Business Idea

Business Overview:
We all know that real estate can be a good business investment, but did you know that wholesaling houses can be highly profitable and requires no investment? First, a primer on what wholesale real estate investing actually means. You might hear this business referred to as flipping property because that’s essentially what you will do. The initial goal is to find someone selling a home at a very low price, a motivated seller is usually what they’re called. Sellers can be very motivated for a variety of reasons—death, divorce, business relocation—and they need to get their house sold fast, hence the deep discount. Next, you’ll need to have a motivated buyer—not likely a newlywed couple looking for their dream home, but another type of real estate investor. This buyer will expect a very competitive sale price, but usually understands renovations might be needed before they can sell the house for pricier market standards. If you’re flipping houses for profit, you’re the person in the middle of the seller and the buyer, you’re the matchmaker. As a result, you need no money to make your “relationship” work. You simply collect your profit from the buyer, who you helped to find a great investment property, at the closing of the sale. This profit can run the gamut from a couple thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the property. With profits like these, this is a business idea you must learn more about; your freedom from the daily grind could be literally just around the corner.

A Day in the Life of a wholesaling houses business owner:

Your daily goal as a businessperson who flips houses for profit is to create relationships that help you find properties with highly motivated sellers. You or your employees will have to be on the lookout for these gems every day, although establishing relationships with people who know early that these houses will be for sale (think: divorce lawyers, bankers, etc.) can make this part of the job much easier. Then you will have to touch base with the seller and explain your goal in helping them sell their property quickly. Perhaps before you even contact the seller you will want to have a list of investors who you know are looking for houses to buy at great prices. Then your goal will be to connect the buyer and the seller and hope they will strike a deal. On a good day, you will be attending a real estate closing where you will collect your profit.
About Your Customers:
Your customers in the wholesaling houses business will be twofold: the seller and the buyer. This puts you in a unique position, but your actual profits will come from the buyer, so that’s your true customer. You will be working with the real estate investor (the buyer) to ensure he gets a good price and you get your assignment fee.
What You Need to Start:

• An understanding of the business
• A property being sold for a very discounted price
• A real estate investor looking for a property to buy at a very discounted price

The Good:

• There is little to no initial investment to start your business.
• Profits can be very high.
• You can build your business as quickly as you want.
• You can hire employees to do most or all of the work.

The Bad:

• You have to know how to grab these properties before others do.
• You have to know real estate investors who will buy the property.

Resources:

• National Association of Realtors
• National Real Estate Investors Association
• National Association of Real Estate Brokers
• Wikipedia on House Flipping

Business Overview:
If you like to see home decorating done right the first time and want to start your own successful business, you should look into the wallpapering business. You just need to scan the magazine covers in any home improvement store check-out line to see that the home decorating industry is still on the rise, regardless of the economy. Wallpaper is an inexpensive way for homeowners to spruce up a home to sell or simply refresh a living space. As you can see, this is the perfect time to put this business idea into practice. You don’t need to be a professional decorator to be a success in the wallpaper business. You can hire decorators to manage the wallpaper selection and assist you in working with the clients. If you would rather oversee the operation from your home office, you can. You can also go to each job site and be more hands on with the clients and your wallpapering crew. It is unlikely you would be able to hang wallpaper solo so you will need to hire professionals to do the work. In addition to residential wallpapering, you can branch out and start doing commercial jobs as well. Talk to property managers of new office buildings to see if you can get the wallpapering contract for the entire complex. Apartment and condo complexes are other good places to look for contracts. While you’re ramping up your business, hiring your workers and marketing, you can easily run this business part-time. However, once you have a few jobs under your belt, the referrals will start pouring in and you might need to devote more time to your business. But since the majority of the work will be done by your staff and crew, you can take time off when you need to.

A Day in the Life of a Wallpapering Business Owner:
Your day will begin with a check of your schedule to see what jobs are on tap for the day. You will coordinate with your decorators and your crew to make sure they are on time and have the proper instructions. When you’re not on the job site, you will spend time talking to wallpaper distributors and wholesalers and also marketing your business. You will meet with potential clients to discuss their needs. Finally, you will check your finances to ensure everything is in order.
About Your Customers:
Your customers will be homeowners, apartment/condo managers and office managers in need of high quality wallpapering services.
What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Marketing plan
• Wallpapering crew
• Staff of decorators (if needed)
• Vehicle(s) for transportation of crew and equipment
• Ladders and scaffolding
• Wallpapering equipment (brushes, buckets, glue, etc.)

