How to start a business for free

inde-If that’s not enough motivation to get your business plan up and ning, according to the Small Business Administration, small businesses: run-• represent more than 99 percent of all

A BUSINESS FOR FREE

The Ultimate Guide

to Building Something

Profitable from Nothing

SILVER LAKE PUBLISHING

LOS ANGELES, CA ̶ ̶̶ ̶ ABERDEEN, WA

The Ultimate Guide to Building Something

Profitable from Nothing

First edition

Copyright © 2003 by David Caplan

Silver Lake Publishing

111 East Wishkah Street

Aberdeen, WA 98520

For a list of other publications or for more information, please call 1.360.532.5758 Visit our Web site at www.silverlakepub.com.

All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system or transcribed in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise) with- out the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Library of Congress Catalogue Number: pending

How to Start a Business for Free

The Ultimate Guide to Building Something from Nothing

Includes index.

Pages: 308

ISBN: 1-56343-856-9

T ABLE OF C ONTENTS

CHAPTER 2: MEETING THE CUSTOMERS…AND THE COMPETITION 47

CHAPTER 3: THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF BUSINESS OWNERSHIP 67

CHAPTER 5: MOVING FROM THE PLAN TO OPERATIONS 137

CHAPTER 6: OFFICE SPACE, EQUIPMENT & OTHER SUPPLIES 171

CHAPTER 7: BUILDING A WEB SITE FOR YOUR BUSINESS 207

A PPENDICES :

APPENDIX A: WHERE TO GET A BUSINESS LICENSE 253

APPENDIX B: LIST OF PATENT & TRADEMARK RESOURCES 257

APPENDIX D: LIST OF BUSINESS PLAN TOOLS 277

APPENDIX F: LIST OF WOMEN’S MENTORING ORGANIZATIONS 285

APPENDIX G: LIST OF BUSINESS INCUBATORS 293

I NTRODUCTION :

G ETTING S TARTED

There are many reasons to go into business for yourself Maybe you

want to expand your earning potential or you want flexible work hours

and the best parking spot Or, maybe you’re just tired of working for

someone else and commuting two hours a day

Some people want to start their own business because their current

employer is downsizing and it seems easier than pounding the pavement

looking for a new job Others want to start a business to gain the freedom

they’ve always dreamed of because being “self-employed” affords you

the freedom to control your own destiny

Let’s face it, everyone—from newspapers, magazines and TV to radio,

Learning Annex seminars and the Internet—is touting why you should go

into business for yourself You’ve probably seen the signs on freeway

on-ramps that entice you to think about self-employment Have you ever

wanted to be your own boss? Set your own hours? Work from home?

Want the freedom to work when you want? Are you thinking about

starting your own company but don’t know where to start? The list

goes on and on

Being in business for yourself, however, isn’t always what it’s cracked

up to be Being in business for yourself often means working long hours—

starting early in the morning and working late into the evening most days

and even putting time in on weekends Being in business for yourself means

postponing that vacation to Jamaica because there is no one else to runthe business when you’re not there And, the little things, like movies, golf,hiking or catching an occasional ball game, are no longer recreation whenyou own your own business They become luxuries.

Whatever the reason, starting your own business requires an pendent spirit and a strong sense of self-motivation to stand out fromothers in your marketplace And there are plenty of other entrepreneurs inthe United States willing to take that risk and prove to the world that theyhave those qualities Why not? According to the U.S Department ofLabor, firms with fewer than 500 employees employ 55 percent of theprivate, non-farm work force, contribute 48 percent of all sales in thecountry and are responsible for 51 percent of the private gross domesticproduct In addition, small business-dominated industries produced anestimated 68 percent of the 2 million new jobs created during 2000, ac-cording to the U.S Departments of Labor and Commerce

inde-If that’s not enough motivation to get your business plan up and ning, according to the Small Business Administration, small businesses:

run-• represent more than 99 percent of all employers;

• employ 52 percent of the private workers;

• employ 61 percent of the private workers on public assistance;

• employ 38 percent of the private workers in high-tech occupations;

• provide virtually all of the net new jobs;

• provide 51 percent of the private sector output;

• represent 96 percent of all exporters of goods;

• receive 35 percent of federal contract dollars; and

• are home-based 53 percent of the time and are franchises 3 percent

of the time

This means if you decide to start your own business, you will not bealone…not by a long shot! Moreover, as you start to plan what kind ofbusiness you will start and how you will finance it, it’s a good idea to find

other entrepreneurs in your community to help you keep your head above

water Other entrepreneurs can help you avoid some of the common

pit-falls tied to owning your own business They’ve been down the same road

you are about to take, so find them and ask as many questions as you can

We’ll go into greater detail on mentoring resources in a later chapter, but

it’s never too early to ask for direction

As you begin to talk to others who have made the small-business

leap and look at other businesses that are operating in the economy around

you, you’ll see that the opportunities for entrepreneurship are abound,

waiting for the taking You can turn anything you love into a

money-mak-ing opportunity, and this book will show you how Hundreds of

busi-nesses can be started for little or no capital at all For example, a

house-sitting or tax-preparation business Or maybe you’re more into the

dog-grooming or diversity training business Take the founders of Nantucket

Nectars for example, otherwise known as the “Juice Guys” who took a

sloppy boat business and turned it into a multimillion-dollar company

Tom Scott and Tom First didn’t want the corporate job with the

corporate car or the morning commute They had flunked accounting, the

only business-related course under their belts, but knew when they

gradu-ated from Brown University in 1989 that they wanted to live on

Nan-tucket year-round and make something work—on their own Scott had

already worked in the harbor the previous year as a taxi driver He didn’t

want to work for someone else, so he started Allserve, a floating

conve-nience store, on a 19-foot Boston Whaler that drove around the harbor

servicing the Nantucket boating community Scott sold muffins, delivered

newspapers, disposed of trash and even did some people’s laundry—and

he loved it because he was working for himself, outside, on a boat and

making money

The following summer, First joined Scott and the two expanded the

business to include boat towing, repairs and rescue Getting through the

cold and slow winter, however, was rough One night, First made a juice

blend for dinner and within five minutes, the two Toms were joking with

one another, “Let’s sell this off the boat next summer We’ll call it

Nan-tucket Nectars.”

The rest is history But it’s not history without a few low points andsome major hits In the start-up phase, the two Toms did everything theycould to stay afloat They sold their juice concoctions off their Whaler andeventually out of a little storefront on the Straight Wharf of Nantucket(which is still there) They never lost sight of their goal to survive on Nan-tucket year-round and maintain a business And, knowing that their float-ing convenience store was too seasonal to work in the long-run, however,the Toms settled on making the juice company work Without fancy fund-ing, the two Toms resorted to making money elsewhere until the businessgot going They performed oddball jobs here and there, including shuck-ing scallops, painting houses, bartending and pumping waste They alsofocused on the quality of their juice product (innovative bottle design andflavors).

