2020 has been a tough year for all of us, and if you’ve been placed on furlough during lockdowns or you’ve had the misfortune of losing your job – even if you’ve just had enough of everything want to work for yourself – it might be worth considering starting up your own venture.
This could either be by doing your current job on a freelance basis or starting up your own new business.
Starting out can be costly though, in terms of both time and money, so it’s often a good idea to kick things off by working from home – you may even have no choice but to do so in the current climate.
But what businesses work well when started from home? Here are our top home business start up ideas.
What type of business can you start at home?
1. Writing services
Offering a writing service is one of the simplest home start up ideas – a laptop and an internet connection is literally all you need to get started. So, if you’re handy with words, you could consider online content writing and blogging, ghost writing, or even offer translation services if you’re multilingual.
2. Repair services
If you’re a more practical person, you could offer a local repair service, fixing anything from clothes to bicycles, to phone screens, to laptops and other office equipment.
3. Specialist consultancy services
Businesses always need consultancy services, and are usually prepared to pay whatever it takes to enlist the services of top talent. Some areas to consider are:
- Web design
- Software programming
- Growth hacking
- Website and social media management
- Digital marketing
- Internet security.
You could also consider offering one-to-one online support services as part of a consultancy package, offering coaching or tutoring via conference call or video call.
4. Low-cost tech development
The app market may already seem saturated, but a growing number of businesses are turning to native apps to make sure they have a presence in the smartphone market, particularly internet-based business who are tired of spending big money with search engines and want to move away from the search marketing model. So, if you’ve got good programming skills, you could consider developing any or all of the following:
- Mobile apps
- Mobile games
- Child-friendly apps and games
- WordPress themes
- Security apps
- Niche social platforms/forums.
5. Online trading
Platforms like eBay and Amazon Marketplace offer a great way to buy and sell from home, and having a virtual shopfront means you can display as many items as you can in a physical store (perhaps even more), without the worry and expense of opening on the high street.
You could even sell items you’ve made yourself, such as high quality arts and crafts, 3D printed products, or home made ethical fashion or beauty products.
You could also consider affiliate trading, whereby you sell products on behalf of another company, such as health food, sports nutrition, bicycle safety products, sports memorabilia, and organic health and beauty products.
Have you started up a business from home? Share your experiences with our online business community in the comments section below, or on Twitter or Facebook.
