The following message was posted by Joel on 7/11/2006:

There are a lot of legitimate home business ideas out there... the question is: 'Which one is appropriate for your personality, your interests, and your talents"?
Some ideas that may be worth considering are: an event planning service, consulting service (what's your area of expertise?), wedding consultant, gift basket service, selling merchandise on ebay, running a home-based daycare business, being a professional organizer, being a cake decorator, running an antiques business, medical billing, candle making, home or office cleaning, making and selling cookies, crafts, photography, being a mortgage broker, real estate agent, dog groomer, freelance writer, and Internet marketing affiliate. (I'm involved in the last two.)

BTW... a couple days ago, I took my standard poodle to a home-based dog groomer who was generating all the business she could handle from word-of-mouth advertising and an eye-catching display ad in the local PennySaver. She also had a sign on her SUV and a systematic referral program.)

The keys to success are: being motivated, starting out with a lot of knowledge or being committed to learning what you need to know, prioritizing quality, professionalism, and customer service, and pursuing a business that you're genuinely enthusiastic about.

Regardless of what you may read on the Internet, there's no such thing as a 'get rich quick scheme' and all businesses entail an element of risk (not to mention continuous hard work and determination). If you have the entrepreneurial spirit, then the appropriate home business might be the perfect way to escape the 'rat race'. ('Perfect' being a relative term!)

Good luck and proceed with caution!

--Joel Sussman
Optimal Marketing Communications"

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This message was posted before we switched to the new Cyberschmooz format. You can read any responses to the original post at https://www.businessownersideacafe.com/cgi-bin/maincs/dcboard.cgi?forum=workathomemoms&az=list&database=archive.

I am also involved in a couple of the ideas you listed in your post, Joel. And I agree with everything you said - wise advice, indeed!

I just wanted to add one other home business opportunity - Direct Sales. I tried so many other things, and I have to say that I have found my niche in direct sales. I just wish someone had made me realize how incredibly lucrative it could be to become an independent consultant for a product I use and love! And even though I had very little money and was considered shy, it was incredibly affordable to get started and the training and selling plan was fun and easy to implement. I had good success from the very start!

I encourage anyone looking for a home business opportunity to think about a what they really like (cooking, jewelry, home products, etc.?) and then look for a direct sales/party plan company that offers it. Why re-invent the wheel when one can make money from the start with very little cash outlay?

Hi,
Nice and encouraging list and advice. I'm still trying to come up with something that could keep me busy, working from home and I am thinking on the kids line. I am a writer and now thinking of writing for kids, or coming up with images for kids to colour... so either the stories or the images, my dilemma is how to have this paid for. I'm not even thinking of making a kill, but like an annual subscription of 5 or 10, then the parents can download the works and read or hand them to their kids for colouring...
Get the drift?
Advice, please, as I have no idea how to go about this (except I know how to srite appealing pieces and kids colour pictures yet don't have the money required to publish).
Thanks.