Most of us have god given talents. Your friends might praise your ability to do something. You can turn that skill into a small business to make extra income. If you are affected by the downturn or you would like to have a small business on the side, as insurance against future downsizing, here are 10 ideas you can consider.
Catering – if you like to cook and your friends praise you for the wonderful dish, you might want to give this one a go. It is rather flexible since catering tend to be on the weekends. You don’t need to think about a high level of catering but supplying a portion of a party is a good start. This can scale up with help from family members in the future.
Prepare Meals – slight modification to the above but instead of preparing food an special occasions, you cook extra and charge your busy neighbors who don’t have time to cook. Suitable if you life in an area with working couples.
Computer troubleshooting – most homes have several computers nowadays. If your geek skills are up to mark, then dealing with hardware and troublesome viruses can be a source of income. Don’t expect too much since this service don’t scale up well.
Gardening services – green thumbs can help provide for good side income as well. Many want a nice garden but don’t have the time or the skills to have a healthy garden. People pay around RM 80 or more (depending on size of the garden) to trim grass, get rid of weeds, dead leaves and fertilize the lawn. If you can serve 2 to 3 homes on a Saturday, that could be an extra RM 1,000 per month.
Handy man services – similar to gardening but this could be repairing pipes, painting and other odd jobs for those who really good skills to fix things around the home.
Master of Ceremony – have the gift of the gap and can’t stop talking? Then, use your gift for cash. Be the MC for functions and dinners and perhaps get a free meal too.
Teaching music – you might not have a diploma in music, but some instruments don’t require teaching certificate. Guitar, drums, flute etc comes to mind.
Tutoring – if you have a knack for maths, physics, languages, etc this can be a source of good part time income. If you are a really good teacher, you might even make it full time down the road.
Web site design – you been blogging and helping your friends set up their website. Why not market your services to small business owners who need a web site to help boost their business? Charge a reasonable fee and I’m sure this can be a well paying hobby.
Wedding planner – good at organizing events? Then consider planning a wedding for some extra cash. Could be a hectic day and people expect you to do a great job. I reckon the ability to remain cool under stress is a prerequisite if you are considering this.
If your skills are not that polished at the moment, then grab any opportunity to polish up your skills. It will come handy in the future. I think there are a lot more small business opportunities you can think off.
——————————————
Think about all these stuffs you can do to earn extra income. Get moving guys! I know you have something creative in mind. There are more things that you can get from your own talent up to some useless stuffs you got there that may be of use to others.
