1. ACCOUNTANT
Experience, training or licensing may
be needed
Create a flier outlining your services.
Before you do that, you need to know
what those services will be. Do you
want to simply do bookkeeping for a
small business? A more involved
level of accounting would be do
actually work up balance sheets,
income statements, and other
financial reports on a monthly,
quarterly, and/or annual basis,
depending on the needs of the
business. Other specializations can
include tax accounting, a huge area
of potential work. Many business
owners don't mind keeping their own
day-to-day bookkeeping records but
would rather get professional help
with their taxes.
2. BICYCLE REPAIR
In many parts of the country, this
business tends to be seasonal, but
you can find ways around that. Rent
a storage unit and offer to store
people's bicycles over the winter
after you do a tune-up and any
needed repairs on them. If you want
to cater to the Lance Armstrong
wannabes, you can have business all
year round. These road race riders
are training through snow, sleet and
dark of night. Some of them work on
their own bicycles, but many of them
don't, so you can get their business
all year. And if you keep Saturday
shop hours, you can be sure you will
have a group of enthusiasts coming
by to talk all things cycling.
3. BOAT CLEANING
Experience, training or licensing may
be needed
Boats that are hauled out of the
water for the winter or even just for
mid-season repairs will need the hull
cleaned. And depending on the type
of boat, it is a good time to give a
major cleaning everything else too--
the decks, the sleeping quarters, the
head, and the holds. Start by
approaching homes that have a boat
sitting in the you.
4. BUSINESS PLAN SERVICE
Has expansion possibilities
Offer a soup-to-nuts business plan,
including market research, the
business plan narrative and the
financial statements. Plan your fee
around the main one that the client
will want and offer the others as add-
on services. You can give clients an
electronic file and allow them to take
it from there, or you can keep the
business plan on file and offer the
service of tweaking it whenever
necessary. Have business plan
samples to show clients--and make
sure to include your own!
5. CHIMNEY SWEEP
Learning to be a chimney sweep may
mean nothing more than apprenticing
with someone already in the
business. By becoming a chimney
expert, you can combine a chimney
sweep business with a chimney
inspection service--covering more
than just whether or not the chimney
needs cleaning but whether the
chimney is in good working order or
in need of repair.
6. CLEANING SERVICE
There are many directions you can
take this business. If you want to
work during hours when no one else
does, you can focus on office clients.
You can focus on retail businesses
and keep your customers clumped
into one or two blocks. Restaurants
are in great need of daily thorough
cleaning and can be a great source
of steady clients. Perhaps you would
be more interested in house
cleaning. Many times with cleaning
services you don't have to spend lots
of money on advertising or marketing
because your customers will come
by word of mouth.
7. COMPUTER REPAIR
Experience, training or licensing may
be needed
Study the main types of software that
system users will want--word
processing, photo manipulation
software, mail merge, spreadsheet,
design and especially security
software. Investigate all the
components--monitor types in all
their varieties; keyboards, from wired
to ergonomic to wireless; mouse
types; as well as peripheral
components like printers and
scanners. Become completely
familiar with all the ISPs (internet
service providers) available in the
market area you plan to cover.
Establish yourself as the guru who
can meet the needs of the personal
computer user, the small business or
a larger corporation.
8. CONSULTANT
Has expansion possibilities
To be a consultant, you need to have
an expertise in something so you can
market yourself as an advisor to
others looking to work in that area.
Perhaps you managed several large
warehouses in your career with a
drugstore company, you did all the
marketing for many years for a large
shoe manufacturer or you set up a
chain of beauty supply shops or
take-out restaurants. You can use
this experience to help others do
similar things without making the
same mistakes that you made along
the way.
9. DOG BREEDER
Experience, training, or licensing may
be needed
Pets are phenomenally popular in the
U.S. While many people are willing to
adopt from animal shelters, others
are looking for a specific breed.
Purebred dogs are more popular than
ever and can command large sums of
money. But becoming a dog breeder
is serious business catering to savvy
consumers with high expectations of
their pet purchases. You will need to
establish yourself as a conscientious
breeder who cares about the health
and welfare of the animals you bring
into the world.
10. EBAY ASSISTANT
Do you have items lurking around
your household that you could sell
on eBay? Figure out your asking
price and decide whether to auction
it or put it in your eBay store. Then
decide if you want a minimum bid
and how long you want the auction to
last. You will want to establish a
PayPal account to use for
transactions. The eBay website
provides all the information you need
to know to get up and running with
an eBay business.
