Home Biz Management How to Start a Home Business on a Shoestring Budget (2)

How to Start a Home Business on a Shoestring Budget (2)

Home business venture

There are so many ventures you could begin from the comfort of your home. In this series, we outline some great ideas for you.

We continue to give you some more ideas for starting a home business without investing oodles of money.

Try your hand at direct selling

Direct Selling: Companies like Avon and Oriflame give you the option of working from home and selling their products. You don’t need a large investment for this. You only need a good list of contacts and of course, great selling skills.

Career as an event manager.

Event Planning: Ideally, you would need some experience in having worked for an event management company. Bu, you could also learn on the job. Start off with small events that can be managed and executed easily. Once you have the experience and confidence, you could branch out to organize larger events.

Be a wedding planner.

Wedding Planning: If you love organizing events and have the flair for it, wedding planning is a lucrative business in India. And as weddings get larger, with more and more events planned for each wedding, people are looking to hand over the entire wedding planning to professionals. And considering that weddings are a big thing in India, you will never be out of business if you are good at it!

Giving tuition lessons for kids afterschool

Tuition: If you are a retired teacher or a housewife with time on her hands, taking tuition for kids is a great way to spend your time productively and earn some bucks. Of course, you need to be proficient in a particular subject or subjects and have teaching skills and patience.

Start computer classes.

Computer Trainer: In this digital age, there are many people, especially older people, who still don’t know the basics of how to use a computer, the intricacies of MS Word or how to email. You could tailor courses to teach computer basics for the digitally ignorant.

Try your hand at mentoring.

Mentoring: If you have been training or have skills in a particular profession, you could look at mentoring. You need no investment and you can do it from the comfort of your home.

Being a massage therapist.

Massage Therapist: If you’ve learnt massage therapy or if you are looking at doing something from home and enjoy giving massages, this is something you could look at. Of course, you need to have done courses in massage therapy. And for this business, there will be a certain amount of investment – from massage tables, air-conditioning, towels, oils, creams, etc. And you need an extra room dedicated to your business.

Be a yoga instructor

Yoga Teacher: This is an ideal business for yoga experts. If you have a large enough space, you could take classes for groups. However, if the space is small, you could give personalized, one-on-one training. Many swank apartments these days have a yoga studio. You could rent the studio in your apartment block for your yoga classes.

Catering for a home business venture?

Catering Services: This is time consuming and will require a certain amount of investment. But if you are an expert cook, you can earn substantially. More so if you specialize in a particular cuisine or if you offer specialized stuff like vegan food, gluten-free food, lactose-free food, exotic salads, Paleo food, etc. You have the option of cooking to order, of taking orders for meals every day or catering for events.

Home baking for a home business venture

Home Baker: This is a business that is booming in small towns and cities in India. And you can most certainly find your niche – cupcakes, birthday cakes, brownies, vegan cakes, egg less cakes, desserts, customized cakes, wedding cakes, birthday cakes…the list is endless. Yes, there is a certain amount of investment – in high-grade ovens, baking equipment, jars, containers, etc.

Dog walking as a business venture

Dog Grooming, Dog Sitting and Dog Walking: If you love dogs, you could carve a profession out of it. Many people love their dogs but have no time to bathe and brush them. If you offer grooming services, many dog owners in your neighborhood would certainly love to avail of the services. People need dog sitters often – some on a daily basis when they go to work, others for occasions when they go out, etc. And while dog walking services are still in a nascent stage in India, if you do start one, and market it well, you are sure to get business.

Bed and breakfast is a good home business venture.

Bed and Breakfast: This is for those who have large homes and very few occupants. Or you have an old house that has a heritage feel. You could convert it into a B&B and get those unused rooms to earn revenue for you. You could sign up with OYO or Airbnb. Yes, it will entail some hard work and you will need to make some investments in sprucing up the rooms and the bathrooms but in today’s world where people are traveling like never before and where a lot of people prefer a personalized home stay to the sterile environments of a hotel, you are bound to attract business.

So, we’ve given you plenty of ideas! In the next and final article, we’ll offer you a whole load more…