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HOME-BASED BUSINESSES For FUN And PROFIT Your Guide To Setting Up Your Own BUSINESS AT HOME SELFEMPLOYMENT AND YOU The world of self-employment can be a personally and financially rewarding one for the right individual. Many people dream of owning their own business but don't believe it will ever happen for them. The majority of these folks see all the positives of working for themself, but lack the drive and determination to make the transition from employee to employer. Self-employment is the ticket to higher earnings without limit and the right to control and work your own schedule. But it's not easy work. A lot of self-employed people are working longer hours and weeks than ever in their own business. The difference is they are doing work they truly enjoy, and are getting paid for it! You have the talent and ability to work on your own! Perhaps you're just not sure what business you'd like to specialize in. That's where this book can help! We've listed a number of home-based business and franchise opportunities in this booklet based on the latest information available to us. From this assortment of listings, you will probably recognize some that will have a definite appeal to you. This is the first step to taking off with your own business: knowing what you want to do. Beyond that, if you have the fortitude to plow through the first few months, you will ultimately be successful. A number of these businesses will have you involved as a sales representative of the company, working out of your own home. While many people feel "turned off" by salespeople, remember the important part a salesperson plays in any business. A product usually has to be sold, right? There aren't many items that you are tuned in to where you can walk straight into a store and pick them out. Usually you hear about a certain product through advertising, such as direct mail or a notice in a local publication. If it catches your eye, you pursue it. Believe it or not, you've just been "sold" that product. The person responsible for marketing the product to an audience elected to attract clientele through an advertising approach. This is selling, too! Sales aren't just the slick folks in the automobile showroom who want to know what it will take to get you in that car today. Selling is the process by which a product reaches a consumer. It can take many forms. If you have some preconceived ideas about sales right now, erase them from your mind. Start with a clean slate by remaining open to all possibilities in your home-based business. After all, if you're marketing a product you would buy yourself, it will be easy to convince others of its value. Since you're selecting the right business opportunity, you'll unquestionably choose the business that has the most appeal to you. Selling something you love almost never feels like work or real selling! HOW TO GET STARTED If you currently have a job, you may want to break into your home-based business on a part-time basis until you've built up a large enough earnings base to leave. There will probably be no greater feeling than when you walk out the door and into a business where you call the shots! If you're between jobs, then by all means go at this full-force. All you need to do is to contact the businesses listed here that interest you and begin the process of determining if this is right for you. There may be several opportunities here that are franchises. There is no available data that says that electing to go the franchise route to start your business has any lower success rate than beginning a new business from scratch. Again, view these choices with an open mind and investigate the opportunity thoroughly before making the commitment. If you're working part or full time, you can be even choosier, perhaps. Franchises are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, DC. If you have any questions, or you wish to order some of the publications the FTC puts out on franchises, contact them at: Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection Division of Enforcement Pennsylvania Ave. at 6th Street, NW Washington, DC 20580 (202) 326-2970 In addition, several states have agencies that specifically administer their own state-specific franchise disclosure laws. This should be part of your evaluation of these business opportunities. These states are: California Hawaii Franchise Division Franchise & Securities Division Department of Corporations State Dept. of Commerce 3700 Wilshire Blvd. #600 1010 Richards Street Los Angeles, CA 90010 Honolulu, HI 96813 Illinois Indiana Franchise Division Franchise Division Office of Att'y Gen. 500 South 2nd Street Office of Sec'y of State Suite E111 302 W. Washington St. Indianapolis, IN 46204 Springfield, IL 62706 Maryland Michigan Franchise Office Antitrust & Franchise Off. Division of Securities Office of Att'y General 200 St. Paul Pl. 20th Fl. P.O. Box 30215 Baltimore, MD 21202 Lansing, MI 48909 Minnesota New York Franchise Division Franchise & Securities Div. Department of Commerce State Dept. of Law 133 East 7th Street 120 Broadway St. Paul, MN 55101 New York, NY 10271 North Dakota Oregon Franchise Division Corp. & Securities Div. Office of Securities Dept. of Insurance and Finance 600 East Blvd. 5th Commission Bismarck, ND 58505 Labor & Industries Bldg. Salem, OR 97310 Rhode Island South Dakota Franchise Office Franchise Office Division of Securities Division of Securities 233 Richmond St. #232 118 W. Capitol Ave. Providence, RI 02903 Pierre, SD 57501 Virginia Washington Franchise Office Franchise Office State Corporation Business License Services Commission State Securities Division 1300 E. Main St. 9th Fl. P.O. Box 9033 Richmond, VA 23219 Olympia, WA 98507 Wisconsin Franchise Office Wisconsin Securities Commission P.O. Box 1768 Madison, WI 53701 As you can see, not every state has a franchise office regulating these businesses. In that case, you can check with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which acts as a national overseer. You can also see if the franchise is part of: International Franchise Association 1350 New York Avenue NW Washington, DC 20005 6288000 This way you can see if the franchise