Sunday Solopreneur
Read on my website – Read Time: 7-8 Minutes
I can’t predict the future, but I can predict this: the next few years will be unpredictable.
Not because of politics (though that’s always a mess), but because life itself is never predictable. Every season brings new challenges. Some years, the weather cooperates. Some years, it wipes out your best-laid plans. The economy goes up, then it goes down. Costs rise, recessions happen. Customers buy more, then they disappear for a while. Governments Change.
But here’s the thing—I’m not waiting around for things to get better or get worse. I’m focusing on what I can do, right now, to grow our farm and my own skill set. Here’s what that looks like for me.
1. I’m Reading Books, Not Watching the News
If I spend an hour watching the news, I feel frustrated, overwhelmed, and usually no better off. If I spend an hour reading a book about farming, business, or marketing, I walk away with something actionable.
So I’m sticking to books. Books about improving soil health, running a profitable farm, selling better, and thinking like a business owner. Books that teach me something instead of making me mad about things I can’t change.
Some recent ones on my list:
📖 The Lean Farm (Ben Hartman)– How to make your farm more profitable by doing less, not more.
📖 $100M Leads (Alex Hormozi) – What big business knows about getting customers that small farms should use too.
📖 Building a Story Brand (Donald Miller) – Writing compelling stories (emails / website) that will convert to sales and grow your farm.
📖Dotcom Secrets (Russell Brunson)– How to get more traffic to your website.
(If you want a reading list, let me know—I’ll put one together.)
2. I’m Learning New Skills
A farm isn’t just a farm—it’s a business. It’s a brand. It’s marketing, customer service, logistics, finance, and tech all wrapped up in one.
Right now, I’m focusing on improving:
✅ Website & marketing – Because if I can get better at selling online, I can reach more customers. (Checkout my website and design service, homegrownhosting.com if you need help in this area)
✅ Efficiency – Finding small ways to cut waste and make farm work easier.
✅ Better record-keeping – Not fun, but critical for knowing what’s working and what’s not.
It’s easy to say, “I’m just a farmer.” But if I want this farm to grow, I have to be more than that.
3. I’m Doubling Down on Customer Relationships
The farm-to-table movement is growing. More people want to buy local, but they need to hear from us.
That means:
📢 Posting regularly (even when I feel like I have nothing to say).
📧 Emailing our customers (because social media reach is unreliable).
📦 Making it easy to buy (because confused customers don’t buy).
Most small farms aren’t failing because their product isn’t good. They’re failing because no one knows about them.
That’s why I’m making sure I don’t just raise great food—I sell it effectively too. A website is the primary tool for this and we can help with that at homegrownhosting.com. Check it out!
4. I’m Controlling What I Can (and Letting Go of the Rest)
Farming comes with uncertainty. Will it rain? Will feed prices spike? Will customers show up this year?
I can’t control those things. But I can control:
🌱 How I prepare for challenges.
📊 How I run my farm business.
💪 My own work ethic and resilience.
I see a lot of people blaming the government, the economy, or “the system” for their struggles. But honestly? I’d rather put my energy into making things work anyway.
The government is going to do things that work against us and things that are in our favor. My advice is to try and be objective and let go of ideologies.
Sometimes we tell ourselves that something is true. When in reality it’s just an opinion, yet we base our decisions off that false truth.
Think like a business owner and ask yourself, is this decision I’m making helping me and my farm or hurting.
5. I’m Investing in Long-Term Growth
Some things make life easier in the short term. Others pay off for years. I’m focusing on the latter.
That means:
🔹 Spending more time on “business” learning than “farm” learning. Your farm is a business and learning basic business principles will have long lasting effects in the growth of your farm and life in general.
🔹 Improving soil health instead of just maximizing this year’s yield (spreading manure, chopping / dropping, planting, and soil testing).
🔹 Building a stronger brand so our farm keeps growing. I’m constantly evolving my website / online presence and can do the same for your farm through homegrownhosting.com. Websites and marketing by farmers (me) for farmers (you).
It’s easy to get caught up in “survival mode.” But real success comes from playing the long game.
Final Thought
I don’t know what the future holds. But I do know this: My success (or failure) isn’t up to the government. It isn’t up to the economy. It’s up to me.
I’m going to keep reading, learning, improving, and building. Because the more I invest in growing this farm—and myself—the better off my family will be, no matter what happens next.
If you’re doing the same, hit reply and tell me how. Would love to hear what’s working for you.
– Jason
with my appreciation,
Jason
Aka: The Part-Time Farmer
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