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Now more than ever, working from home is high on a lot of people’s list of things they’d like to achieve.
But finding the best work-from-home business idea for you can feel overwhelming!
If you’re not already a part of this world, you may not be aware of just how many options there are out there for you.
Here’s a breakdown of 17 at-home business ideas you need to consider if you want to start your own business.
I did my best to give you an idea of how much you can earn and how you can get started so you have all the info you need to make the best decision for you! I even included as many free resources as I could find!
All of these ideas can be just a side hustle for extra income or a full-time job that pays really well. It all depends on what your needs are.
And good news! You can get started with all of these ideas even if you don’t have a degree.
Keep reading to learn what businesses you can start from home!
1. General Proofreader
I couldn’t create a list of the best work-from-home business ideas without including the one that got me started in the work-at-home world all those years ago — proofreading!
What does a proofreader do?
A proofreader is the last set of eyes to look at a document before it gets published. Proofreaders search for and fix grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
It is the perfect job for anyone who loves reading and has an eagle eye for spotting errors.
All you need to get started is a computer, proofreading software like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, and some resource guides.
Thanks to the boom in self-publishing and the number of blogs and websites that get published every day, there is a huge demand for proofreaders. Now is a great time to make money from your word-nerd skills!
How much can you earn as a general proofreader?
According to Zip Recruiter, the average annual salary for a proofreader is $45,852. Not too shabby!
What is the best way to get started as a general proofreader?
If you are 100% confident in your proofreading skills, you could start advertising your services today. However, reputation is everything when it comes to proofreading, so if you want to make sure your skills are up to date, then I recommend taking a course to refresh your knowledge. My General Proofreading: Theory and Practice course will give you all the help you need to bring your skills up to scratch AND show you how to get clients.
Best free resource: Check out my FREE Intro to Proofreading workshop to learn more about making money as a freelance proofreader.
2. Transcript Proofreader
Did you know that proofreading court transcripts is a legitimate business? I’m including transcript proofreading separately from general proofreading because not a lot of people are even aware of its existence!
What does a transcript proofreader do?
A transcript proofreader proofreader transcripts created by court reporters.
Because transcripts are verbatim to what is said in a legal proceeding, proofreading transcripts is a much more technical and complicated process. The list of errors you’re hunting for is completely different — and much longer.
How much can you earn as a transcript proofreader?
It depends on how fast you read, your skill level, and the amount of work you take on, but to give you an idea of what’s possible, I earned $43,000 a year as a transcript proofreader — working only 25 hours a week!
What’s the best way to get started as a transcript proofreader?
This is one at-home business I would not advise you to start if you haven’t had proper training. As I already mentioned, proofreading transcripts is a totally different kettle of fish to general proofreading, so it’s super important to make sure you understand exactly what you need to do before you begin.
In my course Transcript Proofreading: Theory and Practice, I show you everything you need to know to get started as a transcript proofreader including understanding the nuts and bolts of transcripts, the common errors you’ll need to look for, and how to mark up the transcripts, as well as how to market your business to get clients.
Best free resource: If you want to learn more about transcript proofreading before you commit to it, check out Proofread Anywhere’s free 7-day email course.
3. Transcriptionist
Many people think that transcription is a dying field, but it’s really not, y’all!
What does a transcriptionist do?
A transcriptionist listens to audio files and types them out into a text document. There are a few different types of transcription including general, legal, and medical.
To start working as a transcriptionist, you’ll need a computer with an internet connection, along with word processing software. You’ll also need transcription equipment and training.
The need for transcriptionists is growing all the time because there is so much audio and video content being produced these days by all types of individuals and professionals.
Transcription is super important for any video content producer because search engines can’t read videos! They need a transcript to be able to tell how to categorize the content so it appears correctly in search engine results.
How much can you earn as a transcriptionist?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on average, general transcriptionists earn $58K/year and legal transcriptionists earn $65K/year.
What the best way to get started as a transcriptionist?
