Whether we work acres of land or tend a container garden, homesteaders are gardeners. Perhaps because it comes naturally to us, we overlook the business opportunities inherent in gardening. The ability to grow a successful garden is a skill, and that skill is something people are willing to pay for. The standard advice we receive is to sell what you produce and that is a good idea. However, depending solely on your harvest for your income is extremely labor-intensive and subject to seasonal fluctuations. To make the move from gardening to running a garden business, we need to think bigger and more strategically. Once you change your thinking, you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy (and inexpensive) it is to grow your income.
What Does a Garden Business Look Like?
All garden businesses are different, depending on the skills and interests of the business owner. A business selling fresh flowers, for example, is not going to have the same opportunities and challenges as a business selling mushroom kits. That being said, every successful business has a few things in common.
Passion: You will not love everything about running your business, but you should have a passion for your vision. Choosing something only because it will make money leads to burnout and failure.
Viability: Is there a viable market for what you are selling? What is the competitive landscape? What are the barriers to entry? Is this market likely to grow? What can you realistically achieve?
Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket: Bundle businesses (we’ll talk about this later) are the safest and most strategic way to grow and protect your income. Diversifying income streams provides a cushion that will soften the blow when unforeseen disaster hits.
Plan the Work, Work the Plan: The Small Business Economics reports those who create a plan are 152% more likely to start their business. Remember, your business plan is a guide that helps keep you on track. It is meant to be a flexible, living document that grows and changes as you do.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Work with the right people and allow those people to do what they do best.
Keep Your Heart on the Work but Your Mind on Your Money: Before you make your first dollar, decide on the financial system you will use. It is good practice to keep your personal and business finances separate and while you can handle your own finances, it is a good idea to sit down at least once with an accountant who will let you know how much you should be saving for tax time.
Get Legal: Decide on a business name and structure. Get a tax ID and comply with state requirements for permits and licenses.
Stay Creative: Remember the Blackberry? It is obsolete because the founder refused to make any changes or create something new. A lack of creative thinking will not only hurt your bottom line, but it will also make your work – and your life- less interesting and joyful.
Bundle Businesses
Bundle businesses are the way to protect your income flow while organically expanding your business. If, for example, you are operating a small orchard and selling your fruit at a local market, how will you make money in the off-season? If you propagate trees and fruit bushes, sell gourmet jams and fruit mustards, host cider pressings, teach pruning and propagating workshops, host a semi-annual dinner in the orchard, and work as an orchard consultant in addition to selling fresh, in-season fruit, you have dramatically increased your income potential.
Here are a few more examples of how you can bundle businesses:
Herbal Business: Sell cut herbs, fresh and dried. If you have a large, consistent supply, sell herbs to local restaurants or private chefs. Make herbal salt blends to sell during the winter months. Sell tea blends or herbal honey. Save and sell seeds, or plant cuttings in small pots to sell early in the season. Specialize in craft, culinary, or medicinal herbs and teach classes either in person or online. Write articles for herbal magazines. Expand on those articles and self-publish an ebook. Make sachets, wreaths, and other herbal crafts. Host tea-tastings.
You can further increase the value of your herb products by creating themed baskets. Put a mug and a bundle of honey sticks alongside your tea blend in a basket or include a small cutting board and some seasoning shakers with your herbal salt blends.
Flower Business: Cut flowers sell great during the season. If you also plant flowers that hold their form and color when dried, you can sell your bouquets well into the colder months. Save and sell seeds. Force bulbs and sell them during the holidays. Make potpourri. Sell by the stem to florists. Press flowers and make wall art or coasters. Build flower presses. Sell photos of your flowers at craft shows or online. Allow local photographers to bring their clients to your garden for graduation and wedding photo shoots.
Garden Consulting: It is your expertise that people are interested in and working as a consultant is the best way to get paid for what you know. Rather than simply consulting, offer to provide raised beds and trellises, plants, and garden décor. Draw out careful garden plans—or use design software—for a variety of areas and sell these plans individually on a site like Etsy. Collect photos of gardens you designed and use them in a garden design ebook. Write articles for gardening magazines and sites like Homestead.org. Start a blog on garden design and monetize it as it grows.
Mobile Gardener: Many people want a garden but are, for various reasons, unable to plant, tend, and harvest one. A handful of clients would provide a good income while not taking up too much of your time. This is a natural extension of the garden consultant and combining the two is a practical and financially viable family business.
Use these ideas as a jumping-off point. It’s easy to see how one business idea can expand and branch off into multiple areas. You are limited only by your passion and your imagination. Do what you love and share that love liberally with your community.