option for you. You want to make sure you maintain a clean healthy herd, and you also want to make sure that wherever you send your boys to are also clean and healthy.
One option for bucks (goats) is to do driveway breedings. This works in two ways, either the doe’s owner brings her to you when she’s in heat, or you take your buck to her.
Another option that falls under this idea is to have your intact breeding male’s semen collected which can then be sold to be used to artificially inseminate the females of whatever breed of livestock you’re working with.
3. Sell Eggs for Hatching or Fresh Eating
What respectable “how to make money homesteading” list would be complete with suggesting you sell eggs, lol? I could just tell you to sell your eggs for fresh eating, but have you thought about selling hatching eggs?
If you want to sell hatching eggs specifically, you need to make sure your eggs are fertilized. (A good place to start is 1 rooster for every 10 hens). You need to make sure if you are selling them as purebred that you have each breed penned separately or only have one breed of rooster in with your hens and can easily distinguish between your breed’s egg color. You also need to make sure that your hens have a nice clean place to lay their eggs as you should not wash eggs that are being collected to hatch.
Fortunately, selling for eating or hatching requires basically the same setup. You can easily sell extra hatching eggs as fresh eggs from your hens on local buy-and-sell groups. It doesn’t matter if they are fertilized or not, so having roosters will be fine. Your hens still need a clean place to lay their eggs and require the same other basic care and nutrition.
4. Sell Raw Milk or Herd Shares
If you raise dairy animals, then selling raw milk or herd shares may be a source of income for your farm or homestead. You can do this with cows, goats, sheep, or other types of raw milk.
How you can sell your milk depends on your specific state laws. Some states allow the on-farm sale of raw milk, while some only allow herd shares (You sell a “share” of your herd, the customer pays a monthly fee for you to maintain their share of the herd, and in return, they get fresh milk from their share of the herd.)
In many states, making and selling cheese, ice cream, or other milk products requires you to be a licensed grade-A dairy. Be sure to, again, check your state-specific laws so that you are in compliance.
5. Grow and sell Produce
Do you love to garden? Growing and selling fruits and vegetables on your homestead can be a great and fun way to earn extra income. Whether you have a large or small garden, there is a market for fresh and delicious produce.
To get started, think about what types of fruits and vegetables grow well in your area and what might be in demand. You can sell at local farmers’ markets, set up a roadside stand, or offer delivery to local customers. (Or even start a CSA if you want to go big)
Be sure to check if there are any local laws or regulations that you are required to follow. This might include getting a business license and making sure you’re following all the necessary health and safety guidelines for your community.
6. Raise and Sell Chicks and pullets
Raising and selling chicks and pullets is a great way for you to make money homesteading. To start off, you’ll need to either hatch some fertile eggs or buy some chicks or hens from a reliable source. Don’t forget to get a few roosters as well. If you already have your own backyard flock, even better.
You can choose to raise a specific breed or two, or just mixed breeds. Purebred chicks or pullets will bring a higher price in most areas, but that is not always the case. Where I live, most people don’t care if their layers are purebred or mixed, and are unwilling to pay a higher price for purebreds.
Whether you choose to sell chicks or pullets, you will need to make sure you have appropriate pens for them and the resources to give them the care they need. If you are wanting to sell purebreds, you will need to have separate pens for each breed and make sure they cannot get into another breed’s pen.
To make the most of this venture, you’ll need to put some thought into marketing your birds. This could involve advertising in local publications, finding local livestock auctions, selling at farmers’ markets, or even using online platforms like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
Hatching eggs and raising pullets up from chicks can be a really fun project for the whole family, as well as a lucrative way to make some side income for your farm or homestead.
7. Sell livestock
If you are already keeping livestock on your homestead, then this money-making idea probably isn’t going to be much extra work or investment at all.
You can raise and sell replacement breeding stock to your local community (or even countrywide, thank you internet!). You could sell young stock, or raise them to breeding age and sell them then.
You could sell goats, cattle, horses, donkeys, sheep, chickens, rabbits, and various types of foul or other poultry. Where I live, people are always looking for does that are currently milking. It seems that if a cow or goat is currently in milk, they are much more sought after.
Sell at a local livestock auction, by word of mouth, Craigslist, Facebook (although that can get tricky), and any other way you can think of.
8. Grow and Sell Garden or bedding plants
I love to garden, but I really love starting my own plants each year. I figure I’m going to be starting them anyway, I might as well grow some extra to sell. I grow tomatoes and peppers primarily to sell and each year I sell out within a day or two of posting them for sale.
