Small Scale Business Ideas

Okay. You want to start a small business but you don't have deep pockets and don't want to have to take out a big loan or mortgage your house. And you don't want to spend months or years going to school to learn how to do something before you can get your new small business up and running.

Here are some small scale business ideas that (just about anybody) could do:

1) Senior Renovations
Home renovations have long been a booming business opportunity to the extent that anyone who can pick up a hammer has tried to muscle their way into the market. How do you distinguish yourself from all the renovation wannabes? Focus on a niche market. Seniors needing renovations to make their lives easier and stay in their own homes longer is a niche waiting to be colonized. Ramps and specialized bath fittings are just the beginning. (From The Best Business Opportunities of 2010.)

2) Pet Sitting Business Idea
Pet sitting make the top of my pet business ideas list because a) there's an almost universal need for it and b) it's a very flexible business. For instance, if you live in a suitable place out of town, you can run a pet sitting business as a kennel operation with people bringing their pets to you and dropping them off. But that doesn't have to be the case; you can also operate a pet sitting business where you go to people's homes and look after their pets' needs. Or, you can combine a pet sitting business with a house sitting business and look after people's homes as well when they're away.( From 18 Pet Business Ideas.)

3) Downsizing/Placement Assistance
The bulging senior demographic means that a whole lot more people are downsizing and moving, some by their own choice and others because they need medical and care services they can't get at home. As a Downsizing Assistant you would have two potential markets; the people moving and/or going into care and people with aging parents looking for help finding appropriate accommodation and care services for them. Your services could range from finding suitable placements for people through physically helping people pack up and move.

(See also Senior Care Franchises a Good Business Opportunity.)

4) eBay selling.

eBay's popularity continues to explode. I personally know very few people who haven't bought or sold something on eBay. But did you know that eBay is also a solid business idea? If you have a product that there's a demand for and that is suitable for being sold online and shipped to the purchaser, eBay may be the way to go. It can be a more inexpensive option than setting up your own online store and eBay offers all kinds of information to help you sell successfully - including eBay seminars. (From 7 Inexpensive Business Ideas.)

For more information on selling on eBay successfully see my article 7 Tips for Selling on eBay.

For even more small scale business ideas, read 10 Best Small Business Ideas for Students (as students are not the only ones who could use these business ideas to start their own businesses!) and, of course, browse through the articles linked above in this post. Many of the business ideas presented could be scaled down to suit your needs.

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