Top Ten No Cost/Low Cost Home Based Business Ideas
There is a common misconception that to start a successful business, you need to have thousands of dollars saved up and a group of investors ready to jump behind your idea and turn it into a million-dollar industry.
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The truth is that while some businesses require a lot of overhead to start up, there are plenty of low cost startup business ideas that do not require much, if any, investment of money at all. In fact, some of the richest people in the world started off with low-cost business ideas. Warren Buffett, the richest man in the world, started off with nothing but a pinball machine he rented out to a local pizza shop. Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Airlines, Virgin Records and Virgin Galactic, started out with nothing but a few records that he sold. From small beginnings can come a very profitable business. Here are top 10 home-based businesses with low startup costs.
- Internet Advertising - The internet is king for small business and it has opened up many avenues for businesses that did not exist 20 years ago. One of the top ways that people are making money is by using the internet to advertise other companies. Through the creation of a blog that advertises companies you can bring in a lot of money. A well-known example of this is MillionDollarHomePage.com, which offered one pixel of space for one dollar. The person who created that sold all one million pixels on the website, becoming a millionaire in the process. There are also affiliate programs that you can take advantage of that will allow you to send traffic to other sites though ads, which brings money to you as well. All you have to pay for is a domain and the time to create a website. Each week you will have to put up information and do maintenance, but this is a business that makes money for you when you are not even working on it.
- Consultant - Are you an expert in something? They why not choose to be a consultant. You can consult people on whatever you are an expert in and many companies will pay a lot of money for you to come in and talk to their employees. You will need to network with this type of business so get some business cards printed up.
- Pet Sitting - A great and cheap business to start is one where you either take care of people’s pets when they are gone, or take care of their house when they are away. You don’t need to have skills, but you do need to have the trust of the people leaving their house or pet with you.
- Professional Organizer - If you are really good at organizing things, then being a professional organizer is a great idea. You will go into the homes of your clients and show them how to organize their houses. You can do the same for an entire office. Again, you need to look at networking and possibly joining the National Association of Professional Organizers to help give yourself some credentials behind your name.
- Desktop Publishing - Big newspapers are beginning to fall, and that is opening up the door for small presses to jump in and fill the void. This is why desktop publishing is one of the best careers to start up in right now. You can make everything from small local papers that are sold in coffee shops, to flyers and brochures for businesses. The costs are a bit higher with this as you need good desktop publishing software, a good computer and a high quality printer, but these are one time purchases.
- Contractor - With the tough economic times, many companies are looking to hire contractors to do what employees used to do. The reason is that contractors do not need to be trained and do not need to have benefits. That saves a company money, even if the contractor charges more. Try contracting yourself out to companies that need administration help. All you need is some flyers, business cards and a bit of networking skill to make it happen.
- Elder Care - The population of the country is beginning to age and that means more and more people are going to be looking for someone to care for their parents. Elder care is a growing industry and it keeps growing as the Baby Boomers begin to age. You will have to look at some certifications for this type of business, but the overhead costs are quite low.
- Delivery Services - Delivery services are always needed, especially in larger cities. While FedEx and UPS have this market on a worldwide stage, there is a lot of space available for smaller outfits to offer cheaper rates within a small municipal area. You can also start a business hauling away things like compost, garbage and even diapers, which many people do not want to deal with.
- Cleaning Business - Cleaning is something many people don’t want to do and they will pay others to do it for them. This is where you come in with your residential cleaning service. You can make a lot of money cleaning homes and all you have to do is buy the supplies that you need for the business.
- Lawn Moving - Lawns mow and lawns collect snow, it is a fact of life. You can take advantage of this by offering a business that mows lawns and shovels snow. Many people don’t want to do these things, so why not offer to do it for them. You will be surprised how many people pay to have you do these tasks for them. The great thing is that beyond gas, a mower and a shovel, there are nearly no costs associated with this business.
These are just some of the best low cost home business ideas you can start now, but the world is wide open for new ideas, so take advantage of your own skills to find a market for yourself and your business.