The two Toms paid bills slowly, collected receivables as fast as sible and paid themselves nothing At one point, Tom Scott lived in his car

pos-or in a group house with no heat to make ends meet Eventually though,the business grew and an angel investor (coincidentally a client they hadserviced in the past) kicked in some money to help move the companyalong

In 1999, Nantucket Nectars reported $60 million in sales One thing,however, did have to change with such rapid growth: the company grewtoo large for Nantucket and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts But

by then, the Juice Guys had made their mark in the juice world Theycould sail over to Nantucket in their own boat whenever they neededsome island healing.1

The lessons from the two Toms are clear: Success in business doesn’tnecessarily start with an expensive MBA or a windfall of venture capital

It starts by asking yourself the most basic of questions: What do you want

in life and where and how do you want to live? Focus on those essentialsand other things will likely follow And it’s always key to make friends,even in bars and harbors, whom you can call when you need some cash

1 Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc bought a large piece of the company in early 1998— which was later sold to Cadberry Schwepps—but Scott and First retain a large piece of the company’s ownership and remain active in its management.

Never underestimate your own financial power Between

boot-strap-ping your business and asking Aunt Betty for a loan to start your

com-pany, digging deep into your own pockets first is a step toward getting

what you need

Raising capital outside your close network of friends and neighbors

is a hard thing to do these days Capital is scarce The late 1990s had

people wrongly believe that venture capital is easy to snatch up—for even

the rookie entrepreneur in need of start-up cash (to also finance a fancy

car and lavish parties.) That may have been the case back during the

heady dot.com days, but those days are over and the current venture

capital market is closer to how it usually works It takes a lot more of a

sales pitch to get noticed

In reality, the vast majority of successful new businesses are self

fi-nanced Among the honored businesses that made Inc magazine’s 500

list over the past 20 years are Microsoft, Domino’s Pizza, Oracle, Jenny

Craig, Pete’s Brewing, Jamba Juice, The Sharper Image, Princeton

Re-view and Patagonia When those companies made the list, all were

pri-vately owned and at least five years old Few, if any, started with

institu-tional capital And, in 2001 only 3 percent of the Inc 500 companies

received venture-capital funds at start-up.2

This book answers the questions you may have about starting and

running your own business, and attempts to resolve those fuzzy lines

be-tween writing a business plan and actually putting the plan into action

Starting and running your own business takes hard work You need the

wisdom, discipline, courage and persistence to know how to best protect

your investment whether you’re running a carpentry business or doing

consulting work as a motivational speaker

This book explains in simple terms the types of business structures

that exist, and provides a working knowledge of how to develop the

fi-nancing, marketing, product development and operations of your own

business Whether your idea for a business is big or small, you’ll want to

2 “Brief Profiles of 2001 Inc 500 Companies”; Inc magazine, 11/01.

be informed about things like networking resources, grass roots ing, meeting the competition and license and registration.

advertis-None of the material here will make you an expert on running a million dollar business However, we hope to take some of the mysteryout of the nuts and bolts of start-ups so that you can make consciousdecisions in your endeavors—business or otherwise—minimize costs andmaximize profits

multi-And minimizing costs is probably the most important aspect of ing a business Since so many new businesses fail within the first year ortwo that they exist, surviving the early going can be an end in itself Yourstruggle is to stay in the game while your name or brand getsestablished…until your channels to market get set…until you can attractthe right people to help you grow

start-This is where what I call the Free Mentality comes in to play ously, starting a business requires spending some money along the way—but, because survival is so tough, saving every dollar possible is essentialduring the first years You need to get everything that you can as cheaply

Obvi-as possible Free, if you can

Pressing that point is what this book is about

C HAPTER 1:

C HOOSING A B USINESS

Many start-up businesses thrive on little or no capital They are the

result of executing at least one good idea, whether it’s a new product or a

new or better personal or professional service; an advertising or fundraising

campaign; or a concept for an accurate translation, proposal writing or

lawn mowing service

Exactly what kind of business can you start up on your own? The

decision often is a personal one The decision is one that relates to you

and your life…and the things you enjoy Running a business is not always

easy, and there’s no reason to struggle and work at it unless you’re doing

something you truly enjoy In other words, you don’t want to run a

busi-ness you hate So, choose something that you’re interested in doing and

that you like If you can’t stand dogs, don’t run out and open a dog grooming

business Unless, of course, you’ve invented a whole new and innovative

concept for dog grooming that inspires you

You also don’t have to limit yourself to just one type of business If

one idea doesn’t make enough money, you can supplement it by

broad-ening your business offerings and expanding into a related area

Let’s say you love butter, but you can’t stand the way it’s sold You

don’t like the sticks, you don’t like the tubs…or the convenient squirt-top

bottles Try inventing a better way to dispense butter or margarine,

some-thing you might call the Butterfly and start-up a kitchen appliance

com-pany

Choosing a business starts with asking yourself a few basic tions The most important question: What do you enjoy doing? Can it betranslated into a business? Does it revolve around a service or product?Compile a list of businesses that you would like to start The business can

ques-be derived from a creative idea or a unique and new invention or service

Or, it can be derived from something you already know how to do Trynot to think so much about money when you make this list For now, letyour imagination wander and see where it takes you There will be plenty

of time to hone that idea down to a realistic endeavor

Service-Based vs Product-Based Businesses

An important thing to consider when you’re brainstorming for ness ideas is the type of business you want to start In other words, decidewhether you want to start a service-based business or an item or product-based business These are the two basic types of businesses you can startquickly and easily

busi-The first, service-oriented businesses, allow you to perform a servicefor your client, such as pet sitting, dog walking, catering, writing, consult-ing, etc Service-oriented businesses are easy to start with little seed money.All you need to get started is an idea for a service that you want to pro-vide, some recommendations and a lot of word-of-mouth advertising.The other type of business you can start is an item- or product-ori-ented business With this type of business you provide an item or productfor your client You can offer customized shirts for hunters, handmadebirdhouses or back scratchers Any of these products could be the route

to starting a successful business One thing to keep in mind: oriented businesses take a little more start-up capital than service busi-nesses because you need to come up with the resources to make theproducts and find outlets to sell them, but they can be profitable and re-warding, too

Product-Although service-based businesses are designed to sell expertise andassistance rather than concrete or tangible goods like product-based busi-

nesses, the goals of service-based and product-based businesses overlap

in many respects

As with all businesses, economics play a pivotal role in the decisions

you make as an entrepreneur Although there’s a risk involved in starting

your own business—service- or product-based—and filing the

paper-work for a business license and obtaining a legal trademark or applying

for a grant seem like a hassle and a huge burden on your time, if you play

your cards right, you’ll be successfully rewarded for your time, energy

and research

When choosing a business, you must first determine the value of your

business idea before you can do something useful with it Weigh the

po-tential value of your business idea against: 1) the probability of others

seeing that value; and 2) the costs of securing and maintaining that idea

Remember: There’s nothing more subjective than value; what you

may think is valuable is probably worthless to someone else If you’re not

sure, ask around Input from others can save you a lot of time and money

in the long-run

Another factor to consider when choosing a business: the Internet

The boom of the Internet Age adds another factor, and possibly more

value, to your business idea The Internet offers a new delivery system for

transmitting business ideas—books, software, data, customer lists,

ad-vertising campaigns, manufactured products, professional services,

news-letters, etc We’ll go into more detail on using the Internet to your benefit

later in the book

Providing a Service

The most commonly recognized types of businesses that can be started

for free are service-based businesses, which fall into the following

catego-ries:

• personal services;

• consulting services;

• training services;

• creative services; and

• business services

Out of all the businesses you thought you would like to start, are any

of them service-based? On the following pages we’ll consider each type

of service-based business in turn

Taking Care of People and Their Possessions

Most people have at least one chore they simply don’t have time—

or want—to do By starting a personal service-oriented business, you cantake care of that need Ask around your neighborhood Ask your old co-workers Does anyone need a cook? Is someone looking for a house-sitter next month? If you love to cook, offer to cater a party or be an in-home chef If you love pets, start your own pet-sitting or dog-walkingbusiness Just think of what you love and what other people need Thistype of business is easy to start and relatively cheap You can post fliers inyour neighborhood in an attempt to get some initial clients The followingare a few more ideas to help get you started

¬ Dog Walker If you love animals and live in a neighborhood of busy

professionals, a professional dog walking service may be a good ness to start Even if dog owners know their dogs can stay inside frommorning to night without having any mishaps, with a little savvy mar-keting, you can make it clear that it is better for their dog to be out andabout during the day Would you want to be cooped up inside all day?And because your customers provide the dog and the leash, there’slittle start-up cost on your end In fact, all it takes to start a dog-walking business are scheduling skills and good sales ability Start byposting fliers or placing ads all around town In most cases, the peoplewho need your services are in your own neighborhood

busi-¬ Pet Sitter This is another area where a love for animals proves

ben-eficial to the start-up process Catering to the needs of pet ownersneeding help during the work week, vacations or illness can be a lu-

crative business Although some pet owners unload their pets on a

dog or cat kennel while they go on vacation, animals are always more

comfortable in familiar surroundings If you start a professional pet

sitting business, you can offer several services, including overnight

service or day service where you visit the client’s house once or twice

a day to feed the pet, walk it if necessary or play with it for a short

time You can also offer to care for the pet in your own home Other

responsibilities may include: trips to the vet or ensuring that the pet

gets its medication As with the dog walking business, the start-up

cost for this business is minimal Start by posting fliers or placing ads

all around town Ask neighbors or friends and family if they need

anyone or know of someone who does

¬ House Sitter An empty home is an easy and tempting target for

burglars Even if a homeowner remembers to put a hold on his

news-paper subscription, sets automatic timers for the lights, radios and

televisions or lowers the sound on the telephone ringers and

answer-ing machine, he doesn’t fool burglars Burglars often know when no

one is home One solution: a house sitter A professional house sitter

can provide a valuable service when a client takes a trip or an

ex-tended stay away from home

As a house sitter, you can provide the following services: pick up

newspapers, mail and other things delivered to the house; mow the

lawn or shovel the snow out of the driveway, depending on the

sea-son; check to ensure that the automatic timers are working on lights,

stereos, televisions, etc., and that no light bulbs have burned out; park

a car in the driveway; or check the house for any other problems that

arise such as a freezer breaking down, storm damages, broken pipes,

etc You can also offer a plant-watering service, look after the owner’s

pool or offer to take care of their pets for another small fee Like pet

sitting and dog walking, there is little start-up cost for this business

and, in addition to the fee for your services, this job can provide you

with a roof over your head if you offer live-in services You may even

find yourself spending a long period of time bouncing from house

sit-ting job to house sitsit-ting job without having to fork over money for a

monthly rent check Post fliers at the grocery store or ask businesses

if you can post them on their bulletin boards Friends and neighborsare also a good starting point Ask around at work, your co-workersmay know someone who needs your services.

A note on résumés: With most of these businesses, it’s also important

to prepare a résumé that outlines your work skills and experience.Your résumé must “sell you” to a prospective employer and show himthat you have all the requirements for the position you are applyingfor Your résumé should include information about the jobs you’veheld as well as your accomplishments, skills and experience Refer-ences are also an important part of a résumé For a summary of the

résumé resources available to you on the Internet, go to http://

jobstar.org/tools/resume/res-web.cfm.

¬ Professional Organizer There are people in this world who do not

possess a single organizational skill And, there are others who workfull-time while raising a family of five and simply don’t have time tokeep everything they own in order As a professional organizer, youcan step in, provide assistance and help control the situation Do youenjoy designing filing systems? Do you look at a messy closet andconsider it a challenge? If so, this business may be right up your alley

As a professional organizer you can provide clients with ideas, mation, structure, solutions and systems to help their businesses func-tion better Professional organizers assist businesses with everythingfrom time management, clutter control and space planning to eventplanning, personal shopping, financial management and public speak-ing (We’ll go into more detail on a few of these later in this section.)But, before starting this type of business, ask yourself the following:What types of organizing services will you offer? Will you specialize inany areas? How will you charge for your services?

infor-While there are professional certifications for this profession, this ness basically requires no capital investment to get started and can bestarted as a part-time business until you are ready to run it on a full-time basis However, as in any service-based business, there are manyvariables involved in being a professional organizer Things like mar-keting, skill and the amount of time you are willing to devote, as well

busi-as your geographic location, play a greater role in your success busi-as a

professional organizer If your business is successful, you may even

want to start a line of organizing products, including books, planners,

newsletters, etc If you need experience, find a friend or two who

needs your services and offer to organize an area of their home for

free in exchange for their word-of-mouth referrals Or, contact your

local Chamber of Commerce for a list of organizations dedicated to

promoting and supporting the field of professional organizing

If you want to find out more about getting certified in this field, visit the

National Association for Professional Organizers’ (NAPO) Web site

at www.napo.net or call or write to them at P.O Box 140647,

Aus-tin, TX 78714; phone: (512) 454-8626; fax: (512) 454-3036 NAPO

is currently developing its own certification program (the completion

date is unknown)

¬ Personal Move Coordinator If you live in a particularly transient

area, such as an area near a military base or a large city, a move

coordinator might be a good start-up opportunity for you Even though

there are professional moving companies that handle most of the

pack-ing and shipppack-ing involved with a move, there are plenty of other thpack-ings

that must be taken care of before the moving truck arrives Often it is

difficult for the person moving to take care of everything while

work-ing a full-time job This is where you come in Move coordinators

take care of many tasks, including meeting and supervising

contrac-tors and movers, coordinating phone, gas, cable, DSL and electric

hook-ups, arranging for appliance installation, organizing the house

before the movers arrive or taking any unwanted belongings to a

con-signment store or charity

If a client is moving to a new area, you may also want to provide other

services such as supplying school and financing services information

or providing them with information on temporary housing needs

¬ Personal Shopper/Errand Runner If you love to shop you might

want to look into being a professional personal shopper Believe it or

not, there are people who would rather have a tooth pulled than go

anywhere near a mall or fight midday traffic In addition, people whoare homebound, either because they are elderly or because they areill, need someone to take care of errands like going to the dry clean-ers, picking up groceries and shopping for cards and gifts You cansolve that problem by offering your services This business requiresgreat listening skills—you have to know the person’s taste and budgetbefore you use his or her money to find the right item for the bestprice—whether it’s a gift idea, a business item, furniture, accessories

or clothing And, if you plan to travel overseas or anywhere in theUnited States, you can expand your services to include a greater num-ber of items There is little start-up cost for this business…all youneed is an e-mail account, phone number or address where clientscan contact you and, in most cases, a mode of transportation