Transcription is another work-at-home job that it’s super important to get proper training in before you start working. Without it, you might find work working for very low-paying companies who don’t care about quality, but qualified transcriptionists are recognized and paid well for their skills. Transcribe Anywhere has both a general transcription and a legal transcription course to help you get started the right way.
Best free resource: Janet offers a FREE 7-day mini-course that will teach you more about what transcription is, who uses transcriptionists, and why you shouldn’t believe any myths you’ve heard about transcription!
4. Translator
Able to speak more than one language? You’ve got to monetize that genius!
What does a translator do?
A translator’s job is to translate written text from one language to another, usually from their secondary language into their native language. The aim is for the translation to read as if it were the original, so the translator must ensure that the translation flows as well as the original without changing the facts.
How much can you earn as a translator? The median annual pay for a translator is $51,830 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What’s the best way to get started as a translator?
Do you already speak another language, but you don’t know how to turn that into a money-making business? Turnkey Translator is a proven, step-by-step system designed to help you launch and grow your language translation career or side hustle in the fastest way possible. This course teaches you how to identify valuable language skills and figure out how to find clients, get started without any prior experience, and manage and scale your business.
5. Virtual Assistant
Virtual assisting is one of the fastest ways to earn money from home. This industry is growing like wildfire because entrepreneurs are realizing that they can’t do everything themselves and are also realizing that they don’t need their assistant by their side every minute of the day!
What does a virtual assistant do?
A virtual assistant (VA) is hired by another business owner to complete certain tasks virtually that they don’t want to do themselves or that they don’t have time to do.
VAs can offer a very wide range of services from email management to social media management to writing. The list is endless!
How much can you earn as a virtual assistant?
The average salary for a virtual assistant in the United States is $48,099, according to Zip Recruiter, but you can earn a lot more depending on which services you offer.
I’ve been known to spend more than a dollar or two on virtual assistants; in fact, I paid this virtual assistant more than $20K in less than two months!
What is the best way to get started as a virtual assistant? If you already have skills you can use as a virtual assistant, but you’re not sure how to start your business, Lauren Golden from The Free Mama Movement’s Quick Start Freelance Success Kit will help you figure out exactly how you can make money freelancing from home. It also includes your guide to finding clients online, as well as special BONUS material you can use to make sure you impress potential clients right from the start, PLUS a contract template you can use for a polished, professional appearance.
Best free resource: Lauren Golden from The Free Mama Movement has an awesome free checklist of 70 skills you can make money from as a virtual assistant. And if you want even more information about becoming a virtual assistant, make sure you check out her free training where she breaks down the right way and the wrong way to make money from home!
6. Pinterest Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants don’t need to restrict themselves to strictly admin tasks; they can niche down and offer specific services that business owners are crying out for, like help with managing their Pinterest accounts.
Pinterest is one of the biggest drivers of website traffic, so it’s essential that business owners use it to bring in potential customers.
A lot of people would rather watch paint dry than mess around on Pinterest though, so they need to outsource this super important task to someone who actually enjoys it — maybe that’s you!
What does a Pinterest virtual assistant do?
A Pinterest virtual assistant manages another business owner’s Pinterest account. They may create pins, write SEO-friendly pin descriptions, come up with a pinning strategy, upload the pins to Pinterest according to this strategy, and analyze and tweak depending on the analytics.
It’s the perfect job for someone who’s good at design and who loves to mess around on Pinterest.
How much can you earn as a Pinterest virtual assistant?
You can start charging $15 per hour as a beginner and increase your rates to as much as $100 per hour if you are providing an advanced Pinterest strategy.
What is the best way to get started as a Pinterest virtual assistant?
You can learn the ins and outs of working as a Pinterest virtual assistant from Pinterest VA Primer, which is a no-nonsense introduction course to creating a Pinterest virtual assistant business from scratch.
7. Freelance Writer
Freelance writing is one of the oldies in the work-at-home world. It’s been around for years! And it’s only growing even more popular as time goes on!
What does a freelance writer do?
A freelance writer gets paid to write articles for businesses and bloggers who need to publish content regularly to attract clients, but they don’t have the time or skill level to do it themselves.
