Business Overview:

If you want to offer an in-demand service and own your own business, you should consider learning how to become a safety consultant. Construction projects can be dangerous, and it’s important to have correct safety measures in place to protect construction workers while they are on-site. This is what your construction consulting business will aim to ensure. With this business idea, you consult with construction companies, in exchange for a fee, on how to meet safety and protection standards during their construction projects. This is an important, in-demand and profitable service to offer as construction companies are legally required to take safety consulting in the USA and most countries. As part of your service you’ll consult your construction clients on health and safety procedures such as on-the-job safety, and issues regarding things like disasters and epidemics and how to prepare and respond to such emergencies. You will also inspect their safety policies and give feedback on how to improve the work environment as well as emergency procedures. In order to run this business, you’ll need training related to the construction industry on health and safety laws and practices. Once you have the required skills, you can start this business relatively quickly and inexpensively. You can start and run your consulting business from the comfort of your own home, although you will of course be required to travel frequently to inspect your clients’ construction sites. Given the high demand for construction safety consultants as a result of existing legal requirements, you can certainly expect to see some great profits with this business. If you’re dedicated and committed, starting a safety consulting company could well be the business idea for you.

A Day in the Life of a Safety Consulting Business Owner:

As a safety consulting business owner, your day will begin with a check of your diary to see which clients you are booked in to see that day. You will then travel to your clients’ construction sites and carry out on-site health and safety checks. You will also review their procedures on events such as disasters and epidemics. Having carried out your health and safety checks, you will then compile a report on your findings and consult with your client on how to improve health and safety on their construction site and ensure they are complying with relevant laws and procedures. You will then return to your client’s site at a later date to follow up and check on how they have implemented your recommended safety procedures.

About Your Customers:

You customers will be construction companies that need consultation on how to improve the safety of their constructions sites, and comply with existing safety laws and procedures.

What You Need to Start:

• Training on health and construction safety laws and procedures
• Marketing (word of mouth, flyers, online, etc.)
• Business license
• Financial tracking software

The Good:

• Your services are likely to always be in high demand as the USA and most countries require that construction businesses receive safety consulting.
• Due to the demand for construction safety consulting services, you can potentially make great profits with this business.
• You can start at a relatively low cost.
• You can start this business from your own home office.

The Bad:

• You will need to be comprehensively trained in health and safety laws and procedures in order to start this business, which may take some time.
• It may be a while before you see good profits as it will take some time for you to build up a consistent client base.

Resources:

• Construction Safety Council
• National Association of Safety Professionals
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Occupational Health and Safety Technicians
• Wikipedia on Construction

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Business Overview:

Starting a custom iPhone applications business can be a lucrative choice for any creative person looking to cash in on the hugely popular iPhone. Since its introduction in 2007, demand for iPhones has risen sharply. As the popularity of the iPhone has grown, so too has the demand for iPhone applications. Considering the popularity of the iPhone and of the Apple brand itself, this is a trend that is unlikely to change. The premise behind this business idea is simple; you create customs applications for use on Apple’s iPhone, which people then pay to download. Simple as this is, your ability to cash in on it is limited only by your imagination because people will pay for all kinds of iPhone applications. For example, popular applications include applications that give ideas for dates, provide locations of local pizza restaurants, give tarot readings, and help with monthly accounting. The chances are that if you can come up with an idea for an application that you would find interesting, useful, or funny, then many other people probably would too—and would happily pay for it. This is an ideal online business idea if you’re a creative person. What’s more, you can start this business at virtually zero cost as there is a range of free software available which you can use to turn your ideas into real iPhone applications. Alternatively, if you’re willing to invest a little further there are more powerful paid programs you can purchase and use to develop your applications—or you could pay an iPhone application expert to do it for you. Having developed your applications, all you then need is a website to sell them on. You can also list your applications on the Apple Store website. Considering that the average iPhone application sells for $3.87 USD, if just one of the iPhone applications that you develop was to become even slightly popular you will have a very successful business. All that’s needed is the creativity and a commitment to succeed.

