Small Business Ideas

Small Business Ideas You Can Run From Home
If you have a desire to start a home-based business, you’re part of a growing trend. As a matter of fact, one commonly cited statistic is that a home-based business is started every 11 seconds. As of the year 2000, there were 28.3 million home based businesses in the United States, up 2.1 million over 1999. Home-based businesses tend to have a higher than average survival rate as well, and of course, nothing beats the convenience of working from home.
You’re convinced—so where do you start?
What is the best home-based business?
The answer, of course, is that it depends. What are your particular talents and strengths? Many home-based small business owners got their start by leveraging an existing hobby into a business.
This is probably the best approach, so you would do well at the start to take stock of your talents, abilities and resources, and ask if there some way you can profit from these. With a slew of “home-based business ideas”, you will find that most of them generally break down into three categories: craft, professional and service.

Do you like working with your hands?
If so, you might like craft type businesses where you can create products or services that people can use. Some examples would be chimney sweeps or upholstery services, both of which are easily operated from home.

Janitorial services can be run from home as well, and a few corporate clients can get you enough monthly business to net you a decent income. Another lucrative line of work would be a home inspection service. You would need to study to obtain credentials as a home inspector, but you could earn a lot of money, and the overhead is fairly minimal.
Professional businesses run the gamut from computer programmer, desktop publisher, graphic designer, video service, etc. In short, anything that demands the use of a computer to deliver an informational product or service to the end user.
This would certainly include income tax preparation, resume writing and public relations as well. If you’re more of the intellectual and creative type, and you have good computer skills, this might be up your alley. You might even want to pursue one popular business nowadays—set up your own online Ebay store. You could, for example, set up an export business in this manner.
By having a presence on Ebay, you’ll have truckloads of eager buyers who will be willing to bid on your goods. You won’t need to worry about how to attract “traffic” to your online shop—as you would if you had your own separate web site. With Ebay, the traffic is there, from all over the world! It’s just a matter of having the right goods to sell.
Do you like working with people, and helping them out any way that you can? You might want to consider service businesses. These would include popular staples in this variety like a food catering service, which you could easily begin and advertise by word of mouth. You might also consider childcare services if you enjoy taking care of children.
To do so, you should first contact state and local governments to find out the requirements in your area. Another good source to consult is the National Association for Family Childcare. If you fancy yourself good at sales, you might want to consider becoming a sales representative. Selling is not for everyone, but sales reps are one of the most popular home-based businesses in the United States.
You will be working to sell on behalf of a manufacturer or wholesaler. Begin by examining your current list of contacts. If you know professionals in a certain industry, you can find out what products or services they need and then help them obtain them. Again, selling is not for everyone, but if you’re serious, begin by reading some good books on sales.
For further information on becoming a sales representative, contact the Manufacturers Agents National Association.
Do what you love, and the money will follow. This adage is as true as ever when it comes to a home-based business. Technology has made starting your own home-based businesses more convenient and lucrative than ever. Honestly appraise your strengths and personal qualities, and you will be sure to find your perfect niche.
Small Business Ideas For Cash
Most budding entrepreneurs who want to start their own business find it hard if not impossible to get a government grant (United Kingdom) or (Small business loan (USA), however, if you live in Moscow chances are you'll be paid for your small business ideas.
Apparently Moscow's ageing small business entrepreneurs is a concern to City Hall and to address the problem they have approved a program to give 20,000 young entrepreneurs the opportunity to start their own businesses. This will be supported by sponsorship events.
Moscow's City Hall has set aside $4.7 million over three years to fund the small business ideas initiative.
If your have a business idea and you happen to live in Moscow consider yourself lucky to be in a position to be paid to start your own business – this opportunity is rare in the UK and USA.
See this small business idea article for more information.
UK Entrepreneurs With Flair Are USA Bound To Develop Their Business Ideas
tudents that exhibit entrepreneurial flair are to be sent to the USA to make the most of their business ideas at the expense of British taxpayers.
Under the plan that was announced by the Chancellor Gordon Brown, the government wants to add summer schools for budding entrepreneurs to the requirement that children should receive five days a year of education that promotes entrepreneurialism.
Enterprise teaching in schools, which is backed with £60m of funding from the department of Education, was introduced to encourage young people to act on their business ideas. However, head teachers are concerned because they cannot see how they can fit the subject of entrepreneurialism into an already busy curriculum. They are also concerned about the lack entrepreneurial skills among teachers to adequately teach the subject.
How Do You Teach Students To Be Entrepreneurs?
Teaching students to be entrepreneurs in a traditional school setting that is more concerned about teaching to pass exams and working for an organization instead of working for yourself poses many challenges.
Heads, Teachers and Industry, an organization that builds business links with education, said many schools lacked the skills and knowledge to put the plan into action. HTI is launching a scheme for business people to be seconded for five days to help with enterprise programmers in schools.
Anne Evans, chief executive of HTI, said: "young people can be put off by business as they see it as boring but at the same time they think IPods are exciting. We need to demonstrate to young people that business is not just about figures but also the products and services they use everyday. It's about motivation rather than teaching them about profit and loss."
It is crystal clear that neither the government nor teachers have the slightest notion about what it takes to be an entrepreneur. For a start, let's forget the term entrepreneurialism because it's meaning is not helpful to the nuts and bolts of starting a business and successfully steering that business through the ups and downs of real life challenges where you learn to survive on a daily basis.
Learning to be an entrepreneur by reading books written by academics who have never been in business, who have never sold anything "door-to-door, nose-to-nose and toes-to-toes" is completely useless; a complete waste of time and good taxpayer's money.
So How Can You Teach Students To Be Take Risks And Be Entrepreneurs?
Learning from books written by entrepreneurs who have been successful at starting and running their own business can help as well being mentored by these same entrepreneurs. Encouraging and assisting entrepreneurs with their ideas can also help as this puts the onus of success on the budding entrepreneur. This is where the seeds of business ideas can germinate and with some watering, can develop into viable businesses.
Networking with other entrepreneurs is a MUST if you want to leverage your time and resource. This is an area that entrepreneurs cannot learn is the classroom. Yet, this area alone can make a massive difference to anyone in business, particularly small businesses.
Finally, we get down to the heart of what drives entrepreneurs and individuals wanting to be in business for themselves rather that opting for the safer less stressful option of working for a company in a paid job. What motivates some people to take risk and start their own business is a question that has different answers, depending on the entrepreneur you pose the question to.
If the government and schools want to really encourage young people to be entrepreneurs then they should first seek out entrepreneurs of all colours and backgrounds and get then to set the curriculum and provide the framework. That's what I would do if I wanted to foster entrepreneurialism among young British students.
What do you think?

