Working for somebody else will never make you a lot of money.

The idea of working from home sounds brilliant to most people, including the millions of stay at home Mums and Dads. But by no means, do not think having your own business is an easy way to make money, it will take up a lot of your time to start with. But once established you should be able to choose to run your business by utilsing a few hours to it per day. If you want to start your own small business, but do not know where to start, I have listed some ideas for you. All of the new small business ideas listed here can be started at home, thus you will not need a lot of business start up capital to start. Plus all of these ideas can be scaled up in the future when you have more time available, to suit your needs. Sometimes these types of businesses are called lifestyle businesses, as they fit around your current lifestyle.

Start an online fashion boutique

If you think starting an online fashion boutique is a great idea, it will be best if the clothing line you chooses is something you like, and have an interest in. The fashion items can be purchased from places like Spocket, or you can talk to clothing manufacturers overseas and choose from their lines. Selling channels that can be utilised are; Etsy, Amazon, or even start your own WordPress eCommerce store. If your passion is centered around starting your own fashion brand, you could start small, with just a few lines, maybe up to ten. Designing your own line and have the fashion line manufactured can be quite expensive. If you do not have the funds to go down this route, maybe Drop Shipping is a good idea to start. Drop Shipping is a relatively simple business model, it works like this, you advertise a manufactures products on your own website, when you receive orders you inform the manufactures, they, in turn, will ship the products for you. At the end of the process, you will receive a commission for each product you sell through your online store.

A good dropshipping resource is Spocket, here you can choose items, and upload them to a WordPress website, or a Shopify eCommerce store via the use of automatic feeds, thus saving you a lot of time.

Cake baking and decorating

Sometimes we have a talent we don’t realise, and this talent could be your cooking. Are you always being asked to bake a special cake for friends or relatives special day? If so, why not utilise this excellent skill to make some extra money, by selling your cakes to the public. Your cakes could be supplied to schools, workplaces, people who are special days, and everything in between. To advertise your cake making business, you could use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You could even make or have a website designed for you, there are some brilliant things you can do with WordPress these days.

Makeup artist

If you are a dab hand at applying makeup to your friends and family, why not start up a makeup artist business. There is quite a need for makeup artists for special events and functions. These could be weddings, a day at the races, and Halloween parties. Social media is a great way to showcase your work, here you will receive likes and comments and maybe interested people will message you for quotes. A good way to get further practice is to host makeup parties with your friends, or maybe ask if you can apply makeup to actors at your local amateur dramatics club.

Hairstylist

Are you good at styling your and other peoples hair, do you ever get asked, “who styled your hair.” Then maybe you could look into becoming a hairstylist. Being a hairstylist does not require you to rent premises or the need to buy expensive tools to perform the job. It can be a relatively cheap business to start up, and more than likely you will have all the equipment already.

Transcription workers

Transcription workers are needed all over the world, if you can type quickly then it could be a great thing to get into. Some transcription workers get paid around $50 an hour, so it can be a well paid career, and you could work the hours that suit you. All you need for this role is a computer, and an Internet connection. Ideally, you should be able to type a lot of words per minute, and also be very organised with your work.

Writing ebooks

If you excel in a certain topic, it may be a good idea to write ebooks and sell them on channels such as Amazon, and maybe your own website. You could create a Facebook page and create a following that is interested in your niche, thus being able to make sales when you create editions of your ebook. To be an ebook publisher, you will require an Internet connection, and applicable editing software. This area of publishing can reward writers quite well, but to start there is not a great deal of money in writing ebooks, unless there is a great demand for your expertise. Ebooks can fetch a retail value from 1$ to 300$ for a 30 page book.

C V / resume writing business

If you have great grammar, why not become a resume writer, all that is needed is a good Internet connection and a computer. You will be surprised of the number of people looking for help with their resume. The business could be advertised on the likes of Facebook, and notice boards in shops.

Sell images to stock image websites

To sell stock images to stock image libraries, you do not have to be an expert photographer. A lot of the stock photo library are looking for normal daily images, such as a picture of a river, or a cat. This can be quite a good way to supplement your income, as some images that are downloaded from stock photo websites ten to pay around $2.50 per image. If you upload an image that turns out to be very popular you could be onto a winner, and make a lot of money from it.

Websites to sell your images:

• Alamy
• Stockify
• Fotolia
• iStock Photo
• Shutterstock
• Crestock
• 123rf
• Corbis
• Dreamstime
• Getty Images
• Stockxpert

Sell jewelry online

The demand for jewelry is very high, women and men love it. It is something to show off to family and friends, and also has a good feel factor associated with it. So it could be a brilliant new venture for a new business. You could make your own jewelry, or you could find a good wholesaler to purchase from. Facebook and Instagram are great platforms to advertise your products and gain a niche following.

Become an AirBNB Host

Do you have a spare room in your home, or maybe you have an empty property such as a holiday home you do not use very often. A great idea, is to make this empty space work for you. Become a AirBNB host and enjoy extra money from your property. According to their website, a host can make up to as much as $1544 per month, which is a brilliant supplementary income.

Start a virtual assistant business

If you are computer savvy, being a virtual assistant may be a brilliant business to start. To start a virtual assistant business you will need an up to sate computer, a good Internet connection, and a telephone line. Also, of course, you will need the time to set aside to complete certain projects that have been assigned to you.

An online tutor or home visit tutor

Are you good at a certain subject, maybe you qualified at university in English or Maths? If so, tutoring may be a brilliant small business choice for you.  You could set your own hours, and enjoy the fact that you are helping children and adults do better in their studies. If you have a natural passion for teaching and helping people this could be the correct path for you.

