How Could You Make Money Working from Home?

No work fantasy is more appealing than the ability to wake up and go straight to work in your pajamas each morning. According to one source, there are more than 38 million people who are already enjoying the luxury of a home-based business.

What it would take for you to create your own work from home business?

Your talents, resources, and dedication to bringing home-based business ideas to life will play a huge role in the success of your potential income. Imagine doing a job that satisfies you from the comfort and convenience of your home office daily.

To help you get started with creating the best home-based business, AdvisoryHQ has assembled this list of the best work from home business ideas.

Whether you want something that allows you to travel or you prefer to enjoy your hobbies at home, there are plenty of option to choose from. We’ll even cover things you should consider prior to committing to any of these top home-based businesses.

If you’re ready to ditch your 9-5 day job or just want to generate a little extra income, you won’t want to miss these best home-based businesses.

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AdvisoryHQ’s List of the Top 7 Best Home-Based Businesses

List is sorted alphabetically (click any of the home-based business ideas below to go directly to the detailed review section for that home-based business idea):


Top 7 Best Home-Based Businesses | Brief Comparison & Ranking

Home-Based Business Ideas

Median Hourly Wage

Qualifications

Craft Vendor

$14.77

High skill level at your particular craft
Fitness Instructor

$17.39

Certification from an accredited organization related to the type of class you want to teach
House Cleaner

$14.66

Meticulous eye for details
Medical Transcriptionist

$16.77

Strong computer/typing skills, good listening, excellent grammar

Certification or associate’s degree in medical transcription

Photographer

$15.24

Consider taking photography or photo-editing classes
Tutor

$16.84

Higher-level education or extensive experience in a particular field
Virtual Assistant

$15.86

People skills

High-speed internet and a separate phone line are helpful

Table: Top 7 Best Home Based Business Ideas | Above list is sorted alphabetically



Considerations for Home Business Ideas

While it may be appealing to get started with your favorite home-based business idea immediately, there are a lot of items to consider before you make a commitment. How will you know if any of these top home-based businesses will be the right fit for you? Keep these items in mind as you read through options for your potential work from home business.

First, you need to evaluate your own strengths. No home-based business is going to be successful if you lack the proper training or skillset to accomplish it properly. Consumers who are interested in purchasing your good or service will only return if it met or exceeded their expectations.

Best Home-Based Businesses

Home Based Business Ideas

To determine if a best home business idea will work for you, ask yourself some of these key questions:

  • Do I have the education necessary to complete this task?
  • If not, am I willing to get a certificate or take a class to improve my odds of having a successful work from home business?
  • Do the requirements of this job match up with my personality?

Next, you need to consider how much money you are willing to invest in any of your home-based business ideas upfront. Almost half of all the best home-based businesses can be started for under $5,000. You’ll just need to determine what equipment, education, or marketing would be necessary for you to be successful with your work from home business ideas.

From here, you can move on to more realistic items that will help to keep your home business ideas afloat. You can focus on finding your customer base, setting pricing, and developing a marketing strategy. None of the top home-based businesses are going to grow without effort.

Home-based business ideas can certainly be appealing to those who are tired of the daily work grind. However, be aware that making the most of any potential best home business is going to require a lot of work on your part to keep things operating smoothly. If you want to create the best home business you possibly can, you’ll need to put the work into making it successful.



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Detailed Review – Top Ranking Best Home-Based Businesses

Below, please find the detailed review of each job on our list of top home-based businesses. We have highlighted some of the factors that allowed these home business ideas to score so highly in our selection ranking.

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Craft Vendor Review


If you’ve been practicing any sort of craft for an extensive period of time, you may have already considered that this could be the best home business for you. The potential options for selling your own wares are almost limitless, depending on your skillset and your particular craft.

Many people find that these top home-based businesses allow them to pursue creative freedom in their spare time. Whether you make jewelry, dog sweaters, or handmade pens, a craft vendor has long been one of the best home-based businesses.

You even have plenty of options for how to make your work available to potential clients, something that can be difficult with some home-based business ideas. Consider some of these choices to sell your goods:

  • Online marketplaces such as Etsy
  • Craft fairs
  • Creating your own website
  • Facebook pages
  • Selling them through other local businesses

While you might be able to create the best home-based businesses from crafting, the reality is that you can sell your goods almost anywhere you choose to.

