I recently attended a wedding, and on every single table, there were chocolate kisses and miniature candy bars. Each of the candies were wrapped with personalized messages with the bride and groom’s names and the wedding date.  Such a simple idea, with such huge possibilities. I came home and did some quick research and found out that the candy wrapper business is booming, because not many people are in the business, and so many people find the products irresistible. But the candy wrapper business isn’t limited to just weddings. I’ve seen them used on full-size candy bars announcing the birth of a new child, for children’s birthday parties, graduation parties, and as business promotions. The possibilities are endless.

Here is an ebook about starting your own candy wrapper business that not only gives you tips and suggestions for starting your own candy wrapper business… it gives you one-of-a-kind, privately-created software with templates for various sized candies and candy bars. Also includes many, many images and fonts that will help you create exactly what your clients are looking for.

In order to start this business, you’ll need basic business supplies. Other possibilities for your candy wrapper business:

• Graduation parties (with images of the school mascot and grad year)
• Children’s parties
• Gifts for children to pass out to friends at Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, & Easter
• Make slightly larger labels and affix them to boxes of crayons, for party favors and school gifts
• Business promotions for businesses to give to customers or employees

If you are ready to move beyond your neighborhood and town, and want to take the online plunge and create a website in order to sell your baskets online, read about the candy wrapper business for information about how to get started.

I have lived in my house for 8 1/2 years. Every year, I add a few new plants to my home and yard, and keep them as healthy as I can. Imagine my surprise when I found out that some people make money at home doing exactly what I do: growing plants at home.

A family who lives near me grows plants at home, and use that side business for extra income each month. They bring in approximately $1000 per month with their plants. No, it’s probably not enough to support themselves with right now, but that extra $1,000 per month sure comes in handy for the “extra” things they like to treat themselves and their kids to. And considering that they only dedicate a few minutes per week working this side business, it’s a can’t-lose situation.

I did some research on the subject, and found that more and more families are starting plant businesses from their homes. There are very few things needed to start the business, and in some cases, some of the expenses are not recurring.

So what do you need to grow and sell plants from home?

• Potting mix (because it’s better for growing plants, and you don’t want to be digging up holes in your yard)
• Containers to grow your plants in. You don’t need to get fancy here. Anything that can hold dirt and let water flow out from the bottom can be used as a container for a plant
• Seeds or existing plants
• Sunlight (free!)
• Water

To sell them, just place signs around town or place ads in local papers advertising your plant sales. It’s just that simple.

Now, I”m not an expert gardener so I can’t go into the how-to’s of growing and caring for the plants that you grow. But I know that if you want to be successful at this, you can.

A found a couple who earn $1,000 per week growing and selling plants in the UK. If you’re interested in learning more (as well as learning exactly how to grow and care for the plants, and maximize your profits), you can read about them and the “grow and sell plants from home” ebook they wrote.  If you prefer a reading real books (instead of ebooks), check out “Plants for Profit,” which details several different ways to use your garden to make money from home. Good luck! And if you end up starting your own business growing and selling plants at home, drop me a line and let me know how it’s going for you!

I’m sure you’ve seen canvas bags with monograms embroidered on them. They’re cute, customized, and creative. Those three Cs can help you establish your own monogram embroidery business at home

So what do you need to start a monogram business from home?

First–and most importantly–you need an embroidery machine that uses computer software to create the monograms on fabric. I suggest buying the best machine you can afford, because the high-end machines have more capabilities than the basic machines offer. If you can’t afford new, scour eBay to buy an embroidery machine there.

Most sewing machine shops provide free classes if you purchase one of their machines (and they charge a nominal fee if you get your machine elsewhere).

Sit down and think about your business. If you are a visual person use a white board and markers or pen and paper to write out information about your monogram business. Decide if you want to monogram absolutely everything, or just canvas bags, just baby items, just shoes, etc.

Buy embroidery threads for your machine in several different colors. Get software that has several different fonts for your embroidery machine. A good monogram business offers their customers a wide array of fonts, colors, and sizes.

Find a supplier where you can purchase plain canvas bags, bibs, etc. In large cities, hit the wholesale district to find what you need. In smaller cities and towns, you can find reputable suppliers by networking with seamstresses or others in the business.

Practice, practice, practice! Use scraps of fabric to practice your monogramming in order to perfect your technique. You don’t want to sell your customers shoddy products with mistakes and imperfections, nor do you want to waste money by practicing on costly items.

Advertise your new monogram business by word of mouth at first. I highly suggest widening your customer base by selling your items online. If you already have an eBay account that you buy with, I suggest registering a new eBay account that you use for selling only. This keeps everything neat and clean when tax season rolls around.

Want more information? Read a “How to Start an Embroidery Business Guide.”

Good luck!

Tag sales. Yard sales. Garage sales. No matter what you call them, they are sure-fire money-makers. You know how they work: people drag their unwanted clothing, trinkets, and doodads out into the garage or yard, slap some price tags on them and invite strangers over to browse and buy. I’m sure you know you can sell your own stuff for some quick cash, but did you know that you can turn this idea into a career, and start a tag sale business?

What do you need to start a tag sale business? That depends on how professional you want to look at the beginning. For $100 or less, you can start your own tag sale business with price tags, bins and/or shelves, saw horses and plywood. You can eventually work your way up to having a business phone line, business cards, large folding tables, a cash register, and (if you dream big) employees to do most of the grunt work for you.

What is involved when you start your own tag sale business? Initially, you start by word of mouth, or with inexpensive advertising, alerting people to your business. Some people don’t have the time or desire to have their own garage sale, but they want to get rid of the clutter and earn some money. That’s where a tag sale business owner comes in. Once the clients find you and ask about your services, draw up a simple contract telling them what your fees are (these are generally 25% for larger tag sales with high-priced items and brand name clothes to 50% for smaller sales with less expensive items). What services you provide is up to you.

Some services to consider:

• You can have the client stack things in one corner of the garage, and you price the items and set up for the sale (this is the most basic of services for a tag sale business)
• You can provide the set up bins, shelves, and tables (or choose to have them provide them)
• You advertise the sale (this is basic)
• Decide if you want to purchase necessary city permits, or have the home owner do it
• Decide if you will include boxing up the left over items as part of your service, or have the home owner do it themselves.
• Create signage to draw customers to the sale (Check local laws! In my town, we can only use the signs that the city provides, and we are limited to only 3 signs per tag sale permit. Then we have to take down signs within 2 days or receive a citation.)

If you live in an area without many homes (such as rural or urban areas), consider branching out into nearby suburbs in order to expand your tag sale business (and your bank account).

If you want to learn more, read this Complete Guide to Making Big Money from Garage Sales.