Today’s post is an interesting article I found on ezinearticles.com, “5 Profitable Businesses You can Start From Home”, by Jon Allo. Being a home-based business owner myself, I chose this article because I want to share my thoughts on at least two of the options listed. Read the five options to starting your own home based business, then read my thoughts immediately after that. I would love to hear your opinion too.
Many people dream of starting their own business, but they simply don’t have the capital to invest in a bricks and mortar business. Thankfully, due to technology, there are many options that don’t cost a lot of money to get started.
1. Virtual Assistant
You may think there is too much competition out there to become a VA and that you can’t make a good wage. But the truth is, you can. You just need to think outside the box a little. Instead of joining a freelancer site and competing against others who can work for peanuts, think more locally. Decide the types of services you can offer virtually and start offering them locally.
2. Bookkeeper
You may need to get a license but it’s simple enough to do by studying and taking a test at a testing center. Once you get your license you can start marketing yourself to local small business owners. You may need to stop by their business on a weekly basis to pick up information, or there are remote online systems that you can use to get into their bookkeeping software.
3. Online Business Manager
Believe it or not, many people who run online businesses need online business managers. An online business manager does pretty much what a business manager for any job does. They just do it online. They manage resources and people to lead the business to the goals set by the owner. As an online business manager, you will likely be responsible for organizing, planning, and finding the team to implement the goals that the owner wants to meet.
4. Amazon FBA
FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon. There are many ways to enter into this business. There is a lot to know about this business, but there are courses that you can take to help you learn how to run an FBA business. It’s an amazing opportunity and can lead to a very profitable business from home where all you do is buy products, list, and send to Amazon, and they do the rest.
5. Affiliate Marketing
An affiliate marketer is someone who advertises and promotes someone else’s products or services, and when they make a sale they get a cut or a percentage of sales.
Affiliates for digital products usually make about 50% on sales, while physical products usually are lower than 10%. Having a mix of both types of products is a good way to offer your audience plenty of choices, but plenty of people make a lot of money doing either one – depending on how big their audience is and how good they are at reaching them.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10159494
Expert Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jon_Allo/1079948
Some of you may not know I am a specialized Virtual Assistant, but I can categorize myself as an Online Business Manager too. I do offer specific services to clients, but I can also manage a client’s online business. What I find interesting is Jon mentions to think locally if you’re a Virtual Assistant. Not so. You can set your rates based on your level of value and experience and NOT work for peanuts, anywhere in the world. I have a proven track record and success using my own rate schedule. Not everyone I consult with will partner with me and that’s okay. I can narrow or widen my niche, setting my own expectations and work schedule. The same can apply for an online or virtual bookkeeper. They don’t necessarily have to be local to gain clients.
As far as being an affiliate marketer, you can make a decent income from this, but it doesn’t happen overnight and it does take some marketing know-how to be successful at it. I am an affiliate marketer for several platforms and I do receive commissions from time-to-time, but it’s not a ton of money…at least not enough to quit my VA business. I probably could increase my affiliate income if I marketed more and I may do more of this in the coming months. This is a really good example of a passive income and could turn into multiple streams of income for my business.
I don’t know of anyone, per-say, that is an Amazon FBA, but it sounds like an interesting opportunity for anyone that likes that kind of setup. I like running my own business, where I’m not under the authority of another company. That is why I walked away from the corporate world. I wanted to be my own boss, and fifteen years later, I am STILL my own boss and I love it!
If you’re interested in learning more how you can become a Virtual Assistant or an Online Business Manager, don’t hesitate to contact me. I would love to advise you on how to get started…no cost to you.
Please keep in mind that I may receive commissions when you click my links and make purchases. However, this does not impact my reviews and comparisons. I try my best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you.
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A virtual assistant sound like a great opportunity for someone with children who don’t want to put them in daycare.
Exactly! After the birth of my second child, that’s exactly what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to work outside of the office and I could be there for both of my children. Best decision I ever made! 🙂
Aletha McManama recently posted…5 Profitable Businesses You Can Start From Home (Repost)
I have more than a few VA’s as clients and work with a few bookkeepers. (Nowadays they need to be certified in QB, Xero, and at least one other program to survive).
I think any online profession should have some type of specialized training, in my opinion. I’m always looking for an opportunity to take training courses that increase my knowledge and experience around online marketing. It helps me expand my service offerings.
Aletha McManama recently posted…5 Profitable Businesses You Can Start From Home (Repost)
Hi Aletha – Great post! I sold on Amazon FBA for about 10 years and did pretty well. It was fun to find discounted items on clearance and from other sources, scan the bar codes, set the prices and send them to the Amazon warehouses all over the USA. I had so much inventory that I used a paid version of a re-pricing tool that would see the competition and price accordingly.
I finally stopped doing FBA when the tax rules changed with Nexus since my stuff was in about 17 different warehouses in various states which I had to pay sales tax too. It was too much small bookkeeping vs the amount I was bringing in.
Toys at Christmas were big sellers, but truly when people shop with their Prime account, they pay to get it quickly. Fun while it lasted. And yes, you can do from home, but sourcing quickly makes one go out and find stuff.