Balancing your Farm Business and Family
Overview
Jared Luhman was full-time Farming with his dad when he married Valerie in 2018. The family raised bulls and wanted to move to direct sales. In 2019, the couple saw Grass Fed Cattle Company for sale online, and decided to buy it. The Farm was 8 years old, and they found it helpful that systems were already put in place to start their direct sales operation. They signed on with Barn2Door to handle sales, and have created a successful Farm business where they can serve local Buyers while raising their kids. Valerie shared her tips for balancing life on the Farm as a family. Listen to her podcast episode:
Raising Kids on a Farm
It was important for the Luhmans to work in an environment where they could include their family. They knew that taking on this role would allow them to spend more time together than most families do. Farming allows the family to have flexible hours and invite their kids into their daily chores. Valerie explains that they are able to have 3 meals a day together, which can be rare for families working a standard 9-5 jobs.
Running a family business helps them relate to customers, many of whom are feeding their grass fed beef to their own families. When Buyers support your values and enjoy your products, you can build a loyal customer base that will return to consistently purchase from your Farm store. Local Buyers want to support other families, so sharing how they bring their kids into the sustainable Family-Farm business helps the Luhmans attract customers.
Maintaining a Farm Schedule with Family
To encourage family time in the midst of their busy Farm schedule, Valerie says the kids do a lot of work with them. When they have smaller chores or slower tasks, the kids can come and experience work on the Farm. However, they cannot always bring the children along, so having friends and family they can count on to help with the kids or Farm chores is crucial.
By selling their cattle direct to market, the Luhmans have more control setting their Farm schedule around their family time. Valerie and Jared will typically do an hour or so of work once the kids are in bed at night or while they nap, allowing them to get tasks done without taking away from their family-time. They can plan delivery and pick-up times around their family’s schedule, helping them maintain a better work/life balance.
Setting Boundaries for Farming
While Valerie shares their family on social media and newsletters, she is careful about how much information they share publicly. They limit showing their kids’ faces and personal information to maintain privacy. They understand that sharing their Farm struggles helps other Farmers to relate to them and gain wisdom, but they still have boundaries. Valerie says, “it's definitely a fine line, but people want to know who you are, and they want to purchase from someone they trust. So at the end of the day, I always try to remind myself of that.”
You also need to know when to prioritize your kids and when to prioritize your customers. Valerie says that sometimes her kids need her attention, which may take priority over responding to a Buyer. She also says that her kids recognize that Mom and Dad may need time to prioritize work - setting clear boundaries is key. Learning where to prioritize your family and your work is crucial for balancing the two.
Advice for Farming Families
Grass Fed Cattle Co. uses Farm eCommerce to enable Buyers to make purchasing self-serve and automate as many tasks as possible. This helps avoid interruptions at home (e.g. phone calls, texts, voicemails), and save time on managing orders and logistics. Valerie recommends that Farmers use software to make their daily chores easier, and to allow tasks to run automatically in the background. Start off simple with your products and fulfillments and scale over time, to allow your Farm to grow naturally, without taking all of your time.
The Farm believes surveying Buyers for feedback is valuable. You can understand what products they desire, how often they want fulfillments and the best avenues to market to them. Valerie recalls how the Farm wanted to ship in the beginning, then found out how many potential Buyers were in surrounding areas. It is important to know who you can serve within your community.
Conclusion
It is important to ask yourself how you can serve your Buyers well and still make time for your family. If you spend too much time running the Farm, you will miss out on integral parts of your family life. Leverage software to automate your order management and Buyer communications. Set boundaries for your work/life balance, and ensure you have schedules in place that allow you to split your time between the Farm and your family. Your Buyers also have families, so most will understand when you have to prioritize kids over the Farm.
Barn2Door offers software for Independent Farmers to create and promote their brand, sell online and in-person, and save time managing their business. If you’re curious to learn more, watch this 5-minute video.