There will be a time while you are settling in and doing the essential work when making money will not be high on your list of priorities. But this period must be kept to an absolute minimum. All the time you are not making money you are losing it. Your capital, whether cash or material [...]
Having fun must be taken seriously because ‘living on the job’ as smallholders do it is easy just to work; this can be as destructive as not working enough, only this time family relationships suffer. Take time out with your family to do whatever you fancy. Sunday afternoon is usually a good time, or late [...]
Before long you will have compiled a good list of jobs requiring attention. Somehow this list has to be graded so that you can not only do the most important work first, but do the jobs in a logical order, each one building on another, rather than randomly doing a bit here and a bit [...]
Something encountered by newcomers to smallholding and self-employment in general is a lack of self-motivation. Although there will be jobs that require urgent attention, many can wait. It is easy to go to the market ‘just to see how the prices are’ rather than do something more constructive. But protracted tea breaks, late starting, early [...]
After the turmoil of the move you wake up one morning and find that what you have planned for, striven for and dreamed of has happened. You now have a smallholding. For the first few days there will be plenty to do just finding the teapot and generally trying to create some kind of sanity [...]
Owning a smallholding does not make you a smallholder: running it and making a living from it does that. It is important that at all times you do not over-stretch yourself. The difficulties encountered in smallholding increase in proportion to the money owed. When choosing and buying your holding large sums of money are involved [...]
After much nail biting, many sleepless nights and agitated phone calls the deal will come together, contracts will be exchanged and you will have a date for moving in. This can happen rapidly towards the end so be prepared, know what is to be taken and pack first what you can do without for a [...]
This section states the obvious, but sometimes it is well worth stating. When selling anything presentation is all-important. The difference between the tidy garden with a few flowers around the front door and something less attractive can cost thousands of pounds. Most prospective buyers will drive by in a car first. If the outside appearance [...]
Once an offer has been accepted and the purchase placed in the hands of your solicitor, the search will be conducted. This should bring to light any problems associated with the land or property such as impending development or a new bypass; this is standard with any property. With a smallholding there are other considerations [...]
When you have decided on a price that you would be happy to pay for a property, make your first offer lower than that; you can always increase, but it is very difficult to decrease your offer.
Be aware of exactly what is included in the asking price. If there is some machinery or stock on [...]