If I Hired a Raw-Food Apprentice....

[marykays1]

Hi folks,

We haven't even bought our new camper yet, so this is not an ad for an apprentice, but rather, I'm just trying to gather up some ideas from some of you who may be more experienced in these matters than I.

Background: Dh is a fruit farmer and I want to set up a raw-food business to sell raw, healthy goodies at our farm. We already have a good established retail business here.

I'm a foodie and am quite experienced with raw-healthful foods and need someone to help me prepare lots of things to sell. I was thinking of having someone for say, the summer so that we could make use of our new camper. They could live in it and maybe we'd give them room and board. They would be apprenticing to me because I would be teaching them many things about raw-food preparation.

How many hours per week do you think would be fair? 40?
They will get all meals and have our nice new camper to stay in on our 100-acre farm, complete with swimming pool....

Do you think they should get some spending money too?

Should I write up some sort of contract?

What if a wife wanted to be my apprentice, but the husband wanted to work at another job?

This would probably only be for two or three months during the summer, which is when we are unable to travel due to being too busy so I'd be happy that we'd be putting our camper to good use.

Would appreciate any other feedback/ideas you may have.

Thanks,

Mary Kay

[marykays1]

Oh, wonderful suggestions! Yes, I plan on seeking someone from some raw-food sites, and did want to make this short term. Maybe two months max.

I think you may be right about using our brand new camper----coming in a month later to find the dinette stained, or a burn on the counter etc....

As for paying them, well, it would have to be minimal since we'll be blowing our wad on the camper! But I thought of that too....Geez, they'd need gas money, etc.

Brookside, yes, a raw diet sort of thing. There are MANY who are interested and I am very knowledgeable....

Nina70, yep, I agree. I planned on looking on my local raw food meetup group to start.

Jaxie, Raw food classes can cost THOUSANDS! I've been to a couple of the less expensive ones and often, I'll end up teaching/sharing some info with the teacher and others. I think a six week class at Living Light in California is something like $10,000 and you have to pay to stay in a hotel. Oh, and Jaxie, our family stayed at a raw food bed and breakfast and the food cost us $125/day - just for dinner (2 kids and 2 adults)

I'll go check out that site orfsotr mentioned too.

I also know there's an apprentice program for organic farms too - maybe that's what your site is orfsotr. Prob is our farm is not organic but my garden is and most of the food I will be preparing will be too. I know someone who did that program who called their place a farm, but it wasn't a working farm---it just had a garden, so I think I could swing it.

Thank you ever so much everyone! Keep 'em coming if you have more.

Mary Kay

[Jaxie]

40 hours a week I'd want some pay.

Let's say 40x$10 an hour so $400 a week, $1600 a month.
Room and board is worth what? Not sure about your camper but let's say food is $300 a month for a single person.

Once they are done they need some cash in their pocket to move on. Or reduce it from 40 to something less a week.

And yes, contract is a must in these situations. Spell out all the terms (hours a week, what happens when they work more than that, what is included (room/board/pool/utilities)

[nina_70]

I definitely think you would find takers, but more likely if you post on farming/vegan/raw-food sites than on a regular RV forum. This kind of job is pretty specific and would attract people looking to get into that kind of business longer-term. Or young couples who are into raw food.

As for the terms. You may well find interested young couples who'd take the living deal with meals and no pay, but you'd probably get a lot more interest with some pay. At that point it would make sense to have a contract of sorts, plus you'd need to look into IRS requirements (reporting etc.)

But I totally think it's doable. Just need to reach the right crowd.

[brookside]

Are we talking along the lines of a "raw food diet" sort of raw food? If so, it might be difficult to find someone interested in both being a raw food apprentice and living in an RV not to mention just working for a site and meals. You'll be looking for a very unique individual or couple. I would agree also that using your new camper might not be the best idea since unless you are familiar with the housekeeping of other people, especially with an RV and its systems, you could be in for a real shock at the end of the season. I would give this a lot of thought. I would definitely write up a contract with everything specified if I were going to do this.

[orfsotr]

Check out this website www.workaway.info, might be more of what you are looking for.

[Klueck]

I think a lot of people would "work camp" on your property and bring in their own rv to live in. Depending on the amount of work they would have to do, you might have to pay them a wage. A lot of people work camp for just the price of the "site."

It's all negotiable. Personally, I might enjoy spending a summer on a 100 acre farm, and I think you'll find others who will as well.

[gotsmart]

I believe IRS sees the free room and board as enrichment (for the recipient) and expects a monetary value be assigned to it and reported by the recipient of it as income at tax time. I also believe that many RV parks that give free sites to volunteers are ignoring this.

If I recall correctly, many states only see college interships for college credit as being allowed in a business setting without compensation and that any other form of employment requires a wage or salary.

If the OP wants everything to be above board then I think professional tax and payroll advice and guidance is in order, like from a tax accountant and possibly a tax attorney.

[robsouth]

So, with no fare wage, they come to work for you for room and board, and at the end of the term, they have no money saved to move on with.

I would offer a fare wage for their labors, charge them a minimum amount for room and board, have them do "extras" (mending, cleaning) etc for extra wage and let them save what they could to move on with later.

I would not use my new camper for the room, but would have an older, functional one for them to rent cheaply and live in if so desired. That way your new camper would not become a total mess when you decided to use it. One man's comfortable, is not always the way I would want it to be kept, so with an older unit, you could be a little more lax in the daily policing of the unit.

Offer some incentives for other things to do around the place so they can feel useful and feel that they are earning their keep and then some, cause if they were not, they would be a burden to you rather than a help.

Think it over very carefully and good luck.