Ideas for a Small Business With Little Money

Ideas for a Small Business With Little Money - There are many ideas for starting a small business with little money. There are online options and businesses that are better suited as offline ventures. The following ideas work well on either a full-time or part-time basis and are popular choices for parents, students and anyone in need of increasing his income.

Ideas for a Small Business With Little Money

Online Auctions

• An online auction business can be started for next to nothing when you own a lot of items that are no longer useful to you. If you go this route, your initial costs will only be auction fees. You can also start out inexpensively by purchasing items at yard sales or thrift shops. Consider re-investing a portion of your early profits on additional merchandise.

  Get free shipping supplies from the USPS website or your local post office. This includes Priority Mail shipping boxes, envelopes and packaging tape. Make the shipping process even simpler by purchasing a digital scale to weigh items and printing out postage at home. Depending on your location, free mail pick-up service is a possibility. Taking advantage of the service means fewer trips to the post office.

Flea Markets

• Setting up a flea market booth is another good small business idea if you are working with limited funds. There are indoor and outdoor flea market options. If you own a variety of items that are just collecting dust, clean them up and take them to the market. You can use some of these profits to buy new products.

  Booths or tables can typically be rented on a weekly or monthly basis. Many first-time vendors choose to rent weekly until they are sure that this is something they want to pursue long term. Display items at eye level, when possible. Be prepared to barter. Many seasoned flea market shoppers won't buy unless they can do so for lower than the advertised price.

Attic and Garage Cleaning Service

• Almost every home has an attic, a garage or both. Many homeowners don't have the time or desire to clean them. The ideal remedy is an attic and garage cleaning service. Hauling and recycling services are also an option.

  This business is simple to set up. All that is necessary is various cleaning supplies and a small advertising budget. A trailer or truck will be required if hauling services are requested. Many people who pay for garage cleaning services do so on a regular basis, typically yearly. This means repeat business with no advertising effort on your part. ( eHow.com )

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Small Business Ideas That Require Little or No Money

Small Business Ideas That Require Little or No Money - Being an entrepreneur does not have to break the bank. Since laptops, Internet connections and e-commerce have become commonplace, considering a small business operated from home is easier than ever, according to the experts at Entrepreneur Magazine. Sit back, sip a cup of coffee and start a small business with existing capital and less than $1,500 in savings. After all, 20 percent of small-business ventures begin in the home.

Use talents and hobbies as foundations for a small business.

Accountant and Tax Preparer

• If calculators and number crunching create a smile, become a home-based accountant and tax preparer. Use the old accounting degree to prepare tax returns for individuals. Accountants can also reconcile the books for small businesses and prepare annual reports for busy independent contractors. A reliable Internet-connected computer, accounting software and a fax machine enables most accounting-based business transactions.

Cleaning Services

• Make clients happy by cleaning up after them. Invest in basic cleaning supplies, research reliable cleaning methods and market your cleaning services for reasonable rates. Posting fliers at grocery stores, daycare centers, church bulletin boards and in school lobbies will garner the attention of busy parents that could use some tidying around the house.

Repair Service

• Being handy can make you money. Having the ability to troubleshoot electronics, shore up old fences or repair junior's bicycle can turn a hobby into a business. Prepare to spend a little cash on an ad in the local phone book. Follow up by building a tool bag (possibly from existing tools) and advertising for free on Internet discussion boards and social networking sites.

Selling Online

• Make a profession out of recycling used treasures and selling them online. After creating accounts with several online auction websites, clean the house. Collect unused items, antiques and unopened gifts to re-sell. On the weekends head to rummage sales, yard sales and auctions to purchase bargains for re-sale on the Internet. Start-up costs include postage, website fees, Internet connection fees and money to go shopping for items.

Event Planning

• If planning the annual holiday gathering rates low on the personal stress-o-meter, start a business in event planning. Brides, family reunion hosts and children preparing for their parent's anniversary celebration could all use a little help. Planning meals, finding event locations and creating unique decoration ideas top the list of a home-based event planner. Before opening an event planning business gather local resources, make contacts with caterers and venues, and invest in an electronic organizer. ( ehow.com )

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Prince William heading back to work after wedding

Prince William heading back to work after wedding - Prince William was expected back at work on Tuesday after he and his new wife Catherine headed back to their secluded island home following a secret weekend break in Britain.

