07 Nov Your New Start: Starting a Home Business

Estelle Liotard is a seasoned content writer and a blogger, with years of experience in different fields of marketing. She is a senior writer at Grab My Essay and content editor at Studicus. Her passion is teaching people how to overcome digital marketing obstacles and help businesses communicate their messages to their customers. Here she shares her tips on how to start a home business.

Building a successful career is challenging and requires a lot of time, effort, and determination. But we all know, that usually, the harder you work the more lemons life gives you. Divorce, relocation to another country because of your partner’s job, going to work after a long career break and just needing a change are all reasons for making a change in your career path. No matter what, you will surely overcome all the obstacles, manage to give a boost to your career or even completely reinvent yourself. To make it easier, we gathered a few ideas to help you get started. Just what you need when you want to hit the ground running.  

Start yourself up as a virtual assistant

If you’re highly organised and diligent, you could soon find yourself plenty of work as a virtual assistant. The great thing about these kinds of roles is that they’re flexible, adaptable, and there’s really no upper ceiling to how much you can charge. All you need to do is start building a breathtaking portfolio and pile of 5-star references and reviews, and you’ll be one of the most sought after assistants in no time at all. Take a look at Above All Admin for ideas.

Marketing consultants are always in demand 

Take a company like PickTheWriter. They’re constantly looking for new branding and marketing initiatives, and so often they look outside of their ranks for bright ideas. The people they hire are marketing consultants, and if you know what consumers want, there’s no reason you can’t set yourself up as one. Build your portfolio, always ask for references, and slowly but surely you’ll find you can charge just about whatever you like for your services. 

Embark on a career as a copywriter

If you want to use a skill you learned years ago, why not look into becoming a copywriter? It’s a great way to use your literary skills, it’s creative and varied, and it’s a much more reliable source of income than hoping you write the next great American novel. The key here is to start off with modest prices and try a whole host of writing tasks. Before too long you’ll have settled on your niche, and as you gain more and more experience you can begin to ratchet up those prices. Ideal if you want to start a business that grows naturally and sustainably for years to come. 

Freelance web design is a great way to express your creative side 

Getting creative is what web design is all about, and now thanks to platforms like WordPress you really don’t have to be able to write thousands of lines of code from memory to build a site. If you’re someone who loves to build something that takes users on a journey, you’re going to want to take a closer look at this niche. A website such as Wix will give you some ideas.

Become a restauranteur 

If you’re someone with a passion for all things food and drink, why not look into how to start a restaurant business? Okay, it’s not strictly a home business, but the people you work with will feel like family when you’ve been doing it long enough. The key here is to take a look at what your local neighbourhood is missing, figure out why, and then fill the gap in an appetising way. 

Editing and proofreading are skills people will always pay for 

You might like the idea of writing for a living, but want to go in a slightly different direction to the drafting and redrafting process that copywriting can entail. There are plenty of companies and aspiring authors who will be on the lookout for an editor, so why not give it a try? Sites like UpWork and Fiverr are quick and easy ways to put yourself in front of a captive audience, so why not take a closer look once you’ve finished this article?

Speak a second language? Become a translator! 

It may sound obvious now that you see it in print, but don’t feel down on yourself if you never thought to monetize your language skills. If you are fluent in more than one language and have taken the time to acquire a new skill, turn it to your advantage. Isaccurate will give you an idea. As with so many of the freelance roles on this list, the key is going to be building a portfolio that showcases your skillset and experience. Once you’ve done that you’ll have a credible online presence which gives prospective customers the confidence to hire you. 

Start buying and selling on eBay 

Buying and selling comes with a few risks because it does have overheads (stock you can’t sell). That said, if you can identify the latest viral trends before most of the rest of the crowd, you could really be onto something. Start off by selling anything of yours you no longer want so you can get used to how the platform works, the bidding process, etc. From there you’ll be all set up to take things in an exciting new direction. 

Sell crafts on Etsy to unleash your creativity 

When you have a passion for working with your hands you really need to start thinking about turning it into a business. There are a whole host of different ways you can take things, so follow your heart and see what sells, to begin with. 

Partner with a friend to make a local events company 

If you’ve always talked with one of your closest friends about going into business together, perhaps now is a perfect time? Get together over a coffee and start figuring out how you’re going to do it. It could just be the start of something great. 

Final Thoughts 

Now that you’ve heard how to start your new home business, all you have to do is give some serious thought to which direction you’d like to go in. You might find this a little daunting at the beginning but it’s so important you find something you’re passionate about, otherwise, you’ll be dragging yourself to go to work each morning. Find a passion project on the other hand, and your fortunes will soon transform out of all recognition.