* Start a training school which specializes in teaching the art of sketching. Use sketch artists to do the teaching. Your job is to find students and organize the premises and management. Also put together a postal course which teaches sketching to beginners.

* Invent a cartoon character which captures the spirit of your town or region. Pick a name which matches the name of the town or region. E.g. Billy Brighton, Mickey Middlesex, etc. Use this character on: T-shirts, posters, postcards, stationery, etc.

* Draw amusing cartoons of personal names at any location where there are crowds, for example: fairs, trade shows, shopping areas and tourist sites.

* unique small business to take money from wines by taking an empty van to a wine growing region and bringing it back full. Sell the wine directly to restaurants, off-licences, and free houses. Build up a list of business who will buy wine from you on a regular basis.

* Design and manufacture finger painting kits for children and adults. Get these stocked at shops which sell toys (for children’s kits) and artists materials (for adult’s kits).

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* If you have the skill, work as a charcoal artist in a thoroughfare of a shopping or tourist area.

* Unique business to make peg calendars. A peg calendar consists of a block of wood with a line of 31 holes for days, 12 holes for months, and 10 holes for years. Three tiny pegs indicate the date and are moved each day accordingly. The calendar can hang from a wall like a thermometer or sit on a desk.

* Arrange for a set of pictures to be printed to look like old cigarette cards. Turn out hundreds of framed sets and sell to wholesalers and gift shops.

* If you can draw amusing characatures call door-to-door to show people samples of your work and offer to draw one on the spot.

* Found a year-book for people who do creative things with their hands, such as painters, drawers, sculptors, cartoonists, illustrators, cartoonists, engravers, etc. Also list buyers of art, art schools, art fairs, etc. Have the year-book stocked at bookshops, artists supplies shops, craftshops and sell by mail.

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* Small business to rent out scaffolding for exterior home decorating and maintenance. Advertise in local newspapers and newsagents windows. Provide a free delivery service.

* Set up a unique business which produces X-rated jigsaw puzzles. These might be sold either by mail order or, to wholesalers of X-rated products.

* Learn how to make china dolls and once your work reaches a high standard make an income from teaching others. Hold classes in your own area or devise a postal course.

* Design and manufacture kits for making string puppets. produce a selection of kits which are complementary to each other and can be used in the same puppet show.

* Bring out an audio cassette course about advanced driving. Sell by mail order or get it stocked in bookshops. Or produce videos about improving driving skills and hire or sell by post. Each video might feature filmed examples of good or bad driving.

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* Produce and distribute souvenir boxes of matches. Each matchbox is painted with a picture postcard scene of a tourist area. Also produce a souvenir pack which contains a selection of different boxes. This pack can be bought by people as a gift or taken home for personal use.

* Package low value foreign coins in cellophane envelopes. Distribute these coins to newsagents for selling to children in the way small packets of stamps are sold.

* Start a firm which manufacturers kits for making etchings. Design the kits so that a complete beginners can make attractive etchings. Sell by mail order or through shops which sell artists’ materials.

* Start a unique business which makes a range of souvenir or commemorative wall plaques. They might have a feature such as: town crests, tourist maps, commemorative statements or logos, etc. Sell your wall plaques through gift shops and hotels.

* Set up a unique bead craftwork business. Use beads to make a selection of jewelery such as necklaces, pendants, bracelets and earrings. Sell from a market stall or mount on display racks and get shops to stock them.

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* Start a mail order company which sells business equipment and accessories for left-handed people. Bring out a catalog and send it to large and medium-sized businesses.

* Publish a craftworkers’ equivalent to the ‘Yellow Pages’. In the directory include the addresses of sources for a wide range of products. List the addresses under a heading for each craft. Also sell advertising space to suppliers, crafts schools, craftworkers, etc.

* Set up a unique service which rents out model trains, boats and planes to businesses with reception areas. These models are supposed to create goodwill because most people will look at and appreciate a good model. Your clients will include restaurants and office-based businesses and particularly travel agents.

* Canvass shops for older, soiled or other unwanted stock and offer to buy it at a nominal sum. No one else is likely to buy the stock so this is probably the only opportunity the owner has to sell it. Hire a hall and sell the stock at low prices to the public. Or sell at a car boot sale or from a market stall.