Experience, training or licensing may
be needed
Create a flier outlining your services.
Before you do that, you need to know
what those services will be. Do you
want to simply do bookkeeping for a
small business? A more involved
level of accounting would be do
actually work up balance sheets,
income statements, and other
financial reports on a monthly,
quarterly, and/or annual basis,
depending on the needs of the
business. Other specializations can
include tax accounting, a huge area
of potential work. Many business
owners don't mind keeping their own
day-to-day bookkeeping records but
would rather get professional help
with their taxes.
2. BICYCLE REPAIR
In many parts of the country, this
business tends to be seasonal, but
you can find ways around that. Rent
a storage unit and offer to store
people's bicycles over the winter
after you do a tune-up and any
needed repairs on them. If you want
to cater to the Lance Armstrong
wannabes, you can have business all
year round. These road race riders
are training through snow, sleet and
dark of night. Some of them work on
their own bicycles, but many of them
don't, so you can get their business
all year. And if you keep Saturday
shop hours, you can be sure you will
have a group of enthusiasts coming
by to talk all things cycling.
3. BOAT CLEANING
Experience, training or licensing may
be needed
Boats that are hauled out of the
water for the winter or even just for
mid-season repairs will need the hull
cleaned. And depending on the type
of boat, it is a good time to give a
major cleaning everything else too--
the decks, the sleeping quarters, the
head, and the holds. Start by
approaching homes that have a boat
sitting in the you.
4. BUSINESS PLAN SERVICE
Has expansion possibilities
Offer a soup-to-nuts business plan,
including market research, the
business plan narrative and the
financial statements. Plan your fee
around the main one that the client
will want and offer the others as add-
on services. You can give clients an
electronic file and allow them to take
it from there, or you can keep the
business plan on file and offer the
service of tweaking it whenever
necessary. Have business plan
samples to show clients--and make
sure to include your own!
5. CHIMNEY SWEEP
Learning to be a chimney sweep may
mean nothing more than apprenticing
with someone already in the
business. By becoming a chimney
expert, you can combine a chimney
sweep business with a chimney
inspection service--covering more
than just whether or not the chimney
needs cleaning but whether the
chimney is in good working order or
in need of repair.
6. CLEANING SERVICE
There are many directions you can
take this business. If you want to
work during hours when no one else
does, you can focus on office clients.
You can focus on retail businesses
and keep your customers clumped
into one or two blocks. Restaurants
are in great need of daily thorough
cleaning and can be a great source
of steady clients. Perhaps you would
be more interested in house
cleaning. Many times with cleaning
services you don't have to spend lots
of money on advertising or marketing
because your customers will come
by word of mouth.
7. COMPUTER REPAIR
Experience, training or licensing may
be needed
Study the main types of software that
system users will want--word
processing, photo manipulation
software, mail merge, spreadsheet,
design and especially security
software. Investigate all the
components--monitor types in all
their varieties; keyboards, from wired
to ergonomic to wireless; mouse
types; as well as peripheral
components like printers and
scanners. Become completely
familiar with all the ISPs (internet
service providers) available in the
market area you plan to cover.
Establish yourself as the guru who
can meet the needs of the personal
computer user, the small business or
a larger corporation.
8. CONSULTANT
Has expansion possibilities
To be a consultant, you need to have
an expertise in something so you can
market yourself as an advisor to
others looking to work in that area.
Perhaps you managed several large
warehouses in your career with a
drugstore company, you did all the
marketing for many years for a large
shoe manufacturer or you set up a
chain of beauty supply shops or
take-out restaurants. You can use
this experience to help others do
similar things without making the
same mistakes that you made along
the way.
9. DOG BREEDER
Experience, training, or licensing may
be needed
Pets are phenomenally popular in the
U.S. While many people are willing to
adopt from animal shelters, others
are looking for a specific breed.
Purebred dogs are more popular than
ever and can command large sums of
money. But becoming a dog breeder
is serious business catering to savvy
consumers with high expectations of
their pet purchases. You will need to
establish yourself as a conscientious
breeder who cares about the health
and welfare of the animals you bring
into the world.
10. EBAY ASSISTANT
Do you have items lurking around
your household that you could sell
on eBay? Figure out your asking
price and decide whether to auction
it or put it in your eBay store. Then
decide if you want a minimum bid
and how long you want the auction to
last. You will want to establish a
PayPal account to use for
transactions. The eBay website
provides all the information you need
to know to get up and running with
an eBay business.
