The Complete Homeworker

                             

                          INTRODUCTION

This guide seeks to serve the interests of those who aim to earn

their living by means of work or businesses carried out entirely

from home.

For many, that decision will be one inspired by reasons of

circumstance rather than choice, whilst for others the occupation

chosen will be one to further their aims as entrepreneurs in

home-based and consequently lower overhead businesses.

Many a highly successful business enterprise has commenced life

with nothing but the humble kitchen table as its entire

complement of fixtures and fittings.

We seek to identify only those opportunities that are likely to

be easiest for the newcomer to start up in, and which are also

likely to offer more by way of financial incentives.

Please read all sections carefully before you decide which

opportunity is for you. It is by no means unusual to discover a

venture one considers highly unlikely to be of much benefit, to

subsequently find that venture is the very one from which the

individual comes to owe a very handsome living for him or herself

and family.

We wish you luck in whatever course your new career takes!

                 

ANTIQUES & COLLECTORS' ITEMS

Not always an area in which any specialist knowledge is required

of the businessman or woman, the world of antiques and

collectors' items can be as basic or as specialised as one might

wish it to be.

At one end of the scale, there are dealers whose entire

operations revolve around extremely rare and valuable specimens;

at the other there are those who deal quite happily and

profitably in small items of household 'junk', and just as many

who deal exclusively in the highly specialised fields of old

postcards, stamps, ephemera (paper items), books, coins,

memorabilia and so on.

Some dealers work entirely from home; others venture to car boot

fairs, antiques fairs, collectors' fairs and fleamarkets to

supplement their already lucrative incomes.

Those who choose to operate entirely from home do so via many

varied means, almost certainly reaching their customers via the

postal services, or else by personal and prior invitation into

their homes.

For some the manner of reaching their customers is to have lists

of suitable items prepared for perusal by one's potential

customers. Sometimes that list is printed into the body of

collectors' or special interest magazines, that is where the cost

of such advertising is not prohibitive. At other times, that list

might instead be posted out to intending customers who will then

place their orders direct.

Many dealers in books, stamps, ephemera and postcards, operate an

approvals service for their customers, whereby selected items are

posted out to customers who then look through their packages

usually with a certain time limit being set for the task.

Customers subsequently return unwanted items along with

remittance for those items retained. Exactly who to mail those

items is something which presents itself by several means. The

operator might compile a list of all persons who have approached

him or her from press advertisements. He or she might instead

join any of the many specialist collectors' clubs designed to

bring interested parties together and cater for their specialised

needs. Many such book and stamp collectors' clubs exist, and 'The

Ephemera Society' provides for the more exclusive needs of the

collectors of yesterday's paper items. At other times, the

collectors' needs are met via the many newsletters available to

special interest groups, as is certainly the case for the

collector of early vintage postcards. Simply joining these clubs

brings the great advantage of access to a list of all collectors

and fellow members, and of course their interests, from which the

basis of a specifically targeted mailing brochure might be

planned.

Acquiring stock is not the difficult exercise it might seem.

There are many specialised auctions operating in Britain alone,

details of which are usually available in 'Exchange and Mart' and

numerous collectors' magazine. Car boot fairs, fleamarkets and

antiques fairs, even jumble sales, are known to yield excellent

items for stock. Suitable items can also be acquired by means of

'wanted' advertisements placed in local magazines, shop windows

and specialist magazines. The latter in particular finds a steady

stream of regular contributors to the honest dealers' stock. By

'honest' the intention is to stress that a fair price should

always be offered for stock, if that is you are to come by that

band of browsers and part-time dealers who in looking out for

items for their own collections and stocks, will also scour local

fleamarkets and car boot fairs for items you too require.

Costing of stock is the factor most likely to cause concern to

the beginning dealer. Here the best yardstick is usually to

settle for a little but definite profit, one which takes into

account cost and time in acquiring stock, postal charges, cost of

advertising and so on. It's all a matter of trial and error and

something which always becomes easier with time. And given that

we all allegedly have a Magpie instinct, there must be millions

of eager customers out there ready, willing and able to pay for

what you have to add to their collections.

