10 Best Home Based Business Ideas

It's a frequent question: what are the 10 best home based business ideas? Of course there is no real answer, but here are ten home based business ideas for online start ups. They pass some basic tests to make them accessible to most people. They are simple and inexpensive to set up, can be started part-time if necessary, and with much of the work done at times to suit yourself.

None of these need extensive business knowledge to at first, but the more you know about starting and running a small business the better. You'll find information elsewhere in these pages and links to more outside help to get you started in your own home based business. None of these are get rich quick schemes or home working scams. Usual note: all businesses need dedicated hard work to succeed.

10 Best Home Based Business Ideas - no, but well worth considering, and in no particular order.

1. Art and photographic design sales - open your own free online store, where you can sell your art designs or images on various media. Two good sites are CafePress and Zazzle.
   
   
2. Craftwork or handmade goods business - sell your craftwork or handmade goods through your own free store on a website dedicated just this kind of enterprise. Find out more at Etsy.
   
   
3. Writing - there are many outlets for people with writing skills. If you want to publish your own work try Lulu. If you prefer to look for freelance work and post your CV online, look at Guru or elance.
   
   
4. Freelance services - many people choose to use their existing professional or personal skills as freelancers. Once again, Guru and elance are good starting points for finding work and advertising your skills
   
   
5. Sell ebooks - selling ebooks and other virtual goods is attractive because you can sell an item again and again. You can write your own or buy them with 'master resale' rights to sell again. Or you can acquire ready built stores with a stock of ebooks from, for example, Website Deals orInstant Pay Sites.
   
   
6. Affiliate marketing - affiliate marketing is where you advertise other people's goods and services in return for a percentage of the sales receipts. There is a whole range of marketing methods you can employ. Learn more about affiliate programs.
   
   
7. Use your pastimes - people use the internet to find information on their pastimes and interests. They are also interested in buying products to go with those interests. Find out about starting a business based on your pastimes.
   
   
8. Start an online service - such as a dating agency, auto sales and so on. Website Deals have a range of off the peg sites for sale.
   
   
9. Online stores for offline goods - ebay is probably the best know - they have stores on their site as well as the auctions. Note: for the UK you need ebay.co.uk. For other countries, follow one of these links and find your own country at the foot of the page. An alternative to ebay is creating a store on your own website with inexpensive online store software to get a fully functioning ecommerce store.
   
   
10. Write a blog or Squidoo lens - write a regular blog on a any subject for free at Blogger or WordPress. Squidoo 'lenses' are web pages you write and publish for free. Again, they can be on any subject, and you can write as many as you like. You can make money on blogs and Squidoo by affiliate programs or Adsense.