Millionaire Challenge

Karmacat

Hello a farmer's wife, welcome! Fascinating to hear what you've got planned for increasing/diversifying income ... please keep posting!

Kaya - if there's a disparity in family incomes, there always seems to be trouble, doesn't there

afarmerswife

Thanks for the thumbs up Karmacat.


Let me tell you a bit more about myself, if I may. Me, OH and about 130 cows and calves, pigs, ducks and chickens and two dogs all live together on a farm in the lovely county of Cornwall.


At the beginning of this year I turned 50, OH is the same age.


On my birthday a friend casually asked what we would do when we retired at 65, we live on a tenanted farm and will have to leave when OH hits 65. We have no other property between us and as there are a lot of us this might be a bit of a problem!


So it's time to put together some kind of plan. I have lots of ideas, some little and some big, to increase the money coming into the farm. I plan to use the farm (house and barns) and the land (130 acres) to help me along the way.


I'll put together some of my ideas tomorrow and then you can let me know what you think.

[Deleted User]

A very warm welcome, afarmerswife:hello:. I'm just an occasional visitor to the thread and the 'regulars' are such founts of wisdom and helpfulness that I always go away feeling better than when I came:j. A truly inspiring bunch of people and I'll look forward to reading of your plans and successes in the future.

Just one point that confused me a bit! You said that when you move from your tenanted farm at 65:

'We have no other property between us and as there are a lot of us this might be a bit of a problem!'

I assumed you'd be leaving the livestock for the new tenants or selling it, not taking it with you:eek:. Or are there other family members that make up the 'lot of us'? Not being nosy, just intrigued:o

Karmacat

CBC has highlighted the scary bit, and the questions, so I won't do more there

afarmerswife wrote: »

Thanks for the thumbs up Karmacat.

:beer:

On my birthday a friend casually asked what we would do when we retired at 65, we live on a tenanted farm and will have to leave when OH hits 65. We have no other property between us and as there are a lot of us this might be a bit of a problem!

So it's time to put together some kind of plan. I have lots of ideas, some little and some big, to increase the money coming into the farm. I plan to use the farm (house and barns) and the land (130 acres) to help me along the way.

I'll put together some of my ideas tomorrow and then you can let me know what you think.

Please do! There must be a huge seasonal footfall around you, living in Cornwall as you do, that you must be able to adapt to, to help you on your way. Its a hard choice in a hard life: rather than long term improvements on the land, if you're going to get chucked off in 15 years, you need to be thinking about upping the income you can take out of the land and property for these 15 years ...

lessonlearned

Good morning everyone

Welcome to Farnerswife. Well done waking up to the realisation that you need to start making plans for when you can't farm any more. You have 15 years so plenty of time to plan and prepare.

I know zilch about farming, being a city girl at heart, other than I know it is bloody hard work and it can be a somewhat precarious life. I agree with Karmacat that I wouldnt be making any expensive improvements to either the land or the farm house and buildings at this stage.

I'm assuming that you probably have contractual obligations regarding maintenace, repairs and upkeep etc but as long as you keep to the terms of your contract then that is enough now. I definitely wouldn't be sinking any more capital into the farm than is strictly necessary.

I'm sure Cornwall offers lots of seasonal opportunities for extra money making. I know lots of farmers do have sideline businesses.

Look forward to hearing your ideas. Are you coastal or inland, although even inland you are still not too far from the sea, not like Derbyshire which is about as far from the sea as you can get.....

One thing that stands out is your need for somewhere to live. even if you don't intend to remain in Cornwall would it be an idea to buy a property now, on a BTL mortgage, then let your tenants pay the mortgage for you out of rental income. This would also give you some capital growth in the property, which over a 15 year period should be fairly substantial. Then you will have a property which you can either move into yourselves or which you could then sell and put towards a house of your choosing.

I do love Cornwall and I keep looking on Rightmove:rotfl: but tbh I want to stay near my boys for now.

Kay - some interesting comments there about how people feel when either family or friends become wealthier than they are. It can lead to jealousy and bad feeling, but as I see it your dad is doing nothing wrong. He is prepared to heLP out in emergencies, he shouldn't be expected to just give everything away, just because they are family., unless of course he chooses to.

carboot - thanks for all your kind comments.

Just stick with it, you are doing really well with your extra money making activities and you will get debt free. Once you are debt free then you can really forge ahead.

Well today I am now officially a "Senior". I mentioned my quest to reduce my health care costs. I have just signed up,with Saga Healthcare:eek: Not only were their premiums cheaper, the actual package is much better, especially the dental, which means I will save money by not having to take out Denplan.

