Farm Tales: Get Scrappy

I learned early on that if we wanted to fight to start our farm without debt, we’d have to make some cuts in the world of budget. And Jesse and I both learned to get scrappy in so many ways on our farm.

For example: before we started the farm, I had an idea of the vision for our branding, logo, website, business cards, etc. I knew the clean, simple look I was going for, but I had no idea how to bring it to life. Neither of us had any graphic design experience or any clue how to create logos or websites. So we looked into hiring a graphic designer and website builder.

Yikes. All we saw was DOLLAR SIGNS.

And we had no extra budget for expensive anything. But we knew we had to create a logo and brand for which we could be identified by our community. I knew it couldn’t be rocket science, so I got scrappy. First, you should know that there is nothing special about us that allows us to do things you can’t do. So when I say “scrappy”, I mean: I watched videos, read tutorials, scoured websites and design software and after hours and lots of frustration, I brought our logo, labels, website, email, business cards to life. FOR FREE. Well, actually it cost me $12 for the logo. So: for TWELVE DOLLARS.

I do not consider myself “tech-savvy”, and I have no formal education in anything tech related. I promise, if I can do this: you can, too.

Let’s talk about some of my best advice and favorite online products to create your very own logo, brand, site and email.

• Canva. Ohh, how I love Canva. And you will, too! First of all: its FREE. There is a paid version, but it’s $11/month and you can cancel anytime, and in 3 years I’ve only paid for 1 month and use the free version for everything! From designing social media posts to recipe cards, to ebooks and eguides, to business cards and brochures and posters and everything in between. Canva is a super user-friendly website with THOUSANDS of FREE templates allowing you to access graphic designers products that you can edit to make your own! Canva is so easy to use and I know you’ll be back again and again. Plus, you can purchase print (ie business cards) right through Canva and I assure you the quality and price is akin to any other print shop.

• Etsy. If I’ve needed a graphic designer on a budget, I’ve used Etsy. In fact, I used this shop to create my $12 logo in 2019 and I’ve loved it since! You can get great deals for single projects here. I even used a website designer once to help me install e-commerce onto my website and it was a deal!

• Flodesk. If you haven’t heard this yet, you need an email list. It’s the best way to connect with your customers! Social media is great but viewing rate can be terrible and it’s estimated that only 10% of your audience will see any of your posts! Sheesh. But emails are seen by all your customers and most small businesses and farms have over a 60% view rate, which is so good compared to social media! And you list is YOURS. If social media goes away tomorrow, you still have a direct link to all your people by email. I started my email service with MailChimp. And while it worked fine for me, it only allows free service for the first 1,000 subscribers and then you have to start paying a monthly fee. And it’s not very user friendly or aesthetically pleasing. Enter Flodesk: a one-time rate for an unlimited number of subscribers and so much easier to use and so, so beautiful. The templates and the design is stunning and it’s just plug-and-play for emails and opt-in forms. This email platform has made my email game so much simpler, I love it. You can get 50% off your first year of Flodesk using this link. If you haven’t yet, it’s time to start an email!

• Shopify. I think the battle continues between Shopify and Square and I can’t really fight it because I’ve only used Shopify, but I love it. So Shopify is what I’m recommending! Shopify is an e-commerce and point-of-sale commerce domain. It allows you to upload products and sell them on your website and in person! We use a card reader or the Shopify app on our phone for in-person sales in our farm shop or at markets, and we embedded (it’s easy, I promise!) some of our products for online sale onto our website. I use Shopify Lite, which is $79/year and I love it. Shopify also lets you build an online store and blog: so if you’re thinking of starting a website but know that you’ll be selling, too: check out Shopify to kill two birds with one stone!

These are my four favorite online sources for starting and growing your business ON A BUDGET!

Any questions? Ask away in the comments!