In past articles, I have discussed working at home for other companies either as an Independent Contractor or as an employee. Of course as an Independent Contractor you are self employed and you are able to set your own work schedule, controlling the number of hours you wish to work and what time of the day or night you wish to work.
Now let’s take inventory of your skills and see how they can be turned into positions where you can work at home but starting your very own in home business. I am going to tell you about some people who have successfully started their very own businesses and I want you to mentally go through your own skills and see how they could relate to some of these people.
Sally worked for a local doctor’s office where she did all of the insurance claim work. She not only did the transcriptions of the medical files but she also handled the medical coding of all the paperwork that was submitted to various insurance companies in order to get paid for the company’s service to their patients. Sally loved her job; she worked Monday through Thursday from 9am to 4pm with an hour for lunch. On Fridays they only worked from 9am until Noon. Then Sally learned that she was pregnant and was concerned about working after the baby was born. The doctor that she worked for gave her a wonderful suggestion. Why not set up her own business at home doing medical transcriptions and medical coding for a group of doctors there in the building where she now works. She thought many of the other doctors would be receptive to the idea because they would not have to put her on their payroll as an employee, she would be an independent contractor. Sally followed up on this suggestion by making phone calls to some of the doctors to get their opinions on this idea. She didn’t actually ask them if they would hire her to do their work, all she did was ask for their opinions. They were extremely interested and gave her some great suggestions. By the end of the conversations she had many of them telling her to contact them when she was ready to start her business.
Sally ended up working for her doctor from home the last couple months of her pregnancy reducing her schedule to part time but enough so that she still had her insurance coverage for the delivery of her baby. On weekends Sally designed her brochures and price list to give to her potential clients. She made her contact list of doctors and drafted the cover letter she would use to introduce her new business. When her baby was 6 weeks old, Sally launched her business. She started out with just a few offices to work for which was fine, it allowed her to have time to spend with her new son as well as brought in income for the family. As her son grew, so did her business and she is no longer able to accept any new clients at this time.
Ed was a Navy man, having worked aboard a submarine tender for over 10 years repairing submarines. He was also a family man and loved to tinker around the house building and repairing things. But now he was retired and what was he going to do with his time? After several years of working as a consultant to many large companies, he decided he wanted something a little less stressful where he could utilize his skills in doing home repairs and maintenance so he started his own business where his company would go into homes or apartments after the tenants moved out and would do all the repairs and repainting work. Then the recession hit and business tapered off and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. You have heard the expression of taking a sow’s ear and making a silk purse out of it? That is what he did. He contacted the different banks and mortgage companies that had repossessed homes and offered his company’s services to restore them so they could be put on the market and resold.
Fred was a free-spirit, a loner with an entrepreneurial spirit. He didn’t like working for someone else and was very inventive about finding ways to be self employed. At one time he drove a delivery truck for a company that delivered supplies to the Indian reservation in Flagstaff, Arizona. He loved that job it gave him lots of freedom, he worked alone basically, doing his route in the truck. Then his son was injured in a terrible automobile accident. He wanted and needed more flexibility and that is when he decided to become a taxi driver with his own cab, subcontracting with a company there in Flagstaff. He could set his own work schedule so that he could be off when his son needed him.
David and Jennifer were terrific cooks. David had worked for some VIP’s in Texas as their personal Chef as well as working for several Country Clubs. Jennifer didn’t have professional experience as a cook; she was just darn good at it, specializing in French cooking and elegant deserts. They purchased an established restaurant that was for sale in a small tourist town in Arkansas. They redid the interior themselves since both of them have that wonderful interior decorating talent. They established a new menu and business flourished. They had the business for several years when an offer was made to purchase it that they couldn’t refuse! They sold the restaurant and returned to Texas to be near family.
Mary runs a licensed in-home day care business. She originally worked for a bank until she married and had her first child. They had decided that once they started their family that she would work from home so that she could spend time with their children. Mary did her day care up until after her 2nd child reached school age. At that time she became an independent contractor working at home for several companies doing customer service work. After several years, she became pregnant again so she temporarily shelved her independent contractor positions and has returned to operating her day care business. She has enrolled in online college classes that began this January and is now working towards her degree in Elementary Education. She figures that she can work in the classroom or as an online tutor over the Internet.
Anne has two children in school and two at home who are still in diapers! She wants to bring in extra money to help the family budget but her time to work is limited. To relax she loves to sew, making baby accessory items and personalized baby gifts which are monogrammed bibs and blankets. So why not take that talent and turn it into an on-line internet business? There is a website called Etsy.com which specializes in letting you set up a “store” on their website very reasonable and the nice thing is that your products must be handmade. Right now many people want to purchase items that are handmade or handcrafted. She is now in the planning stages of starting her own on line shop.
As a youngster Scott learned to be a magician. He had mastered the art of sawing people in half, pulling rabbits out of hats, doing levitation tricks and the ability to perform these tricks at parties and get paid to do so. He had a gift of gab and was a wonderful entertainer. I knew him when he was only 15 and he was able to put on a wonderful magic show at that age. I’ve often wondered what he ended up doing when he grew up.
If you are out there and reading this Scott McKeon from Grand Rapids, Michigan, give me a shout!
What I have tried to show you here are ordinary people who have taken their personal God given talents and used them to make a living for themselves. Now not all of them are millionaires for sure, but they are doing what makes them happy and gives them the feeling of fulfillment. You can do this too!
I go to the craft shows where I am in awe of all the wonderful products for sale. Everything from handcrafted soaps, homemade honey, candles, household goods, interior decorations for your home, to homemade quilts and hand knit or crocheted items.
I am constantly answering my door to people who have started their own businesses from tree trimming to lawn mowing or as an independent carrier for the local newspapers. Now tell me why one of those lawn mowing people didn't buy a shovel or two and do snow removal this past couple of weeks?
We have one local grocery store here who has a terrific service. You can contact them by phone or the internet and give them your grocery order. One of their employees will do your shopping for you. Once completed, they call you and give you the total to which a delivery fee or pickup fee is added. You pay for it by charge card or debit card. You can come into the store and your order will be waiting for you, or if you paid for delivery, your groceries will be delivered right to your front door. I personally see how this could be turned into your own home business.
Are the wheels spinning yet? I hope so!
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