Ten Amazing Home-Based Businesses You Can Start on a Dime

Small Business on a Shoestring Budget

The dream of small-business ownership sounds great, especially when you’re working through the drudge of a nine-to-five. Then again, where will you get the startup money? With these ten amazing home-based businesses, getting funding shouldn’t be much of a concern.

Lawn Care

If you take care of your own yard work, you may already have all the equipment you need to start your own lawn care business. Of course, you may need a reliable old pickup or van with room to haul your gear, but still, that’s not too bad for startup costs.

Put up flyers around the neighborhood, or go door-to-door marketing your services. Work hard and network, and you’ll soon have a loyal cadre of clients who will pass your name on to all of their friends.

Tutoring

Have an in-demand skill? Why not teach others? Whether you’re a virtuoso ukulele player or a math wizard, chances are excellent that somebody near you wants to learn from you. Market your offerings in schools, music shops, or other places where your target demographic might congregate. Good tutors can charge $50 per hour or more for your services, but tutoring services generally have high attrition rates, so you’ll have to stay on top of your marketing efforts to keep your business going.

Freelance Creative Services

Do you have a love for great graphic design or a knack for crafting compelling written materials? Try working as a freelance creative. These days, many companies are opting to outsource their creative work to subcontractors, as they simply don’t have enough of it to justify hiring full-timers.

Create a portfolio and a website, and start building your social media presence. Beyond the initial marketing efforts, your operational costs will be quite low; you can generally work from home, and you probably already have the necessary tools.

Cleaner for Hire

Some people don’t particularly enjoy cleaning up after themselves, but if you’re one of those folks who gets a genuine thrill from making a home or office really shine, you might be well suited to start your own cleaning business. Advertise on local classified websites, stock up on cleaning supplies, and soon, you may be able to make a decent living.

Virtual Assistant

Some business owners are so busy that they need to offload some of the peripheral tasks to someone else. If you have good organizational skills, that person could be you. Typical virtual assistant duties include bookkeeping, market research, and tech troubleshooting. One advantage of being a virtual assistant is that you can often work from home, and you can take on as many clients as you have time to help.

Online Resale

Do you have an eye for hidden treasures that others often overlook? Why not turn that skill into an online resale business? There are plenty of ways to do that; you could scour estate sales for old musical instruments, work the thrift stores for cool vintage dresses, or comb the wrecking yard for hard-to-find auto parts. These days, there are plenty of avenues for online transactions, and pretty soon you could have a bona-fide business. Why even bother to open a bricks-and-mortar store?

Bike Repair

As vehicles go, bikes are pretty simple to fix. Still, not everyone has the time or the mechanical inclination to fix their own bicycle when something goes wrong. With a simple tool kit and a bit of experience or research, you could become a bicycle mechanic, keeping all of your city’s greenest commuters on the road.

Computer or Electronics Repair

Some people just throw away their old electronics when they no longer work, but many would rather have them repaired than buy new ones. It’s better for the environment, not to mention cheaper. If you’ve got the soldering iron and the skills, why not go into the electronics repair business? With a little bit of know-how, you can fix anything from computers to home stereo systems.

Photographer

These days, we’re all photographers, but some of us are better than others, and nobody wants to document their own wedding with selfies. Do you have a keen eye for framing captivating images? If so, then you could become a professional photographer. If you already have a good camera and printer, your overhead costs should be pretty low, since you don’t need to maintain an office.

Dog Walker

Most people love their dogs, but many don’t have the time to walk them. If you love animals, this could be your niche. Invest in good walking shoes, a poop scoop, and some dog treats, and you’re off and running! As an added bonus, dogs that get along can be walked together, so you can easily double or triple your hourly rate.