Stress Management As A Small Business Idea
Stress management or stress relief is a highly searched keyword and therefore presents opportunities for small business entrepreneurs who are looking for small business ideas.
Search any of the major search engines and you'll find many searches around the keyword "stress management", "stress relief" and hundreds of other keywords, all related to people who are searching for information and ultimately solutions that are stress related.
Also consider this article on "Fear of stress discourages would-be entrepreneurs" . Based on a survey carried out in London, the majority of young Londoners would rather work at a paid job than start a business because of their fear of stress.
Imagine, if stress is such a major concern, it also offers opportunities for small business entrepreneurs who are savvy enough to spot an opportunity. Instead of reinventing the wheel in coming up with products and services that have not been tried and tested, here we have a ready market with tons of potential customers who are already looking for information on stress management and stress relief, plus going by the survey carried out by YouGov of young Londoners, the market can be segmented into different niches.
All it takes is to carry out research into the causes of stress, how to relieve and prevent the causes stress and to develop products (home study courses, videos, CDs, stress relieving music and audio, etc) that solves the needs of an already hungry market.

I hope this brief article will act as a stimulus and that you can see the possibilities of starting a business with this one small business idea.
Small Business Ideas For The Future
Two small business ideas based on new trends that small business entrepreneurs can profit from.

Small Business Idea #1
I was interested to read a survey by the research company DBM who were asked to look at which professional jobs or small businesses ideas are likely to be in greatest demand in the next ten years.
The survey appeared in Fortune magazine in March 2005 and here are the conclusions:
1. The greatest increase in demand by far will be for people who know how to clean up 'spaceship earth'. This is because an increasingly healthy-conscious public is eager to find environmental engineers who can prevent problems rather than simply control those that already exist. Indeed, it is anticipated that over the demand for environmental engineers will grow by at least 50%.
2. The next key area of growth is anticipated to be network systems and data com analysts followed by personal financial advisors.
3. Number eight on the list was PR Specialists.
If you are trying to decide what small business to start, it might well be worth your while to have a look at this survey. If there's going to be a demand for environmental engineers, there is also going to be demand for the businesses that employ them.