The new duke and duchess of Cambridge were due to return late Monday to Anglesey, northwest Wales, where William was to go back to his day job as a search and rescue helicopter pilot with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Their fairytale wedding on Friday was watched by an estimated one million people on the streets of London and two billion on television around the world.

"The chances are if he's back at work on Tuesday he'll be getting in to Anglesey on Monday evening," a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.

"It will be a normal day at work for him after the wedding, nothing special planned."

Like Friday, Monday was a public holiday in Britain, making for an extra-long weekend.

William's colleagues at RAF Valley on Anglesey were in action on the wedding day, airlifting to hospital a 12-year-old boy who was rescued by a lifeboat crew after drifting a mile out to sea in a rubber ring.

The newlyweds spent the weekend at a private location, having flown out of Buckingham Palace by helicopter on Saturday.

Prince William heading back to work after wedding

Prince William heading back to work after wedding

The couple chose not to depart immediately for their honeymoon -- details of which which will not be announced in advance -- though royal officials have said it will be abroad.

The newlyweds "planned the honeymoon together", said a spokeswoman for Clarence House, the office of William's father Prince Charles.

While William gets back to work in Wales, London is still abuzz with royal wedding fever.

Three-hour queues to get into the Westminster Abbey wedding venue stretched around the block, with well-wishers keen to get a glimpse before it is reconfigured back to normal.

Jane Thompson travelled from Windsor, west of London for a look around the historic church, which costs £16 ($27, 18 euros) to enter.

"I just thought it would be a lovely day to come up to town and hopefully to go in the abbey and see the flowers and feel part of everything," she told AFP.

She thought the wedding gave Britain a boost.

"I thought it was beautiful. Every bit of it. Everything was perfect," she said.

"From the words that were said in the abbey, you felt as if everybody was being included. We're all part of the family!"

Carol Lowe and her daughter Rachel went to the abbey together.

"I would like to see the flowers because I am a florist so that's an interest to me, but just to have the whole atmosphere of the abbey so soon after the wedding," said Rachel.

"It will probably take a day just to get in," she added.

Singer Ellie Goulding, who performed at the evening party, told the BBC's The One Show that singing for the couple had been a "very surreal, incredible experience".

According to reports, party organiser and best man Prince Harry had a secret pocket sewn into his Blues and Royals military wedding outfit in order to make sure he didn't lose the all-important wedding ring before the service.

While the couple's honeymoon dates will not be released, they are due to visit Canada from June 30 to July 8 for their first official overseas visit.

The tour will include Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and the capital Ottawa.

Meanwhile a Clarence House spokeswoman denied a report that William would be posted to Britain's remote Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean in September, saying there were "no plans" for such a deployment. ( AFP )

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Crowds Cheer William And Kate Back To Palace

Crowds Cheer William And Kate Back To Palace - Crowds lining the streets have cheered Prince William and his new bride on their way after a fairytale ceremony - Royal fans were rewarded for their hours, and in some cases days, of dedication as the couple left Westminster Abbey.

They roared their approval as the Prince and his wife Kate emerged after the ceremony, smiling and waving.

Kate and William travelled back to Buckingham Palace in an open-topped carriage despite fears it may rain.

And ultimately the downpours never materialised, with a shaft of sunlight falling across the Mall during the procession.

Cheers had erupted from The Mall as the couple officially became husband and wife in front of a congregation of 1,900.

Hordes of people again erupted in applause as William and Kate later publicly kissed on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Thousands of well-wishers had flocked to the procesional route and to the area outside the Palace ahead of the wedding.

During the ceremony, they joined in to sing the hymns Jerusalem, Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.

William and Kate returned the waves and smiled back as they passed through the crowds and into the Palace.

Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton followed with the rest of the bridal party of page boys and bridesmaids.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Camilla and the Middletons also travelled to the Palace in coaches.

Royalists from all over the UK and the world had travelled to London to take part in the biggest Royal event for decades.