The Good:

• Wallpapering services are in high demand.
• The startup costs for this business are low.
• You can charge top dollar for high quality wallpapering.
• You can get supplies at a discount to increase your profit.
• Your crew will do most of the work so you can simply manage and market your business from your home office.

The Bad:

• It can take some time to spread the word about your new business and get your first few clients.
• You may run into difficult customers from time to time who are displeased with even the most professional work.

Resources:

• Wallcoverings Association
• Paint and Decorators Resource Association
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Paperhangers
• Wikipedia on Wallpaper

Business Overview:

If you want an online business with a high profit margin, consider buying and selling websites, also known as the virtual real estate business. The art of selling websites is an extremely lucrative business idea and it is very easy to do. All you need is a computer, a few hours a week and some tips from experienced “realtors” to get started. Did you know that there are hundreds of ready-made websites for sale online everyday? There are also many free resources that can easily and quickly be turned into websites and sold for a high profit margin. If it’s so easy and profitable, you may be wondering why everyone doesn’t buy and sell virtual real estate. As it turns out, this is a little known entrepreneurial option and you can be one of the first to make thousands of dollars starting your own virtual real estate business. It’s a great online business idea considering you need few marketing or technical skills and it will only take a few hours a week to turn a decent profit.

A Day in the Life of a virtual real estate business owner:

A typical day for a virtual real estate business owner will start with a check for any new websites that can be bought at a relatively low price. Once you have educated yourself, you will know what to look for as far as price and quality in order to “flip” it and make a profit. You will also need to work on any current projects and get them ready to put back on the market. Finally, you may spend a little time every day searching for free resources that you can acquire in order to re-market them in a different format.

The Good:

• The return on investment is huge.
• The number websites available to flip is virtually unlimited.
• You can locate free material and make 100% profit by reformatting it.
• There are no supplies to buy.
• You never have to leave your home to run this business.

The Bad:

• If you’re unfamiliar with the virtual real estate market, it may take a little time to get educated with the process.
• Building up your client list can take some time and patience.

Resources:

• Wikipedia on Electronic Business

Business Overview:

If you’re interested in all things charmingly old, there is a profitable niche business that you should consider: the vintage business focusing on prints. In particular, the vintage prints resale business draws big bucks for a fairly simple concept. You seek out old prints from books and sell the prints for revenue. If you sell your vintage prints online, the market can be even stronger for this business idea. From quaint Americana to European advertisements, vintage prints—and even vintage posters—can prove to be big sellers on sites like eBay or at fairs or other vendor events. To be successful with this online business idea, it would help to have some idea of which vintage items bring in the most money. For this you can do some research on eBay to see what items have recently sold and for how much. You can also look into local collectors’ groups to see what people are interested in, how to spot a hot item, and how much your merchandise is worth. However you don’t have to get too caught up in selling only the big-ticket items; a quirky little print or poster can be just as profitable if it’s what a customer wants. The key is having unique inventory at good prices. As in any business, you will want to ensure your customer service is first-rate and your merchandise is of high-quality.

A Day in the Life of a Vintage Business Owner:

In this business you will be the judge of how much inventory you wish to keep and how often you wish to update your supply of vintage items. If you will be operating this as a full-time business venture, you will want scout for new (read: old) merchandise on a daily basis to see if you can add any unique items to your saleable collection. You will also want to keep a careful eye on your inventory to ensure your vintage items remain in good condition so you can charge more for them. If you’re running your business online, you will want to process and ship any merchandise that sold the previous business day. Finally, you will want to track your expenses and your profits to keep your business going and growing.

About Your Customers:

You might find many of your customers are collectors of vintage items and are quite knowledgeable about posters and prints. For these customers, you will want to make sure you have some idea of what you’re selling and why it’s considered important vintage. You will also find customers who have stumbled upon something and just like it enough to buy it.