you have an interest in is a member of IFA. Members of this organization must meet stringent eligibility requirements, especially regarding financial strength. They also have several publications available on the various aspects of acquiring and starting a franchise business. You're ready to begin your search! The following pages will list a number of opportunities. We hope one will be right for you! THE TOP 10 WAYS TO MAKE MONEY AT HOME ANTIQUES The buying and selling of antiques has been and should continue to be a very productive business, financially, for those who do it. Here, you only need an extra room in the house, or the use of your garage - and you have an office! If you have a large home that has some antique furnishings, you might consider turning it into a showroom for your antique acquisitions and sales, providing you satisfy any local zoning regulations. The interest in antiques will survive into the foreseeable future. Many people choose to spend their free time on the weekends "antiquating" from place to place to try and pick up a few odds and ends and maybe a jewel or two. If you know anything about antiques, this may be a great opportunity for you. For more information, check out the book, "Buying and Selling Antiques", by Don Cline and Sara Pitzer. Your local library may be filled with other publications on this subject which can get you started quickly. Your only overhead may be inventory and advertising! BAKING Have you ever been told that you have a recipe which people would line up to get if they could? Have you ever had anyone tell you that you should be selling those cupcakes you make? There are a number of success stories about people who have launched successful businesses by cooking at home and then marketing to local people first. Word of mouth on a good product may start to get restaurants or bakeries interested in acquiring your culinary masterpieces. Then you progress to selling them state-wide and presto! A winning home-based business! For more practical advice on the assorted aspects of setting up a specialty foods business, you should contact your local U.S. Department of Agriculture Home Extension Agent in your county. Since every U.S. county has such an individual, that person shouldn't be hard to find! BED AND BREAKFAST PROPRIETOR(S) Have you ever stayed in a bed and breakfast and thought, "Hey, I can do this!" You probably went on vacation and simply chalked your thought up as one of those pipe dreams people get when they stay in a beautiful spot. Don't toss that thought away! While it's not easy work, as the hours can be long and it's usually a seven days per week business, it's often something that you can work into a daily schedule. After all, it's merely an extension of doing the housework for family, right? More and more Americans are taking after Europeans and opening their homes to travelers. If you have an extra room or two now that the kids have moved out, you can start a bed and breakfast in your own place! Bed and breakfast popularity will continue as more and more vacationers and business travelers seek a different accommodation away from the predictability of the average hotel room. If they enjoy their stay, many become "repeat" customers, coming back to the same familiar surroundings time and again. If you don't need to do any major renovations in the house to accommodate this type of establishment, you can be off and running with very little money invested, other than advertising and some new "guest room supplies". If your dream is to buy a bed and breakfast somewhere in a vacation paradise, there are houses for sale that will probably work for this purpose. Whatever your design, there are several good books on the subject of starting your own bed and breakfast, including "Start Your Own Bed and Breakfast", by Beverly Mathews. Your local library should have a nice variety of such books to choose from. CHILD CARE Due to the financial pressures many families face today, many parents work outside of the home to bring in enough income to pay daily living expenses. A single parent is obviously working, but all too often both members of a two-parent family are in the workforce. This creates a home-based opportunity. Children must be watched all day if they're not in school, or for a brief time after school before the parents finish work for the day. Caring for one additional child may not be that lucrative, but taking care of several children can certainly be a full-time, financially successful business. Often, taking care of several children is made somewhat easier as the youngsters will play together and keep busy. You can do this at home for only a small investment in basic equipment and toys for the kids, in addition to the advertising of your business. There are several publications that address starting this type of business, including "Family Day Care", by Betsy Squibb. Another resource is the Day Care Council of America, 5730 Market Street, Oakland, CA 94608. COMPUTER SPECIALIST The advent of the computer age has changed the concept of self-employment. Having a computer at home has opened a number of opportunities for running your own business by utilizing this equipment. Companies everywhere are "outsourcing" work that can be done by someone else on their computer, out of their own home. If you're not that familiar with a computer, there are many low-cost (or free) seminars and classes that will teach you what equipment you need and how to use it. If you're a whiz in computers, you may end up working as a consultant, writing programs for companies. If you're a beginner, you may find yourself able to obtain work as a writer, using your computer to produce copy that's easy to edit. You can also keep accounting and payroll records for companies on your computer's database. Word processing software can be used not only for writers but for those that can offer secretarial services out of their house. Desktop publishing software can allow you to do newsletters for businesses and other organizations. It is of course not full article. You should login first to show full article. If you have not account, please register. It is FREE!!!
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