Ideas for starting a small home based business

With the rising price costs of petrol, groceries, and the normal everyday incidentals spiraling out of control, we need to improve our incomes. I have compiled a list of several ideas on how to start your own home business, listing some of the necessary things you need to check out if you consider starting one of them.

Before doing anything, do a thorough research on your possible competition. Ask yourself what or how you can improve on what they offer their clientele. Draw up a marketing plan, add all the expenses, then allow more to cover the unexpected expense for breakdowns. Never over, capitalize, if you cannot afford it, start slow, and work up.

Baby-Sitting Home Business

This is something most girls or women can do during the day or night and on weekends. Most young girls start baby-sitting in high school for the family and friends. To obtain more work, put a notice in your local shopping centers notice board. You will be surprised at the number of people needing a baby-sitter.

Need to Know

Make sure you have organized safe transport prior to taking on the jobs. Always let someone else know where you are at any given time. Take a mobile phone with you in case of emergencies and for your own security.

House Cleaning Home Business

There are so many working families, where the people would really appreciate coming home to a nice clean home at the end of a hard day. I used to love coming home to a freshly cleaned home with a vase of flowers on the dining room table; somehow, it made the day more bearable. To start this, either place a small advert in your local newspaper or put a notice up in your local shopping center.

You could clean the normal homes, or you could partner up with someone else and contact the local building companies and clean the brand new homes after the builders have finished. This is harder to do than the normal house cleaning jobs.

Need to Know

You need your own transport. Ask the homeowner if they cover you in the case of an accident in their home. If you are working for builders, find out if they have workers compensation. New home cleaning requires you to supply all your own cleaning equipment.

You can be the manager or working manager with this one. You find all work and the workers, and then organize the jobs for each person. This is something that you can manage from home, while working a part-time job yourself and earning an extra income from home.

Need to Know

You do all the advertising for both the housecleaning and babysitting clientele. Then you need to run an advert to employ your staff. The clientele pay the workers themselves. You pre-organize the costing for the jobs and your workers pay you a commission for obtaining their work.

The downside to this, is that you will need to have workers compensation in case of accidents or if your worker damages any clients prized possessions. You also need to factor in the cost of advertising, and phone calls into each job before quoting on them.

These days quite a few couples run this business together, depending on the physical fitness of the couple. Most times the men do the work while the wife runs the office. She takes all the phone calls and sends out the accounts and tends to the banking and organizing the business cards and stationery.

Need to Know

To start you will need a reel mower, rotary mower, whipper-snipper, blower, and a trailer to carry them. These do not come cheap. It could cost you approximately $4000.00 to $5000.00. It will depend on your ability to bargain for the best deal or buy your equipment from a contractor that is retiring.

I strongly suggest that you do not buy a franchise, because you will never really be your own boss. They give you the customers, and the equipment, but you have to pay percentage of each cut to them.

Whereas if you buy your own equipment, and advertise for your own customers, they are yours to do as you please. You can buy an established round, that way you will earn money from the beginning. Like anything, you have to keep the machines in good condition or you will lose customers if lawns not cut correct. You will also need personal insurance or work at your own risk. You could put a disclaimer on your dockets stating, any damage caused from material from the owner's property, then you will not be held responsible.

This is an interesting type of business. If you have lots of imagination, you can do anything with it. Depending on your interests, you can print t-shirts, hats, banners, stubby holders, sashes, and ribbons. On the other hand, you could go another way by printing signs on car doors and windows.

Need to know

It would help if you have an artistic touch, artwork is necessary. Although with modern technology, you can do anything on the computer. Artwork must be original you cannot copy anyone's artwork. True screen-printing is done on silk screens, with a pattern or film set on it. You then use a rubber scraper to force the paint through the screen onto the object underneath the screen.

You have to organize the purchase of stock from wholesalers, bargaining for the best price. Each job is charged out, so much for the setting up of the screen, then an extra amount for each article printed. If you have a bad print, that spoils the profits.

I have personally done all of the above, with an effort on your part it can work out profitable for you.

Other Ideas

Secretarial Service-Typing of minutes, resumes, reports, assignments, laser printing, newsletters, transcripts.

Creative Invitation cards-Wedding, place, invitation, and thank you cards. In fact, you can make any Party invitation or gift card.

You will need

You need a variety of sample cards, showing different styles and wording layouts, plus assorted stationary with different patterns and colors. You will also need a reliable computer and printer capable of delivering your work.

 Computer Tuition

If you have used a computer for years and know how to do everything on it then why not help tutor less fortunate people with your knowledge.  Start by doing it on a one to one personal tuition.  As you improve and gain more confidence teach more people.

Need to Know

You could teach them in their home on there own computer so you would only need to supply clear instructions to follow after you leave.

Tip- Always sit them in front of the computer and get them to operate it so they are doing it themselves.  Never show them and expect them to understand what you did without doing it themselves.  Everyone works at different speeds and levels - do not expect everyone to learn too much in one lesson.  

 Computer repairs and help

If you are very knowlegable about computers and have built and repaired your own then why not start by fixing your friends computers and gain more experience.  When you are more confident,  remove virus's and format computers and reload programs for people.

Tip- Never charge for something that you have not fixed properly.  Bad repairs will gain you bad recomendations.  Keep this in mind .