What You Need to Start:

• An inventory of vintage items such as posters and prints
• A place to safely store your inventory
• A pricing plan for your merchandise
• A seller’s page on a site like eBay
• Shipping materials

The Good:

• This is a business you can run solely from the comfort of your home.
• If you’re interested in vintage items, this venture can be very enjoyable.
• You can make a good living if you know what vintage goods sell best.
• You can build your business as quickly as you desire, even adding employees to scout new treasures for you.

The Bad:

• There are many vintage goods being sold in places like eBay. It’s up to you to make your vintage prints business unique.
• You will need to educate yourself on the value of each vintage print in order to maximize profits.

Resources:

• International Vintage Poster Dealer Association
• eBay
• Wikipedia on Posters

Business Overview:

If you love making home movies and are the go-to friend to record everyone’s special events, you should start your own video recording business. Imagine doing what you love and making a healthy living off of it. You can start small, recording events like birthday parties and dance recitals, and ramp up to larger events like weddings and business conventions. But before you go too far with this business idea, you’ll need to purchase a high quality digital video recorder, tripod and some digital video editing software. You may have gotten by in the past with your old recorder but in order to charge your clients top dollar, you really do need the best equipment. You can find brand new high quality cameras wholesale or on sites like eBay. Next you will need to consider your marketing plan. Start with friends and family – have them spread the word about your new business telling potential clients what a great job you did with their events. You should put together a short promotional video to give people an idea of your shooting and post-production style. And here’s a hint: the better your post-production skills, the better the video will turn out and the higher you can charge for your services. Anyone can shoot a wedding start to finish but if you edit it well, include appropriate transitions and music, it can be the difference between amateur and professional. After you have a few events under your belt, your reputation will spread among the markets you are targeting. Take out some ads in local wedding magazines and community periodicals. Before you know it, you’ll need to hire additional videographers to handle the workload and you will just need to manage and promote your successful business.

A Day in the Life of a Video Recording Business Owner:

Your day will begin with a check of your schedule to see if you need to prepare for any events that day. If you have an event, you will need to load up your gear and get to the event site well before the start time to set up. If you have a crew working with or for you, coordinate with them to ensure everything is set up on time. After the event, you will touch base with the client to let them know when to expect the finished product and arrange for final payment. If you don’t have an event that day, you will concentrate on marketing your business. You will review the ads you have lined up and determine if you need to widen your range to include other media like the Internet, direct mail, flyers, etc. Each day you will also check your finances to ensure everything is in order.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be individuals or businesses who need high quality video recordings of various events.

What You Need to Start:

• Digital Video Camera
• Tripod
• Computer with editing software
• Marketing plan and materials
• Finance software

The Good:

• If your passion is video, you can spend your days doing what you love.
• The hours are flexible; you’re not in an office 9-5.
• You can work as much or as little as you want.
• You can easily start this as a side business while keeping your day job and ramp it up to a full-time business.
• You get to work with many different and interesting people.

The Bad:

• It can take some time to build your client base.
• You may run into trouble with some clients if your vision doesn’t match theirs.

Resources:

• The Digital Video Professionals Association
• Wedding and Event Videographers Association
• Association of Video Professionals
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Television, Video, and Motion Picture Camera Operators and Editors
• Wikipedia on Videographers

Business Overview:

Starting a vacation house swap business is an excellent way to offer a much needed service while building your own low maintenance business. House swapping is the practice of trading homes with another homeowner and in any economy, this practice is cost effective and wise on many levels. Similar to house sitting, you would let a vacationing couple or family stay in your house and you would stay in theirs. But how do you find homes available for swapping? Build a website and offer memberships that allow your clients to list their homes and find homes available in places they are looking to visit on vacation. Using a service like this would easily save a family thousands of dollars on hotels during their stay. This is one of the most helpful business ideas available. The Internet makes this type of service simple to operate from your home or anywhere in the world. There is competition, however, so you should look into offering vacation house swaps in a certain niche to attract more people in one target market. You might concentrate on offering only “green” homes, homes that allow pets, homes that are adults-only or offer wheelchair access. Chances are a family who lives in a green home would enjoy (and prefer) to stay in another green home while on vacation. It’s a lot like a dating service; you’re just matching up people based on their needs and charging them a monthly membership fee. The best part about this online business idea is that once your site is up and running, your membership will grow and you will make money automatically from monthly membership fees. How and where you advertise your site will depend on your target market. If your market is people with children, consider putting ads in magazines and on websites like Parents and Cookie. You’ll find that once a couple or family uses your house swap service and has a great vacation, they will come back again and again which means continued monthly payments and an income with very little day-to-day work on your part.

