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#30 - How to market your business
20 Ways to Effectively Market Your Small Business
Marketing is an afterthought for most small business owners. Between trying to manage employees and keep customers happy, small businesses owners usually don't have the time create and implement a marketing campaign that drives brand engagement, generates leads, and boosts sales. Because we live in a digital age, we're going to focus on the top online marketing strategies that you can use to promote and effectively market your small business.
Let's dig in.
1. Start an Email Marketing List
Starting an email marketing list may sound difficult, but it's really not. Think about all of the emails you receive from companies and brands, and then think about how they acquired that information from you—it was likely through an online promotion or a form on their website where they incentivized you to sign up. Hey, you've got to give a little to get a little.
2. Use that Email Marketing List
Email marketing is one of the quickest and most effective ways to drive business. Think about it for a second; you're delivering targeted messages straight to your customers' inboxes, and you're reaching them on their mobile device if they're on the go. More importantly, it's a completely free strategy that can deliver big results if your emails are engaging and your call to action is strong.
3. Focus On User Experience
It doesn't matter if you're an eCommerce company selling trendy socks or a SaaS company trying to collect data and then cold call—if your website isn't easy to navigate you've already lost the business. Think about the user. Does your website make it easy to find a product or service and then purchase it or inquire about it? The user always comes first, and you need to put yourself in their shoes and make sure that your site is easy to maneuver.
4. Make Yourself Look the Part
While we're on the subject of your website, it doesn't look like it was built in the '90s, does it? User experience is the priority, but design is a close second. Your website should feature full frame imagery and a progressive, clean look that makes your company look like the leader in your industry, even if you're a startup.
5. Use Social to Communicate
A lot of people get caught up using social media to shove their products and services in front of their fan base, and that can be a definite turnoff. Sure, social is an effective way to drive sales, but you should focus on using your social networks to engage with your followers and communicate with them. Ask them questions, and then use that feedback to put out a better product and improve your process.
6. Don't Let SEO Fall by the Wayside
There's a lot to think about when you're developing your marketing plan, but one thing you can't afford to let slip is your search engine optimization (SEO). As Google continues to make its algorithm changes, it's a necessity that you adhere to those changes and optimize your website accordingly so that you can obtain—and ultimately maintain—your high organic rankings.
7. Write Great Content
A big part of Google's ranking algorithm for SEO is content. The search engine giant wants to see that your website is consistently publishing informational and educational content that's meaningful. With everyone now putting more effort into content, you need to make sure that yours engages the reader and provides them with some sort of value. Don't write good content—it has to be great.
8. Make Your Followers Feel Special
There's nothing worse than being a consumer and feeling like you don't matter to a brand, especially if you consider yourself loyal to that brand. If you want to keep your followers happy and engaged, reward them with sweepstakes, promotions, and giveaways to show them you care and that you're not all about the sale (even if you are).
9. Use Paid Search
Paid search, also known as PPC, can be a daunting strategy for a lot of small business owners because there's a lot to learn and understand. From CPCs and CTRs to conversion rates and quality score, PPC can be confusing, but if you work with a specialist or hire an agency, it can work wonders for your business. SEO can take months—even years—to get to the top of Google, but with paid search, you can be on top of Page 1 within a couple of hours.
10. Have an Editorial Calendar
We talked about the importance of putting out great content, but knowing when that content is going to be published is just as important. Having an editorial calendar will keep your content initiatives in order and will assure that you're serving as the hub of information for your small business.
11. Deploy Remarketing
Remarketing, also called retargeting, is a form of paid search that helps you stay in front of potential customers and stay top of mind. In short, how it works is that you cookie your website visitors' browsers (using a snippet of code pulled from your PPC platform), which then allows you to follow them around the Internet with targeted advertisements as they visit other sites on the Web. Sound creepy? Maybe a little, but you'll probably change your mind once you see the data behind it.
12. Audit Your Competition
Look at your most successful competitor and really take a look at what they're doing on all cylinders: website, organic search, paid search, social media, email, etc. Use tools like SpyFu to analyze the competition, collect as much data as you can, and then use all of that information to mirror what they're doing, but do it better.
13. Use Video
Did you know that YouTube is the second-largest search network in the world? If you didn't, now you do, and you should now realize how important video is to your business. Video can help you educate users better than you ever could through your blog content, and video is also another signal that Google factors into its ranking algorithm for SEO. Use video for new product launches and walkthroughs, and host that video on your website and push it across your social channels.
