Home Based Business Idea List

Looking to start a home based business, but need some ideas, then fear not good citizen, I’ve got your back.

I’m going to flat out give you several ideas you can take and start running with right now and I’ll also tell you some great ways to come up with your own ideas.   So not having any ideas for what you can do will be a thing of the past.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Home Based Business Idea List

This isn’t intended to be a comprehensive listing, but there should be something here you can use to get started.   And you’ll notice that all of these items listed are intended to be for people looking to have businesses, not jobs.  If you want a home based job, you’re probably on the wrong website… sorry.

Affiliate Marketing
When it comes to recommending the best way for people to get started online with a home based business, affiliate marketing is the one I like to recommend.  You can get started quickly because instead of creating your own products to sell, you sell products other people have created and get a commission when a sale is made.

While most people sell information products (ebooks, home study courses), I have to tell you that the commission on items like Plasma TVs and other high end equipment adds up in a hurry.  :-)

I won’t go into an in depth discussion of affiliate marketing here, but if you’re looking to learn more, you can get my free DVD, “How to Start a Home Based Business for Less Than $25” or you can read more by visiting the affiliate marketing page.

Network Marketing
For a lot of people, this is how they become introduced to the idea of having a home based business.  To be honest, I’m not totally enamored with network marketing.  It’s a great business if it fits your personality, but make sure that it’s a good fit for you before you sign up and get started or you’ll find yourself a network marketing failure quickly.

Selling Information Products
This is one of the most profitable areas of making a living online, but it’s also a little challenging to get started since you typically have to go about creating your own product and then you have to create the marketing materials to go along with it.

I recommend at some point everybody have their own information product (I certainly do), but I think it’s better to get started with affiliate marketing so you understand what types of products will sell before trying to create your own.

eBay Seller
eBay can be a great short term business if you just need to raise some money quickly or it can be a long term business.  Either way, there are plenty of ways you make money on eBay to this very day.
This is actually how I got my start online so I’ll probably always look at this fondly as a good way to get started.  I’ve even developed an eBay training course called Rapid Auction Profits (RapidAuctionProfits.com).

As far as how to specifically make money on eBay, here are a few ideas.  Clean out your attic/garage/basement.  Get rid of all the stuff you don’t use anymore and make some money.   Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can start going to garage sales and local auctions to get great deals on more inventory.   And if you want to keep going, you could start dropshipping, and if you really want to get serious with eBay, start an importing business.

Importing will require you to rent some warehouse space, and likely hire some employees, but most of your work could still be done from home if you so desire.

eCommerce Website Owner
Of course, you can sell products online without going through the online giant, eBay.  In fact, starting your own website to sell products is frequently the topic of those late night infomercials.

It’s not quite as easy as the infomercials make it sound, but it does work.  Here’s a tip.  Remember to specialize, and to compete on something other than having the lowest prices or you won’t be in business for very long.  (Hint: Look at sites like Zappos.com and Amazon.com for ideas on what they do to set themselves apart)

Freelancer
Do you have skills that other business owners could use?  Then perhaps you want to consider freelancing and selling your services.  There are a lot of different freelance job opportunities, but some of the big ones include graphic design, writing/ghostwriting, programming/web development, and copywriting.

And there are plenty of sites like Guru, Elance, and Rentacoder for you to get started to find people looking for your services.

Consultant
And finally, we have the consultant.  There are a lot of different types of consultants out there and I don’t think I could cover all the different kinds even if I wanted to.  The pay here can be outstanding especially if you work with large companies, but it typically requires significant expertise in whatever area it is your work in so if you’re not already an expert in a specialized area, you may want to hold off on becoming a consultant.

Coming Up With Your Own Unique Ideas
I currently own about 400 domain names.  If I had to guess, I’d say about 50 of them are for various ideas that suddenly struck my fancy and I decided to register just in case I ever had time to follow through with it.  NoPantsMarketing itself was one such idea as a way to really connect with people looking to truly experience the work at home lifestyle (admittedly, it probably doesn’t resonate with stay at home moms as much as it does with guys).

One thing to keep in mind is that you really never know when your next million dollar idea is going to strike so you need to be prepared at all times for it to come.  Don’t trust your memory.  Get it written down or recorded in some way.  That means you should at all times have a voice recorder or notepad handy.  And just to let you know, most cell phones already have a built in voice recorder so you probably don’t need to go out and buy one.  And a notepad that will fit into your pocket costs less than $1.  Get one.

I’ve also made sure that I have notecards and pens in every room of my house just to make sure I’ve always got easy access to paper to write down any idea that suddenly pops into my head.

And have you ever heard people say, “I get my best ideas in the shower.”  Well, I have to say that I agree with them.  However, neither a voice recorder nor a notepad is going to work in that case since neither are particularly fond of getting wet.  However, a scuba dive board is perfectly suited to the task.  It’s just a board you can write on with a pencil underwater, and you can get one for less than $20 – well worth it.

Another great way to get ideas for your business is to simply listen to people.  Just listen to what kind of problems they’re having.  They’ll be more than happy to tell you about their problems.  Your job is to think about how to create solutions to those problems.  You can do this when you’re out with friends or online by visiting message boards and forums.  You’ll never find a shortage of people complaining in most online forums.

And a good old fashioned brainstorming session can be a great way to come up with more ideas if all the above methods aren’t producing enough ideas for you.  Just get out a pen and a few pieces of paper and start writing down any idea you have.  Remember to write down everything whether you think it’s a good idea or not.  You can evaluate the quality of the idea later.  During a brainstorming session the point is just to get it down and out of your head.

What Will You Do For Money?
Not enough people talk about this, but you really do need to make a list of things you won’t do for money.  I know that it’s common to say you’ll do anything or whatever it takes, but the reality is that most people will not.

Knowing what you’re willing to do and what you’re not will allow you to pretty easily evaluate any opportunity that comes your way.
So make the list.

For example some items on my list of things I won’t do for money:
•    Cold calling
•    Anything requiring me to get up before 8am
•    Anything in the following industries: porn, tattoo, smoking

I know one guy who won’t do anything requiring him to wear a tie.  Another who won’t do anything that he thinks will still require his direct involvement after 18 months.

Now you know have some home based business ideas and you know how to evaluate them.  Now get going and get started.  Hint:  It’s more important to pick something (anything) than it is to try to make sure you’ve got it perfect.