Easy Homesteading Side Hustles (that anyone can do!)

There are a lot of side hustles that start out as a personal hobby or self-improvement and then are expanded to be profitable. Here is a quick list of ideas for you to hustle a little extra cash with very little work. 

For those who like fishing – baitfish & worms

It is easy to spend a few dollars (or maybe a lot of dollars) on worms and baitfish so you can just spontaneously go fishing. When we work hard all week it is hard to not want to be able to just grab and go for some fun. A little preplanning can make this super easy and cheap for yourself by raising your own bait worms. You can hustle some extra funds by selling your worms. Expand this some by earning the endorsement to catch and sell baitfish. You get a day of fishing fun, plus you make money instead of spending money. (Each state has different regulations that you need to check, but upon querying the State of Vermont we found that there were no regulations about selling bait worms, and the free baitfish endorsement can be added to a current license by taking an online quiz (study guide is available to download for free)). Check Pinterest for plenty of information on creating your own worm farm. This pin makes it look super easy and it’s on my list to try! Bonus, you have a great addition for your garden as well as the worms eat through some of your food scraps!

Have a green thumb?- garden starts or cuttings

If you start your own seedlings for your garden and you have the space, go ahead and start some extra to sell. You might be surprised how easy it is to sell these when it’s time to plant. Many people intend to start their own seeds but then never get to it, or their starts fail, or recently, they may not have been able to get the seeds they want. Seeds are pretty cheap, so if you are already starting your own, this is a little hustle that takes some initial time to start, but doesn’t add much work or cost to your weekly habits.

Should you not be able to sell all your starts, you can then decide whether to donate them, compost them, or raise them yourself to sell the fruits or flowers. You have plenty of options!

Want a long term side hustle? Plant a specialty crop like ginseng. This will not make you money for several years, but then is worth a lot. The care is relatively minor too, if you have the space. There are other quicker specialty crops you can grow too, that may make you good money, but require more effort. Landscaping bamboo for example, or mushrooms. Research what you might be passionate about, and what growing conditions it needs. Then put out some feelers for whether you have a ready market. 

Are you thinking about having farm fresh eggs?

Barnyard fowl can be a lucrative hustle. Check your ordinances, if you are in town lines there may be limits to how many or what kinds of birds you can keep. Then you want to consider what type of fowl best meets your needs. 

Regular meat chickens or laying chickens are cheap and easy to find as chicks in the spring. Turkeys and ducks are also pretty cheap. Both are easy to care for (if you can keep the turkeys from self-destruction for the first couple of days. They are clumsy and will actually drown in a very shallow water dish – speaking from experience). You may want to consider ducks, or quail, or….there are so many fowl to contemplate. 

You can raise these birds for their eggs or meat as your predominant hustle, but don’t miss out on the side hustles. Their manure can be sold (or used in your own garden), but keep in mind that most gardeners want it aged, as it is “hot” and will chemically burn their sensitive plants. You can also collect and sell the feathers. You may be able to reach a wide variety of markets for the feathers from fly-fishermen to jewelry makers. A variety of crafters have need of feathers for one application or another. 

Don’t miss out on selling fertilized eggs or pullets (young chickens ready to lay, for those who don’t want to raise their own chicks). Or, if you like to build, you can build and sell the incubators and coops/enclosures/runs. 

Enjoy reading?

If you are flexible about the book choices you read there are many, many ways to make a little money for reviews. If you are somewhat choosy about the books you read, you want to find a site that allows you great choice offering you free books in exchange for a review. If you are less picky about the genre, you may find opportunities for free books and payment for your review, but fewer choices. I do a mix of both as I am a voracious reader. I have read a few books that I never want to see again, but overall I have enjoyed the books I read and some were absolutely amazing! Refer back to this post to learn more. 

Blogging and Freelancing

If you enjoy writing, you may be able to freelance or blog for a little income. Those same book reviews that you are posting elsewhere can be posted on your personal blog, along with articles about your interests or activities. You won’t make a lot of money from ads initially, but that may become lucrative as you build up your readership. You also can become a brand ambassador for free merchandise or earn money through affiliate sales. Freelancing can put to use your skills as a writer, a proofreader, or an editor. Doing this as a side hustle won’t make you tons of money initially, but it can become a nice passive income. 

Crafting

Find one craft that you knit or sew or paint or carve, and do it well. I began by selling some crocheted items on Etsy, and then Goimagine and Amazon. Eventually I added sales to our website as well. Moreover I branched out to sewn items and other crafts. I enjoyed the crafting as a hobby, but wanted it to at least break even, preferably actually make money. I narrowed my niche to find what would sell decently, was affordable for me to make, and that I could make consistently. There are soooooo many sales platforms that you can use to sell online, find what works for you. It also may be worth it for you to find a brick and mortar store to resale your crafts. You don’t have to store or market, but you will probably pay a fee or commission. You also are not responsible for the sales tax. 

There are plenty of other side hustles that you can do, you just need to find what you have the ability for, inclination for, and space or supplies for. Our first year we did a few hustles and have found that for much of the year it was egg sales and crafts that made us the most. This winter it has been mostly the crafts making us money. This summer we hope for it to be the crafts, the chickens, and writing that brings us the most along with baked goods and preserves.

What hustle interests you the most? What has been most successful for you?