Thursday, March 25, 2010

100 Great Niche Home Businesses - Part 5

Here is Part 5 listing of great niche home businesses for those looking for offline part-time income ideas to earn more money. Be sure to click the links where in this particular series, I have provided instructional resources to help you get started faster.

56. HOUSE CLEANING. Offer one-time or periodic house cleaning services. Perform the heavy tasks (shampoo rugs, clean stoves, wash windows, wax the floors, defrost refrigerators). Have a check-list of jobs to be done and agree on price beforehand.

57. HOUSE PAINTING. Contract to paint houses and apartments or rooms by the job. Have assistance (high school kids?) on hand when needed. Increase your profit by supplying quality (only)paint and supplies and bidding on the entire job.

58. INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS. Make recordings of yourself or others teaching and demonstrating certain specialties. Start with simple operations (making a will); graduate to more complex instructions as you learn them.

59. INVENTION PROMOTION. Purchase three to six month option rights on interesting inventions for relatively low fee. Run test promotions and buy only the successful ones - those you can sell for a nice profit or successfully market yourself.

60. INVENTORIES. Specialize in taking inventories for area merchants (at their convenience - usually after hours). Work alone or have a qualified team on call. Check with an insurance company to obtain bonding for yourself and assistants.

61. JACK REPAIR. Repair hydraulic jacks (take a course if necessary) in your garage shop for individuals, garages, mechanics, retail stores. Buy, sell, take in trades and rebuild all kinds. Offer special prices to mechanics.

62. JEWELRY BOXES. Make fine jewelry boxes to sell to and through gift stores, catalog sales and individuals. Line with velvet, offer lacquered, inlaid, shell or seed covered versions. Have varied finished and storage arrangements.

63. WINDOWS AND SCREENS. Repair windows: replace glass, repair frames, renew or rebuild screens. List with hardware stores and keep an ad in the paper. Fix one broken pane or bid to renew windows and/or replace all screens on the house.

64. KITES. Build, sell and demonstrate all kinds of kites and accessories. Start a program to sell advertising space to sponsoring merchants during "meets" that you help stage (e.g.open, between schools, towns). Give away kites as prizes.

65 LAPIDARY (GEM MAKING). Operate a rock shop in your garage. Cut, polish facet, shape and mount gems in commercial and amateur findings. Sell mounted, unmounted gems and jewelry. Group together imperfections and left-overs to sell separately.

66. LAWN MAINTENANCE. Contract to mow lawns by the job or season. Charge extra to edge, rake, collect and remove clippings. Refer related jobs to cooperating businesses for a finder's fee or commission. Expand your service as you grow.

67. LIBRARY RESEARCH. Use your talent, the public library, and your computer to provide research data, technical details and background information for clients who need their "homework" done. Charge by the hour, page or a flat fee for your time and effort.

68. LIGHTING SPECIALIST. Design, sell, service and install lighting systems for external residence and business buildings. Use inexpensive 12 volt systems among shrubs for security and beauty; colored spotlights for unusual effects.

69. LINE DANCE LESSONS. Offer line dance lessons to local local residents. Offer classes at YMCA or community centers. Place fliers and advertise at taverns or sports bars with costs for each lesson. Offer lessons as a group.

70. LITTLE LEAGUE CARDS. Take pictures of younger small league baseball (football, soccer etc.)players and print them on baseball-like cards, complete with their names, position and other "official" information. Offer in sets with extra copies for proud parents and relatives to purchase.

71. MOSAIC TILE. Buy patterns or create custom designed pieces and install in an exclusive design for each customer. Offer exquisite kitchen and bathroom designs, as well as spa and even swimming pool arrangements. Charge for tile too.

72. MARBLE CASTING. With "synthetic marble", cast, finish and market figurines, ashtrays, office (pen bases) and commercial (trophies) items for wholesale accounts (stationery stores, etc.). Make one or two special items for local retail.

73. NECKTIES. Make exclusive, hand made ties from exotic materials from all over the world. Offer a selection of designs,attach your exclusive label and advertise in men magazines. Try local stores first then try larger markets.

74. NEEDLECRAFT. Make your own style of homemade items (pot holders, bonnets, towel rings) to sell on consignment, to catalog companies, or at a booth at fairs or flea markets. Present them in tasteful fashion with your label attached.

75. MINIATURE GARDENS. Create various sizes of garden-like display containers of live plants for hospital sick rooms, boxes for balconies, rooftop planters, offices and residences. Include instructions for care to make your products last.

Well that concludes today's niche home businesses with added resources to learn more about the trade you may want to pursue. Not sure where the resources are? If the words are underlined, there's a resource for you to check out...

Tomorrow we'll conclude this series with our final 20 businesses where you can apply your talent, interests and experience to make extra money from home.

Christine Range