Homestead | Reflecting on 2018

what a challenging and beautiful year

I always wrap up my business years with a little reflection. A little Profit and Loss analyzing is usually were I start, then it’s onto what can I do to market my business better, what worked this year and what was a complete fail. This year I sat down to do the same reflecting but came up with something much different than typical. The truth is 2018 will go down in my journal as the most exhausting year of my life. I made this year exhausting, in fact I pretty much designed it that way. I took on a lot of new and really exciting things, but in the end it was too much for me and too much for the relationships I cherish the most.

So this year I’m being honest and sharing what my third year in business really looked like.

I’m exhausted.

This past year I’ve felt like I’m in a constant state of complete exhaustion and complete ambition depending on the hour of the day, sometimes literally. It’s been an exhausting roller-coaster that I’m thankful for, but one I’m ready to be done riding. I knew that taking on our homestead fixer-upper, growing a farm, growing a floral business and maintaining my existing design business would challenge me. It certainly has.

I’m an ambitious planner

I’m an ambitious planner. Meaning I make decisions months or years in advance. I plan out all the details, run all the budgets, and set out to make it happen whatever the cost to my personal well-being. It’s not something I’m always proud of but it is definitely part of my personal signature.

So, in classic fashion since we bought this homestead I’ve found myself making huge plans and have been running in a constant state of mind of ‘being behind schedule’. A schedule that I’ve decided is do-able, but one that hasn’t gone as I’d planned.

I self-impose deadlines in everything I do. I have deadlines for business projects and personal projects. If ‘project’ defines the activity it has a deadline. Deadlines usually keep me ambitious but this year they also made me very anxious.

The first deadline this year was that the cattle had to get out on pasture. I decided they HAD to get out by early May so we could save some money on hay and take advantage of a full growing season. But before that could happen we had to clear land, build a fence and over-seed a pasture. I had a deadline of 2 months, it took us 5 and for a planner like myself it was completely defeating.

This year we received a grant, which was a HUGE blessing, but came with another deadline. This time it was an end-of-the-year deadline which had to be met to receive the funding. I had it perfectly mapped out to take two months. Again, it took three instead and our weekends just kept clicking away slowly and painfully for me.

Last December I brought home a brand new set of livestock, sheep, which required adjustments to our cattle facilities to accommodate them. There are a whole set of deadlines I imposed because I decided to make this addition.

I had thought we’d for sure be completing my floral studio because it would ‘only’ take a month of weekends to get that project done. BUT instead we’ve not started it because my other deadlines have left us without spare weekends.

And like I said before every project has a deadline, so you can sprinkle in handfuls of other deadlines that have surely been missed this year.

For a person who stays ambitious by making and completing projects by the deadline this became an overwhelming and emotionally exhausting part of my year.

Even in the exhaustion I still see that this year was beautiful

Though I’ve been running on empty for what seems like most of this season there are definitely some beautiful things that have come out of this year.

One beautiful thing is I’ve learned is my limits. I’ve always been one to have a lot of kettles in the fire, a constant planner and mover. I often thrive in this environment. I’m ambitious and it’s never come back to hurt me, until this year. So I’m thankful for a year that has pushed me to the limits so I know when too much is actually too much.

I’ve figured out what truly fills me up and what exhausts me. Finally figuring this out has allowed me to refine the direction of my business so I can better balance my ‘cup’ in the future.

It’s also been a beautiful year because people have chosen to love me through my ambitious deadlines and exhausted state of mind which isn’t a pretty one I can assure you.

I owe the success of this year to three beautiful people

Another beautiful part of this year was that my business doubled in sales, even in the midst of the chaos I felt. And I can honestly say it wasn’t me that made that happen. Sure, I’ve made some significant efforts towards growing this tiny business - but I’ve never had to work an entire season from with complete mental and physical exhaustion. If it wasn’t for three incredible worker bees I wouldn’t have been able to move the needle so significantly in my business. It’s because of these three people’s support that I was able to keep my enthusiasm for growing through the exhaustion.

