Posted by Maya Pillai

Your full-time job would be rewarding in terms of great pay and the benefits associated with the job. To generate a side income, you should contemplate starting a home-based business. It can be homemade cookies and cakes, consultation, web designing, tutoring or anything that you are passionate about. Working for yourself requires a lot of discipline and sacrifice and is not doubt riskier than holding a day job. Doing a home-based business is a side income as well as a stress buster if you choose a business that aligns with your core competencies and passion. Before you start your venture do a basic market research. This will give you a first-hand idea about how many people will be interested in buying your services or products.

5 Best business ideas to start from home:

From online blogging to selling home-made products there are many small businesses that you can start without having to spend ton of money. We have put together a few home-based startups that you can consider starting to bring in additional income.

Virtual assistants- Thanks to the advance in cloud-computing, many organizations are hiring remote professionals on contract basis. If you have skills required, for instance, administrative skills then virtual assistance is a perfect opportunity for you. Virtual assistants are similar to personal assistants who manage the work that a business owner does not have time to do. Virtual assistants open and answer emails, follow up calls to the vendors and customers, invoicing the customers, and more. All these tasks can be done from home via the cloud.

Blogging- If you have good written communication skills, is passionate, and have expertise on a specific domain consider starting your own blog. You can blog about the latest news in your area of expertise, share tips and provide insights into your area of knowledge. Sign up for pay-per-click program that will advertisements on your website. When visitors of your blog click on one of these ads, you get paid. It’s also a form of revenue. You can also blog for other firms. Successful bloggers earn income through articles, online posts, and regular columns. They also have a good number of fanfare following in the various social channels.

Web Design or Web Development- Many small businesses would want to host their websites. Usually, startups are cash-strapped to pay an established professional web designing and development company. Here is where your expertise come into play. If you have the bandwidth to design websites and have a close friend who has in- depth knowledge of web development, tag him also in. You can offer your services to those small businesses who want to have websites at economical costs.

Tutoring- There is a great demand for teachers. If you are passionate about tutoring, turn that into a profitable business. You should meet the school district officials and school principals to understand their requirements. To offer successful tutoring service, you should have in-depth subject knowledge, excellent credentials and competitive pricing. Start small by tutoring students either at their homes or your home, at school or at any location of their preference.

Local Business Consulting- If you’re an expert marketer, manufacturing aficionado, or business strategist, consider offering your consulting services to local business owners who are willing to pay you for your services. For this you need to have the right kind of credentials, certifications and relevant experience within your industry.

Many of us may not have the luxury to quit day jobs to start a home-based business without having to worry about how we are going to meet the financial requirements. Once you have decided on your home-based startup research on the Internet for cloud-based accounting, invoicing, CRM software and finance management software. Many reputed firms give their basic package software free of cost or at minimal cost. Consider using them in your business right from the inception to help you streamline your processes, keep track of your customers, to analyze the cash flow and finally to set milestones to reach your goals.