Small Business Idea #2
Starting A Business Based On New Trends
Speaking of new trends, when you get a moment why not check out a company called NatureWorks based in Nebraska?
The company runs a factory that can produce 300 million pounds of a polymer called Gylatic acid, derived from bacteria that feed on corn kernels. What is so big about this? Poly-lactic acid is basically a biodegradable corn plastic that degrades, within weeks, into water and carbon dioxide in the humid, 140 degrees heat of a compressed landfill site.
With escalating oil prices, corn plastic is much cheaper alternative. Also, with growing concern about the damage being caused to the environment, biodegradable corn plastic is better for the environment.
Corn plastic is going to be a giant thing in the years ahead. Furthermore, it is clearly going to offer eco-entrepreneurs some extremely exciting opportunities.
Looking for a Good Business Idea?
For an almost-can't lose chance for success, combine two fundamental rules for making a small business work:
1. Discover something you can do better than anyone else.
2. Figure out how to sell your product or service cheaper than anyone else.
Start by asking yourself, "What product or service am I unhappy with?"
If something is bothering you, chances are others feel the same way. If the feeling is widespread enough - and you have a way to solve your own problem - you may have a multi-million-dollar business idea.
Then ask yourself, "How can I provide my better product or service for less than the competition?"
That's what the founder of Save-A-Lot supermarkets did. He noticed that stores like Wal-Mart and Kroger had no interest in going into blighted (see Word to the Wise, below) urban neighborhoods. So, by taking on a market that the bigger chains ignore, The Wall Street Journal says, Save-A-Lot has "quietly become one of the nation's most successful grocery chains."
Save-A-Lot is part of a boom in low-frills supermarkets known as "hard discounters" that are undercutting the Wal-Marts and Krogers by stocking mostly their own brands and focusing on high-inventory items. (A typical Wal-Mart, for example, might stock 30,000 items, while a Save-A-Lot might stock 3,000.) The stores are sold as franchises. (75% of them are run by licensees.) Already, Save-A-Lot has 1,229 stores in 39 states and is adding more than 65 stores this year alone.
Over the weekend, see if you can come up with an small business idea for your million-dollar business. Start by thinking about all the products and services you regularly use. Have you ever said something like, "If only that widget had a _____, it would be so much easier to use"? Or "If only that company would _____ instead of _____, it would make my life so much easier"? That could be your breakthrough idea. And if you can figure out how to provide your better product or service at a better price than the competition, you're ready to leap into the wonderful world of entrepreneurship.