14. List Your Business on Local Directories
Online local business directories like Google Plus Local and Bing/Yahoo Local will help people close to your business find you faster. Make sure you optimize those listings with a business description, accurate hours, and of course your address. Link the directory to your website and you'll get the added benefit of referral traffic.
15. Pay to Play on Social Media
Your organic posts on social networks such as Facebook don't show as far out to your fans and followers as they once did, which is why you need to put some dollars behind your social media efforts. It's not to say you need to pay for every post, but if you have an important announcement or an event coming up, throw some money behind it and choose your customized targeting to hit your desired demographic. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter have amazing targeting options and analytics so that you can measure the effectiveness of your campaign.
16. Use Google Analytics
If you don't have Google Analytics on your website, stop what you're doing, go to www.google.com/analytics, and get the tracking code on your website ASAP. Google Analytics is a digital marketer's dream, showing you a plethora of data, including where your website users are coming from, how long they're staying on the website, which pages they're visiting the most, and most importantly, if they're purchasing your products or services. You, or someone from your company, should be looking at this data a few times per week, at the minimum.
17. Make Sure Your Website is Mobile Optimized
We've all heard how important mobile is, and if your website isn't optimized for mobile devices, you're missing the boat on a ton of traffic, and probably leaving a lot of business on the table. It used to be that having a mobile site was a luxury, but now it's essentially a requirement, especially when you consider the fact that Google has publicly stated that not having a mobile optimized website will affect your SEO (dubbed "Mobilegeddon").
18. Offer Discounts
Everyone loves knowing that they're getting some sort of discount—even if it's five percent. Make sure that you let it be known that you're offering a discount by promoting it on your website, through social media, and via your email blasts. Again, you may have to give a little away to get something in return, but your margins should still be there.
19. Focus on Reviews
Reviews play a huge role in digital marketing. People love to read reviews and get other people's opinions, so you should develop a strategy to solicit reviews from your past customers. Maybe it's a personal email from the founder of the business or an incentive for leaving a positive review on platforms like Facebook, Google+, and Yelp, but either way, positive reviews need to find their way into your marketing strategy.
20. Listen to Your Customers
Sounds easy, right? Well, yes, but you've got to remember to do it. Your customers give you a different perspective, and they often have great feedback for small business owners on what they can do to improve. Make sure you're monitoring the comments on your social media profiles and have a section of your website where visitors can email you comments/feedback. You're never going to get it 100% right off the bat, so let your customers lend a hand.
Conclusion:
Without some type of marketing strategy in place, you can have a great business, but people aren't going to know about it. These are the current digital marketing strategies that small business are utilizing to increase brand awareness and boost their customer base.

#29 - How to market a product / How to market your business
5 Inexpensive Ways To Promote A Product Launch
It is the goal of every business to make the best of their marketing investment. Not exactly breaking news. When it comes to launching a new product, having a solid marketing strategy will not only effectively engage your current customers, but also make an attractive appeal to potential customers.
However, promoting a new product is never easy.
As Chron.com shares, “Getting a new product out for customers to see and try out is the first step in selling that product successfully. Even the best product will do little good for the public if they do not know it exists.”
Because how you market or promote your product launch is going to affect its sales, marketers must employ a variety of marketing techniques to ensure that the right message is communicated through the right medium, and to the right audience.
For those CMOs that want to maximize their product launch promotional efforts with the least dollar spent, here are a few creative but powerful ways that will steer you to a strong product launch promotional campaign:
1. Host a Giveaway on Online-Sweepstakes.com
Giveaways can be an easy marketing strategy to promote your product launch, and in a relatively short amount of time too. Everyone loves to receive free gifts; as a result, giveaways tend to generate quite a large amount of responses. Margarita Hakobyan, CEO of MoversCorp points out, “While giveaways have their drawback of attracting people with little interest in your company besides the free goodies, the strategy itself is one with immense potential especially if you create your sweepstakes with clear objectives and requirements.”
For example, you can give people bonus entries for sharing the sweepstakes on social media. You can tell people to go like your page, view a video, or subscribe to your newsletters. Whatever parameters you wish to establish, keep the instructions simple and make sure that you can establish some levels of communication with your sweepstakes participants.