Writing is the perfect way to earn money from home if you’re a word nerd who has always enjoyed putting pen to paper.
And the best news is you don’t need a degree in English to be a successful writer!
How much can you earn as a freelance writer?
There is absolutely no limit to how much a freelance writer can earn! Holly Johnson earns $200K per year — and she reached that amount within a couple of years! She says she started charging $75 to $100 per article and now she charges between $300 and $1,500 per article! Busts that image you have of a struggling writer, doesn’t it?!
What’s the best way to get started as a freelance writer?
Holly’s course Earn More Writing is the perfect resource for new writers. Through almost six hours of video and a ton of printable resources, Holly explains how a writer can get started and the exact steps they need to take to get their career off the ground.
8. Self-Publishing Author
Always dreamed of becoming an author and having your book published?
It doesn’t have to be a dream! These days you don’t have to wait until you get an agent and a fancy book publishing company buys your manuscript; you can self-publish your own book on Amazon. Cut out the middleman!
What does a self-publishing author do?
A self-publishing author is involved in almost every stage of the publishing process — from writing to publishing the book. They may hire out some stages like editing, proofreading, and formatting. (Well, they would be wise to do this if they want their book to look professional!)
How much can you earn as a self-publishing author?
It really depends on how many books you have published and how much marketing you do. Generally the more frequently you publish, the more you will earn. Readers love to buy every book their favorite authors write!
Self-publishing authors earn an average of $1,000 on Amazon, but if you put the work in, you could earn as much as this guy who earns $450,000 a year!
What’s the best way to get started as a self-publishing author?
You can just start writing your book and google everything you need to know about the publishing process. That’s an option. The quicker option would be to take a course that will help guide you through every stage in the publishing process so you publish your book quicker and with much more success. Self-Publishing School is exactly what you need if you want to get your book out there NOW!
Best free resource: My friend Chandler Bolt over at Self-Publishing School has a free webinar you can dive into if you want to learn more about self-publishing your book and earning money from it.
9. Ghostwriter
More interested in getting paid to write than building your name as a writer?
Why not try ghostwriting?
What does a ghostwriter do?
A ghostwriter is someone who writes anonymously on behalf of a company or business owner.
A lot of business owners don’t have time to write all their own content because they’re busy creating products or being the face of the brand. A ghostwriter writes in the business owner’s voice so their audience feels like the content is coming straight from that person.
Learning how to write in another person’s voice is challenging, but it’s an amazing skill to have.
Business owners in all industries hire ghostwriters, from popular online media personalities to high-profile bloggers.
Not sure if ghostwriting is ethical? Check out this interview I did with Holly Johnson to find out!
How much can you earn as a ghostwriter?
Ghostwriting can pay more than traditional freelance writing because it requires a higher level of skill. According to Zip Recruiter, the average salary for a ghostwriter is $63,915.
What’s the best way to get started as a ghostwriter?
Does ghostwriting seem like a good fit? If you’re interested in learning more from Holly, check out her Earn More Writing course. She has an entire section dedicated to ghostwriting.
10. Blogger
If you love writing but you want to write for yourself and not other businesses, then blogging is a great way to do this — and it has a huge income potential!
Not sure if you can make much money as a blogger? Check out our interview with Whitney Bonds where she tells us how she became a six-figure blogger!
What does a blogger do?
A blogger writes and publishes blog posts on their website about topics that educate or entertain their readers. Bloggers can make money through a variety of different ways including affiliate income, ad revenue, and selling their own products.
How much can you earn as a blogger? The sky’s the limit when it comes to the amount you can earn as a blogger! It is certainly not a get-rich-quick scheme. It will take lots of time and effort to grow your audience and start earning money, but once you do, it’s possible to scale your income to $100,000 and beyond.
What’s the best way to get started as a blogger? Greg Johnson of Club Thrifty built his blog from $0 to over $400K a year! Holy smokes! He teaches exactly how he did that in his course Earn More Blogging. It can take time to earn money from blogging, so taking a course like Greg’s will help you cut out a lot of the trial and error and get there faster.
