In today’s society families are so busy with running kids to soccer; dance, piano, and everything else that comes up that the need for cleaning services are becoming more and more in demand. A cleaning business can be basic where you have one or two houses you clean for a profit or grow larger where you have several maids or cleaners working for you and you concentrate on marketing the business. 

You can also do residential or commercial cleaning or even both.

What skills are helpful?

Cleaning skills of course! Although it might not take much to please most, after all a clean house is a clean house, remember that there will be those customers that are picky and it will take a lot more to please them. Go that extra mile to satisfy them, show them that you are skilled in pleasing your customers.

What tools are needed?

The main tools for a cleaning business are obviously going to be your cleaning supplies, toilet cleaner, floor cleaner, bathroom cleaner, kitchen cleaner, etc. Some customers may ask that you use their products but a general rule of thumb will be to bring your own supplies except for heavier items such as vacuum cleaners. 

How do you get started?

Owning a business where you go into people’s houses it is highly recommended that you purchase liability insurance before you get started. Check with your car insurance provider and see what types of liability insurance is available; most insurance companies give a discount for more than one policy in your name. Having liability insurance will help you attract customers and will cover you if something were to happen while in a customer’s home.

You should also research other small cleaning businesses in your area to see what rates they are charging for their services. I know you are eager to start your business and want to grab some clients fast, but don’t make the mistake of undercharging for your services just to get those first few clients. Cleaning is hard, strenuous work so make sure your clients are paying what your worth!

With determination and the desire to run your own business you can make it work. Just know that becoming successful doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time to build a good business. If you have the determination and will to become successful it will happen.
Resources:
Start Your Own Cleaning Service (Start Your Own A)

Schools today put more and more pressure on students to perform. Classroom crowding means that most teachers are unable to provide the individual support that many children need. Parents are often seeking one-on-one help from tutors. A child’s tutoring service can provide individual training in areas of reading, writing and math along with other specialized areas.

What Skills are Helpful?

There are no specific skill requirements such as certification that you will need to start a tutoring business however if you have a degree in the area that you are specializing in it will definitely help your credibility. Also if you have any prior teaching experiences that will also help you market yourself.

Patience, good listening and communication skills are going to be very important for you. 

What Tools are Needed?

Most of the time you’ll be teaching students from their own textbooks to help them with class work. If you do need further resources the local Teacher Store will have what you need. You will probably develop your own tutoring toolbox with learning aids that you enjoy working with, like flash cards, learning software games, workbooks, etc.  

How do you get Started?

It’s as simple as saying I’m a tutor, well ok not that simple but it can be somewhat easy. Simply spread that word among your family, friends, neighbors, church, etc. that you have opened a children’s tutoring business. Let them know what you are specializing in and more than likely your first student or students will come from friends or neighbors.

Besides sharing the word among friends and family it would also be beneficial to you to let your local schools know about your services. Call and speak to the principal or teachers that work in the area that you are specializing in.

There are many great benefits to starting your own tutoring business - flexible schedule, fulfillment of helping others, and the ability to have your own home based business are just a few.  If you enjoy working with children and are patient, then a children’s tutoring service business may be just right for you.

 Resources:
Start Your Own Profitable Tutoring Business (ATS: Tutoring Franchise Office Templates CD-ROM)

Tutoring as a Successful Business - An Expert Tutor Shows You How

If you have a love for soaps and making your own and are planning on starting your own business keep in mind that customers are looking for uniqueness. Customers or possible customers will be on the lookout for a variety of soaps - different scent options, different shapes and sizes. Another thing your business should be able to offer your customers is a variety of soap kinds - such as hypoallergenic, natural, goat’s milk, oatmeal, etc. These are all part of a unique selling point that you can use to build your business.

What skills are helpful?

It would be useful to get some training from an experienced soap maker. An understanding of the materials you’re using will grow as you gain some experience. There’s a touch of artistry involved in creating homemade soap.

What tools are needed?

Besides your basic business tools like a phone, computer and internet there are some specific tools that your candle making business will need.

You’ll want to develop your fragrance library for scenting your soaps. If you are going to offer different shapes and sizes for that ‘unique’ quality then soap moulds will be needed. Other tools will be the ingredients for your soaps. Each different type of soap will have its own special ingredients.

How do you get started?

Begin by first taking care of any legal issues. Do a bit of research to make sure that you’re conforming to any local laws that would apply to selling a skin care product.

From here you can move onto your website and developing an online presence. Become known at some online forums/message boards so that you can begin to get the word out about your new business venture. You can market yourself offline by giving soap gifts during the holidays, birthdays, etc. Sign up for a local craft fair or bizarre to market yourself locally.

Keep in mind that running your own business will require a lot of time, especially making soaps which is very time consuming.

To build a successful soap making business you’ll need to work hard.  It may help to write out goals that you can easily review each day to track your progress. Reward yourself for your hard work, keep a positive attitude and hang in there when the going gets tough. Your success depends on you!               

 Resources:
Soap Making With Jeny - Making Soap For Fun & Profit

People look to the internet each and every day for information. What better way to make some income than selling what people are looking for - information? If you are knowledgeable in a specialized area such as small business coaching then create an information product that will appeal to people about small businesses (for example - helping a small business owner through the start up process). With home based businesses becoming more and more popular today the need for information products is becoming more and more in demand.

