by Bob Schmidt

Created on: September 07, 2009

The possibilities for making money from your own home are only as limited as your own imagination. It doesn't require genius, nor back-breaking labor to earn decent money with normal skills and organization being the only requirement. The following ideas have worked for me, and might be helpful to anyone who wants to earn money from their own homes.

eBay sales~

Since I have knowledge about musical instruments, I have purchased and resold more than one hundred instruments over the past 10 years. Many of my purchases have been made at local pawn shops on good brand name band instruments. Instruments with signs of abuse or damage should be avoided. By knowing that the average resale price that I could achieve was around 30% of new value, many of the instruments that I paid around $100. for were resold for over $200.

Anyone who has personal knowledge in any niche area of products can duplicate this type of success. Beware of investing money into items that you have no personal expertise with. The secret to success in this area is to purchase below market value which permits you to resell for a higher price.

Craigslist~

I posted a Yamaha flute recently on Craigslist, and sold it four days later for double the money to a local family. The flute sold for $260., which was twice what I paid for it. I had four other inquiries that might have purchased the flute, but only had one to sell. Craigslist is a viable way to sell goods locally, eliminating the need to receive payments by mail, and having to ship goods.

Services from the home~

Stay at home moms can easily acquire babysitting or child care customers within their neighborhoods. It is an enormous responsibility to care for someone else's child, but can bring in instant income. More than a couple might be too many, but real income can be earned from a trusted neighbor.

Teaching skills~

Many homebound dads and moms have skills that can be marketed from the home. Music lessons, craft lessons, tutoring, and even companionship can be marketed within the neighborhood. No one is totally without skills, and whatever skill you have can be sold to someone who wants to learn. Many senior citizens pay someone to help them learn computer skills, so thinking outside of the box is the way to find a niche that you can fill and earn money in the process.

Writing on the Internet~

Those who have writing skills can create passive income by writing articles for use on blogs and writing sites. While it may not create big money quickly, sites such as Helium.com can generate a $100. per month rather easily. It does take good writing skills, and dedication to make any real money. Personally, I now count on more than that amount monthly as I share my knowledge with willing Internet readers.

Conclusion~

Making money from home is a realistic way to fill unused time for those who are willing to share their knowledge. With so many scams and fraudulent get-rich-quick schemes, be wary of investing any money with unknown strangers. Expect to work to make money because nobody makes money with no effort. Only scam artists will argue that point. Beyond anything else, realize that it takes time for anything to work and be willing to follow your plan long enough for it to succeed. Making money from home is a realistic goal!

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