Mar 03, 2020 Housecleaners are always in demand. Just spend 5 minutes in any kind of locally oriented Facebook group and you’ll probably see a request for housecleaner recommendations. While the work you do isn’t at home, it’s a business you can start and run at home. You’ll also be able to set your own hours, which is a huge perk. Start a business that serves these careers If you don’t want to leave your job but still want to dip a toe in these growing fields, develop a side hustle that serves these growth areas.
Editor's note: This article was excerpted from202 Services You Can Sell for Big Profits .
Selling services knows no boundaries-anyone with a need or desire to earn extra money, work from home, or start and operate a full-time business can sell a service, regardless of age, business. It should be something that is in demand (i.e., people would pay for). To help get you started we’ve come up with a list of “online” and “offline” based business ideas that are easy to start, in demand, and can be profitable. We have categorized each business ideas as follows.
Who can sell a service? The answer is simple--anyone and everyone. Everyone is qualified because each of us has skills, knowledge or experience that other people are willing to pay for in the form of a service; or they're willing to pay you to teach them your specific skill or knowledge. Selling services knows no boundaries--anyone with a need or desire to earn extra money, work from home, or start and operate a full-time business can sell a service, regardless of age, business experience, education or current financial resources.
What Are the Advantages of Selling Services?
There are many advantages associated with starting your own business selling services. Perhaps the biggest advantage is you become your own boss, take control of your future, and in effect become the master of your destiny. I've been self-employed for a number of years, and for me the lure of self-employment is the freedom and independence that calling the shots affords, which can be difficult to achieve when you work for others.
Operating your own business also gives you the potential to earn more money, in some instances two, five or even ten times more than you're currently earning. Why? Simple duplication. When you work for someone else, there is only you and only so many hours in the day to work for an hourly wage or a salary. When you operate a business, you can duplicate yourself by hiring employees and salespeople to increase revenues; you can duplicate your customers and find more just like them to purchase your services; and you can duplicate your business model and open in new geographical areas to service more customers and earn more profit. These are all things you can't do when you work for others, and if you do, chances are it will financially benefit the boss a lot more than you.
Capitalize on Your Skills
Don' t worry if you lack business skills and experience in areas such as time management, personal-contact selling, negotiating, bookkeeping and the ability to create effective advertisements. There's no question these are all important skills to have, but at the same time they're also skills that with practice can be learned and mastered. More important is the question, 'What skill(s) do you have that can be sold as a service?' Any skill(s) you possess can be your best, and by far your most marketable, asset. If you know how to safely walk a dog, that's a skill people are willing to pay you for. If you know how to plan and throw one heck of a party, that's also a skill people are willing to pay you for as their event and party planner. If you know how to play the piano, this is a skill other people will pay you to teach them. If you know how to sell products and services online, once again that's a skill that people are willing to pay you for as an online marketing consultant. All are examples of skills that people pay other people to perform, or teach them how to learn.
Every person has one or more skills other people are prepared to pay for in the form of a service provided to them, or to learn. However, with that said, most people have a tendency to underestimate the true value of their skill sets and experiences. You have to remember, what may come naturally to you may not come so naturally to others. Likewise, you might think your particular knowledge or expertise may be of little value, but if someone else needs or wants to learn about that knowledge, it's very valuable to them.
Selling Services Part Time
The first option is to start off selling your services on a part-time basis, which is a good idea because it enables you to eliminate risk by limiting your financial investment. It allows you to test the waters to make sure that being self-employed is something you enjoy and want to pursue. If all goes well, you may decide to transition from your current job, devoting more time to your new enterprise each week, all the while decreasing the time at your current job until you're working at your new business on a full-time basis. There are many advantages to starting off part-time, including keeping income rolling in, taking advantage of any current health and employee benefits, and building your business over a longer period of time, which generally gives it a more stable foundation. If it turns out you're not the type of person who's comfortable being the boss, you've risked little and still have the security of your job.
Of course, if your ambitions are only to generate extra money to pay down the mortgage, save for retirement, put yourself through school, or pay off credit cards, selling services part-time is the perfect choice. It's important to do what you want to do and what best suits your individual needs. If selling services part-time works for you, then go for it.
Selling Services Full Time
You can also jump in with both feet and start your new business selling services full-time. This option would appeal to people without a current job or people who are confident about being the boss and operating a business. There's nothing wrong with starting off full-time, especially if you take the time required to research the business, industry and marketplace. You must also develop a business and marketing plan, and have the necessary financial resources to start the business and pay yourself until it becomes profitable.
The main downside to starting full time is risk. If you jump ship and leave your job, you risk loss of current employee benefits and have no guarantee of steady income, contributing spouses or partners excluded. The upside to starting off full-time is potential rewards, including the opportunity to make more money than you can at your current job, and to gain control of your future. Your decision to operate your new business on a full-time basis will largely be determined by your current financial situation, your own risk-reward assessment, and your goals and objectives for the future. Jumping in full-time will appeal to the true entrepreneurial mindset--people who prefer to blaze the trail rather than follow behind in the wagon train.