A Day in the Life of a Vacation House Swap Business Owner:

Your day will begin with a check of your website to see if any new members joined. You will check user comments to see if a problem needs to be addressed or if you have an unsatisfied customer that you need to contact. Since you only make money when members keep paying, you will need to have excellent customer service. You will spend most of your time looking into new ways to advertise your business.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be couples and families looking to trade homes for vacation. They will pay you a monthly membership fee to gain access to your members and their home listings.

What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Website
• Marketing plan
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• Once it’s up and running, your website will do all the work for you.
• This is such a money-saver for your customers, they will be happy to pay a higher monthly fee to have access to a greater number of homes that meet their needs (pet friendly, for example).
• Startup costs are low.
• You can easily run this business part-time and from home.
• It is rewarding to offer such a valuable service and hear from satisfied customers.

The Bad:

• It’s a competitive market so you will need to set yourself apart.
• It may take some time to build up your membership.

Resources:

• Wikipedia on House Swapping

Business Overview:

Weddings are big business, but these days helping the betrothed save money is vital, and here’s where a used wedding gown store can be a great business idea. To start a business like this, you will need a solid chunk of startup capital (think: $10,000 to $15,000 USD) and a retail location for your store. Your location will have to be accessible and large enough to house your inventory of gently used wedding gowns. Speaking of inventory, you can build yours by purchasing gowns outright from individuals or you can work on consignment or even a combination of the two. If you buy your inventory, you’ll want to get the gowns for a very competitive price so that you can offer deep discounts to your own customers, which is why consignment can work so well in this business. It keeps your startup costs in check and still enables your business to profit well with each sale. Because you’ll want to offer personalized attention to each bride-to-be, you’ll also likely want to elicit the help of competent salespeople to run your store and help your customers find the perfect wedding gown. With the additional prerequisites like a business license and permit, plus insurance to protect your assets, you can open your store and watch as brides-to-be find their dream dress at a great price.

A Day in the Life of a Used Wedding Gown Business Owner:

A typical day will start with a check on your inventory and a review of your store to ensure your gowns are displayed in the most sales worthy fashion. You will also want to keep your sales staff up to date on your business goals, and check in with everyone to keep the store running smoothly. Aside from your stock and your salespeople, your calendar will be your saving grace. Each day, you’ll want to make sure you know which customers need their gowns on which days and have them set aside and ready for pick-up. The easier you make this process on your brides, the more successful your store will be. Finally, you’ll have to keep a close eye on revenue and expenses so that you know best how to price your gowns and how many you need to sell to keep your profits high.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be future brides who want to find a beautiful gown for their wedding day without breaking the bank. Some customers might just be in the market to browse, but many will come seriously seeking their dream dress. It’s up to you and your staff to provide them with the same experience they would have in an upscale gown store as you show them dresses with price tags that make them smile.

What You Need to Start:

• A storefront location
• A supply of used wedding gowns
• Business license, permit, and insurance
• A competent sales staff
• Financial-tracking software

The Good:

• This type of business can grow with your experience and can be very rewarding, both personally and professionally.
• You will be providing a valuable business for brides-to-be and for the local community.
• You can keep your inventory costs down by having your dresses for sale on consignment.
• This is a fairly easy business to operate if you’re prepared to provide stellar customer service.
• There are many accessories and add-ons you can incorporate into your store to increase your profit.

The Bad:

• The startup investment is enough that you will want to ensure this is the business for you.
• You might encounter a few so-called “bridezillas” in your shop; providing good customer service to all your potential customers will ensure your shop maintains a solid reputation.

Resources:

• Association of Wedding Gown Specialists
• Association of Resale Professionals
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Clothing, Accessory and General Merchandise Stores
• Wikipedia on Wedding Gowns