Income

Income can vary wildly for those who choose to make their crafts. In part, this is because there are so many different niches and markets among these top home-based businesses. Depending on the sale price and the actual cost of your particular craft, your income can be affected greatly.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that a craft vendor makes roughly $14.77 per hour. If this job is worked consistently at the same rate for 40 hours each week, that would translate into an annual salary of just over $30,000 each year. 

In order to make this best home business work, you will need only the equipment and tools necessary for your particular craft, as well as a knack for completing your craft with finesse.



Fitness Instructor Review


Do you already spend a lot of your free time at the gym? Individuals who love the rigorous workouts they get on the weekends will want to consider becoming a fitness instructor as one of the best home businesses available to them.

Similar to becoming a craft vendor, choosing to become a fitness instructor as the best home-based business can take a variety of forms. Depending on what you enjoy and what you are willing to become certified in, this could really transform into multiple work from home business ideas in one:

  • Personal trainer
  • Yoga instructor
  • Spin teacher
  • Pilates instructor

Likewise, you could also conduct this best home business from almost any location: the local gym, a spare room in your home, or a nearby park. Choose the location that makes the most sense for the type of instruction you’ll be providing. The best part of these home-based business ideas is that they can be achieved without renting a particular space.

Income

Fitness instructors easily qualify as one of the best home-based businesses. Their salary comes in at a competitive $17.39 per hour. Not only that, but the demand for these best home-based businesses is expected to increase by 8% over the coming years according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Becoming a fitness instructor will require you to complete some sort of educational component. Depending on the specific best home business ideas you had related to this field, you will need a different level of education or certification. Narrow down the field to what you would like to accomplish before researching what classes you can take to get you there.

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House Cleaner Review


We’ve all wished that we could have someone else clean our home for us, and this desire never seems to fade away.

Capitalize on making someone else’s dreams come true by opting for a house cleaning businesses as your choice of the top home-based businesses. This is one of the best home businesses due to the lack of start-up costs and education necessary.

Cleaning homes for others requires very little money from you to get started. Beyond marketing costs to obtain your first few customers, the only additional items you’ll need to purchase are cleaning supplies and equipment. These items can be added to your best home-based business for relatively little money.

You’ll need to make a few decisions about what types of cleaning services you want to provide with your work from home business. Will you only do routine cleaning for weekly clients or do you specialize in deep spring cleaning every few months? Do you use whatever types of cleaner you can get your hands on or do you use only green products?

Income

A house cleaner can reasonably expect to make $14.66 per hour, according to Payscale.com. When worked full-time, this median hourly wage can transform into an annual salary of approximately $30,492. Those forty hours can be accomplished at your own convenience, making house cleaning one of the top home-based business ideas.

As an individual exploring this potential option, you won’t need many qualifications. House cleaning is one of the best home business ideas for those who don’t want to pursue any additional education. All you’ll need is a meticulous personality and attention to detail to get other people’s homes into tip-top shape.




Medical Transcriptionist Review


Becoming a medical transcriptionist has really grown in popularity when it comes to the top home-based business ideas. This niche is filled by those who have fluency with computer skills to transcribe dictation into an accurate report. However, it will involve some additional education.

Medical transcriptionists are responsible for taking medical dictation from doctors and other professionals, listening closely, and typing out the exact report. This could include editing errors and spelling out abbreviations to make the report more easily understood. Home-based business ideas like this one are great for those who have a small office space and little desire to interact with clients.

While you can definitely hang out your shingle as a medical transcriptionist and begin building your own clientele, you can also freelance for other companies. The best home-based businesses are sometimes the result of collaborating with others to obtain steady work.

Income

Medical transcriptionists have the second-highest median hourly wage on our list of the best home-based businesses. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, someone with this title could earn roughly $16.77 per hour.

Medical Transcriptionist Best Home-Based Businesses

Best home-based Business

Education requirements can vary from a simple certification degree to an associate’s degree in medical transcription. Depending on where you intend to work, you may want to investigate the particular requirements that would be necessary.

You should be prepared to have a high-speed internet connection, strong computer and typing skills, good listening skills, and excellent grammar.

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Photographer Review


Have you always had an eye for taking good photographs of other people, their pets, or even just the scenery when you go out for a walk? Photography is one of the best home-based businesses because of the flexibility it affords you and the numerous ways you can use it to generate an income.

