Need a Business Idea? Here Are 12

Opening your own business is often a learn-as-you-go process. But, the more smart decisions you make early on, the better chance your company has for success. If you have an entrepreneurial idea, choose and try one of these 12 ideas:

1. ACCOUNTANT
   Experience, training or licensing may be needed

Build a flier that describes your services. You need to know what those programs will be before you do that. Do you want a small business to simply do bookkeeping? Depending on the needs of the company, a more involved degree of accounting will be to draw up balance sheets, income statements and other financial reports on a weekly, quarterly, and/or annual basis. Tax accounting, a large field of possible work, could be another specialization.

2. CONSULTANT
Has expansion possibilities

You need to have experience in something to be a consultant so that you can sell yourself as a consultant to those looking to work in that field. In your career with a drugstore company, you might have run many big warehouses, done all the marketing for a large shoe retailer for several years, or set up a chain of beauty supply stores or take-out restaurants. Without making the same mistakes that you made along the way, you can use this insight to help others do similar things.

3. DOG WALKING
Experience, training, or licensing may be needed

For their regular constitutional one or more times a day, dog walkers carry pooches out either individually or in small groups. Dog walking alone can be a thriving business in several cities around the United States, including New York. But additional facilities, including playing with and feeding dogs, carrying in newspapers and mail, and turning lights on and off, are more popular for dog walkers to provide.

4. EBAY ASSISTANT

Do you have things that you could sell on eBay lurking around your household? Find out the price you are asking and decide whether to sell it or place it in your eBay shop. If you want a minimum bid and how long you want the auction to run, then decide. You’ll want to set up an account with PayPal to use for purchases. All the data you need to know to get up and running with an eBay company is available on the eBay website.

5. EDITORIAL SERVICES
Has expansion possibilities

Here are some of the editorial services you can provide from the quiet of your own home:

• Copyediting. This is where fact checking takes place, and where grammatical, stylistic and typographical errors are caught.
• Proofreading. This is the last stop for a “finished” piece. The proofreader makes sure the copyediting changes have been properly made and no new errors are created in the process.
• Indexing. There are indexing courses available and you can get indexing software.
• Developmental editing. A developmental editor works with a manuscript on big-picture things like organization and content issues.
• Book doctoring. This is an editorial service provided for manuscripts written by experts. They create a manuscript as best they can and then a book doctor puts it into publishable shape.
• Ghostwriting. As a ghost writer, you actually do the research and write the book and someone else’s name is attached as the author.
• Copywriting. Also known as business writing, this is writing that promotes a product or a service.
• Book writing. Do you have expertise in something professional, such as accounting or interior decorating? Or personally, like knitting? Why not write a book about it?
• Magazine article writing. Magazines and newspapers are a great way to get your writing published before tackling the daunting task of writing a whole book.
• Web page content provider. Providing content for a web site is a good way to make some money writing.

6. ELECTRONICS REPAIR
Has expansion possibilities

This company is close to the business of computer repair, but aside from only computers, you can take on all types of electronic equipment. You would need to be prepared to have clients carry their repair tasks to you for smaller electronics, since you will have trouble recovering the expense of driving around picking up and returning damaged equipment. You will also want to persuade individuals to send you their old electronics so that they can be used for components.

7. EVENT PLANNING
Has expansion possibilities

Visiting any possible event venue you want to work with is one of the first things you need to do. To visit each site and learn what is available at each venue, work with the marketing manager. Start a database that will allow you to sort locations by various characteristics, such as the number of people keeping each position, AV equipment available on site, whether you need to arrange for rental chairs, etc.

Then you can figure out what the key requirements are for the event and quickly pull up the three or four places that follow the basic criteria when you start organizing an event for a client. Parties and commitment parties, etc.

8. FINANCIAL PLANNER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed

To start, you should go through the certification process so that you can label yourself a CFP (Certified Financial Planner). Your certificate shows that you have expertise and credibility, and this differentiation will help people choose you as their financial planner.

9. HOME ENERGY AUDITOR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed

Both homeowners are searching for ways to save on their utility bills at all times. By offering them an audit of their house and giving them a rundown of how they could make real savings in heating, cooling and electrical usage, you will come to their aid. You can go a step further and do it yourself to incorporate and install some of your ideas in their house. Do a thorough audit of the appliance, with performance scores and estimates based on the appliance’s era.

10. HOME INSPECTION
Experience, training or licensing may be needed

You would want to create contacts with real estate agents who can recommend your services to clients in order to be profitable. The area of home inspection is one where your education and experience will need to be continuously updated. If you just know about decks made of wood, you would not know how to inspect and analyze the new materials on the market, such as composites that are made to look like real wood. New products are constantly coming out on the market. Keep aware of all material safety updates and problems with things like off-gassing, development of carbon monoxide, and other chemical precautions.

11. HOUSEHOLD ORGANIZER
Has expansion possibilities

You can either opt to do the organizational work or check on the things the homeowner can do to organize themselves better. Have a portfolio of various organizational scenarios in different rooms in the home and discuss the design he or she wants with the homeowner. To understand how the family uses the home, create checklists and questionnaires. Are the kids wildly occupied with things after school? Or are they usually home and want access to their toys after school? Are they sharing rooms? All of these things will allow you to tailor an organizational strategy and become the hero of a family.

12. INTERIOR DECORATOR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed

To construction contractors, sell your skills. People buying new homes will also be distracted by home decorating options and possibilities. For each major feature and each major space in the building, design some questionnaires. Find out how the homeowner is going to use the home — are there any kids? Animals? Should a housewife wear high heels? Will the occupants of the home forget to remove shoes? How is each room going to be used? Where will job lighting and ambient lighting be most suitable?

That said, don’t let passion take over all your decisions. Passion will move you forward, but knowledge will point you in the right direction.