Farm Dreams

[prayergardens]

Well, I'm doing things backwards. The goal is still to move a little further away from the city and do more gardens! chickens! flowers! With every project I start, my backyard gets a little smaller.

The property market is still too high from the pandemic boom but things are adjusting downwards rapidly. We're working with an agent and I studiously review Zillow frequently. We're well positioned to pick up something in the slow winter market if someone really needs to move a property asap.

The goal is to be more of a homestead, have a small market presence and not go crazy into debt doing it. I looked up the regulations for my state and have determined that if we hit a few thousand dollars in ag related sales and have a few acres - boom, we're a farm and qualify for lower property taxes. This will be key in keeping things affordable.

So instead of waiting for the farm, I decided to get going and establish a farm related business to have that part ready.  I definitely don't grow enough yet but I do grow some herbs and dry them so what does one do?

(wait for it...)




...
 

Mix and sell herbs for specialty animal treats online.  You didn't see that coming, did you? 

Yep, it's a little silly but a legit business. I'm working with suppliers of herbs since I don't have enough of my own and after about 30 days live, I've got customers, sales and good reviews. Wow. Not enough to quit the day job but in a few months, enough to be ready to be a farm in the legal sense. 

Also, having a way to move dried flowers and herbs in the winter months is key to future viability so playing with different product ideas is fun.  And should boutique animal products stop being viable all of my inventory is herbs and flowers that can be used for people health. I'm ok sitting on that.

It's definitely tech dependent. In my dreams, I'd sell things in person at little picturesque markets and my own cute roadside stand but I'm not there yet! I'm building everything in such a way that I can move it offline and gracefully move down the ladder as supply chains get bungled up.

So that's the fun game I've been playing lately, figuring out markets, products, algorithms, profit models. That's not sarcastic, I actually like it. My husband does crosswords every day and the mechanics of a small retail business are like my Sunday Times Crossword.

Hope you are all doing well and having some fun distractions as well.

 

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Comments

[boccaderlupo]

Good fortune to you in your new venture! Sounds like you are having fun and learning quite a bit in the process.

Axé,
Fra' Lupo

[prayergardens]

Thank you!