Still stuck for an idea of how to start your own business? With 19 more Small Business Ideas, you don’t need to open the next giant mega-outlet store. Sometimes filling a simple need is the easiest place to start. Here are 19 more ideas to get you brainstorming, when it comes to small business ideas.

• tutoring
• diaper delivery service
• professional organizer
• power wash (decks, homes, cars)
• meal delivery (think dieters)
• grocery delivery (save people time)
• mobile windshield repair
• locksmith
• mobile knife sharpener
• instructor (dance, music, gymnastics, self-defense)
• virtual assistant
• fragile item transport
• motivational speaker
• pool cleaner
• house sitter or pet sitter
• researcher
• computer lessons (think seniors and adults new to computers)
• baby proof homes
• large tour or vacation coordinator

Take something you know and expand on it! These may not be perfect ideas for you, but what they may do is trigger an idea that you have. Filling a need with a service is the perfect way to get your foot in the door. If you liked these ideas, here are a few more posts that offer even more brainstorming ideas!

• 37Small Business Ideas that Will Light Your Fire
  
• 27 Small Business Ideas

New to business? Have you checked out Entrepreneur.com? Whether you’re looking to start a new business, buy a franchise or are all ready in the mix, there are articles that you’ll find helpful. Let’s say you’re thinking about opening a sandwich shop. You can check out their guide here, which not only shows you a checklist of things you’ll need, but also floor plans, and show you franchises in that industry. This is one site you want to bookmark.

You may have seen their magazine, but their website is geared to the topics you need, when you want the information. They cover topics from money and marketing, to management and the technology. A subscription to their magazine runs you about $16 a year, the website, always available and free.

Let’s face it, we’re all pretty busy in our lives, and getting somewhere to take a class puts a crunch on your time. one of the best places to start when you’re talking business, is SCORE. You can find them at SCORE.org, and they have so many resources for people starting up in business, it’s well worth a bookmark and your time.

Today, I wanted to highlight their Online Training section. Whether you’re just starting out and looking to create your business plan, or you’re trying to learn to manage your money and understand how to create a profit and loss statement, SCORE is ready to help you. You can also learn about pricing, promoting and advertising your business. SCORE sets up to help you from beginning your business, to the point where you’re trying to stay in business.

If you’re not up for a class, then be sure to check out their “How-to” section which can answer a lot of questions you may have.  This is one resource worth mentioning again and again. They also offer tips, articles and guides. Their 60 second guides are offered in both English and Spanish.

If you need to learn, SCORE is ready to help.

In my last post I listed 37 Small Business Ideas that you might be interested in starting. Another way to have a small business is to buy one that is all ready functioning. You can go in and take it over. One simple and good site to check out is BizBuySell.com. It’s a great way to see not only what businesses are around your area, but what kind of money they are asking for.

At BizBuySell.com, you can simply search a type of business by category, or you can choose a location. If you’re looking for something local to wear you are, you can choose a state and then narrow it down later.

This is a great way to see what businesses are selling for, and give you thoughts and options you might not have thought of. If you’re looking for small business ideas, scoot on over to BizBuySell.com and poke around.

I’ve chosen to look at New Jersey, and a list of businesses show up in my area. You can then add a keyword in a search box above the listings. Let’s say I’m looking for a retail establishment, I’ll just add in the word retail to help narrow down the choices.

That’s not all, if you go up to the tabs, you can also look at franchises, and start-up businesses, not just established ones. You can also choose to place them in order based on asking price, as well as location.

If you’re stuck trying to think of a small business to start, first start by thinking about what you love to do. Here you’ll find a list of 37 small business ideas that work around things that you love to do!
If you love art, or being creative:

• open a gallery and sell art
• paint murals (in nurseries or on business walls)
• arrange flowers
• open an art studio to teach others how to paint, sculpt, etc

If you love animals:

• open a small pet store
• walk dogs
• take pet portraits
• design leashes and collars
• open a kennel or grooming business

If you love children:

• have a small child care facility
• open a space to have children’s birthday parties
• teach a class for children

If you love cars:

• detail cars
• offer a fleet car washing service
• sell car parts
• refurbish antique vehicles

If you love writing:

• write press releases for companies
• be a ghostwriter
• write articles and sell them as PLR

If you love cooking or food:

• write a cookbook
• have parties where you cook and sell cookware
• become a food critic
• design fruit baskets or gourmet food baskets

If you love beauty or make-up:

• be a consultant
• develop your own line of product or purchase a private label product to promote
• be a make-up artist
• contact your local paper to write a weekly column about the latest products or trends

If you love adventure:

• start a tour group business
• offer classes in whitewater rafting tips or rock climbing
• be a traveling journalist
• be a ski instructor
• offer to be a personal coach to families learning a new sport

If you love music:

• be a band promoter
• find independent artists and represent them
• give music lessons
• open a music store
• write commercial jingles

[tags] small business, small business ideas, start a business, business ideas, start up business ideas[/tags]

It’s that time again, the time that everyone groans about. My husband picked up copies of Turbo Tax this weekend. We need two different varieties, one for my business, and one for his income. Turbo Tax just makes doing taxes easier. Of course, you can get an accountant, and that makes it easier still!

Either way, we do our own taxes, and Turbo Tax asks you all the questions to keep it simple. I recently learned about a site sponsored by Turbo Tax that lets you ask questions. At FreeTaxQuestion.com, you can ask a Turbo Tax pro a question. They also have a list of frequently asked questions, so if you’re stuck on something, this is a site you’ll want to check out.

