The Best Home Based Business Ideas

With more and more people choosing to work from home, you may be questioning whether you yourself are suited to this. Question no further. With so many options nowadays, working from home can give you the flexibility you need and the freedom to run your own life, from the comfort of your own home.

So many options of working from home can make choosing the ‘right’ one a daunting task, as it will result in some investment of your time and possibly money. Initially, starting with something that is easy for you to do or that you have experience in already will lead to the most success. You can then start to branch out and explore other options for working from home.

Here we give you many different options so that you can choose the one/few that best suit you.

Why start a Home Based Business?

For many people, starting a business from home is a way to escape the confines of the 9-5 working week. With a lack of flexibility, the long commute there and back, paying for day care for the kids (the list goes on), enough becomes enough. Running a business from home eliminates these problems. It allows people to run their own lives, and make decisions that just were not possible with the regular 9-5 schedule.

For example, when you want to take a holiday, you can! No leave application required. With the right business idea, you can easily work from that Pacific Island too, as much or as little as you like. You have the freedom to call the shots in your own life. When you need extra money one week, you work more. When money isn’t so important another week, you work less. Simple!

The ability to direct your own life, and essentially become your own boss is so empowering for some that they never turn back. A work from home business allows you to create a flexible working environment that best fits you, and will give you a different love and appreciation for work that you may never have known you could have.

Are you convinced? The first step in this process is to get started, but where you may ask? By deciding which business idea is right for you. With so many opportunities for home businesses to have the best opportunity of success and to really enjoy what you are doing, you need to distinguish how to find the right business idea.

Best Business Ideas

Finding the right business starts with you. What are your areas of interest? What are your skills? How hard are you prepared to work? These questions will need to be answered for you to find a suitable business option for you. It is necessary that you decide on something that you will at least find enjoyable. Choose a direction that you know you enjoy from prior experience, or which you have a passion/interest in. This makes it so much easier to stay committed to your business and also pushes you through those times of procrastination (which we all go through at some point).

Having an interest will also help drive your business, as we all know that things become simpler and more exciting when we are actually interested in them. It is also important that you research your own area and find whether a market exists for the idea you’re developing. Of course, if the market is already too large, you do not want to be overwhelmed by the competition.

Another tip is to make sure your business is not too complicated. Keep things simple! There are many easy home business ideas out there. The reason these are so successful is because they don’t over complicate things. If people don’t understand what it is that you do, they are not going to be using your service, so be sure to be clear and concise.

Have you decided which idea is right for you? Below, we have listed some home based business opportunities that we believe are the ultimate home business opportunities!

Cleaning Service

Starting a cleaning business can be a greatly rewarding experience, as you are able to see your hard work paid off by witnessing your own reflection in the sink! Costs can be kept down by requiring clients to provide their own cleaning materials, so that your costs are limited to your transportation. If you aren’t able to be fully flexible, you will be able to schedule cleaning times at your own convenience too, making this a very flexible business.

There are more options for home cleaning businesses than just offering home cleaning services. You could also look into running a car cleaning service, or a pet cleaning service. You could also give yourself an edge in the market by advertising that you use only natural cleaning products. This is important when cleaning homes that have either kids or pets (which would be the majority of homes).

It is a good idea to get a criminal record/police check to use when advertising yourself. Even though by law this is not required, it does add a sense of security for your clients.

Uber Driver

Uber is a big name now recognised by most people, and if you have not used an Uber you would have at least heard of them. Although taxi drivers are not fans, there is no denying that Uber is a great way for anyone with a car to make money. Uber’s appeal comes from the flexibility it offers – it is easy to to apply, you can work as little or as much as you want and you can choose your own hours. So any night you need a little extra cash, you can head out and make it happen.

As with most things, the more you put in, the more you get out. This stays true with Uber as investing in a better vehicle can also make you eligible for Uber Black, a more upmarket version of Uber Taxi. So long as you have a clean criminal and driving record, a car less than 9 years old that fits a few other requirements, you are in. A benefit of Uber for many is that your home does not become your office. You can keep this association separate and you will see more than you ever could in any office.

You can see how easy it is to become an Uber driver below.

Marketing

Most businesses are now seeing the far reaching opportunities that social media marketing can do for their business. This form of marketing has now become so significant in itself that many businesses are interested in using a social media manager to allow the business to have the best exposure it can, as well as using social media platforms to their best advantage. With so many other things for small businesses to consider, outsourcing the marketing aspect can save time, and by employing a professional social media manager, can add many clients to their portfolio, or bring more customers to their door.