Could Copywriting Be the Business Idea of Your Dreams?
Have you ever dreamed of owning a lucrative small business that lets you work anywhere you want - anytime you want - and gives you plenty of time off to travel, spend time with family and friends, or to pursue your hobbies?
If so, direct-response copywriting could very well be the business of your dreams.
Why does copywriting pay so well? It's simple supply and demand.
Thousands of direct-response marketers across America and around the world are desperate for strong advertising copy. But there are so few writers to meet that demand that the good ones can pretty much write their own tickets.
If you can read, write, use a computer, and dial a telephone, you can learn this lucrative skill and make a very healthy living at it.
I'm living proof that it's true.
In the 1970's, I was a 20-something high-school dropout. I had a wife, a two-year-old daughter, and a baby on the way. My 12-hour-a-day job paid minimum wage, and we were struggling to pay the bills and put groceries on the table.
One day, as I was scouring the local paper for better job opportunities, I spied a tiny "help wanted" ad that intrigued me. A small-business owner needed someone to write ads for him.
"What do I have to lose?" I asked myself. "I can write. How hard can this be?"
My prospective employer wasn't exactly blown away by my experience and credentials. In fact, I expected the guy to have me thrown out of his office. Instead, he gave me an opportunity to prove my skills by writing a short sales letter. I poured my heart and soul into it, and a week later I had a new job - as a copywriter.
That's when everything changed for me. In the months and years that followed, my income soared to $100,000, then to $250,000, to $500,000, to $1 million ... and ultimately to nearly $3 million in a single year.
I'm not telling you this to brag - only to show you that if a high-school dropout like me can do it, you can too.
Even if you believe you have no natural talent for writing, you can still do very well. Good copywriting sounds like natural conversation - so if you can talk, you already have all the innate knowledge needed to be a successful copywriter.
Here's how you can get started on a profitable copywriting career:
1. Purchase a good home-study program. Really study it. Complete all of the exercises and become fully immersed in the skill of copywriting. This is how you learn the basics of what is considered good direct-response copy - the simple techniques that move people to action.
2. Get a deeper understanding of the basics of direct-response marketing by reading books such as Bob Bly's The Complete Idiot's Guide to Direct Marketing. Learn the industry lingo and understand the nuts and bolts of the direct-marketing business. You must understand the inner workings of the business so you fully understand how your copy fits into the equation. And it doesn't hurt to speak the language.
3. Study the masters. Study sales copy written by pros like Gary Bencivenga, Dan Kennedy, Gary Halbert, John Carlton, and others. Sign up for and read their e-newsletters, visit and read the archives on their websites. Learn from the best.
And after you have done all of the above and are ready for your first assignments (and for the cash to start rolling in) ...
4. Pick a niche in which you have some interest and knowledge and start looking for clients. My niche has always been health and financial publications. Your niche might be business opportunities or real estate.
Whatever your interests, I'll bet there is a product or publication just waiting for your newfound copywriting skill to sell it.
Narrowing your focus on a niche market will insure that you meet your goals faster. It's a huge direct-marketing world out there; don't waste your time running around trying to be everything to everyone. Write what you know.
There's one more thing you must do to make your sales copy successful.
Good ad writers simply explain all the benefits a product will bring to the customer's life - and they make a great living by doing that.
But great ad writers know that the vast majority of purchases are made for emotional reasons. So they identify the strongest emotions the customer already has concerning the benefits the product offers - or the lack of them ... and then they speak directly to those emotions.
If you can do this one thing, you can be one of the great ones - and a life of high-paying assignments and amazing freedom will be yours!
By Clayton Makepeace
NB: Clayton Makepeace is a copywriter and direct-marketing consultant with over 33 years of experience and more than $1 billion in sales generated for his clients.
Small Business Ideas To Generate More Good Ideas
Small business Innovation and the generation of ideas is currently all the rave. But this is not confined to small US businesses. In the UK the government and big companies are also searching for ways to establish a corporate 'ideas culture'.
Small business innovation conjures up images of entrepreneurs taking existing products and tweaking them for a ready market of customers who are looking for just that solution not currently being met.
Contrast this image with corporate innovation that conjures up images of white-coated boffins in laboratories and driven young things in the creative media industries. But some large companies, together with the government, are keen to sell a different image. Innovation they argue is about piecemeal improvements to processes and work organization, a culture of democratic tweaks.
While small business ideas and innovation is entrepreneurial driven and tend not to reinvent the wheel but instead address gaps in established and proven customer demand, large corporate innovation depends on how creative is the workforce.
New research commissioned by Vodafone, the telecommunications company, paints a mix picture. There's good news and bad news. The good news is of 2,000 employees interviewed, 28% say they generate an idea every week. That translates to 27m productive ideas into circulation for companies; based on just three serviceable in any year. More than two-thirds of respondents believe their managers are likely to listen to new business ideas.
Another striking finding is that micro or small businesses (companies with up to five employees) workers are three times more likely to originate an idea every day than in companies with more than 250 staff. Sectors such as media and marketing are much better at generating ideas than others such as transport, manufacturing and utilities.
The bad news is that employers' attitude for creativity is low. More than half of employees say they are not encouraged to come up with new business ideas, while 49% believe they work for organizations that are just no good with new business ideas.
It does appear that the traditional techniques of managing innovation - notable suggestion schemes, brainstorming and away days are regarded with suspicion. Consequently employees keep business ideas locked up in their heads. Furthermore, 79% are offered no financial incentives to generate business ideas, and 60% are given no time.
So while the government and big companies struggle with encouraging innovation and ideas from within, smaller companies are thriving in these areas. The Internet has created a treasure chest of information and successful prototypes to model, copy and enhance. Small Business ideas can be tested on the cheap. If one does not work, move on the the next one at speed. No committee or board decision is required.
There are successful small companies that have built products on the 'coat tail of success' of large companies by researching markets and developing in demand solutions. Why reinvent the wheel and spend vast sums in creating a market when a large company with fat budgets has done all the hard work for you?
So the advice to large companies when it comes to generating business ideas include:
1. It is vital to offer incentives for generating ideas
2. It is important to have a way of capturing and implementing good business ideas
3. It is necessary to realize that creativity cannot b e planned
May 19, 2005