A Day in the Life of a Custom iPhone Application Business Owner:

As a successful iPhone application business owner, you will have several popular iPhone apps selling online and generating you a very nice residual income. Looking to expand your business and further increase your profits, you’ll begin a typical day by brainstorming ideas for new iPhone applications to create. You’ll then choose the best application idea from your list, and you’ll go ahead and create it. In doing so you may use software to develop the application yourself, or you may hire a freelancer to develop your application for you. Finally, you’ll upload you new application to your website (as well as to apple’s iPhone applications store) for it to be purchased and downloaded by iPhone users around the world.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be owners of Apple’s popular iPhone.

What You Need to Start:

• Software with which to create your iPhone applications (alternatively, you could hire someone to develop your applications for you)
• Creativity and an awareness of current trends
• Computer
• Website to on which to sell your applications
• Business license
• Financial tracking software

The Good:

• The iPhone is hugely popular, as is the demand for iPhone applications, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.
• The average iPhone application sells for $3.87, USD so just one moderately popular application can generate impressive profits.
• You can start this business at little to no cost.
• You can start and run this business from the comfort of your own home.
• You can run this business part-time as an additional revenue stream.

The Bad:

• You will need to be patient and persistent, as it may take some time for you to hit on a popular application idea.
• Your profits may not always be consistent, as the popularity of some of your trend-based applications may be short lived.

Resources:

• Apple iPhone
• Wikipedia on iPhones

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Business Overview:

If you want a business idea that allows you to generate great profits and make a real difference, consider starting a diversity consulting business. Modern society has become increasingly multicultural, and we now live and work together with people with a wide array of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In addition, society as a whole is becoming far more tolerant than in previous times. However, despite such positive changes in society, people with diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds (or people that generally differ from the ‘norm’) can unfortunately still be subjected to discrimination and unfair treatment by peers or superiors in their places of work. It is for this reason that now is a fantastic time to start a diversity consulting business. Similar to an image consultant but with the workplace image in mind, you consult with businesses to help them create an equal and inclusive workplace culture, attract and retain diverse talent, and gain the maximum value they can from difference within their organization. Many employees faced by prejudice and discrimination at work leave, either immediately or eventually, due to the distress such treatment causes them. This is obviously bad for the individuals subjected to such unfair and negative experiences, but it is also bad for their companies as it means that they are likely losing a vast array of talent that they would otherwise have retained had the culture of their workplace been more fair and inclusive. It also can lead to expensive lawsuits. Therefore, not only will your diversity consulting services make a real difference in individuals’ lives, it will also help business to improve their bottom line and gain a competitive advantage. To achieve this, there are many services you can provide as part of your diversity consulting service. For example, as part of your consultation you might conduct a corporate-wide survey designed to measure the inclusion, engagement and wellbeing of various diversity groups within a company’s workforce. Based on an analysis of that survey, you would then consult with the business owner or the company’s human resources departments and make suggestions on changes that should be made. Other services aimed at promoting workplace equality and fairness that you might provide include services like harassment and bullying workshops, diversity training, cultural awareness presentations and promotions, and unconscious bias assessments and programs. With modern society becoming more diverse, the potential is certainly there for you to make great profits with this business. Businesses both now and in the future will need your services to ensure that their diverse workforces operate to maximum effectiveness as a result of a fair and inclusive workplace culture. If you offer quality diversity consulting services, you can only expect your profits to grow into the future. To offer a diversity consulting service, you will need to have worked on and continue to work on your own biases and assumptions. You will also need training in diversity consulting, which you can usually do locally and relatively inexpensively. Alternatively, you could hire diversity consulting experts to work for you and focus your energies on marketing your business. Either way, now is certainly a fantastic time to get started with this business idea and make some great profits making a real difference in people’s lives, as well as in the overall the success and effectiveness of the companies you serve.

A Day in the Life of a Diversity Consulting Business Owner:

As a diversity consulting business owner, your day will begin with a check of your diary to see which company (or companies) you have booked to consult with. You will then head out and meet with your clients and determine how they can improve their business by creating an equal and inclusive workplace culture. In doing so, you might conduct a corporate-wide survey designed to measure the inclusion, engagement and wellbeing of various diversity groups within their workforce. You will then consult with the business owner or the companies’ human resource department and make suggestions based on the analysis of your findings. Depending on the specific company you are dealing with, other services you might provide may be presenting a harassment or bullying workshop, or implementing unconscious bias assessments and programs. Of course, you might decide to employ diversity consulting experts to provide your diversity consulting services for you, in which case a typical day would be spent marketing your business to achieve further growth by attracting new clients.

