Start These Businesses in any Economy

Eventually, the U.S. economy will fall into recession.  Those are never fun, but there are always some safe jobs: police, doctors, teachers, firefighters, garbage collectors, etc.

The same is true for some businesses.  People make money with inventions and improvements on existing products.  Enter the home business owner and entrepreneur.  The small company is able to adjust and adapt to alternative lifestyles.   Here are a few home business ideas to consider:

– Sewing: In bad economic times, instead of buying new, people alter existing clothes, uniforms or furniture coverings.  There are also opportunities working with people that have physical challenges including: wheelchair bound, severe arthritis, women that had mastectomies, and soldiers wounded in combat.  Each often requires customized clothing, ideal for a Homepreneur business in sewing.  Do some research on The Home Sewing Association website: www.sewing.org .

– Hauling: The modern hauler does not always have a pick up truck that roams your neighborhood on garbage day.  Modern haulers often use trike bikes to pick up and deliver small loads – typically under 500 pounds – to various local businesses.  These 3-wheeled bikes are modified to include a platform or storage box over the rear wheels.  Either manually operated or battery assisted, these delivery vehicles are environmentally friendly and take up less room on crowded streets.  Haulers make money from services and from sorting through junk to find valuable items to recycle or sell.  A franchise for haulers : www.1800gotjunk.com  and junktiquecollector.

– Custom Bicycle Making and Repair:  Start this business if you are interested in providing the trike bikes that haulers will use.  Further, electric-assisted bicycles and scooters and more are increasingly popular as are trikes for an aging population that still likes to cycle.  Some websites to look at are: www.attractionretreat.org/TI/Trailers , bikecart.pedalpeople.com , and bikes.urbanoutfitters.com (for taking custom orders).

– Home Repair Services: Home repair services are always in-demand in good times or bad.  Local home repair is less expensive than large companies and offer superior customer service.  A warning: some states and local governments limit the size and type of work that independent home repair services may do.  Check local and state regulations before starting a job.  Always carry insurance against claims.  Sites to reference are: www.bejane.com and www.handyman-business.com .

– Pawn shops: When times get tough, people need cash.  Pawn stores and shops are one way to get easy money.   There are many store fronts empty, at least in my area.  Set up a pawn shop and people will come to you.

Each of the above businesses are easily set up and managed from the home, making them classic Homepreneur opportunities. As mentioned before, perform market research to discover competition and appropriate pricing.

Home Business with Web Design

Web designers are needed for all companies, large or small.  Web design uses both art and technology to create beautiful, value-driven experiences for people using a website or app.  Web design and development is expected to grow by 15% annually from 2016 to 2026 (US BLS.gov).

There are always old websites in need of professional web design, and foundational books like HTML & CSS: Design and Build Websites and Don’t Make Me Think (about user experience) are ways to figure out if becoming a web designer works for you.  Something else to consider is that web designers can work part-time or full-time and close to 20% are self-employed and/or work from home.

The pay can be good, too.  Qualified web designers can make $50,000 or more, if working full-time.  Part-time can bring $20 to $30 an hour or more, based on skill set and experience.

What you’ll need

A self-employed web designer needs:

• Creativity
• Communication skills for customers
• If having clients at home, a dedicated space and up-to-date technology
• Multiple operating systems and monitors
• Education from self-study and community college classes.  Big money isn’t needed for college degrees or graduate work.
• Skills in e-commerce are almost a must with today’s websites

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Additional learning resources

Actionable online courses like CodeAcademy , Mozilla Developer Network, Khan Academy, and MIT OpenCourseWare can help teach you everything from foundational information to web design knowledge to earning money as a freelance web designer. Here are even more immersive courses and learning tools with access to direct instructor feedback and mentorship with platforms like Treehouse, LinkedIn Learning and General Assembly.

http://www.webdesignernews.com

And this site – vaguys111 – is  looking for freelance designers or developers.

Freelancer also has web design jobs

Flexjobs has open positions, too

LinkedIn has more jobs!

There are many options in this field and not just in web design, but also web development and e-commerce solutions.

Cheer$!

Dion

Dion Shaw is the founder and owner of Homepreneurs

Disclaimer

Homepreneurs does not endorse nor have any relationships with any of the services listed.  Homepreneurs receives no compensation or consideration for its suggestions.  Homepreneurs strongly urges all interested parties to conduct research and accepts no responsibility for any losses incurred.

