| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Tina Michelle |
Posted - Aug 15 2006 : 7:29:09 PM
O.k. I have a question ..my husband and I have been looking at a piece of property in Southern Georgia ..for several months now..
the property includes a main house of 3 bedrooms and 2 baths..a couple pecan trees, an old barn that appears to be falling down somewhat..and a covered pole barn type looking structure(no sides just a roofed structure like a carport)..then the owner of the property just added 2 extra acres and a small cottage that needs upgraded.
The total acreage would be about 9 acres.(with a main home and a cottage)
My question is..since work in the area is hard to come by..as far as the type of work my husband does(graphics illustrator)
and we own/operate a sign business as well..but not a full time business as of yet(magnetics, banners, signs for businesses)
We are wanting to know..
how would you personally go about making the land profitable for you and your family to be able to make a living off the land?while trying to establish a business in the area(sign business)
What would you personally do with the cottage and why?
What types of things would you plant on the land and why?
We are wanting to get some ideas as we are really wanting to get out of the city, but the work issue/lack of the type of work he does is preventing us from realizing our dream of the rural life..we want some land in a quiet area, but sometimes the lack of jobs in the areas we find very pleasing to what we are looking for..unfortunately doesn't always come with everything we'd like..namely a profitable job.
So, how would you go about making the land really work for you and in the event that work was not available or if the income declined a good bit ..how/what would you do to make a living off the land?to where you had a steady income coming in to be able to...pay the mortgage, make a little extra, and live comfortably?
Your input on this matter is very much appreciated.
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~ |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Bluewrenn |
Posted - Aug 15 2006 : 9:30:31 PM
You haven't said anything about your current financial status - that makes a huge difference. If you have the money to purchase the property without a loan, and you have enough to make improvements on it, then my advice would be a lot different (and something you'd have to research before committing any funds.)
But if you are looking at having to take out loans to get this property, then here's what I'd recommend - since your land won't return a profit in the beginning and esp. since it sounds like it needs a lot of work, you are probably better off concentrating on boosting what income you (as a family) already earn until you save up enough to try something else. (And this gives you time to research what options you might have with this land.)
Since you have mentioned your DH's graphic arts skills, I'll offer my suggestion on boosting income using those...(You may have skills of your own that could be exploited as well...)
The key is to build a steady client roster, and, as with most businesses like this, the potential for local business is usually limited (esp. if you are moving to a rural area.)
So you have to get jobs from outside your area. How? By expanding on what you already offer or by getting extra work online that he can do from home or from your business office. (TELECOMMUTING PROJECTS) The internet opens up a whole new way to get clients - utilize it as much as you can!
The trick is to be creative and to find ways to apply the graphic design skills to new uses. Add value to the sign business, or create a totally separate graphic design business that can be done in addition to what you are already doing.
Just as an example, take a look at my website: www.virtualofficeassistant.com. Pay attention to the pages where I list services that I can do for my clients and see how I had to come up with ideas OUTSIDE of just plain secretarial work. I had to come up with ways that they could use me that they might not normally consider.
I'd recommend that your husband, if he doesn't already have it, establish an online presence as a freelance graphic designer IN ADDITION to an online presence as a sign maker. Do this at the same time as you are building the actual sign business.
Do an online portfolio with examples of his work; establish a really great website with contact information; do some targeted advertising locally to tout your freelance services, etc...
Haunt some graphic design web groups, make contacts both locally and online. Get your name out there both online and locally.
Get involved in some trade organizations, esp. ones that are for graphic designers, artists and photographers. There are reference books that list companies that buy artwork. Check out some of those.
Put his graphic design skills to work, creating a brochure, business cards and just get those brochures and cards out there. As you can afford it, buy some simple advertising and gradually build up...
I advertised my virtual assistant business in a local magazine and picked up some long-term clients that way. Some of them have been using my services weekly since 1998. Without my advertising, I had a hard time finding my first clients. And when I got a full-house, I ended up dropping the advertising for awhile. Risky, but my current clients were referring me to others and I had a website also that was generating clients. And I knew that I could always go back to advertising if I needed more.
When I move to my new property in a few months, which is a few counties over, I'll have to start over and advertise in my town AND in the surrounding areas. Some of my clients won't be able to use me long distance. Some will. I'll need new clients to replace those that can't. And since my new area is rural instead of city, I'll have to be creative in how I market myself. And, even more so, since my rate per hour might have to drop, depending on what I can get for my services, I may have to add extra clients to get the same profits.
Now, your hubby may already be doing all this... It's hard to build up an online client roster, esp. one which involves recurring work. But it can be done with some perseverance. And if your sign business is busy during the day, he may have to freelance in the evenings.
But it would allow you to live where you want and still make ends meet. Then when time and money permits, fix up the guest house and rent it out...
My Homesteading Journal
http://toomyvara.livejournal.com
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http://bluewrenn.livejournal.com |
| Buttercup |
Posted - Aug 15 2006 : 8:58:50 PM
Oh Tina!!!
I did not know you posted twice! Ok well if you are that close to a tourist spot, I would have a B&B and have overnight and farm vacation packages, I would set the cottage up as a store and sell all kinds of things considering both what would bring locals and what would thrill tourists. If the cottage had an upstairs I would put in sound proof flooring and fix it into a small apartment or studio and rent it year around. I would fix the barn and then make half for business and half for my animals. I would try to find people with great skills or do it myself and run "rustic" type business out of the barn ie furniture making out of wood or sticks or bamboo (which soon you could grow on location) blacksmithing, wood carving, leather work, knife making, etc. If you see enough possibility for it and love animals, I would open a joint petting farm/ breeding business with hay rides and story times and of course farm type treats and then have a website to sell the new animals to other farmers/people. I would see if I could find a job that my husband can either do all his work from home or only have to go in once a week or month or whatever you may be able to set up. I would find out other crops or agricultural products that do not have a flooded market in your area and try them...so many things you can do! To begin with, could you move there and hubbie stay in the city with job until you can get things up and running on the farm? So many possibilties...but still let me know your hobbies/passions and I can help more!
Hugz!
Talitha
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
| Tina Michelle |
Posted - Aug 15 2006 : 7:54:01 PM
it is about 15 miles from a tourist attraction town/antique shopping type town and about 45 minutes from Tallahassee, FL...but my husband does not want to have to commute daily to a busy town.
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~ |
| asnedecor |
Posted - Aug 15 2006 : 7:42:35 PM
Tina -
DH and I have these same discussions every time we go to the San Juan Islands in Washington State. There is one island called Lopez that is an agricultural island mainly - to get on and off the island is either by the Washington State Ferry system or by private boat, we would love to live up there, but how to we survive. Depending on the area this property is in - are there tourists, what do other farms grow, etc. here are the ideas we have always come up with. Since you have an extra cottage - I would fix it up and rent it out either fulltime to someone to live in or as a guest cottage to travelers. This would bring in income for that structure. Barn that is falling down, tear it down. Other pole barn structure thing - if sturdy, make that into a full barn. As far as to what to grow - vineyard, herb farm, Pecan orchard (pecans are easily sold via a broker, internet, etc). You could run your sign company out of the barn structure too - using the internet and local newspapers to advertise your work. I understand the need to make a living - we have some of the same issues - I work for a corporation, but DH runs his own local newspaper. How do we move from the city to a rural area and still survive. Tough questions. It sounds like a manageable piece of property, but the question is what grows there in a small amount of space and you still can make money? Look at the surrounding small farms for ideas.
This probably wasn't much help, but if you can do it, go for it.
Anne in Portland, OR
"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them" Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh
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