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You work 9 to 5 during weekdays; and so does your spouse. Yet, both of your
paychecks are not enough to cover all your financial obligations and
needs. You need to pay your rent, utilities, credit cards, car loans, mortgage,
kid's school needs, groceries, and so on and so forth. There's just too many
expenses to pay!
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Sounds familiar?
If you are finding it hard to make ends meet, you may want to narrow that
"gap" and augment your
income by running a low-cost business from home during weekends and your spare
time. The part time weekend business will provide the needed additional cash
flow for your household.
Moreover, it gives you the ability to see if you have what it takes to become
an entrepreneur. If you're lucky and the business takes off, you can even make
it a full time venture and quit the 9 to 5 grind.
There are hundreds of businesses that you can run from home that would
require less than 20 hours per week. Dan Ramsey, in his book "101 Best
Weekend Businesses," offers 101 proven businesses that you can operate in
your spare time without jeopardizing your full-time job.
The book is an
excellent resource for those looking for ideas of businesses that can be
started on a part-time basis. However, the book does not provide detailed
information on each of the businesses that it covers, although it provides a
starting point to six of the most common questions of any would-be entrepreneur:
- What will I be doing?
- What will I need to start?
- Who will my customers be?
- How much should I charge?
- How much will I make?
- How can I get started?
Below are 10 of the business ideas that Ramsey considered could easily be
done on weekends and other spare time without a lot of start-up cash:
1.
Personal Fitness Trainer.
Pilates, yoga, tae-bo are but a few of the ever-growing fitness craze. If you
love working out and want to help others get fit, consider becoming a personal
fitness trainer. A personal trainer is to help clients set and achieve fitness
goals, including diet and overall lifestyle.
Trainers often price services by the length and number of sessions or by the
goal. The usual hourly rate is from $35 to $75 per hour, although established
trainers catering to celebrities get as much as ten times that rate.
Resources:
"The
Personal Trainer Business Handbook" by Ed Gaut
"The
Business of Personal Training" by Scott O. Roberts (Editor)
"Small
Club Start-up : A Personal Trainer's Guide" by Ron Fay
"Gym
Biz: Starting and Running Your Own Gym for Profit" by Lou Ravelle
2. Cake
Decorator. A
beautifully decorated cake is often the centerpiece of special occasions such as
weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and other special events. It is the
cake decorator's task to transform the cake into a special centerpiece of these
occasions. You must therefore have the skills and artistic flair to decorate
cakes, as well as the tools and equipment to help you create and design the
cake.
Anyone who celebrates an occasion is your potential customer. To get started,
get in touch with such as wedding coordinators, bakeries and party organizers
who may be able to include your cakes in their own services. Other potential
customers include brides and grooms, parents, individuals and businesses
throwing parties.
Resources:
"The
Essential Guide to Cake Decorating (Essential Cookbook)"
3.
Freelance Writer.
You may write articles for magazines, advertising copy for brochures, technical
manuals and other literary products on weekends. If you are a new bride, you can
write articles for wedding and women magazines about the process of preparing
for a wedding. If your day job is a computer programmer, you can write articles
on the programs that you are using.
Some writing projects will pay you by the hour - about $20 to $75 depending
on your writing and marketing skills. Most, however, will pay you by the number
of words (if articles, op-eds, short stories) or by a percentage of the selling
price (if book). There are a number of resources out there listing potential
markets for various kinds of writing, be it poetry, screenplays, articles,
books, or web. Start with "Writers Market" published yearly to get a
list of all publishers and literary agents, and their writing requirements.
Resources:
"Secrets
of a Freelance Writer : How to Make $85,000 a Year"
by Robert W. Bly
"How
to Start a Home-Based Writing Business (How to Start a Home-Based Writing
Business, 3rd Ed)" by Lucy V. Parker, Karen Ivory
4.
Cooking Instructor.
If you are an excellent cook and love to share your love for cooking to others,
consider giving cooking lessons. You can set-up shop in your own kitchen, or
offer classes in other location, giving lessons on general cooking techniques or
a specialized cuisine such as Italian, vegetarian, desserts, etc. You must be
very knowledgeable about your cuisine specialization, and creative in food
presentations.
Ramsey puts a cooking instructor's potential income from $30 to $75 per hour.
However, most instructors charge by the class, with the "fee depending on
the amount of time, the cost of the classroom and ingredients, and the size of
the class."
