Small Business Ideas You Can Start at Home

Working in the corporate world isn’t easy but you do it anyway because it is fulfills a very basic need of us, which is to survive. We need money to raise our children, provide them with their needs and send them to school. We need it to finance the roof over our heads and feed our family. It’s a lot of hard work and by the time retirement rolls by, you’re more than ready to hang up your corporate hat. And then you’re faced with a new dilemma--empty nest syndrome. 

The first few weeks and maybe months of retirement are going to be all about leisure and travel. But once the novelty of being unemployed has worn off, you suddenly realized that the house is a little too quiet. With your grown children either married or away at college, you realize that you have very little to do. Even gardening and other hobbies are not enough to fill all your free hours. So you begin to think of a small business--nothing too stressful--something you enjoy and something you can start in the comfort of your own home. Here are some suggestions that you can take inspiration from. 

Home Daycare

Some parents love taking care of children that they take to caring for other children as well. If you fall under this category, you can opt to operate a home daycare center where you will care for kids whose parents are busy at work and unable to watch their kids during the day. What makes home daycare better than a commercial day care center is that you can set the limit to how many children you will look after and this small number will help you in making sure that every child’s need is met. Home daycare is also more reassuring for parents especially if they are your friends and they know that you can be trusted to take care of their beloved children.

Bake by Demand

Another lucrative small business that you can start at home is a mini bake shop where you only bake by demand or on an order basis. This will make a great venture especially if you love baking or if you find it therapeutic. You can start out with your friends until your clientele grows through word-of-mouth recommendations. Another great marketing strategy you can employ is to always bring a cake or any homemade dessert to a party or as a gift so that guests who love your baked concoctions will ask about who made them and place an order.

Consultancy Firm

If you have been in a particular industry for a long time, then you know your work inside and out. This experience would be beneficial for you especially if you decide to open a consultancy firm, where people can ask about starting a business similar to where you’ve been working at. Example, if you were in finance, you can advise people on how they can manage their money wisely and also on what would make fantastic investments. If you’re used to be in marketing, you can help small business owners to come up with effective strategies that would help market their products and services better.


If you are planning to make one of these small business ideas into a reality, make sure you get prepaid legal plans for whatever legal problems that may arise. Attorney fees are expensive but if you go for prepaid plans, it comes out cheaper through its monthly subscription fees. Another thing you should remember about starting your own small business is that if it’s something you love to do, then it doesn’t feel like work at all.


About the AuthorBased in San Diego California, Tiffany Matthews is a professional writer with over 5 years of writing experience. She also blogs about travel, fashion, and anything under the sun at wordbaristas.com, a group blog that she shares with her good friends. In her free time, she likes to travel, read books, and watch movies. You can find her on Twitter as @TiffyCat8