Over the years our family’s economic situation has fluctuated and with the current times, things are no different. From choosing not to return to work after having the kids, to needing extra funds for a project, or for unexpected bills and expenses; there has always been the same question, “What are other ways we could make money to support our family from home?”

We wanted to find something that we were passionate about that wouldn’t feel like a burden or waste of time away from the family. My husband and I both have many hobbies around the house; a couple of which include making homemade salves and tie dye clothing. We have loved the results of both of those hobbies so thought, if we could do this on a larger scale, we could create a source of income by selling our goods. It’s a creative outlet for both of us and we were able to include the kids, so we were encouraged to forge ahead with this idea.

Where to Start

Initially we wanted to make sure that making these things (salve and tie dye clothing) would be worth our time and financial investment before legally moving forward with licensing and business registration. We thought it would be best to test the market, so we started making these products as gifts for friends and family. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive, plus this gave others the opportunity to provide ideas as well — the more brains the better.

During the time we were “testing” our products, we also received requests from friends and family for custom orders that they too could share with others. We obliged as this was a perfect form of free marketing and only requested a donation in return to cover the supplies associated with making these items. Market research was a great avenue for us as we gained lots of constructive criticism not only on the products themselves, but also the packaging and labeling. It also helped us determine a better sale price as we could stand behind the products, knowing they were well worth the potential price.

Determining your pricing structure is very important as you want to be sure are you making, not losing, money. We started by creating a simple Excel spreadsheet and listing the cost of each ingredient and supply used, this includes packaging and labels too. From there, we broke it down further determining the quantity and associated cost of each material used for one batch of salve or one tie dye shirt. You want to be sure to add in the cost of your time and the time of anyone else in the home helping with your project. Once you have the total cost of what it takes to make your product, you need to be able to price accordingly to actually make money after the overall investment, we used the following pricing guide to help us determine what the final sale cost would be.

Materials + Labor + Profit = Wholesale price

Wholesale price x2 = Retail price

Finding Your Niche

When coming up with ideas for selling for an income, it is that much easier to produce and sell something that you are familiar with and love. This is not only true for products, but services too. What job can you do that others may not be able to, that would make it worthwhile for someone to pay you? We have found a couple of things that have brought us joy to make, allowed us to spend time together as a family while doing so, and has the potential to be a solid stream of income. It is also worthwhile to come up with multiple products or services to diversify your income and have a more stable long-term outlook. This is especially important if you are looking to obtain a living wage from those products or services.

Some ideas we have thought of doing long-term are of course, things we already love to do, but again, to provide an income, would be done on a larger scale.

Plants: We are both avid gardeners and love to watch things grow from seed. Eventually selling starts of our favorite plants, trees, or herbs would be an option. We have a giant Lavender plant that we take starts from in the spring every year then gift them throughout the season. This is something we already have on hand, low investment, and high return. Another option would be growing wild-flowers and offering a U-Pick or a bouquet deal at the local farmers’ market. You could grow your favorite culinary herbs, selling them fresh or dry to make oil infusions or culinary blends. You could even put together a dry tea blend of your favorite medicinal herbs. If you have the space and the know-how, these would be viable options, albeit somewhat seasonal given your climate.

Farm Products: Whether you have excess produce or eggs and set up a roadside stand or choose to grow more with the intention of selling, products produced from the farm have great appeal these days and income potential. Partnering with a local restaurant to provide fresh local vegetables would secure income throughout the season, potentially longer if you have a set up for extended growing. The second part to the fresh farm products would be handmade products from the fruits of your farm. Using goats’ milk to make soap or lotion, maybe add in a little fresh honey from the beehive! You could even find a source that would purchase animal fiber once the animals have been sheared.

Crafts: Besides plants, this is my favorite. I love making our own bath and body products, you can make them with minimal ingredients, and they are healthy and safe for the entire family. My base for many of these are homemade solar infused oils, yet another potential product to sell. Unique clothing whether tie dyed, hand sewn, or custom decal; use the knowledge that you have and get creative. Sewing — this could be something as small as blankets for little girls’ baby dolls or matching apron sets for Grandma and Grandkids — something fun and unique. Woodworking and metalworking — such a talented and useful skill — the outcome is always worth sharing, and for many, worth buying.

Services: Depending on your situation, a service is just as valuable as a product. Whether you are more technologically advanced and are able to create and maintain a website for someone or have heavy equipment laying around that you are able to rent out, having a service to provide is a great potential source of income. If your background allows, you could contract to help others learn effective land management and permaculture techniques that would best suit their property. You could lease unused land for grazing, growing, or rent out that space for commercial events, heck you could even plan those events if you love to do that type of thing.

YouTube: This is a not only a great marketing tool, but also a potential source of income. Creating videos on “How To’s,” documenting the products you are making, or even tips and tricks of the trade can generate a lot of traffic as well as money.

Branding and Marketing

Once you have identified products or services that would sell, you want to make sure that you have a label or brand with the company information on it so future sales and inquires will come back to you. We went simple on our salve label, only putting the name of the salve, the ingredients, and potential website name. For the tie dye clothing, we opted for a small sew-on tag that will have the company logo on one side and the website name on the other side. We were sure to keep things minimal and clear as to what the product was. Some of our initial designs were too busy, and the actual name of the company got lost in it all.

When it comes to marketing, there are many options these days that are free or minimal expense to invest in. Facebook is a great example as you can create a company or product page for free, sharing the page is as easy as a few mouse clicks. Any social media site in general is a great, free marketing tool. Etsy is another great avenue when selling homemade products. Customers specifically go there looking for unique handmade items and are more than willing to pay the price for that craft. If you have a local farmers’ market, buying a booth can be inexpensive and having a simple business card available for people to take, even without a purchase can be a tool to get your name out there even further. If you can work backwards and identify who the end consumer would be or who would benefit from your products or services, you can contact them directly. When we were testing out our salve, I took some to my massage therapist as a gift. She liked the product well enough to tell her other clients about it, which provided us with future sales.

Whether you are concerned about the economic status of the country or just wanting to find ways to spend less time at work and more time at home doing what you love, there are many options to finding your niche and having an alternate source of income. Make sure whatever you choose to do is meaningful to you and your family. Also, don’t be afraid to get creative when it comes to marketing, you want your products or services to stand out from others so you get noticed.