You can grow veggies, herbs, or bedding plants (like flowers). You’ll need to figure in your costs to decide what to sell them for, but each year I make enough to pay for all my gardening inputs and make a couple of upgrades to my garden.
Pro-tip, instead of buying the expensive pots specifically made for seedlings, just use 16-18oz solo cups. You will need to put a few small holes in the bottom of each for drainage. I then use Rubbermaid-type totes to sit the cups in, that way I can bottom water them, plus it makes it easy to carry them in and out to harden them off.
I have done this for several years, and pretty well have a list of frequent buyers that I contact first. If they don’t buy all the plants, then I advertise in my local Facebook groups, and always sell out.
9. Create a Place for Guests to Stay
There are many folks out there who want to learn more about farming and ranching. What better way for them to learn than to actually visit a working farm, ranch, or homestead?
This would work out really well if you have an extra small building on your property you can remodel into a small place to stay. Think bedroom, living room, bathroom, and small kitchen space. You could place a camper on your property, erect a teepee (that would be unique!), build a yurt, or even a “glamping” type tent. You could also make your own home a bed and breakfast if you have the space.
I would suggest looking into your local zoning laws and getting insurance for this endeavor. You could go all out, or provide a more rustic experience for your guests. You could choose to make it more of a BnB where you provide them with meals (bonus if you grow it yourself) or have them bring their own.
The possibilities here are just about endless. Put your mind to work and see what you can come up with.
10. Grow a Pumpkin patch
Here is another idea if you like to garden and grow things. Start a pumpkin patch! You could make it as large or small as you like. You could make it a you-pick pumpkin patch where people come and walk through the patch to choose their own pumpkins. You could pick them yourself and sell them roadside or someplace in town if a business would let you use their parking lot.
You could scale up to include a corn maze (if you live someplace you can grow corn, lol!) and a petting zoo with your friendliest homestead animals.
If you are going to have people coming onto your farm to pick pumpkins, then I would recommend looking into insurance to cover accidents during the time you’ll have the patch open.
Creating a simple website with lots of pictures would be great for advertising! Also, don’t forget to include hours of operation, a story about your farm or homestead, and contact info!
11. Hold Events on your Property
I feel that this is a homestead business idea that doesn’t get as much thought as it deserves. There are SO many ideas of events that you can hold on your arm or homestead.
Depending on the type of space you have, you could host weddings, yoga retreats (goat yoga?), homestead conferences, outdoor movie nights, barn dances, a harvest festival (hayrides, pumpkin carving, etc), receptions, day camps for kids, graduation parties, and probably a 100 other things.
You could be the even planner yourself or just rent out your property. Insurance would be a must! I know this would be a big hit, especially if you are somewhat close to a population center.
12. Make and sell Soap
Handmade soap is always in season and something people everywhere look for. One nice thing about selling handmade soap is that it is easily shipped so you do not have to rely solely on your local market.
I ran a handmade goat milk soap business for 10 years, so this is one I know can be profitable. I also made lotion, various scrubs, and lip balms amongst other things. A bonus to utilizing this idea is that your and your family will get the benefits of using handmade soap products as well. They are so much nicer than store-bought!
13. Make and Sell Canned goods
Home canned goods are always a big hit! You can use produce you raise yourself or purchase. Be sure to follow your local cottage laws and have any pertinent classes or certifications required.
14. Make and Sell Baked Goods
If there is one thing that almost everyone loves, it is baked goods! Cookies, muffins, bread, cakes, pastries… there are so many options here. One thing you need to do before you attempt to sell baked goods though is to check out the cottage food laws for your state. Each state has its own set of rules and requirements for what you can sell as well as how it must be packaged and labeled.
You can keep it small and just do local sales, or go big to the point of even doing online sales. Set up a Facebook business page and sell there and on other local groups, try to find some local farmer’s markets or craft shows in the fall/winter season, and maybe even set up a simple website.
15. Goat Rental Business
Instead of selling your goat kids, you could build up your herd and start a goat rental business. This seems to be a pretty lucrative business in some areas of the country. The basic idea is that you have a goat herd and travel around with them to people’s property that need brush/grass/weeds cleared. The property owners rent your goats to do this job.
You will need to purchase movable fencing (I think electric net fencing would work really well in this case), to be able to contain them. You would also need a pickup and trailer to move them. Along with that, you would need to make sure they had a water source and additional feed if needed.