¬ Babysitter/Childcare Provider Taking care of someone else’s

chil-dren can be the easiest job in the world if you like kids and have a lot

of patience If you have a small child or small children, your localjurisdiction will probably let you keep approximately five children duringthe day as an in-home childcare provider (Check with local lawsbefore you bring all the kids in though.) This allows you to earn somemoney while you care for your own children and provide your ser-vices to parents who have to work but are uncomfortable taking theirkids to a large daycare facility You can also provide babysitting ser-vices before and after school, in the evenings and on weekends Youwon’t have a 9-to-5 work schedule, but parents are more comfort-able hiring a mature and reliable adult than the 13-year-old BritneySpears look-alike from down the street

Some states, including Virginia, also provide respite pay support toparents with special needs children, so if you are interested in workingwith children with mental or physical disabilities, you can bring in ahigher hourly rate than you could with watching non-disabled chil-dren

Depending on whether you have your own kids, you may be able tostart this business for very little money You’ll probably want to pro-vide a variety of toys, books and games to keep the children occu-

pied, but if you already have kids, you won’t need to go overboard.

You may want to provide snacks for the kids, too So factor in the

cost of a few small meals You don’t have to get certified as a teacher

but you may want to look into a basic first aid class or CPR training

It wouldn’t hurt to look into liability and medical insurance either Ads,

fliers and word-of-mouth are your best marketing tools in this

busi-ness If clients are happy, they’ll pass your name on to friends,

neigh-bors and relatives looking for childcare

¬ Catering/Personal Chef Service In this busy, fast-paced age, there

are plenty of people who want healthy, wholesome, home-cooked

meals that do not have the time or the energy to prepare them If you

are a talented chef, you can provide meals for your clients in the

com-fort of their own homes on a full-time basis or offer to purchase a

client’s groceries, go to their home one day a week and prepare and

freeze enough meals to last the rest of the week For most people, the

latter is a more affordable option

As a personal chef, you can also offer packages that allow the

con-sumer to buy three days’ worth of cooking or other

amounts—esti-mate the fees for these services based on your time and effort You

can provide your own ideas for a menu or prepare a client’s favorite

recipes or other dishes that are requested Other options include

of-fering special weekly packages that meet various dietary restrictions,

such as low-carb, low-fat, vegetarian or kosher meals But best of all,

there is little to no start-up cost for this business because your clients

pay for the groceries and let you use their kitchen And, as far as pots

and pans and utensils go, you can either use your client’s or your own

You may have better luck starting this type of business if you’ve

gradu-ated from a reputable cooking school, but this is another business

where word-of-mouth referrals are key If you offer your services to

friends or neighbors for free in exchange for their referrals, you may

be able to get this business started without formal training…provided

you are an excellent cook

Using Your Creative Energies

If you have any artistic talent, be it acting, painting, photography orpoetry, you may want to start a business using your artistic talent Thesebusinesses depend on your creativity, but if you love to create, this could

be the perfect type of business for you to start In today’s marketplace,there is a great demand for talented artists, writers, photographers anddesigners If you have any of the following talents or any other artistictalent, see if you can’t turn it in to a full-time, lucrative business

¬ Artist/Craftsperson While it is difficult to make a living working as

an artist, there are ways to use your artistic talents, such as painting orsculpting, to make enough money to support the fine art you reallywant to create Get to know local interior decorators—they may knowhigh-end clients who want specially painted details in their homes orsome hand-painted tile work done in the kitchen and around the fire-place If you are a painter or a photographer, you can provide portraitservices for clients who want formal paintings or pictures of their chil-dren, home, pets or themselves

You can also team up with a local interior decorator and provide fauxfinishes for walls and other surfaces in homes This is a lucrative busi-ness, because even though the faux finishes are cheaper than the realthing, people are willing to pay good sums of money to make sure

their walls look faux, not fake!

Another lucrative start-up for the fine arts major: the craftsperson.People of all income levels want to personalize their homes with deco-rative objects Whether you are a talented woodworker, jeweler,metalsmith, quilt-maker or fabric painter, you can make a comfort-able living by selling your wares at fine arts and crafts shows in yourarea…or offer an ordering service Although you may have to spendsome start-up funds to create some sample pieces, you can use thosepieces to acquire new orders (and up-front payment) for additionalwork

¬ Singer Turning your singing talent into a business isn’t easy, but it can

be extremely rewarding if you like to perform…and you’re good In

addition to providing singing services for weddings and parties, you

can land a job with a local Italian restaurant that has Opera Night and

serenade diners

Of course, you can also seek out more traditional singing gigs,

includ-ing paid soloist or section leader work at a local church or synagogue,

a job with a local professional singing group or the lead or backup

singer for a local professional band, orchestra or studio gig If you can

emulate the sound and tone of Patsy Cline, Linda Ronstadt or Alannis

Morissette, you may be able to land a few commercial gigs But, be

careful Oftentimes, in today’s litigious society, using the images or

qualities of a celebrity abusively or without permission for commercial

purposes could land you, but more realistically the company that you

work for, in court facing a right of publicity lawsuit In fact, Bette

Midler sued Ford for using a voice like hers in its commercials for this

very reason, among others If you are going to take this route, it might

be safer to stick to parties and other entertainment events If you’ve

had any professional classical training or extensive voice training or

studies, another option is to offer your services as a vocal coach You

wouldn’t need an office for this type of business You could conduct

business out of your home or at a client’s home

¬ Writer/Editor Freelance writers can find work in everything from

Web content to print material And, once the words are written and

set to the page or computer screen, someone has to edit them to

make them legible, engaging and clear Writers and editors are always

in demand at places like publishing companies, big corporations and

technology firms It costs very little to start a writing or editing

busi-ness, particularly if most transactions are via e-mail

By surfing electronic job boards on sites like www.sunoasis.com,

www.about.freelance.com or www.mediabistro.com, a savvy writer

or editor can bring in a number of freelance contracts for everything

from editing a screenplay or movie poster and writing a story for a

travel magazine to collaborating on a manuscript, ghostwriting a book

or writing book proposals or grants Of course, you might want to be

literate in proofreaders’ marks or have an English and/or journalism

degree Some businesses are fairly strict about this, but it’s not alwaysnecessary If you can prove that you’re worth it, you may not need thedegrees.

