Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2012. The prices suggested for blog help (1 to 20 euros per installation), the Facebook “Like” button example, the crisis context and the comments on the Spanish market for personal trainers and wedding planners are from 2012.
In our previous article we gave 5 business ideas you can run from home, or at least ways to make money in the face of the crisis without having to invest, using some of your own skills.
Here we add to that selection of business ideas, in case one of them suits you or you feel ready to take it on.
1. Yoga instructor
The number of people interested in this Eastern discipline keeps growing. Even in times of crisis, many people don’t skimp on treating themselves to a few days a week of this kind of therapy, which helps them keep their physical and mental balance. You can run this business from your own home by fitting out a space or a room; some people even use their garden to practise outdoors. You can also offer home visits for more personalised sessions, or set up groups to practise somewhere quiet outside the city.
2. Personal trainer
Some time ago we talked about the personal trainer, perhaps with more of a focus on the luxury market. But as supply and demand grow, the hourly rate of a personal trainer is starting to come down, and if a trainer also has some knowledge of sports nutrition, that can add value. People used to say that in Spain personal training wasn’t a profitable business because there was no demand. Believe me when I tell you that today there is business behind this service.
3. Tutoring and private lessons
There’s not much to say about this way of making money, which has been around for a long time. If your experience allows you to give extra lessons to university students and prepare them for exams in the subjects they tend to get stuck on, go ahead. There is also a market among primary and secondary school pupils.
4. Personal and/or business coaching
Coaching is spreading into more and more areas of our daily lives. You can find sports coaches, personal coaches, management coaches and so on. Many people need to steer their lives in the right direction and to learn how to handle certain situations. The real effectiveness of coaches has often been questioned, but the truth is that many people say they have discovered the secret to putting their lives on the right track. In the same way, executives who lost their jobs because of the crisis can always offer their experience and training to guide a company’s staff and add some value for its leaders.
5. Personal finance coach
One thing I’ve learned after all this time writing this blog is that there are people who lack the most basic knowledge of finance and investing. We’re not talking about acting as an investment intermediary, but about helping people understand how money works, the types of investment vehicles and financial markets, how to make a first investment in equities, and so on. Basically, it’s what I’ve been doing for some time in my articles on investing and financial education, but many people would pay for the chance to have someone come to their home who can adapt to a beginner’s level in finance and investing and answer every question that comes up.
6. Virtual accountant
During the week, many people, entrepreneurs and small business owners have small accounting questions that go unanswered because they aren’t important enough to justify a visit to an accountant’s office. How much does a bit of accounting advice or an explanation online cost? You set the price, and if it’s cheap, many people won’t be left with those small doubts.
7. Virtual assistant
We’ve also talked about this role, which can range from basic services for companies to genuine professional collaborations. A company might use a virtual assistant to take its calls from home in a particular situation. It might hire one to cope with a one-off surge in work, such as a backlog of invoices, staff payroll, project presentations and so on. In a previous article we described an unusual virtual assistance company, in case it gives you an idea.
8. Wedding planning
Again, this business idea is very popular in the United States, while in Spain it may be aimed at the luxury market. But perhaps, if we change the approach in our country to offer a little help to couples who want to get married but, because of work, don’t have much time to prepare every detail of the wedding, a helping hand would always be welcome: someone to collect the dress, choose the church, the decoration and so on. That would be the basic service; if you think you can turn this way of making money into a large business specialising in wedding preparation, go ahead.
9. Services for bloggers
More and more people are getting started in the blogging business, just as many need a professional website. This market niche has plenty of business in it, though some people may have missed an opportunity to make money with the most basic tasks. We all know there are blogs that help bloggers, with hundreds of tips on how to install any element on a blog, change the colour of the sidebar, add Facebook’s “Like” button and so on. They explain it simply, but when bloggers have no idea (or no time) to get started, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind paying 1, 2 or 3 euros for someone to install what they need.
To be honest, the first time I added Facebook’s “Like” button below a post title, it took me more than an hour, and even then it wasn’t lined up with the other buttons. I wouldn’t have minded paying 5, 10 or 20 euros for some of the more complex installations on the site, or a bit more for other kinds of add-ons. It’s not that I can’t work out how to do it myself, but an hour of my time is worth more than 5 euros these days. So there’s business there, because I don’t think I’m the only one who would pay for something like that. Of course, you also need to trust the person you’re handing your site’s template to.
9.1. Handmade products
The other day I ran into someone I hadn’t seen for a while. They told me that after an accident they started painting pictures and making ceramic objects on the ground floor of their house. They don’t have an online shop, but they sell everything they make to their Facebook contacts, and several shops in the province are even interested in buying a large share of their products.
With all these ideas, I want to show that whatever your skill or knowledge, you can make the most of it and turn it into a business or a way of making money. We all have a gift or an area where we have something to offer. Look for it.
Featured image: Paperspike, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