Insurance would be important with this type of business in case your goats injured someone or damaged their property. You could advertise on local Facebook groups, run ads in the paper or local magazines, and even on Craigslist. (Yes, people still use this, lol)
I would also set up a simple website that tells folks about you, your herd, and your business. My favorite web hosting provider is BigScoots as they are SO easy to work with and their customer service is top-notch. Make sure to include pictures of your goats, as almost everyone loves a cute goat face. If you want to make it really easy for your customers, you could also include a way for them to book you through your website.
16. Sell meat
Do you raise any livestock to butcher? Chickens, turkeys, cattle, goats, pigs, sheep, etc, all are types of livestock that you can raise to sell for meat. Each state has its own laws regarding how meat can be sold. Please check your local laws before diving into this idea.
There are 3 main ways to sell livestock for meat:
- Sell it as a live animal (on the hoof). Sell your animal ready to butcher. The buyer either then takes it to the butcher themselves or you deliver it to the butcher. The buyer takes care of the rest. (Payment, cut selection, etc)
- Sell parts of the animal. You can sell your animal halves or quarters. Each animal will have 2-4 buyers. You deliver the animal to the butcher or processor and can either take the cut orders from the buyers or have them call and give their own orders. The buyers then pay for and pick up their portion of the animal you sold.
- Sell it as cuts. If your state allows, you can take your finished animal in and have it processed. When the meat is finished, pay for and pick it up, then sell it to your customers in single packages or bundles.
You can make this as small or large of a business as you want. You can just sell one extra animal a year for a little side income, or you can use this as a year-round income stream for your farm or homestead.
17. Make and Sell Compost
If you have livestock, then chances are you have manure, hay waste, and used bedding you cleaned out of the barn/coop/cages. You can take this “waste” and turn it into gold! Well, maybe not literal gold, but it becomes a sought-after commodity that you can turn into dollars. (And then use it to buy real gold if you want, lol)
I am not an authority on composting, but I found this great article from North Dakota State University. It goes in-depth on how to compost manure from your farm or homestead. I think you’ll find all the info you need there to learn this skill.
When you have your beautiful compost finished, sell it locally to gardeners. Advertise on local Facebook groups, in farm supply or gardening stores, or start a simple website as a way to make money homesteading.
18. Offer Classes (Online or In-Person)
Do you have information to share? Are you an expert (or really knowledgeable) on a certain subject or task? Create a class! You can do online or in-person classes.
In-person classes could be on the homestead or in a local town. You could team up with your local extension office, FSA, NRCS, cottage food community, 4-H or FFA leaders, or just plan and promote them yourself.
Online classes would be a little more passive. Create your course (material, videos, emails, etc) then promote it! This idea can go hand in hand if you start a blog and would be a great income stream for you.
19. Offer Your Services As An Animal sitter
Depending on where you live, this could be a very lucrative option on my homestead business ideas list. You could care for anything from pets (dogs, cats, etc) to full-on farm sitting while someone is away. If you have a homestead or farm yourself, chances are you already know how to take care of baby chicks, milk a cow, or recognize when an animal is getting sick. This knowledge is invaluable to someone who needs/wants to leave the farm for a few days.
People looking for animal sitters don’t want to hire someone with no experience. They want to know that their animals will be in good capable hands while they are away. The same goes for pet owners. I wouldn’t want to leave my furbabies with someone who had never taken care of a dog before.
Make sure to include your experience when advertising. Start a simple website, advertise on local Facebook groups, or even in print publications if you have the budget. Make some business cards and leave them around farm supply stores or on bulletin boards in businesses around your nearest town.
20. Start Babysitting (Human Kids)
Where I live, someone is ALWAYS looking for a babysitter. It seems as if there just are not enough sitters to go around. I don’t know if that holds true for where you live, but it might be worth checking out.
You can either offer your services out of your home or go to the client’s house. Be sure to check out if there are any laws in your state regarding where you can watch children, and any certifications you might need.
I highly recommend (whether your state requires it or not) that you become both First Aid and CPR certified. I know it might seem scary to have to go take those classes, but having that knowledge if something should go wrong while you are watching someone’s child will be absolutely invaluable! It will help you to remain calm and do what needs to be done instead of feeling helpless. Besides, it’s just good general knowledge to have if you live on a farm or homestead anyway!
21. Become a Virtual Assistant and Sell Digital Products
Ok, so you’re probably thinking “don’t they just do bookwork and stuff?” No, they definitely don’t just do secretary-type things. Of course, if that is your jam, then by all means you should go that route.
Virtual Assistants (VAs) can do a multitude of jobs such as creating and selling articles, templates, and more that people purchase, make their own, then use on their blogs and such. This content is called PLR (which stands for Private Lable Rights), and there is soo much you can get into.