About Your Customers:

Your clients will be businesses looking to create an equal and inclusive workplace culture.

What You Need to Start:

• You will need to have worked on and continue to work on your own biases and assumptions.
• Training in diversity consulting
• Marketing (online, ads, radio, etc.)
• A business license
• Financial tracking software

The Good:

• Your services will make a real difference in people’s lives by helping to create an equal and inclusive environment in which they can work.
• You will also be contributing to the success of the businesses you work with, as your services will help them to gain a competitive advantage as a result of retaining and developing talent that they would otherwise have lost.
• You can start this business from the comfort of your own home office.
• With modern society only becoming more diverse, you can expect your profits to grow more and more into the future.

The Bad:

• Some businesses may be resistant or difficult to deal with when you promote your diversity consulting services to them.
• It may take a while for you to see good profits because building up both your reputation and a solid base of clients can take time.

Resources:

• Association of Diversity Councils
• Professional and Technical Consultants Association
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Human Resources, Training and Labor Relations Managers and Specialists
• Wikipedia on Diversity Training

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Business Overview:

If you’re looking for a high-demand business that has the potential to make great profits, consider learning how to start a home inventory business. A home inventory is an account of every asset in a person’s home that has positive value. With a home inventory business you create and maintain an account of homeowners’ assets in exchange for a fee by listing the value and specific details about each item they own. Maintaining a home inventory is an important practice, as it allows homeowners to pinpoint every item they own in the case of loss due to theft or disaster. This helps to streamline the process of claiming insurance for destroyed, damaged or stolen items. Therefore, you’ll be providing a valuable service that will give your clients increased peace of mind and an added sense of reassurance that they’ll be able to recoup the true value of any losses incurred in the case of an accident or disaster in their home. Home inventory is a service that is always in high demand, and as such this is a business idea that can really lead to great profits. The reason for such high demand is that while the value of maintaining a home inventory is widely recognized, many people find that they do not have the time to continually maintain and update their records. Therefore, if you can provide a quality service and market your home inventory business effectively, you will be likely to attract many clients and generate great profits. While this business offers a high profit making potential it’s not an especially difficult business to get started. You can open a home inventory business relatively quickly and at a fairly low cost. The ability to appraise items and determine their true value is a skill that you will certainly need as it is essential when producing home inventories, but if you aren’t currently trained you can easily take local or online courses. Alternatively, if you have more start-up funds available, you could hire experienced staff to produce your inventories for you, freeing your time up to focus exclusively on the marketing of your business. Another attractive advantage to this business is that you can easily start and run this business from the comfort of your own home. While technically it is not essential, you should get a license when starting up. Not every state or country requires licensing for home inventory businesses, but insurance companies only accept appraisals from home inventory firms that are licensed. Therefore, in order to provide an attractive, quality service to your clients it is definitely recommended that you obtain licensing when setting up your home inventory company.

A Day in the Life of a Home Inventory Business Owner:

The bulk of a typical day as a home inventory business owner will be spent visiting clients’ homes and doing appraisals for them. Having reviewed your diary to check which clients you are booked in to see for the day, you will travel to your clients’ homes and create inventories. A standard home inventory form is separated by room categories, and you will follow this system for each client you see and note and appraise each specific item of positive value in each room in your client’s house—and put them into the appropriate categories on your form. Household items like couches, televisions and microwaves, as well as more unique and valuable items such as antiques and jewelry, will all be recorded as part of your full inventory. On completion of your work, you will provide your client with a copy of their home inventory (in digital format as well as a hardcopy) and keep a backup record of your own which you will update periodically for your client as they purchase new assets. If you decide to hire staff to complete your clients’ inventories for you, then a typical day will instead be focused on marketing your business to attract new clients and further increase your profits.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be homeowners who want an account of all the assets in their homes that have a positive value, for the purpose of ensuring that they are able to recoup the true value of any losses incurred in the case of an accident or disaster in their home.

What You Need to Start:

• Training in appraising items and creating home inventories (alternatively, you could hire trained staff to do the appraisals for you)
• Licensing for your home inventory businesses (though this is not always required in every state or country, it is highly recommended)
• Marketing (website, paper ads, radio, etc.)
• Financial tracking software
• Inventory sheets or software

The Good:

• Home inventory services will always be in high demand.
• Due to high demand, you can potentially make great profits with this business.
• You can start at a relatively low cost.
• If you aren’t currently trained in appraising items and creating home inventories, you can quickly get qualified by taking local or online courses (or you could hire staff to do your home inventories for you).
• You can start and run this business from the comfort of your own home office.