If there is a particular type of subject matter you enjoy, such as tific writing or sociology, but you don’t want to study it yourself, oneway to get involved in that field is to offer your services as a freelanceeditor The advantage to you is that you get to work with many differ-ent organizations and with a variety of subject matter The advantage

scien-to the company you work for is that it can hire you by the project or

by the hour, rather than paying for a full-time staff member to reviewand edit in-house work Running a freelance editing business also meansyou have the opportunity to choose between doing substantive edit-ing, where you work with the author to make the copy clearer andmore readable, or copyediting where you proof the finished copy forgrammar, spelling and formatting errors

Another way to drum up business is to gather print materials, such as

a menu from your favorite restaurant, a newsletter at your local munity center or the brochure for a nearby garden center, write a bidletter suggesting ways you could improve the material and send it tothe business In many cases, these materials are written by freelancewriters and if you’re a better copywriter than they are, you mightround up some clients

com-Other business ideas that use your artistic talent:

• Graphic Designer Graphic designers and writers often work

to-gether on projects A good graphic designer with an eye for color,shape and function can bid out his or her services to many differentbusinesses and work on everything from annual reports, T-shirts andbook covers to posters, calendars and stationary A graphic designeradds a more polished and professional look to these items Typically,this start-up would require computer equipment and software If youare not equipped to do this kind of work at home already, the start-upcosts may be prohibitive However, if you already own a good com-puter, high-quality printer and graphic design software such as Adobe

Illustrator, Quark Xpress, PageMaker and PhotoShop, you may be

in a great position to make your graphic mark on the world

• Web Site Designer Of course you’ll need a computer, but if you

already have a computer and a knack for design, there are a lot of

companies looking for talented Web site designers on a contract

ba-sis Whether you know HTML (the language used to build Web sites)

or have more advanced programming skills, like ASP or Cold

Fu-sion, you may be able to parlay your skills into lucrative contracts to

design and program

• Motivational Speaker If you think you have a story to tell that can

inspire others and you are dynamic in front of large crowds, you might

want to consider starting a motivational speaking business You don’t

have to have any special education or experience to break into this

career and succeed Start by speaking for free to local schools and

clubs to get your name out there, and then use that experience to

garner bigger and bigger contracts, such as corporate retreats Get on

the roster of a speaker’s bureau such as SpeakersQuest or Leading

Authorities Speakers Bureau to drum up more business Don’t be

discouraged if it takes some time to get these gigs going; it can take a

great deal of experience and a number of references to get on those

lists

• Photographer Start-up photography businesses are a great way to

put your artistic talents to work for you Clearly, the biggest challenge

to starting such a business is the cost of the equipment, not to mention

the development costs But it is possible to start such a business with

nothing more than a good 35mm camera and a supply of well-priced

film Rather than starting out by working in the wedding industry or

portrait photography—which require larger lights, more equipment

and studio space—you can start your business by clicking photos to

sell to magazines and newspapers, either in your local area or around

the world Find a local freelance writer who needs photographs for

their articles, and team up with them to provide art for their stories Or

hire yourself out to smaller, more casual family events, such as a family

reunion or graduation party, where the group wants good photographsbut doesn’t want to pay for a high-end photographer In no time,you’ll have earned the money to buy more equipment and to go aftereven more lucrative assignments If you like to take scenic photos,frame some of the images and try selling them at craft shows or fairs.

If word gets out, it won’t be long before you’ll be taking new orders

Consultants Make the World Go Round

If you’re tired of the 9-to-5 work week and the office politics volved with working for a large corporation or are at the end of yourcareer, but wish to stay active in your field, you may want to considerbranching out on your own as a consultant either part- or full-time Astable job no longer holds the same definition it once did Today’s busi-nesses are more apt to churn employees through buyouts than carry them

in-on through to retirement A cin-onsulting business can buy you more timewith your family, a better than average income and the freedom to workout of your own home But, you’ll need a marketable skillset and an area

of expertise that others are willing to pay for

If you’re not ready to make the big jump to being out on your own,you may want to negotiate with your current employer to provide services

on a contract basis If you’re on good terms with your current employer,this is the easiest way to transition into a new business…and obtain addi-tional clients The following are a few examples of consulting services thathave little to no start-up business costs

¬ Management Consultant Although every organization would like

to say it runs just as it should, on occasion, someone from the outsidewith a different perspective is sought to evaluate a problem Whether

a company has a management/staff relations issue, a nonprofit or porate board that must learn how to more effectively serve the orga-nization or needs assistance in a search for a new executive director,you can help solve these problems As a management consultant, youcan dedicate yourself to add value through increased profits, greatersales, improved cash flow, enhanced return on investment, greater

cor-team productivity, etc You can start a management consulting

busi-ness for almost no initial costs, but you must have a working

knowl-edge of the organizations that you plan to consult and a good network

of contacts to establish a revenue stream and credibility

¬ Political Consultant Political campaigns are cyclical and people

who work in them generally act as temporary employees for the life of

the campaign However, a political consulting business can prove

lu-crative for someone with political savvy and good instincts As a

po-litical consultant, you can work as a generalist—a jack-of-all-trades

on a campaign—or a specialist in political fundraising, direct mail

cam-paigns, polling, phone banks, focus groups and research, performance

coaching for political speakers, radio, produce media commercials or

grassroots organizing Today, some political consultants even

special-ize in setting up political Web sites and online fundraising This can be

an exciting and lucrative business particularly if you align with winning

candidates The political world is a small one, and campaigns snap up

talented consultants quickly when the election season starts Other

services you can offer as a political consultant: evaluate a client’s local

campaign structure; write, design and produce print and media

mate-rials; or provide strategic advice on all aspects of a client’s campaign

You can also help candidates with event planning, financial filings and

field organizing

¬ Communications Consultant From public relations to customer

service communications, social marketing programs for new

organi-zations and resolving conflict, communications consultants work with

corporations, associations, nonprofits and small businesses on all

as-pects of their communications strategy Often, public relations

agen-cies hire consultants to assist on large campaigns or to fill in for

an-other staff member that’s on vacation or leave from the office

Com-munications consultants can help to promote small businesses in the

local media This is a valuable service for small businesses that do not

have the money or staff to take on their own marketing or public

relations campaign, nor enough money to hire a larger agency with its

attendant cost

As a communications consultant, you can offer counseling or ing for the senior management of an organization or train individuals orgroups of employees on everything from communication skills to pub-lic speaking and advanced strategic communication Additional ser-vices you can provide as a communications consultant: news lead moni-toring; marketing, including database development, geo-demographictargeting and marketing plan development; and developing, writingand editing everything from annual reports, business plans and pressreleases to business correspondence, bios, speeches and brochures.And, if you have any expertise in telecommunications, information tech-nology or computer networking, you may want to offer your services

coach-in these areas, too

¬ Fundraising If you like working with the nonprofit sector and are

good at raising money, it might be lucrative to start a fundraising ness You can work with organizations to help them develop theirfundraising mechanisms—product fundraising or holding events—oractually raise the money yourself Starting this type of business doesnot cost much, but can be risky You have to be confident that you candeliver on your funding promises

busi-Whether you work with scout groups, church or school groups, civicgroups, daycare centers or fraternal organizations, if you have a goodsense of what foundations, corporations and other resources are outthere and how to target an organization’s fundraising pitch, you have agood shot at bringing in the funds for your client You can also consultclients on the following for an additional fee: how to choose a fundraisingproduct and fundraising company, seasonal or new fundraising ideasand how to develop a fundraising campaign Most professionalfundraisers conduct the fundraising campaign for a fee—typically apercentage of the money the campaign raised If you’ve done busi-ness with college organizations, hospitals and cultural organizations,use this to your advantage, saving financial data from these campaigns.Organizations in search of a reputable fundraiser often ask these types

of organizations for referrals

This business is relatively low in cost to start, but find out whether you

need to be licensed or bonded This is a requirement in many states

In North Dakota, for example, you must file an application with the

Secretary of State for “Professional Fundraiser/Solicitor License” and

it’ll cost you $100 In California, commercial fundraisers (for

chari-table purposes) must file an annual registration form with the office of

the Attorney General, certify a check for $200 and send a $25,000

bond If you’re interested in fundraising as a career, contact The

As-sociation of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), which represents 26,000

members throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico The AFP

advances philanthropy through advocacy, research, education and

certification programs for fundraising professionals

A few business more ideas:

