Seeking input from the group here, since we all come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.
My state recently changed cottage food laws to allow coffee to be sold at markets. I've given a lot of thought to opening some sort of coffee roasting business and selling at farmers markets under the new cottage food laws could be a good way to get my foot in the coffee roasting door without having to roast in a certified kitchen.
Being that I'm in IL and nothing is easy here, there are various certificates, courses, and requirements in order to get set up (more than is required in some other states). Then there is the application to be a part of a market - I already reached out to one market and they weren't interested in having me. It's not going to be easy.
That said, it has me thinking - is it worth it? After all the legal stuff is taken care of, then it's a matter of roasting coffee each week, loading it up and driving to the market, setting up a booth and the displays, selling people on your coffee, presumably giving out samples (haven't figured out if it's legal to provide hot coffee samples yet), and packing it all up. What if you didn't sell all the product you brought? Then you are stuck with what could be a sizable amount of inventory that you could maybe sell the next week, but you risk selling a not-so-fresh product.
So, is it worth it? Has anyone done anything remotely similar to this (maybe something other than coffee), and did it work out?
I like the idea of doing something like this while I'm retired. Problem is, I'm not retired. It could be exhausting working a normal job all while trying to roast and sell coffee on the side, and I'm afraid I might end up hustling hard just to make a couple grand.