The Bad:

• Due to the high demand for home inventory services, this business can be competitive.
• It may be a while before you to start to see good profits, as establishing your home inventory business and building up a solid client base can take some time.

Resources:

• National Association of Home Inventory Professionals
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Claims Adjusters, Appraisers, Examiners and Investigators
• Wikipedia on Inventory

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Business Overview:

If you have a passion for sewing and enjoy helping people look better in their clothes, you should learn how to start an alteration business. Having experience in alterations, perhaps working for a tailor shop, will help immensely when you open your own shop. If you know how to sew but aren’t skilled in altering clothing, you can attend classes or learn from books the different areas of expertise you’ll need to open an alterations shop. You will need to know the basics like how to hem pants and skirts as well as more advanced projects like working with seams and zippers. An alteration business is one of the many business ideas you can operate from home if you set up your space properly. You’ll need an entire room dedicated to your business, preferably in the front of your house, as well as a dressing area for your customers. This can be a walk-in closet, bathroom or just a corner of the room with a curtain. You will also need a raised platform, full-length mirrors and a large table on which you will mark and cut fabric. Be sure to stock up on sewing notions like thread, pins, buttons, and zippers. Of course you can make a quick trip to the local fabric store for more unique supplies but having a good stock of notions on hand will ensure a faster turn-around time for your clients. Depending on your experience, you may choose to focus on a specific niche such as wedding gowns or suits. Once your business model is established, print up some fliers and distribute them around town. Concentrate on areas your target market frequents like clothing stores or dry cleaners. Also place an ad in the phone book to attract new business. As business picks up, you could recruit other home alterations experts to work from their homes. You would then need to work out a pick-up/delivery system to get the items to their homes and then back to you for clients to pick up. To really boost customer service and increase profits, consider offering delivery of altered items to the customers’ homes or offices. If time allows, you could do this yourself or you could hire a service to handle it for you. You’ll find that once you get a few customers, not only will they give you their repeat business but they’ll tell their friends and you’ll start to see plenty of referral business as well.

A Day in the Life of an Alteration Business Owner:

Your day will begin by getting to work on any alterations you need to finish up. Unless your customers schedule appointments, you will spend your day helping walk-in customers. You can choose your own hours and operate this business part-time but you will need to have set hours that your business is open and be available to help customers during those hours. You will likely work on projects after your shop closes for the day.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be individuals in need of expert alteration services.

What You Need to Start:

• Sewing skills
• Marketing materials
• Dedicated area in your home to serve as your shop
• Platform
• Full-length mirrors
• Sewing machine
• Sewing notions
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• There will always be a high demand for alterations services.
• The start-up investment needed for this business is low.
• You can easily run this business part-time and from home.
• This business is easily scalable so you can add alterations experts to work for you as business demands.
• You can offer additional services like pick-up and delivery to boost profits.

The Bad:

• Competition is high in this industry.
• It can take some time to attract your first few clients.

Resources:

• Custom Tailors and Designers Association
• Sewing and Craft Alliance
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Textile, Apparel and Furnishings Occupations
• Wikipedia on Tailors

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Business Overview:

If you’re a stickler for safety and want to operate a business that helps protect little ones in their homes, learn how to start a baby proofing business. The baby proofing industry is booming with every new mother wanting to keep her newborn or toddler safe from every harmful possibility. You’ll find that this is one of the smartest part-time business ideas to explore because there will never be a shortage of new moms needing help. Before you start advertising your new business, you need to do some research. Start by baby proofing your entire house, top to bottom. Evaluate different products and decide which work best and which are easiest to use. Toilet locks, for example, come in many different varieties and some are just as difficult for adults to figure out as they are for toddlers. Once you have a list of your favorite products, you can move on to your pricing list. You’ll want to have a variety of packages to fit the needs of different families. Include a price for baby proofing the entire house. This would include a home visit and consultation followed by a plan of action and installation of all the safety items. Not every family will need this type of full service package, however. They may just need the electrical outlets changed out or bumper pads placed on all the sharp corners around the house. Having pricing for the individual services will make your job easier since you won’t have to come up with a price every time. You will need to tweak your pricing list as you go when you have a better idea of what services are needed. If you already run a pregnancy planning business or you specialize in interior design for nurseries and baby proofing is not one of the services you provide, consider adding it to boost your profits. Market your new business with newspaper ads and ads in local family magazines. Look for safety expos in baby stores where you can hand out business cards and show customers what your business offers. Talk to area hospitals to see if you can include a business card in the take-home packets they give to new moms. Keeping babies and toddlers safe is a top priority for parents and offering excellent baby proofing services will help you build a successful business.