Many dressed up with tiaras, Kate and William masks or wore their own wedding dresses in case William changed his mind.

One large banner held up by people in the crowd read: "Checkmate Kate - you've taken the King!"

Thousands also packed into Hyde Park, Green Park and Trafalgar Square to watch the ceremony on big screens.

The square turned into a sea of red, white and blue as revellers waved souvenir flags when the ceremony reached its closing stages.

Westminster City Council estimated around a million people were on the streets of the capital.

Scotland Yard mounted a huge security operation, stopping searching people in a bid to avoid any trouble.

Many crowded into Trafalgar Square after giving up trying to find a place on the procession route.

Among the crowds outside Westminster Abbey was Rosanna Stacey, 25, a hospital worker from Norwich.

She said: "I think William and Kate are very well matched and think they'll be really good for the Royal Family in general.

"I definitely think it matters that William has chosen his bride, rather than her being chosen for him."

Housewife Sara Greer, 43, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, had camped overnight outside the Abbey.

She said: "I also came up when the Queen Mum died. I used to really love Diana so now I follow William and Harry.

"Now that they're older you can see they are just like their mum. William is putting the great into Great Britain and making people like the Royal Family again.

Jacky Williams, 60, from Neath, South Wales, arrived outside the Abbey early this morning.

She said: "I've never been up to see anything royal-related, but I just love all the horses and pomp and ceremony. It's very exciting."

She was accompanied by her daughter, Gemma Williams, 29, who is herself getting married next April.

She said: "Funnily enough I chose my dress last night. "I would love to be able to say my wedding will be like this."

Susan Plonnigs, 44, from Bastrop, Louisiana, said: "We booked our flights as soon as the date of the wedding was announced.

"I've been planning it ever since Diana's funeral - I said to my brother 'We'll have to come back for Will's wedding'.

"I was a huge Princess Diana fan, I think she did a great job of raising the boys and I think she would approve of Kate.

"I don't think she will fill Princess Diana's shoes but I think she will fill a void that's been left in the Royal Family.

"William really deserves happiness and I think he's found it with Kate. "There's so much bad in the world, it's good to have something good going on." ( Sky News )

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Russian leader dances to “American Boy”

Russian leader dances to “American Boy” - A video of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev getting down to the 1990s Russian pop hit "American Boy" (sadly, not the Estelle/Kayne version with which most American viewers are familiar) has gone viral since being posted to YouTube Tuesday:

"Sporting a form-fitting silver jacket ... Medvedev somewhat awkwardly wiggles his hips and kicks up his heels with other party guests in the half-minute clip posted late Tuesday," Reuters reported, noting one commenter's review of the Russian leader's restrained performance: "It looks like Medvedev's swallowed a stick."

Undeterred by the judges, the dancing machine himself was quick to claim his moves: "We're rocking out last year at a reunion with my (university) class," Medvedev explained on his Twitter feed. "The dances/music are those, from the past," he wrote, punctuating with smiley signs.

Both Medvedev, who casts himself as a clean-cut, Twitter-adept moderate, and his more hard-line predecessor, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, a former KGB colonel and two-term Russian president who oversaw Russia's 2008 invasion of U.S.-ally Georgia, are teetotalers and exercise buffs. But Kremlin watchers have long wondered the degree to which the two men represent competing power centers in Moscow so much as a good cop/bad cop routine with Putin still pulling many of the strings.

They may soon get a chance to find out. With Russia scheduled to have presidential elections next March 2012, there are signs Putin may be exploring a campaign. Among them: Putin unveiled a plan to Russia's Duma Wednesday to spend $53 billion on programs to try to boost the former superpower's declining birthrate, which has fallen 6% since the 1990s, the BBC reported.

Is Medvedev's newly-posted "American boy" dance video then a sign he may be exploring a run against the man largely thought to have installed him in the Kremlin as an acceptable proxy when Putin himself was barred from seeking a third consecutive term as Russian president?

