Creative Home Based Online Business Ideas

Nowadays, many people are beginning to turn to home based businesses rather than the traditional forms of employment,  and for various reasons. They may be seeking a better work-life balance, so they can spend more time with family. Perhaps they have realised that a career is simply an ill-judged way of putting all their eggs in one financial basket. The new way of working involves going plural. Charles Handy coined the phrase “portfolio career” to describe taking on several work activities to reflect earning aspirations, skills and lifestyle.

Since we are in a global recession, it is wise to develop several independent means of generating income, and this doesn’t necessarily mean quitting the day job. That will just be part of your income portfolio. There are many other activities, which can be done at home, and this article describes some of the more creative or artistic avenues to consider.

1. Online Publishing – write articles and content for on-line companies and earn royalties, which are usually generated by displaying ads alongside the article. Try Triond, Helium and Associated Content, and make sure you read their policies first as each platform generally has a different model for paying contributors.
2. Online Self-Publishing – this is distinct from “On-line Publishing” in that it refers to book publishing. The traditional publishing route is very lengthy and often filled with disappointment for the author, as competition is stiff. If you have written your book, and perhaps already have a following (by blogging about it for example) you might consider self-publishing. A good way of doing this is via a “print on demand” company such as Lulu. You do all the hard work up front, and then the books are printed as they are ordered.
3. Selling Creatively – selling on eBay is one route that many people use to make money. It does involve the risk of tying up capital by acquiring stock, and storing is safely somewhere. And of course, you have to do all the dealing with orders, product dispatch and customer service yourself. A more creative way might be to use a platform such as Squidoo or Hubpages. Both of these have an “On-line Publishing” element which allows you to earn from advertising (see 1 above). They also allow you to include “selling modules” to offer products to your readers (for success, make sure your products are related to the article content!) Squidoo allows Amazon and eBay and several others. Hubpages allows Amazon, but the rules governing eBay’s affiliate programme have changed, so check their sites for up-to-date details. You’ll get a commission for each sale made, but don’t carry any of the risks
4. Print on Demand Stores – these are the opportunities that are truly creative, either in a pictorially artistic way or by being clever or funny with words. Companies such as CafePress, Zazzle, Printfection and Spreadshirt allow you to set up a store or gallery, and then design your own products that are displayed on various products of your choosing (t-shirts, hoodies, mousepads, coffee mugs, stickers etc). They each have their own ways of operating, so it’s best to check them all out and see which you feel most comfortable with. For success, don’t “borrow” other people’s or companies’ designs as you will be infringing laws on copyright and trademarking. Use your own creativity – it’s far more satisfying!
5. Photo Library – it can sometimes be frustrating trying to find free photos to include in blogs or sites like Triond or Squidoo. However, many sites offer royalty-free pictures at a very cheap price – perhaps as cheap as $1. (Royalty-free means you don’t pay the creator every time you use the picture; that’s not the same as getting the picture for free.) If you are a budding photographer or graphic artist yourself, why not take advantage of your skills and contribute your work to a stock photography site such as iStockphoto? They allow you to add your pictures to their catalogue (subject to their quality standards) and then when people download and use them, you can start earning. There are many more sites that offer free and royalty-free photos that you may wish to investigate.

All of these home based on-line business ideas can be used as part of your growing portfolio, as well as having a day job. The important thing is not to give up too soon, as the process of growing these income streams can require a lot of hard work and patience.