* Reprint old geographical maps. Use the reprints to decorate unfinished stock bought from manufacturers. For example: desk sets, book ends, memo pads, letter racks, lamp holders, book ends, coasters, dinner mats, etc. Alternatively frame the maps in a stylish frame and sell as wall decorations.

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When starting your home-based business you should develop a business plan and research your options thoroughly. Making wise decisions and following your business plan each step of the way can help you in creating a steady stream of income. Operating a home-based business will require hard work and effort. You will not become wealthy over night. It will take determination to succeed as an Internet marketer. The amount of money you make will be directly related to the amount of work you are willing to do.

When making your business plan, include both short and long term goals. Determine how you will achieve those goals and put your plan into action. Affiliate programs are excellent home-based business programs and there are numerous other Internet marketing offers that will create steady income if you are willing to make the effort. Some of these opportunities may require an initial investment from you and others are advertised as free. Research all Internet marketing opportunities carefully to make sure you understand the terms and conditions.

As an Internet marketer, you will have to distinguish yourself from the competition if you want to succeed. You should know your target audience and know your competition even better. Do not let self-doubt stop you from accomplishing your goals. Successful Internet marketers give their business the very best effort possible. Hard work and determination will make your home-based business a success and provide you with a steady stream of income.

Starting a home-based business is one of the most exciting and challenging endeavors you will ever undertake. A sound business plan and the will to succeed will set you apart from the competition. Choose the products or services you provide carefully. Make certain your services will be needed over the long term and make customer service your top priority. A loyal customer base is the key to the success or failure of your home-based business. A home-based business is an excellent way to gain independence and financial freedom. A sound business plan and a strong work ethic are all it takes to succeed.

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First off, identifying your why will get you started. I don’t know how many people investigate starting a work at home business but never gets started. A strong why will enable you to take that all-important first step. If your why is strong enough, you can attain it and you will do what it takes to achieve it.

Secondly, when you identify your why, you have a goal to work towards and a target to aim at.  Staying focused on your why enables you to keep going as you are reminded why you are doing all the hard work involved in working at home.

Thirdly, identifying your why will help you get through those days when things look bleak. I can tell you from experience that there are times when you will want to quit.  There are many ups and downs when working at home. You will begin to doubt that that this just won’t work. When you stay focused on your why, you are constantly reminded to not give up. In the end it will be worth it.

Fourthly, focusing on your why will enable you to battle the doubters. You know them. They are the people, often close to you, that tell you how foolish your undertaking is. They let you know up front that you are wasting your time. But your why, if you stay focused on it, will help you overcome these dissenters.

Fifthly, identifying your why will help you in making decisions about your business. There have been times when I had a decision to make about my work at home opportunity. Should I spend money on this, should I take the time to do that?  My why was always there, enabling me to make a decision that I would not have made had I not had a goal or vision that I was working towards.

Sixthly, your why will cause you to work harder and longer. There may be days when you just don’t feel like working. You would rather sit in front of the TV or go somewhere or just take a nap. Once that “why” is engrained in your soul, you won’t be able to ignore it. You will spend the necessary time to work at becoming a success with your business. That doesn’t mean that you ignore your family. It does mean that you will use more of your free time to work towards your goal.

Finally, identifying your why will cause you to be a success. If your goal is strong enough, you will succeed. A strong why will cause you to do pretty much whatever it takes to achieve it. There is nothing that will cause you to push forward like a strong why. The question is, “Have you identified yours?”

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Fear of the unknown and doubting ones ability to achieve success have stopped many good people from achieving their goals.

If we could see the future, we all would be rich. Our lives would be almost mistake free and we would have very few problems. But, alas, we can’t see what will happen down the road. It’s this fear of the unknown that has held many people back in many areas of their lives, especially in the area of starting their own business, particularly a work at home business. I realize there are many scams out there but there are also many legitimate ones that you can make money with and the negative mindset has stopped many people from even trying.

Many people see themselves as failing before they even start. They see themselves as not having the time, money, or know-how to make their own business work. They see what they “think” should or will happen. They are also influenced by others who tell them they can’t do it. The basis of what they see is a mindset – one that says, “Others can succeed in this but I can’t.” So you see, people don’t start their own work at home businesses not because they don’t have the time, money, or know-how. They don’t start because they have a negative mindset. They simply believe that it won’t work for them. They feel they are cursed to failure, cursed to live week to week, cursed to always work for somebody else, cursed to working 40 or more hours a week, for 40 years, and hope they will have enough money to survive, much less do anything else.

