Do You Really Know What You Want?

The 7 steps to take to know what you want and how to monetize your homesteading skills.

Do you really know what you want?

You think knowing what you want would be a really easy question to answer right?

The problem is most people will be able to better articulate what they don’t want rather that what they do.

Creating that picture in your mind of what you do want, often reveals so many steps which are ahead of where you are now. It's almost impossible to believe that you can actually achieve the vision you have in your mind from where you currently are.

The distance between where you are now and where you want to get to and how quickly, is dependent on the time, effort and energy you have to give and the financial resources you have available or could create, to invest and make it happen. When you break it down, and it is best to do so, you can get present then with what you do and don’t want for your homestead lifestyle.

You see this past weekend Burnsy (my partner) and I spent time away in the Alpine regions in Victoria, Australia.

We had the luxury of a kid free weekend however it turned into an adventure in which we we're assessing the area as a possible place to buy acreage.

We saw beautiful mountains, fast flowing rivers, amazing pasture with grazing cattle, fresh air and it evoked all of our senses so we could relax into it.

It's spring here in Australia and the vitality and potential for the season to come was truly expressed in the landscape.

We drove down tracks past out of the way acreage, great little homesteads ranging from the rustic that had us wondering if anyone still lived there through to new construction with the homestead future in mind for the families.

It truly was an amazing place to be, quintessential Australia. And it ticked so many of our boxes for our homestead vision.

Especially with the flowing water, the beauty of the undulating tree and pasture landscape that was alive with the Australian birds and wildlife. As we immersed ourselves into the landscape we felt the peace and tranquilly and somewhat at home.

As we ventured away from the remote areas we were met by the hustle and bustle of the townships in the area.

Now don't get me wrong these were beautiful old historic townships that date back to the gold rush era in the 1800s. You could just close your eyes and imagine the clip clopping of the horses as they move down the road pulling wagons of goods to be delivered to the local stores.

The problem is this area was very much a tourist destination. It was school holidays and it felt like half of Melbourne had migrated to this area to spend time with family.

It was this that enabled us to cross this area off our wish list for our forever homestead.

There were certainly attributes that we were able to now put onto our wish list however the destination as a whole, we were able to cross off the list of areas to live.

Now as Burnsy and I discussed what we do want for a homestead acreage we realized that had we even made this trip three months ago things would certainly have been different.

For those of you who are in a hurry to reach your vision, that ideal homestead that you have in your mind, as you learn and grow and change, so the vision for what you really want may also change.

So it’s okay to hasten slowly because that can create clarity, narrow down what you do want perhaps by crossing off your list what you don't want.

I know that when you see what some of the other amazing homesteaders are doing, it's easy to get caught up in the romantic notion of "I'll have what she's having!" - a homestead with the lot.

A huge garden, a menagerie of animals including cows, chickens, ducks, turkeys, sheep, alpaca, pigs, goats, rabbits, all while making, preserving and canning in your foods, and trying to make ends meet and truly be financially sustainable.

As you know and can see from those on the same homesteading journey as you, there's a lot of time effort and energy spent in setting up your dream homestead.

There’s learning everything you need to know … and let’s face it, that learning will never end!

There's also always that ever present desire to get it done and get it done right now.

Reality is though, when you can block out the noise and understand what it is that you truly want, how that will play out given the time and energy you have available and the financial resource is to set it up.

For many there is a consideration of monetizing your homestead to help fund future expansion.

And like having the vision for your homestead it's about having a vision for your business as well.

Monetizing your homestead is not just a hobby.

It's about making sure the time and money you invest on monetizing it actually creates a return on investment. Aiming to start at 4x and working up to a 10x return will help you to create the time freedom and financial sustainability to really enjoy your lifestyle.

Like setting up your homestead, your business will also require time to learn and a time and financial investment.

There’s learning of new skills in marketing and connecting to build a community of potential buyers, the tech required for setup and automating it to give you back time, and how to manage your business as it expands moving forward.

Creating a business that will ultimately give you a return on your investment obviously requires a financial commitment as well.

The trade off in business is the less money you spend the more time will be involved. And as homesteaders time is one of those precious commodities.

It's that time that you want to be spending immersed in your homesteading lifestyle, growing and sharing your knowledge with your family and enjoying the fruits of your labour.

So again, it comes back to asking yourself what is it that you do and do not want?

Here are the steps I’d recommend you take …

Grab a notebook, label it and keep it handy for those thoughts that pop into your head. Share it with your family too.
Make a list of the things that you don't want for your homesteading lifestyle
Make an opposing list of the things you do want
Allocate the financial investment that will be required to achieve it, now and in the future. This might require a bit of research to find out from those who have done it already. Will there be one off or ongoing investments required?
Do a time audit, what you currently have available to invest into your homestead vision.
Allocate a realistic time investment required in each aspect of your vision. Think, time for daily tasks, seasonal tasks, creating and/or repairing infrastructure, and so on. (Remember it always takes longer than you think to do things, especially when you are first learning)
Revisit your DO WANT list so you gain more clarity and focus

Now … if monetizing your homestead and your homesteading skills is part of, or a necessity for the vision you have, then repeat the above exercise – perhaps at the back of your notebook.

Be specific about your financial requirements and the time you have to invest.

Remember too, whatever your plan, it will take longer to implement than you think, from both a time and money aspect but that’s okay because you have time.

You might also like to read my blog on 10 Things You Should Know Before You Start Your Business

Categories: : Authentically You, Monetizing Your Homestead Skills