To ask you to please help me for business ideas?

[Tobythecat]

I'm in the ESA WRAG group and I keep getting interviews by phone from a lady at the Job centre to try and start work. I have ASD so am very limited in what sort of work I can do. I could work from home and maybe go self-employed, which is what my ESA adviser has suggested and that I should get a business plan together ready for our next meeting in 6 months.

I would love to work, it would give me so much purpose. The only thing I can think of is selling handmade/crafty items on ebay, or selling my artwork on Etsy, but I doubt that with pay my rent or cover my bills.

Does anyone have any ideas about what I could do/make/sell?

Have you studied art or craft? If not, might that be a good idea? The lady who'se calling you about all this might be able to help.

It seems a very odd line for her to take given the fact that you have ASD....not that this means you can't or should not start a business...but to expect you to just "come up with a buiness plan" with no support, seems odd!

Dog walkers / pet sitters do really well in my area going by the amount of business cards I get from them! I would think its quite fun as well if you like animals.
And there's no experience or spending needed on your part which is good for starting out, crafting bits can be expensive if you want to make anything worthwhile.

I know several people who make crafty things and sell them. None of them make a living wage, it just tops up other sources of income.

The self-employed jobs which tend to make a living wage usually need specific skills (tradesmen, accountant etc.) and/or a fair bit of sociability and marketing effort (cleaner, gardener etc.)

Pet care / sitting might be a good thought but again you need to be happy to get out and speak to strangers to get the business. Is that something you feel you could do?

I have a long background in this. Making crafty things & selling on Etsy is not a business - it's an expensive hobby, so forget about that for now. If you do have a creative talent for something that is truly outstanding, you are better selling into shops directly, but even then it is nigh on impossible to make a living for quite some time doing it.

Other things you can do from home:

Virtual assistant

Ironing

Running a cleaning service - if you are a very well organised person you could do something like this. There is software to help you - www.launch27.com/

Do you have any writing or IT skills? Web designer, freelance writing, graphic design - there are lots of ideas on People Per Hour.

Don't get sucked in by Techpixies.

You could retrain in something - check out Udemy for stuff that catches your eye. Excel, data management - these are things that might suit you.

I used to work as an audio typist from home. The pay is very poor and I used to work my fingers to the bone to earn a pittance.
I struggle to go out or travel due to anxiety and am also wracking my brains for work I can do from home.

Please don't believe any multilevel marketing hype either!!!