It is indeed a strange paradox that the internet enables me to pursue the
“simple life”. Fresh out of college my wife and I had dreams of living
in the country and living off the land. We bought some land, built a
house and started a garden. There are few jobs here in upstate New York
and many of the ones that are available are not that great. We did not
want to
spend
the rest of our lives working a 40hr work week at a job waiting to retire
(if we could retire) so we could live the simple life. I can remember
jumping from low wage job to low wage job wishing I could work from
home. It seemed like an impossible dream; too good to be true. Now, it
has been three years since I’ve had an off farm job.
What follows is the general process we go through when starting and
promoting an online business. Because all of our businesses have been
selling what we’ve made, that is what I’ll speak to. In the past we’ve
spun yarn, made
knitting needles,
knitted hats and dipped beeswax candles. We’ve now found our best
success with pet memorial stones.
We
have
not become wealthy by doing this, in fact we likely live below the poverty
line. The truth is we need less money because we don’t have to drive
every day to go to work anymore. We have plenty of time to grow some of
our own food and prepare meals from scratch. After all, that is why we
moved to the country in the first place.
One of the secrets of our success has been to
take small manageable steps. Before we made any sales, it seemed
impossible. I got discouraged a lot and had my share of self doubt; but,
because we persisted and repeatedly took small steps forward, we did
succeed. Not every enterprise we’ve embarked upon has made money (some
have lost us some). Through trying at it, we learned what we were doing.
In that sense success can be somewhat inevitable for those who are
persistent, adaptable and are willing to see it through.
Choosing the right type product to produce and identifying where you can
compete is essential to success. On the internet, everybody is invited to
the table. This includes small home businesses and big business including
global business. If I can imagine a product I want to produce being
produced in China or somewhere else with low wages, I know I will probably
have a hard time competing and turning a profit. If a product is
customized to order, of a high quality, uniquely artistic, needs to be
delivered fresh/fast or is only a small niche market that is not worth
big businesses’ time it may be a good opportunity. I believe the web is
ripe with opportunities for the would be small business owner.
Identifying the strengths you can offer to the market is key. It may be a
low price because of low overhead or it may be personal customer service.
There are areas where a smaller business can flourish where a large
business would have a hard time delivering. Think hard about this as it
will set you apart and bring you your share of the market you are
competing for.
I’ve talked to many
prospective homesteaders who are potential internet entrepreneur. An
issue that comes up often while talking over ideas is pricing and demand.
Out of desperation, it is tempting to begin the business with the idea,
“if we could just barely scrape by”. I understand that this is an
acceptable outcome for those of us inclined to the simple life; however,
I’ll warn you against a life of undervaluing your time and skill (isn’t
that what farming is for?). Do the simple math up front. If you think
of a product that you will make $10 on and you need $20,000 a year to get
by, you’ll need to make and sell a little over five a day every day of the
year. I’d encourage you to think of things in these terms. Firstly, it
brings you to the reality of the life you dream of fairly quickly.
Secondly it gives you a sense of how many you need to sell.