• Diversity Trainer As more and more companies and organizations

recognize the need to embrace the diversity of their employees, they

are hiring diversity or cross-cultural trainers to help facilitate training

and discussions both on- and off-site of everything from conflict

reso-lution and safeguarding against harassment to preparing employees to

work in the global marketplace and racial, ethnic, cultural and gender

diversity For an extra fee, you can even offer training for employees

relocating to a foreign country

Large companies, educational institutions and city governments often

develop their own diversity departments, but there are plenty of other

businesses, community organizations and educational settings hiring

diversity trainers on a full- and part-time basis Some diversity

train-ers choose to work with a group of other divtrain-ersity traintrain-ers This way,

they can work together in marketing their business and partnering in

workshop development and delivery The start-up fees for the

busi-ness vary You can have a brochure made up and buy a mailing list or

network with friends and family People often hire someone they know

or someone an acquaintance knows, but in most cases, credentials

will win a client over Fees may be determined by credentials (i.e.,

inexperienced trainers receive low fees compared to those with

cre-dentials) For more information on certification programs and schools

for diversity trainers, search the Internet (One school’s site that alsoposts a complete discussion on becoming a diversity trainer:

www.diveristyuintl.com/courses.htm.) You can charge by the hour

or provide a total workshop package price Pick a specialty such asconflict resolution or managing sexual attraction in the workplace and

go from there Market yourself Give free talks and demonstrations toattract clients Another way to get clients: Attend conferences andconduct workshops or presentations Collect business cards

• Proposal and Grant Writer Nonprofits, corporations and

individu-als looking to drum up funding and business hire proposal and grantwriters to conduct grant research and write, review and evaluate pro-posals College professors who need grant proposals written forprojects, other consulting firms that need to submit sales proposals tocompanies for consideration and nonprofits that are looking for a newsource of funding often obtain the services of proposal and grant writ-ers To start this kind of business, you must have extensive experiencewriting different types of proposals and grants, and a knack for match-ing your skills to local organizations and individuals looking for your

services Publications like The Chronicle of Philanthropy and

ar-ticles in your local newspaper can point you toward funding sourcesand the organizations who want those funds

• Literary or Talent Agent There are many writers and performers

out there, and many of them want to spend most of their time beingcreative rather than selling themselves That’s where agents come in

If you have contacts in the publishing or performing fields, and youenjoy working with people, you might enjoy being a literary or talentagent An agent is someone who markets books or talent and negoti-ates contracts, in exchange for a commission on a book or client’sadvance (the money a publisher or employer pays up front) and roy-alties (the money a book or client earns through sales) Usually agentsget between 10 and 20 percent of the fee that their clients receive forany given job or publication You might get away with charging forreasonable office expenses, such as photocopying manuscripts andpostage, but make sure you inform your clients of this charge in ad-vance

Get a listing in annual agent listings such as Literary Marketplace or

Literary Agents of North America Both are annual publications

that can be found at the library, and list literary agencies and agents, as

well as book publishers and editors You don’t have to be in New

York, the center of the book publishing industry, but it is

advanta-geous particularly when meeting and talking with editors and

publish-ers Become a member of the Association of Author’s

Representa-tives or the Independent Literary Agents Association Although you

must meet certain criteria before joining, it’s a good idea to know in

advance what member qualifications are necessary Visit

www.aar.online.org and http://literaryagents.org These

organi-zations represent professional, reputable agents and encourage

pro-fessional standards

Telling the World About Something

Are you a great teacher? Do your colleagues come to you when they

need help? Are you positive, motivated and willing to share your

knowl-edge with others? If so, you should get paid for it

Corporations, nonprofits, community groups and government

orga-nizations need trainers for various purposes Perhaps you are a computer

whiz who can pass on knowledge to others Or, you know a lot about

media relations and want to train corporate officers to be more savvy in

on-camera and print interviews Maybe you can train nonprofit

organiza-tions to do better grassroots organizing Whatever the specialty, be it

vo-cal accompaniment, mathematics, business communications skills or

cus-tomer service, if you can find a place to hold your classes at no cost—

often the client organization will provide the location You can start this

business without laying out much cash at all The following are only a few

ideas

¬ Tutor If you have the ability to communicate effectively and have

expertise in one or more subject areas, you can offer instruction and

support as a tutor in those areas, provide help with homework, run

weekend, summer and vacation sessions or teach students test

prepa-ration skills Interpersonal skills are a definite must for this type ofbusiness If you can’t work collaboratively with others, this might not

be the business to start You must have a strong working knowledge

of a subject area to assist the tutee in learning the curriculum Tutorsoften specialize in basic study skills, foreign languages, learning dis-abilities, math, writing, college entrance preparation and English as asecond language, just to name a few While you can certainly travel to

a central location, such as a library or school or to the home of thestudents you tutor, tutoring can be performed face-to-face out of yourown home or electronically via e-mail, chat rooms, fax or phone Ifyou decide to tutor (or run any business for that matter) in your home,you might want to look into small business insurance that covers youfor liability For roughly $200 per year for coverage, you’ll be pro-tected if an accident occurs in your home

Tutoring can be a rewarding and enjoyable experience with flexiblehours As a tutor you can arrange the meeting times and days with thetutee and negotiate charges for your services If there are a number ofstudents requesting assistance in your area of expertise, offer to lead aweekly study group at the local library To drum up more business,offer your services as a notetaker, scriber, scanner or reader for stu-dents with disabilities Place ads for your service in school papers orpost fliers on bulletin boards at the YMCA or other community meet-ing places If you’re tutoring in a specific area, your knowledge andexperience in that area are typically enough to attract business But, ifyou want to be recognized or recommended by a school district, lookinto getting your teaching certification or certification for the SAT andother test preparation tutoring Remember: Tutors must be organizedand able to manage tasks, maintain schedules and guide tutoring ses-sions appropriately so the tutee will learn the skills efficiently

