My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

AIBU?

To wonder what all these businesses from home are?!? Inspiration please!!

44 replies

mrsw14 · 23/02/2017 11:38

I have a well paid job with good hours that unfortunately I've come to despise. I desperately hate being there and have got through the last few years by telling myself I'm lucky to work the hours I do for the pay I get.. But I really can't do it much longer, it's starting to make me ill. The only option I can think of to be able to keep the same kind of hours is to become self employed. But doing what..??
I keep seeing people on here and FB saying how they run a business from home, please please give me some inspiration. What kind of business from home are all these people able to set up and run?? I can't think of anything I could just set up and run from home Confused

OP posts:
Applebite · 23/02/2017 11:43

No advice from me, as I wonder the same thing. Just don't get suckered into becoming a Forever Living bot or a sparkly fucking business fairy :)

mrsw14 · 23/02/2017 11:46

Oh god, never! Definitely nothing make up/party from home crap related please

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 23/02/2017 11:47

I keep seeing people on here and FB saying how they run a business from home

Me too, but they never actually say what sort of business it is.

Mind you, I know a few Mums who claim to run a 'business' from home, but they're either Ebaying second-hand shite or sticking glitter on photo frames.

I think a lot of the time, it's said to stop people asking what they do all day.

CaoNiMa · 23/02/2017 11:54

It's most probably MLMs.

MissCherryCakeyBun · 23/02/2017 11:56

I also want to know as I can't seem to find anything that's not eBay or glittery shit related

MissisBoote · 23/02/2017 11:59

Book keeping
Cake maker
Crafty type stuff
Virtual pa
Photographer
Garden designer
Freelance project manager
Freelance events planner

OpalFruitsMarathonsandSpira · 23/02/2017 12:00

A lot of mlm workers think they run their own business from home. Technically they do, but it's not a real business.

So some ideas are:
Accountant
Web design
Cake decorating
Country kitchen meals or other food products (supplied to local convenience stores)
Bloggers are technically running their own business
Childminding
Proof reading (don't know how you would get into that)
Ironing service
Tutoring including musical instrument instruction.
Nail technician
Beauty therapy
Hair dressing

...

And so on! If you have the confidence and the skill the customers will come to you and their loyalty is much greater to a cottage industry than a big company, in my experience.

MTB1003 · 23/02/2017 12:00

I'm on a fb site where these are mostly sahm's who always have these amazing business opportunities but you have to in on them to find out more Hmm. It's always that FL or Avon nonsense. Also on this site they are really daft about FL as it's unbelievable that most of them haven't heard of it and sucked in.

OpalFruitsMarathonsandSpira · 23/02/2017 12:01

Business in a box doesn't work. You have to make your own business.

Cyclebird · 23/02/2017 12:04

We run a business from home. It's a care home which we live next door to. DH and I run it together and both have offices in our home. On the one hand it's 24/7 so we're always on call, but it also offers very flexible hours so between us we can pick the kids up from school and attend harvest festivals, school trips etc during the day. We have friends who are property developers who run their business from home and have the same flexibility and two other friends who write exam papers, and mark them, as well as doing freelance work (one with languages and the other with tax). Could you do what you do now, but for yourself and on your own terms? Generally, it seems people who make this work are already qualified in something eg teacher - can write papers/mark them or tutor. Perhaps take some time to think what you're really good at? And beware that the grass is not always greener! I find I have to be much more disciplined when working for myself, it can be lonely with no work mates to chat to, there's no one else to run ideas by - no back up - and no cover if you're feeling poorly. You can't ring in sick and still be paid. On balance I prefer it though. Good luck!

khajiit13 · 23/02/2017 12:05

I know a a couple of people who run a business from home, typically along the lines of web design/graphic design/app design or a combination of those 3.

mrsw14 · 23/02/2017 12:15

Hmm, thanks all. No qualifications or experience in any of the sensible stuff. Should've guessed it would mainly be sales stuff they're all bragging about.
So if I can just work out how to knock out a few grand a month sticking glitter on stuff... Grin

OP posts:
OpalFruitsMarathonsandSpira · 23/02/2017 12:25

mrsw14 what are the skills you have for your well paid job? Could they be transferable?

Masterchuff · 23/02/2017 12:29

I am a freelance administrator. I have several clients who don't need a full time admin but need their paperwork kept in order, insurances organised, appointments made etc. I could earn more but choose to have only a few clients so I'm not encroaching on time with my DD. Luckily I already worked in the industry and was made redundant forcing me to take the jump into a left employment but it's worked out very well for our family.

Masterchuff · 23/02/2017 12:29

*self employment

gwenneh · 23/02/2017 12:29

I do marketing consultancy from home. It's been a long road but I now have a few very stable clients and it's exactly what I did when I had a "regular" job.

DH also does web development from home (on occasion).

TiredMumToTwo · 23/02/2017 12:31

I "work from home" for half the week but it's not my own company - I always assume people mean this? I do know a Mum who "has her own business" but by the sound of it it's just printing off cards and sending them to people as she said she turns down orders for fiddly ones, I can't imagine she makes any money. I did know a couple who had their own advent calendar / greetings cards business which seemed pretty busy but it was more buying in bulk & selling online than making them.

mumblechum0 · 23/02/2017 12:33

I run a will writing business from home. I do home visits in the local area but mostly it's phone/Skype appointments which works well for me.

I was a lawyer in high street practices for 25 years so it was easy enough to set up as a freelancer.

user1484394242 · 23/02/2017 12:33

We started at home, used the loft for storage and sold on ebay, the bedroom was our office. We contacted different wholesalers, most ignored us because we were new but a couple gave us the change we needed to start. We moved house so we could have an office/store room seperate to the rest of the house and now we have the office at home and rent a storage unit. We still work from home because internet isn't strong enough at the unit. It's tough. We don't get a break. We close for 3 weeks over Christmas /New Year but even then there's daily emails to sort and a lot of tidying/stock count to do. The rest of the year we work every single day. If we're not posting orders (weekends/bank holiday), there's still emails, tax return, ordering from wholesalers or sorting out the stock. We're on Amazon now and we can't leave emails for over 24 hours so if we're away or take a day break DH has to make sure to go online a couple times. We work up to 18 hours a day at busy times but it means at least one of us can stop to be with the kids at any time. DH does the majority of the school runs and I hate to leave the house so its perfect for me. It's a heck of a lot more work than working for someone else but we both wouldn't change it for a 9-5. I got Maternity Allowance (I didn't know it existed until I was already pregnant, I just assumed we weren't entitled to Maternity Pay so it was a nice bonus) so I was able to stop working for a few months. The only downside so far was Childcare- because our books were done once a year we didn't know we were entitled to 15 hours nursery from September until July so we missed out on 3 terms. They don't back pay. But apart from that it works for us.

Sorry I can't explain what we sell, it will out us. But we do a big range and change all the time so we don't get bored.

We both had no qualifications, didn't get the opportunity to do college or uni but we did a short business course (free from government) and then DH did Open University accounting.

PuppyMonkey · 23/02/2017 12:35

Freelance journalist working from home here.Smile

GrimDamnFanjo · 23/02/2017 12:39

I have a marketing and web development business and work from home.

emmyhNL · 23/02/2017 12:47

Interesting! If anyone knows any reliable remote project management jobs, let me know. I've struggled to find anything serious

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

Myrobalanna · 23/02/2017 12:49

I run a business from home, but I don't specify because it's identifying.

Basically I only run it from home because I have a spare room and I'm too stingy to pay for an office. I do everything from home that I'd do from an office except have meetings (I organise them in cafes, which in my sector is fine).

My advice is to write a list of your interests
Take each one and work out what sort of person is spending roughly how much money on it, when, and where.

See if you can add value somewhere, or if you have a new take on it. If you can't/don't - move on.

Consider that being a reseller means you are simply taking slightly less of a cut than the person above you in the food chain - not always an efficient way to work. Your own product always equals more profit.

Never do anything just to cover costs - you need money for contingencies and growth.

Don't try to market anything to "everybody" or "as many people as possible" - find a sector that's specialised and hone your approach there. Obviously don't choose a sector where you can see that people prefer not to spend money, unless you have enough experience of the customer type to want to revolutionise the sector and change that.

Programme in exercise because you really can sit at a desk all day working and realise you've registered twenty steps on the fitbit!

EssentialHummus · 23/02/2017 12:52

Editor and writer here, related to my previous career in law.

geordiedench · 23/02/2017 13:06

In our village, off the top of my head, I know people who do the following as home run businesses:

Proof-reader
Copyeditor
Business writer
Tutor (in art, languages, maths, sciences, piano, guitar, English, dyslexia)
Adult Ed tutor in Yoga, Pilates, Creative Writing, Art (all with home based bespoke studios)
Personal Trainer
Dog groomer
Dietician
Professional de-clutterer
Sports physiotherapist
psychotherapist
Jewellery designer (real thing not some weird pyramid scheme of pearls)
Curtain maker
Interior designer
Translator
Ghost writer
Garden designer
International PR
VIP customer services for a major communications company
Accountant


Some of these are a few hours a week, and done to give the woman a bit of her own independent income while she's mainly a SAHM. Some are full-time businesses. Some are major breadwinners in the home. All of these are properly run businesses not weird franchise selling schemes, and all are set up independently by women with relevant training and qualifications.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.