How I built my business around rural life.

When Mr Farmer and I became parents in 2015 I realised quite quickly that becoming self employed despite all its challenges was the most practical way to have a career still. Being part of a farming family means that life can be unpredictable. The farm work is dependent on the weather which we all know is far from reliable. This means once the children arrived I needed to be the flexible one. If the weather turns and the tractors call then Mr Farmer isn’t available to help and that means many employed roles become hard to fit into.

To make this work I have been careful not to take on work that’s on a tight turnaround time. As well as being clear with any people I work with that I have kids, so that they know that this influences my working hours and response times. It also means there is no shock if they are in the background during calls etc. This ensures if things crop up I have space to complete tasks without letting clients, kids, or animals down. This does mean being prepared to work some unusual hours but as nights out are nearly impossible it hardly matters to me.

Getting out and about for work is impacted by rural life. There isn’t networking on the doorstep when you live in the countryside and when you have to factor in the longer than-average commutes to attend events it can make it an impractical use of time to go to many things.

In person events still have huge value to add to any business though as the results of a Forbes study found that 85% of participants said that in person builds stronger more meaningful connections. While 77% said it was easier to read body language and facial expressions when talking in person.

I found the best way to incorporate networking into my activities is to choose wisely what I attend so that it’s as fruitful as possible as well as making sure I can take the children along if needs be. Finding Freelance Mum as a networking option has been a life saver for me. Being able to work on my business without mum guild because the kids love going too.

I see fewer people in my day to day life than many business owners making it slightly trickier to get my business known but luckily with the work I do I understand the need for an online “shop window” that is not limited by physical location.

Creating content to maintain the online presence is still quite a commitment. I found through a bit of trial and error over the years that choosing branding and a niche that is closely influenced by my daily life has made this easier because I can show up as I am rather than having to find time to present a different me.

Embracing this reality in my branding made it easier to show up online.

Even with all these things in place running a business around rural family life isn’t easy. It can exhausting heartbreaking and rewarding all in one day. If you too are juggling being a rural family and running a business I’d love to chat to you. Why not join my Facebook group West Country Rural Business Women. It’s a corner of the internet for support and community to help us all muddle along without feeling so lonely.