¬ Performing Arts Teacher If you are an accomplished pianist,

worked as a music teacher at the local elementary for several years orare proficient on the guitar, flute or any other instrument, you mightwant to consider starting a performing arts teaching business Similar

to tutors, music and vocal teachers have worked out of their own

homes for years, saving the cost of renting out a studio If you have

experience, it is likely that you already have the instrument or other

equipment in your home to use for demonstrations Offer advanced

or beginners skills classes on everything from the trombone and flute

to voice training and vocal and piano accompaniment For an extra

fee, teach your clients public performance skills and preparation for

competitions This business requires several clients to be lucrative and

demands a high level of patience and rapport with students If you are

successful with a handful of clients, they’ll pass your name on to

oth-ers in need of assistance Many will invite you into their home, or they

will have the instrument for you to use and instruct on The only cost

to you will be driving to clients’ homes

¬ Arts and Crafts Instructor If you can knit, make jewelry or sculpt,

teaching arts and crafts out of your home or at a central location can

be a lucrative business Often local adult education or enrichment

ser-vices, community centers and community colleges are looking for

in-structors for classes This business could easily be combined with a

craftsperson business Depending on your area of expertise, as an

arts and crafts instructor, you can offer courses on everything from

architecture, ceramics, needlework and illustration to industrial

de-sign, printmaking, textiles and sewing or quilting Teach students to

develop skills in creating unusual decoration and functional home

ac-cents Offer tips on form, color and composition Establish a course

to create special holiday decorations at various times in the year Other

classes taught by arts and crafts instructors include beading, weaving,

silk flowers, macramé, mosaics, bread-dough art, découpage,

needle-point, Hopi Indian pottery and wooden keychains

Costs to start this business are relatively low, but marketing yourself is

the key to its survival Post fliers or place ads in the local paper Offer

a discount to people who bring a friend Offer a three-session

draw-ing class that provides basic instructions and introduction to landscape,

still-life and facial features Anything to bring business in and get your

name around In most cases, it is normal for students to buy their own

materials so the cost of supplies would be relatively low And, if you

set up shop at home or work for an adult education or enrichmentcenter you alleviate the need to pay rent.

Social Graces

This is another area where your expertise and enjoyment come intoplay If you love to plan parties, write calligraphy or teach manners, thereare people who will pay you well for your services Put your social skills

to work for you in these services

¬ Etiquette Consultant Should the salad fork sit to the left or the

right of the dinner fork? How long can you wait to write a thank-younote after receiving a gift? These are just some of the questions animage or etiquette consultant can answer for his or her clients Othertopics: how to network at a conference or how to give a killer hand-shake Everyone from tearoom owners and operators to Fortune 500businesses is interested in increasing profits and what better way toincrease profits than by educating employees in etiquette? Today’sbusinesses are concerned with the lack of professional polish withintheir organizations, having observed their employees dressing inap-propriately or demonstrating poor manners while in the presence ofclients or industry peers

Another suggestion: Offer classes for children on proper table ners, and the dos and don’ts of good manners Many parents do nothave time to teach extensive etiquette lessons to their kids, but want

man-to make sure their kids mind their manners and behave properly inpublic Private schools are good places to market your services if youchoose this as a business, as well as community centers If you decidethat you’d rather work with businesses, offer courses on everythingfrom business etiquette, international protocol, introductions and din-ing skills to materials and marketing, public relations, professional im-age development, appropriate wardrobe and professional speaking.For an extra fee, you can offer a one-day session teaching businessese-mail etiquette

This business is relatively cheap to start because there are no

devel-opment costs, no inventory for you to purchase up front and

presen-tations can take place at numerous locations and to various groups,

requiring no office location Venues where classes can occur include:

resorts, hotels, country inns, restaurants, country clubs, museums,

tea-rooms, community centers, etc Remember the interests of clients

This type of business generates a lot of business by word of mouth

And, if your clients are happy, they’ll tell their friends and co-workers

who will call or e-mail you to find out more about your services

¬ Wedding/Party Planner If you have strong organizational skills and

good contacts in the hospitality industry, you can start a wedding or

party planning business Anxious brides need someone to provide

them with advice, contacts and solutions for major and minor

wed-ding crises, incluwed-ding everything from announcing the engagement,

wedding or event to friends and family to determining the budget,

securing the location and hiring a caterer As a wedding planner you

can assist with the gift registry, tuxedo rentals or entertainment, offer

tips to make the planning process easier and offer assistance in the

choice of photographer As a party planner you can plan parties and

events ranging from a four-year-old’s birthday party to an office

Christ-mas party You can choose a specialty or do a little of everything,

including: sending out invitations, hanging decorations, finding

enter-tainment, etc This job requires you to be well-organized and have

impeccable communication and people skills You’ll have a long list of

tasks to complete on time and within a client’s budget Be prepared to

find creative solutions to fill clients’ requests and to resolve a crisis

(After all, you never know what a jilted bride will grab and throw or

when a DJ will get stuck in traffic.)

Although this business can be started with almost no start-up funds, it

is important to develop good relationships and compile an extensive

database of vendors before you start, including everything from

pho-tographers, caterers, florists and car/limo rentals to bridal shops,

ven-ues, nail/hair salons and party rentals suppliers Start by informing

potential referrals about your business and ask them to send you

ma-terials about their services to share with your clients In no time, you’llhave an excellent collection of resources to employ when your clientsask you for help and you’ll be able to negotiate the best deals for yourclients This type of business also generates business by word of mouth.And, if your clients are happy, they’ll tell their friends and co-workerswho will call or e-mail you to find out more about your services Start

by posting fliers in supermarkets, stores, libraries and community ters Place an ad in the local paper or local newsletters If you’re stillhaving a hard time getting the ball rolling, try volunteering or barteringyour services with the people you know—your accountant, your vet-erinarian or the local florist This is a great way to get exposure aroundtown Or offer to work for free for another wedding or party planner

cen-to gain the experience you need cen-to drum up your own clients Mostwedding and party planners price their services one of two ways: on apercentage of the total budget (usually 10 to 15 percent); or on pack-age prices, based on the services a client desires

¬ Calligrapher From handwritten envelopes to individually designed

placecards, calligraphers are in high demand for events such as dings and gala dinners You can also expand your business by handlettering gift items, such as a framed poem from one sweetheart toanother, certificates of appreciation, decorated wedding certificates

wed-or baby announcements Other services a calligrapher can offer: tations and announcements, business cards and logos, commemora-tive awards or decorations, ads, signs, calligraphy lessons and familytrees Strike up good relationships with wedding and event plannerswho can refer your services to potential customers If your clients arehappy, they’ll tell their friends and co-workers who will call or e-mailyou to find out more about your services Depending on the task athand, you can either charge by the line or by the hour Offer a servicefor rush jobs, at extra charge, if you can work under pressure and putjobs together quickly

invi-Providing Business Services

More businesses are turning to outside help as they downsize and

look for ways to cut costs If you can provide services for local

busi-nesses that can save them money or time, you can create a financially

successful business with your talents and skills The following examples

are only a few of the business services you may want to consider

¬ Tax Preparer Although it can be expensive to become a licensed tax

preparer, if you are already working for a company that prepares

taxes that has paid for your training and licensing, you can put that

knowledge and certification to work for yourself in the evenings and

on weekends during the tax season (from mid-January to mid-April)

Some employers may require you to work for a certain period of time

if they foot the bill to train you, but there is no reason why you can’t

start something for yourself on the side A caveat: Your employer may

have a non-compete clause in your contract that does not allow you

to take clients with you So, it might be worth starting your own

busi-ness on the side before you quit your full-time job This will allow you

to build up a client base Once you start working for yourself, hold

informational seminars at your local library or community college Offer

a discount for your services to those who attend, and they’ll be more

willing to try your services

The qualifications that a business desires in a tax preparer usually

re-volve around a CPA license Most business executives view the CPA

credential to be an important criterion in their hiring process So even

if you won’t be doing any auditing, you might want to consider getting

a CPA license And, if you do, advertise that fact It’s also helpful to

join a professional organization like the American Institute of Certified

Public Accountants (AICPA) found at www.aicpa.org or the

Na-tional Association of Tax Practitioners (NATP) at www.natptax.com.