So double savings - reckon I have saved myself around £60 per month. So although ive not made any extra money this last couple of months, a saving of £700 a year is not to be sniffed at.

Not quite ready for the saga holidays yet though:rotfl: - not quite my style;)

I am currently multi tasking. Typing this and sat in the sun soaking up some Vit D. :rotfl:

Life is good......

afarmerswife

Good evening everyone


I hope you all have had a good day. I would have replied earlier but one of the cows decided to give birth today so we have an extra mouth to feed:).


Carboot - When I say 'lots of us' I do mean us and animals. I don't think OH sees the end of our tenancy as retirement when he has to give up farm life and take it easy! His whole family farm; father, brother, cousins and uncles. Farmers don't seem to retire, they just get more grizzly. It would be wonderful if we could buy some land ( it doesn't have to be down here) and then have somewhere to move to when the time comes.


Karmacat - We live on the north coast about a mile from the sea, unfortunately you can't see it from the farm. But there are lots of holiday makers around all year which is good for us. Not everyone comes to Cornwall just to spend time on the beach but as we are near to the coast road plenty of traffic passes nearby. I need to make some really good eye-catching signs.




Lessonlearned - OH and I have only been married for 14 years, I am really a town girl so I had no idea what living in the countryside was like. I thought I'd spend my days feeding chickens, making jam and joining the WI. You are right it is a hard life at the moment but there are plenty of good times; I have learnt to drive a tractor and twenty two foot trailer full of silage bails, spent many nights standing in a field with a torch when a cow is about to deliver. Put my hands in all sorts of places (I could not be a vet). I've been kicked, bit, knocked over, pooped on and only been put in A&E once and I still have yet to join the WI.


We do have certain obligations that have to be met, we have to maintain hedges and gateways for instance, look after the buildings and sheds and generally keep on top of things. It's better to keep repairing as things occur or it could cost us dear when it does come time to leave.


Not to keep you all much longer here are some of the ideas I have come up with. They are in no particular order and some will not be viable when I look into them further.


Tea rooms - I have a courtyard in front of the house. I work in catering at the moment.


Farm/gift shop - On one side of the courtyard is the farm house and on another is a two story barn. This does need some TLC so I would have to spent a little on it. We also have room for parking and a good drive.


Glamping - posh camping, I have found a company that provides those large canvas tents with bedrooms and an indoor loo.:T


Camping and caravans - Not on a large scale as we are restricted by our agreement.


A maize maze - This is something that you can do once as most of our fields are kept as grass.


Craft workshops - This would use the top of the barn and I have lots of friends who teach crafts.


Farm open days - These normally happen once or twice a year and they can be what ever you make of them.


Wedding venue - A field and a marquee or a large shed when the cattle are outside in the summer. Lots of people might like rustic weddings.


Selling plants and vegetables - I have a large polytunnel that I am putting up at the moment. I would need to plan this in advance so I plant at the right times.


The most obvious one is a B&B but this house is quite small with not enough room to put in extra loos, BUT a near neighbour moves out of his farm house and into a caravan every summer and rents out his house.


I'm sure I can think of lots more but it's getting late and I have to get up early. Please feel free to say what you think of any of these ideas. I need to look at them carefully and see what I can do.


Good night from Cornwall.

gallygirl

afarmerswife wrote: »

Tea rooms - I have a courtyard in front of the house. I work in catering at the moment. A lot of work for a small return?

Farm/gift shop - On one side of the courtyard is the farm house and on another is a two story barn. This does need some TLC so I would have to spent a little on it. We also have room for parking and a good drive. Again, a lot of work for a small return? However, combined with the tearoom it could be viable. There is an appparently very successful set up near us that combines tea room/gift shop/farm shop - but they have invested a LOT in it.

Glamping - posh camping, I have found a company that provides those large canvas tents with bedrooms and an indoor loo.:T
This sounds interesting and you are making the land earn for you - but do you have spare land?

Camping and caravans - Not on a large scale as we are restricted by our agreement.
Again, this sounds interesting and you are making the land earn for you. Again, do you have spare land? Could you have two areas (or fields if you have the space), one for each?

A maize maze - This is something that you can do once as most of our fields are kept as grass.
Combined with the tea room this could be a winner. Not sure how much work it would be to grow/maintain?

Craft workshops - This would use the top of the barn and I have lots of friends who teach crafts.
Passive income which is the Holy Grail :T - have you sounded them out? Also they could provide items for sale in the shop.

Farm open days - These normally happen once or twice a year and they can be what ever you make of them.
This could potentially be a lot of one-off work for not much return? I would only pursue this if I was doing it as a marketing opportunity for the other ventures.