UK Small Business Ideas are all Around You
UK small business ideas form as a result of many different life experiences. Some individuals were born with the entrepreneurial spirit and their drive towards self-employment began at a very young age. Some people come up with UK small business ideas because they’re tired of working for others. Sometimes, owning their own businesses makes sense for those who have specialized talents. And there is a growing group who make this type of move after being laid off from their jobs or as a result of not being able to find suitable employment.
The explosion of the Internet is making it possible for UK small business ideas to take root right from home. With more and more global business being transacted on the Internet every day, more and more people are trying to get their own piece of this action.
Perhaps even you are considering this type of move towards self independence. Striking out on your own is both exciting and stressful. It’s definitely not something for the faint of heart. You’ve got to be willing to invest double the amount of time and effort into your business to get it off the ground and to keep your UK small business ideas generating income. If you’re working on your own, especially in the beginning, you’ll have to play all roles: sales and marketing manager, negotiator, bookkeeper, administrative assistant and any other position required by your business.
Oftentimes, your ideas will actually result in a UK small business where you’ll need to hire others. That’s a major accomplishment but one that doesn’t necessarily mean your life will get easier. Employees expect to be paid on a regular basis. It’s up to you to ensure they do or they will move on. It may make sense for you to hire contractors whom you can pay by the hour or the project.
If you know you want to be your own boss, and you’re ready to explore UK small business ideas, there are several sources available to help with your search. The press lists business opportunities currently for sale in a particular area. To look at businesses for sale throughout the UK visit Daltons weekly . Here you’ll find pubs, guest houses, catering companies, shops and many other business opportunities.
If you feel you need a bit of assistance when starting out on your own, other viable UK small business ideas are franchises. Take a look around you – there are some 600 different businesses in the UK that actually are franchised. The costs of owning a franchise and the services you get from the franchise in return for those costs does vary between franchises, so you need to do your research. To begin your search for a franchise opportunity in the UK visit www.british-franchise.org.
Hopefully this information has got you thinking of ways you can turn your ideas into a successful UK small business venture. When you’re ready to turn your ideas into reality, you’ll find plenty of companies and branches of government ready to assist you in your pursuit!

Small Business Ideas You Can Start Today
Many visitors to Small Business Resource web site are looking for small business ideas. I know that because of the number of searches with the words "small business idea". Also the tracking software tells me key information. It’s no coincidence that we currently rank very highly in www.google.com for the keyword "small business ideas".
So, here are some business ideas you can start and run from home:

1.Backyard / Garden Ponds/ Water Gardens
These are increasing in demand. Homeowners love the sound of splashing and cascading water and having fishes in the garden. These ponds are very easy to build. There are kits that can help with easy construction. Pumps keep the water going and lights are available to keep them looking their best at night. Water gardens are very much in demand.

2.Market Your Arts And Crafts
If you have jewellery, art, photography, distress furniture, make baskets, etc, there are several books available that can help you learn how to market your art and crafts. Sell them at fairs, or sell them directly to stores or even to catalogue-owners.

3.Handyman
Are you handy around the house? Wouldn’t be nice to get paid for it? There are probably plenty of people in your neighbourhood or own town that would love to pay for your handyman services. You might think it’s simple to install a light socket, put up moulding, change a doorknob, patch a screen, repair a broken door hinge or put up some bookshelves, but most people do not. Promote your small business via word of mouth, fliers or a small advertisement in your local newspaper.

4.Special Events Video
Do you enjoy making videos of special gatherings for your family and friends? Why not get paid for it? Take your video camera and start a small business recording special events around town for your neighbours and business associates. Your jobs could range from a corporate retirement dinner, a school picnic, a wedding, a special town club event, a marathon, a local band’s gig, and you name-it. You might need to pick up a tripod or some special light to start this business, so save the receipts. These supplies are tax deductible.

5.Resume Service
If you have a good computer and a laser printer, consider your own resume service, there are lots of people who don’t know how to prepare a resume. You can prepare nice-looking resumes to land a new job. If you already have a computer, you can start straight away. Place ads and post fliers on your new service. Go to your local bookstore and check out the books and software on resume preparation. Contact businesses in your area that might be making people redundant. Ask if you can work with the personnel department to provide resumes to these individuals.

Next week I’ll briefly cover other small business ideas you can easily start from home like, teach your craft, newsletter, knife sharpening, birdhouse building and hometown guide.
So, here are some business ideas you can start and run from home: