9
2008
Top 7 Home Business Ideas
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Top 7 Home Business Ideas
There are many different ways to make money from home and here are my 7 favorite ideas:
1. Telecommute Jobs. I spend a lot of time online and I can’t tell you how many people I meet online who are looking for a “job” that they can do online from home and make a ton of money … or at least replace their full-time income. I wish I could say that these jobs were plentiful and that there are companies who will beat your door down to hire you.
Truthfully, the very best way to find these types of jobs is OFFLINE. Most people who are doing this type of work talked their “offline” boss into allowing them to work their same position from home … or they got the work through someone they know.
Please beware of the many scams on the internet. Legitimate work at home employers should not ask you for money or to pay for postage for any reason. I suggest checking out all potential companies and potential employers by doing a Google search on the company name and on the hiring person and to also check with the Better Business Bureau before making any decisions.
Read some more information about Telecommute Jobs.
Suggested Skills: computer, data entry, telephone, customer service, sales/telemarketing
2. Party Plan/Direct Sales/MLM (Multi-Level Marketing). Most of us are familiar with the direct sales/party plan business model and it’s certainly a viable option to make some money from home. It’s a great way to jump in an own your own business without the investment and risk involved with starting your own business from the ground up.
The investment is usually under $200 and should give you most of the tools you need to get your business up and running. Most will offer representative replicated websites for free or for an affordable rate giving you an instant online presence too.
Another benefit is that you will have other representatives who will train and mentor you as you start your business and you’ll have access to company training and sales tools as well.
Believe it or not, on my WAHM 2 WAHM site we have over 300 companies listed that fall into this category with product lines ranging from cosmetics and skin care to wine … travel companies to candles … pet supplies … to “green” companies … and literally everything in between.
My suggestion is to make a list of everything that you have a passion for i.e. wine, travel, candles, dogs, investing, babies, books, etc. and then you can go to WAHM 2 WAHM and search by keyword and see what companies are out there to have a look at. We also offer tips on what to look for in not only a company but also how to select a sponsor (mentor) who is a match for your personality type.
Skills: friendly, helpful, email, phone skills, good follow through, persistence, self-starter,
3. Affiliate Programs/Affiliate Marketing. An affiliate program is simply a program that pays you to drive traffic to someone else’s products and/or services. If the traffic you send results in a sale you will be paid a referral fee which is either a percentage of the commission or a flat fee per sale. This allows a merchant to have 100’s or even 1000’s of affiliates promoting their product or service simultaneously without costing them a dime in advertising. These payouts are made on a “performance” basis. It’s truly a win-win. These programs range from Jane Doe’s custom hair bows to well-known companies like Wal-Mart, Amazon, and eBay.
Affiliate marketing is the business of promoting and marketing the various affiliate programs you have decided to represent. Just to be clear, you can choose to be an affiliate for only one company or product … or for dozens … it’s your choice. Well, affiliate marketing can be done in many different ways and that all depends on your experience, desire to learn, and budget. You can write and submit articles, write blog posts, send out newsletters to a mailing list, do review pages, set up separate websites or webpages for each, use pay-per-click advertising, social marketing, and there are a host of other methods you could use. Make sure you stay on my mailing list so you don’t miss any important information I send out that will help you with your online promotions.
If this interests you please read my Newbie’s Guide to Affiliate Marketing.
4. Crafting/Homemade Items. If you have a craft or a handmade product that you’d like to make a business out of you could certainly start your own business selling your products online.
If you already have a business doing this offline you are ahead of the game as far as pricing, packaging, and hopefully some marketing ideas and materials but online marketing will usually require a website and/or a blog and some time investment on the best ways to market your business online.
5. Wholesale/Retail Products. Another option for selling products online is to investigate purchasing products wholesale to sell at retail for profit. This can be very tricky. I feel the only real way to be competitive at this market is to have a lot of start-up capital. If you don’t buy in large enough quantities you probably won’t be competitive with the “big boys.”
That’s not to say it can’t happen but it will take a lot of research to find just the right product. I would also caution you that there is a huge scam industry just waiting to prey on people looking for wholesale products and they will charge money for “lists” of wholesalers. Please be careful with this one.
