For many people, working from home can be both liberating and fulfilling. Any business takes hard work and dedication, but starting a home business can be easy and fun.
Especially for moms who need to be home with the kids, working from home can be a great way to bring in extra income—and most home-based businesses require little to no start-up costs! Here are our top 10 ideas for home-based businesses for moms and for people looking to start a home business without investment.
Profitable Business Ideas Home-Based
Contents
Home Business Ideas With Low Startup Costs
To begin our list of home business ideas let’s start with those with low start-up costs such as these below. These are the top home business ideas that you can start with low investment and make a good profit. All of these business models can be launched for under $100 and some of them require no money – zero $0 to launch.
Bookkeeper
Do you have experience using Quickbooks, keeping accounting books for small businesses and are good with numbers? You could become a freelance bookkeeper. Many small businesses cannot afford to have a full-time accountant or bookkeeper.
This means that they need people just like you to help them manage their financial accounts, reconcile bank statements and make tax payments. You can work as few or as many hours as you like remotely from your home, and the pay is great! Learn how to start your bookkeeping business here.
Dog Walker
Who doesn’t love walking the dog? You get to go outside, get exercise, and make money too! Advertise your services to your busy neighbors to help them save time during the day. Also trying connecting with your local dog owners via apps such as Wag or Rover. Click here to explore the Wag program to learn how to become a dog walker.
Personal Trainer
Sometimes we all need a little extra help to stay in shape. If you are passionate about health and fitness, consider helping people in your community to eat healthily, train regularly, and get in shape. You can get in contact with a local gym to get clients. No need for a fancy gym you can train your clients in homes, their gym club or the park.
Pet Sitting
If you love animals you can become a pet sitter for virtually no start-up cost. Your job would be to take care of pets while their owners are away; either for the day, at work or on vacation. Some pet sitters also include additional services such as daily walks, obedience training sessions and grooming dramatically increasing their profits.
You can start this business from home because you will travel to your pets home to perform your pet sitting services. So you do not need a storefront nor kennels.
Selling Used Books
Even in today’s digital age book sales are still profitable. You could begin selling books such as textbooks, reference or fiction from your home by using internet marketplaces.
Your only cost would be to purchase the used books at cheap prices to start your inventory. Start small with $25 worth of used books and then reinvest your profits from sales. Then you can buy books in bulk to increase your inventory and build your business. Click here to learn about the best places to make money selling used books online.
Cleaning Service
No need to purchase expensive supplies or equipment to start your own cleaning business. You probably own everything you need which you’ve been using to clean your own house. Supplies required are only rags, cleaning solutions and a vacuum.
Begin by promoting your business with inexpensive flyers posted in your neighborhood. Also contact your friends, family and colleagues for referrals to new customers. Discover your perfect cleaning business name idea here.
Mobile Device Trainer
Use your expertise in smartphones and tablets to teach others about their usage and different features. This is a great home business because you will travel to your customers locations and not need an office or classroom.
One of the best target customers is small businesses that ask their employees use tablets for business transactions. They need professionals to train their staff on-site. Another group of eager customers is seniors who want to learn how to use their new mobile phones.
Personal Chef
If you love to cook and everybody loves to eat your delicious dishes, consider becoming a personal chef. You do not need to have a certified professional kitchen in your home because you will be cooking in your client’s kitchens.
Today’s busy professionals and families want to hire personal cooks. You will prepare a week’s worth of special dishes suited to their dietary needs and taste preferences which your clients will heat and eat. Or you could specialize in in-home or in-office events such as dinner parties or business meetings. Click here to get tips for starting a personal chef business.
Etsy Shop Owner
Online marketplaces have made opening a digital boutique easier and cheaper than ever – directly from your kitchen table. You can create individual works of art, jewelry, home decor or apparel and sell it worldwide on your own storefront at etsy.com.
Alternatively, if you are not an artist, you can sell other artisans works for a profit as a broker dealer. Check out this guide on how to open an Etsy shop from the Etsy help center.
Event Planner
Do you throw the best parties in town? Then consider starting an event planning business for fun and profit. This can be easily done from home because most of your work will be done online and by telephone.
Tasks consist of coordinating caterers, florists, photographers, venues and musical entertainment to your client specifications. You do not need an office to meet your customers instead you can go to their locations and homes. Starter costs are low.
Start with $100 of inexpensive marketing materials such as business cards or simple brochures. Plus use social media and online forums to meet potential customers and learn about referral sources.
>>Read the full list of business ideas with low startup costs here
Home Business Ideas for Moms (and Dads too!)
Welcome Mompreneurs, and stay-at-home Dads and parents of small children who want to start a business from home! Smart thinking. Making money from home while caring for children is a win-win.
Combining your home and work life is ideal and can certainly be accomplished with these home business ideas for parents:
Home Daycare Provider
If you are good with kids and love having them around, being a home daycare provider can be an excellent business to run out of your home. Especially if you already have kids, you can get paid to do what you’re already doing!
Read these tips on how to start your own daycare center at home here
Home Baking Business
Do you bake the best brownies in town? Then use this sweet business opportunity and start a home baking business.
Depending upon your local regulations you can bake items in your home and sell them at events, food stores in your area and other bakeries. Some towns require that you have your kitchen inspected before you can begin baking at home for resale.