Incidentally, those known to have made an immediate and

successful impact in the antiques and collectors' field, have

frequently been those to have hit upon a collecting trend shortly

before it takes of. Such was the case around ten years ago when

old postcards from pre-1st world war times were almost

universally available for a token 10p per specimen, but which

today can command anything from œ1 to several hundreds of pounds

each for the right items.

Other trends that created a very useful and profitable wagon upon

which to climb, included 'Beatlemania', anything to do with the

1950s, Guinness memorabilia, and for book collectors there now is

a positive dearth of Dr. Who, William, Billy Bunter and Rupert

bear titles.

COACHING/TUITION/CORRESPONDENCE COURSES

Whatever it is you do best, you owe it to yourself and to others

to pass your knowledge on. And so we find the keen and proficient

swimmer taking classes in the local pool the experienced typist

teaching his or her skills to others; the proficient pianist

catering for the needs of those who would love to have a similar

talent in their own hands.

Teachers of whatever subject, whether academic, sporting or

leisure interests, will find a ready demand for their services.

The infant school teacher can offer coaching at evenings and

weekends to parents who might think their offspring a little slow

in learning, or else want to prepare them for school in the first

place. For secondary school teachers the chance of out of normal

school hours work might be more likely to present itself in the

immediate run up to GCSE examinations, or else at re-sit time in

the autumn.

Qualified personnel managers teach the basics of successful

interview techniques to eager job hunters; cake decorators and

microwave specialists invite parties of 'wannabees' into their

homes for one-hour coaching sessions every week; craftworkers,

artists and writers pass their skills on to others by all manner

of means, including private tuition, working in local schools and

colleges, and giving demonstrations to local clubs and societies.

And further down the line are those who teach their skills and

pass their knowledge on by self-publishing their experiences and

information in manuals and sometimes correspondences courses

which will subsequently be marketed by direct mail or

advertisements in appropriate publications.

COMPUTER/WORD PROCESSING SERVICES

It doesn't necessarily take a whizz-kid to succeed in the highly

competitive and extremely profitable field of computers. Those

with a working knowledge of word processing can teach typing

skills, or else teach the rudiments of computerisation to those

more familiar with the outdated manual or electronic machinery of

yesterday.

For those more adept with their keyboards, opportunities for

working with computers are virtually boundless. Many small firms

are interested in the data base and financial packages by which

you are able to relieve them of the more mundane tasks of

financial record keeping, basic filing, data recording and so on.

To say such a business is without limits might in fact be

something of an under-statement, since computerisation allows the

operator to provide diary and reminder services to customers,

explaining the fact that many doctors, dentists and veterinary

surgeons use the services of an outside computer specialist to

remind their customers and clients that some regular appointment

or check up will shortly fall due.

Stock taking, re-ordering, balance sheets, filing, even

forecasting of trends, stock levels, profit margins and so on are

available from the everyday PC, with of course the right software

and a keen and accurate operator.

Those really proficient at computer programming might act in a

consultancy role, teaching the customers' staff the basics of

some new computer system for instance; perhaps even installing a

new system on the customers' behalf; even dare we venture, to the

dizzy heights of writing programmes tailored to the individual

needs of clients?

And on the more fun side of things, there are others who use

their computers to analyse biorhythms, forecast the future,

research family trees and provide details on the origins of

customers' surnames from huge memory banks of software.

CRAFTWORK

It isn't purely to embroidery thread and knitting needles we may

turn in order to make a really handsome living, or else just a

few pounds a week extra from craftwork. Opportunities exist by

the hundred, not only for those blessed with actual creative

skills. There is much on offer too for those who can provide a

service to this growing band of craftwork enthusiasts, as well as

to those whose business enterprises depend entirely upon such

skilled professionals to provide the stocks they require.

The knitting enthusiast might forsake the traditional means of

earning, whereby for a set sum per ball of wool or per finished

item, he or she will work entirely to the customers' pattern or

other specification. In turning one's back on an often ongoing

source of income, the individual might instead choose to produce

only intricate, perhaps once-off designs, for sale at local craft

fairs, by party plan, or else by mail order, to those of us keen

to adopt the air of individuality for which the likes of Noel

Edmunds, Giles Brandreth and Russell Grant, or rather their

jumpers are so well known.