One thing to keep in mind is that the home business market is very competitive and it’s not often a good idea to try to sell to this market until you’ve achieved a certain amount of success yourself.  Besides the home based business category there are limitless options available for creating and selling your own information product. Here are a few:  Pets and animals, self help and motivation, home organization, natural health and many, many other topics.

What skills are helpful?

Knowledge in the area that your information product is on will be a helpful but is not always a necessity.  You can always research the topic and create the product that way. Once you’ve put your information product together you can have it proofread by a company that specializes in that or someone you know that has good writing and grammar skills.  You can even hire a ghostwriter to create the product for you and you can concentrate on the marketing side of things.

What tools are needed?

There really aren’t many tools that are needed for creating an information product. A computer, a word processing program, audio recording software or screen capture video software if you plan to offer multi media options.

How do you get started?

Start by gathering all my ideas and thoughts and making an outline of what I want to get across in the information product. Once all the information was gathered it would be time to start creating the actual product. Begin typing or recording, whichever works best for you.

If you’re creating an information product chances are you probably are a business owner and have a website to promote your information product already. If you do not, you will need to create a website or have one set up for you.

After you’ve sold a few of your information products ask for customer feedback/testimonials. Place this information on your website for all to see. Reading other people’s experiences with your products and how it has helped them will build credibility.

Selling information products will be a bit challenging but if you have an online presence already and are known as an expert in your field it will be much easier. Take the expertise that you have and offer a product that will help others. Information products can be looked at as a win-win situation, you win by earning income from the sale of it and the customers win because you are helping them!

 People look to the internet each and every day for information. What better way to make some income than selling what people are looking for - information? If you are knowledgeable in a specialized area such as small business coaching then create an information product that will appeal to people about small businesses (for example - helping a small business owner through the start up process). With home based businesses becoming more and more popular today the need for information products is becoming more and more in demand.

One thing to keep in mind is that the home business market is very competitive and it’s not often a good idea to try to sell to this market until you’ve achieved a certain amount of success yourself. Besides the home based business category there are limitless options available for creating and selling your own information product. Here are a few: Pets and animals, self help and motivation, home organization, natural health and many, many other topics.

What skills are helpful?

Knowledge in the area that your information product is on will be a helpful but is not always a necessity. You can always research the topic and create the product that way. Once you’ve put your information product together you can have it proofread by a company that specializes in that or someone you know that has good writing and grammar skills. You can even hire a ghostwriter to create the product for you and you can concentrate on the marketing side of things.

What tools are needed?

There really aren’t many tools that are needed for creating an information product. A computer, a word processing program, audio recording software or screen capture video software if you plan to offer multi media options.

How do you get started?

Start by gathering all my ideas and thoughts and making an outline of what I want to get across in the information product. Once all the information was gathered it would be time to start creating the actual product. Begin typing or recording, whichever works best for you.

If you’re creating an information product chances are you probably are a business owner and have a website to promote your information product already. If you do not, you will need to create a website or have one set up for you.

After you’ve sold a few of your information products ask for customer feedback/testimonials. Place this information on your website for all to see. Reading other people’s experiences with your products and how it has helped them will build credibility.

Selling information products will be a bit challenging but if you have an online presence already and are known as an expert in your field it will be much easier. Take the expertise that you have and offer a product that will help others. Information products can be looked at as a win-win situation, you win by earning income from the sale of it and the customers win because you are helping them!

Resource:
Secrets to Making Money Now 5 Book Set with Cassettes!!- The 100 Hottest Products and Information Guide - Where to Advertise - Making Money in the Information Age - Free and Low Cost Advertising - Think Like a Millionaire

Affiliate marketing is a way to create an income for simply promoting other people’s products. You find a product or service that you want to promote and sign up for their affiliate program. Once the customer has clicked on the affiliate link your job is done. Hopefully a good percentage of your referrals make a purchase and you earn a commission with no items to package or ship and no payments to process.

What skills are helpful?

Writing is important as content is what will attract people to what you have to offer. Some basic marketing skills will help you develop the right kind of content and make the best affiliate program recommendations for the people you’re reaching.

Another skill that can and will come in handy is SEO (search engine optimization) optimization. The higher your website is ranked due to SEO skills, the easier it will be for people to find your website and see the affiliate promotion.

What tools are needed?

The only tool really needed is a website. Your website will be used to promote your affiliate’s products or services. Maybe you want a few different websites for a few different affiliate programs, that’s entirely up to you. Some people actually promote affiliate programs just by putting affiliate links in their email and forum signatures - no website involved.

How do you get started?

It’s quite simple to get started. If you already have a website you can easily find an affiliate program that pertains to your website (for example if your website is about natural parenting you can look for an affiliate program for a natural parenting product to promote) simply by doing a little research.

After you have signed up for the affiliate program you will be given an ID. This unique ID will be used in the links that you provide on your website. This is how the person or company you signed up with will keep track of your referrals and payments due.

You are now set up and ready to go. Affiliate marketing is a nice at home business that you can do without having to keep inventory, process sales or deal with customer support.

Resources:
The Super Affiliate Handbook: How I Made $436,797 in One Year Selling Other People’s Stuff Online