Small Home Business Ideas

Looking to ditch the 9-5 and become your own boss? Or just want a side hustle? Starting a home business gives you the opportunity to turn your passion into an income stream, or just provide more control and flexibility over your work schedule.

So here are some ideas of ways to start your own business from home. Plus don’t forget you’ll need to register your home business to ensure it’s legally trading.  If you need any help with the legal side of getting set up, Namecorp’s business name registry service can help you with this.

Benefits of Having a Business from Home

Starting your own business can be very daunting, but there are many benefits to having your own business from home. Even if you’re not ready to do it full-time, you can do it as a side hustle, or reduce your normal working hours to part-time so you can enjoy the flexibility being your own boss offers.

Other benefits are: 

• Allows you to stay at home – so you save money on commuting costs, there’s no need to dress up in formal wear, and helps with childcare arrangements
• Are you more of a night owl than a 9-5er? Or perhaps you need to do the school run? Working from home with your own business allows you to manage your own schedule and working hours so you don’t need to worry about not meeting other fixed time commitments in your life, and you can choose to work when you’re more productive
• There is an opportunity for exponential growth and income if you can build a successful customer or client base up

Home Business Ideas

Computer-based Online Work

1. Content Creator / Copywriter – creating high-quality content for business and media outlets and can be all done from home.
2. Social Media Manager – a Social Media Manager determines the social media strategy and tactics for a business. Duties include scheduling posts and content for the target audience. Clients can be small businesses that do not have time to manage their own social media or have little experience with social media marketing.
3. Online Tutor or Online Teaching (school subjects or foreign languages) – opportunities are endless depending on your expertise. You can also offer face-to-face lessons and operate from your home or travel to their home.
4. Virtual Assistant –  performs secretarial and front desk functions, which may include management of the schedule of the client, tracking of requests, etc. This role requires good organisational skills but is an excellent home business idea.
5. Translator / Transcriber – translating books and materials originally written in other languages, or transcribing services from business meetings (this service is usually in high demand in the medical or financial field).
6. Graphic design – if you have the skillset for it, there are plenty of opportunities to build a freelance graphic design business from home. This would include developing marketing materials for businesses which can range from logos, brochures, social media graphics, and digital advertisement materials.
7. Video Producer – another skilled role, but an easy home business idea with the opportunity to get lots of freelance work. You could develop high-quality video materials for companies, YouTubers, and influencers.
8. Digital Marketing – if you have some experience in digital marketing you could provide online marketing services. A Digital Marketing Manager creates a digital marketing strategy for companies and runs online ads on behalf of small businesses, such as social media, pay-per-click advertising, or website display ads.
9. Website services – if you have skills in website development or updating websites there are also lots of opportunities in development, SEO, and website management.

There are many websites such as Upwork, Fiverr, and PeoplePerHour that let you advertise your online services, or you can view active jobs. You can also set up a website and advertise your services on social media.

Jobs With Flexible Work Hours

1. Delivery Driver –if you’ve got a bicycle, van, ute, or car you could consider delivery driving. This can range from working for a commercial company delivering food or other goods, to private jobs such as furniture pick-ups or removals.
   
   
2. Photographer/Videographer – so long as you have the equipment and the skills photography and videography can be lucrative and rewarding if it’s a hobby you are passionate about. There are lots of untapped opportunities such as photography or videos for family and social events, or for small businesses that require promotional content such as cafes that want food photography for their website and social media, or other small businesses that want professional pictures of their products.
3. Cleaning Services – there are lots of opportunities for people needing the service of cleaners, ranging from cleaning homes (domestic cleaning) to commercial cleaning such as offices and schools.
4. Event Planning – for highly organised and detail-oriented people, event planning could be a good business. Event Planners organise social events like weddings, birthdays, baptismal or corporate events such as product launches, conferences, etc.
5. Home Care Service – this is a growing industry with an increasing population in the 80+ age range who are needing in-home care. You could visit elderly people and carry out chores for them like cleaning or fetching shopping for them.
6. Dog walking or pet sitting – if you’re an animal-lover dog walking or pet sitting could be a good business for you. You could earn a regular income walking multiple dogs, or providing pet sitting services while owners are out of the house at work. There are many websites like MadPaws that advertise pet sitting and dog walking jobs, or let you advertise your services. You could also promote your services around dog parks or on social media.
7. Landscaping or Gardener – perfect for those with a green thumb and who have a good eye for landscaping design. If you can keep plants alive, there’s a market for you! Activities include mowing, tree-trimming, and planting.
8. Personal Fitness Trainer – people are getting more and more health conscious which means there’s a market for Personal Trainers. Perfect for those who find passion in helping people reach their fitness goals through training and proper diet. Don’t forget you’ll need some training and qualifications for this.
9. Music or Singing Lessons – can you play an instrument or have the voice of an angel? You could offer lessons.
10. Repair or Maintenance – can you fix a bicycle? Handy with a drill? There are lots of opportunities for ‘handyman’ work. Remember to check licensing requirements though, depending on your state, you will need a licence if you plan to work on high-value jobs. You can advertise your services on websites like AirTasker.

Businesses With Low Inventory Requirements

1. Food catering – Are you a whiz in the kitchen? Cater and serve for small parties or provide a meal-delivery service within your community. Identifying your business as a niche cuisine or recipe would be a good way to distinguish your business.
   
2. Customised Cakes – If you’re a fantastic baker, you could make customised cakes for special occasions such as birthdays and milestones.
3. Online reselling through eBay or Etsy – is perfect for those who have the skill in curating products. All you need is an e-commerce store in top marketplaces.
4. T-Shirt Printing – Customised printed T-shirts have always been in demand.  These are perfect gifts for loved ones, or as part of company branding for corporations. If you provide a print-on-demand service you don’t need to worry about having surplus stock.

Setting Up a Business 

So now you have your home business idea, it’s time to get it off the ground.

First, you’ll need an Australian Business Number (ABN). This is a unique identification number issued by the ATO and is how the government and community identify and knows about your business. You may also need to register a business name if you plan to trade as another other than your personal name. To register both your ABN and business name, go to www.namecorp.com.au, we’ve made the process fast and easy with more free features and add-on benefits than any other platform.

Namecorp offers a simple service that lets you register for your ABN, business name, domain name for your website and much more with one simple application. As registered ATO and ASIC registered agents you can be sure to trust that your application will be fully compliant with registered across all government bodies. In addition to this, you become part of Namecorp’s professional business community with access to the following business support services, free features and add-on benefits:

• Free Website – Get your business online with a free professionally designed website with one of our discounted hosting plans.
• Free Business Concierge – Free 24/7 professional help and guidance for all aspects of your business.
• Free Business Planners – Sales, marketing and budget planner templates to help plan for success.
• Free Legal Templates – Access professional legal documents to help cover your business needs.
• Free Certificate of Registration – Government issued certificate emailed directly to your inbox.
• Free Business Grant Finder – Advice and tools to help you apply for Government Grant funding.
• ABN & Tax Registration – ABN and GST registrations are processed instantly for your convenience. (Optional)
• Trademark Registration – Stop other people from stealing your business name or logo. (Optional)
• Domain Registration – Secure your online digital brand with a .com.au domain name. (Optional)

Disclaimer: All information provided on this webpage is general information about our business in Australia, and products and services. Nothing on this webpage is intended to be professional advice and should not be relied on as such. You should obtain specific financial, legal, or other professional advice before relying on the content of this webpage. By not seeking such advice, you accept the risk that the information on this webpage may not meet the specific needs of your business. Our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law in accordance with our website terms and conditions.