Do you have a skill/talent that can make you self employed? Do you want to start a one-man business? If Yes, here are 50 best self employment ideas.
The term self-employed usually refers to highly successful businessmen; and people are really intimidated to venture into self-employment because the common perception is that starting a business usually requires a lot of money in startup capital.
According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the united states Department of Commerce, from the years 2000 to 2011, 99% of the total increase in employment was from the self-employed. Becoming self-employed is goal for many want-to-be entrepreneurs, but knowing exactly what business to start and being able to afford the startup costs can be a barrier.
Luckily, there are plenty of opportunities for those willing to learn and put a little elbow grease into their career path. If you’re looking for a little motivation or inspiration to get you started, below you’ll find 50 self-employed business ideas you can start for under $100. Now, now you just need to pick one!
Best Self Employment ideas (One-Man Business)
This can come in different forms depending on what you know how to do or what you love to do. If you love to write, but aren’t quite ready to churn out a novel, you might want to consider freelance writing. With content marketing become a key aspect for companies, there are more and more job opportunities opening up for writers.
To get started, check with some local businesses in your area and see if they need help with blog posts or creating other information products such as reports or short eBooks. So also, you can become a freelance graphic designer. Design is certainly a skill that lends itself to self-employment.
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Drop shipping
Since the advent of the internet, many businesses have had online presence, which have helped their offline business in immense ways. There’s no denying that e-commerce is a powerful Business model. However, who wants the hassle of storing and delivering all the products necessary to create an e-commerce business.
If you like the concept, but aren’t a fan of the actual business, you might want to consider a drop shipping partnership. This way, you get to focus on specific aspects of the business you enjoy instead.
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Blogging
If you love to write, but don’t want to freelance, you may find starting your own blog more appealing. There are many revenue opportunities from blogging including affiliate partnerships, sponsorship, product sales and advertising. Not to mention, blogging in a topic you’re passionate about can be deeply rewarding and fulfilling both financially and career wise.
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Chocolate making
Everyone love chocolate, so why not make a business out of it? But beware, despite the huge preference of people for chocolate varieties and all the glamour of being a chocolatier is some pretty stiff competition and a lot of hard work. First, with its rising popularity, the market has become very crowded.
The work also requires, (beyond just a love of chocolate) considerable knowledge, skill and the ability to handle long hours and a very repetitive production cycle for the product. You don’t necessarily need culinary training, but it can come in handy.
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Toy Making
Toy making is a huge business since every parent gets a room full of toys for their children from birth. Toy makers can use a variety of different techniques to create their products. Small manufacturers can use wood, fabric, or even plastic molds.
But probably the technology that has most transformed the toy making industry and put it within the grasp of solopreneurs is 3D printing. It allows creation of toys and many other products that can either be used as prototypes of be sold online or in small retail locations.
Craft beers are growing in popularity. And with that growth comes more and more opportunities for home brewers and microbreweries to succeed. In fact, the industry has even produced a kind of microbrewery crowd funding. Microbrewers can start as home brewers and eventually expand into sustainable small businesses with additional employees.
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Concert and Show Promoting
Working in the music biz can be an exciting venture. But how do you get into the music industry if you have no musical talent. Not to worry, concert promotion is still an option, though you’ll certainly need some marketing and basic business chops here. Concert promoters work with musicians, venues, and labels to gain buzz for shows and events.
Being an interior designer involves planning and designing spaces for individual and commercial clients. For a self-employed person, this means building up a client list and portfolio. But it doesn’t necessarily require a physical location or large staff.
In fact, services like Homepolish.com are making it even easier to connect designers and clients. So even the marketing aspect of the business is being simplified making it easier than ever to go it alone instead of working for a larger firm.
Solo event planners can be responsible for organizing events of all kinds from meetings to corporate events. Entrepreneurs can create a niche in the market by specializing in specific events, including concerts, corporate retreats, or art exhibits.
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fashion Designing
Fashion designers can build their own brands and sell their creations online or in small retail locations. There are plenty of different niches in the industry, so designers can find a way to stand out. Plenty of fashion design entrepreneurs have reached huge success.
Pet sitters and dog walkers help pet owners in their area care for their furry friends. This is a business that doesn’t require a lot of overhead cost. You can build a client list with local advertising or even websites like Care.com.
A makeup artist is someone who uses cosmetic techniques and processes to create beauty upon the human body. In its simplest form, it enhances a person’s appearance, bringing out color and features and hiding or smoothing out flaws, using cosmetic products.