We shall see. For now anyhow, Medvedev has gone some way to "reset" the Kremlin's public image from both the chilly Cold War-reminiscent days of the Putin presidency, as well as from the corrupt and chaotic, vodka-swilling, early Glasnost era of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who amazed onlookers when he emerged from his usual stupor to bust a move during his own 1996 re-election campaign: ( yahoo.com )

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Focus on Job Descriptions, Not Job Titles

Focus on Job Descriptions, Not Job Titles. For the last decade, some universities have come under fire for giving students too many A's. If students have low GPAs, their career prospects will suffer and universities will look like an institution of underperformers, critics charge.

Still, wouldn't churning out class after class of honor students result in a pool of professionals with impressive credentials but little actual merit? You'd think so.

Whether or not that's actually happening on campuses across the country is hard to say, but a variation seems to occur in workplaces.

"Many job seekers don't realize how much title inflation there is at some companies, and how much title definition variance there is in the marketplace," says John Nicholson, CEO of Résumés That Jump, a résumé writing service. At his previous company, marketing coordinators had major responsibilities, such as managing multimillion-dollar budgets and working on high-profile partnerships.

He knows that at similar companies, they could have had fluffier job titles, like "senior marketing manager," but they'd also have fewer responsibilities.

"When it comes to résumés and job interviews, titles are a lot less important than what you've accomplished and what you can bring to an employer," Nicholson says.

Of course, that's all well and good to say, but won't your ego take a hit if you have many responsibilities and an unassuming title -- especially when you walk into an interview? Just decide what you want and act accordingly, says Ann Latham, author of "Clear Thoughts -- Pragmatic Gems of Better Business Thinking."

"If you are looking for an identity, job titles are paramount," Latham says. "In that case, I recommend a small company where you can get a big title sooner. Or try [a company] where almost everyone is a VP."

Take a different tack if you want something more substantial.

"But if you are looking for a position that will provide [a] challenge, satisfaction and growth opportunities, job titles are meaningless," Latham says. "It is the responsibilities and the opportunities that count. These are what will drive your day-to-day activities and your learning."

Employers aren't dumb

Job seekers often forget one of the most important details of a job search: Employers have been where you are, and they helped make you what you are. In other words, employers are aware of inflated job titles, too. They are the ones who created the titles, after all. Therefore, on your job search, approach listings with the same skepticism as employers.

Keep this in mind

Laurent Duperval, president of Duperval Consulting, suggests the following tips for focusing on job descriptions and not job titles:

Titles are often more fiction than fact

"Somebody had to put up a job posting [and] had no idea what to call the position, so they made up a name. The name may not have anything to do with the actual job," Duperval warns.

Egos beget titles

"Because people attach so much of their self-esteem to their titles, companies have had to change the names of the same jobs, just to make it seem like a more important position," Duperval says. "Secretary, which used to be a fine title, has been replaced by 'administrative assistant'; a janitor is now a 'sanitation engineer'; and so on. No matter what the name, you still have to file, open mail and type letters, or sweep the floors, clean the toilets and keep the place clean."

If you're looking for work that falls under the secretary or administrative assistant label, do you honestly care what the title is? If you have the appropriate experience, the company culture suits you and the compensation is in line with your goals, it would be silly to turn it down.

Titles are not transferable

"A title in one company means something completely different in another company," Duperval cautions. "In some companies, everybody and his dog is a director. In other companies, directors have large, multimillion-dollar accounts and are responsible for hundreds of employees. You just never know." ( msn.com )

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Rate of Depression Among U.S. Unemployed

Rate of Depression Among U.S. Unemployed. The steep downturn in the U.S. economy and the accompanying rise in unemployment have caused financial hardship for millions of Americans. The recession is also having a negative impact on Americans' mental health. A new national survey, recently released in conjunction with a U.S. Mental Health Awareness campaign, finds that unemployed Americans are far more likely than those with jobs to report symptoms of severe mental illness.

Money troubles are causing mental stress

The survey of almost one thousand adult Americans was conducted for two independent mental health advocacy groups. David Shern, president of Mental Health America, says the survey clearly shows that for many people, financial distress is translating into serious psychological distress, and in some cases, to thoughts of suicide.