11. Podcast Producer
Podcasting is an exploding industry right now. Everyone and their mom has a podcast. I will soon have two — Work-At-Home Heroes and Crazy Brave Life (watch this space!).
In such a busy industry, it’s only natural that podcasters will need some help getting their podcast out there, so they need to hire a podcast producer.
What does a podcast producer do?
A podcast producer offers technical, administrative, or marketing support to podcast owners remotely. They make sure everything goes smoothly in the whole podcast process. Clients need help with technical setup and support, audio editing, episode distribution and publication, guest management, and marketing and promoting their shows.
(Don’t worry; you don’t have to do it all! Just like any other service you offer, you can pick and choose based on client needs, your skill set, and what you enjoy doing the most!)
Podcast producers may be responsible for planning the content and marketing strategies for the show. When an episode is ready to publish, they’ll coordinate with the marketing team (if there is one!) or organize the marketing plan themselves to make sure everything is ready to go. And once an episode has gone live, the podcast producer looks at the analytics and makes decisions (or suggestions) about areas for improvement.
How much can you earn as a podcast producer?
Most podcast producers easily average $30 to $50 per hour (or more!). You can start out offering your services for a minimum of $20 per hour.
What’s the best way to get started as a podcast producer?
My good friend Gina Horkey has an awesome course called Podcast Production School where she has joined forces with Melanie Scroggins and Hailie Thomas to teach people how to help business owners launch, manage, and grow a successful podcast — and get paid for it!
Best free resource: Podcast Production School has an awesome free workbook and checklist that includes a list of the top podcast skills that businesses need help with, a podcast launch checklist, and their custom podcast production checklist.
12. Bookkeeper
Think you have to be a CPA or have an accounting degree to be a bookkeeper? Think again! You don’t even have to be good at math! It’s possible to learn how to be a successful bookkeeper even if you have no prior experience.
Bookkeeping is very much in demand. Every business is required to do bookkeeping, so it’s not a hard sell to potential clients!
What does a bookkeeper do?
A bookkeeper records all of a business’s transactions — debits and credits. They provide accurate, up-to-date information to business owners so they can make better financial decisions. They may also look after the payroll for a company — a very important role. We all gotsta get paid! 😉
How much can you earn as a bookkeeper?
You can earn $60 an hour as a bookkeeper!
What’s the best way to get started as a bookkeeper? My friend Ben Robinson has a FREE three-lesson program that shows you how to succeed as a bookkeeping business owner. Check it out before signing up for his full course that teaches you how to get clients and run your business successfully.
13. Flipping Flea Market Finds
Flipping is one of those jobs that can start as a hobby but grow into a six-figure business if you put time and effort into it.
What does a flea market flipper do?
A flea market flipper buys items at a low price from flea markets and thrift stores and sells them for a higher price on places like eBay. Sometimes you may have to refurbish the item and sometimes you can just sell it again right away.
How much can you earn as a flea market flipper?
This really depends on how much time you invest in it. My real-life friends Rob and Melissa Stephenson earned $42,000 the first year they took flipping seriously. The following year they had more than tripled that to $133,000 when they took their side hustle full-time! Not bad at all.
What’s the best way to get started as a flea market flipper? Rob and Melissa have a course called Flipper University where they show you the best ways to buy and sell items to make a profit.
Best free resource: If you’re not sure flipping flea market items is the right fit for you, Rob and Melissa have a free workshop that will help you figure that out as well as three insider secrets that will help you grow your flipping profits!
14. Website Developer
One thing for sure these days is that websites are not going anywhere any time soon. Every business needs a website, and if they’re pretty straightforward with just a few pages, they can build it themselves.
But if the business has advanced needs like adding a shop or a course or they want to have an app, then they may need help from a website developer to build this.
Not sure if you’ve got what it takes to be a good developer? Hahna Kane Lotnick shares the qualities every developer needs!
What does a website developer do?
A website developer writes the code that tells how a website how to function. They may also maintain the website after it has been built to ensure it runs smoothly.
How much can you earn as a website developer?
According to Indeed, the average website developer salary is $77,797.
