Today, tens of thousands of
people are considering starting a home based business, and for good reasons. On average, people can expect to have
two and three careers during their work life. Those leaving one
career often think about their second or third career move being to their own
home. People who have been part of the traditional nine-to-five work force and
are on the verge of retiring from that life are thinking of what to do next.
The good news: Starting a homebased business is within the reach of almost
anyone who wants to take a risk and work hard.
1. ACCOUNTANT:
Create a flier outlining your services. Before you do that,
you need to know what those services will be. Do you want to simply do
bookkeeping for a small business? A more involved level of accounting would be
do actually work up balance sheets, income statements, and other financial
reports on a monthly, quarterly, and/or annual basis, depending on the needs of
the business. Other specializations can include tax accounting, a huge area of
potential work. Many business owners don't mind keeping their own day-to-day
bookkeeping records but would rather get professional help with their taxes.
2. BICYCLE REPAIR:
In many parts of the country, this business tends to be
seasonal, but you can find ways around that. Rent a storage unit and offer to
store people's bicycles over the winter after you do a tune-up and any needed
repairs on them. If you want to cater to the Lance Armstrong wannabes, you can
have business all year round. These road race riders are training through snow,
sleet and dark of night. Some of them work on their own bicycles, but many of
them don't, so you can get their business all year. And if you keep Saturday
shop hours, you can be sure you will have a group of enthusiasts coming by to
talk all things cycling.
3. BOAT CLEANING:
Boats that are hauled out of the water for the winter or even
just for mid-season repairs will need the hull cleaned. And depending on the
type of boat, it is a good time to give a major cleaning everything else
too--the decks, the sleeping quarters, the head, and the holds. Start by
approaching homes that have a boat sitting in the yard. Or you could market
your services to the marina to contract you to do the boat cleaning it offers
to customers.
4. BUSINESS PLAN SERVICE:
Offer a soup-to-nuts business plan, including market
research, the business plan narrative and the financial statements. Plan your
fee around the main one that the client will want and offer the others as
add-on services. You can give clients an electronic file and allow them to take
it from there, or you can keep the business plan on file and offer the service
of tweaking it whenever necessary. Have business plan samples to show clients--and
make sure to include your own!
5. CHIMNEY SWEEP:
Learning to be a chimney sweep may mean nothing more than
apprenticing with someone already in the business. By becoming a chimney
expert, you can combine a chimney sweep business with a chimney inspection
service--covering more than just whether or not the chimney needs cleaning but
whether the chimney is in good working order or in need of repair.
6. CLEANING SERVICE:
There are many directions you can take this business. If you
want to work during hours when no one else does, you can focus on office
clients. You can focus on retail businesses and keep your customers clumped
into one or two blocks. Restaurants are in great need of daily thorough
cleaning and can be a great source of steady clients. Perhaps you would be more
interested in house cleaning. Many times with cleaning services you don't have
to spend lots of money on advertising or marketing because your customers will
come by word of mouth.
7. COMPUTER REPAIR:
Study the main types of software that system users will
want--word processing, photo manipulation software, mail merge, spreadsheet,
design and especially security software. Investigate all the
components--monitor types in all their varieties; keyboards, from wired to
ergonomic to wireless; mouse types; as well as peripheral components like
printers and scanners. Become completely familiar with all the ISPs (internet
service providers) available in the market area you plan to cover. Establish yourself
as the guru who can meet the needs of the personal computer user, the small
business or a larger corporation.
8. CONSULTANT:
To be a consultant, you need to have an expertise in
something so you can market yourself as an advisor to others looking to work in
that area. Perhaps you managed several large warehouses in your career with a
drugstore company, you did all the marketing for many years for a large shoe
manufacturer or you set up a chain of beauty supply shops or take-out
restaurants. You can use this experience to help others do similar things
without making the same mistakes that you made along the way.
9. DOG WALKING:
Dog walkers take pooches out for their daily constitutional
one or more times a day, either individually or in small groups. In some cities
across the United States, like New York, dog walking alone can be a booming
business. But it's actually more common for dog walkers to offer additional
services, including playing with and feeding pets, bringing in newspapers and
mail, and turning lights on and off.
10. EBAY ASSISTANT:
Do you have items lurking around your household that you
could sell on eBay? Figure out your asking price and decide whether to auction
it or put it in your eBay store. Then decide if you want a minimum bid and how
long you want the auction to last. You will want to establish a PayPal account
to use for transactions. The eBay website provides all the information you need
to know to get up and running with an eBay business.