Your blog, business websites, and other people’s blogs are great places to promote your giveaways. Online-Sweepstakes.com is a popular place with lots of traffic. All you need to do is create a free account, and you will be set to sweep away a group of enthusiastic audience with your irresistible goodies.
2. Utilize Crowdfunding Platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo or Tilt
The crowdfunding industry has grown to be an over $5.1 billion industry in 2013. The practice of funding a project, a venture, or a cause has become increasingly popular that it creates a win-win situation for you to not only promote your product, but also receive some generous financial supports to further your product development. When embarking on a crowdfunding campaign, it is important for you to understand the mindset of your potential supporters.
According to Forbes contributor Dr. Hughs, “In the new world of crowdfunding, to succeed you need to first interview or survey customers extensively to ensure they believe in and understand crowdfunding.” Even if crowdfunding is a viable or even widely-accepted option in your market, the way you explain and promote your product can decide the success of your crowdfunding campaign.
If you want greater control of your campaign, Tilt is a valuable option. One of the more recent campaigns using Tilt is the Pink Energy Project by Sarah Hamer. She told me that she “chose Tilt to make sure my project met all of my goals and had the flexibility to run my project the way I wanted it to be run.”
3. Create a Teaser Campaign on Facebook
Create a teaser campaign on Facebook even before the actual conception of your product. A teaser campaign sends a message to the social media world that something exciting is about to happen. Even if you do not end up creating the exact product you have originally hoped for, you have probably developed relationships across social channels, giving you a great opportunity to take the launch process to an entirely new level.
Update your teaser campaign with interesting, creative, and informative updates/posts. Behind the scenes videos are also popular for its effective audience engagement.
4. Use Fiverr.com to Create Inexpensive Ads
Visually appealing ads attract attention. Instead of spending hundreds on ad creation itself, you could order quality ads for as low as $5! As a global online marketplace, Fiverr.com offers services and products that range from graphics and design to online marketing. The freelancing marketing services include ad creation, infographic design, video animation, and much more. The transparency of buyer’s reviews will also help you to choose the right seller and receive quality service that begins at the low price of $5.
5. Find Influencers to Talk about your Product
There are authoritative figures or influencers who are well-respected in your target market. Influencers have lots of followers, subscribers, and fans who quickly answer to any endorsement and recommendations. As Penny Baldwin, CMO at McAfee, says, “80% of the Internet’s impressions are driven by just 6% of its users.”
The article published on Forbes.com continues to explain that using influencers to talk about your product is a trust-based campaign, and “those chosen as brand influencers must have the ability to deliver meaningful content that drives brand sentiment within their community upwards.”
A fan of SimilarWeb and BuzzSumo, Asher Elran, over at WebDS, told me, “I am able to utilize software tools to expedite my influence much like Rand Fishkin from Moz. You need to think of large Web Publishers as a bullhorn for your voice. They are the gateway for your efforts, to make great relationships with other influencers. You not only get to learn from them, but you can get additional exposure down the road if you take the time to make a real impact on their site. A kind of digital handshake if you will.”
While asking your influencers to talk about your products on their blogs/websites as well as their social media is a smart first step, using services like ClearVoice.com or Klout.com will enable your influencers to outreach a more diverse audience. Because both of the services feature influence campaign and rates online content producers with scores, people tend to view the content promoted on those sites as more authoritative. Your product launch effort will experience a generous boost because the people who promote your product are talking about your product in a credible online community.

#28 – How to run a business
10 Rules To Build A Wildly Successful Business
Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff built Honest Tea from scratch into a $100 million enterprise.
Goldman and Nalebuff share 10 must-follow rules on how to start and build an equally impressive empire (you can find these rules in the back of their book; ‘Mission In A Bottle’):
1. “Build something you believe in — because that’s the first step to building a great brand.”
Just like Goldman and Nalebuff, I learned a powerful lesson in tenacious passion from 30 plus years of entrepreneurship. When you’re all alone, sitting in a dark room wondering why your business is failing, there is only one true thing to power you forward — you believe in your purpose.
2. “Don’t aim for 10% improvement. Make it radically better and different.”