In this respect the person actually knitting the jumper or

whatever is required, might choose to personally design the

required garment, or else have it professionally designed by some

outside expert. Consider the fact that a great many intricate

designs can easily be produced with little more than the

assistance of graph paper or unused football pools coupon, with

each small square taken to represent one stitch in the pattern,

and it becomes clear that almost all of us can, if we set out

minds to it, produce highly original pictures and motifs for

ourselves. One method of doing this is to section an actual

picture or photograph into squares of equal size to the grid of

the graph paper or pools coupon used, thereafter transferring the

colour of the square on the original design to the corresponding

square of the pattern one is designing. From then on, it's a

simple matter of knitting these colours into the body of the

garment itself.

Other openings for the experienced knitter might come as outwork

from knitwear suppliers, and providing services on a

self-employed basis. Consider for instance:

- Producing dolls' clothes

- Creating seasonal Christmas motif-festooned garments

- Informing local parents that they may obtain school woollies at

a lower cost than local shops are currently asking. Note too that

they will more than likely receive superior quality from you,

with perhaps a little personalisation of design included. Maybe

you could incorporate a subtle pattern; perhaps you might include

all children's names labels free of charge.

- What about a highly original service, producing Victorian-type

wedding dresses, with the bride's choice of design incorporated,

and perhaps offering to include panels bearing designs of

sentimental value?

- Producing heirloom christening gowns

- Designing and producing a range of clothing for premature and

smaller than average newborn babies

Those experienced at sewing, similarly have much to offer those

seeking something just a little bit different from what is

available in our local high street stores. How about a range of

frilly, frothy, ribbon-bedecked and generally very fussy

creations in which to show off our children? Such dresses often

come with a high street price tag of œ50 and over; if you can

produce something slightly lower in price, then surely an

advertisement in local papers, freesheets, and shop windows will

bring an endless source of orders your way? Local craft shops and

children's outfitters are similarly keen to take such items on a

sale or return basis.

Again, alternative openings are available to the experienced

needleperson, many of them basically similar to those for the

knitting enthusiast. Take for instance: a range of christening

outfits, premature and smaller baby clothes, fancy dress outfits,

wedding and bridesmaid outfits, and what of that perennial

favourite as December approaches - dolls' clothes?

Hand and machine sewing professionals would no doubt benefit from

a little lateral thinking, taking their minds away from the usual

opportunities that spring to mind in the creation of everyday

garments and one-off celebratory designs. Have you thought for

instance of commencing a design service, one in which you will

measure up clients' windows, take their individual design and

colour scheme requirements into account, and produce curtains

entirely personal to them? Those with a flair for design, whether

inherent or acquired by appropriate training, will find

themselves occupying status much akin to interior designer than

curtain-maker, with fees and profits suitably inflated as a

result.

Amongst the many other areas desperate for your work are local

ballet and dance schools, amateur dramatics and pantomime

companies, jazz bands, and many other organisations heavily

reliant on costume for their promotions. Securing a contract with

any of these establishments, or else offering your services to

parents and participants, might well find a steady stream of work

coming your way.

Knitting, sewing, crochet and embroidery, though they might be

those crafts with which many of us are familiar, are most

certainly not the only areas in which outwork or opportunities

for self-employment exist. Think for instance of the skilled

woodworker who is able to turn out toys, ranging perhaps from

simple building blocks to those intricate rocking horses we would

all love to acquire for our children but often can't afford the

hefty prices involved. Someone who can undercut those prices

asked by larger and specialist toy firms will almost certainly

find a great deal of business coming their way. That person may

also find his or her niche making dolls' houses, garden

furniture, perhaps even bird boxes, rabbit hutches and so on.

Tapestry is one of today's more popular crafts, perhaps

explaining the existence of several highly skilled individuals

who will either transform your photos of pets and family into

tapestries, or might instead create a pattern from which you

might personally create your very own heirloom. Look into the

many publications available for craftworkers today, and amongst

the many original services available, you'll find patterns for

dolls' clothing, toymaking kits and pattern books, modelmaking

kits, quilting packs and templates, embroidery kits, and so on.

You'll also find specialist services such as those which offer

the design, perhaps also the completion of a unique nursery

sampler ready to present to proud new parents.

We have talked at great length about actually turning your own

hand to making things in order to profit in this highly lucrative

field of handicrafts; but what of teaching your skills to others?

How about writing instructions manuals for instance, or else

complete correspondence courses for really enthusiastic

beginners?

