The Homegrown Hustle

From coast to coast, homesteading is a calling for many. For some, it’s a hobby; for others, a way of life. In between, a growing number of women are balancing entrepreneurship with motherhood, true “mompreneurs.” They’re raising families while running businesses rooted in the land they live on. While these women represent just a glimpse of that lifestyle, their stories offer a well-rounded look at the inspiration, challenges and rewards that come with it.

Kristina Guidroz

Kristina Guidroz, co-owner of Guidroz Family Farm, blends motherhood with hands-on homesteading and small-scale agriculture. A 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) alum, she developed a passion for farming and self-sufficiency early on. Her family produces most of their own vegetables, eggs, poultry and honey, specializing in Coturnix quail and selling hatching eggs nationwide, along with local produce, honey, pickled and freeze-dried quail products and handmade soap.

Leslie Svacina

Leslie Svacina, owner of Cylon Rolling Acres in Deer Park, Wisconsin, raises goats, grass-fed lamb and produces maple syrup while managing a diverse homestead. With a background in FFA, a degree in agriculture and experience in agribusiness marketing, she turned her upbringing in entrepreneurship into a farming career.

With her husband, she now sells Boer-Kiko cross meat goats nationwide while producing hay, garden crops and wild game for their family.

Bethany Salisbury

Despite growing up in a town setting, Bethany Salisbury’s passion for ag began through 4-H and FFA. Drawn to homesteading for a more intentional lifestyle, she raises her children immersed in hands-on, self-sufficient living while building a slower, mindful connection to food and nature.

What began as producing for her family naturally grew into a small business, sharing regeneratively raised small proteins, heirloom produce, eggs and cut flowers with the community.

Q: What inspired you to turn your homestead skills into income?

Inspiration can often come from seeing opportunities in the skills, resources and passions that are already on hand, turning the homestead life into a livelihood.

“I’m sure that, like a lot of others, we watched social media and observed some of the homesteading and farming ‘influencers’ generate income doing what they loved,” Guidroz said. “For me, our quail business became much more successful than I ever imagined.”

Svacina reflects that her and her husband, an outdoor enthusiast, were looking at purchasing land for recreational use. “Very quickly, that interest switched to more acres and a goal of slowly building a direct-to-consumer meat business…I really wanted to create something of my own.”

Salisbury had realized early on that her homestead could generate income but was reluctant to pursue it. “When I realized that I could grow more than what our family needed and started off selling the extra, I was able to build momentum for the ‘weird’ or ‘niche’ things we raise. Then it translated into more demand than just providing excess to the community.”

Q: What is your favorite part of being a mother on a homestead?

On the homestead, motherhood and family take on a different rhythm, blending daily chores, life lessons and family moments.

Guidroz loves seeing her children gain life skills. Her oldest tends her own flock, her middle is a mechanic and her youngest, at ten, handles power tools, gardens and cooks. “I can’t say that rural life shaped our parenting, but I think that homesteading definitely had a hand in raising proficient, skilled and amazing humans who can do anything they put their minds to.”

Salisbury is able to give her children a childhood she dreamed of having, as well as a foundation that will set them up for success. “As a rural parent, we have lots of outdoor time, rain or shine. It's taught me to be more lenient and forgiving, and I've learned to roll with what each day brings.”

“I really have enjoyed seeing my kids appreciate and enjoy this lifestyle,” Svacina said. “They love playing outside around the farm, in the woods, and are always willing to help with farm chores and other larger work days. It’s like I’m seeing them become their future, independent, self-sufficient selves.”

Q: What is the hardest part?

Homesteading already has its own set of hurdles, from livestock health and planting to selling and managing the business, but adding family into the mix can create a whole new set of challenges.

Svacina says that patience can be difficult, especially with aspirations for the farm. “As I’ve become a parent, the pace of my business has ebbed and flowed over the years… Eventually, with incorporating yoga back into my life and focusing on little things with the farm, I started to become more of myself. Since then, I’ve taken a little different look at how the farm works with our family.”

Salisbury, meanwhile, finds that juggling time is a challenge and has learned to say no. “I’ve learned to set time limits on when I respond to emails, calls, etc., and do not do so after a certain time of day. Sundays have been specifically set aside for family time.”

It can be hard to realistically separate family and business on the homestead, and Guidroz also finds time management a struggle. “You’re available to your work 24/7, whether you want to be or not… I personally strive to try to fit it all in and make one not so obtrusive to the other. Sometimes, though, you have to roll with the punches.”

Q: Have there been moments when you questioned whether you could manage it all?

No one has ever said that homesteading and running a business are easy, but when the moments get hard, everyone needs something to help them push through.

Salisbury says she has questioned it every day. “When we first moved to our property, we spent all of our waking moments transforming it into that dream we had…Seven months in, Hurricane Ida came through our area and completely devastated everyone and everything… I’m able to manage through the rough days by sheer will most of the time, but having someone in your corner really helps.”

“The best advice I ever got was, ‘we don't quit on hard days, we quit when the sun is shining, and things are going fine,’” added Guidroz. “I've been through the absolute lowest valley of my life while homesteading, and the farm and my children are what kept me grounded.”

For Svacina, she usually gives herself time to think about the challenge at hand. “Time usually helps me get to the best solution.”

Q: How do you hope your homestead and business will evolve?

The world doesn’t stand still, and many women and homesteaders want to leave something behind for both their families and their legacies.

“I am continuing to grow our herd of meat goats and meat business, slow and steady,” Svacina noted. “I’m interested to see how my kids will continue to evolve in their role with the farm, beyond just daily chores.”

Salisbury hopes her business will continue to thrive and that her children may want to take the reins. “To be able to foster a love for the lifestyle is more important for me than making millions at farming.”

Guidroz shares similar hopes for her quail business. “We want to continue educating people on the positives of homesteading… In the future, we’d love to employ any of our children who want to join the family business. Even if none of those things happen, our legacy is carried on through our children and the skills they can pass on to their own children.”

Q: What advice would you give to other rural mothers who have a passion they’re considering turning into income?

Svacina urges women to “go after it, so you don’t have regrets, but give yourself a lot of grace and patience along the way.”

“Only do it if you can maintain what you are passionate about,” Salisbury said. “Do not trade your authenticity at any step to feel like you need to conform…Keep it true to you, and keep those kids involved as much as possible, even if they temporarily slow you down.”

Guidroz encourages others to do it. “Don’t be scared to make those dreams a reality… Your ‘small’ dreams can become big realities if you persevere.”