Everything You Want to Know About: Amish Businesses

Jayca Pike 03/08/2015

Erik Wesner, author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive, guest blogs for us today, all about:

Amish Businesses

If you’ve traveled through an Amish community lately, you may have noticed any number of roadside stands, small shops and signs advertising food and other goods for sale.

Amish entrepreneurs can be found in nearly every Amish community, and in some places have surpassed farmers in number. Today, Amish run thousands of companies across North America, from one-person workshops to large manufacturers employing 30 or more people.

In this article we look at why business has proven so attractive, and successful for the Amish, the types of businesses they run, and more.

Why business?

Why are Amish—traditionally farmers—today increasingly involved in businesses that have nothing to do with agriculture? There are a few reasons.

Everything You Want to Know About: Amish Businesses

Farming may no longer the best option for Amishmen looking to go into business

1. Growing population, scarcer land – “God doesn’t make more land” as they say, but Amish populations continue to grow. It’s harder to acquire a farm in some places, especially the larger communities, making alternative occupations more attractive.

2. High land prices – The competition among Amish in some communities boosts the price of land, but the situation is worsened in areas where many non-Amish live, such as Lancaster County, or the community in Allen County, Indiana, just outside the quarter-million-population city of Fort Wayne.

3. Developing business tradition – Entrepreneurialism planted its roots decades ago among the Amish, and today there are second and third generation businesspeople. It’s not so unusual to open a furniture shop as it would have been many years ago, when most Amish were dairy farmers. Business owners can tap into the reservoir of accumulated wisdom in their communities to help them succeed, making small business even more attractive.

One can also mention the resounding success of Amish-run companies. In terms of survival, one study suggests that over 90% of Amish companies last at least five years. Truth be told, some of these are only small part-time operations, but many provide the primary income for Amish families. There are Amish-owned companies which generate millions of dollars in revenue each year.

Types of Amish-owned businesses

Everything You Want to Know About: Amish Businesses

Many Amish businesses involve agriculture, but some are branching out to homemade goods and services

What are common types of Amish businesses? Amish are especially active in a few key industries. Construction and renovation are strong areas for the Amish, who do both residential and commercial work. Amish furniture makers and related wood industries are also very popular. Manufacturing is as well. Crafts, including quiltmaking, are popular in particular among Amish women.

Amish are also active in food-related fields, for example, market stand owners who operate delis, bakeries, and other culinary businesses in Pennsylvania Dutch markets, or those who operate bent n’ dent or bulk foods grocery stores. Small shops such as dry goods stores or fabric shops are also fairly common, catering to the local population. The types of businesses Amish run tend to reflect both traditional values, and the fact that Amish have limited formal education (eight grades is typical), funneling them into certain industries.

Connections with the world

How do Amish market their products and interact with customers? While some Amish do sell products direct to the public, Amish frequently partner with non-Amish to retail their products. This allows them to tap into marketing and internet resources that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. (Ed. note: Hey, Erik, we know a little something about that! DutchCrafters Amish Furniture has been partnering with Amish Craftsmen for over a dozen years!)

Everything You Want to Know About: Amish Businesses

A shining example of Amish craftsmen partnering with the non-Amish in order to market their goods!

Some Amish do maintain their own websites, often via a third-party service. They also advertise their goods in various venues, including local papers and trade publications such as Plain Communities Business Exchange.

Do Amish do business with non-Amish people? The answer is a definite “yes”—in many cases non-Amish comprise the majority of their customers. Some Amish businesses cater to their own communities (buggy shops, for instance), but even those often have some English (non-Amish) customers. For example, one large maker of horse-drawn equipment has a surprisingly large non-Amish customer base.

How can I buy Amish products?

There are a number of ways to get Amish-made goods. First, visiting a community, you’re likely to see roadside stands and signs advertising local businesses. Amish generally welcome non-Amish customers to their stores.

You can also buy Amish-made products from non-Amish stores which cater to tourists. However, if it is important to you that the goods are “authentically Amish”, it is wise to ask specifically, as some stores will sell goods that may have names which include the word “Amish” (like “Amish-style” or “Amish Country”) but technically may not be produced by Amish.

Finally, you can buy a wide variety of Amish goods online, including quilts, furniture, scooters, food products, and more.

Two sides of business

Everything You Want to Know About: Amish Businesses

An Amish business comes with its ups and downs like any other- the trick is to keep a faithful heart & head

Business has been good for the Amish—allowing them to make a living, with the added bonus of giving men a way to work at home, rather than in non-Amish factories, one alternative in some communities.

But there are also implications which cause some concern. These include closer ties with the world, and in the case of successful firms, an influx of wealth into the community bringing affluence and threatening the traditional plain lifestyle.

Despite these issues, small business offers a lot to the Amish family, including a Plain work environment, an opportunity to involve children in work, and an outlet to exercise creativity and innovation in producing and marketing new products to both their own people, and the rest of us.


By Erik Wesner, author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive, and editor of the Amish America website.

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6 comments

  • Beth kelley
    April 22, 2022 at 3:37 pm

    Maybe you could help me… I want to open an Amish store in Framingham ma but I need to know if or where I could buy bulk groceries. We have nothing like this here and I think it would do very well in new england


  • Beth Rice
    April 25, 2022 at 10:03 am

    Hello Beth,
    Our connection to Amish country is with Amish woodworkers, so we do not have the suggestions on where to buy bulk groceries for an Amish store. Perhaps take a look at http://www.amishamerica.com. This site is a wealth of information on all things related to the Amish. Please note that it is important to build relationships with Amish businesses and prove your trustworthiness to do business with them.
    Thank you for your question and for visiting us on Timber to Table.


  • Joe
    December 13, 2022 at 1:16 pm

    Hi guys,

    You work with Dutch woodworkers. It seems like many may have leather working skills or know people who do.

    I need knife sheaths for my flea market booth.

    Do you know any good people in Lancaster PA or St Mary’s county MD?


  • Beth Rice
    December 14, 2022 at 10:15 am

    Hello Joe,
    I’m sorry, but we don’t have a connection for you. Perhaps look for a local upholsterer who can help.
    Thank you for your question and for visiting us on Timber to Table.


  • Michael Ferraro
    December 30, 2022 at 1:18 pm

    Hello, Do you have a connection to Amish Poly Outdoor Furniture? Thank you


  • Beth Rice
    January 3, 2023 at 10:24 am

    Hello Michael,
    Hello Michael,
    We offer a wide variety of Amish made poly outdoor furniture on our site. Here’s a link to take you right to it. https://www.dutchcrafters.com/style/poly-furniture/503 If you need assistance with a piece you are interested in, feel free to email, call or chat with one of our furniture specialists. We can be reached at questions@dutchcrafters.com or call (941) 867-2233.

    Thank you for your question and for visiting us on Timber to Table.


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