Yes — in today’s society we collectively create amazing products, services and companies through entrepreneurship. World changing at times and Honest Tea was radically different when first introduced. But, if you look around, we also live in the land of ‘me-too’ businesses. Don’t fall for it. Dig deep and decide right now to build something radically different and radically better.
3. “Prepare to be copied. Don’t start unless you’ll survive imitation.”
If your idea is truly radical and takes off, you can count the minutes before the copy-cats arrive. How will you survive competition from the big 800-pound gorillas on the block? Or even from the upstart little guys? Your key is a system of ‘continuous innovation’. Although you could also take the road of Honest Tea — make friends with one of the gorillas and let them buy you out. (Coca-Cola Company acquired Honest Tea in 2011.)
4. “Build up reserves of money and energy for bad luck and mistakes.”
Great advice — but sometimes extremely difficult to do. What startup or growth company has reserves of cash sitting around? But Goldman and Nalebuff make a good point — run as lean as you possibly can and do not waste money or energy. You will endure mistakes and bad luck along the way, so having a good war chest full of capital and energy can help handle it.
5. “Never, ever give up control — until you sell.”
Some high-impact entrepreneurs will readily give up control in exchange for the lure of high-growth through venture capital — but I am not one of them. Relinquish control and you risk losing the culture and vision of the company you set out to build. Even though Honest Tea raised investment capital from the beginning, the co-founders always remained in the driver’s seat. (And yes — Goldman can still drive his vision as CEO of Honest Tea, but his boss at Coca-Cola can say ‘no’ at anytime. Thus, true control is forever gone.)
6. “Don’t compromise on the big things — compromise on everything else.”
Vision. Purpose. Core values. Write these things in stone and never budge. But flexibility in the value propositions, products and services you build to execute your purpose is vastly important. Many entrepreneurs I see fail to ‘bend to the market’ by adapting to what their customer’s are telling them.
7. “Figure out how to achieve your goals on a tiny budget — then cut that number in half.”
Yes — you’ve heard it said before — it will cost twice as much, and take twice as long as you think. My recommendation is you apply the principles of lean to your business from day one. No fancy offices. No fancy full color brochures. Your goal is to stay alive until you can nail your secret formula for success. Blowing the budget will insure nothing but a quick death.
8. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Is it ever. Building a business is neither for the faint of heart or the speed demon. Climbing Mt. Everest is not done in 3 easy steps: 1.) decide you want to do it, 2.) fly to Nepal with zero preparation, 3.) sprint straight up the mountain in 12 easy minutes. Build systems for the long-haul and focus on small-connected steps. (It takes 26,364 steps of 7″ each to climb Mt. Everest, and that’s starting from half way up at Basecamp.)
9. “Take care of your family, personal and spiritual health — if you aren’t laughing or smiling on a regular basis, recalibrate.”
Imagine the path to a wildly successful business: founder working at a feverish pitch for 18 hours each day, for at least 5 years straight. True? No, it’s not. In my private conversation with Goldman, he flat-out told me two reasons he made it through the rough years: first — he believed in his purpose, second — his drive for personal balance. The notion we need to kill our family relationships, personal health or level of sanity to build our own business is sadly misaligned. Take it from me — don’t go there.
10. “Build the enterprise and the brand as if you’ll own them forever.”
Will you sell your business someday? Maybe. Should that be the sole reason you are building it? Probably not. When you start and build a business based on passion and purpose, with a burning desire to solve the pain of your customer through the deliverance of monetizable value, you build a far more valuable enterprise. Those in it for the short-term quick buck rarely succeed.

#27 - What business to start
50 Small Businesses You Can Start on Your Own
Not ready to quit your day job? Try one of these side business ideas.
In the past, I’ve discussed how it’s a good idea to spend your spare time dabbling in entrepreneurship: It fills your time with something that you choose (and thus you enjoy) and sets up a potential long-term revenue stream. I also discussed how I got a side business going myself.
But that was 2007, and quite a bit has changed since then. Where a side business was once a novel idea, it has since become much more mainstream. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, freelancers now make up around 15% of the workforce, compared to only 7% in 1995. And the trend isn’t expected to stop here. The BLS reports that freelancers and self-employed individuals may comprise 20% of the workforce by 2020.