For many people, financial distress is translating into serious psychological distress

David Shern, president of Mental Health America

"People who are unemployed are at substantially higher risk for ideas of harming themselves. In fact they are four times more likely to report that they had thoughts of harming themselves in contrast with individuals who are employed. Even for people who are employed, those who have been forced to make a change in their employment during the last year are twice as likely to meet the criterion for severe mental difficulties as individuals who have not had a forced change," Shern says.

He also says that Americans who were forced to take a pay cut or forced to work fewer hours are also five times more likely to report feeling hopeless than individuals who hadn't experienced those involuntary changes.

Those who need help are less likely to be able to afford it

Not surprisingly, the study notes that unemployed Americans are six times as likely as those with jobs to have difficulty meeting household expenses. But Shern says that creates another problem, because 42 percent of jobless survey respondents said either the prohibitive costs or their lack of insurance coverage prevented them from seeking professional mental health care

"Affordability and universal insurance coverage are both important issues here. What we recommend for individuals who are concerned about their health care and they cannot afford it is that they contact the community mental health agencies in their communities. Most communities have a community mental health agency that provides what we call safety net services for people. However, like all aspects of the human services system, they are extremely stressed by the economic circumstances as well," Shern says.

Michael Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the non-profit National Alliance on Mental Illness, says his group co-sponsored the survey to alert the public that, like the troubled economy itself, emotional depression can be remedied.

"The message we really want to put out today is that depression is very treatable by a combination of talk therapy and antidepressants. There is a recent research that shows that almost 80 percent of people who receive treatment get better," Fitzpatrick says.

Free mental health screenings and referrals may be available

Michael Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the non-profit National Alliance on Mental Illness says depression is very treatable by a combination of talk therapy and antidepressants

Fitzpatrick says his organization is using the survey results during Mental Health Awareness Week to urge Americans to seek free psychiatric screenings to find out if their financial anxieties might really be a far more serious case of depression.

"There are free depression screening events in over a thousand communities around this country, mental health professionals are on site to assist with referrals. There are 1100 affiliates around the country who are ready and willing to talk to people experiencing depression, and to their families. We have a number of free sources of information as well as educational programs that are readily available," Fitzpatrick says.

Mental health advocates believe that while the U.S. economy is starting to turn around in terms of housing sales and industrial production, it will take a little longer for the jobless rate to decline. In the meantime, they say, addressing the critical mental health needs of millions of financially-imperiled Americans will contribute to a healthier economic recovery for the nation. voanews.com

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The American workforce is getting grayer

The American workforce is getting grayer. And the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the number of workers between 65 and 74 years old will grow by more than 80 percent between 2006 and 2016. Economic hard-times are causing members of the so-called 'baby-boomer' generation to postpone their retirement plans.

Joan Hansen

At 70-years-old, Joan Hansen is still working. Born in 1938, Hansen could have retired with full government benefits at 65. But she admits being nervous about quitting her job as head a small, non-profit organization.

"When you think about no longer receiving your salary and wanting to still have a nice lifestyle, it does become a little bit scary," Hansen said.

Hansen's daughter died several years ago. She says she keeps working to make enough money to raise her 14-year-old granddaughter. "I do have a lot of expenses," she says, "so with the economy the way it is, you're just a little bit fearful of breaking off and trying to start a new life."

So that she can stay on the job, Hansen keeps healthy by exercising.

A Pew Research Center study finds that 40 percent of Americans, like Hansen, work past the median retirement age because of economic conditions.

Sean Snaith

Economist Sean Snaith says seniors are hard hit by declines in home equity and retirement funds. "A lot of both retirees and near retirees, of course, saw their nest eggs cut in half," she explains, "and in and of itself that, I think, prompted a lot of people to say, 'You know, I can't retire now because I just don't have enough saved up.'"

While officials forecast a growing number of older workers, they predict a decline in employment among people under 24.

"For people that are trying to find jobs, older workers that are staying on the job much later in life are effectively locking up those slots," Snaith said.

The U.S. Census Bureau says a desire for more retirement savings, an increase in life expectancy and the high cost of health care all contribute to the increasing age of America's workforce. Like many Americas, Joan Hansen says she does not yet know when she will retire, but she expects to continue working for the foreseeable future.voanews.com

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