If you want to earn extra income, if you have thought about leaving your job to start a self-employed or freelance project , if you are dedicated to the home and want to take advantage of your free time to contribute more income to the family economy, or if you want to start your own home business as an alternative or complementary model to your profession, this information is for you! Here you will find some ideas to start. Get inspired and use your creativity!
Make the Internet your best ally
We all have an ability to exploit, to develop a business model; so today it is easier to do it through the Internet. Whether you love to cook, are passionate about teaching others how to do something, or are good at selling or connecting with people thanks to your knack for public relations; Then, technology is in your favor with its countless advantages and tools that it puts at your fingertips.
Maybe you have in mind to set up or start a business that allows the exhibition of your products and services through a physical store; But yes or yes you must also create your online store. Because? Because today any venture that requires greater visibility, reach and, consequently, success, must exist in the vast world of ecommerce . Well, it wouldn’t be much use if you started your business from home without having a website; unlike your closest competitors who will attract more customers through online sales .
How to start a business from home?
Let’s go step by step, because with calm and planning things turn out better, especially when it comes to starting from home. The first thing is to consider the most relevant previous aspects for a venture:
- Identify what that personal skill is that you want to share with the world and what type of products or services you can create to help people meet their needs;
- concretize your business ideas into one, that is, the one that is most favorable, affordable and functional for you to achieve your expectations of what it means to start from home for you;
- then, create your website and identify which social networks are the most appropriate to promote it;
- Finally, prepare a basic business plan through the following steps:
- What market need will you serve? (What do you want to offer, why and for what purpose.)
- Identify your ideal client. (Who you will address and why, how you will communicate with them.)
- Define how you will promote and sell your product. (What strategies will you implement, how will you break the barrier of initially selling to friends and family to reach your potential client.)
- Investigate if there are similar and successful entrepreneurs or businesses. (What your competitors do, how you will distinguish yourself from them.)
- Analyze and determine what your operating costs will be. (Account for your expenses on service, supplies and production. Define your desired profitability margin. Set the price for your products and services.)
- Create a schedule of tasks. (Establish from the beginning how much time you will dedicate to the business, if it is compatible with your current job or other personal activities.)
It is important that between points 5 and 6 you consider whether it will be necessary to immediately or in the short, medium or long term include a collaborator to support you with some tasks so that you can manage yourself better. Experts recommend learning to delegate from the beginning so as not to try to control everything: trust in your human capital is essential.
Once you have all this information, it will be easier for you to analyze how viable your business proposal is and develop a plan. If even with this you cannot decide if your idea or skill is the best; Here we give you some very specific suggestions of businesses with which you can earn money from the comfort of your home, since there are many business ideas from home, but it is necessary to highlight the most practical and useful ones for today’s entrepreneurs who, like you, , they seek not to be one more in the vast sea of ecommerce.
Business from home: ideas to start from the couch
Remember that a maxim of creativity is that: every idea is valuable. So find the best of your ideas to start from home and you will see that by doing what you like you can earn money with the technology that a computer with Internet can give you. The rest depends on you.
#1 Online classes
Believe it or not, a benefit that the global health contingency brought after the long weeks of confinement was the variety of activities that we can do from home regardless of our profession or artistic ability, such as reading and studying, cooking, practicing a musical instrument, drawing or paint, make arts and crafts or do gymnastics.
If you are an expert in any activity, take advantage of digital channels to share your knowledge and experiences; for example, through live broadcasts via Zoom or Google Meet or open your own channel on YouTube. Remember that you will have more reach (and obviously income) if you create valuable content, in addition to appearing professional and knowing how to differentiate yourself from the competition with original and well-structured classes; especially if you focus on an underserved niche market.
#2 Content generation
If your thing is to write, take photographs, edit videos or if you have worked very well on your social networks and already have thousands of followers, remember that there are millions of small and medium-sized businesses that need not only a community manager , but creative people who can Think about original content for your digital communication channels: from Facebook or Twitter to a website or a newsletter.
Additionally, consider the opportunity of copywriting , a persuasive writing technique to promote calls to action and sales effectively, but not so directly. Use your creativity to be a good storyteller, the practice of storytelling is one of the most commercially trending practices today; Therefore, there are many business owners who will surely appreciate your services to help them position their own products or services.
Likewise, one more option to demonstrate your skills in content creation is to direct your clients to a blog where you have compiled articles of their interest that help them learn more about the process of your products and services, their features and benefits, their advantages and implementation.
#3 Video games
Mexico is no exception in the growth of the video game industry. If you are passionate about this activity, consider that there are many specialties in which you can train: from designer or developer to producer or transmedia narrative specialist and professional gamer.
#4 Reading, writing or speaking clubs
Collective reading was another of the activities that increased during the quarantine periods, thanks to the use of online platforms. With the return to “normality,” many people developed the habit of reading with the willingness to pay a membership or a fee per event to gain knowledge guided by an expert, for example, in fantasy fiction or personal development books.
Therefore, if you are a dedicated reader and feel capable of coordinating groups, this could be your great opportunity. Likewise, you can give courses in elocution, oral presentation, body language for a good speech, effective writing, or even Spanish classes!, etc.
#5 Guided tours
If your affinity is traveling around the country or the world, if you know the most interesting and unknown corners of your city; So, you know where the best restaurants are located or you are a connoisseur of the history of the most important colonies. You could organize guided tours during the weekends, both for tourists and for the city’s own inhabitants who want to get to know it better.
Thus, in addition to your knowledge, it is essential that you organize good logistics for transfers, meals and entry to places that have an access fee and where they can form a line.
Here you can show off with the best photographs of the tours you will take them on, create an attractive route guide of the region to visit. Your creativity is the limit.
#6 Personalized therapies and training
Another alternative for your business is virtual therapies and personalized training, such as coaching . If you have experience in one-on-one or group care to transmit personal development strategies in the psychological, motivational, neurolinguistic or training fields to acquire more and better ways for the growth of being and doing; So, your thing will be to create courses, consultations, workshops and digital training that allow your potential clients to receive your services and purchase the products you provide to complement their experience, such as guides, ebooks and downloadable presentations, tutorials and videos, infographics, etc. .
There is a constant trend in interest in these topics, as many people seek personalized advice to acquire or develop personal growth techniques that allow them to be more efficient in managing various areas of their professional, academic or personal life.
#7 Advisory services
If you are dedicated to design or even accounting you have a wide range of options to diversify your services; For example, providing advice where you explain to your clients how to design their brand image or how to correctly manage their accounting.
That’s right, if you’re a web programming expert you could guide them on how to develop web pages, or earn money for making them. If you have knowledge about a brand’s image reputation, you can teach them what good practices to maintain. Or if you are skilled in electronic accounting, you can train them to use accounting software , such as Aspel COI , which allows them to manage all their tax and accounting processes from the Cloud, how to issue electronic invoices with the new CFDI 4.0, etc.
Another way to turn your knowledge into advice is to explain how to use social networks, from how to open an account or profile to how to use them for Internet sales. Here you will find a wide market niche, since there are several companies that today need an expert in digital communication issues.