“You can learn anything you need to learn to achieve any goal you can set for yourself; there are no limits.”  — Brian Tracy

So, how do you change this mindset? Well, it isn’t easy. All of our lives, we have been told that, “You can’t do that” by friends and family. We have been programmed to think negatively. Reprogram your mind by flushing out the negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones. I am not talking about some magical or mystical formula here. Although volumes of books have been written on the subject, here a couple of simple tips. First, try to surround yourself with positive people and avoid, as best as you can, the negative folks. Begin to read books written by motivational speakers such as Napoleon Hill, Jim Rohn, Dale Carnegie, and others that deal with thinking the right way and sit in on seminars and teleconferences that deal with changing the way you think. There are even work at home opportunities whose sole basis is showing people how to be successful by changing the way they think.

It won’t happen overnight but eventually you start to see yourself thinking in a different light. The “I can’t” will become “I can.” You will stop doubting yourself. You will begin to see that you can do it. You will step out and do things you thought you would never do. In closing, let me share a quote with you from Napoleon Hill:

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

Think about it!

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Below are four tips to help you handle the unexpected.

1. Work around the events –Your customers will understand as long as you communicate with them.  Be honest that things may take a little longer than usual, but keep your customers updated as often as possible.  Communication is the key. Most people will understand the delay as long as they are aware of it.  If you get to the point where you cannot work or cannot finish a project, but sure to be clear and honest about the situation and try to make an arrangement that will be acceptable.  Also, let them know as soon as possible so they can prepare.  Don’t wait until the last minute to advise them of a potential problem.

If you’re struggling because of a child being sick, try to work when the child is sleeping and don’t stress yourself out to work at other times. Make a schedule of what needs to be done, so that you can accomplish as much as possible during these times.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help – As moms, we tend to feel that we should be able to handle everything that is thrown at us. Unfortunately, this just isn’t always the case. There are times when we need to allow ourselves to ask for help. When a tragedy occurs and you are simply overwhelmed, find someone who you trust and ask them for help. Many times, just having someone reply to customers on your behalf can take the pressure off your shoulders.

Allowing someone to help you when necessary can also be uplifting to them as they feel they can be a part of helping in a difficult situation. So don’t’ shy away from letting others know. We all benefit when we work together and help one another.

When our one-year old had surgery he didn’t handle the pain medication well. He was wide-awake for the better part of two days. In this case, I knew ahead of time when the surgery would occur, but I had no idea what his recovery would entail. It was impossible to work while he slept, because he wasn’t sleeping. I realized that I not only needed help business-wise, but I needed help with him as well so that I could get some rest. While it was humbling to admit that I needed help, that I couldn’t do it all, it turned out as a great time spent with family that we would not have had if I hadn’t asked for help.

3. Prepare for the worst – Because we never know what the future holds, it is always better to be prepared. As the old saying goes, “Better safe than sorry.”

One of the best resources to help you prepare is the Home Office Recovery Plan: Disaster Preparedness for Your Home Office by authors Diana Ennen and Patty Gale. This e-book covers all the bases of getting a Disaster Recovery Plan in place now so that if disaster strikes your home business or an emergency arises, you are able to get your business back up and running quickly and smoothly.

Ennen states, “In my case, this guide has been a lifesaver as a resident of South Florida.  I have prepared for eight major hurricanes in the past two years with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Wilma taking a direct hit on Broward County where I live. I was without power for two weeks with Hurricane Wilma.  Had I not prepared, my clients would have suffered as would my business.”

Gale also knows the importance of this book having lived in New York after 9/11 and had the task of preparing a similar guideline for a company she was working with at the time.  Both know the importance in ensuring your business will withstand whatever this hurricane or any disaster (including a theft in the office or fire) has to offer.

4. Get a Plan – There are times when life becomes overwhelming and you simply aren’t able to accomplish everything on your own. It’s for these times that you need to have some type of log of what you do and what needs to be done. Keep a spreadsheet of tasks that you do, how often they are done and mark them completed as you are able. Keep a list of passwords in a safe, secure place. Make sure that your family (or whoever may be helping you during this time) is able to carry on even in the event that you are away from home.

