Tweet

Best Home Based Businesses

Written by: Ann Ronan

Article Overview: If you are now considering self employment, I want you to know that there are many possibilities for you. Here are a few ideas to get your creative sparks going–if any seem right up your alley, do a Google search on associations and or trade journals in that field to begin to gather more information.

Best Home Based Businesses

"I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker." Helen Keller

Most of the people drawn to my writing are 40+ and are looking to live more authentically. From the emails I receive from you, many of you are thinking of becoming self employed. You may be motivated by the urge to have more flexibility in your schedule. You may be tired of a commute. You may wish to work part-time to supplement your retirement. You may just be someone who likes to work alone a lot, like me.

I knew when I was 27 years old that I wanted to work from home -now that was quite some time ago! At that time, there truly were not many options -folks who worked at home did "piece work" putting earrings on cards or stuffed envelopes for mass mailings -the work was tedious and the pay was worse. It wasn't till the 80's that dial up modems and computer bulletin boards gave me a glimpse into my future of being able to work from home. It took me until the year 2000 to take the leap. And am I glad I did!

If you are now considering self employment, I want you to know that there are many possibilities for you. Here are a few ideas to get your creative sparks going-if any seem right up your alley, do a Google search on associations and or trade journals in that field to begin to gather more information.

Virtual assistant

Technical writing

Bookkeeping

House sitting

Cleaning service

Coaching

Consulting

Gift basket business

Professional Organizer

Estate Sales Services

Handyman

Wedding Consultant/planner

The two most frequent questions people ask me about being self employed -is "how do I market my services" and "what do I charge?" While I can't cover those two questions thoroughly in this short article, I can get you started.

I choose 2-3 marketing activities that I'm comfortable with and create goals around those methods for six months and then evaluate how well they are working. Some potential methods are: introducing yourself to other business owners whose customers could benefit from your services, attending trade association meetings, displaying your service at a community fair, writing articles for magazines and the internet, public speaking, web site, yellow pages listing, and word of mouth referrals.

Fees for professional services vary from region to region. Most people charge either hourly or by the project basis. I encourage people to charge by the project whenever possible. You can check fee ranges by looking up industry associations, Googling the businesses you're interested in and seeing what others charge, and asking people you know who have their own businesses.

Don't be overwhelmed. Take a small step today and you'll find yourself energized by just thinking of the possibilities.

Related Articles
  Will 2010 Be The Year You Become A Success Online?
  Home Based Business: the secret economy 1
  Why Now is an Ideal Time to Own a Home-Based Business
  How to Survive the Economic Disaster by Owning a Home Internet Business
  The Most Successful Home Based Businesses Available Today

Article Tags: best home based businesses, entrepreneur, home based businesses, niche, self employment



Related Forum Posts
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
Re: Trade Shows - Are They Worth It? - HI, I have used trade shows (not participated) to collect potential clients. For example, the Home & Garden Industry is extremely behind the time in regards to their websites. I attended an Home & Garden Expo in Denver and collected all the companies contact information. I plan on cold calling & mailing information to each business. It also gave me time to research the industry more, talk directly to the owners in many cases, and learn more about what they need. Jeff
Elevator Pitch in 10 Words - "Winning Business Design For Aspiring Entrepreneurs Based On Their Idea"
Try wikipedia.com for more information - That depends what type of business you are involved in. Maybe if you share that, we can help you a little better. I work mostly in the Work at Home industry so my advice would only be along those lines.
Re: Kevin. What happened to all others moderators? - Hi Alan, It will be great to have you on board as a moderator. Ideasu - it will be good to see you back in action! It is a pity to see faces disappear from the moderators' list, but I think Kevin and Evan are right to strive for a strong team. Kevin and Evan: Based on what I have seen of his participation on other forums, I am sure Trent would be an excellent moderator and an asset to this forum.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

African Technology Development

Angel Investors Where Are You?

Paint A Word Picture - Excite Your Customer

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.