Most mums starting out in business don’t have a lot of money to invest and they need to get cash coming in quickly. That makes service businesses like holistic therapies, virtual assistance, web design, writing, childminding and bookkeeping popular choices.
These business have other advantages too, you can run them all from home and you can do as many hours as you want.
The snag with these businesses is that you’re exchanging your time for money. Lets say you’re working 20 hours a week. Up to half of that will be taken up by admin and marketing, leaving you not much more than 10 hours of time you can charge your clients for. You can’t earn any more because you don’t have any more hours.
The way around this is to find a way of earning without exchanging time for money. Here are two examples:
– Are there products that your clients buy or would like to buy? If you sign up for a direct selling scheme, you can sell a range of products without having to buy lots of stock. The direct selling company will provide things like brochures and order forms so all you need to do is buy a starter pack. You can sell anything from eco products to cosmetics to utilities! Check out the direct selling section of Business Plus Baby for more info.
– Helen Pritchard is a holistic therapist and baby massage tutor. She was limited to working with people face-to-face, but she created baby massage DVDs and video downloads so she can sell them around the world. You can read more in I started a business with a baby: Helen Pritchard of New Stork Times.
Can you think of a second income stream that you could add to your business?
If you’re just starting out and feel like taking on anything else will make your head explode, then don’t worry about extra income streams just yet! It’s worth keeping the idea in the back of your mind just in case you do spot a good opportunity in the next few months, though.
Would you like to know more? My Earn What You Deserve as a Mumpreneur E-Course is full of practical steps you can take to make more money from your business. Sign up for more info and you’ll be able to download my e-book: Price It Right: Five simple steps to choose a price for your product or service.
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