I remember growing up and watching my dad do our taxes. He’d pull out all these boxes of papers and receipts and books and spread them out on the dining room table. I started that way, as he taught me to do my own taxes as soon as I started working. Once Turbo Tax came out, it all became so simplified! It’s such a smooth process, and helps you along, I wouldn’t do it any other way now! Do you Turbo Tax?

*disclosure - sponsored

If you’ve only had an off line business, have you considered selling your products online? It’s another option that may open a door to a larger client base. When thinking of going from simply off line to also online, you’ll need to consider things such as shipping options, return policies and more.

While you may be a small niche store in your neighborhood, by opening up an internet store, you’ll reach out to people who may be looking for exactly what you’re selling. If you’re in the business of selling vintage shoes, there’s a hardcore audience for things of this nature, but they may not all live in your neighborhood.

It’s important that you look into all information like taxing, shipping across state lines and more. For example if you have a wine store, there are certain states you can not deliver to. Know the rules for your industry, and you may have a chance to expand that business just a little more.

The “Just Do It” trademarked logo is a good one, isn’t it. You know why? We’re a bunch of procrastinators. I’ll do it later, I’ll do it when I’m done here, just let me finish this first….”Just Do It” all ready.

That comes into play in the business world, as much as it does in sports, which Nike is speaking about in their commercials and print ads.

I had a stack of projects I needed to accomplish in January, and the thought of starting was overwhelming at times. How will I get it all done? Seriously??? Come on now, just dig in and get it started. Once you are in the process, things move along quicker than you thought they would.

Think about this, how long do you think it takes to unload the dishwasher? I hate to unload the dishwasher. It’s a tedious stupid chore that has to get done, and I always put it off until the last minute. I didn’t feel like spending ten minutes doing it, as lazy as that sounds, it just seemed so long.

One day I decided to time that task, and it took me 2 1/2 minutes in reality. Are you kidding me? I was complaining about a job that took less than 3 minutes to complete? In my mind, I had extended that time by 3!

Now, take that same analogy and put that into your business world. Those reports you want to get through, I’ll bet you’re expecting them to take a full hour. If you actually just start, they may only take you about 20 minutes. Our mind extends the amount of time when we’re dreading something. On the other hand, look at something fun like a vacation. Time flies, and it seems like it went so fast.

Time is a perception, and when we dread it, it’s going to go slower. When we enjoy something, it won’t phase us. Re look at those projects, and see the reality it, not the warped perception of time in your mind.

A new fitness place opened up around our area. We passed it today as we were out running errands, and it led to an interesting discussion I wanted to share here. We have a “mega gym” type place about 15 minutes away. The parking lot spills over, it’s packed every single day, and it’s probably the busiest gym I’ve personally ever seen. I’m not a member, I’m talking based on their massive parking lot that I pass quite regularly.

This new fitness place is smaller, targeting many of the same clients, and offers to stay open 24 hours a day. Here’s how the conversation went.

Husband: “Who wants to work out at 3am? That’s got to be expensive to keep employees there around the clock.”

Me: “I used to work midnights years ago, and I’d have been thrilled if something was open at night. People forget not everyone has a 9-5 job.”

Husband: “It has to be such a small sector of people though.”

Me: “Nurses, doctors, police officers, plant workers, retailers, firemen, shall I go on?”

Husband: “I guess I never really thought about it.”

Me: “It’s a brilliant business plan. They are filling a need. People who don’t want to go to the mega-complex gym, and may have to work out at odd hours. They are solving a problem, and that’s good business sense.”

Husband: “I guess, I just don’t see myself working at at 3am.”

Let’s face it, when you’re getting into a business, the best way is to target a need. Example: I worked midnights for 2 years, and at 3am, I was awake, but the only other places that were happened to be diners. To have another option would have been great.

They saw a gap and they filled it.

Are you solving a problem? If not, what are you offering that’s different than the guy next to you?

Stuck in a rut? Do you barely notice things anymore; are just grinding through the day? It’s time for a change!

Change can be scary sometimes. We like the comfort of similarity. It’s a natural human instinct to want to know what we’re doing. Sure, I like spontaneity when I travel, but when it comes to my work, I want things to work how they are supposed to. I want to know what to expect in the outcome, and I don’t want to have to learn a new way of doing things, if it’s working for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love to learn, but some things I like how they are. Uh-oh, that means it’s time to re look at what I’m doing! Stagnancy is a dirty word in business.

Change equals growth, and by opening yourself to new options, you can learn from the past, and bring new strengths into the new.

Have you been doing something that’s worked okay for awhile, but you’ve been avoiding changing, because you don’t feel like it? Maybe sales aren’t climbing like you thought, and actually they’re sitting pretty stagnant. Rather than settle with stagnant, take this negative situation and add in a mix of reality and creativity, and you can find a winning combination.

It’s easy to get settled in our ways, whether at business or even at home. Do you take the same route to work every morning? Of course you do, because it’s your pattern. Just like patterns we create in our daily life, our business can fall into the same, dull pattern, with the same dull results.

When we look at something with a fresh set of eyes, find new ways to do things, brainstorm on ideas with others, you’ll bring fresh blood, unique angles and maybe even a big old boost to your lagging or stagnant sales.

Isn’t it time to get out of your rut, and bring some vibrancy and excitement back to your business?