From Work to Home: Choosing a Business Idea
Every Saturday, we´ll be taking a look at a step towards building your own home business. I know there are a lot of moms out there who would like to be work at home moms, but just aren´t sure how to go about it, so this From Work to Home series is designed to take you from developing a business idea to leaving your outside job.
Choosing a Business Idea
Coming up with an idea for your business is obviously the best place to start. Some of you will already have an idea of what you want to do. Some of you may have no ideas, others will have too many ideas. So, we are going to work through a process here to help you find one that works for you. It´s good to have choices, so keep an open mind . . . if one doesn´t work out, there are bound to be others.
Step One
Write down a list of all the jobs you have held. Now add in any hobbies or activities you enjoy doing. This can be absolutely anything at this point. You´ll probably end up with quite a few items on your list. Here´s a small sample of mine:
- Cooking
- Sewing
- Teaching English
- Blogging
- Painting
Notice that I have a mix of regular activities, old jobs and hobbies in there.
Step Two
Once you have your list, pick the five things you enjoy doing most. I only listed five above, so I´ll work with those, you could have a lot more to choose from, which is fine.
For each of the five activities that you enjoy, write three possible ways to earn money from that activity. You can get outside help, this isn´t a quiz! Look online, ask your husband for ideas, etc. If an activity doesn´t seem to have any way to earn money, drop it from the list and pick something else.
Cooking - catering, make frozen meals, bakery
Sewing - seamstress, sew baby clothing to sell, make household items to sell
Teaching English - teach ESL (obviously), write a book on teaching English, online tutoring
Blogging - teach a blogging course, blog for others, set up a network of small niche blogs
Painting – sell paintings, do portraits, illustrate children´s books
As you can see, there are quite a few different ideas that come up. Some of them are viable, others are not. For example, illustrating children´s books isn´t really a business I would want to start, since you have to work with a publisher on that. However, if you write your own children´s books, it could be useful to have illustration talents!
Step Three
Now you have to narrow your ideas down to one or two that you want to carry on with. If none of the ones you have appeal, either brainstorm some more, or select new activities to work with.
It is really worth taking some time to meditate on your chosen idea. Think it through carefully and imagine yourself doing it every day. If you enjoy sewing, do you really want to make it a job? Can you see yourself sewing to the specifications of others day in and day out? If not, take another look at the list.
Next week, we´ll be looking at how to design a business budget so you can start saving some money toward your dream. Stay tuned!
Make sure you don´t miss each step to quitting your job and becoming a work at home mom. Subscribe now to get every post in your feed reader.
[...] Original post by At Home Mom – work at home mom [...]
[...] Original post by At Home Mom – work at home mom [...]
[...] Original post by At Home Mom – work at home mom [...]
Excellent article. Simple to follow approach which generates the ideas that I’ll have a lot of energy around. That’s where most people give up in business. They run out of energy with no consistent plan. Aim at building the business over 6months, 1 year etc and the milestones to achieve.