Smart & Creative Money Making Ideas

2008-04-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Do something part time that you like to do. To make money you must have a service or sell a product that has value to the buyer. Analyze your hobbies and activities that you are passionate about doing. Whether it's sewing, gardening, art, crafts, tennis, or fixing up things, etc, you will find others share the same hobbies and will relate to them. Sit down with a paper and pen and write your interests. Just to get you started; here's a few ideas:

Photography

Are you handy with a camera? You can create your own photography studio in your home/basement. Just realize you will need space to shoot the pictures as well as a light-free space for a darkroom if you choose to process your film and print your photographs yourself. You don't need to invest expensively in top notch equipment. You can check out items on from Ebay for a sweet deal or search for discounted photography stores.

Packing Service

There are people who made quite a bit of extra income by offering a packing service for people planning to move. You can usually charge less than typical moving companies and still make a lot of money. Keep in mind that there is lots of planning on packaging issues and on what merchandise to take first or last. Since you are dealing with people's property that usually hold a sentimental value, it's wise to invest in a simple liability insurance policy. Its quite cheap for this kind of business.

Online Affiliate/ Referral Programs

Are you internet savvy or enjoy spending time online? Many people are doing the blog and affiliate thing, In joining affiliate programs, you make a commision whenever someone buys someting from a site that you referred or advertised. This is a smart way to generate an income stream because you are not dealing with customers directly. Amazon for example is one of the top affiliate network moguls providing a good marketing system for easy advertising. Other growing populars like ShareASale, More Niche, and Clickbank give merchants an easier and productive way to generate high sales traffic. One negative about most of these programs is that some require you to wait approval of your application which could be quite frustrating when your currently anxious to promote products. And promoting these products can be time consuming. The question on if you are going to make lots of money depends on your time, effort, marketing strategies, and abiliy to stick with it.

Catering or personal chef

Ever thought about starting your own catering or personal chef business from your own kitchen. Set yourself apart from competitors by providing specialized services such as low-carb or vegetarian menus. Or even by adding exotic foods. You can practice in mixing spices and food to come up with creative in producing your own personal recipes. Remember, successful chefs do follow the code of trial and error.

Paid Surveys You can register with survey sites for free and start making a few extra bucks a month by completing surveys for them. This is a really unique way to make some extra money each month. PaidSurveysOnline, SurveyScout, and PaidSurveys are popular companies known to give good payouts.

Business coaching

Do you have experience with management or some other specialized business skills? Share it with others by becoming a business coach. The International Coach Federation provides certification and a coach referral service for its members.

Web Design

If you love designing graphics turn your creative side into a home business online. People like to express themselves on line and do it by carefully picking out graphics or backgrounds that relate to their personaliies. You can design Myspace web pages for example. Although the software and hardware costs can be steep, good Web designers tend to be well-compensated for their efforts. According to research, many recommend Dreamweaver (quite expensive but very good) and NVU (free but limited design features).

Tax Preparation

Do for people what most hate doing for themselves. You can buy software that will do simple taxes for a lot of people. If you like working with numbers, you can earn $20 or more by simply doing 1040EZ and state tax forms for others. You can decide on your fee considering the cost of living in your area. For 15 minutes of part-time work can easily earn you $20. So think of how much you can make in 2 hours. You can electronically file for them for an added fee. Most people who find a good tax preparer usually sticks with them longterm.

A riding school

Own a barn, land, and horses? You can open your own riding school. Check out Equisearch.com for informational resources, including useful articles on liability issues.

Window Washing

Ever notice how dirty your neighbors windows are? You can start a local window washing service. Nobody really likes to wash their windows at home, so this can really benefit homeowners. You can charge by the window at a rate that is appropriate in the area and for the amount of time accumulated for labor. Cleaning inventory are easy to get as well as insurance and licenses. You can create business cards or fliers to give out to your neighbors showing your service and the cost. Or put up postings in a local church or supermarket.

Personal Trainer

If you find yourself liking to exercise with others are fitness-minded, become a personal trainer. Check out the National Federation of Professional Trainers for information about the certification process.