If possible, train someone that you trust to do the things that you do each day (at least the key things), so that when the unexpected arises you won’t be caught off-guard.

Tragedy comes in many shapes and forms, but if you are prepared much of the unnecessary stress can be avoided.  When tragedy strikes, you want to be focused on the important things in life, your family and you.  By advance planning you are able to do so.

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With the every day stresses of life, work and commuting, working from home can appear to be the way out, but it is not as easy and idyllic as it sounds. If you are seriously thinking about setting up in business on your own and working from home, what are the pitfalls and what can you do to avoid them?

Understanding Your Motivation

It can be too tempting to stay in bed for ‘a little longer’ when you are working at home. The need to get up and beat the early morning traffic or to be at your desk by 8.30am is missing when you only have a short walk to your new place of work.

If you are to be effective in your new work environment you have to find a motivator which is sufficiently strong enough to get you up and about and at your desk by your appointed time. To find out what your motivator is cast your mind back to why you wanted to work from home in the first place. Was it to spend more time with the family? Was it to give you freedom to pursue other interests?

If you don’t find these strong enough to get you out of bed, find a financial reason. Visualize you and your family being thrown out of your house because you couldn’t up the mortgage payment! Keep this image in mind and the next time you find yourself staring at the bedroom ceiling raise this image and you’ll quickly find yourself at your desk!

Establish a Routine

We are all creatures of habit and a set routine can help keep us motivated and focused on the job in hand. Set yourself a starting time, a tea break and lunch break etc. A set routine can help you settle into your new role much more quickly than a ‘let’s see what happens today’ approach. Without a working schedule, which includes a finite finishing time to the day, your working day will be unfocused and could stretch late into the night, ending whatever social life you may have.

You’re All Alone

Working from home can be a lonely existence. As human beings we are born to seek out contact with other humans. In an office environment there is daily contact, quick 10-minute chats at the coffee machine finding out what colleagues did the night before, and someone to celebrate a big sale with. All of this is essential to making our lives feel complete and yet this is missing from a home-based business.

To overcome this feeling of isolation, which will be especially pronounced during your early months, you must establish a network of people who are in the same position as you. Agree that you will talk on the phone at least twice a week, and arrange to have lunch or a quick coffee once every 2 weeks. Your family may not be the right people to talk over a business problem with, so you have to find someone who can relate to your successes and problems.

Get Out of The House

Staying in the house Monday to Friday without seeing the light of day is certainly not good for your health or state of mind. You may be so focused on your work that you convince yourself you cannot afford the time to leave the house. But this is a false economy. You have to schedule time to move out and experience a different environment.

As well meeting your fellow home workers for a regular get together, join a health club, go for a swim once or twice a week, go to the cinema, check out your local Business Link to see what seminars they are running – anything to get you out of the house! Don’t get trapped into only working, eating and sleeping in your home.

Be Mobile

These days you can do most work-related tasks away from your home desk. Once your business is established invest in a laptop, PDA and a good mobile phone. Armed with these devices you can take your office with you and work from your garden, the local park, or even the library. It doesn’t matter where, just as long as you are out of the house and being around the rest of the human race.

Create an Office

If you have been used to working in a formal office environment all your working life, then switching to the kitchen table or the spare room can be an unwelcome distraction. To give you that discipline and focus designate a part of the house as your office. If you have a spare room or study then even better. Buy a desk and office chair, filing cabinets and other office-style stationery. Remove all family and home-related items so this tells your mind that you are at work and not home.

Get Organized

In any office you have too many colleagues and clients visiting you to allow your work area to get cluttered. At home it’s different. Unless you are expecting clients on a regular basis then it’s too easy to allow your paperwork and filing to get out of hand. The saying that a cluttered desk leads to a cluttered mind is true. Your efficiency and productivity will suffer unless you are organized. Buy filing cabinets, box files, waste paper bin, put up shelves, so that everything is in place.

Getting organized and being efficient also includes setting the ground rules with the family. They need to understand that you are at work and not at their beck and call for every little job that needs doing. Be firm and say no unless it is very urgent and requires immediate attention. Allow nothing to get in the way of your business.

Working from home can be a liberating experience, yet at the same time it can be dangerous unless properly handled. Before embarking on your home business, take time to plan and prepare how you are going to deal with the transition. Done correctly, working from home can be a very attractive alternative to the daily grind of the office.

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