In my series of articles on side hustles and learning how to grow them, I break down an individual hustle for people who want to augment their income but need some additional information. The overview will include the fundamentals of the hustle, how to get into it, and a breakdown of my GROWTH metrics. Not every hustle covered will be ideal for you, but it may help you find out more information before you take the dive. I’ve covered a list of lucrative side hustles and how to turn your side hustle into a full-time endeavor. If you want an additional push, take my 30 day side hustle challenge now!
What Is Homesteading?
Homesteading is basically a lifestyle – on that is all about independence and self-sufficiency. Usually it entails things like owning a large property, growing your own crops, having livestock, and producing some of your own clothes or furnishings. It’s usually done in a rural area. While the definition is a bit broad, there are definitely common trends and patterns in the homesteading lifestyle.
With the independence and self-sufficient aspect in mind, it’s usually easy to understand what homesteading is when you see it in practice. For example, someone may grow some basic crops and have livestock, and they use renewable sources of energy to power their home. It’s less about the details, and more about the broad lifestyle choices that lead to independence.
Who Can Get Started?
Everyone with just a little bit of land can get started. Of course, to really get into this – the more land the better. If you’re living on half an acre or less, you can start getting your feet wet and try some different homesteading tricks. However, if you have a few acres or more, there are lots of exciting things you can do!
Why Should You Get Started With Homesteading – What’s The Purpose?
Self-sufficiency is one of the main purposes behind homesteading. Obviously, you can’t be completely self-sufficient. However, homesteading allows you to obtain the most self-sufficient and independent lifestyle these days. So, if you want to be self-sufficient and on your own terms, then homesteading could be for you. Additionally, you can earn an additional income by doing it.
When Is A Good Time To Start?
Now! In all seriousness, as soon as you’re ready enough to start is the ideal time to start. I know that sounds a little silly, but that’s all there is to it. If you know you’re interested in homesteading and want to do something with it, then go ahead and get your start now. Delaying will do you no good.
Where Can You Start This Side Hustle?
This isn’t the easiest side hustle to start in terms of location. Ideally you need a good amount of land and space, which means you’ll probably have to end up in a more rural community, with a lower cost of living, and no HOA. If this isn’t your situation, don’t panic. You can always start with your current situation, and make the shift to your living circumstances later on if you feel like that’s what you want to do.
GROWTH
Next up, we’re going over the GROWTH metrics behind homesteading. These include gains, ROI, obtainability, workability, time required, and general health. These aren’t the only things you can consider, as there are many specifics to your personal situation I can’t account for. However, this will go over the common truths with homesteading and give you what you need to know in order to make the best decision about starting this side hustle successfully.
Gains
First up is gains, or the potential income you can get out of this. Depending on what exactly you do, you can make some substantial profit here. There is a catch though – you’ll probably have to do a lot of work in order to make that money. In other words, the amount of money you make per hour may not be the best, but there are certainly ways to make money here. Beyond that, you can also save a lot of money, and if you really know what you’re doing then you can have great financial success.
ROI
I’d say the ROI is decent, but not stellar. It’s very easy to save a lot of money while homesteading. So, that’s a given and a wonderful perk. However, the money isn’t amazing at first, and it requires tons of work. Even worse, you may have to move, buy a new property with lots of land, and so on in order to get started homesteading with full force. So, the ROI is decent, not stellar, but there is potential there. Homesteading is probably more about the lifestyle and freedom rather than the ROI.
Obtainability
This category is more about how realistic these side hustles are. In other words, how easy is it for you to achieve? For homesteading, I’d actually give top marks here. We’re not talking about making a lot of money through something like farming – which can be incredibly difficult. With homesteading, basically anyone can do it, anyone can save money doing it, and it’s fairly easy to make some money through it. All you have to do, if you can’t start now, is save up money and move to an area that is better for homesteading.
Workability
Workability, in other words flexibility, will not get my stamp of approval. In all aspects the flexibility is pretty rough. It isn’t like a job that can be done remotely, it’s not easy to take a lot of time off, and it’s something that requires constant attention and effort. Now, it still has perks and nice aspects to it, but it’s not something for those who want a cushy, flexible side hustle.
Time Required
There is no way around it – homesteading will require a ton of your time. It’s crucial to schedule out time to work on it daily, during daylight hours. Even if you know what you’re doing, homesteading can be a huge time sink, so make sure you prepare for that aspect of it.
Health
I see no issues with the health of this side hustle. It may decrease or increase in popularity during certain periods of economic hardship. Fortunately, there will always be benefits to it and extra money to be had, so it’s not something that is in any danger of going away.
Also homesteading may help you break into certain industries. If you have dreams of a major career or business in things like agriculture, it’s an obvious fit. However, homesteading could even help you get into textiles, beekeeping, mead, and other things like that. Get creative with it!
Scalability
Scalability is hard, because homesteading requires so much time. However, if you know what you’re doing, set up amazing systems, and work hard for a long time, you can scale it and eventually turn it into a full-time business!
Positives
- Self-sufficiency
- The pride that comes with building something of your own
- You can explore a huge personal interest or hobby
- You can get away from the urban areas and have more privacy
- It can be good for kids to grow up around
- It’s realistic to have some success with this side hustle
Negatives
- It’s a lot of work
- The ROI isn’t great if you factor in the number of hours worked
- Upkeep can be expensive
- It’s not very flexible
- Sometimes you can feel isolated
- Scalability can be complicated
Conclusion
Hopefully this article gave you the basics behind homesteading and whether you’re interested in getting into homesteading as a side hustle! If you have any tips or thoughts of your own, let us know in the comments.
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