Matt and my parents really deserve some recognition

While I stole every weekend possible to work on projects, stole Matt’s vacation time, aged my dad a few years (or he’d probably argue more like decades), and made unrealistic deadlines that left me frustrated and often unpleasant - these three people were there for me every. single. day.

Mom cleaned the house, took care of the dog, hopped in to do hay, cared for lambs, put her own renovation project on the back burner and loved me through it all.

Dad scheduled equipment rentals, gave away his working weekends for mine, baled hay, fixed equipment, and was there every weekend to help however he was needed.

Matt pounded posts, stretched wire, baled hay, dug holes, handled livestock and was understanding that his house was a mess, that there wasn’t food on the table and supported me when he too was exhausted.

As I reflect back I have complete gratitude and incredible amounts of shame for how hard they worked for ME and MY business. They made HUGE sacrifices for me this year, too many to note, all to see my business succeed. So I want to publicly say I’m grateful for their understanding, their ‘were in this together’ attitude, their continuous support, their self-sacrifice and their unfailing love for me..

Thank You

I also want to thank YOU. If you booked me for your wedding this year, if you bought beef or lamb from me this year, if you showed up to build fence this year, if you kept in touch with me this year, if you encouraged me this year THANK YOU. Thank you for supporting this dream and I look forward to serving you from a fuller cup next year.

Also, thank you to all the friends and family of mine for understanding that I’ve been in a season of not having much left in me to give. I look forward to spending 2019 catching up, staying present and investing in our relationship.

Thanks for being here!

Farm | Meat Delivered

What's better than locally raised grass-fed meat?

Local grass-fed meat delivered to your door.

What started with meal kit services has now stemmed into meat bundles delivered to your door on a weekly or monthly basis. If I'm honest I love this concept, what an easy way to shop for meat! However, I believe most of the options out there have missed the most crucial aspect of ordering grass-fed meats.  Knowing the farmer that raised it.

Why knowing your farmer matters.

As you've heard me preach time and time again knowing your farmer is the MOST important aspect of knowing the food that makes it to your dinner table is ACTUALLY what you think it is. Grass-fed beef at the local grocery may not actually be grass-fed the way you envision. It was likely raised in a feedlot like many other commercial cattle operations, not on pasture. Yes, grass-fed meats could be raised without ever having cattle on pastures, instead, they may be fed hay and forage out of feed bunks. Even some family farms may still opt to raise grass-fed beef in feedlots, not on pasture. The other misleading factor of beef is that beef that is labeled grass-fed may not be 100% grass-fed. Yes, you can label your meat as grass-fed and finish on grain.

So don't let those beautiful labels fool you, while some may be what they preach you can't trust it unless you know it. That is why I stress that knowing your food only comes when you know the farmer.

So now off my soapbox...

Homestead’s meat delivered to your door.

I'm just like you, everything I can order online I do and free shipping is always better. This is exactly why I've chosen to focus my farm on providing quality meats that can be conveniently ordered online and delivered for FREE to LOCAL doorsteps. You shouldn't have to choose between meat you know and the convenience of your grocery.

Only local doorsteps?

One thing that will never change is my focus on serving my local community. Sure there are ways to ship meat across the country, but that model isn't a good fit for me. I desire to serve my local community with the local, quality raised meats, where you could actually visit the farm where they are raised.

I personally deliver each and every package to keep your farmer part of your family. Personally delivering each package also keeps me connect to my customers who are the driving force behind why I farm.

Do you actually deliver for free?

Free delivery qualifies on orders over $75 for addresses within a 20 mile radius of the farm.

Here is where I get transparent. As the only full-time farmer here at Homestead it would be suicide to my farm to deliver every small order for free. Each online order is pulled, boxed, wrapped, labeled and hand delivered. While I LOVE delivering boxes I still need to focus my time on raising the meat in the boxes. So even if your order doesn't qualify for free shipping you can get your beef delivered to your door for only $10. This small fee helps pay for the time it takes to process your order and get it to your doorstep.