Running a Business from Home

Money is really important and everyone needs it in at least some capacity. If you ever need more of it (Because, as is a common theme so far, everyone always does need more) there are a bunch of ways to go about it, though not many of them are particularly satisfying or happy. You can get a second job but is that what you really want to do? I would contend that the best thing you may consider doing to earn a little extra money is to start a business of your own. Even better, base that business out of your home and you will never have to go into any office or leave the comfort of your house or apartment. If you need some ideas for what kind of businesses you might like to try, look no further than the next few paragraphs.

One idea that might work for you if you are good with children and have the trust of the people who live near you is to run a daycare out of your home. You can take on people’s kids for the day while they are at work or doing the normal adult tasks that occupy people through the morning and afternoon and entertain their children for the duration. You also get to be a part of the rewarding process that is teaching children about the world and the different things that kids need to learn as they grow up. Of course, there are three large barriers to think about here, one of which we will get to at the end of my recommendations. The first is that you have to like kids and be able to create a space that has plenty of room for them to get around and have fun. If you are not the best with kids and your home reflects that, this is obviously not going to be the businesses for you. Second, people are very protective of their children, as you might expect (Probably the most obvious statement ever made about humans). Not only are parents going to have to be able to trust you but you are taking on a massive responsibility. If you fall short in any way, it is going to be a problem.

Something else a lot of people do is teach people skills out of their home. You probably knew someone growing up that gave out piano lessons. People would go to that person’s home and use their piano to get serious and intensive instructions. The obvious idea is to teach people an instrument that you are good at but unless it is piano, violin or guitar, you might have troubling getting clients to come to you. A lot of instruments are rare while piano and violin are pretty ubiquitous. However, the principle can apply to more than just teaching music. If you have some skill that you are good at and can be transferred to someone else with the proper teaching methods, you can probably make a business out of it. For example, tutors are everywhere. People young and old are always going to need help when it comes to learning some subject and if you are good at that subject then you can corner a market there. Teach people all about math or English in your off hours when your other job or the rest of your life is not going to get in the way.

You also might not teach people skills and opt to use your abilities of creation to start selling things. A lot of people have some creative spark that means they can put together little objects or cut things into cool shapes and then sell those to other people that find them interesting. You can sell this stuff out of your house or you can go to different events in your local area to set up shop and show off your goods. You are probably very familiar with all of the booths that get put up at various holiday festivals where people sell the things they have worked hard to create. The nice thing about this is that you control your own inventory, have no boss but yourself to answer to, and can put it on hold if you need to focus on something else. Materials for these kinds of crafts are usually cheap and the turnover can be relatively high. Of course, you have to actually sell something that people want and that can be a struggle. Maybe if you are excellent at baking or some other form of cooking you can sell that on the side.

Through all of this, we have not talked about the legality issue. Businesses, even tiny ones you run out of your home, are heavily regulated at every level of government. You need to be sure that you are meeting federal, state, and local government requirements and you should also check and see if your city and HOA is going to be okay with you selling something to the neighborhood. Converting your home into a daycare can be particularly difficult because you need licenses and permissions to do so. You need to prove that you are capable of taking care of children. There are all kinds of rules you need to follow once you decide to start using your home to make money and while some of them are easy to follow, the others that are not so easy will get you shut down in a bad way if you do not adhere to them. So stay diligent and be sure to do the groundwork first. 



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