Generating Business Ideas
Coming up with a good idea isn’t a static process; it involves a lot of trial and error. The best way I’ve found to generate ideas is to write and write often. Make lists every day of things that you might enjoy, and try to figure out how you could make money doing them. To help, here’s a list of 50 business ideas you can begin building as you continue plugging away at your 9-to-5.
Each of these ideas is very simple to start, and most can be done as a sole proprietorship at first (meaning you don’t have to file any legal documents to get started, though you will want to do that if it starts to take off). Most of these can be done at home in your spare time, and in your spare space, too.
See if there are any ideas below that fit you well. If you find an idea you like, do a bit of research or seek out a guide on how to get started in that area.
50 Business Ideas to Generate Side Income
1. Auto detailing
Have a meticulous eye for detail and love to get things gleaming clean? Auto detailing is probably a perfect side business for you. In essence, your job is to make cars sparkle inside and out – and many people are quite happy to pay well for this service.
2. Babysitting
Got lots of evenings free? Like kids? Babysitting may be a great side business for you. Keep an eye on multiple children on Friday and Saturday nights and you can earn some easy cash over time.
3. Rent out a room in your home
Have some extra space in your home? Turn that extra bedroom into a “bed and breakfast” room. If you live near any sort of tourist destination, you can try your hand at renting out a room through Airbnb or CouchSurfing.com. You may also find paid hosting opportunities in your community: Sign up to host exchange students, visiting professors to a nearby college, or hospital patients receiving long-term treatment.
4. Blogging
If you enjoy writing, find a topic you’re passionate about and start a website dedicated to covering that topic and anything else interesting you want to talk about. All you need is a computer, some time, and some energy to consistently write. It can start as a hobby and turn into a business over time. And blog hosting can cost less than $12 per month.
5. Buying and reselling on eBay
Thanks to technology, there are more opportunities than ever to buy and resell products for extra money. Plenty of people buy local and in-demand products at a discount and resell them on eBay for profit.
6. Cake and cupcake baking and decorating
Enjoy baking and have a bit of an artistic touch? Learn how to decorate cakes and make them for special events. Sell your creations online via Craigslist or your local neighborhood page, or at local farmers markets. Many people are willing to pay others to create custom cakes for birthday parties and special events.
7. Snowplowing
Live in an area with plenty of snowfall during the winter? If so, you could easily start a snowplow business by investing in a plow attachment for your pickup truck or Jeep. If you want to start smaller, you could even build your business by clearing driveways and walkways with a shovel or a snowblower.
8. Dog walking
Dog walking is the perfect side business for anyone who has a few hours to kill during the day. Once you get a few clients, you simply need to pick up their dogs and take them on long, leisurely walks that will tire them out and keep them in shape. Bonus: Walking dogs may help you in your quest to stay fit as well.
9. Freelance writing
If you’re good with words, you might be able to find some work as an online freelancer. A variety of publications need online content in the form of stories, product or service descriptions, and reports, and if you have the talent and skill, you could easily be the one to create them. Fortunately, all you need is a computer and Internet connection to get started. RealWritingJobs.com is a great place to start.
10. Creating custom clothing
The Internet has created opportunities for people who can sew and design custom clothing for special events. Many people have found success creating custom birthday outfits for babies and selling them on sites like Etsy or eBay, for example. In addition to selling online, you could also market this service to people in your local community.
11. Housecleaning
Many people simply don’t enjoy cleaning their homes and are willing to pay a reasonable price to have someone do the work for them. This is a great way to earn extra money in a flexible way, particularly if you have time off during the workweek. And since you will be working for yourself, you can often choose your own hours, terms, and pay.
12. Pet sitting
When people go on trips, they’re often concerned as to what will happen with their pets. That’s where you step in — offer yourself as a safe place to leave their pets, or be willing to go to their home to take care of their pets. In many cases, people are more than willing to pay a qualified pet sitter in order to avoid sending their pet to a professional kennel.
13. Home daycare
Many states allow people to start an in-home daycare with minimal licensing and paperwork. If you love children and have plenty of time and space at home, this is a perfect business to get into. All you need is a safe room or two for children to play in, some toys and activities, and a whole lot of patience.
14. Cleaning services for businesses
Many businesses and civic institutions need individuals who can clean their offices and common areas outside of normal business hours. If you’re willing to work some nights and weekends, you can build a cleaning side business and get in shape all in one fell swoop.
15. 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.