Pet Sitting

Here's a lucrative opportunity. People do go away on vacations or simply work unable to care for there pets the way they would want to. So if you are an animal lover, this is where you come in by caring for pets while people are away. Its highly recommended that pets be cared for at home. You should read up on animal issues concerning petcare. And you don't want to be accused of running a kennel. The key here is to be responsible. If your not. this may not be for you. Whether its a dog, cat, bird or whatever, you can earn $20-30 a day/night. People don't mind paying when they know their pet is taken care of by someone loving and understanding of an animals needs.

Gift Baskets

Gift basket creation is very popular and a creative home-based business. From candy to flowers to soaps, the themes are limitless when it comes to making gift baskets. To get you on an innovative path, check out different basket varieties at GiftTree.com.

Learn to Speak a Foreign Language

Today employers are looking for employees who can speak, read or write a foreign language. Language barriers can hurt a business. Thats why most employers hire bi-lingual or multi-lingual employees some type of extra pay or bonus for their skills. In addition. Becoming fluent in foreign languages can open opportunities in many professions. Courts, police departments, government service agencies, schools and hospitals are always seeking language specialists.

Medical Transcriptionist

If you love typing and can familiarize yourself with medical terms, do medical transcripting. Basically this requires transcribing the medical records dictated by a healthcare professional, including letters, histories, physicals, progress reports, and chart notes. You can charge for your transcription services in a variety of ways: number of lines (10-20 cents per line), number of characters, per page (typically around $5-$6 per page), minute of dictation (from $15 to $50 per hour depending on the level of difficulty to understand), or the number of kilobytes in a text file. If you have transcription skills and the necessary equipment, you can easily work from home for a variety of different companies. Average earnings of a medical transcriptionist ranges from $30,000 to $90,000).

Computer Repair

Are you a known geek or have a passion for computer mechanics. Everyone owns a labtop, and people are always needing computer repairs. If you fix computers, turn this into a business and start getting paid for fixing fatal errors like wiping out those viruses. Check out Geeks on Call America and Rescuecom if you are interested in franchise opportunities.

Child-care services

Just as it is. Take care of children. Be sure to read up on child care licenses and regulations before starting a home based business. In some states, there is a limit on how many children are allowed to be cared for per carer by law.

Home inspection

The National Association of Certified Home Inspectors Web site provides information on becoming certified to inspect homes.

Wedding planner

If you throw fabulous parties and important events and maintain a Rolodex full of contacts, consider becoming a wedding planner. There are numerous online certification courses. Be creative in finding different wedding locations. Wedding Themes & More is a book highly recommended by the pros providing wedding planners alternative and various cultural wedding theme ideas for couples such as medieval, hawaiian, etc. What's important in this business is to know and discuss what the couple's personal style is; and adapt that into your own design.

Tutor

Create an afterschool tutoring program helping students. Or you can Of course this will require for you to have frequent communication with the parents. So be sure to clarify to the parent what lessons will be taught. Advertise at schools, YMCAs, and other places frequented by families. If you do have children, talk to their teachers and find out the needs from the Board of Education.

Yoga

Teach yoga classes. This is a growing fitness trend getting far more popular each year. There are a number of online resources, depending on the school of yoga that you practice. The Yoga Alliance Web site provides information on certification, schools, and licenses.

Interior design

If commonly find yourself walking into peoples homes and just want to change and redesign mostly everything in that room, then maybe interiour design is your flair. Do you have a creative ability or like to sketch. The American Society of Interior Designers Web site provides resources for aspiring interior designer and license information per state.

Carpet Cleaning Service

There are many popular franchises that allow you to start your own carpet cleaning business and receive the equipment and training you need. ServiceMaster Clean and ChemDry are two of the bigger ones.

Other Interesting Business Ideas

Antique restoration
Auto detail service
Errand/delivery service
Housecleaning business
Bed and breakfast operator
Catering service
Senior day care center
Desktop publisher
Magazine writer
Import/export service
Event planner service

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