This site deals primarily with UK opportunities, although some may also be available in other countries. If you are based outside the UK, please click here for the international site.
Home Business - Books
There may well be lots of hype about new technology such as Amazon Kindle sounding the death knell for books, but books are not going to be going out of fashion any time soon and they continue to be a good home business opportunity. There are a number of ways in which you can run a home business selling books:
Direct selling – this is a relatively low-risk home business opportunity that enables you to be your own boss and dictate the hours you work, but with a large company behind you that can provide support and training to ensure your business is a success. There are two publishers that operate home business opportunities – Barefoot Books and Usborne Books at Home. Both companies are focused primarily on children’s books; the children’s book market is relatively recession proof because parents will continue to spend money on their children, especially if a product has educational value. It costs nothing to set up as a Barefoot Books Ambassador and you can earn commission of 20-40% of the retail value of books sold. Selling is generally done by organising parties, having a stall at local school events, county shows etc. This can be complemented by having a website, blog or marketing through social network sites to generate an additional income stream. It costs £25 to join Usborne Books at Home and at entry level you can make 26% commission on every book sold, rising to up to 41% for high volume sales. As well as earning commission, both companies offer incentives and bonuses as motivation to work hard in your business.
Sell on eBay – this is one of the easiest ways to run a virtual shop on the Internet. It’s easy to set up an eBay shop and overheads are relatively low – running costs start from just £14.99 per month. Your website will be set up automatically, so there’s no investment to be made in that respect, and you’ll be given access to a range of tools that will help you build, manage and promote your business. Of course you will need to invest in your stock and have sufficient space to store it. Charity shops, car boot sales and jumble sales are all good sources of secondhand books. You may even be able to pick up brand new books that are unwanted, and if you know your stuff, you might even unearth the occasional gem of a book, such as a first edition that is collectable. And keep a look out for shops that are closing down – you may be able to buy liquidated stock very cheaply. One of the most important aspects of running an eBay business is to be honest in your product descriptions and provide a prompt delivery service to your customers – on eBay you are only as good as the customer feedback you receive.
Sell on Amazon – similar to eBay and with an unprecedented market reach, selling on Amazon is easy and low cost. You can choose from two options. If you expect to sell less than 35 books per month you can pay 86p per sale plus a small referral fee. You can only sell products that are already in the Amazon catalogue. If you are likely to sell more than 35 books you can pay £28.75 per month for unlimited sales. This also gives you the opportunity to sell items that aren’t in the Amazon catalogue. When an order is placed you will receive an email notification and you simply have to pack and send your book to the customer. Payment is direct into your bank account.
Dropshipping – companies such as Books-Dropshipping.com can provide you with your own website, relieve you of the burden of sourcing and storing your stock, and handle deliveries and returns on your behalf. You simply need to monitor your emails and place orders through the company’s website. Start-up costs are low – just £5.99 per month for website hosting and you don’t have to pay for stock in advance.
Home Business - Music
Would you like to be in the music business? Well the Internet has made it a lot easier to make money from your music these days.
If you’re looking for paid gigs, then one of the best sites is www.alivenetwork.com. The site acts as an online entertainment booking service and features a searchable database of acts, with categories ranging from tribute bands to string quartets to DJs. The site caters primarily for the weddings market, but big corporates also use it for sourcing entertainment. To get added to the database you will need to submit your photograph and a good quality demo tape.
Kerchoonz is a UK social networking site that was set up in 2008 by a group of people from the music industry. The site enables the public to play or download music for free but the artist gets paid. This is made possible by selling advertising space on the site. You can register as an artist or band, label, songwriter or DJ, upload your music and then every time it’s played or downloaded you will get paid. As well as being able to earn money through the site, Kerchoonz gives you the opportunity to reach a wide audience, establish a fan base, and even get noticed by influential players in the business. Like other social networking sites, you can create your own profile page, blog, join groups and meet like-minded people within a very exciting and dynamic community.
If you’re not a musician or performer yourself, but love music, you could try your hand at reviewing songs. Scout Rooms is the A&R section of Slicethepie and you can register for free to start reviewing artists with three demo tracks – and get paid for doing it. Your capacity to earn improves as your scout star rating gets higher. For artists with at least three tracks, Slicethepie offers the chance of receiving £15,000 worth of financing. Up to 1000 artists can enter a Scout Room – appropriate to their style of music – where tracks are reviewed and rated, and the 20 artists with the best reviews are then showcased. If you receive enough support in the Showcase you’ll be given £15,000 to record an album. The album will be released on iTunes, Amazon etc and you will receive £2.50 royalty on every album sale and 25p per single.
Of course, you might not necessarily want to be the next Arctic Monkeys or Lady Gaga, and there are other ways of using your musical talent as the basis for a home business. If you are proficient in a particular instrument you could offer your services as a home music tutor to children and adults alike. You will need to be able to demonstrate a high degree of patience and understanding and have good communication skills, as well as positive attitude and an ability to give constructive criticism that will support your student. If you offer lessons to school-aged children you will need to have a current CRB certificate. Marketing yourself is relatively easy and low cost. You can place ads in local papers or ask local schools to distribute flyers to their pupils. Once established, people will find out about you through word of mouth, and if you’re good you could earn up to £30 per hour.
If you’re prepared to invest some money in setting up a home business and you like the idea of working with young children, you could buy a franchise with a company like Jo Jingles. Jo Jingles classes are run for babies and young children aged 3 months to 5 years, focusing on music, singing and movement. A franchise will cost £8,000-£9,000, and you will receive full training in all areas of the business, plus the necessary equipment and music to run your classes