Some websites to look for further information are:

• Kip McGrath
• Cluey Learning
• Maths Online

Product reviewer

This is quite a simple idea, all you need to do is buy a product, try it out, then write or create a video about it. When you are popular on the social networks for being a product reviewer you will be called an influencer. Companies pay influencers quite a lot of money to review their products and also wear their clothing brands. There are also the added perks of being an influencer, you will be offered things such as free holidays, free items of clothing, and other free products to try out and review, it really can be a dream life.

Be a home cook

If you enjoy cooking for people, and are a brilliant chief, then you could turn your skill into a money making venture. Being a home cook is quite popular now, as people are just to busy these days, and prefer someone else to cook for them. You could prepare pre-cooked meals for busy families, or actually physically cook their meals in their homes.

Data entry work

Data entry work is quite easy to find, and is quite a popular stay at home business for parents. The data entry job tends to be quite straightforward, you will be tasked with adding data to a spreadsheet. This data will then be sent to the client, they may send the data back from time to time to be edited. To do this job, you need to be the type of person who can concentrate fully on one job, as attention to detail is paramount while performing data entry work.

Wedding organizer

Do you have a passion for weddings, and understand that a wedding is one of the most important days in somebody’s life? If you have a natural flair for wedding, and enjoy this type of work, then this may be the right business for stay at home Mums and Dads. There will be a lot of research to do, if you are new to the world of wedding planning, but it is not an unrealistic idea. as long as you can make a couples wedding day go as smoothly as possible, you will be in good stead to start a wedding organizer business.

Kids party entertainer

Are you good with children, do you find yourself entertaining the kids at the kid’s parties you goto? Well starting a small business as a children’s party entertainer may be a good business to start for parents. Being a kids entertainer is great fun, you can dress up, become a magician, be a clown, be a storyteller, and much more. There are a few things you would have to invest in. such as transportation, party props, music, face painting, and so on.

Family history advisor

Genealogy is very popular, but can take up a lot of time. This is where you could step in, and help people with finding out about their ancestors. All you need to set up a family history business is an Internet connection, and memberships to a couple of the genealogy websites. Family history advisors can expect to earn as much as $20.00 per hour.

Online videos – be a YouTuber

Have you ever thought about starting a Youtube channel, well it can be quite easy to do. As long as your video views get to 4000 views per day, you can monetize your account and start making money. If you post a couple of videos per week 4000 video views should be achievable, as long as your content is interesting and you choose a good niche. Once you achieve a good following, you could be offered sponsorships by the many companies that use Youtube as an advertising signal.

Uber driving

Being an Uber driver can be a great supplement to your income as a stay at home Mum or Dad, the more people you pick up the more money you make. All you need to be an Uber driver is an Uber account and a vehicle.

Pet sitter

There are plenty of pet owners who are looking for pet sitters, this is because pet kennels are quite expensive, and a lot of pet owners don’t like the idea of putting their pet in a kennel for a week or two. To be a pet sitter, you should really like animals, and have transport. Pet sitting can be quite a start business to start, but it is a good idea to get insurance, as with all of these ideas.

Christmas decorator

Do you enjoy the Christmas period, are you brilliant at putting up the Christmas decorations? Maybe starting a seasonal business as a Christmas decorator would be a good idea. This idea, could work with businesses and also people’s homes, many people do not have the time to decorate for Christmas. And this type of service is not everywhere, so there is not a lot of competition at all. Start up a Facebook page to get the word around, and maybe drop into a few of your local businesses to put the idea forward to them. You could be earning $150 plus for each home or business.

Print funny T-shirts business

Are you great with design and have a funny streak, designing funny t-shirts might be right for you? You can use websites such as Facebook and Instagram to promote and sell your funny t-shirts online. When you have the funds you could have a professional eCommerce website designed. T-shirts are quite easy to get drop-shipped, take a look at Shopify, it has lots of print on demand options available. This could be the perfect small business for many stay at home Mums and Dads.

Swimming instructor business

Are you great at swimming, and do you enjoy it? Well, all it takes to become a swimming instructor is to get a swimming license, this will enable you to teach. If you actually have your own swimming pool at home this would help a lot, but if not you can use the local swimming pool.

Selling gift baskets

A gift basket or hamper is a brilliant gift to give to somebody, they are brilliant gift ideas as they can be customised to suit the person they are for. If you already enjoy making and giving gift baskets to your friend and family, then this small business idea is brilliant. You could even ask for a deposit before starting to make the gift basket, so you would not be out of pocket straightaway.

Real estate manager

To start a small business as an estate manager, it would be a brilliant start if you have little experience in letting of properties. In the real estate business, your role will be managing properties for the owners. You will be looking after the tenants and any problems they have that are associated with the property. You will also be in charge of scheduling viewings, inspections, and maintenance of the properties. You will have to be present when contracts are signed, and make sure all rent is up to date. Being a real estate manager can be quite consuming, so be careful with how many properties you take on to manage.

Small business ideas for stay at home Mums and Dads Conclusion

From this list of small business ideas for stay at home parents, we can see there is a lot of small businesses ideas you can start with a small startup budget, hence the risk is quite low. Please be aware though, if you are looking to start a new small business. Your business will not make money overnight, generally, new businesses need to be nurtured. It can take a few months before you see customers coming onboard. But when you do see money coming in on a regular basis, you will be very proud of what you have achieved. Many people tend to give up to early, it is a good idea to persevere with your new venture, and if you provide a great service, the new business venture should be a success.

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Mike Bloomberg: The harder you work the luckier you become, Bloomberg

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