Search for the words “home business” and you’ll find dozens of interesting ideas. But are the popular business suggestions you read about a good fit for you and your family?
I suggest instead, starting by answering the questions:
- What am I passionate about?
- What skills do I have to offer the world?
- How will my natural tendencies inform my work?
The most successful home-based businesses are a natural extension of your talents and skills. For instance, I love to garden, homestead, write, and teach. Creating a business as a homesteading and gardening writer and blogger was a natural fit for me.
How to Turn your Passions and Skills into a Homestead Business you Love
Photo credit: Brian Thomas Blacksmithing
The following questions will help you gain better insight into business ideas that will be a perfect fit!
What are Your Passions?
First, I suggest by making a list of your passions. What could you do for hours at a time? What makes you fill with joy? Brainstorm and write down your answers.
Now, I think this next step is an important one: There are some passions that are just not meant to be your business. They are often the ones that are closest to your heart.
For instance, I adore gardening. It truly is my meditative, “happy” place where I go to relieve stress, create beauty, and nourish my family. I like to work slowly and deliberately in the garden, tending to the plants, hand-pulling weeds. In other words, my gardening habits are NOT compatible with a successful business. Gardening will remain a hobby for me.
What are Your Skills and Talents?
It’s time to shed your cloak of modesty, and answer the next question: What am I REALLY good at?
I know, it can be really hard to claim your gifts. If you stumble, then ask a best friend, family member or spouse, and make a list from their answers.
While you most certainly can build a homestead business around skills that take time to develop, it’s helpful to begin by putting your hard-earned skills and inherent talents to use. For instance, writing about gardening channels some of the same joy that I feel while spending time among my plants and soil, and also allows me to create a business from skills I’ve developed as a writer and educator.
Honor your Natural Tendencies
I also want to add another dimension to your inquiry: Honor your natural tendencies.
For instance, I’m a multi-passionate person who finds joy in learning new skills, trying new things, and spending time in community. For me, routine production work is not a great fit.
On the other hand, writing and coaching are great fits because I get to explore different topics and connect with amazing people.
My husband, on the other hand, is a skilled craftsman who thrives in a production setting. He creates artist blacksmith pieces for sale on the online platform Etsy.com and enjoys the routine of making, and the accomplishment that comes from refining a design over years of creation.
Ask yourself:
- Do I thrive on routine?
- Do I like working alone or in groups?
- Do I get frustrated when learning new tasks, or do I rise to the challenge?
These are each important considerations in creating a homestead business that feels like a joy, and not a struggle.
Once you’ve answered these three questions, approach home-based business ideas with confidence, knowing that you will spot the right suggestions when you see them, and you can turn your passions and skills into a homestead business that you love.
