Profiting from the Farm

 Hey Friends!

Today on the blog, I'm sharing Tips on Profiting from the Farm. These are just a few things we've learned and noticed so far in our experience.

When we started our Farm in 2017, we never had the intention of making money right away. We wanted to learn all of the skills we could and produce quality products for ourselves before ever trying to sell to the community. These practices are why we have such great products to offer today.

Like anything else, quality products come with time, effort & consistency. When someone is purchasing product (at least for us), they are using their senses: sight, taste, smell and touch. Catering to all of the senses, in turn, helps you profit from your farm.

Mindset

First and foremost, your mindset has to be in the right place. Having the right mindset going into this business makes a huge impact on your profits. Many can tell when you're here just to make money or if you truly show passion in this lifestyle.

For us, Farming/Homesteading has always been our passion and never a job. We've always prided ourselves on the education side of Homesteading, and we believe it shows through our content. Profiting from our products is just a bonus.

Sharing Sustainable Practices & Utilizing Social Media

Let's face it, social media is how everyone gets their news today, so why not take advantage of its benefits? When sharing and marketing your farm or farm business, show ways you practice sustainable living. Your potential and current customers want to see what happens daily on your farm and know exactly what kind of quality product their money is being spent on.

We've always shared daily Homestead Happenings. When you homestead or farm, there's content available to you every day. There's always something new growing or an animal adventure and people like to see it.

On our page & blog, we love to show and educate our followers on how we live our everyday life; from homeschooling to organic gardening, preserving food, budget-friendly business decisions and frugal living.

Building a Strong Brand

Consistent Branding

Using consistent colors, logos, designs and fonts across all of your packaging, signage and promotional materials gives a sense of professionalism and shows you deeply care about your business.

Storytelling

As I shared above, people like to see personal touches in your business. Consider sharing your farm's story and mission through social media and other platforms. You can find almost all of this information about us in our Featured Posts on Facebook.

Understanding Your Market

Research Local Demand

Understanding which products in your area are in demand helps you decide what to produce. For example, where we're from, the towns differ greatly on the demographic of people and demand of certain products. Some towns are more health conscious while others enjoy anything homemade or just like to support a local friend. You can perform market research by visiting Farmer's Markets, talking with neighbors and conducting surveys on social media.

Identify Your Niche

Make your farm stand out by offering unique products. We're always thinking outside of the box when it comes to what we plan on having in our upcoming Farm Stand & at our local Market.

Optimizing Offerings

Diversify Products

Consider offering a variety of products for your customers. Depending on the location of your Farm or Market, many will not travel out of their way just for one or two items. Having a variety of products to choose from will draw in more people and have them stay longer to browse, which in turn, will increase your profits.

Quality Over Quantity

This is so important when it comes to profiting from your Farm business. In such a competitive society, your quality of product is way more valuable than the quantity you're putting out. Through all of the businesses we've had, our effort was put into the quality of our products and services. This is where your customer's senses come into play. Taste matters but so does presentation.

Enhance Your Customer Experience

Create an Inviting Atmosphere

Whether it's a Farm, Market or Farm Stand, if you plan on having people visit, atmosphere is really important. Make your location clean and welcoming to anyone coming purchase your goods. Our Farm Stand will include vintage fam decor with personal touches. We can't wait to reveal it!

Build a Community

When building a community and clientele, it's important to be hands-on and present in your business. Participating in farmer's markets, networking with other local farmers and being consistent on your social media helps your customers connect with you. We love the community we've built within our Farmer's Market family.

Instead of moving around from place to place, consider staying in one location. Find your sweet spot and build a clientele. This has been very rewarding for us! Soon, it will be either our customers purchase our products from the local Market or the Farm Stand only.

Pricing Strategy and Managing Finances

When pricing your farm-made products, make sure the quality is present. For example, with our Farmhouse Bakery items, we use 95% organic & locally grown ingredients. This is where quality for the price comes in. We know we're not skimping on ingredients and then charging premium prices. This also pertains to selling fresh vegetables, baby chicks and much more.

While you want to be competitive with your pricing, don't list your products on the level as your competitor if quality lacks. Customers want every bang for their buck when it comes to supporting local.

Additionally, when managing finances and budgeting the farm, if there's an item that has consistently not sold or hasn't been as popular, then either discontinue it or not offer it for a while. 

I hope this helps anyone wanting to start profiting from their Farm Business. These tips can be used in almost any business you have. We've learned a lot over the years and wanted to share a few things we've incorporated into our businesses.