16. Gourmet cookie making
If you love baking and are able to keep your hand out of the proverbial cookie jar, making gourmet cookies is a great side hustle with plenty of long-term potential. Start by learning how to execute unique and tasty gourmet cookie recipes, then seal the deal by creating or purchasing professional-looking packaging. Sell your cookies online or to people in your local community.
17. Antique refurbishment
This is a perfect side business for people who love antiquing. Take worn-out antiques home with you, invest the time and care needed to transform those old items into something amazing, then resell them at a profit.
18. Personal chef
I recently met a woman who earned quite a bit of money as a very part-time chef. Once a week, she would go to someone’s house and prepare a homemade meal for their family, then do all the dishes and cleanup work. This gives the family plenty of together time, while putting some cash in the woman’s pocket. If you love to cook, this can be a great opportunity, but you may have to put a lot of effort into searching for clients.
19. Event coordinator
Events like family reunions and large parties are often full of busywork that many people simply don’t want to tackle. That can be the perfect place for you to step in and take charge of the planning and coordination. And thanks to the Internet, it is now easier than ever to market your event planning services.
20. Event DJ
Are you an audiophile? If you have a great sound system and a large selection of music, you’ve already got what you need to hire yourself out as a DJ for various events and receptions. This is a great way to fill an afternoon or evening while also earning some cash in the process.
21. Exercise instructor
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.
22. Gardening services
I’ve actually fielded requests from others looking for people willing to do this, so the demand is out there. To put it simply, some people are willing to pay others to get a vegetable or flower garden started for them in their yard so they can have access to ultra-fresh produce without all the legwork. If you have a green thumb and some knowledge about the vegetables that grow well in your area, this would be an easy business to start.
23. Handyman services
Skilled at basic home repair? Let people know that they can call you for small repair jobs like basic plumbing, fixing a broken stair, and other things. You’d be amazed at the simple things people are willing to pay others to help them with.
24. Catering
If you love to cook, take the “Blondie” route and start a home catering business. Catering is a business that’s perfectly designed to reward those who plan well, and it can often fit perfectly into weekends, which could work great if you are trying to build a business outside of normal working hours.
25. Interior decorating
Fascinated by interior design? Have a huge collection of interior design materials around? Many people are quite happy to hire someone to help them decorate their home, and that’s especially true of those who want a magazine-caliber style yet don’t have an eye for design at all.
26. Pet yard waste cleanup
For many people in suburban areas, cleaning up pet yard waste is a real hassle – it’s disgusting, for one. Instead of cleaning it up themselves, they might hire someone to do it regularly, two to three times a week. There are several such services in our area, actually.
27. Knitting, crocheting, or quilting
Skilled at creating blankets and sweaters? There’s a huge market for these types of items – even better, you can usually make them in your spare time whenever you have it. As always, local shops and sites like Etsy are great venues to sell such items.
28. Landscaping services
Willing to mow lawns and trim bushes and trees? Many people are quite happy to pay for such services, and the demand is persistent: Nature just keeps growing… and growing… and growing. Not only is this a great side business for a fit adult, it’s also a great way for a teenager to get a small business started.
29. Furniture making
If you’re adept at woodworking and have some basic equipment, it’s easy to get into business making deck furniture. It only requires a few items – a saw, a drill, a sander – and some creativity and passion for working with wood. If you have the tools or just want to turn your hobby into a business, this may be a great small business idea for you. In addition to creating new items, you could also focus on repairing existing wooden furniture or woodwork.
30. Meal-to-go preparations
Remember my earlier post about breakfast burritos? Making meals in advance is a great way to save money for yourself – but you can often prepare these for others as well and sell them for a markup. Prepare eight casseroles, for example, then sell six of them to cover your costs, and you’ve got two free dinners for your family (and maybe a bit more). You can grow this by taking orders from others and finding out what they like.
31. Personal assistant
Thanks to sites like TaskRabbit, plenty of people have learned to pick up work doing a variety of side jobs that other people just don’t have time to do. Common tasks can include anything from picking up dry cleaning to making dinner or assembling Ikea furniture.
32. Pet grooming
Many people loathe bathing their pets and grooming their fur – I know I do. Pet groomers perform these tasks for a small fee – a perfect job for a person who loves dogs and cats.