Makeup artist are one of the top earners in the entertainment, bridal, and beautification industry. Their level of income is a factor of their pedigree, experience, and network. Makeup artist training programs vary in length.
Personal trainers can work for health clubs and other institutions. But they can also operate on their own as small business people. There are certification programs available and after that you can work on building a client list and personal brand. Many gymnasiums will trade membership and often a bit more for a person willing and able to teach an exercise class.
You can also find people who don’t want to go to a gym and train them at home as a personal trainer. If you’re in good shape, this is a great opportunity to earn some extra money, plus it can often lead to additional income with one-on-one instruction opportunities
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Stylist
There are quite a few jobs that fall under the description of stylist, as it turns out. But a wardrobe stylist is generally the supplier and curator of clothing and accessories for a movie or commercial. The career is closely related to that of fashion stylist, the person who supplies or curates clothing and accessories for a fashion shoot. Some of the other niches in the field are hair stylists, personal stylists and image consultants.
This work is for people who have a fondness for land and great creativity. Targeted customers are not just homeowners but also commercial districts such as malls or parks and even companies are hiring landscapers to make their workplace more green and beautiful.
Landscape architects plan and design outdoor spaces including parks, yards, and other open areas. Becoming a landscape architect normally requires some education and a license. But entrepreneurs can create their own brand and client list.
You can also consider when starting your own graphic design business. An important early step is to assess your personal talents to determine the services you can best and most efficiently provide. This is a very lucrative business to start. You will need to learn the ropes to be an expert.
Becoming a professional winemaker requires a love and understanding of wine but also a lot of business sense. It can, however, be done as a solo or very small venture, if you have the proper space and resources, you can venture into wine making.
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Voice-Over Artist
This isn’t necessarily a career that many people link with self-employment. But as with many jobs in the entertainment industry, being a voice-over artist involves building a personal brand and finding your own work. If you are naturally talented with a good voice, then you can start this business.
Tutorial services especially online are very popular right now and the most common subject being taught is English language. ESL (English as a Second Language) based companies usually look for tutors who are well versed in teaching and speaking English, some even accepts undergraduate students. The most common customers usually are Japanese and Koreans.
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Researching
Researchers, especially genealogists, are surprisingly in demand right now. This may be due to the fact that people are getting sentimental these days or that some politicians are finding new class of voters from their ancestry but there is a growing demand for people who enjoy researching other people’s ancestry.
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Food Cart Franchise
This one requires a little bit of money for capital but it is less expensive than franchising a restaurant. Food carts are popular right now because they offer cheap and delicious foods. Most of the customers are usually students and the working class.
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Online Sales and Marketing
Back then in the days, there used to be only telemarketing as a marketing tactic. But today, there’s online marketing. Small businesses that don’t have enough money to go for the big call center companies usually hire individuals online to sell and market their products.
Basically, the job is similar to that of a call center agent, the difference is that the companies usually hire a person direct and they can do the job at home in front of a laptop.
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Online Virtual Assistant
There are many people who are on Facebook but don’t actually have the time to manage them, so what they usually do is they hire people to manage their Facebook, twitter or email account. How simple can it get, imagine earning money just by being on Facebook all day. The employers in this field however are not just individual people; some companies also outsource their assistants.
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Personal Shopping
As great as getting paid to go shopping may sound at first blush, there’s much more to providing the right kind of service and creating a sustainable business as might at first be apparent. A personal shopping service may be operated in conjunction with other services, say, an image consulting business perhaps.
As a personal shopper, you combine the talent of finding that perfect item with a potentially more important business that helps people feel better about themselves and how they look.
While we may be able to see exactly what someone else needs in a particular situation, figuring it out your own life isn’t always as easy.
That’s where a life coach or mentor can be of help, especially if you specialize in a specific area. This particular business idea is lucrative because it’s inexpensive to get started and the fields of specialty are endless. You can coach or mentor in any area from sports to weight loss, organization to personal happiness.
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Business Plan and Proposal Services
Make your business helping other people start their businesses! Business plans are needed to help secure loans, investments and to make sure you keep your business running on target. If you have a keen knack for creating business plans, considering helping out one of the fastest growing employment areas – the self-employed!
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Logo Designing
If you’re a graphic designer, but you don’t want to be attached to huge projects, you might want to consider becoming a solo logo designer. The projects are typically simple and straightforward and you probably already have everything you need to do the work.
