i want to start my own business, any ideas?

Question

i would like the business to be something where I provide a service, rather than selling something. i love animals but grooming would be expensive to start. ive considered cleaning fish tanks, any ideas not animal related?

Answer 1

The best business will depend on what you want, how you define to be interesting. A person may consider a pet sitting business to be the most exciting work in the world, while you stated you prefer non-animal related businesses.

The key is to determine what your interests are, what you want to do, what is suitable for your lifestyle and your overall goals, and what can fit with your resources.

Dan Ramsey in his book "101 Best Home Businesses" has a chapter on how to find YOUR best home business. He suggests these 10 steps:

1. List 5 things you do best
2. List how others would benefit from what you do best
3. Find out how to give people what they want
4. Learn the value of your services to others
5. Find out who else offers similar services
6. Learn from the successes of others
7. Learn from the failures of others
8. Plan your own success
9. Make low cost mistakes
10. Enjoy what you do and how you do it

He then made suggestions on the best home businesses according to type. Here are a few of them:

Best Businesses Using Craft or Physical Skills
- antique restoration
- auto detail service
- carpet cleaning business
- errand/delivery service
- housecleaning business

Best Service Businesses
- bed and breakfast operator
- caregiver
- catering service
- senior day care center
- tutoring service

Best Professional Businesses
- desktop publisher
- magazine writer
- import/export service
- income tax preparation service
- event planner

You can also check out the following books:

Turn Your Talents into Profits: 100+ Terrific Ideas for Starting Your Own Home-Based Microbusiness
The Best Home Businesses for the 21st Century
121 Internet Businesses You Can Start from Home
The Best Internet Businesses You Can Start
101 Ways to Make Money at Home

Answer 2

If you were happy to do something animal-related, one idea with low start-up costs is this...

You could provide a service at people's homes working with pet dogs and their owners to solve the problem of mis-behaving dogs.

Often such problems as dogs growling or barking at visitors, being territorial, defending the family, wanting to sleep on the owner's bed or in the owners room, etc, are not the dogs fault. Its just that the owners don't understand the natural behaviour of dogs and that the owner has to establish themselves as the head dog in the pack, so the dog doesn't think it is the boss. Its a question of educating the owner to treat the dog the right way.

You would learn and apply the techniques of Cesar Millan, a man I saw in a documentary called 'The dog whisperer' (the ideas came from a guy called 'The Horse Whisperer'). There are probably articles on the net about his techniques or books that he's written, etc.

It has low start-up costs because you don't need to open a salon or anything, as you would for grooming. You work in people's own homes. There are no tools-of-the-trade or consumables to buy, you just use the knowledge that you have learnt and talk to the owner.

You could advertise via a website etc (using advice from people on here) and by word of mouth and the phone directory, newspaper, etc.

If this exact idea doesn't appeal, you might do massage for older pets with stiff joints, even aromatherapy for pets or anything else you can think of.

Also, I'm sure other people will be practising the idea of working with dogs natural behaviour as part of a pack with a dominant pack-leader.

I don't know whether cat behaviour can be improved in the same way. They just seem to do as they please. They're very solitary and don't seem to have a pack instinct.

There are DVDs and books on Amazon.com about the dog whisperer - see link below.

The uk links are to another 'dog whisperer' site, but its a different person. It has some useful info on the techniques though.

Answer 3

Think of all your interests & ask yourself if any of those could be expanded into a business. Just keep in mind...what's your expertise? What are your interests? What could you imagine yourself doing?

By researching the prospect of starting your own business -- what it entails, what you need to know, helpful hints, etc -- you'll feel better prepared to take that plunge.

I found some book titles that are relevant to your specific question:

* 101 Internet Businesses You Can Start from Home by Susan Sweeney
* The Best Home Businesses for the 21st Century by Paul Edwards
* Selling Online: How to Become a Successful E-Commerce Merchant by Jim Carroll
* I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It by Barbara Sher
* I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Gratifying Work by Julie Jansen
* The Best Internet Businesses You Can Start by Marian Betancourt
* The Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide to Internet Start-Ups by Robert Spiegel
* Making a Living Without a Job : Winning Ways For Creating Work That You Love by Barbara Winter

I also posted some article links in the source box.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 4

Why not do something you like. If you don't want to groom animals you can housesit for them or walk them.

Read the article linked to below on one way to go about choosing a business. It's a bit more complicated than you may think.

Answer 5

I answered this question on Yahoo answer before, but here it is again. I get this question asked all the time on my http://www.problemio.com mobile apps so I put together a few videos explaining how to think through this kind of a question.

Here is a video on how to get business ideas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsQBryny_RE

And here is a video on how to know which business ideas are good, and which would work out for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wxIMH2Ydaw

I hope these help. Also, here is an article on what to do if you have too many business ideas: http://www.problemio.com/business/too_many_business_ideas.php

And lastly, here is a video with a number of business idea mistakes that people tend to make:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvIs9BdIKqo

Answer 6

If you are very organized and responsible person and you live close to an upscale, business-oriented area, then personal assistants/organizers/planners are very popular. Some executives simply need someone (off-site) to take care of a multitude of things. You can have many clients at the same time.

Answer 7

Work for a groomer now. Get tips and watch how she operates. Build up a rapport with clients. Save money. Then start the business. Then you will have experience, tips on how to do it and beginning client relationships. Best of success.

Answer 8

Be an independant seller book seller. Call yourself the Book Seller (play on words like Book Cellar) lol... Help me sell my book.

Answer 9

see where there ais a gap in the market where ever you live then go through the choices draft a cashflow and see where you break even need any help just email me :) i will help ya

Answer 10

bikini-clad pool cleaner
bikini-clad dog walker
bikini-clad tailor