Does starting a home business worth your time?
When everybody stays indoors because of health hazards outdoors, with nothing to do, we might waste time by scrolling through our social media accounts for whatever amuses us.
But why not think of something that will benefit us more instead of watching those furry little kittens?
Let’s make our stay at home more meaningful, and incomeful (I just made up that word). 😅
If you’re one of the typical mid-class workers, chances are, you don’t have enough savings to pull out.
To make matters worse, COVID-19 came disrupting everyone’s ability to earn a living!
A VA (Virtual Assistant) or an employee of a BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) company will not struggle to work from home.
But for most people in the no-work-no-pay category, resources are drying. And for some, it might have dried out already!
Who would have thought there would be a global pandemic?
I hope that this event will serve as a reminder to all of us.
Let’s prepare for a contingency plan that will shield us from a future crisis similar to what is happening today.
Would you agree that starting a home business NOW, more than ever, is a must?
What Do you Need to Get Started?
Having money at hand is essential nowadays. But it’s the least you can think of when starting a home business.
FIRST, what matters is the proper mindset.
Ask yourself, “Why do I need to do this?”
If the answer is just for the sake of making money, then that’s too shallow.
For now, let’s make our versions of FREEDOM be our goals.
Let’s lay down the foundation needed towards it. From there, we have our first step.
But what is FREEDOM anyway?
Here’s one version of FREEDOM that I picked from the live business training I’ve attended.
The coach says — “It is the ability to CHOOSE what to do with your time and money.”
You might take the statement with a grain of salt. Still, it makes sense.
If you lack either time or money, then you don’t have a choice; what’s worse is you don’t have both. If you can’t choose, then you don’t have freedom!
Also, take notice of the preposition with he used instead of for; just by changing a word will drastically change the sentence’s meaning.
Starting a home business is simple, but not as easy as it may seem. It is not something that flourishes in a day. You will experience many distractions from all corners. So you need to be deliberate in dealing with it.
Fix your mind on the end goal and have patience. It’s like being in a tunnel focusing on what’s yummy at the end. 😁
By the time you see results and ready to scale up your business, then you are likely to earn much more than in your job.
From there, you’ll start seeing those choices. Freedom will be on the horizon!
So, are you up for the task?
The Traditional Way of starting a Home Business
In Asian countries like the Philippines, there are many business opportunities that you can start right from the comfort of your home.
Examples are:
Small Scale Carinderia
Some people (mostly non-Filipinos), might not know what a carinderia means. It’s just a food stall with a small seating area.
Typically, you can see these stalls on a roadside or in a market. But you can also set this up within your neighborhood.
If you love cooking or have the know-how, this business will be a breeze.
But even if you don’t have enough knowledge of cookery, there is still hope! You can find lots of recipes and how-to procedures online to help you with that.
Start with a few numbers of viand to serve.
The tools needed, which probably you already have, won’t be a problem.
A stove and basic kitchenwares are all you need.
Small Bakeshop
Like the food stall that we just mentioned, setting up a small bakeshop has a similar process.
You need some skills, though.
But again, if you have little to no knowledge about baking but still want to pursue it, all are available online.
And if you wish for laser-focused teaching, you can go to learning platforms like Skillshare or Udemy to learn the stuff.
Let me share a success story of a small bakeshop in my neighborhood.
Just beside the road, the baker extended his house and made an opening to make it look like the typical bakeshop.
Even before the Enhanced Community Quarantine, the baker only has one type of bread in his bakeshop; and that is pan de sal. Believe it or not, his business thrives!
Looking inside the bakeshop, you’ll only see three things; a table used to prepare the dough, a gas oven, and a display cabinet. That’s it!
It only shows that even in rough times, you can’t make excuses and not earn extra income.
Set-Up a Neighborhood Sundry Store
If you are a Filipino, you know this as your usual sari-sari store.
You don’t need specialized skills if you want to go on this route. Math is essential, though.
If you don’t have competitions in your neighborhood, that’s a good sign that your business will grow.
The downside is if one or more neighbors compete with you. And unfortunately, it happens most of the time.
A sundry store is ubiquitous in the Philippines. That is why my assessment, you can’t scale this one up. Scratch this out on your list of options.
The Online Way of Starting a Home Business
Let’s go to the fun part of building a business.
Have you thought of a better place to start a home business than establishing it online? We call it internet marketing.
Although you might need some small startup capital for this, it will not break your budget.
Besides the money and your willingness to push through, you’ll only need a laptop or PC, the internet, and imagination.
We can categorize internet marketing into some common examples below.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a fantastic business model!
Here, you will build an eCommerce store with no bulk purchasing, having a warehouse, or keeping an inventory.
With the proper guidance in making stores with the likes of AliDrpoship and Shopify, you can never go wrong.
With Alidropship’s plugin, you build your own for as low as $89 and can go even lower during promos.
If you want to go with Shopify, that too is an excellent choice!
Drop Servicing
Drop Servicing is almost the same as Dropshipping.
We also know it as Service Arbitrage. Instead of selling physical products, you are selling services (i.e., copywriting, Web Designing, Freelance Writing, Ghostwriting, Graphic Designs Video Editing/Animation/Creation, etc.)
Your job is like an online middleman. With your website, you’re the one who will outsource the services for potential clients.
Blogging
From what I have heard, Blogging is the mother of social media.
True or not, Blogging is here to stay. Having one is an asset too.
Just a reminder — working with a blog needs persistence. It always takes time for a blog to rank organically in search engines, so you also need patience. But it is rewarding when you see those analytics graphs go up.
Blogging is still the best way to start a business online, dirt cheap!
To know more about the subject’s essentials, read my post on HOW TO START BLOGGING IN THE PHILIPPINES: THE BASICS and WHY STARTING A BLOG IS A GOOD IDEA BEFORE & AFTER PANDEMIC.
What you need is an idea, a niche to work with, a domain name, and hosting.
Affiliate Marketing
If you are cash strapped but want to sell or work with something that pays online without the need to own a product, then affiliate marketing is for you.
Affiliate yourself with brands you love like Lazada, Shopee, Banggood, AliExpress, and other famous names. Go to Involve Asia’s site that houses them all and get a free account.
Speaking of Shopee, check out my post at the HOW-TO GUIDE TO SHOPEE AFFILIATE PROGRAM THROUGH INVOLVE ASIA.
If your focus is with Lazada, please visit the post HERE. Both articles will walk you through detailed instructions, from how to have a free account with Involve Asia to generating your first affiliate link.
Affiliate marketing works best with Blogging.
But if you don’t have a website yet, you can still market with your social media accounts, i.e., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
Creating contents in YouTube
No startup money? — No problem!
We all know that in terms of video content, YouTube is a monster!
Who would have thought you could make money just by creating videos and posting it on its platform?
With just your mobile phone, a Gmail account, the internet, plus ideas and creativity, you can build a following and eventually a stream of income with YouTube.
Entertainment and informational videos are two types you can create that will generate the highest viewership.
To wrap it up!
Who would have thought a global health problem would take place?
How does it feel to be under quarantine without the source of income for over a month?
The feeling might be crippling.
You have read some ideas for starting a home business. Also, you now have the choice to change things for the better!
And if ever an event of the same or higher proportion would befall us (heaven forbid!), you have prepared for it, at least financially.
Choose one. Focus on it. Make it work. And pray.
Once it becomes profitable, you can then scale up your business.
I hope I have given you some sound advice from this post.
Stay safe, guys!