A Day in the Life of a Baby Proofing Business Owner:

If you have appointments, you will need to make sure you have all the necessary safety equipment then you will travel to your client’s home and perform the installation. If you do not have any appointments, you will spend your day handing out business cards and looking for new ways to advertise. You may also participate in a safety expo in which case you would need to bring various safety items to display as well as copies of your price list and explanation of services you offer. You will also need to visit local baby stores from time to time to evaluate any new products that have recently come on the market.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be parents needing assistance in making their homes safe for their children.

What You Need to Start:

• Excellent attention to detail
• Familiarity with baby proofing products
• Vehicle
• Marketing materials
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• Start-up costs are minimal.
• No training or certification is required.
• It’s rewarding to take some of the burden off of a new parent.
• You do not need a storefront for this business.
• You can easily run this business part-time.

The Bad:

• It can take some time to get your first few clients.
• Some parents do their own baby proofing so it may be difficult to sell your services to the do-it-yourself type parents.

Resources:

• International Association for Child Safety
• Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association
• Safe Kids USA
• Wikipedia on Childproofing

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Business Overview:

If you’re an animal behaviorist ready apply your knowledge and training to help pets and pet owners, it’s time to start an animal behavior consulting business. An animal behavior consultant works with pets and their owners to correct behavior issues that can include aggression, destructive behavior, biting, inappropriate elimination and many other issues. Often, a pet owner will first take his or her pet to the veterinarian to discuss behavior problems. If the pet is otherwise healthy, a pet owner will be referred to an animal behavior consultant who will have the owner fill out a detailed questionnaire and visit the animal in its home. The consultant will then diagnose the problem and formulate a plan for treatment. Treatment can include positive reinforcement, behavior modification techniques and training for the pet owner on how to interact with the pet. Business ideas like this one will be more successful if the business owner is properly certified and trained. If you already have an animal behavior certification, you can start your business right away. If not, there are several routes to take to become certified. The top credential for this field is the board certification in veterinary behavior which is obtained through the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and requires a veterinary degree plus two years of coursework. There are just a handful of people with this certification in the US but if you’re a veterinarian looking to branch out and add behavior specialist to your credentials, this is something to consider. However, if you’re not a DVM but are looking for a way to enter this business, you can become a certified animal behavior consultant by simply demonstrating hands-on behavior consulting and having experience consulting with owners as well as pets. Four specialties are available with this certification: dog, cat, horse and parrot. This certification route is perfect for a dog trainer looking to move into behavior consulting. When you start your consulting business, marketing will really be only expense. You will be traveling to pet owners’ homes to evaluate their individual situations so you don’t need an office and you don’t have any overhead. Consider printing up business cards and flyers and putting your marketing materials in animal adoption agencies (like the ASPCA) and local pet supply stores. Also contact local veterinarians and ask to be placed on their referral list for animal behavior consultants. This is a part-time business that can easily be scaled up to a full-time business with excellent marketing and positive results. You may soon need to recruit other animal behavior consultants to work for you to keep up with the demand for the services your business offers.

A Day in the Life of an Animal Behavior Consulting Business Owner:

Your day will begin with a check of your appointments. You will visit pets and their owners in their homes and observe their behavior. You will take your notes back to your home office and formulate a treatment plan to correct inappropriate behavior. You will set follow-up appointments with your clients to review their treatment plans and to observe behavior after the treatment plan has been put into action. You will spend some time marketing your business around town by placing flyers in various pet places and contacting local vets.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be pet owners in need of behavior consulting for their animals.

What You Need to Start:

• Animal behavior consultant certification (or you can hire a certified consultant)
• Marketing materials
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• The start-up investment for this business is minimal.
• Pet owners will always need help getting their animals to behave.
• You can charge top dollar for excellent consulting services.
• It’s rewarding to watch your skills result in a happy relationship between pets and owners.
• You can easily run this business part-time.

