The answer is simple, starting your own business working from home will give you a completely different life to that of your office bound former colleges. A life of freedom from the tyranny of the daily commute and bosses setting unrealistic target. Setting your own working hours is another [...]]]>

Why work from home?

The answer is simple, starting your own business working from home will give you a completely different life to that of your office bound former colleges. A life of freedom from the tyranny of the daily commute and bosses setting unrealistic target. Setting your own working hours is another major advantage, you may have caring responsibilities or, for example, be an evening person that doesn’t work well in the mornings, most home based jobs will allow you to set your own working hours to suit you, work 9-5 or 5-9, your choice!.This 3 part guide will give you some ideas for simple and potentially lucrative ideas that are idea for those new to running a business.

Bookkeeping

Bookkeepers always have and always will be in demand as every business, no matter how large or small, is required by law to keep accurate financial records. This involves the recording the transactions businesses into ledgers. Most accountants now use software for this, with SageTM  being the current industry standard.

If you are well organised and don’t mind methodically working through piles of documents then bookkeeping could be the new career for you. To get started you have two options. Either find an entry level accountancy or bookkeeping job to give you some experience, or get an officially recognized qualification from an organization such as the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) or the International Association of Book-keepers (IAB).

It is also possible to home study bookkeeping, the Open University offer a excellent Introduction to bookkeeping and accounting course which is accredited by the IAB.

Pro Bookkeepers can earn good money and as a home based self-employed bookkeeper the hours you work can be very flexible indeed.

Cons You’ll need a good head for numbers!

Custom calendar service

Personalized calendars for individual or business use are always in demand. The calendars may feature photographs, company logos or any other artwork. For corporate clients, day planners and other office stationary will also be in demand.

There will be some quite high initial costs with this business, but they can be kept manageable if you already have a fairly powerful computer to start with. You’ll need  desktop design software, a good printer and a binder. Something like an entry level spiral binding machine would be economically viable to start with.

As time goes on you may wish to expand into other personalized products: mugs, t-shirts, mouse mats etc…. They each will require additional investment in equipment but each extra type of item you can add is capable of providing substantial additional income.

Pros An enjoyable business to work in, good potential for expansion it you have the flair for it.

Cons This industry is very competitive, you will need to set yourself apart from the competition in some way to have the best success.

Plant Hire

Tools and equipment will always be in demand, providing can be a good safe from of income as it is reasonably recession proof business. A good way to get started is by buying a single mini digger with trailer and a few other tools such as a soil compacter for a start. The majority of customersfor these items will be domestic. Many people will hire a mini digger, as much for fun of it as anything else: They will hire one for the day to dig the smallest of ponds, just to get to a chance to use one (and who wouldn’t?).

Domestic customers are a good start but they don’t usually deliver much repeat business, so attracting commercial clients is best for a long term goal. This is trickier as they will often be wanting to hire more specialist and expensive equipment witch is going to require more space and investment but it is worth trying to get into this sector of the market as it is by far the more profitable and stable option.

Pros Easy to start can be run part time to begin with.

Cons Initial investment can be quite high, there can be a lot of competition for some things, especially for those mini-diggers.

Ironing Services

Most people hate ironing. If you do too then this isn’t the job for you but if you don’t mind ironing, or could even learn to love this household chore then there is a good living to be made operating a ironing service.

The best way to get started is to produce a professional looking leaflets and put them though the doors of local houses. The areas to target with the leaflets are those with money-rich time-poor professionals, those are the types who will pay well but  only if you can offer a professional service.

As most people requesting this service will be out at work all day you’ll need to pick the laundry up in the mornings or evenings. You will have to experiment with pricing, and whether to price buy item, weight or sack to see what works best. Remember to allow for the cost of collecting and delivering the ironing: the time, fuel and vehicle wear and tear. A priority 24 hour service could also be offered at extra cost.

Provide a consistently good service to your initial clients and you will gain many more customers though word of mouth.

Pros Potentially very lucrative if you live in of near an affluent area.

Cons The need to be very careful with other people clothing, especially high value items like business suits. If you have children or pets you’ll need to keep them away from the laundry at all times.

Upholstery Services

If you enjoy working with textiles then this could be the right business for you. Your service could specialise in one area or offer a broad range of services covering furniture recovering, custom fitted curtains and soft furnishings.

This kind of job is one of the most recession proof as during the hard time there will be demand for older furniture to be recovered and during the good times demand will be higher for new curtains and other custom soft furnishings.

Also possible is the option to team up another crafts person to often a joint service. For example pairing up with a skilled carpenter would mean that you could offer a bespoke furniture service.

Pros Boom-and-bust proof business, high prices paid for the most specialist work.

Cons If you don’t already have any previous experience it will take a while to build you skills up.

Whatever home based business you choses, integrate into your life. A home based business is more of a way of life than a job. it will not be for everyone, but if it’s for you the rewards can be great.

-Part 2 next week