One of the best things about our farm is our "moat" --- the large creek that you have to cross to get to where we park our cars.  After a heavy rain like the one on Wednesday, the creek floods and we're cut off from the outside world.  Priorities shift, and I manage to work on projects that have sat on the back burner nearly finished for far too long.

Since I quit my job a year ago, Mark and I have been feeling our way toward an independent existence.  It was scary at first, hoping we'd manage to pay the bills every month, but we slowly figured out how to sell Mark's chicken waterer invention over the internet and the money started pouring in.  Suddenly, we had the time we craved to focus on the garden and the infrastructure of our homestead.

Before long, we started getting emails from customers who said they wished they were able to quit their jobs and start a microbusiness the way we have.  "I want to go back to the land," one wrote, "but I know I'm not going to be able to support my family selling produce at the farmer's market."  It's true --- small farm-based businesses tend to pay minimum wage or less, which leaves the homesteader scant time to do the real work of running the farm.

"Why don't we write an e-book showing people how to replicate our success?" Mark asked.  He always has the good ideas.  Several months later, our ebook is finally polished and ready to meet the world.  We want it to be accessible to everyone, not just the rich or the desperate, so we're selling it for $4 (although I reserve the right to raise the price in a few weeks if I decide to start advertising.)  You can read the first chapter for free on our microbusiness ebook site and decide if you'd like to forego your Big Mac today and read a good book instead.

Want more in-depth information? Browse through our books.

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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