To get started building your portfolio, contact local businesses, nonprofit organizations or government agencies for work. You can also expand your services by providing logos and other branding images for use on social media profiles as well.
If you love cooking up a feast for special events, consider starting a catering business. You’ll need to check with local laws and regulations before starting. However, many in this field find it an extremely rewarding experience. They key to success with this business idea is to find a specialty that is unique in your area. You can focus on a certain cuisine, dietary needs, or type of event.
Offering errands services in your local area could be quite lucrative if you’re willing to do the tasks at hand. This can be especially fruitful if you are offering your services to the senior market. This demographic isn’t as able to get around and would benefit greatly from having someone they trust run some local errands for them.
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EBay Merchant
Selling your stuff on eBay can seem like a great way to earn a few bucks on the side, but for many people it’s too much of a hassle to research prices, take pictures, put together a good post and keep track of payments, shipping, etc.
The idea of selling something online is appealing, but when it comes down to doing all the work many would just rather donate the items in question or let someone else sell it for them. For this business idea, you would just need to reach out to friends and family and see if they have anything they’d like to sell.
If you have a love for taking pictures, consider making it your new business venture. This is an area is where having a specialty will help you stand out. You can focus on typical portraits or consider other areas of photography such as travel, nature, food, corporate portraits or corporate photography.
For many people, a computer problem that could be a simple fix winds up being a drawn out warranty nightmare. While we may know how to breeze our way through apps, many of us are not as comfortable with the hardware that powers our machines.
Computer repair is a great low cost business startup, especially if you offer mobile computer repair. Getting started is as simple as building up a reputation for being the “go to” computer handyman. Get the word out to your friends and family about what you’re doing and you’ll be off to a great start.
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Picture Framing
If you’re willing to do some research and learn how to frame and cut glass, picture framing may be a great business opportunity for you.
Once you have the skills, the benefits to this business are pretty obvious. You can work from home and determine your own hours and clients. There are huge markups in the framing business, which means you can earn more while working less – every business owner’s dream.
If you have a love for local history and lore, becoming a local tour consultant might be your perfect business idea. You can start off by simply offering walking tours of your city or specific history regions within your city. You’ll need to contact your local city offices to make sure there are no laws or regulations that would interfere.
However, if you’re good to go, the only thing you need to get started is a website with your tour information and some local word of mouth to start your first tours. You may want to consider partnering with your local visitor’s bureau to help attract tourists to your business.
Most homeowners have pickup bins for standard recyclables like paper, glass and plastic, but they often don’t make the effort to properly recycle electronics and batteries, which can be extremely harmful to the environment when left in landfills.
Offer to pick up all the e-waste that’s been collecting dust in people’s garages — old televisions, broken laptops and defunct cellphones, for example — and bring them to your local electronics-recycling facility for a fee. You can charge per item, by weight, or a flat fee plus travel to and from the location.
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Translation Services
More and more companies are venturing into other countries and want to reach more demographics. This means the need for translation services are growing. Website translation is a growing area since there is a global reach. If you know a few languages, you might consider offering your services as a new business opportunity.
There’s no denying the global marketplace is growing and reaching beyond the borders of China and Mexico. All that cross-cultural communication is creating a growing need for translators.
If you are good at solving issues, or if people always come to you for help on certain areas; then maybe it is time to offer your services to people out there for a fee. Businesses need consultants who can help them realize their mission and visions.
Individuals want help with the problems in their lives. People are willing to pay you if you can help them stay focused and work their way towards achieving their goals. Every day, thousands want to start businesses, but they do not have an iota of knowledge of kick starting their business.
The travel industry is a big industry within the tourism industry but it is still within the transportation business. The major players is this industry are the transportation companies (Airline, Cruise and Shipping companies and other transporters) and a special category of people that work behind the scenes to ensure that travelers are comfortable on their trips and get value for their money.
With the booming tourism industry in every country in the world today, this will be a lucrative business especially if you extend your nest to the internet so that individuals can make reservations online.
Soaps are part of the products that are manufactured from chemical products and they are used for washing and for bathing. No doubt there is a large market for soaps and the industry is still pretty much open for as many people that are ready to start their own soap making company.
So, if you are looking for a simple business to start in the chemical industry, a business that requires few weeks or months of training and one that you can start on a small scale, then you should consider going into soap making business.
