Ideas for Home Businesses

If you’re looking to establish a home business, here’s some ideas to get you started.

Catering services

Like death and taxes, there will always be a demand for catering services. People always hold parties and have weddings and bar mitzvahs, and clubs have annual dinners and fundraisers. Home-based catering businesses can do very well given their low-cost overheads.

Event planning

Similar to catering, demand will always be high for event planners – and many home businesses involve themselves in catering AND event planning because the customer base is similar. However, the successful event manager usually succeeds by having sound (and commercial) relationships with a range of suppliers.

This is an example of how it works:

Customer seeks a quote to run a 21st birthday for 100 people. You organise food, drinks, DJ, birthday cake, tables, chairs, decorations and printing of invitations. Every supplier you deal with pays YOU a percentage 10-15% of the sale, so that you make:

Food and drinks for 100 people @ $30 per head ($300 commission)

• DJ, PA, lights etc $500 ($50 commission)
• tables, chairs, decorations $500 ($50 commission)
• Printing, incl design $200 ($30 commission)

= $430 BEFORE you add any fees for your actual event management.  You could easily charge $500-$1000 for this.

Become an Online Shop

Just about anything can be sold online nowadays. Small, home-based merchandisers can operate successfully by using sites such as Amazon, Etsy and Ebay, whether you’re selling a home-made product or imported electronics from China.

The start up costs are generally pretty low, but the commissions charged by these sites can take quite a chunk out of your profits. However, if you decide to collect money directly from customers (rather than using e.g. Amazon) then you’re advised to have good business software such as available from e-commerce stores like Shopify or Ultracart.

Shopify makes it easy to open an online store by providing all the tools and help you need. Click here to try it for free!

Affiliate Marketing

Do you have website or blog? If so, you can take advantage of affiliate marketing to monetize it. There are thousands of people world-wide making money doing this from the comfort of their homes.

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards affiliates for bringing customers or leads to them. Typically links or banners are placed in a website.  When a visitor to the site clicks through the link to a merchant’s site and makes a purchase, a commission is paid to the website owner.

This website makes use of affiliate marketing. Please see this post for full description on how you can get started as an affiliate marketer.

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