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!

What do you need to start a tag sale business? 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 you come 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.

Note: They are accepting all applications right now for a limited time, but are particularly looking for male and Hispanic members. If you are male, register by clicking here. If you are Hispanic, register by clicking here. All other groups, click here to register.

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!

I asked her how she does it. Here’s a transcript of our interview:

How Did You Become a Medical Transcriptionist?

Believe it or not, I never went to school for it. We have a junior college and university in town, but I just fell into it. A friend of mine was doing it, and I watched her do it once. I figured if she could do it, I could do it. Now, I guess I’m proof that I was right.

What Tools Do You Need to Be a Medical Transcriptionist?

All I use is my computer, a transcriber, and a printer. I bought the printer and transcriber second hand. And I have a couple of books, like medical dictionaries, to help me if I get confused about spelling or something.

How Much Can You Make as a Medical Transcriptionist?

It depends on who you work for, and how you charge. My friend started out doing pool work for a transcription company. So the doctors would pay the company, and the company would pay my friend. Then she figured out she could do it on her own, and she’s making more than double what she used to, even though she is doing less work. Me, I started out charging 14¢ per line of transcription. I’m a pretty fast typist, so it came out to a good deal. Then I listened to other transcriptionists who told me I should charge a flat rate. So now, I charge doctors a flat rate. So I get paid the same, no matter what. Some weeks, they might have 100 patients, but other weeks they might have 20 patients. And no matter what, I get paid the same amount.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to make money as a medical transcriptionist at home, and how to find doctors who need your services, vist the Medical Transcription Work From Home site.

I’m sure there are countless ebooks out there that will promise to help you earn money on eBay… if you pay them for the information. I’ll just give you some free information here, in the form of a few steps. These steps helped me become a Power Seller (when I was an active eBay seller).

1. If you are already have an eBay account that you use to buy things, register for an eBay account that you will use exclusively for selling. It just makes everything neater, more professional, and easier to handle when tax season rolls around.
2. Use clear photos of your items. If you can, use a white sheet or a clean table top when you take photos of your things. You don’t want anything to distract from the item that is up for auction. So if you’re taking pictures of a pair of shoes, don’t take the photo of the shoes in front of a pile of other shoes.
3. Be as clear and concise as possible in your title line. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve snagged items at ridiculously low prices because the seller put something like, “black sandals” in the subject line. Use all of the space that eBay gives you! If you want to get as many viewers as possible, write out, “Black strappy sandals w 2″ heel sz 7 NEW” in your title (or whatever is fitting for your item)
4. Ship immediately after receiving payment. On eBay, your feedback is your reputation and it can make or break you. Shipping out fast will increase the chances of your buyer leaving good feedback.
5. Keep your eBay income in two separate piles. You decide what percentage works best for you financial needs. With one of the piles, visit garage sales and Good Wills to buy more things to sell. To make money on eBay, you need a constant supply of things. Unless you plan to sell everything under your roof, you need to find outside sources to keep your supplies up.

Stock photo agencies are websites that “stock” photos from digital photographers all over the world.  This is where you come in.  In order to stay in business, and stay “fresh,” stock photo agencies need a constant flow of new photos.

How does it work?   You take digital photographs (of just about anything and everything you want to), and submit them to stock agencies.  If your photos are approved by the agency, your photos will then be available for buyers all over the world.  You get paid commission for every purchase and download of your photo.

This can be a very lucrative home-based business for anyone interested in digital photography.  The only real requirements are a digital camera and an internet connection.

There are some rules about the business, though.  If you’d like to make this your home business, I suggest you learn from Chris.

(P.S. I believe in Chris’s system so much that I’ve made his ebook the latest Featured eBook at momportunity.com!)

Nielsen studies television viewing by asking households across the country to keep viewing diaries or to attach data-collecting boxes to their family televisions. They study consumers in the same way. Nielsen supplies some families across the country with home scanners — hand-held devices that allow the study participants to scan the bar codes of the items they buy (everything from generic canned peas to plasma televisions).

What does Nielsen do with the data they collect from Homescan studies? They report back to manufacturers, and the data ultimately influences what products are made and sold.

They can’t do this alone, however.  Nielsen needs participants for this program. Registration is completely free. What’s in it for you? Well, Nielsen doesn’t pay in the form of cash. BUT if you are an active participant in the program, Nielsen will reward you with points that you can redeem for electronics, jewelry, household items, toys, and a lot more. In my opinion, that’s just as good as cash, because you can earn free things that you can give away as gifts (which takes that burden off of your wallet). Influence the products made and sold.  Join Nielsen’s Homescan Consumer Panel. Click Here to learn more!!

The details:

• Representatives earn up to 50% commission on all items they sell.
• Starting your Avon business costs just $10.
• Avon offers health and life insurance to representatives who want and need it.
• The Avon company has been around for 123 years, so your home business will come with the benefit of brand-recognition.

For more information about the Avon opportunity, visit Avon’s representative page.  Submit your contact information for a free, no-pressure call from Avon.  They can provide answers to any questions you may have about the business, company, and products.

And just a side note: Avon isn’t just for women!  When I sold Avon, the highest-seller in my district was a man.