© Homepreneurs 2010 – 2018, All Rights Reserved

 

Sell on Etsy from Home

Do you like handmade arts and crafts?  Have people told you to sell them?  One option is set up at local craft shows, but that’s time and money.  And on-hand inventory that may or not sell.

How about setting up a shop on Etsy?  There are lots of different things that you can sell on Etsy:  clothing, accessories, toys, jewelry, art, home decor, and more!

If you have older items that you don’t want, you may be able to sell them on Etsy.  Older jewelry, collectibles, dresses, rings, and more.

There are two classes of items that are sold on Etsy:

1. Handmade.  These are unique items designed and created by yourself.  No re-sold items are classified as Handmade.  If other people are involved in the design process, be sure to give them credit, too.  Be able to describe the entire crafting process.  More information about Handmade items on Etsy is here.

Craft supplies are a subset of Handmade items for Etsy.  Craft supplies include tools, raw materials, and items like stencils that help people make their own Handmade items.  This article on Etsy craft supplies should help get you started.

2. Vintage.  Vintage items must be at least 20 years old.  Vintage items don’t have to be handmade, but sellers must be able to prove the items age with tags, labels, care tags, appraisals or other information.  Include this information in the description so the buyer knows that the item is Vintage.  Etsy give more information about selling Vintage items.

Open a Shop on Etsy

Etsy is very helpful about opening a shop and selling.

Take a look at Etsy’s helpful Beginner’s Guide.

The user community is also a great resource.

More Resources

Kick of Time

Handmadeology

Tech Boomers

How to sell on Etsy

Daily Payments with P2P Lending

Maybe not daily because not all calendar days are business days.  In 9 of the last 14 business days, I received interest payments on loans held with a P2P lending platform.  There was an old TV commercial for Smith-Barney, an investment house.  They claimed ‘to make money the old-fashioned way, they earned it’.  Do it the new way and let some other guy do the heavy work.  Just get the passive income!

What is P2P lending?  Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) allows individuals to borrow and lend money without a traditional financial institution like a bank or credit union.  An alternative form of lending, P2P allows borrowers to obtain financing at potentially lower rates, without major paperwork or even with bad credit.  P2P platforms are like an online market where borrowers pay a specific interest rate to people willing to loan the money.

In most P2P arrangements, multiple people may contribute to a specific loan or loans.  Each borrower has a profile with a credit rating, reason for the loan, payment period (up to 60 months) and rate.

Grades for borrowers range from A (best) to F, based on credit score.  Interest rates are higher for lower grades and default rate is higher, too.

So here is my total for the last 20 days, 14 were biz days.  I only have a couple hundred dollars allocated, so daily payments are small.

 

The usual warnings apply – prior performance doesn’t predict future results and your return may be different than mine, etc.

And since no one writing here is an financial or invest professional, our suggestions are just that – suggestions.  Do you own due diligence!!

Finally, every word is copyrighted to Homepeneurs and our lawyers will be in contact if you take content without permission.

3 Tips for Freelance Workers

Want to start a freelance career?  Freelance work has many benefits: independence, control, flexible hours, and the potential to make a lot of money.  Before you make that decision, think about these drawbacks.

1) Can you and are you willing to do what it takes?

A freelancer has no backup, no wingman, no one to bail you out.  The job is completely up to you, or at least your part of the job.  Can you accept that?  Do you have the skills, experience, and determination to get it done?  Freelancing isn’t easy, and bad customer experiences can make you look bad too.

2) Are you a closer?

Getting freelance work isn’t about the number of social media sites or contacts you have.  It is about telling the customer how you will do the job, in their time, and within budget.  Social media sites – LinkedIn in particular – are great, but don’t replace a firm handshake or personal contact.  And once in the door, do you have the personality to close the deal?   You have to always sell yourself and always close the deal.

If you can’t or are not comfortable selling yourself and the services you bring, freelancing may not be for you.  You must be able to sell and react to changes in client demand and expectations.

3) Do you have the time?

Freelancing is not a 9 to 5 job at all.  It is closer to a 50 or 60 hour workweek or more.  Other than the actual consulting (freelancing) work, you will have lots of paperwork (billing, taxes, education),work on getting  the next client (while still on the current job), and of course every little task a small business needs to do.  As a freelancer, you have no staff and need to handle everything yourself.

Can you put in the time needed?  If you can confidentially answer yes to all of the above, you may be ready for a freelance career.  If you can’t, perhaps part-time freelancing is a better choice at this time.