What’s the best way to get started as a website developer?
If you don’t have a lot of experience in this area, you can do a training course to get up to speed. Hahna offers the Freelance Developer Jumpstart course that can help web developers discover how to quickly monetize their coding skills through freelancing.
Best free resource:
Get a head start now by downloading the free guide on how to code your way to $5K a month.
15. Audiobook Narrator
Are you a big talker? Why are you giving it away for free? You can get paid to talk, you know!
You can become an audiobook narrator (otherwise known as voice over artist)!
The popularity of audiobooks is increasing all the time. People are generally busy, and they want to spend their commute, or other times they can’t read a physical book, listening to books.
You could be the one to read that book to them!
What does an audiobook narrator do?
An audiobook narrator reads the contents of a book out loud and acts it out so it sounds engaging.
Some equipment is needed like a laptop, a microphone, headphones, and some recording software.
How much can you earn as an audiobook narrator?
According to Voices.com, you can earn between $200 and $300 an hour from narrating audiobooks!
What’s the best way to get started as an audiobook narrator?
Julie Eickhoff has a voice over course that will teach you exactly how to record your voice to get the best sound, how to find clients and run your business, and even a voice review so you get personalised feedback on how to improve!
Julie has also been a guest on the Work-At-Home Heroes podcast! Listen to her episode here!
Great news! Julie just did another episode of the Work-At-Home Heroes podcast where she tells us how she turned her skill as a voice over artist into a course where she teaches other people how to do it!
Best free resource:
Check out this Introduction to Becoming an Audiobook Narrator to learn more about making money from your voice!
16. Etsy Seller
Are you a big crafter? A photographer? Or a vintage lover?
Did you know you can use these talents and interests to make money online?
Etsy is an online marketplace that specializes in handmade items, vintage items, and craft supplies.
What does an Etsy seller do?
You can set up a shop selling your crafts, supplies, or vintage items and get paid for it. You are in charge of responding to queries from potential customers and also for posting and packaging the sold items. Etsy takes a percentage of your sales and also charges a small fee to list your items.
How much can you earn as an Etsy seller?
It’s hard to put a figure on how much you can earn. It all depends on how much time and effort you put into it and what your price point is. Many people have been able to turn their Etsy shop into a full-time business, but you can start it as a side hustle.
What’s the best way to get started as an Etsy seller?
You can start a shop today and just pay the fees for listing your items. You’ll need to take excellent photos of your items so your potential customers can see how awesome they are. To get your business off to the best start it can have, you can take a course like The Seller Success Challenge from Danielle Gagnon, which is the ultimate crash course in getting more views for Etsy listings, selling more stuff, and taking an Etsy shop from passion project to profit.
17. Online Book Reseller
Are you a book lover who’s just looking for something you can do part-time and earn a little extra money? Why not become a book reseller?
What does an online book reseller do?
An online book reseller buys cheap books and resells them online for a profit.
How much can you earn as an online book reseller?
How does $99K in one month sound? OK, that’s an extreme example, but it’s a real example from one of Peter Valley’s students (mentioned below). It is certainly possible to earn several hundred dollars a month to several thousand dollars a month depending on how much time you put into it and if you use a strategy to get more sales.
What’s the best way to get started as an online book reseller?
Peter Valley, a veteran Amazon bookseller and the inventor of “online book arbitrage,” has a sixty-minute, step-by-step course where he teaches you his system for finding cheap books on Amazon and reselling them back on Amazon for a profit (with no tools and no experience).
Best free resource: Want a sneak preview of how you can start selling books online? Peter has a free book showing you how to become an online book reseller. All you pay is shipping!
Our Take
There you have it! Seventeen of the best work-from-home business ideas all laid out for you in one place. There is something for everyone on this list — no matter what skills or experience you currently have. All you have to do is find the right one for you!
Many of the courses listed above are included in Work-At-Home School this year, so make sure you check out the masterclass below to learn more!
Your Turn
Still can’t decide what route you want to take into working from home? No problem! Check out our free masterclass to learn more about your work-at-home options.
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