I’d like to introduce you to a young man that I know and attend church with each week, his name is Joseph Marsh, and he is 14 years old.

Joseph’s business is called Ridgetop Farms and he sells eggs and pullets ( young hens).

He chose this business because he enjoys working with chickens and has the pasture area to raise animals. He also enjoys interacting with customers.

Joseph has three brothers and three sisters, of whom he is the second oldest. His family moved out to the country when he was six, and since then they have been slowly expanding their farming. His family has raised a garden and invested in egg layers, broilers, and turkeys. In the past two years, he has turned the chickens into a bigger enterprise and expanded their number. God has blessed him with many good opportunities to expand his market and obtain the equipment necessary for chickens.

His parents have encouraged him to always be improving the end product, and they have also encouraged him in adding new enterprises to the ones he already does. His dad has helped him with projects and sometimes gives him new ideas about things.

Joseph has been homeschooled all his life, which he is really grateful for.

He continues to educate himself with excellent farming and business books that provide great methods and practical knowledge, along with talking to other farmers.

There are times when people don’t take Joseph very seriously because of his age, they are surprised that a young person is interested in business and farming, but that doesn’t discourage him.

Joseph chose chicken farming so he could have the freedom to make his decisions, and have freedom to pursue certain things and not others. He likes building things and starting enterprises, however, he knows he has to stay within limits and not do something that would be impossible or something his parents would disapprove of.

What he finds most challenging is being flexible during the changes of seasons, because when dealing with animals, they can sometimes be unpredictable.

What he finds most rewarding about what he does is when a customer tells him they enjoy the eggs or chicken.

Since starting his chicken business Joseph believes he has grown the most in diligence, patience, and communication skills.

He uses his profits to save, give, and invest. He has also been known to give eggs to people who could not afford them.

Joseph would love to expand his business by adding honeybees and maybe some larger animals, primarily to have more products to sell to customers. He would also like to start an online business selling poultry supplies. He would like to do farming on a larger scale and operating online businesses when he is an adult.

His advice for young people that are considering starting their own business is, “Find skills you have or marketable products you could make, raise, or create. Then turn your idea into a business through developing a plan to sell your products or services to people, whether that’s through word-of-mouth, or a website. It’s always good to remember (myself included) that blessings, prosperity, and profit only come from the Lord.”

Joseph would love to answer any questions some of you may have, let me know if you’d like his email address.