The Bad:

• It will be difficult to have a successful business if you (or your staff) are not certified as an animal behavior consultant.
• Some animals and their owners will be more difficult to work with and you must properly set expectations for the success of your behavior modification techniques.

Resources:

• International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants
• Animal Behavior Society
• Wikipedia on Ethology (animal behavior)

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Business Overview:

Open a pool maintenance business and use your knowledge and experience to help pool and spa owners keep their investments clean and refreshing. Pools and spas take a lot of attention to keep them in pristine condition. And it takes an expert with plenty of experience to guide pool owners in their quest for a blue and sparkling pool. If you have worked in a pool store or as a cleaning technician for a pool company, owning your own pool maintenance business is the next logical step. You will need to have expertise with both above-ground pools and in-ground pools. Particularly in the summer months, offering pool consulting services is one of the best business ideas you can find. There are so many different types of pool chemicals available and the layperson simply doesn’t have the expertise to know how much of what to put in the pool. There are home testing kits and charts and a pool owner can make an educated guess as to what chemicals to add and when, but having a go-to person who they trust causes many pool owners to gladly pay for this service. You won’t need a storefront for your maintenance business since you—or your staff—will be traveling to your clients’ pools to do chemical correction, cleaning and other pool maintenance. Put large advertisements on your truck or van and let them do the marketing for you as you drive around town. Find out which pool stores in town do not offer water testing and contract your services with them so that their clients are referred to you for chemical services and cleaning. If you choose to buy chemicals in bulk, you will need a storage facility that is separate from your house (garage, off-site storage locker, etc.) in case of a spill. You could also choose to buy chemicals as you need them from a pool store. Depending on the climate you live in, the pool business could be seasonal. In the warmest climates, pools are open and in need of regular maintenance all winter but in cooler climates, pool owners close their pools during the winter. Consider adding pool closing and pool opening to your list of services so you can earn extra profits during the cooler months.

A Day in the Life of a Pool Store Business Owner:

You will spend your day during the busy time of year traveling to your clients’ homes to check chemicals and clean pools—unless you’ve hired staff to do this work for you. You will also spend some time marketing your business.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be pool and spa owners in need of expert pool care and chemical consultations.

What You Need to Start:

• Experience with pool chemicals (or a trained staff)
• Truck or van
• Water testing equipment
• Chemicals
• Storage facility for chemicals (or you could just buy them as you need them)
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• Pool maintenance services are essential for pool owners.
• Pool owners will gladly pay for experienced professionals to care for their pools.
• The start-up costs are relatively low.
• Your customers will likely hire your business to perform regular maintenance/cleaning which means a steady income.
• You can boost your profits by offering additional services like pool closing and opening.

The Bad:

• It can take some time to build your client base.
• This business can be seasonal depending on your area’s climate.

Resources:

• Association of Pool and Spa Professionals
• Independent Pool and Spa Service Association
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Maintenance and Repair Workers
• Wikipedia on Swimming Pools

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Business Overview:

Swimming pools are big business and if you have experience in sales or pool service, it would be a wise business decision to open a pool store. You don’t even need to live in a warm climate to operate a successful pool business. Heated pools and spas are popular in cooler climates and there’s always the option of indoor pools to keep swimmers out of the elements. Since a pool store is a large investment, it’s a good idea to draft a solid business plan to keep you on track. Determine what type of pool store you will operate, what other items you will stock and what services you will offer. The largest part of your business will be pool sales and installations so it’s important that you have a working knowledge of in-ground pools and what is needed to install them. You can contract the actual installation with a third party construction company but your business will need to consult with the customer about what type of pool they want, how much land is needed, what type of filtration equipment they will need, etc. Other than pools, you can also sell spas and even display a few in your store if you have space. Outdoor furniture is also a nice addition to your inventory and it gives customers the option of buying everything they need for their outdoor entertaining area at your store. Your pool store should also stock maintenance items like skimming nets, skimmer baskets, vacuums and poles and you need to have a relationship with the major pool parts distributors so you can order larger items like sand filters and vinyl liners. A third area of your business will be pool chemicals. Pool owners will come to your store for water analysis and to purchase chlorine and various other corrective chemicals. In cooler climates, pool owners tend to close their outdoor pools for the winter so your business should also offer pool closing and opening services if your customers need it. In warmer climates pools stay open year-round which means a steady stream of customers even in the winter months. Homeowners are not your only target market; you will also sell to apartment managers, athletic facilities, parks and schools. Anyone who wants to install a pool or needs chemicals and supplies for their pool will need to come to your store. Particularly if you live in a warm climate, a pool store is one of the best business ideas you can start since pool owners simply cannot go it alone.

