Telemarketing and other phone related businesses are another option. There is much opportunity in telemarketing, but as with any legitimate business, it has to be legal, going through all of the proper channels. Of course, you can work from your home for an established company, using your home phone.
Neither of these appealed to me when I was considering a home based business. Searching the Internet for home-based self-employment, I came across an article about making crafts, selling them online, craft shows and local flea markets and it peeked my interest.
But the article didn't say anything about how to get started, or where to get your materials. I did a lot of foot-work and before long, I knew where every silk flower wholesale house was in my area. I also learned where to get the tools and extras I would need along with what I had to do to make it legal.
1. What kind of crafts are you going to make?
The Internet is full of craft ideas. There are also many craft magazines with several easy to make crafts. If you are creative, you can come up with your own creations. I saw an angel toilet paper holder in a craft magazine and just knew I could do it better.
Visiting the local thrift stores, I bought up all the Barbie-like dolls, broke off the legs, and glued silk flower pedals around the waist, placing it over a toilet paper roll and it became my biggest seller. I went on to gluing silk flower pedals to wine glasses, creating freestanding roses along with large table roses that opened.
2. Get a tax number:
Getting a tax number was a real concern for me because it represented having to do a lot of paperwork, keeping up with taxes, and answering to the government every year. However, I learned quickly that it's no big deal. It's just state tax and they give you a book of coupons. Every three months or so, you are required to report your sales for that period and send them the tax. It's not brain surgery.
Having a tax number enables you to shop at any wholesale place, paying less than half the retail price for things you want to sell or items you need to make your crafts. Most of the silk flower wholesale houses sold the tools I needed right there like glue guns, glue, flower pots, etc., and all of the wholesale houses are listed in your local phone book.
3.Where to sell your crafts:
The best place to start is at a local flea market which should also be listed in your phone book. Other crafters are always attracted to your crafts and will tell you about places they have sold. They will also share their experiences and tell you about things they have made, giving you more ideas. From there, you can expand to craft shows and the Internet.
Making and selling crafts was fun and profitable for me. I enjoyed shopping for beautiful silk flowers, sitting at home making my crafts and selling them at the flea market, taking pictures of them, posting them on the Internet. I made good money and a LOT of friends.
Related Articles:
www.helium.com/items/737343-ways-to-generate-extra-income-online
www.helium.com/items/736817-where-to-make-money-online-through-surveys
Published by Pat Lunsford
Pat Lunsford is climate change channel manager for Helium.com and site owner of Christian Video Resource at http://www.patlunsford.webs.com/ (click the link below under 'affiliations') Writing has always... View profile
- How to Stay Motivated when Working from Home Working from home presents many challenges from needing to create a home office space to noise issues. One of the harder issues that people don't expect is the loss of motivation. Many factors contribute to the prob...
- A Few Unique Ways for Stay at Home Parents to Make Cash on the SideMany stay at home parents can relate to surfing the web looking for legitimate work at home jobs because of their existing tight budget. Many stay at home parents spend countless hours going through too good to be tru...
- How to Determine If a Work-at-Home Business Opportunity is a ScamUse my personally devised scoring system to determine if a work-at-home opportunity is a scam or if you will be part of the 97% who fail at network marketing or MLMs.
How to Make Scrumptious Desserts that Will Delight Your GuestsThis article explains how to make delicious desserts for entertaining at home.- How to Earn a Residual Income from the InternetImagine working from home and choosing the hours you want to work. Well it can be done and there are thousands of people doing it today.
- How to Earn a Good Income Working at Home
- How to Gain a Good Income from Home with Frelancing
- How to Make a Supplemental Income from Home
- Making Money from Home - How to Make Money from Home
- How to Make Money at Home on the Internet
- 6 Top Tips for Making Money Online - How to Make More Money
- The Truth About Making Money from Home

1 Comments
Post a CommentPat Thanks for the great ideas. I am thinking about doing the same thing. I live about 5 minutes froma huge Flea Market.
Hey in your last article you said you were a senior Citizen? You don't look like one in your picture.