Membership in a professional organization typically means that the

accountant is current in the various areas of accounting and tax law

changes If you belong to a professional organization, advertise that

fact, too Even if you don’t intend to get your CPA license, you should

look into a reputable tax preparation class H&R Block, a leading taxpreparation company, offers a 12-week tax course for about $80 toanyone wanting to gain an understanding of how to prepare a taxreturn The course is a write-off so don’t worry about the cost Be-sides, you’ll earn that money back in no time from your first few cli-ents In addition to learning about the intricacies of preparing an indi-vidual tax return, the course also covers recent changes to the taxcode, provides you with a better understanding of tax law and withstrategies on how to save money now and in the future For moreinformation on the H&R Block Income Tax Course, call (888) 271-

6343 or visit the company’s Web site at http://hrblock.com/

taxcourses.

If you do plan on getting your license, start studying now The processcan be long (for some it can take as many as five or more years!) andarduous…but it will pay off in the end When you pass the exam,throw yourself a party This way, your friends, family associates andacquaintances will know that you’re a CPA And, if you belong to anyorganizations or community groups (e.g., church groups), see if youcan offer classes on money management and taxes (e.g., through theSunday School) If you have to offer your services free at first to build

a reputation, don’t worry It will pay off in the long run Look intohomeschooling organizations They usually allow free ads in their news-letters

You’ll need a computer and printer, tax prep software, tax forms on

CD and some file cabinets for organization You may even want toinvest in software, such as TurboTax Home and Office (usually around

$75 including the state software), or TaxAct (costs around $95 cluding state software) Register with the IRS as a tax preparer andyou’ll receive their newsletter and Package X (a package of tax forms)

in-As a tax preparer for individuals, you can earn anywhere from $25 to

$50 or more an hour working out of your own home You can alsoprepare or assist in preparing tax returns for business clients year round

to increase your earnings Most people ask for referrals from friendsand colleagues when tax time comes around Before starting a job,

set up an interview where you discuss the cost of services and

esti-mate the cost for the job at hand You should base fees on the

com-plexity of the return Never base fees on the size of the tax saving or

refund and never guarantee a refund before completing a return

It may help to have expertise in a few business or professional areas

If, for example, you are preparing a physician or child care worker’s

taxes, you would want to have experience in that particular area

¬ Accountant/Bookkeeper If you are already working as an

accoun-tant for a company and enjoy what you do, you can head out on your

own and open your own general accounting business If you want to

specialize in an area such as taxation or financial planning, you’ll need

more training If you want to be a CPA, you’ll need even more

train-ing (a four or five-year upper level education program) You must be

good with numbers and have great organizational skills in order to be

an adequate bookkeeper The best market to target in this type of

position is other small business owners who may not be able to afford

a full-time accountant to handle their financial recordkeeping You can

work with businesses and individuals on everything from tax planning

and preparation, to monthly financial reports, audits and billing and

payroll services

The equipment you’ll need for this business varies depending on who

you’re working for If you’re working for a small business, you can

probably use their fax machine, copier and computer but you may

want to invest in some of your own equipment as well, including

soft-ware, reference books and the yearly tax guide (this alone will set you

back about $500) As with other small start-ups, print fliers and place

ads Once you get a few clients you’ll also be able to market yourself

via word of mouth Join business and community organizations to get

things going

¬ Financial Planner This is another business that is easy and cheap

if you’re already working for someone else in this capacity However,

if you have a knack for investing and a good way with people, you

might consider starting a small financial planning business As the

prom-ise of Social Security dims, there are many people who need help to

ensure that they are able to retire comfortably As a financial planner,you can work with individuals, families and small businesses to ana-lyze, set and achieve financial goals If you already have expertise inaccounting, taxation, finance or business law, you may not need certi-fication.

This type of business thrives on networking It’s a business primarilybuilt on personal relationships that translate into word-of-mouth re-ferrals to family, friends and co-workers It wouldn’t hurt to invest in

a few fliers, advertisements or direct-mail campaigns to bring in moreclients

This business usually requires you to have your own computer withspreadsheet, word processing and database software And, depend-ing on the services you intend to offer, you may want to invest infinancial and investment analysis software or useful trade publications

¬ Medical or Legal Transcriptionist If you are a quick and

accu-rate typist, you can begin a home transcription business with an vestment in a tape player outfitted with transcription foot pedals Doc-tors office staff members are often too busy to transcribe notes frommeetings with patients and dictated letters, and this service can beextremely valuable If you can find psychiatrists or psychologists whotrust your adherence to confidentiality, you will discover that they of-ten have more of this type of work than general practice doctors Thesame principle holds true for law offices Often there is more tran-scription work than the regular staff can handle, particularly in thearea of depositions and dictated legal memos or other correspon-dence Because your clients will not have to pay for the overhead ofhaving a full-time transcriptionist on staff, you will be providing them aneeded service at a cheaper price As you add clients, you can ex-pand your business and potentially turn the transcribing over to youremployees

in-Additional business services ideas:

• Translator As the business economy continues to expand globally,

more companies are looking for qualified, accurate translation

ser-vices If you are fluent in a language other than English, you can target

companies that serve markets in a specific country or area of the world

You can also offer your services via a Web site or through e-mail,

allowing you to pull in more clients from other areas

• Computer Consultant When it comes to computers, there are still

people out there who have no idea how to do anything beyond turning

the power on (some people even have a hard time with that) As a

computer consultant, you can offer repair services, training and setup,

as well as needs assessments and recommendation services for

busi-nesses or individuals looking to overhaul or replace their current

com-puter systems For an additional fee you can offer to design and install

networks If you already have a computer, once you have the

neces-sary training or certification, you can teach others on client premises

or out of your own home and charge anywhere from $25 to $150 an

hour, depending on the services requested If you want to make a little

more cash, offer to teach on-premises workshops for local businesses

Or offer to teach an Internet family course and promote it through

local schools, libraries and the YMCA

Place ads in local papers, online classifieds and the Yellow Pages

Print up fliers and post them on bulletin boards all around town,

in-cluding supermarkets, community centers and gyms

If you’re still not sure about the type of business you want to start,

think more about what you like to do as well as what service business is

needed in your area We’ve touched on a few, but other ideas include:

online researcher, personal coach, personal trainer, program coordinator,

nutritional consultant, dietician, seamstress or tailor, costume designer,

make-up artist, event choreography, woodwork refinishing service,

pub-licist, elder care, cleaning service, nanny service, etc For more ideas,

browse the miscellaneous job ads on sites such as Craigslist.com or

Yahoo.com Just think of what you love, and what other people need,

and you’re on your way to your own service-oriented business!