A Day in the Life of a Pool Store Business Owner:

Your day will begin by opening up your store. You will spend the day helping customers find what they need in the way of supplies, accessories and chemicals. You will consult with potential customers interested in buying a spa or installing a pool and you will check in on any pool installations that are ongoing. You will order parts from your distributors and check to see if any new items have become available.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be pool owners and those looking to install a pool or purchase a spa.

What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Storefront
• Pool installation services (can contract with third party)
• Maintenance items (vacuums, replacement parts, skimmer baskets, etc.)
• Accessories (floats, thermometers, toys, etc.)
• Chemicals
• Water testing equipment/personnel
• Staff
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• The pool business is casual, fun and exciting.
• It’s rewarding to help people get the sparkling pools they desire.
• In warmer climates, pool services are necessary year-round.
• You can sell items like spas and pool furniture to boost profits.
• Selling pool installations is big business and can earn your company big profits.

The Bad:

• The start-up investment is high.
• It could take some time to turn a profit.

Resources:

• Association of Pool and Spa Professionals
• Independent Pool and Spa Service Association
• Swimming Pool and Allied Trade Association (UK)
• Wikipedia on Swimming Pools

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Business Overview:

If you like working with your hands and appreciate the value that a piece of furniture can have, you should start a furniture restoration business. That value may be monetary in the form of an investment such as an antique Chippendale chair. Or the value may be sentimental in the form of an heirloom rocking chair used to rock several generations of babies to sleep. Being able to keep a piece of furniture in its original condition ensures years of use and/or preservation and the ability of the owners to pass it down throughout the years. If you are a talented woodworker or seamstress, operating a furniture refinishing or re-upholstering business is something you could successfully do from your home. Business ideas like this one are great part-time ventures that let you do what you love while earning a secondary income. The only thing you’ll need, other than excellent repair skills and a few tools, is a large area in which to store items while you work on them. Furniture items can be quite large (think chests of drawers and chairs) so you’ll need a storage area which can be in your home or garage. If you already operate a home repair business, adding furniture restoration to your list of services would bring in more customers and keep your part-time business busy. This is also a good business opportunity for a partnership in which one person does the wood repairs and the other handles the upholstery repairs. You could choose to specialize in certain types of furniture – antiques, contemporary pieces or just chairs. You need to be familiar with how to properly estimate a job since most customers will request estimates before letting you do the job. If you run into a problem along the way, call the client to discuss the higher costs before proceeding. If your estimate was firm but you realize while you’re working it will cost quite a bit more, sometimes it’s wise to just absorb the costs in the interest of customer service. Be sure to take before and after photos and post them on your website, or if you don’t have a website, put them in a portfolio to show to prospective clients. Market your business around town by putting fliers in local antique stores and resale shops. Consider buying items to refinish and sell. You could do this by placing ads online or selling on your website. There are many options available to an entrepreneur with excellent woodworking skills looking to put a little time and care into a furniture restoration business.

A Day in the Life of a Furniture Restoration Business Owner:

If you have items needing work, you will continue to work on them. You will take calls from potential customers and will offer estimates to individuals who bring items by for you to assess. If you choose to buy items to fix up and sell, you will spend some time looking for pieces in garage sales or at auctions.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be individuals needing expert furniture restoration services.

What You Need to Start:

• Woodworking and/or upholstery skills
• Space to store furniture items
• Marketing materials
• Portfolio with before/after photos
• Website (optional)
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• Start-up investment is low.
• Return on your investment can be quite high.
• It’s rewarding to restore an old piece of furniture to its original condition.
• You can easily run this business part time and from your home.
• You can choose to buy items, repair them and sell them.

The Bad:

• You must know what you’re doing in order not to damage furniture.
• It can take some time to build up your client list.

Resources:

• British Antique Furniture Restorer’s Association
• Outdoor Furniture Restoration
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
• Wikipedia on Antiques Restoration

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