33. Jewelry making
If you have a good eye for detail work and a lot of patience, homemade jewelry can be quite profitable. As with other items on this list, there are many opportunities to sell such items through local gift shops, craft fairs, or sites like Etsy.
34. Growing and selling produce
Like to grow vegetables? Focus in on one vegetable and sell the excess to grocery stores and at farmers’ markets. My father does this with tomatoes and earns some solid extra money during the summer months. You can do really well, though, if you can grow things inside during the winter – February fresh tomatoes can sell quite well.
35. Proofreading and editing
Have strong English skills and exceptional grammar? You may have opportunities to work as a proofreader from home. Advertising for this can be difficult; seek out those who might actually be able to use your services and advertise directly to them.
36. Scrapbook making
Many people dream of having beautiful scrapbooks but never take the steps to create them on their own. You can step in here – take their ideas and materials and assemble a scrapbook for them.
37. Slideshow making
Many people would love to have a beautiful slideshow to commemorate the passing of a loved one, an anniversary, or a special birthday. With a computer and some select software, you could quickly turn anyone’s pictures into a beautiful, custom slideshow, and profit handsomely for your time and effort.
38. Senior citizen assistance
Many elderly people need assistance with a wide variety of simple household tasks – cleaning, laundry, and so forth. Many adult children of elderly people are quite willing to hire someone to help out their parents.
39. Sewing and alterations
My wife is quite handy with a sewing machine and often hems and modifies our children’s clothes. She could easily take this a step further and offer her services to others, doing basic garment repair and modification for a small price on lazy evenings.
40. Computer troubleshooting
I had some success with this in the past, though I’ve largely moved away from it now. If you have a knack for fixing computers, this is a good place to start.
41. Public speaking
If you’re the type of person who can get the attention of a room easily, public speaking might be for you. Take advantage of every public speaking opportunity you can and you’ll be surprised at the opportunities that make themselves available for you.
42. Soap making and spa products
Making amazing homemade soaps and other spa products isn’t as hard as you might think – it just takes time and patience. Again, people value handmade items like these, which can easily be sold through local gift shops and websites like Etsy.
43. Giving music lessons
If you know how to play an instrument well (particularly the piano or the guitar) and have patience, you’ve got what you need to teach others how to play. Offer lessons in that instrument to others – this can also be an excellent service to barter with, too.
44. Tutoring
Did you major in a subject like English, history, or math in college, or do exceptionally well on the SAT exam? Do you have patience with children? If so, you likely have what you need to tutor kids in particular subjects. Seek out parents or teachers and let them know that you tutor students in a certain subject, and offer materials for them to share, and phone calls will often trickle in. You can get going locally or expand across the country by offering to tutor online.
45. Virtual assistant
Many ultra-busy professionals appreciate having someone who can check and answer their email, organize task lists for them, update their calendars, and other administrative tasks, with minimal interaction. The best part is that you can provide this service from home with a good Internet connection.
46. Website design
Many small businesses in your community could use a very basic web presence to tell others about their business. Quite often, these businesses don’t have a large budget for such things. That’s where you come in – get a bunch of clients from the local community by beating the pavement, create sites for them, and maintain them for a small fee. Get enough businesses and you have a nice side business of your own that doesn’t require a ton of maintenance time.
47. Wedding planner
If you’re one of those people who can’t help but flip through bridal magazines and think about various wedding arrangements in your daydreams, wedding planning might be the perfect thing for you. A great way to get started is to develop a website or blog on the topic, get to know people online, and promote your services at local wedding venues and throughout the community.
48. Affiliate marketing
If you play your cards right, certain types of businesses will pay you to promote their products and encourage sales. If you’re interested in learning more, check out affiliate marketing programs such as Amazon Associates, Commission Junction, LinkShare, and ShareASale.
49. Become a business or life coach
If you’re passionate about the business world or able to influence and encourage others in your own unique way, you may want to consider marketing your services as a business or life coach. Use your passion and expertise to give advice and suggest actionable steps people can take to improve their professional and personal lives.
50. Start a resume writing service
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.
These are just some of the many side business opportunities that have grown more common in the past few years. However, there are many more out there already, in addition to some that are yet to be discovered.
As you embark on your new side business or “side hustle,” remember that you are only limited by your own imagination and skillset. Don’t be afraid to be creative, and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t succeed.
You never know, unexpected success might be right around the corner.