Ideas for Home-Employment

• Look around at your friends and contacts who either work from home or have a small business. What do they do? Talk to them about their experience. Look through the small ads in the local paper. Look at the services offered by small businesses. They are usually working from home. Look in the library for books (such as the ones below) with ideas or buy a copy (see Books). Just looking at lists of ideas (such as those below) may help stimulate your own thoughts and help you to work out a starting point for yourself. After further research, you may well find that you will adapt an idea to your own skills and ability.

• In Niki Chesworth's book Great Ideas for Making Money there are no less than 70 inspiring ideas for making money - all perfectly sound, legitimate and proven. For each idea are the qualities you need as a person, the costs in involved in setting up, how much you are likely to make, the marketing involved, pitfalls and further contacts. This book is produced in conjunction with the Daily Express and throughout you will find copies of adverts from small businesses advertising their wares. It is interesting to look at these adverts and the approach these small business ideas have taken. The following list of possible ideas is taken from the contents page:

  Alternative/complementary medicine Antiques dealing Antiques and picture restoration Answering service Art Auctions Babysitting Beautician, beauty therapist Bulk buying and selling Car cleaning and valeting Car repairs Catering and cooking Child care Children's parties Cleaning Collecting Commission-only selling Crafts and arts Curtains and loose covers CVs and letter-writing Desktop publishing Despatch and courier Direct mail DIY - odd jobbing and repairs

  Despatch and courier Direst mail DIY - odd jobbing and repairs Dog-walking Dog training Door-to-door security Drain unblocking Dressmaking Driving-instruction Driving-mini cabs Driving-chauffeur Driving-food home-delivery Envelope stuffing Faxing Fence erecting and treating Foreign student lodging Franchises Furniture assembly Furniture removals Gardening Greeting cards Gutter clearing Hampers Hedge trimming House-minding

  Indexing Laundry Leaflet, brochure paper distribution Market trading Modelling Multi-level marketing Nappy delivery service Nude modelling Painting and decorating Party planning and selling Pet boarding Photography Picture framing Plant care and hire Renting out accommodation Teaching English as a foreign language Teleworking Tourist guide Toy making Typing and word processing Window cleaning Wood-stripping Writing

• 101 Great Money Making Ideas by Mark Hempshell is a home business manual packed with proven ideas for cash-raising projects to suit every interest and age group. Many successful businesses began with the simplest of ideas and next to no capital. This book is brimming over with business ideas, inside tips and step-by-step advice. Most of the suggested projects need very little money to get up and running, but have almost unlimited money-making potential for everyone willing to have a go, both on a full time or a part time basis. For each project you will find listed: whether it is feasible for a part-time or full-time income; the capital required; what the returns are likely to be; which other projects it could be combined with; the equipment/skills needed; the pros and cons; and details of how you would operate such a scheme. The following list of possible ideas is taken from the contents page:

  Out & About Businesses Adult education Leaflet distribution Estate Agency Commercial Property Land & business sales Mind-a-home service Auctions Concert or play Dance or disco Demonstration selling Shop within a shop Seasonal shop Clearance sale Mobile video library Gift wrapping Gift delivery Sign supply Advance driving tuition Other driving techniques Tour guide Flower selling Selling fads Special interest weekends Van sales round Press agency Creative & Artistic Businesses Writing about your interests Travel writing Writing verse for greeting cards Calligraphy Video film production School photography Postcard photo library Complete photo library Plant rental Interior design Jewellery making Junk jewellery Ideas for games

  Practical Businesses Replacement kitchen doors & drawers Home improvements Telephone fitting Foil printing Natural cosmetics Natural foods Biscuits Sandwich service Street catering Making food for restaurants Bulk breaking Picture framing Repairing & refurbishing Second-hand furniture Re-upholstery Contract maintenance Equipment cleaning Laundry service Car valeting Alarm installation Self-Managing businesses Door-to-door catalogue sales Mail order Business services bureau Printer's jobber Picture rental Sub-dividing office space Sub-diving shop space Courier service Sandwich board advertising Language school Translation service Fancy dress hire Vending machines Public conveniences Other coin-operated facilities Lotteries

  Office & Desk Businesses Opportunities in international trade Property renovations Property decoration Finance broker's agent Other financial services Market research Telephone market research Advertising cards Dealing surplus stock Credit control House Exchange Souvenir plots of land Dating Agency Contact service Company sales agent Telephone services Mailing list broker Editing & Proof reading Car broker Used car broker Free newspaper Mini-advertising agency Tours & excursions Party organisation Art sales Barter

• Another helpful guide is 101 Ways to Start Your Own Business by Christine Ingham. The 1998 edition is fully revised and provides you with 101 interesting and original ideas for setting up on your own. As well as giving an overview of each idea Christine Ingham says what sort of person the idea would appeal to; gives the advantages and disadvantages; and future possibilities of the idea. Where possible, the book lists useful addresses and publications. The following list of possible ideas is taken from the contents page:

  Accommodation Antiques Architectural salvage Bicycle repairs Bodyguard service Book search service Box designs Business support service Buying and renovating properties Buying an existing business Cake design Calligraphy Car care Card mailing service Careers advisor Catering service Children's party entertainer Cleaning antiques Community business Companions agency Complementary therapies Contract cleaning Counselling Courier services Craft work Cultivating new plants Dealing in art Driving tuition Film making Florist's commission work Fortune telling Franchising Fund raising Garden work

  Gift buying service Grave care Greeting card design Hairdressing History of houses House name and number plates Image consultant Importing Indexing Internet businesses Introducing sidelines Inventions Ironing service Letting properties service Local walks and tours Magazine publishing Mail order Making kits Management consultancy Market stalls Mini cab services Multi-media design Natural toiletry products Nursing home Office equipment cleaning Office lunches Organic food supplier Organising conferences Party DJ Party planning Personalised gifts Personal trainer Pet food supplier Pet sitting and walking

  Picture library Premium rate telephone lines Print selling Private investigation agency Product agent Professional's manager or agent Property finding service Property maintenance Publishers' remainders Reconditioning equipment Recording studio Renovating junk furniture Re-upholstering Running a play group Secondhand goods Security work Sell your knowledge Speciality foods Surplus stock Telecottages Teleworking Themed cafes Toy making Tracing family trees Training for businesses Translation work Tuition Voluntary group Wedding consultant Window boxes Window cleaning Window dressing Writing

Finding Work at Home

• Many homeworkers find work through word of mouth - ask friends, relatives or neighbours if they know of local employers looking for homeworkers. Approach local companies to find out whether they use homeworkers.

• Try to find work from a firm near you. It will be easier to collect and deliver work and sort out problems.

• Get recommendations from other homeworkers who work or who have worked for the company and have been paid.

• Find out more about a company before accepting work - you might be able to visit the premises.

• Ask at the local job centre.