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| Ideas for work at, or from home |
- Look around at your friends and contacts who either work from home or have a small business. What do they do? Talk to them about their experience. Look through the small ads in the local paper. Look at the services offered by small businesses. They are usually working from home. Look in the library for books (such as the ones below) with ideas or buy a copy (see Books). Just looking at lists of ideas (such as those below) may help stimulate your own thoughts and help you to work out a starting point for yourself. After further research, you may well find that you will adapt an idea to your own skills and ability.
- In Niki Chesworth's book Great Ideas for Making Money there are no less than 70 inspiring ideas for making money - all perfectly sound, legitimate and proven. For each idea are the qualities you need as a person, the costs in involved in setting up, how much you are likely to make, the marketing involved, pitfalls and further contacts. This book is produced in conjunction with the Daily Express and throughout you will find copies of adverts from small businesses advertising their wares. It is interesting to look at these adverts and the approach these small business ideas have taken. The following list of possible ideas is taken from the contents page:
Alternative/complementary medicine
Antiques dealing
Antiques and picture restoration
Answering service
Art
Auctions
Babysitting
Beautician, beauty therapist
Bulk buying and selling
Car cleaning and valeting
Car repairs
Catering and cooking
Child care
Children's parties
Cleaning
Collecting
Commission-only selling
Crafts and arts
Curtains and loose covers
CVs and letter-writing
Desktop publishing
Despatch and courier
Direct mail
DIY - odd jobbing and repairs |
Despatch and courier
Direst mail
DIY - odd jobbing and repairs
Dog-walking
Dog training
Door-to-door security
Drain unblocking
Dressmaking
Driving-instruction
Driving-mini cabs
Driving-chauffeur
Driving-food home-delivery
Envelope stuffing
Faxing
Fence erecting and treating
Foreign student lodging
Franchises
Furniture assembly
Furniture removals
Gardening
Greeting cards
Gutter clearing
Hampers
Hedge trimming
House-minding
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Indexing
Laundry
Leaflet, brochure paper distribution
Market trading
Modelling
Multi-level marketing
Nappy delivery service
Nude modelling
Painting and decorating
Party planning and selling
Pet boarding
Photography
Picture framing
Plant care and hire
Renting out accommodation
Teaching English as a foreign language
Teleworking
Tourist guide
Toy making
Typing and word processing
Window cleaning
Wood-stripping
Writing
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- 101 Great Money Making Ideas by Mark Hempshell is a home business manual packed with proven ideas for cash-raising projects to suit every interest and age group. Many successful businesses began with the simplest of ideas and next to no capital. This book is brimming over with business ideas, inside tips and step-by-step advice. Most of the suggested projects need very little money to get up and running, but have almost unlimited money-making potential for everyone willing to have a go, both on a full time or a part time basis. For each project you will find listed: whether it is feasible for a part-time or full-time income; the capital required; what the returns are likely to be; which other projects it could be combined with; the equipment/skills needed; the pros and cons; and details of how you would operate such a scheme. The following list of possible ideas is taken from the contents page:
Out & About Businesses
Adult education
Leaflet distribution
Estate Agency
Commercial Property
Land & business sales
Mind-a-home service
Auctions
Concert or play
Dance or disco
Demonstration selling
Shop within a shop
Seasonal shop
Clearance sale
Mobile video library
Gift wrapping
Gift delivery
Sign supply
Advance driving tuition
Other driving techniques
Tour guide
Flower selling
Selling fads
Special interest weekends
Van sales round
Press agency
Creative & Artistic Businesses
Writing about your interests
Travel writing
Writing verse for greeting cards
Calligraphy
Video film production
School photography
Postcard photo library
Complete photo library
Plant rental
Interior design
Jewellery making
Junk jewellery
Ideas for games
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Practical Businesses
Replacement kitchen doors & drawers
Home improvements
Telephone fitting
Foil printing
Natural cosmetics
Natural foods
Biscuits
Sandwich service
Street catering
Making food for restaurants
Bulk breaking
Picture framing
Repairing & refurbishing
Second-hand furniture
Re-upholstery
Contract maintenance
Equipment cleaning
Laundry service
Car valeting
Alarm installation
Self-Managing businesses
Door-to-door catalogue sales
Mail order
Business services bureau
Printer's jobber
Picture rental
Sub-dividing office space
Sub-diving shop space
Courier service
Sandwich board advertising
Language school
Translation service
Fancy dress hire
Vending machines
Public conveniences
Other coin-operated facilities
Lotteries
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Office & Desk Businesses
Opportunities in international trade
Property renovations
Property decoration
Finance broker's agent
Other financial services
Market research
Telephone market research
Advertising cards
Dealing surplus stock
Credit control
House Exchange
Souvenir plots of land
Dating Agency
Contact service
Company sales agent
Telephone services
Mailing list broker
Editing & Proof reading
Car broker
Used car broker
Free newspaper
Mini-advertising agency
Tours & excursions
Party organisation
Art sales
Barter
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- Another helpful guide is 101 Ways to Start Your Own Business by Christine Ingham. The 1998 edition is fully revised and provides you with 101 interesting and original ideas for setting up on your own. As well as giving an overview of each idea Christine Ingham says what sort of person the idea would appeal to; gives the advantages and disadvantages; and future possibilities of the idea. Where possible, the book lists useful addresses and publications. The following list of possible ideas is taken from the contents page:
Accommodation
Antiques
Architectural salvage
Bicycle repairs
Bodyguard service
Book search service
Box designs
Business support service
Buying and renovating properties
Buying an existing business
Cake design
Calligraphy
Car care
Card mailing service
Careers advisor
Catering service
Children's party entertainer
Cleaning antiques
Community business
Companions agency
Complementary therapies
Contract cleaning
Counselling
Courier services
Craft work
Cultivating new plants
Dealing in art
Driving tuition
Film making
Florist's commission work
Fortune telling
Franchising
Fund raising
Garden work |
Gift buying service
Grave care
Greeting card design
Hairdressing
History of houses
House name and number plates
Image consultant
Importing
Indexing
Internet businesses
Introducing sidelines
Inventions
Ironing service
Letting properties service
Local walks and tours
Magazine publishing
Mail order
Making kits
Management consultancy
Market stalls
Mini cab services
Multi-media design
Natural toiletry products
Nursing home
Office equipment cleaning
Office lunches
Organic food supplier
Organising conferences
Party DJ
Party planning
Personalised gifts
Personal trainer
Pet food supplier
Pet sitting and walking |
Picture library
Premium rate telephone lines
Print selling
Private investigation agency
Product agent
Professional's manager or agent
Property finding service
Property maintenance
Publishers' remainders
Reconditioning equipment
Recording studio
Renovating junk furniture
Re-upholstering
Running a play group
Secondhand goods
Security work
Sell your knowledge
Speciality foods
Surplus stock
Telecottages
Teleworking
Themed cafes
Toy making
Tracing family trees
Training for businesses
Translation work
Tuition
Voluntary group
Wedding consultant
Window boxes
Window cleaning
Window dressing
Writing
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- Many homeworkers find work through word of mouth - ask friends, relatives or neighbours if they know of local employers looking for homeworkers. Approach local companies to find out whether they use homeworkers.
- Try to find work from a firm near you. It will be easier to collect and deliver work and sort out problems.
- Get recommendations from other homeworkers who work or who have worked for the company and have been paid.
- Find out more about a company before accepting work - you might be able to visit the premises.
- Ask at the local job centre.
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