If you’ve moved to a farmhouse and have access to land, there are plenty of opportunities to operate a farmhouse shop and to use your land assets to your advantage and create an additional income stream for your home. The food industry has seen a growing demand for locally sourced food, with many consumers spending their weekends visiting producers in their local area for supplies. It’s a great time to tap into this growing market and set up a farm shop of your own. Take note of any competitors in your area before you begin this new venture and visit as many farm shops as possible for inspiration and ideas, you can then get to work on converting your barn.
Convert your Outbuilding to a farmhouse shop
You’ll need to draw up plans and consider how extensive the building work will be when creating your farm shop at home. You may have the perfect barn already available that only needs minor renovations or you may be looking to build a new one from scratch. Either way, you’ll need to contact your local authority and submit a planning application if necessary. This can be a time-consuming process so make sure you contact them as soon as possible.
Hone in your USP
Regardless of what industry you are in, every business needs to have a USP and the same rule applies for your farm shop. As you’re likely located in an isolated spot, there needs to be a good reason for customers to travel to you so you’ll need to stand out from the crowd. It could be that you keep all your food miles to a minimum or avoid plastic packaging at all costs, research what your target audience values the most and emphasis this unique selling point in your marketing material.
Source your Suppliers
Most of your produce should be sourced from the farm for your farmhouse shop but it’s impossible to have a huge variety all year round, you’ll need to spend some time sourcing suppliers to build up your produce line who can also support you when you experience a bad crop. Again, you should try and look for suppliers in the local area if you want to keep your brand authentic and trustworthy, always opt for quality over price as this will draw consumers to your store.
Purchase Signage
When your farmhouse shop is taking shape it’s time to create a logo for your brand and think about the outdoor signs you’ll be needing on-site. Www.theallinprinter.com/collections/outdoor-signage have a wide variety to choose from varying from large banner printing to rustic A-frame signage, perfect for highlighting what’s in season this month. Don’t forget the directional signs you’ll need as well such as ‘toilets’, ‘parking’ and ‘pay here’.
Farmhouse Shop Parking
When the time comes to opening the doors of your farmhouse shop, you will experience an influx of traffic. You will need to consider the logistics before you start. Make sure your driveway is wide enough for two vehicles to pass. Consider where all your customers are going to park.
Conclusion
When considering all your options, keep in mind what is your goal? Is this really your passion? Do I have the right property and space? What are the local zoning boards rules for opening a farm shop? If you have neighbors will the added traffic cause a problem for them?
Be thorough with your planning and good luck on your opening your shop.
