Working from home is a dream that many people have. However, it can be difficult to know what your options are for finding a legitimate home-based business to start, or to find a job that allows you to work from home.
There is also the matter of money to consider. Many people believe it costs a lot of money to start your own business. So can you really start a successful business from home on a limited budget?
Making a bit of extra cash while being your own boss is quite an irresistible idea, so let’s take a look at five legitimate work-from-home jobs that you can start with little to no money.
1: Telephone Answering Services and Call Centre Services
Starting a business from the comfort of your home office is doable, especially when you consider setting up a business offering other small business owners telephone answering services. Many entrepreneurs and sole traders are very time-poor and many prefer putting all their efforts into establishing and growing their business rather than spending their time answering their telephone.
You could offer your professional call answering services to small businesses starting off with nothing more than a computer and a telephone set up that allows you to intercept business calls and handle them in a way that the company wants you to. You could easily grow and expand your business to employ others who can take calls from home and then start to offer a full suite of call centre services to your clients. Telephone answering services and call centre services are growing sectors and there will always be a demand for these services as new businesses and startups are created every year.
2: Blogging from Home
You can start off by setting up a free blog on a platform such as WordPress or Blogger. This costs you nothing but your time and it is good to get yourself into the routine of blogging content every day. Once you have plenty of content on display, you can look at monetising your blog through their respective ad networks. You can add affiliate marketing links to your free WordPress blog as long as you are in compliance with their terms. Once you are ready to earn serious money, you can upgrade to one of their paid services where you can fully monetise your blog and even sell your own products by adding an online shop.
3: Childminder
If you have your own children and would like to spend a bit more time at home with them, then you could look at setting yourself up as a childminder and look after other people’s children while they are at work. In the UK, you do have to train to become a registered childminder, but it is quite a low-cost option and saves you from having to pay out for childcare for your own children if you had chosen to return to employment instead.
A lower-cost alternative is to offer your time as a babysitter or nanny. This may involve working in other people’s homes rather than your own, but this is something you could work out with the parents who will be concerned with finding a suitable solution for you both.
4: Freelance Writing
If you enjoy writing, then you can give freelance writing a go. You can start off by going freelance and look into setting up your own freelance writing services like PhDify.com once you have built up a good portfolio of legitimate work and good customer feedback.
Look at sites such as:
- Craigslist
- Fiverr
- Freelancer
- Guru
- People Per Hour
- Upwork
5: Direct Sales Companies
There are lots of direct sales companies to choose from. If you have any particular interests, you can usually find something that you would love to help sell and promote for money. You could sell through organising parties in peoples homes, set up a website and sell the products online and run a stall at popular markets in your town and around the local area. Here are some ideas about the sectors you could look at for direct sales:
- Candles, melts and scented oils
- Clothing, shoes and accessories
- Cruelty-free makeup products
- Graphic print t-shirts, bags, pillows and mugs
- Home products such as throws and bed sets
- Jewelry, handbags, scarves and accessories
- Kitchen gadgets and cookware
- Organic hair care products
- Vegan health and beauty products
Many direct sales companies offer free starter kits and promotional materials. So your outlay should always be minimal.