Wedding venue - A field and a marquee or a large shed when the cattle are outside in the summer. Lots of people might like rustic weddings.
Em, the shed would have to be well cleaned, there's rustic and there's em..... over-rustic :rotfl:. Have a look on Pinterest for some ideas about how you could dress the [STRIKE]shed[/STRIKE] rustic barn . Not so sure there would be much of a pull to just let people use a field - they're not really getting the 'country wedding' if no cute animals, bales of hay etc. But I suspect I may be wrong there .

Selling plants and vegetables - I have a large polytunnel that I am putting up at the moment. I would need to plan this in advance so I plant at the right times.
Again, a lot of effort for little return, would need to be done in conjunction with the tea room.

The most obvious one is a B&B but this house is quite small with not enough room to put in extra loos, BUT a near neighbour moves out of his farm house and into a caravan every summer and rents out his house.
Would you (and hubby!) be prepared to do this?

My initial thoughts above - but never having run my own business I'm not exactly the best person to advise :rotfl:.

I'd look into all of them but if your crafting friends are interested and you are not too remote that seems like a no brainer. Would have to be seasonal I assume unless you can heat? Also there would be insurance and health & safety implications?

Lots of potential though :T. Are there online farmers forums where partners swap ideas?

afarmerswife

Thanks for the thoughts Gallygirl, lots to think about I know. At the moment I also work off the farm as well, not full time and not well paid. My job is not very secure with lots of cuts in hours ( I think my hours are going to be cut again next week).


Looking at your thoughts, one thing struck me, what if I could combine nearly all the above? Run a tea shop/farm shop/craft workshops. We don't live in a remote area and tourists are about all year.


Sorry this is such a quick reply but I have to go to work.


P.S. We have public liability insurance which covers loads; camping, caravans, guests etc.

Karmacat

afarmerswife wrote: »

Thanks for the thoughts Gallygirl, lots to think about I know. At the moment I also work off the farm as well, not full time and not well paid. My job is not very secure with lots of cuts in hours ( I think my hours are going to be cut again next week).

Ouch! It becomes a necessity. From what you said in your previous post, you sound **full** of energy, so now's the time to use it for those businesses, the ones that can add value to the land.

Looking at your thoughts, one thing struck me, what if I could combine nearly all the above? Run a tea shop/farm shop/craft workshops. We don't live in a remote area and tourists are about all year.

Thats what struck me too - its a multi-stranded single business, that all reinforce one another, not just a cafe, not just a gift shop. Gally's idea of getting workshop leaders/local people to supply stuff for the gift shop is great - if you do it, I'd certainly make a point of that. I went to a local deli last year in Norfolk that had signs under each and every item of produce, showing how many miles it had travelled to reach the shop - in most cases, it was about 10 or less. Modern Cornwall being the holy grail that it is, I bet there are tons of local craftspeople dying to have a market for their stuff.

P.S. We have public liability insurance which covers loads; camping, caravans, guests etc.

Thats great! Good start.

The other thing I'd say is that as soon as you've decided you're going to do stuff, think about how to publicise and market. A wordpress blog? Pix of the lambs, the jam being made, the first time the glamping tent goes up, the newly refurbed [STRIKE]shed[/STRIKE] barn, you get the idea. A free website as well, from someone like weebly, where you just pay out for the actual name of the website? Any free listings for tourist ventures? A facebook page? Local businesses you can co-operate with? Is your local council twinned with any towns? Use any avenue you can think of ...

HTH.

lessonlearned

Some great ideas there, FArmerswife. And I'm in total agreement go for the total craft/worksops/gallery/tea rooms/camping/caravan package. Each arm of the business will feed off the other and a fair few can be passive income for you once they are upand running.

We have something very similar just down the road, it started out as a secondary arm of a garden centre/plant nursery. They now have galleries, antiques, craft shops, weekend craft fairs, small designer boutiques, tea rooms, pitch and put, a small 9 hole golf course. There is even a small spa type retreat on site. It's only a large log cabin, but it's in a pretty setting and is really luxurious inside.

The place is always busy and it makes good money. Most of the businesses are passive income for the garden centre owner, very often he just lets out some space and allows the businesses to sort things out for themselves.

They even had a conservatory/double glazing company take up some space.

As you are a farm I would also include a children's play area, perhaps with a pets corner - tame lambs, fluffy bunnies etC a creepy crawly section, and an ant farm. Children love these.

How about a rare breeds section, Vietnamese pot bellied pigs, Gloucester old spot, some fancy chickens, posh rabbits, llamas or alpacas.

Holiday makers and townies love visiting places like that, they make a great day out for families even when the weather is a bit disappointing.

What about fish.....Koi carp etc - indoors you could have a section selling tropical fish.

I'll keep thinking......:rotfl: