10 Fun Careers to Start from Home

Author and expert Lisa Kanarek reveals ten great ideas for home-based businesses – and the moneymaking potential behind them

• Blogger: Share your hobbies, interests and your experience through a blog. Set up a simple blog through Blogger or create a more elaborate blog using WordPress. The amount you can earn from your blog depends on how you monetize it or make it profitable, including offering webinars, or selling ads, e-books and products (yours or products from other blogs).

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  Blogger or create a more elaborate blog using WordPress. The amount you can earn from your blog depends on how you monetize it or make it profitable, including offering webinars, or selling ads, e-books and products (yours or products from other blogs).">

• Home party consultant Throwing parties for friends can be fun. Throwing weekly sales parties for friends and their friends can be even more enjoyable and profitable. Whether you’re a consultant for Silpada (Avon just bought the company for $650 million), the Pampered Chef or another reputable direct sales company, you can turn your skills at entertaining into a profitable home-based business. According to the Silpada site, a rep can earn around $2,200 per month by hosting two Home Parties per week.

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  Silpada (Avon just bought the company for $650 million), the Pampered Chef or another reputable direct sales company, you can turn your skills at entertaining into a profitable home-based business. According to the Silpada site, a rep can earn around $2,200 per month by hosting two Home Parties per week. ">

• Professional organizer:If you have a place for everything and everything in your home is in its place – the lack of a junk drawer is your first clue – then there’s a place for you in the organizing field. As a professional organizer (there’s even an association for professional organizers) you can help others turn chaos into order and turn your organizing skills into a full-time business. Professional organizers charge anywhere from $25 to $100 per hour, possibly more based on experience and the level of clientele.

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  association for professional organizers) you can help others turn chaos into order and turn your organizing skills into a full-time business. Professional organizers charge anywhere from $25 to $100 per hour, possibly more based on experience and the level of clientele. ">

• Online seller: When you sell products online, your virtual store and cash register are open 24/7, which means you can make money while you sleep. You can buy products and resell them on eBay or make your own products and list them on Etsy. The types of products you sell (reasonably priced or high end), along with how many competitors you have will affect how much money you can earn.

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  eBay or make your own products and list them on Etsy. The types of products you sell (reasonably priced or high end), along with how many competitors you have will affect how much money you can earn. ">

• Freelance writer: Websites, magazines and your local newspaper are always looking for good writers to contribute articles. A few sites including Elance and Guru list other types of writing jobs, from creating company newsletters to updating instruction manuals to ghostwriting books. The types of freelance writing gigs available are all over the place. So are the fees you can earn.

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  Elance and Guru list other types of writing jobs, from creating company newsletters to updating instruction manuals to ghostwriting books. The types of freelance writing gigs available are all over the place. So are the fees you can earn.">

• Image consultant: In business, image is everything. While finding the right look may be easy for you, it’s undoubtedly excruciating for someone else. Turn your fashion sense into a full-time business by helping clients find the right clothes and accessories to fit their career. Along with fashion advice that includes hair and makeup, image consultants work with clients to improve their social skills and professional image. An image consultant can earn between $50 and $300 per hour based on experience and education. The Association of Image Consultants International offers courses.

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  Association of Image Consultants International offers courses. ">

• Interior decorator Turn the compliments your friends and family give you about your home into a career as an interior decorator. Not only will clients pay for your time, they’ll pay for the resources you’ve discovered that carry the right furniture and accessories for their home. You can create your own decorating business or become a franchisee with an established decorating company. An interior decorator can earn between $55 and $85 per hour, depending on the project and the client.

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  your own decorating business or become a franchisee with an established decorating company. An interior decorator can earn between $55 and $85 per hour, depending on the project and the client. ">

• Event plannerDo you throw parties that would make Martha Stewart envious? Your attention to detail and your ability to coordinate florists, caterers and hired staff are skills for which others will pay for the special events in their lives. Also, your knack for staying calm under pressure will give your clients the chance to enjoy their events while you make sure everything goes as planned. As an event planner, you can charge by the hour or by the event.

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  event planner, you can charge by the hour or by the event.">

• ConciergeThink about the last time you stayed in a nice hotel and you needed dinner reservations, your dry cleaning picked up and delivered, a package mailed … You get the idea. The person who likely handled those annoying yet necessary details was the concierge. As a concierge you can offer the same services to individuals or to corporate clients. Time is money and those with more money than time will hire someone to handle various tasks. A concierge can earn between $35 and $100 for basic services and depending on the clientele, up to hundreds of dollars per hour.

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  concierge can earn between $35 and $100 for basic services and depending on the clientele, up to hundreds of dollars per hour.">

• Virtual assistant: A home-based business owner has to juggle several roles, including accountant, marketing director, technical department and sales rep, among others. As a virtual assistant, you can lend an extra hand by helping business owners manage their online image, create marketing materials, book travel and handle administrative details. Best of all, you can work with clients who are across town or across the country. According to the Alliance for Virtual Businesses, virtual assistants earn anywhere from $25 to $100 per hour, based on experience.

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  Alliance for Virtual Businesses, virtual assistants earn anywhere from $25 to $100 per hour, based on experience. ">

Taking the first steps to starting your own business can be challenging and scary. But it can also be rewarding — especially when your idea goes from a dream to reality. While you may have the drive and determination to work for yourself, how do you know which business will let you showcase your experience, talent and skills?

Start your journey by thinking about your hobbies and interests; then, ask yourself whether you could turn them into a business. Whether you have an eye for fashion, a knack for organizing or enjoy shopping (with other people’s money), there’s a model out there for you. The question isn’t whether you’re ready to work for yourself, but rather the type of enterprise you want to start. The ten businesses in the slideshow above should spark your creative juices, help you discover skills you may not realize you have and put you on the road to home-based success.

Editor’s Note: Lisa Kanarek is one of the nation’s leading home office experts, an interior designer and the author of several home office books. She is the founder of HomeOfficeLife, a firm that advises corporations and individuals on all aspects of working from home. Follow Lisa on her work-from-home blog WorkingNaked.com.