TOPAZ HORIZON

You can earn an extra income just by staying at home and making use of the resources that you have (e.g., your skills, expertise, or hobby). Or you can also find a reliable manufacturer that will supply you with products to sell.

Either way, you can earn money while running your business at home and with minimal capital to start. If you’re looking for inspiration for a home-based business, here are five profitable ideas to try.

Sell Your Handmade Products

Are you a crafter? You can earn money by selling your creations online. Handmade and personalized products are popular gift items, which means there is a market for them. With you making the products, you have a lot of control over the production process. You can tailor products for a particular audience, find ways to make them more cost-effective, or innovate methods to improve quality.

Then you can sell your handmade products through a marketplace, social media, or your own online shop. Certain products, particularly those that ingested or applied on the skin, are regulated under laws. These include makeup, skin-care products, food, and beverages. Be aware of the legalities and permits you need to apply for if you’re planning to sell such products.

Here are some examples of handmade products you can sell:

• Artworks
• Dolls and toys
• Home accessories
• Jewelry
• Knitwear
• Party favors
• Pet accessories
• Wedding supplies

Making your own products takes a lot of time and energy, but you have full control of how many you’re going to sell. You can also stockpile your creations before opening the shop. Many crafters take commission work to avoid getting overwhelmed. 

Try Drop Shipping

According to Big Commerce, drop shipping is “an order fulfillment method that does not require a business to keep products in stock.” The business is more like a distributor who does the selling and marketing and then passes on the production and fulfillment to a third-party supplier.

Drop shipping requires significantly less effort on the business’s part, but you have to make sure that your supplier can consistently provide quality customer experience. Otherwise, your business’s reputation will suffer. 

This business model also creates a minimal opportunity for personal branding and customization. One way around this issue is to curate products from various suppliers to provide quality items for a specific niche.

(Note on drop shipping vs. affiliate marketing: As mentioned above, drop shipping allows you to sell other people's products as your own while affiliate marketing is you promoting other people's products and you earn a commission from each sale from your promotions.)

Sell Your Skills or Expertise

Do you specialize in a specific field or have a marketable skill you can sell? Monetize your skills or expertise by starting a service-based business. 

Social media managers, writers, proofreaders, editors, designers, and developers can take freelance projects or sell their skills to marketers, agencies, publishers, companies, or individuals. 

If you’re an expert on a certain field (e.g., finance planning, medical billing, college applications, and SEO marketing), you can publish courses or e-books and sell on your website or platforms, like Udemy, Teachable, or Podia. Or you can start a consulting business and market your skills to companies, organizations, and individuals.

Monetize Your Blog

Create a blog, and choose a specific niche so that it’s easier to find your audience. Pick a niche that you’re knowledgeable in and passionate about. Then publish quality content that’s relevant and valuable to your audience. Engage your readers so that they’ll spend a lot of time consuming the content you create. 

Here are some ways you can monetize your site:

• Affiliate marketing
• Advertisements
• Sponsored content
• Email marketing
• Selling digital products like e-books
• Selling coaching services
• Sponsorships

The bigger and more loyal your audience is, the more you can earn from your blog.

Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent or a freelancer, earning a living has been made easier through today’s technology. Anyone can now run their own home-based business and earn money by selling products or services or monetizing their knowledge and skills.

So if you’re interested in starting a home-based business, here are a few ideas you can try:

1. Sell handmade products online.

2. Start a drop-shipping business.

3. Sell your skills or expertise.

4. Monetize your blog.

Making money is hard work, but it can be made easier by using the resources that technology and the internet have made available to everyone. You only need to put it in work and find the right opportunities. 

*This guest post was written by Melissa Page. She writes for a living and goes bowling for fun. Follow her on Twitter: @melissapage90. If you want to place a guest post on this blog, please email frances@topazhorizon.com.