8 Businesses That You Can Start From Your Own Home  

Starting a business from home can be a little intimidating. But navigating the process can be well worth it when you start to see the cash coming in. Perhaps you’re just testing the waters, looking for a new business idea, or trying to make a little more cash with your current hobby. Whatever your situation, there are a few things to consider before taking the plunge:

• What are you passionate about? This often leads to a discovery of your skills and interests, and allows you to pursue those with conviction.
• Who are your supporters? Having people to encourage and back you can be incredibly beneficial. Seek out fellow entrepreneurs and local business owners, as well as close friends and family.
• Do you have a business plan? A business plan is going to be your bible for the next several weeks and months. Putting together a good one can be incredibly important for identifying your next steps and goals.

If you still aren’t sure what to pursue just yet, there’s no harm done. Here are some at-home business ideas to get those inspirational juices flowing, as well as tips on how to make working from home work for you.

Baking
Butter and flour, when mixed well, can be profitable. If you’re the type to spend hours looking up and reading recipes in bed, it’s time you recognized your passion and put it to good use. Start your own baking business from home.

Local events and fairs can be great places to connect with your community and sell baked goods. Just be sure to look up your state and local regulations for operating a food business in your home. Oftentimes, there are regulations that prevent you from making potentially hazardous foods such as jams, jellies and custards at home unless the recipe has been tested by an approved facility.  You may also need to research whether there are larger kitchen facilities for rent in your area if your business takes off and you require the extra space.

Graphic Design
The need for graphic designers is high. With many people throwing elaborate celebrations these days, there’s sure to be a need for invitations and graphic work. This is where you — as a graphic designer — come in to help others realize their event vision with personality and flair.

But graphic design extends beyond stationery and event products. You can set your sights on logo design, Internet marketing or web design. Whatever you do, use your ideas and designs to build your own web presence via social media sites such as Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter, so you can show clients your abilities easily and in real time.

Landscaping
Making a yard or business look nice with proper landscaping is a true skill. If you own that skill, put it to good use with a landscaping business. Whether you specialize in lawn care and fertilization or creating beautiful outdoor spaces, you can make a business out of making the exteriors of companies and homes look beautiful.

Your startup costs can be minimal, if you begin small. With a mower (and a truck to haul it), you could have a very profitable business mowing lawns, and then branch out once you get established. In the down seasons, you can submit proposals, designs and bids for upcoming landscaping projects.

Tutoring and Teaching
There are a lot of people out there looking for additional education and training in fields with which they are unfamiliar. This could range from communications to second-language acquisition to learning how to use email. Any abilities you have in an area such as these can be really useful in creating your own tutoring or teaching business.

According to PayScale, the average rate for a tutor is $17.29 an hour. That’s nearly $36k a year for a 40-hour work week. So if you exceled at school, maybe tutoring is a natural place for you. Network with friends and family members to gain clientele or speak to your local library to see if you can set up regular tutoring hours at their location. Should you wish to bring your skills online, you can earn extra income as a virtual teacher.

Freelance Writing, Editing and Proofreading
Writing skills are incredibly valuable. If you know what a gerund and a dangling modifier are, it may be time to consider a business that uses that knowledge. Freelancers can make anywhere from $21,000 to $117,000 a year, with an average hourly rate of $28.50.

Jobs span various fields, giving you room to specialize in an area such as technical writing for a manufacturer, creative writing for small businesses, or blogging for magazines.

The key to landing good writing jobs, however, is to work on beefing up your portfolio. Create a site for yourself with links to the articles you’ve created, so you can send your samples to clients and potential clients quickly and easily.

For freelance work, create a master list in Excel or an online organization tool like Basecamp to help manage your projects and deadlines. This will make it easier to prioritize projects based on their individual timelines and track total monies earned.

Crafting
Whether you can knit, whittle or make jewelry, your crafting can be a hobby that quickly launches into a profitable side-hustle. Sites such as Etsy and Storenvy allow you to create your own “shop” to sell your products and market to consumers.

This is a low-pressure way of getting your name and craft items out there. By using a larger commerce site such as these, you’ll be able to easily take and manage payments and orders. This can be helpful also when you take your craft items to local farmers’ markets and street fairs, as people who enjoy your style and product can have a way of getting in contact with you later.

House and Pet Sitting
This is the ideal job for animal lovers. Starting a pet and house-sitting business may not seem like much to start, but there are plenty of people out there looking for someone trustworthy to keep an eye on Fido while they’re on vacation. That person could be you.

You may not even realize that there’s an association created just for this type of business. The National Association of Professional Pet-Sitters — or NAPPS — has the right tools to get you started on your pet and house-sitting business.

Event Planning
The average wedding costs upwards of $30,000 in the U.S. With that much money being spent on one day, you know there’s someone who is working hard to plan and put together an event of that magnitude. Ease stressed-out brides, grooms and parents by starting up your own event planning business to help them navigate this process.

Whether you’ve got a great space in your own backyard to act as a wedding and event venue or you have great connections, offering your services as an event planner can be a ton of fun for you, and a big relief to your client. Consider getting additional training and certifications to help you gain a great reputation with your customers.

Running a Home Business

Once you’ve selected your business idea and are ready to move forward, there are a few things to consider as you get your home business established. Here are some tips for running an at-home business:

• Set Your Schedule/Calendar – Working from home truly means you are working, so you should treat it just as you would the office. This means you should prioritize your tasks and build them into your schedule so you know they’ll be completed in a reasonable amount of time. This allows you to be in control of how much and how often you take on new responsibilities.

• Designate a Space – Even though you may be in your pajamas, you should really have a space designated strictly for working. This means away from the television and other distractions. You should be able to find and/or create a space that allows you to focus and helps you feel motivated.

• Take Care of the Legalities – Start-ups have a lot of paperwork involved, and that pile shouldn’t be ignored. Make sure you are in compliance with local, state and federal regulations during each step of the process. Doing this early on can help prevent any potentially harmful situations for which you may be held liable.

Working from home can be incredibly beneficial. So start your own business, and reap the benefits of making extra cash without ever leaving your living room!