Selling Services Seasonally
Another option is to start a seasonal business selling services, which can be operated with a full- or part-time effort. But most are run full time to maximize revenues and profits over a normally short time span. Examples of seasonal businesses selling services would include snow removal in winter, yard maintenance in summer in northern climates, income tax preparation service in spring, and serving as a vacation property rental agent. Just about any business can be run seasonally or occasionally, but some are obviously better suited than others.
A seasonal venture will appeal to people who want the ability to earn enough money during part of the year in order to do as they please with the remainder of the year--travel, pursue education, or work a job in another season. The potential to earn a very good living operating a business only part of the year is a genuine opportunity, as proven by the thousands of people who are currently doing it. The main downside to a seasonal business, especially one that can be operated year-round, is that you don't want to spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours promoting your business only to shut it down for half the year, sending current and potential customers running to your competitors while your business is closed. It may prove very difficult to lure them back when you reopen for business.
Selling Services to Supplement Your Retirement
The fourth option is to sell services to supplement your retirement income or just to have fun and stay active in your golden years. Retirement businesses have become extremely popular in the past decade, mainly because the cost of living has dramatically increased, often outpacing wages and retirement savings. The result is that many people head into retirement needing a little extra income to cover expenses and provide an adequate lifestyle or to maintain their pre-retirement lifestyle.
People are living longer and much healthier now than in decades past, and because of this many are seeking new challenges; starting and operating a business is a way to stay active physically and mentally. Older people also have a proverbial ace up their sleeves when it comes to starting a business and selling services: a lifetime of knowledge and experience that can only be acquired by spending lots of time on this planet. Because of the value of these skills, many people are willing to pay big bucks for them. This is why many people who are reaching or have reached retirement age have chosen to start a consulting business selling their experiences, knowledge and skills for the benefit of their clients.
Financial Compatibility
Before you decide to get into business for yourself selling services, there are two issues to consider regarding financial compatibility--income and investment money. First, when deciding what type of service to sell, you have to consider how much money you want to earn and how much money you need to earn. If you need to earn $75,000 per year to pay your personal expenses, there is little sense in starting a dog-walking service. Perhaps there are a few dog walkers earning this much, but it's not a realistic expectation. How much money do you want to earn--that is, how ambitious are you? Again, you must be realistic and relatively sure the service you choose to sell has the potential to generate enough income to live on in the short-term, and the potential to match your income goals in the longer term. Income doesn't have to factor into the business startup equation for everyone. If you want and need to earn only a little money from a part-time or retirement business, the income equation will not factor as heavily as other issues.
How To Start A Business
The second big financial compatibility issue affecting your decision about which business to start or purchase is the amount of money needed to start or purchase the business. Not only will you need to have or have access to the investment needed to get rolling, but you'll also need extra money for working capital to cover day-to-day operating expenses until the business achieves positive cash flow. This can take a week, a month or even a year.
Ultimately, financial compatibility is important when starting a business and deciding what services to sell. If you cannot afford to start the business and don't have the financial resources to pay operating expenses and your wages until the business can break even, you'll probably have to look at alternative options, such as starting part time, choosing a different business to start, or waiting until you have acquired the money needed to get started.
Finding a Good Match
You also must be well suited to start and operate the business and services you're considering providing. You and your business must be a good match. You may have an interest and even experience in a specific business or in providing a specific service, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good match. Here are a few points to consider when determining a good business match.
- Do you have the financial resources to start or purchase the business, and enough money to pay the day-to-day operating expenses until the business breaks even and is profitable? If not, it's probably not a good match, and you should consider alternatives.
- Does the business have the potential to generate the income you need to pay your personal expenses, and does it also have the potential to generate the income you want to earn? This is very important because if you can't pay your own personal bills, you'll soon be in trouble. And if, over time, you can't earn the income you want to earn, you'll lose interest in the business--a recipe for disaster.
- Are you physically healthy enough to handle the physical strains of starting and running the business? If not, you may end up having to hire people for the job, which can be problematic if the business revenues aren't there to support both management and employee wages.
- Do you have experience in this type of business or service, and do you have any special skills that can be utilized in the business? You can gain experience and knowledge on the job but skills that can be utilized and capitalized upon right away are extremely valuable.
- Are there any special certificates or educational requirements to start and operate the business, and are these readily available? Find out the upfront costs associated with these, how they can be obtained, and the time frame needed to obtain specific certificates. Training and certification shouldn't be viewed negatively because often the return on time and investment is substantially rewarded financially. Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
- Will you enjoy operating the business, and does it match your personality type and level of maturity? This is very important. If you don't think that you would enjoy it, then don't start. Again, the loss of interest in a business is almost certainly the kiss of death. You can't stay motivated and rise to new challenges if you don't like what you're doing.