6. eBay Seller. Selling items on eBay can be a great business as long as you have something competitive to sell. This can be anything from items you have around the house, to handmade items, to wholesale/retail products. Some people even shop thrift stores and garage sales for items to sell at a profit. An eBay business is sometimes just a vehicle to implement some of the other businesses we’re covering here.
7. Start a Blog. A blog is often referred to as an online journal and the term blog comes from “web log.” It’s a website where content entries are made in a journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. The activity of updating a blog is “blogging” and the person who keeps a blog is a “blogger.”
Blogs are built and updated using software that will allow even those with little technical experience to update and maintain the site.
There are many ways to make money blogging and if this is something that interests you you’ll want to reserve your FREE spot in my upcoming “Blogging for Bucks BootCamp ($297 value) by subscribing to my blog (read about how you can get emails each time I post new content here on my blog).
Maybe these ideas will help you find your new home business. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. Do you have a home business? How did you decide on your business? Do you have any ideas to add to this list? Post your questions and comments below. *SmiLes* Suzanne
Great stuff. The one thing about starting a blog for business, though, is to NOT start one on a blogging site such as Blogger. It’s a good place to start out if you’ve never blogged before, just to see if you can write, but long term, doing it on your own is the better way to go, and it’s easy to do.
Of course, you already knew that. lol
Mitch’s last blog post..How To Be A Prolific Writer
@ mitch ~ thanks for sharing your tips! it doesn’t matter what “I” already know … the tips you share help many more who are out there reading … as you already know … most people read blogs and DON’T comment so I always try to write and comment for the masses LOL and for those of you who read and don’t post (lurkers LOL) please jump in and leave a “Hello” … I won’t bite I promise and I’d love to know you’re here reading. If you have questions I’d love to answer them … it’s the fun part of the “job” Mitch … great blog btw … I’ve followed you over from Dennis’s blog several times … time to subscribe huh? *huGs* Suzanne
Hello! Oh wait, you probably weren’t talking to me.
Ya know, you’re like the 3rd one today to talk about following someone through my blog…I wonder if I should start collecting referral fees. hehe
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These are surefire ideas for your home based business. Thinking and planning ahead will do you good too.
Some good advice.
Thanks for the list. I think home based businesses are a brilliant way to earn extra money as long as peoples expectations are managed. You won’t earn a million in your first year working 2 hours a day - it’s a job and you get out what you put in. No matter what any of the marketing spiel says a couple of hundred a week is even an overestimate for starting out in any of these areas - and I think that if people knew this from the start they would be more likely to stick with it for the long haul where the potential to earn REAL money kicks in. Just my opinion though. 
Definitely great tips. I am also trying to get that ‘job’ that can replace the fulltime one. I know it’s elusive but I do know it’s attainable and it’s tips like yours that can help.
Affiliate Marketing is probably the most flexible of the above and requires the least amount of financial investment.
Hey Suzanne. Definitely great ideas and tips you have outlined here, for people who are looking for out of the box ideas for making money from home. I think online businesses are the most easiest to start in terms of time and investment. Ron
I agree with your opinion. There are still a lot of opportunities and possibilities of making money from home. I run my book selling business from home and I made 27,500 US dollars last year. I also got additional income by monetizing my blog in http://charlesroring.blogspot.com. Blogging is a good way of earning money but it is not easy. We need to work harder to earn a living from internet business.
I like this article. I think online businesses are the most easiest to start in terms of time and investment. I think home based businesses are a brilliant way to earn extra money as long as peoples expectations are managed.It is a great advice.
We’re interesting to run an mlm site but still not found the right tools to run it.
Make Money On The InternetZine.co.uk’s last blog post..Get Paid To Advertise On Your Car
Good article.Thanks for the list. I think home based businesses are a brilliant way to earn extra money as long as peoples expectations are managed. You won’t earn a million in your first year working 2 hours a day - it’s a job and you get out what you put in. No matter what any of the marketing spiel says a couple of hundred a week is even an overestimate for starting out in any of these areas - and I think that if people knew this from the start they would be more likely to stick with it for the long haul where the potential to earn REAL money kicks in.