Start a Home Based Business

Want to shorten your commute from an hour to a minute? Many of the most successful small businesses started out in a home office. Whether your job involves a computer or a lawnmower, a home based business can be an inexpensive path to entrepreneurship. How do you start?

We’ve grouped the following resources together as a starting point for your research into what it would take to start your own business from home. In addition to the free content (such as sample business plans that you can read in full online), you will also find links for additional tools and products to help you move from the “where do I begin?” research step to the “how do I get started?” step — when you’re ready.

Home Based Business Sample Plans

Looking for inspiration? Check out our sample business plans for entrepreneurs working from home. See how others like you got started and turned their home based business idea into a reality. All of the plans below can be read fully online, and even more are available in LivePlan.

Decorative Pottery Business Plan
Fat Cat Creations is a home based business making one-of-a-kind raku pottery ceramic cats which are sold in galleries and at arts and craft festivals along the West Coast, as well as nationally on the Fat Cat Creations website.

Lawn and Garden Services Business Plan
Working from their home office, Fescue & Sons Yard Care will offer residential and commercial lawn care service, including lawn cutting, trimming, edging, and removal of the clippings.

Medical Billing Business Plan
This work from home business plan describes how Physicians 1st Billing and Claims is a medical reimbursement consulting firm dedicated to helping medical practices become more efficient and save money by allowing them to out-source their insurance processing and medical billing to an expert reimbursement service.

Personal Event Planning Business Plan
Occasions, the Event Planning Specialists is a home based consulting business that uses its expertise and its specialized event-planning products to help its customers plan their own events. These products and services include party packs, step-by-step guide booklets, and event-planning software.

Pet Photography Business Plan
A home based business aimed at bringing a smile to every pet owner’s face, Adorable Pet Photography will offer a wide variety of products, such as: formal studio portraits, location portrait sessions, holiday candid photographs, portrait finishes, and framing.

Wedding Consultant Business Plan
In this home based business, TLC Wedding Consultants provides complete consulting services for weddings, honeymoons, receptions, anniversary consultations, budget planning, answers to etiquette questions, as well as full-service referrals to florists, hair stylists, entertainers, musicians, etc.

Computer Consulting Business Plan
Working from a home based office, Calico Computer Consulting provides fast, reliable technical computer assistance.

Home Based Sample Marketing Plan

Once you’ve decided on the type of business you want to start, you must also plan how you will reach your potential customer market and how you will convince them they want to do business with you. That’s what marketing is all about. Read this sample marketing plan and see how Physician’s 1st Billing and Claims targeted its ideal online customer base.

Articles on Starting a Home Based Business

In addition to the home based business and marketing sample plans above, the following articles address many of the common types of questions entrepreneurs have about starting a business. No matter what type of business you’re interested in, you will find these articles to be helpful.

Your Guide to Starting a Home Based Business

We asked three home-based business owners to help us create a guide to help you launch your business.

How To Start An Etsy Shop

Etsy is an online marketplace where plenty of home-based entrepreneurs are getting their start. Find out if it’s right for you.

Reducing Risk for a Startup Business
How do you transition from employment to self-employed entrepreneur without losing your shirt? That is a fundamental question.

No Money? No Problem!
Is it possible to start a business without money or collateral? Anything is possible.

The Right Business For You
If you want to work for yourself, but don’t have a particular business in mind, you’re probably wondering what kind of business you should start. Fortunately, the answer is always the same.

Top 15 Questions from SCORE
1. What kind of person makes a successful entrepreneur?

Start a Business Resource Kit

Looking for more resources to help you start your bed and breakfast or other home based business? This free online business planning toolkit includes a presentation by business planning guru Tim Berry, a set of business calculators, sample business plans and more. Launch the toolkit

Industry research Get valuable financial intelligence and industry trends for your industry in an industry research report. We provide detailed reports with five years of financials, business ratios, and more. Better yet, our industry reports are available at the U.S. national, state, and even county level, so you can really understand the local competitive environment. Start your market research the easy way.
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