Resources:
"How
to Start a Home-Based Catering Business (How to Start a Home-Based Catering
Business, 3rd Ed)" by Denise Vivaldo
5. Fund
Raiser. If you
have excellent people skills and marketing talent, consider becoming a part-time
fund raiser. You can work for charities and non profit organizations, raising
funds and donations for them. The key to succeeding in this business is being
able to present yourself as trustworthy, making people feel that the money they
give to charities will indeed reach those charities. As a means to regulate this
industry, some states require a certification or license before you can begin
your fund raising work.
You can be paid on an hourly rate of $20 to $35, but most fund raisers are
paid a percentage of the funds they raise. The rates can be as low as 2% to as
high as 20% of the total amount raised.
Resources:
"How
to Write Successful Fundraising Letters" by Mal Warwick
"Fundraising
for Dummies (-- For Dummies)" by John Mutz, Katherine Murray
How
to Produce Fabulous Fundraising Events: Reap Remarkable Returns with Minimal
Effort by Betty Stallings, Donna McMillion
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6.
Musician. If you
can sing or play a musical instrument, you can jumpstart your musical career on
weekends by either playing solo or with a group. Your gigs can include parties,
nightclubs, bars and watering holes, or even weddings.
To get started, monitor the classified ad section of your local newspaper for
ads asking to book musicians or to replace members. Ramsey puts the potential
earnings of a new musician to about $5,000 to $15,000 a year working part-time.
Resources:
"This
Business of Music : The Definitive Guide to the Music Industry" by M.
William Krasilovsky, Sidney Shemel, John Gross (Contributor)
"Start
and Run Your Own Record Label" by Daylle Deanna Schwartz
7.
Tutoring Service.
A tutor helps students understand their school lessons and gain additional
knowledge about a subject. The main requirement is that you know more about the
subject than your students.
To start in this business, you can volunteer to tutor others in your primary
subjects. Once you've built your resources (books on the subject, etc.), ask for
referrals from teachers and other students. You may also distribute brochures to
the parents informing them about your services. Tutorial services often earn $25
to $50 an hour, although you can also package services (e.g. flat fee of $200
for on-call tutoring).
8. Tour
Guide. If your
area is a tourist spot, consider becoming a tour guide on weekends. You can
focus on groups instead of individual travelers. Tour guides can earn from $25
to $70 per hour.
As a tour guide, you will organize an itinerary that will help these
travelers see and learn about your area. You can create camping tours, historic
tours, nature adventure, or even a spy tour depending on the tourist attractions
in your area. Once you've decided your area of tour specialization, it will be
much easier to reach your target customers.
Resources:
Start
and Run a Profitable Tour Guiding Business by Barbara Braidwood, Richard
Cropp, Susan M. Boyce
"Conducting
Tours: A Practical Guide" by Marc Mancini
Home-Based
Travel Agent: How to Cash in on the Exciting New World of Travel Marketing
by Kelly Monaghan
9.
Personalized Children's Books.
Parents and grandparents often want special gifts for their children. This
business will fill that demand. You will create and market children's books that
include the child's name and related information woven in the story.
Instead of creating the book and writing the story line yourself, you can buy
illustrated books pages that you can personalize and sell. The main equipment
that you will need include a computer and printer.
Resources:
How
to Make Cloth Books for Children : A Guide to Making Personalized Books by
Anne Pellowski
10.
Antique Restoration Service.
Restoring antiques to their former glory is a lucrative business. You will find,
restore and refinish furniture, automobiles, collectibles, and other products of
the past. However, it requires a variety of skills and thorough knowledge of the
antique pieces. Depending on your niche market, you may be highly skilled in
woodworking, varnishing, painting, and other tools, techniques and knowledge.
Starting part-time on this business can allow you to gain experience on working
on various pieces, and improve your skills.
Your customers will depend on the type of pieces that you restore, your
experience and local opportunities. Most likely, you will work with individual
collectors, antique dealers, resellers, estates, galleries, museums, and others.
Antique restorers typically charge between $35 to $75 or more per hour. Some
restoration services are priced on the value-added, particularly if an antique
piece priced at $100 is restored into one worth $1,000.
Resources:
Restoring
Antique Furniture : A Complete Guide by Richard A. Lyons
Discovering and Restoring Antique Furniture : A Practical Illustrated Guide for
the Buyer and Restorer of Period Antique Furniture by Michael Bennett
Fake,
Fraud, or Genuine? : Identifying Authentic American Antique Furniture by
Myrna Kaye
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