Wednesday, March 24, 2010

100 Great Niche Home Businesses - Part 4

For those who have been following along, you know the last several days I have been providing some services you can consider for generating part-time or a second income.

Here are today's listing of 20 more great niche home businesses for those looking for offline part-time income ideas.


36. ELECTROPLATING. Offer a chrome (and other) metal plating services in your shop. Advertise in the local newspaper and list your business in auto, RV parts stores, auto restorers and body shops categories. In between jobs plate items to sell (ornaments, trophies etc.).

37. FENCE INSTALLATION. Install fences for private homeowners. List service with hardware stores and keep a small ad in the local newspaper. Expand to furnishing the materials for a single bid. Offer a variety of both functional and ornamental fences.

38. FISHING LURES. Use a fly-tying rig to tie flies and sell by the dozen to individuals, bait shops, sports and department stores. Design, manufacture and decorate fishing lures especially for type of waters (i.e river, lakes, oceans) in your area. Then advertise and expand.

39. HOME HANDYMAN. Perform handyman services for those who can't or don't have the time. Advertise clearly what you do, keep your appointments and guarantee your work (to the extent of your hourly wages). Save customers expensive service calls.

40. FURNITURE RESALE. Select and buy promising pieces of furniture cheap at garage sales, stores (trade-ins) and furniture auctions. Clean up furniture, do minor repairs and sell from your home. Concentrate on items that seem to do well in your area.

41. HOTHOUSE CONSTRUCTION. Build and sell small hothouses, some with temperature controlled venting. Offer electric heating systems for use in the cooler climates and be prepared to give advice on their use. Consider selling seedlings.

42. DOG HOUSES. Build standard (bargain priced) and custom (higher priced) dog houses in different sizes, shapes and colors. Include insulation, treated wood on bottom, insect repellent pillows or storage areas under the roof as options. Advertise this business online as well as offline. Conduct online search where dog lovers are and make your product known at some of the sites.

43. KITCHEN CABINET REFINISHING. Refinish in-home kitchen cabinets. Remove old finish; sand, fill dents with colored putty, stain (or paint), replace worn hardware, apply new finish and install new external door knobs and drawer pulls.

44. WORD PROCESSING. Produce interim drafts and finished professional letters, manuscripts and documents for students, lawyers, writers and businesses. Make provisions for client editing and subsequent re-writing as a part of your service.

45. TREE SURGERY. With a little training and experience, anyone can trim, treat, fill and seal tree "wounds". Start with small jobs and gradually increase as you build confidence and buy more equipment. Take large contracts only when confident.

46. ROOF COATING - METAL. Renew rusty and/or leaky metal roofs with paint, rust killer, galvanizing, aluminized tar or insulating (foam) toppings. Use mobile home coating (aluminum or white) for a durable finish. Charge by the square. Tip: Older mobile homes and trailers are an ideal market for this service.

47. RENTAL PREPARATION. Prepare apartments for occupancy: paint, do minor repairs, cover scratches, remove stains, replace bulbs, replace light switch covers, shampoo carpet, mow lawn, fix faucets and drains. Work with individual owners, rental agencies and real estate companies.

48. SURPLUS SALES. Buy bargain priced items at auctions and sales. Store neatly in a secure area; advertise to find buyers who need (and will pay for) them. Open your warehouse one or two days a week or sell large items by appointment.

49. ROCKING CHAIRS. Make beautiful, durable rocking chairs or refurbish old ones. Offer a variety of woods, finishes, sizes and styles to fit every customer. Charge extra for carving, special styles or made-to-measure models. Offer specials on Mr. & Mrs. sets.

50. GAZEBOS. Build or construct gazebos. Display a standard model at a good price that you can deliver or customer can assemble. Then offer larger sizes and various extras, such as shape, screens, shingle roofs, benches. Use only good quality materials.

5l. GLASS ETCHING. Custom etch (with acid, engraving bit and/or sandblaster) glassware for individuals to-order and for wholesaling to retail stores. Offer monograms, town or company logo, family crests, art designs and local themes.

52. GOURD CULTURE. Grow and process a variety of interesting gourds. Make them into decorations, utensils, painted figures, birdhouses. Retail gourds and do-it-yourself finishing kits. Retail seed packets with instructions for prize gourds.

53. GOVERNMENT AUCTIONS. Go to major state and federal auctions and bid on items for subsequent resale. List with auction authorities to receive notices of pending auctions. Learn and follow the rules to find the best bargains.

54. GRAPHO-ANALYSIS. After learning the art and getting a diploma, offer your services as a handwriting analyst to individuals, law enforcement agencies and attorneys. Start with local readings; work fairs for experience.

55. HANGING PLANTS. Specialize in hanging plants (flowers, ferns, vines) of all sizes and descriptions. Display for sale when in peak condition in attractive pots, with interesting holders and hangers. Advertise that you accept trade-ins.

That completes our listing for today.

WOW... These are quite a gem listing of offline niche home businesses that you can start immediately.

However, if you did not see anything that suits your fancy yet, I will be providing you with 20 more tomorrow.

Christine Range

Todays' Resource: