10 Side Jobs Perfect for Farmers
When my accident happened life changed drastically. All of a sudden my life I knew in Three Hills was over, I was finished with nursing and was being packed up to move back to the farm so I could heal. Something that didn’t stop in life though was my student loans. I now was left with a payment on a degree I would not finish and never use. Through the years to follow I was able to work at several side hustles that helped me to pay down my debt. Having a brain injury and being on the farm meant I was unable or capable to hold down a steady job. I’m not alone here, there are many people who are trying to make a farm life for themselves but need to get a little extra help through the month to make that dream a possiblilty. Thankfully, I was blessed with many opportunities to help make ends meet. Here is a list of jobs I was able to work at full time while being on the farm.
Medical office assistant- this was my job prior to nursing school, I worked with an amazing staff that taught me a lot on the job and supported me. Nursing has always been in my blood and I was able to work at first one hour at a time until I reached a full day then a couple days at a time. This helped me with bills and got my confidence back in the work field.
Tupperware- I know what some of you may be thinking “Oh dear, not another pyramid scheme!” Tupperware is actually a really great company and I had an amazing team leader who was a lot like me in nature. She never pushed and she truly worked at it to help support her family and also to have fun. Tupperware was a group that made me feel important and empowered to start building skills that had been lost in public relations. I was able to get back out into society at my own pace with a brain injury, when I needed help there was always someone there and it was a nice get away for an evening of fun when throwing the parties. I never pushed people to buy I took it as a way to meet new people and to make a little extra cash and it was nice. On a side note I got a life supply of amazing Tupperware that I am greatful for, I encourage everyone to be more organized it is never to late to start and with all their great products our homestead pantry is one less thing I know I need to organize and clean often. There is always a to-do list on the farm and that isn’t at the top of the list. When I decided to leave it was easy to get out of and there was no pressure which was nice.
House sitting- Home and animal sitting is a real easy way to make a little extra cash. I was able to leave my farm for a few days at a time because I live with my parents who could take over my chores while I worked away but if you are the sole farmer you can day sit by going over and just seeing that everything is well in the day time, feed the animals and take care of someones plants, it’s a nice way to be able to help out your neighbors while also making a little extra cash on the side. And believe me the word will get out once you start doing it, through word of mouth I had multiple people hiring me to help them with housesitting.
Cleaning Services- While house sitting I would always make a point to clean for the people away and let them come to a relaxing clean home as we all would like to have after a trip. By doing this word also got out and I was asked to clean homes here and there. Cleaning is a great way to make a little extra in the month, you can decide with the home owners if they prefer to have you bring cleaning supplies or use theirs I personally always brought my own vacuum because I knew it can go on any floor type. This was nice for me as I could be on my own to do it.
Babysitting- Being on the farm sometimes makes it hard to be away especially if there are animals to watch over. Sometimes I would babysit for people and just have them bring the kids to the farm. It worked for them and the kids got a new environment to explore and keep them happy. It helps keep me in my comfort zone of not worrying where everything was as well.
Wood working/ Crafts: One of the best decisions I ever made was to buy a cricut machine. If you are wondering what that is I was wondering that myself when I first heard of it. A cricut is a marvelous machine that cuts anything from leather to wood and everything inbetween. With it I started making my own stencils that I could apply to wood signs I made, soon I was learning all the possibilities it had that I could never compete with by hand. It allowed me to make absolutely perfect pieces in a fraction of the time and energy it would have taken to make it myself. Working with wood was something I was not used to, although coming from many generations of carpenters I soon found I also would love it and thought it to be a great therapy in creating and building things. That with the cricut allowed me to make and sell different crafts to help with payments.
Teaching Paint- Once I was able to make the signs, I found that all these paint classes were happening and I thought why not paint on wood, it would save me from painting them and I could teach others from their own home, so that’s what I did. I put out an add on fb and would go to homes in the evening to have a paint night at home. The participants loved it because the room was filled with their friends and family and everyone had a great time. My mother would come along with me to help out if I got too tired or frazzled and we worked as a team to put on a nice little class. My advice, find what it is you are good at, everyone is blessed with something whether it be wood work, sewing, baking, farming, find what it is you have knowledge for and find a way to outsource that info to the public, you may not think it but there are several people that would love to learn your skills and would pay money to do so.
Help someone to do landscaping or help them out for an afternoon on their farm. Many other farmers are willing to pay money for a working hand on their farm to help them catch up on some things. A couple days a month can make all the difference to your bank account. You may also gain a lot of great experience and knowledge through working alongside other farmers.
Start writing. Writing can be a great way to express yourself and keep you happy. Find what you are passionate about and start writing. There are always things to do and learn on the farm and as I mentioned above people want that knowledge. Starting a blog is a great way to get those ideas down on paper so to speak. Many successful bloggers are writing on the things they know best making a decent dollar at it.
Farm Side Hustles: Use your farm for profits unseen; you have the main things you do on your farm that pay the bills via crops, cattle etc, but what are the other ways you could be making money off your farm? Look around and see if there are any chunks of land or space that are not being used, look into what resources you have, you could be raising a small amount of other animals such as a pig, a few sheep, chickens, eggs etc that will give you just that little bit extra in return during the months that are not harvest time.