In the future, I hope to have my own courses on this income stream, but for now, if this is something that interests you, I’m going to send you over to my coach and mentor Sadie Smiley again. She has a course called “Open Your Own PLR Shop” and it will teach you everything you need to know to get started with this.
If you are interested in learning how to make digital products to sell on Etsy, there is a course called “Build Your Digital Etsy Empire“; I can’t recommend it enough! I’ve taken it and have gone back to reference it all the time. Sadie walks you through exactly how to set up your shop, how to choose a niche to make products for, and how to make several products.
You can sell everything from printable greeting cards to wall art to coloring books! All you need is an Etsy shop and some ideas. If you want to open an Etsy shop, you can use my link to get 40 listings for free!
22. Make and Sell Freezer or ready-made meals
Are you any good at cooking? Do you enjoy it? Check out the laws for your state and see if you can sell ready-made meals or freezer meals. I’m sure, that you are like me, and know a lot of moms or bachelors, or just anyone who either doesn’t like to cook or is too busy to cook nutritious meals themselves.
Casseroles or dump-and-go crockpot meals would be the best for this income stream. Whatever you chose to make, make sure that they are easy to finish cooking and the instructions are very clear.
23. Organize a Farmer’s market
If you’re looking for a way to sell your homestead products and connect with customers in your local area, starting a farmer’s market can be a great option. It can provide a platform for selling your produce and gives you an opportunity to build relationships with other farmers and producers in your community. Plus, farmer’s markets are a popular destination for customers who are interested in fresh, locally-grown food.
To get started with your own farmer’s market, you’ll need to do some research on the regulations and requirements in your area. You may need to obtain a permit or license to operate a farmer’s market. You’ll also need to find a suitable location – this could be a public park or a private lot – and decide on a schedule and hours of operation.
Once you have the logistics figured out, the next step is to start recruiting vendors. Reach out to other homesteaders and farmers in your area to see if they’d be interested in selling their products at your market, and advertise on social media or in local newspapers. As your market grows, you may want to consider offering live music, workshops, or other events to attract even more customers. With some time and effort, a farmer’s market can be a successful way to make money homesteading while also supporting your local community.
24. Do online surveys or interviews
Ok, so I know this can be kind of cringy, and you’re probably thinking… “really??” Just hear me out. I have spent YEARS trying to find places online that are actually worth pursuing. Those places that give you like $0.50 for taking a 15-minute survey are NOT worth your time. I repeat, not worth your time. You are worth far more than that.
Here are a couple of places that I use that actually have decent payouts. Can you make a full-time income? No, not even close, but they can help take some of the pressure off your bank account so you can buy groceries or Christmas presents. These are all referral links, so if you go try them out we both might get a reward!
- User Interviews – For this site, you create a profile, then they send you a list of “studies” that you are most likely to qualify for. These can range from testing a new app to a 1 on 1 Zoom meeting. They usually pay really well though, so worth checking into.
- Respondent – This site is very similar to User Interviews, but you can only apply to a max of 3 projects each day. I try to do my screeners every day. It only takes a few minutes of my time, and I have been selected for quite a few projects.
25. Livestock Clipping, SHearing, or Trimming
Last but not least on my list of homestead business ideas is livestock clipping, shearing, or trimming. Are you good at trimming and shearing livestock? Do you mind getting covered in sweat and consequently hair? If you live in a livestock-heavy area, especially one big into 4-H, I think you could find a lot of work doing this. At least enough to create a side income.
Goats need to be trimmed before shows, sheep need sheared regularly and trimmed before being shown, horses need to be clipped, and llamas and alpacas need to be sheared. Many varieties of livestock need their hooves trimmed. If this is something you enjoy or already have the equipment for it might be worth looking into.
Make sure you look into the local laws for your state before beginning. You could advertise on local Facebook groups, in local print publications, ask to put up signs in various locations around your closest town, and by word of mouth. I would also set up a simple website, my favorite web hosting provider is BigScoots, with your information, rates, pictures of your work, and a way for clients to make an appointment with you. (Along with all other pertinent contact info and such).
What other Ideas do You have?
When it comes to starting a business on your homestead, it’s important to choose something that you truly care about and that reflects your values. Whether you’re looking to earn extra income or turn your homestead into a full-time business, finding something that you enjoy and are passionate about is key. By focusing on your strengths and building a loyal customer base, you can create a successful and sustainable business.
With careful planning and research, you can find a way to make money homesteading while also living this lifestyle that you love. So take some time to explore the different ideas that are out there, and don’t be afraid to try something new. Who knows – your homestead business may just turn out to be your next big adventure!