SS Living Survival Guide, the ins and outs, do's and don't do's....

[lorihadams]

Do what you like! If you don't like canned food then why get a canner? If you don't like eggs then don't get chickens, if you don't eat meat then don't get more animals than you can get rid of or handle if you can't eat them. Things like that.

Think things through but not enough to scare yourself out of doing something or trying something new.

Plant what you eat. If you want to try a new food buy it at the grocery store first instead of planting it in your garden and then deciding you don't like it only to end up with tons of food that you can't use.

 

[FarmerChick]

very true Lori

make animals a mean to an end....don't open an all you can eat pet shop.

I get that one definitely!!

 

[modern_pioneer]

I would like to talk about SS skills that could bring in some money, perhaps enough money to support you and your family.

I started my first business as just a hobby and for a little extra cash.

It was in 1998 when I was working in my living room, and under a different id started selling copper stuff on ebay. Back in the day when ebay was run by Meg herself and the layout was those awful green lines.

At that time, I was making $5 an hour, lived in ghettos/projects, and was getting food stamps. Mean while, I was going to night school to learn a trade to be a machinist. Not only did I work full time, go to trade school a few nights a week, I also worked at a Rite Aid 8-12 hours a week part time. That extra little bit of cash I was getting was useful.

I would put this away as I finished school and worked myself off food stamps and out of the projects. I stopped the copper stuff and only did stuff through the fall for extra xmas money. I became a single Dad because I couldn't cope with my x wife drug addiction with heroin so I left her in her tracks.

Than I met my current wife, Danielle. She wasn't allowed to work when she first came here, so she took a little money and bought some glass stuff at a auction house than resold it on ebay, I have told that story. For xmas money I started to make some copper stuff again to sell on ebay. To be honest, it just got better as I added things like gazing ball stands out of copper and such.

It started in Nov 2003 when I was working full time, coming home working till 2200 hrs at night 5 days a week and then another 16 hours on the weekends. At the end of Dec. I had made and sold over $9,000.00 worth of products in just a month. So we dropped the kids off the parents house after xmas went on a glass blowing vacation and decided we could do this if we had. In Feb 2004 I drew my last pay check from working for some one else.

Yes, I use to need a hand up and was also on food stamps. But that's not how I wanted to live, so I found a way to change my life, and I used my own hands to do it. I run a debt free company always have. I have no business loans and don't need any. In the best of days, I was booked 29 weeks in advance, today 6-8 weeks.

Yes I am living the American dream, and so can you. Its just not me either, other folks are finding ways to make things with their hands and sell to make money.

Fletch no longer works for me, he is running his own little business making wooden stuff to sell on ebay. His wife buys name brand clothes at a thrift store and re-sells them in lots for a mark up of 30% profit. I don't know how much he is making, but I was paying him 11+ dollars an hour when he worked for me.

A woman down the road makes wreaths all year long, woman across from me bakes cookies and sells homemade cookies to the world.

My only point here is to point out that if your reading this, than you can make money selling on the internet if you just find your way and create products. Even if its pot holders, ebay has a not so cheap venue to start from and domains are pretty cheap. But even if its bird houses in your spare time and sell them for 10 bucks materials only cost 3 dollars to build a small on to sell for 10 bucks, so in 30 minutes time you made 7 dollars profit that amounts to 14 an hour.

If I did it, any one can do it, you just have to try.......

 

[FarmerChick]

My farm is income and a very nice one actually. Hard work though and tied to the house alot

eggs
sausage/chops
goat milk soaps (shipping sales and wholesale store sales)
produce (regular and seasonal like pumpkins for ornamental sales etc)
animal sales

occasional sales of grapevine wreaths, made bath salts, and some others that while made money, I didn't continue do to smaller sales etc.

I have tried many things for sale...LOL...and choose the ones that made money and did not take up tons of time like crafting etc.

It was never a hobby though. We went straight in with Boer goats for meat kid sales and then grew into all farm products quickly over 10 years ago.



if thinking of doing home business be sure you know your comfort level.
Like we do not give farm tours, no time. We do not have customer classes about farming, etc. I like to handle my farm and make sales, I don't like anyone coming to the farm actually.

So know your direction and attack. We did and we have a fine business from it. (although getting older and more tired lately...lol)

 

[modern_pioneer]

Get to know your property very well. Learn what types of berries/nuts can be had as well as food for other animals like deer, turkey and rabbits. Deer love acorns and is a important fuel/fat storage during the fall and rut season. I have two oak trees that provide acorns for deer, squirrels and turkeys.

It was a few weeks before turkey season came in that I saw four gobblers under the big hickory trees that boarder my property. They were gathering the hickory nuts I didn't gather up. Hickory nuts are a lot of work, shells are hard, not a lot of meat, but none the less very tasty to eat. I roast them first than add them to brownies and cookies.

On my property I have a pond, but its also important to make a place where water can gather on your property, even if its only seasonal or holds water for a week, critters will find and remember the location.

Not only do I have a garden, but I also plant food in my landscaping around my house.

 

[me&thegals]

FC--I would just love to visit your farm! You bring up great points. Even if it would make money, if you hate it, don't do it.

 

[Wildsky]

I would like to talk about SS skills that could bring in some money, perhaps enough money to support you and your family.

I started my first business as just a hobby and for a little extra cash.

If I did it, any one can do it, you just have to try.......

great post!

 

[FarmerChick]

FC--I would just love to visit your farm! You bring up great points. Even if it would make money, if you hate it, don't do it.

LOL
I do "let" some people see the farm....NOT MANY! lol


I truly am not a people person. I am more of an animal person.

But being I don't have that nice gentleman's type working farm I find it best to not have people walk around and get hurt......and the time they take up....OMG! Some ladies will stop by for soap orders and want to see the goats....at least 2 hrs. of talking. I do not have that kind of time for one sale. I just can't do it. While I enjoy the chat, in the end I lose terribly.

Plus be sure your have liability if customers come to the farm. Anything on a farm can get a person hurt and best be covered. You just never know.

So more comfort level of how you run a farm is very important definitely.

 

[framing fowl]

My husband does welding jobs on the side for people. Not a full time income by any means but he hasn't really marketed it. I'm encouraging him to ask his few customers for referrals...

He also met a really interesting guy at home depot a couple of months ago. This guy has a stock trailer that he extended the height with chicken wire. He went to a lot of the large corporations within a 100 mile radius of Lexington and asked to set up recycling cans in the break rooms for the soda cans. He has a route that he runs and he takes his trailer full to the scrap yard twice a week (aluminum scrap pays about 35c/lb). He's retired but able to support himself and his wife on it.

 

[lorihadams]

My husband guides duck and goose hunts, takes a lot of time and effort but it is gradually starting to pay off ( www.webfootmafiawaterfowl.com ) I would love to have the time to make baby quilts and sell them but it is labor intensive and can be a bit of an investment up front for materials. I also want to learn to make soaps when i get my goats

Do what you love....if it isn't fun anymore....stop. It's not worth it to stress yourself out just to make a buck. Things are just things, you can't take them with you when you go. Live within your means and always try to save and have a nest egg to fall back on.

Oh, if you eat meat then learn to hunt if you don't already! Wild game is gooooooooooooood!