Have you ever thought about starting a small business in addition to your full-time job? It definitely takes some work, but a cheap side business could easily earn you an additional $10,000 a year. Or better yet, if you grow it large enough it could even replace your day job! If you have been considering a cheap side business for some time, but have not yet come up with an idea, consider the five options below. They don’t require any specialized training to get started, and the cost of start-up is very minimal. Want to start a small business – today is the day!
1) Car Detailing
The average cost to get a car detailed today is about $150. If you have cleaned both the inside and the outside of your car before, then you’re qualified to become a professional car detailer. It really doesn’t take that much know-how. To provide a quality service in the car detail business, you should plan to do the following:
- Exterior car wash
- Exterior wax
- Interior vacuum
- Interior dash and door cleaning
- Interior shampoo
If you plan to do a quality job in all of these areas, then expect to spend between four to six hours on each car. Charge $100 and you can undercut the competition and earn $20 an hour. Not too shabby for a cheap side income!
2) House Cleaning
To get started in the house cleaning business, you not only have to know how to clean, but you need to be trustworthy. Home owners need to have a sense of comfort when you are in their bedrooms, bathrooms, and near the resident’s valuables. If you have a background of being untrustworthy, then this probably ins’t the right job for you.
For those of you that have many connections in the area and people enjoy having you around, then house cleaning might be a pretty easy and cheap side business for you. The going rate for a house cleaner today is $20-$25 an hour, and it will require you to vacuum, dust, polish, and mop. If you can handle this work and can find yourself just 10 customers, then you could be earning $1,000 a month in no-time!
3) Blogging
I started blogging about five years ago because I absolutely loved personal finance. I went to college to study finance and was always fascinated with the idea of earning money and investing for the future. When I figured out a few things in my own personal finance life, I just wanted to tell everyone! When it seemed that my close circle of friends didn’t really care what I had to say, I took my thoughts online. For just $44, I was able to start my very own .com site. Little did I know that it was going to turn into such a success!
After just one year, I was consistently earning about $1,000 a month or more. Unfortunately, the blogging business has changed a little since those early years, but this amount of money can still be made. If you enjoy writing about finance, family, or fitness, then you could probably earn a pretty decent amount after a year of hard work.
4) Pet Sitting/Walking
When I lived in Boca Raton, FL, I noticed two things:
- Hardly anyone had kids
- Almost everyone had a pet
Basically, people did not want the responsibility of children, but still wanted to care for something that took a little less effort. Therefore, many people bought dogs and cats instead of conceiving children!
Because these people had no children, their discretionary income was often much higher than those with larger families. Therefore, their dogs got absolutely spoiled! These people paid for dog training, for their dog to be walked during the day, and for their pets to be cared for by a close friend instead of a heartless kennel operation. I watched many dogs during my stay in Florida and earned $30 a day for doing practically nothing. In addition to this, you could start a dog walking service for some additional cash.
The market for dog services is exploding. If you want to capitalize on this cheap side business idea, then now is the time.
5) Buy and Sell For Profit
If you have a few hundred bucks in your bank account and are interested in starting a cheap side business, then I might suggest that you start browsing around a few garage sales in the area. Get a feel for what things cost at the garage sale vs. what you see on Craigslist or eBay. I have seen many people invest their money in kids sporting equipment and ski equipment and make a killing when that season rolled around again. They could pick up a pair of skis at a garage sale for $10 and then sell them on Craigslist for $60 or more a few months later.
Find a niche that works for you and see if you can turn a few profits. The hardest part about getting your side business off the ground is just getting it started, and operational. Once you get the hang of it, I bet you could earn hundreds if not thousands of dollars in profits every month.
Are you thinking about starting your own cheap side business?
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