Top 10 Online Businesses for On-the-Move People - SB005 Small Biz 101 Podcast

[shortcode-variables slug="subscribe"] Find the Right Biz for You Series (Part 5) One statement I hear often is: “I want to start a business but I’m not sure what I want that business to be”. If you have that same feeling, you are in the right place. With these first several episodes of this podcast, I am walking you through this process of discovery to help you find the ideal small business for you. In Episode 001, we discussed the importance of conducting a self-assessment (and how to do so). In Episode 003, I talked about the various business styles, how to generate business ideas and gave you some tools to help you determine your own ideal business. Along the way, in Episodes 002 and 004, you heard interviews with people either reinforcing the discussed concepts or sharing their own experiences. If you haven’t heard these yet, I encourage you to go back and check these episodes out. Wouldn’t it be great to make 2017 the Year of Your New Business?
In this episode, I am providing my top 10 list of online businesses for people on the move. I created this list initially as a blog post for Sisters in Sports, an online community for wives of professional athletes and college/professional coaches. I am the wife of a college basketball coach and, in the last five years, have lived in five different homes in three different states as a result of my husband's job. I've loved every (almost) minute of this adventure, but also found it took its toll on my work.  There are many other wives/partners in athletics in the same boat – maybe in jobs they couldn’t keep or having their own businesses they could not maintain. Although we hear regularly about professional athletes and big time coaches making six or seven figure incomes, the reality is these people make up a minuscule percentage of this workforce. As a result,  it is still important for most partners to contribute to the household income.  As I was creating this list, I started thinking about how these businesses apply to many more people outside the athletics world. These work for anyone who is on the move – military spouses, for example – or anyone who likes to travel and wants to take his or her own business with them.  These are proven, profitable online entrepreneurial ideas that allow you to be your own boss and work on your own time.
The Top 10 Online Businesses for On-the-Move People
1. Virtual Assistant Most virtual assistants work on a freelance basis, performing many, if not all, of the functions of an executive assistant: • Preparing attractive presentation materials • Formatting business correspondence, contracts, and proposals • E-mail management • Travel arrangements • Managing social correspondence This work may be performed from the comfort of your home with just a computer. Non-urgent work usually may be performed on your own schedule. If you move, it makes no difference to your clients. You may begin developing this business immediately by: • Reaching out to people you already know who may be in need of this assistance or who may know of someone else who could use this type of help. • Working for someone else who runs his or her own virtual assistance service. Typically, these businesses have clients already or have inquiries coming to them regularly so they need skilled, reliable people to do the work. • Sign up to perform work as a freelancer under an online service such as Upwork, Freelancer, or Thumbtack. 2. Graphic Designer Are you skilled at designing or creating: • Logos and brand identity products? • Business and advertising products such as: brochures, business cards, postcards, website and social media banners? • Graphic designs for clothing and merchandise, such as mugs, hats, and t-shirts? • Book or magazine illustrations, invitations, and greeting cards? • Labels for beverage, food, or retail packaging? Use those skills online, from wherever you are and whenever works for you. Like virtual assis