Part Time Business Ideas:Your First Step to Financial Security Part time business ideas can be turned into full time businesses whenever you need them too. Do not wait until the wolf is knocking on your door. Look for part time business ideas that you can start now, and kick into high gear when necessary. Do not wait until you are laid off, or until you are told there will be no raises this year? Give yourself a raise! Are you retired, and need more money? However, the thought of a job, where you are told when to arrive and when to leave just does not appealing to you. Take one of these part time business ideas and create you own business, on your own terms. Party Fare: Like other part time business ideas you provide the party goods, napkins, plates, balloons, banners, etc. to fit a themed party for kids. Pick about 4 or 6 different themes, dinosaurs, animals, construction, trains princess, and source out where you can buy party goods at wholesale rates in your area. Offer packages to consumers. Advertise in the local paper and wherever kids and their parents congregate: day care, malls, flea markets, carnivals, etc. Give out fliers offering a 10% discount on the first party. Senior Services: You are a knowledgeable jack-of-all- trades when it come to brokering information for seniors. This includes info on local activities and clubs, living arrangements, home care and more. Most off your work will be in research you can do from home with you phone and fax machine. Print up some nice stationary and business cards. Charge by the hour with a one hour minimum Fees could range from $25 to $75 dollars for your services. Promote your new service to senior groups to children who take care of their parents or look out for their needs and through direct mail pieces targeted to senior citizens. Custom Tile Painter: Buy blank tiles and create custom designs for your clients. They can use the tiles to enhance their home décor. Local art schools will probably let you rent their kiln if you need to fire the tiles for final refinishing. Window Washer: You’ll spend less than $100 for advertising, fliers and some initial supplies. Charge by the window, as an hourly rate will not give you enough money for the amount of windows you will be able to clean in one hour. Commercial Cleaning: Carve out a niche for yourself where by you concentrate on small businesses that need cleaners to come in at night and do their thing. You will need to advertise and send a direct mail letter to your local small businesses and you will need to invest in cleaning supplies, so plan on spending about $400 to get started. This is one of the part time business ideas where you can really clean up. (Corny, but I could not help myself) Sell From Carts: Get a cart and sell your wares from the cart. It could be food, jewelry or t-shirts at a flea market. Carts range from $500 to $2000. Wreaths: You make decorative wreaths for your clients and sell them wholesale or retail. You should make a few wreaths to take around to gift stores, card stores, and other novelty shops that will offer your wreaths. You can sell them outright or sell them on consignment. See what works well for you. Cost could range around $100 to $200 for initial inventory and for ads and fliers. Consider marketing your wreaths at local hospitals, nursing homes, bed and breakfast and to other businesses in your region that want to keep their environment decorated on a regular basis. Tutor: Teach others what you know. You will need about $50 to $100 to develop a flier promoting your business; also consider and ad in a local newspaper. Charge anywhere form $25 to $75 an hour or whatever the going rate is in your area. Music Teacher: Teach others how to play a musical instrument. Fees range from $15 to $25 dollars an hour for music lessons. The beginner’s lesson should be 30 minutes and about 40 to 60 minutes for more advance students. Potpourri Empire: Make and sell potpourri and market to local businesses, at fairs, through gift stores, card stores, garden shops etc. if you can find a good recipe for potpourri (check bookstores, as there are a lot of books available on making potpourri) pack it up and start marketing. You will need a little tag or label to identify your company or leave it blank if you plan to on selling it private label style. Photo Album Designer: Take photos from your clients and create beautiful photo albums. Take your own photos and create a photo album. Add decorative touches, such as lace for wedding albums, and hand sewn baby-oriented style for baby albums. Assembly Service: If you have a knack for assembling things bought in home stores such as desks, bookcases, dressers, and more, then you can start a business offering this service in your client’s home. For Under $100 you can develop fliers, business cards and place a small ad in the local paper. Visit all the local home stores and discounters to make sure they know of your service. Ask if they will give out your cards or fliers to their customers. It could help them make a sale. Internet Tutor: Lots of people have computers but are clueless when it comes to going online. You come over and teach them. For this business, we will assume you are online and enjoy the Internet and exploring the World-Wide-Web. Take out ads in the business section of your local newspaper and in the regular classifieds, and charge by the hour. Man with Van: You have a van, and plenty of people who need on do not. You rent out your van and yourself to move furniture, deliver plants, bring home some bags of topsoil, move play equipment, etc. You can start this business for under $100. All you have to do is print up fliers that you will distribute to local shops that sell furniture, gardening centers etc. Home Office Consultant: Start a business designing and organizing office spaces for you home-based clients. Develop a list of good home office supply/furniture resources and develop a portfolio of home office photographs that you can copy, or take photos of a home office you have created, such as your own. You will have to make your money first time around on this business; because it is very likely that you will not have repeat clients. Part time business ideas can be a life saver if you lose your job, or decide to stay home with your children. However, do not wait until you need money in a hurry. Part time business ideas take a little time to build. If you start now you will be ready before any crisis hits. If you are already laid off, start you own business now and you will never have to worry about being laid off again.
(2010, Winter). No Place Like Home. Small Business Opportunities, pp 18-38, 88, 106, 114.
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