To start looking for service business ideas, read the book 202 Services You Can Sell for Big Profits or the article ' 105 Service Businesses to Start Today .'
James Stephenson invests his fifteen years of small business, marketing and sales experience into his books. He has started and operated numerous successful homebased businesses, and is author of the highly acclaimed booksUltimate Start-Up Directory andUltimate Small Business Marketing Guide as well as the202 Series. James operates Stephenson & Stephenson, a consulting firm providing small business owners with creative, results-based marketing solutions.
Whether you run a small business or want to work for one, it’s crucial to understanding which startup jobs are in highest demand. More than ever before, technical skills are needed beyond tech across all sectors. But more traditional skill sets are also in demand. Across the nation, these startup jobs are in the highest demand.
Technical talent is the most sought-after by startups.
Out of the 3,000 open jobs on LinkedIn’s Top 50 Startups of 2018 List, 900 are engineering positions. The second most common listing is for operations roles. Though LinkedIn’s list only considers companies with high valuations such as Lyft and Outdoor Voices, it points to a larger, well-acknowledged trend in the job market: The most in-demand skills require digital and technical skills, which is
The highest demand is for software engineers.
Above all, tech and non-tech companies are actively seeking software engineers. According to the Department of Labor, demand for software engineers is predicted to grow 24 percent between now and 2026. But aside from having a computer science background, these startup jobs require different skill sets, including:
Coding
Platform design
Web and mobile development
Quality assurance
Technical skills such as these are in high demand. For that reason, the following software-focused startup jobs are in high demand across companies big and small.
Related: 4 Ways to Have an Edge When Competing for a Startup Job
Demand for mobile and web developers is growing.
Whether you’re implementing actionable SEO tips or optimizing your website’s UX, it’s crucial to remember that over half of visitors will view websites from a mobile device. Between now and 2021, mobile use is expected to increase more than six-fold.
As a result, the jobs market is seeing significant demand for mobile developers. These roles can go beyond building a mobile-friendly website. Many startup jobs are also focused around:
Building iOS and Android applications
Debugging software
Understanding major programming languages
Companies large and small need data scientists.
Demand for data scientists is expected to grow 28 percent, according to an IBM report. With access to vast amounts of data, companies big and small are working to turn their data into actionable business analytics.
Though not directly connected to data science, the growth of AI is also coupled with increased positions. Until recently, you could only pursue a career in data science at a large company but tech and financial companies today need people to process their accumulating data.
In August of 2018, LinkedIn reported that there was a shortage of 151,000 data scientists. These startup jobs are concentrated in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Related: Is 'Data Scientist' the 'Sexiest Job of the 21st Century'?
Growing demand for operations positions.
Operations and 'customer success' startup jobs are also in high demand. The Department of Labor estimates that demand for operations jobs will grow 27 percent between now and 2026. These jobs typically entail management and customer service, including:
Streamlining startups’ operations to make processes more affordable
Improving customer satisfaction
Working and understanding different roles within an organization
Creating procedures and guides for the organization, including quality control
And unlike engineering startup jobs, operations jobs are available throughout the country rather than being exclusively focused around urban centers.
Related: The Next Startup to Become a Billion-Dollar Company Probably Isn't in Silicon Valley
SEO and SEM Management Remains Key
Though often classified under marketing, Search Engine Optimization is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in Google through SEO marketing trends, not advertising. By contrast, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), entails promoting a website and increasing visibility through paid advertising.
For small businesses, SEO offers an economical way to increase online business without paying for big-budget advertising. And for larger companies, a combined approach of SEO and SEM allows them to compete with their competition.
According to a digital jobs report, demand for content marketing startup jobs, which can fall under the header of SEO, increased 33 percent between 2017 and 2018.
Related: 6 SEO Marketing Trends in 2019 That Entrepreneurs Should Know About
Every company needs salespeople.
Selling software to large retailers or pitching the idea behind it to venture capitalists requires a reading an audience and taking different approaches. Having a good salesperson who possesses both these skills is crucial for the success of any product.
However, finding the right person to fill these startup jobs is a challenge, especially for smaller operations. In one survey of startup founders, 26 percent of responders rated the salesperson as the most difficult role to fill.
Though the demand for technical employees continues to rise, startups are struggling to fill more traditional positions, too. Understanding and conveying the need for a product is as crucial as ever -- especially if that product is intangible.
Startup jobs in a competitive market.
4 In Demand Services To Start A Business Around The World
Unemployment in the U.S. is at its lowest since 1969 according to government figures. While this is a positive indicator for the economy, it also means that finding and keeping the right employees can be a challenge.
For startups faced with bigger competition that can offer higher wages and benefits, filling operational and sales roles is a challenge. On top of that, employers looking for technical employees must contend with a skills gap, which decreases the number of potential applicants.
By 2030, there will be over 85 million unfilled jobs around the world because workers are not equipped with the technical skills they need for finance, tech, and media jobs. As a result, prospective employees with software, technical, sales, and operational backgrounds will be in increasing demand.