You can find many marketing for small business opportunities advertised online. Many of these are once offs, but you can find some that offer consistent work. You will also need to create some type of edge to distinguish yourself over your competition. A good step is to create a website and show them how prominent you can be by marketing yourself through social media. Having a website will make things clear and orderly for the person looking to hire you, and if you can use your ‘social media skills’ to market yourself, this will look great to potential clients.

If you’re even more computer savvy you can use your graphic design skills to help create visual marketing campaigns for clients. However, unless you are already a skilled graphic designer, this will likely require you to undertake some sort of training. To help you learn more about home marketing opportunities, there are frequent seminars and workshops held at various times throughout the year that you can attend which can be very informative.

Direct Sales Representative

The great thing about becoming a direct sales representative is that you really can work as much or as little as you please. If you aren’t averse to a little hard work, you can have the opportunity to earn some great figures. However, becoming a direct sales representative can be just as good for earning a little extra cash on the side.

There are many direct sales companies out there. One direct selling company that needs no introduction is Avon. With 6.4 million sales representatives, selling Avon products as an Avon representative can be serious business. There are other newer companies offering more expensive products with an edge, such as using all natural ingredients. These companies may also be worthwhile looking into. While the companies are still small, it can be a great opportunity to get started while not many people are selling their products.

If you wish to succeed as a direct sales representative, we have some tips. Firstly, you must be a ‘peoples person.’ The people that really succeed at direct sales create relationships with their clients and gain their trust, so that their customers feel comfortable and trust the advice given to them. It also helps to have a large social circle, as these are likely to be your main clients. Create relationships with the family and friends of your friends Having a bubbly personality helps, genuine care for your clients and a slightly pushy predisposition won’t hurt. Becoming a direct sales representative can be great not just for business, but also for your social life.

Beauty products aren’t the only thing you can sell. There are opportunities for selling food, party equipment and all natural cleaning products to name a few.

Repair Businesses

Are you good with your hands? Why not consider running a repair business from home. This can involve fixing bikes, lawnmowers and furniture. Perhaps you’re not so good with your hands, but computers are your forte. Running a computer repair business in the way of eradicating spyware and viruses may be an option for you to consider.

The good thing about a repair business is that things always need fixing, so finding work really should not be difficult at all. Unless you are naturally gifted in this department, it may be good to look into different courses you can do to develop your skills. Many repair businesses, such as motor vehicle repairing, require you to hold a license to operate, so look into whether what you choose to do will require any particular license.

Some repair businesses can become very successful. It would be beneficial to look into your area and see what people use. For example, if you live in an area dominated by apartment blocks, a lawnmower repair business probably won’t be needed, but a computer repair business might.

Day Trading

Day trading is suited more towards the risk takers among us. Operating a trading business is by no means predictable, with your income being dictated by the amount you buy and sell your shares at. Some days, you will make a lot. However, it is almost certain that other days, you will lose some money.

Please note, ‘day traders’ don’t just operate during the day, and it is not uncommon to be selling shares in the early hours of the morning. This somewhat takes away from the flexibility of running a home business, but at least you can choose how often you buy and sell.

You will require an online stock broker to engage in online share trading. Two good options for day traders in Australia include CommSec and ETRADE Pro. To be successful, research thoroughly the company you are planning on investing in. There are certain things that can cause share prices to drop, for example, if the company is going through legal issues then the share price may drop. Be aware of things like this.

Personal Trainer

If fitness is your thing, working as a personal trainer is a great opportunity, and can be a very rewarding experience by helping people to reach their fitness goals and realise their potential. If you’re wondering how to become a personal trainer, it is really not that difficult. You will require a qualification from a registered training provider, however these are relatively inexpensive and don’t take too long.

The downside of working from home is that you will require your own equipment, which can be expensive. However you can find some bargains online with used equipment. However, many personal trainer jobs will not require much more equipment than perhaps a skipping rope and kettle bell. By working from home, you can be competitive by charging a lower rate than competing gyms, and yet probably earn more as you aren’t splitting this and once you get a good reputation you can charge a higher dollar per hour and work less.

An alternative is to operate as an online personal trainer, where you can create a program for a client, track their progress and adjust as required. The only difficulty in this is making sure that your client actually does what is required.

These are just a sample of the many business ideas that exist. If you are looking for some more ideas, check out our guide to working from home and our list of 50 ways to make money online.