Everyone dreams of being their own boss and running their own business. Starting something of your own may be one of the most fulfilling decisions you're ever going to make but at the same time, it's also going to be something that requires a lot of commitment. Some businesses take years before they start seeing profit, while some may not take off at all if you don't put all your time, energy and resources into it. Many liken running your own business as caring and nurturing for a small child -- it's gonna take up every free second you have and every ounce of your attention.
While starting something may seem incredibly intimidating, it's no reason to not give something a shot. The first step is to, first and foremost, explore your passions. Know what it is that you know you'll be in for the long haul. If it's something that you care about with your heart and soul, that that's what you should be looking into investing.
Here are a few small business ideas for beginners that you might want to to give a try!
1. SELL YOUR STUFF ONLINE
The Internet is one of the best, if not easiest, ways to start off a small business. Its overhead cost is low, and maintaining a website is significantly cheaper than renting retail space. It also helps that the Internet is one of the fastest growing marketplace in today's time and day, so you'll find a demand for almost anything from secondhand clothes, perfumes, music CD's, shoes, even the odd knick-knack you've collected from holidays over the years like snow globes and music boxes. If you're unsure of running your own website, then use a more established and wider platform like and , or , which specializes in handmade and vintage goods. Millions of users log on everyday just trawling the Internet looking for the most random things to buy.
2. START A BABY-SITTING SERVICE
If you love children and covet the idea of tending to young children who would be relying on you for almost everything, then childcare is certainly something you can look into. You can offer full-day services or half-day. If you have other commitments to tend to, then there's always the hourly service. Moreover, parents form a very strong network among themselves in neighbourhoods so your business might just take off with little or no advertisement other than word of mouth. Starting a baby-sitting service would cost you almost nothing too, unless you're planning on going big (with intentions to care for more than 2 children at a go) then there might be some number of hidden costs like insurance fees, licenses, and the price of child-proofing your home or rented space.
3. START A PET CARE SERVICE
On the other hand, if you're more an animal than kid person, offer pet care services. Tending to animals is one of the most therapeutic and cutest small business to start off. Imagine spending a big chunk of your time with your favourite furry, four-legged friends! The plus side is that most people are willing to fork out big money when it comes to their pets. You can maximise your earning by providing a wide range of services, from grooming, to training, even walking and bathing on top of just dog-sitting! Just make sure you're decently well-versed when it comes to caring for animals. If you don't even know how how to cut a dog's nails or what cats can and cannot eat, then maybe you shouldn't give this a try.
4. FORM A CLEANING CREW
Maids are hard to come by these days and everyone would appreciate some help with the housework. We're not asking you to do heavy-duty cleaning like scrubbing the bathtub or unclogging the toilet per se (although it is completely up to you if you want to) but offer services to tidy up offices or SOHO's on a weekly basis. You can even offer cleaning services for after-parties when everyone's too hungover to do any cleaning. Or what about doing what our Western neighbours call "house-sitting" -- you go in and clean a fellow neighbour's house on a weekly or daily basis while they're away on vacation just so the house wouldn't be in too bad a condition when they come home. Cleaning services are also relatively low-cost to start, and the time commitment is generally flexible. Win-win!
5. BE A FREELANCE WRITER
Companies, especially Malaysian ones, are always on the lookout for credible and good writers. If you have a flair with language and can think creatively, offer freelance copywriting, editing, or proofreading services. These will cost you nothing other than a small segment of your time to produce. You get paid by the assignment too so there is no long-term responsibility beyond your current assignment. If you're a language extraordinaire, most of the above mentioned work wouldn't require formal training, although if you have some form of certification, it would help spearhead you ahead of competitors. If you love writing and churning out essays is second nature to you, then you certainly should look into doing freelance writing for some extra cash.
6. OFFER TECH SUPPORT
If you're a big self-proclaimed geek who gets excited at the mention of anything to do with computers and know the works of a computer like the back of your hand, you can totally turn that into a lucrative business. You'll be surprised at how many people there are out there who are unfamiliar with fixing a computer. If you're an expert with software development, charge for services like computer repair, software training and data entry. Since everyone owns at least one computer at home these days, you'll never be short of clients. You can offer your services to home users, other small businesses or even larger organizations. A computer consulting business is also highly flexible because you can control your own hours.
Be creative and start small. You'll never know when one of these small business ideas may just turn into something big in a few years' time.
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