As with many of the best home business ideas, being a photographer allows you to conduct business any number of ways. Consider these ideas for the best home-based business behind a camera lens:

  • Individual and family photo shoots
  • Newborn photo shoots
  • Selling landscape prints at craft fairs and in galleries
  • Pet photos

Whether you decide to set up your own studio inside your home or to go out into nature, these best home-based businesses can make your day interesting. You’ll need to find your first clients and begin generating ideas for additional services you can add to make your photography into the best home-based business.

Income

Those involved in this best home business should expect a median hourly wage of $15.24 according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Like many of the other best home-based businesses included in our ranking, this creates a modest annual income that certainly has room to grow.

Photography Home Based Business Ideas

Work From Home Business

While it isn’t required to have any type of certification to start one of these home-based businesses, you may want to consider taking a few classes at a local community college. You could learn the art of taking better pictures as well as how to edit them to provide a different service to your customers.

Bear in mind that a professional camera is an expensive investment. Purchasing a computer and editing software can also add up for those who were looking for relatively inexpensive home based business ideas.



Tutor Review


If you already have a higher-level education or extensive knowledge in one particular field, you can make the most of it by teaching others. Becoming a tutor is a great option for home-based business ideas because it allows you to maintain a flexible schedule and doesn’t typically require any extra education on your part.

Your area of expertise will clearly determine what type of tutoring would bring about the best home business ideas for you and your clientele. If you are well-versed in physics and engineering, you may want to consider assisting students at the university level, but you could also branch out into middle school and high school mathematics. Tutoring is one of the best home-based businesses because it allows you to choose your own strengths.

As an addition to home-based business ideas of becoming a tutor, you may want to consider expanding your team. Hiring others who have experience in different areas can help you to create the best home business that benefits the maximum number of people. Alternatively, you could also consider freelancing your skills to a tutoring agency as you get started.

Income

Depending on what level you will tutor and what subject, your income can vary greatly. Payscale.com estimates that tutors involved in these top home-based businesses typically earn a median hourly wage of $16.84 per hour.

They note that the highest paying segments of these best home-based businesses involve four core areas:

  • French
  • Math
  • Science
  • Reading

Individuals who have extensive experience and ability to tutor in these areas are likely to generate the most income and create one of the best home-based businesses.

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Virtual Assistant Review


Virtual assistants are likely to see increased growth over the coming years, making this one of the best home businesses to move forward on. Between now and 2018, some sources are predicting that the demand could reach as high as $5 billion. There are plenty of opportunities to make these home-based business ideas into a reality, depending on your skillset

Do you prefer to answer phone calls, schedule appointments, or manage the books? These could all be separate tasks for a virtual assistant who creates his or her own position in one of the best home-based business ideas available today. Focus on your own strengths before advertising which services you can offer to clients.

Clients can be easily found through any number of avenues, which makes growing your best home businesses even easier. Online marketplaces, including sites like Upwork, allow you to bid on jobs offered by employers at rates that you get to select. Other times, you may be able to partner with small, local businesses who want to outsource their scheduling or phone calls.

Income

A virtual assistant provides a necessary niche service to businesses who prefer not to keep an additional person on their staff. To fill this unique void, these top home-based businesses pay an estimated median hourly wage of $15.86 per hour. A full-time virtual assistant has the opportunity to make close to $33,000 annually at this wage.

Keep in mind that there will be more month-to-month costs associated with this best home business. For example, you will need to maintain a computer and high-speed internet connection. It may also be beneficial to have a separate phone line specifically for outsourced phone calls.


Conclusion—Top 7 Best Home-Based Businesses

Finding the best home-based businesses is as easy as taking a look around you for needed skills and services. Where do you see a void in the market that you have the potential to fill with your skillset?

Depending on your experiences and education, you may find that the best home-based business for you has been right in front of you the whole time. Find what you love to do and excel at it to craft your own work from home business ideas to get started.

These top home-based businesses are based on occupations that always have a need for more individuals but do not require high levels of additional education.

These home-based business ideas are easily affordable and can be implemented quickly to help you determine if a work from home business is the right fit for you. Home business ideas can be shaped and molded to fit your personality and schedule uniquely.

Find out what it will take to create the best home business you possibly can. You can stop dragging yourself out of bed each morning for a job you hate and start enjoying the flexibility of these best home-based businesses. Enjoy what you do and earn a decent wage for doing it by building your very own best home-based business.


Image Sources:
  • https://www.businessforhome.org/2012/07/home-based-business-in-america/
  • https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes319094.htm
  • https://www.freeimages.com/photo/photographer-1533910


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