Although you are likely going to compete with several other established soap makers, but if your soaps are well packaged, then you are likely going to get your own fair share of the available market within your target area.
Specialized knowledge is defiantly required for this particular business idea. As is some specialized equipment. Mechanics are required to fix all manner of problems, from flat tyres to busted starters. They can charge a premium for services, as well as a call out charge. Auto mechanic as the name can imply operating your mechanic services on the go.
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Repair Services
If you have the expertise you can start your own repair business. Either limit it to small electronics only or offer general electronic repairs. To limit costs, ask clients to bring their small electronics to you. Make sure to have a plan for getting spare parts quickly to reduce your stock holding costs.
You can learn how to do this through books and videos. Ideally working with an experienced upholsterer would help you learn the skills quickly. Make sure you also have a list of good reliable furniture repair people that you can offer your clients.
Food business is probably the best business to start all over the world. This is because there is a universal need for food, and it is the most important basic need of man. So if you are thinking about venturing into the self-employed business opportunities anywhere in the world, notably food; then you are in for tough competition.
Now there are a lot of food business ideas you can choose to start but you need to be quite inventive, innovative and passionate enough to offer something that will appeal to your customers.
If baking or cooking is in your DNA, consider launching a home-based bakery, personal chef or catering business. You can whip up your concoctions for individuals, events, and local businesses and organizations.
Not only is it a rewarding opportunity to make money doing what you love, but it’s also a great way to test your culinary chops before investing in a full-fledged brick-and-mortar establishment. Keep in mind that home-based food businesses are heavily regulated, so start by figuring out the rules and regulations in your area.
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Selling Snacks and Cold Drinks
Snacks are everyone’s in between meals they come in handy at the office, in school, on special occasions such as parties, meetings, conferences, seminars and so on.
Soft drinks usually accompany them as well just think of selling egg rolls, sausage rolls, donuts and other tasty light snacks especially cakes. These can be sold in schools and in busy places such as bus stops and commercial areas along with milk, mineral drinks, yoghurt and so on.
You can run this business from your home or a commercial location, starting with only a minimal investment. Your highest startup expenses may be for things that include carpet cleaners and floor buffers. Learn how to clean efficiently and quickly.
You may do this by perfecting your techniques when you clean your own home, offering to clean friends’ and family members’ places of business for free or working for a janitorial company before starting your business.
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Making Greeting Cards
If you’re the kind of person who loves making things, why not try your hand at cards? Ask a local shopkeeper what kind sells best and follow their advice, working to a distinctive style of your own. Then try selling to family, friends and local businesses.
Be mindful of material costs and time taken though, as wastage can be expensive in such a low-value product. This is another artistic “crafty” business idea that can be done from the comfort of your home.
Even in these cash-strapped times, some people hate ironing so much they’re willing to pay others to do it (at least in the posh parts of town). Check out the competition, see how much they charge, and undercut. Either work for an hourly rate, a fee per item or a fee per lb,” she says.
You should get between £8 and £12 per hour, between 50p and £1 per item or between 50p and £1 per lb of clothes, depending on where you work. So with the washing machine and the iron table inside that free space, you can start earning a good living.
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Social Media Expert
Almost everyone uses Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest these days, but did you know that many companies will pay people to help them manage their social media accounts — sometimes even part-time from home?
To find social media jobs, you can start by contacting businesses with a social media presence and scanning sites like Elance.com for opportunities. Check out PaidSocialMediaJobs.com for more information on how to get started with this type of business and to find companies willing to pay for your services.
Not everyone knows how to look good on paper. With your editing and basic layout skills, a laser printer, and some high-quality stationery, you’re set to start showing clients how to put their best foot forward in their resumes and cover letters–and how to get in the door of potential employers’ businesses for an interview.
If you’re excellent at crafting amazing resumes that ultimately result in people getting the job, consider marketing those services. Most of your work will revolve around writing, editing, designing, and proofreading, so you will need few supplies outside of your computer and basic software to get started.
Finally, there is no best job in the world, but being self–employed is always a better option to white collar jobs. We’re not just talking here about the best paying or the most rewarding. We’re talking about jobs that are in the field of self-employment.
So, with that in mind, these are some information from that will give you better idea about what’s involved in starting and running one of these businesses. Think of it as a startup primer for some of the most popular and fun self-employment opportunities around.
Despite unemployment rate which is increasing yearly and most people are going broke and filing for bankruptcy as a result, but self-employed businesses are doing well.