Most homesteaders and small hobby farmers sell at a farmers market to make money as a side hustle from home. As a beginner homesteader, learn how to sell at a farmers market with no experience in sales!
HOW TO SELL AT A FARMERS MARKET
At a farmers market there are a variety of items that you can sell. Most farmers markets have a make it, bake it, grow it rule, where everything that you sell at your booth has to be produced by you.
This is a great opportunity as a homesteader to sell your excess produce, crafts and baking to help pay for the extra expenses of homesteading.
In this post I’m going to share with you my experience selling at a farmers market to help get you started sooner, and making money quicker than if you were to slowly get your feet wet.
1.MAKE A FARMERS MARKET BUSINESS PLAN
Like any business, it’s important to plan. That’s why I went ahead and created a small homesteading business checklist to help you write down your plans and ideas as you read this post and research how to make money homesteading.
2. RESEARCH WHAT YOUR LOCAL MARKETS REQUIRE AND COST
It’s important to determine what is being sold at your local markets. Go ahead and attend your local farmers market. I highly suggest showing up early to see how vendors are setting up and chat with the local farmers.
Find out who is in charge and what the costs are to have a table. Is there a seasonal spot fee and or a drop in cost for having a table?
Then look closer at what is being sold at the start of the market. Take notes on prices and varieties. Notice when items start to sell out
. At our local market you need to be there right at the start if you plan on buying eggs. This is helpful to know, as I can start providing more of a need to the clients.
3. FIND A GOOD IDEA
This is the fun part. After seeing what is happening at your local farmers market and experiencing it for yourself, it’s time to start looking at some niche opportunities. Start by determining what you already have excess or and what you can create or grow quickly to sell.
Selling at Farmers Markets
Food Products
Fruits and Vegetables
Selling Produce
Sell Prepared Foods
Sell Baked Goods
Sell Flowers
There might just be things that aren’t currently being sold in your area yet too. The ideas for what you can sell at a farmers market are endless!
Read our post, 47 Ways to Make Money Homesteading for inspiration
Then write down some ideas in your planner ( In the blue boxes below) that ran out of products for customers early on in the show.
3. START SMALL
So when I noted that my local farmers market often runs out of eggs, then I determined the actions I’d need to be able to provide eggs to sell. I have enough backyard chickens to provide eggs for our family and a few extra a week for close friends and family.
“How many more would I need to have an extra 5 or 10 dozen to sell every week? Do I have the space to allocate for those birds? Would I need to build a larger coop? How much will the birds cost me to buy and feed?”
There’s lots of questions to answer about your niche like I asked myself above. By filling in the actions next to the niche categories it’s easy to start to see what can be forgotten about and what would be an easy opportunity.
4. DETERMINE COSTS & EXPENSES
When this starts to come into play, it’s a good idea to make some phone calls to determine what your expenses will cost you.
5. ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS
When you set up your stall at the market and actually get started you want to look professional. Having a tidy and clearly laid out display makes your products presentable and also easy to buy.
When I sold at our local farmers market, I was always asked if I accepted credit cards. The easiest way to do that is with the Square Ap and set up a PayPal account. Use a reader on your phone or iPad and you’re good to go!
6. CREATE A BUSINESS LOGO
Part of looking professional is all how you display your table and your business. Having a memorable business name and logo is a good place to start.
By creating a business logo using Canva its easy to create images for your business email signature, Facebook and printable signage for your table.
7. BUSINESS TAXES
Save a ton of time and money by using an online app that helps you track business expenses so you can do more of what you love and less time dealing with reciepts and paperwork. I switched our homestead business paperwork to Freshbooks and couldn’t be happier!
LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO MAKE MONEY HOMESTEADING
I’m so excited you’ve taken the steps to actually start putting your action to your goals. If you’ve been dreaming about having a booth at your local farmers market I totally think you should!
Reading this post, printing off the checklist, these are all the tiny steps that are going to help you get to that place of ease in your farm finances.
I know the stress that comes from hobby farm and homesteading finances. I’ve also been told “you’re crazy” for wanting to farm to the point I’ve started to feel that way.
BUT you don’t have to be crazy, you don’t have to keep throwing money at a wall only to see nothing for a return.
It’s time to get creative, to follow my lead and turn your passion into a profitable side hustle for your family that you can truly be proud of.
Today’s post is just a taste of the tips and help I’m offering to other homesteaders who want to make money homesteading. Need a plan to actually dive in and not just contemplating your dreams while passing time scrolling through Pinterest on your phone?
Learn more about my Ebook, Make Money Homesteading and join so many other homesteaders as they take their passions and turn them into profits. Because you and your family, and lets be honest your community, need you!
Leave a Reply