5 Home Business Ideas to Consider Starting This Year

There are many different types of home business ideas you can start this year. Some people prefer to start a small side business.  Others decide to take on more of a startup approach. However you choose to approach it, I am sure there is some kind of home business idea that would fit your needs.  Below are five business ideas you can start from home.  These ideas can serve as a business you might be interested in getting started on right away.  They can also serve as a starting point for you to brainstorm other ideas you would like to pursue.

1. Virtual Assistant Services

With this service, businesses can outsource their customer service requirements to a team of local freelancers from anywhere in the world. A company will typically hire an Admin who coordinates with the virtual assistants and assigns tasks.

The role of the virtual assistant is to provide assistance to the business.  The virtual assistant helps the company boost its productivity and saves the business time and money it would otherwise have to spend, which it may not have.

To become a virtual assistant, you could start your own service company, or you can seek out virtual assistant jobs on websites such as Upwork.com or Fiverr.com.
 

2. Bookkeeping Services

A home-based bookkeeping service is a service that provides bookkeeping services to businesses and to the public from the home of the bookkeeper. The service sometimes provides an online platform or tools, allowing the customer to log in, manage their account, and upload files necessary for the bookkeeper.   The bookkeeper can also visit the customer’s business or home to complete tasks with the customer directly.

The benefits of a home-based bookkeeping service include:

• Increased privacy and security for the customer
• Reduced overhead costs for the bookkeeper

If you have the skills to be a bookkeeper, this home-based business startup idea could work well for you.

3. Pet Care Services

Many people who work outside the home often find it hard to take care of their pets and give them the care and attention they deserve.

Home-based family pet care services can help people in this situation. These companies typically provide in-home care for small pets like dogs, cats, rabbits, and even guinea pigs. They also offer house sitting services for larger pets and will even help with maintaining fish tanks.

If you’re looking to start a business of your own, want more flexibility in your schedule, and love working with animals, this may just be the perfect business for you!

4. Online Store

Running an online store from home is a great way to have the flexibility to work from home and have a flexible schedule. This means you can work whenever you choose and still enjoy spending time with family and friends.

Online stores are relatively inexpensive to start, with many free options also available.  Sites like CafePress, Spring, Spreadshirt and Zazzle offer a number of products you can put your own designs on, such as t-shirts, mugs, pillows, bags, wall art, and other housewares, all without having to stock any products yourself, and without having to ship any products to customers.  Though profit margins can be lower through some of these print-on-demand product services, the low overhead and ease of getting started are worth considering if you’re looking for a low-cost business you can start right away.

5. Producing Music From Home

There has recently been a rise in the number of music producers using their home computers to produce music which they can sell online as an album, or as singles, or provide to businesses, video content creators, and even TV shows and filmmakers for a wide variety of projects.

Advances in new technology have been a big part of this increase.  Free versions of Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs), such as Garageband, FL Studio, and Ableton Live are another contributing factor and can get you up and running fast.  There are also many tools, plugins, and sound libraries available that can help you with the creation of your music. Some of the tools you’ll find range in price from free to several hundreds of dollars or more.  If you’re just starting out, however, you should be able to find more than enough tools and content to work within your desired price range before feeling the need to move on to more expensive options. Many music creation apps are also available for both iOS and Android devices, making creating music on the go easier than ever before.

If creating your own music is a passion you would love to pursue, now is a great time to get your music career off the ground.

With these ideas and others in mind, the main things to consider when starting any business are your reasons for starting that business, to begin with.  If you create a business doing something you’re already passionate about, you’ll be more likely to enjoy working in that business more than a business you start just to make money, but have no real interest in.  Money can be made in many ways, and the truth is you’re more likely to stick with your business and make it grow if it’s something you truly care about.

Here’s to you starting that new business!  I hope it becomes everything you want it to be!