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Home Based Business Ideas
So, you want to start a home based business but need some ideas. You've come to the right place. Here is an article on ten ideas for home based business, including:
Delivery services can be a huge opportunity for a home based business. In major metropolitan areas, like Los Angeles, there is some major competition in this field - for example Pink Dot. Yet in suburbs or smaller cities, the field is still likely to be fairly open. A delivery service is a company that delivers more or less anything (legal) and charges for the item and a delivery fee. For example, if you live in Small Town, USA, perhaps you would register smalltownusadelivery.com and offer 24/7 delivery services. The fee could be based on mileage, time of day or a flat fee. A person would search for delivery in your area, find your site, call you and ask to have three packages of … animal balloons delivered at 3:00 AM. The balloons may cost five dollars and the delivery may cost another five.
Several things to keep in mind before starting this service are:
- Can you run the service 24/7? For this you will need several people.
- Is your town 100 miles across? If so, you'll probably lose money on gas and time if you don't limit your service area or charge for extra distances.
- Alcohol delivery could be a huge profit maker but there are likely to be many regulations in your area to sift through.
A niche web directory is a directory of a very specific line of items or services. For example - a directory of dog washes in New Mexico. Or house painters nation wide. Or… well you probably get the idea. Money is made by either adding pay per click advertisements, like those offered by Google AdSense, or charging a yearly or monthly fee to advertise on your site.
Keep in mind before starting such a service that
you will need to create and maintain an audience to ensure your advertisers are happy and willing to pay money.
An information site is like a niche directory in many ways, only you would be providing articles and data instead of company listings. This information can be used to build an audience which will then be attractive to advertisers. Again, Google AdSense is a prime example of monetizing information sites. Information sites can easily be combined with niche web directories to maximize profits.
Pretty much anyone with more than a few bucks in his or her pocket has access to a computer. Just like cars, computers break down and need to be fixed. Often when a computer breaks down the problem is easy to fix if patience is used in tracking it down and by doing research on the web. Yet many people are not patient or have other things they would rather be doing than fixing a computer. By building your own computer from parts, doing plenty of research online and inflicting test problems on one's own computer, a person can become proficient in fixing computers without a huge investment in a degree or specialized training.
If you are starting such a business it may be wise to:
- Have a clause whereas you charge a fee to examine the problem (just like a mechanic).
- Have another clause stating your clients should not sue you if you mess up.
- Make no guarantees as to being able to find or fix the problem and
- Finding someone that charges less than you do to fall back on if you cannot fix the problem.
Like computer repair, auto detailing can be learned by practicing on your own car and maybe those of your friends. Many detailing services consist of simply washing and waxing a car and cleaning the interior. More advanced auto detailing services include scratch and dent repair. If you don't know how to do scratch and dent repair it is probably best to stick to the cleaning. If you want to learn body work, you can build clientele while doing washing and waxing while you learn.
Cleaning a car may seem like an simple task, yet every skill has its art. A common pitfall to watch for is overly abrasive polishes/waxes that can scratch the surface of some cars. By testing your cleaning products in an unnoticeable area, you can save yourself quite a bit of trouble. By doing an excellent job, your clients will return.
Niche crafts could be baskets, plants, wall art, pots, key chains, jewelry or any number of other things. Finding a specific niche can be easier to market than such a broad category as wall art. For example, a site dedicated to fish crafts such as key chains, coasters, candles, etc. may have a better chance than a general craft site. Niche crafts generally have less competition and have a unique value. Granted, a niche site should not generally be so niched out that nobody at all is searching for related terms. With no one looking for your products there will be no audience to buy your products. Using search statistic tools can help you determine whether a niche has an audience warranting pursuit from a financial perspective. Just because a niche craft does not have a large market does not mean money cannot be made. The rarity of a product will drive up its price if there is a demand. Like any business, good work will earn return clientele.
A review site is just another type of information site. Revenue can be made by writing reviews of popular products. Money is made by ads placed on the site, such as Google AdWords.
A drop shipping site is a site whereas products are ordered and sent by a third party. An example would be a T-Shirt store whereas unique designs are created and then sold via a web site with fulfillment being done by the manufacturer or printer of the T-shirt or other third party. In shorter terms, a drop shipper is some one that ships your products for you. The advantage of this is that the business owner needs only to concern him or herself with marketing the site and product, not fulfillment. The disadvantage is that many drop shippers require considerable volume or expense to be willing to consider working with a business.
This is a type of niche craft site. Traditionally portrait artists have been commissioned on site. With the recent advent of the camera and Internet, portraits are easily created from afar. Pictures can be sent by email or mail that a portrait artist can work from and the final work mailed back. Working in person is still an experience all and of itself that can be promoted from home as well.
I read of the idea of creating fire logs in my childhood in another writing on ideas for home businesses, and it has stuck with me ever since. It is not so much that the idea is so profound and with inherent competitive advantage on the market - as it is not such an idea. It is the simplicity of the idea that strikes me. The idea is to tightly wrap newspapers and dip them in melted wax as to make an item that would burn nicely, not unlike the fire logs found in most grocery markets. What strikes me most about this idea is that cheap or even thrown out items can be used to create a business and turn a profit. This is just one of infinite ideas on how to start a business with not a dime and a little ingenuity.
Conclusion
Ideas for home businesses are endless, as many of the very best have yet to have been thought. With ingenuity, patience and the willingness to pursue success, one can come up with a way of making money from home in almost any market.
Posted 02.09.06
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