This business model works well because you can bake early in the morning before the kids are awake and then sell and deliver your baked goods on the way to taking your children to school. or bring them along for the ride. Learn the steps to starting a home bakery in this in-depth guide.
Work at Home Jobs
If you want to be self-employed and work from home, but not start your own business, then check out this list of legit work from home business ideas complete with links to get started right away.
How would you like to earn a living right from your own home?
Today it is much easier to earn a good income online right from your home. You are in the right spot of you are a mom looking for a work from home job.
To find a real legit at home opportunities, you have to be able to separate the genuine opportunities from the scams. We have done the work for you and below you will find a list of real online jobs you can do from home.
How to pre-screen any “work from home” job or business opportunity
- Does it sound too good to be true? Perhaps it is. Before you commit to any opportunity, do your homework!
- When you see “no skills required”, this is a red flag. Any genuine work at home job will fairly compensate you for the work you do.
- Never pay for information or to work. These are not real job opportunities.
- The majority of work from home jobs are not actually advertised. So if you see an advertisement for a work at home opportunity, proceed with extreme caution!
- Did you come across an opportunity you are considering? Research the name of the business online. Look at the reviews and if possible, get feedback from people who are actually working or have worked for the company.
What Are Employee Positions?
“Employee positions” means that you work for multiple employers instead of just one. It is similar to what an independent contractor would do.
Most of the jobs below will not have employee benefits or W-2 type pay, therefore, keep this in mind.
When you work from home, you will have to pay your taxes, health insurance and retirement savings. Your employer will not pay for these.
Search Engine Evaluator
There are times when the Google search results are way off and this is where a Search Engine Evaluator comes in. Their job is to rate the search results so that they match what the user is searching for. They usually earn $10 – $15 per hour.
http://www.appen.com/company/opportunities/
http://www.thesmartcrowd.com/about/workers/job-opportunities/
https://www.leapforceathome.com/qrp/public/jobs/list
Customer Service Representative (Call Centers)
Big companies in the US like American Express and Walgreens use Customer Service Representatives to take inbound calls from customers. Depending on your experience you can earn as much as $15 per hour. Not suitable for moms with young kids.
http://workingsolutions.com/agentopportunities/
https://careers.americanexpress.com/ (offers benefits)
Data Entry Worker
Data Entry Worker is one of the most popular work from home jobs for moms. The jobs vary from simple inputting of info to ones that require special skills and the pay will vary accordingly. You will need good typing speed, a reliable computer and high-speed internet.
http://www.capitaltyping.com/employment-application
http://www.clickworker.com/become-a-clickworker/
http://www.diondatasolutions.net/opportunities.html
General Transcriber
Transcribers convert audio recordings like college lectures, medical notes, interviews, court hearings etc. into written documents. Jobs and pay will fluctuate with the kind of work and on average they make over $16 per hour.
http://www.e-typist.com/Employment_work_at_home-dictation-service.htm
http://www.fdch.com/careers.html
Document Translator
If you are fluent in a language other than English, this is a growing field that needs your skills. You will be required to accurately translate documents from one language to another.
http://www.appen.com/company/opportunities/
http://www.clickworker.com/become-a-clickworker/
http://www.lionbridge.com/careers/
Online Tutors
Online tutoring offers parents the flexibility to connect with tutors for their kids. To do this job you will need high-speed internet and a good computer.
http://jobs.rosettastone.com/content/online-language-coaches-197.aspx
http://www.smarthinking.com/static/aboutUs/careers/
http://www.tutor.com/apply/application-process
Freelancer
You can provide your skill set and services to many employers simultaneously. Freelancers have great flexibility in terms of time, who they want to work for and how much they want to work. The drawback is that you will have to pay for your own taxes and benefits.
Magazine Writer
If you have excellent writing skills, consider writing for a magazine. The pay scale is drastic, from $50 to $1,000 per article.
A great starting point is The Writer’s Market, which is available from Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats. This is where you will discover countless publications that will buy written content from freelance writers.
Freelance Blogger
Not as lucrative as magazine writing but depending on the employer, you can earn from $20 – $100 per post.
Craigslist Job Ads (look under big cities)
Upwork – This is the result of Odesk and Elance merging.
Copywriter
Copywriters focus on generating sales and they spend their time writing sales material like sales pages, newsletters, sales letters etc.
Virtual Assistants
Virtual Assistants usually perform the tasks of a virtual assistant such as data entry, editing, email & social media management, email outreach etc.
Web Designer
If you are creative, this might be the perfect job for you.
Fiverr – Make more money with Add-On feature
Web Developer
You will need an extensive knowledge of scripts such as CSS, HTML, PHP and an overall knowledge of coding. Find jobs on traditional job websites like Monster.com, Indeed.com, and CareerBuilder.com.
Online Reseller (commission based)
Resell items that people want to get rid of, usually for a 15% commission.Sell used items eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Yard Sales.
Small Business
See some unique small business opportunities here.
Author
The Kindle Publishing Platform
Online Reseller
Amazon and eBay are the best places to resell items
Direct Sales
Ideal for those who love sales, meeting people and sharing products they love.
Blogging
To be successful in blogging you have to be passionate about the product and consistent about posting content.
Extra Sources For Work From Home Income
Please note that the opportunities listed here are very unlikely to generate a full-time income; so don’t quit your day job yet.
Take Surveys
Mystery Shop
Write for Content Mills
We hope you found the above list useful. Good luck in your work from home job search.