Writing is in itself a very easy task; one simply lists all

points of relevance, which when combined will give the reader a

working knowledge of the craft concerned, following which the

writer produces the document in much the same manner as when

writing the very same information in a letter to a friend. Then

he types up the document or has it typed up for him. A study of

suitable places in which to advertise your book is now all that

is required. Books can be photocopied and collated quite

inexpensively and efficiently in most local print shops.

Plan your advertisement, studying and perhaps emulating the style

of other publishers whose advertisements appear alongside your

own; then telephone or write to the publication concerned to

place your own advertisement. When the orders come in, you simply

pack your books securely, post them off, and that's that!

Have you thought of selling your work yourself, perhaps offering

a range of toys at car boot fairs, craft fairs, or from small

rented stalls in already established craft centres and retail

outlets?

But it really needn't all stop there. You might for instance

offer your services as a teacher or instructor of your craft -

try the local papers, freesheets, shop windows, even local

colleges and adult training centres.

ENGRAVING

Another prospective kitchen table enterprise, here one can offer

various options to those seeking engraving whether for

decorative, celebratory, or commemorative reasons, or else simply

seeking to have their personal possessions engraved and

consequently made less likely prospects for the opportunist

thief.

Consult 'Exchange and Mart' and craft magazines for essential

equipment.

Engraving can take many varied forms from etching onto glass, to

simply printing names and addresses onto key rings, making

commemorative plaques, and so on.

Your customers will come from all sections of the community, from

private individuals, to jewellers shops, clubs and societies,

sports centres and so on.

JEWELLERY

Jewellery is another craft product which can take on many varied

forms, from inexpensive and sometimes gimmicky ornamentation, to

expensive and just as elaborate and highly personalised

creations.

It's another craft for which a wealth of appropriate 'how to'

publications, craftwork periodicals, local authority and

correspondence courses exist. In the pages of the many

craftworkers' publications on the newsagents shelves, as well as

in the perennial advertising favourite 'Exchange and Mart', there

are hoards of complete business packages awaiting those

interested in making money from jewellery making.

Selling can take place in person, from sales on commission to

local craft and jewellery shops, car boot and craft fairs, by

party plan, at fleamarkets and trade fairs, and so on. For many,

the answer is to sell wholesale packages of finished items to

those intent instead on selling the end products themselves at

any of the venues mentioned here.

PICTURE FRAMING

Here the demand is for high quality craftwork, which if it can

also come at a realistic price, will command a steady stream of

eager customers. As for so many other craft and art services, a

wealth of 'how to' books are available to guide the novice

through to professional status as a picture framer. Equipment

need not eat too heavily into your capital and can be located in

most of the major craftwork and model making magazines on the

newsagents' shelves, as well as in advertising publications,

including 'Exchange and Mart'.

Customers might come from the general public, via advertisements

placed in the press or in shop windows. You might instead provide

a service to local artists and art shops, photographers, antique

shops selling antique prints, print and poster shops and so on.

You might instead start in the really lucrative field of selling

antique prints, posters and early advertising material at local

antiques and collectors' fairs. The services of someone to colour

your material before you frame it will again find a great many

customers flocking to your stall. Many individuals known

personally to the author, operate this service via mail order,

from their homes or from traditional retail premises.

Other skills from which to make money from home, whether on a

self-employed or outworker basis, include model making, for which

a variety of options exist, ranging from toy soldiers, to chess

sets, model cottages and so on. One highly enterprising

individual turned his love of old buildings into an extremely

profitable enterprise, designing and crafting miniature designs

of local historical interest, which were then transformed into

moulds for the making, painting and selling of miniature designs.

Selling takes place at car boot fairs, fleamarkets and

collectors' fairs, through the post from press advertisements,

and in many shops and crafts stalls operating in the locality.

The business is set to expand into creating models of famous

locals, living or dead, but nevertheless preserved for posterity

via this talented model maker's skills.

Sewing, knitting, dressmaking, quilting and embroidery - all are

skills that lend themselves equally to profitable business

ventures, as a glance through any of the magazines dedicated to

craftworking enthusiasts will testify.

TOYMAKING

Toy making can range from very basic soft toys intended for heavy

and frequent handling, to a range of specialised items intended

more for decoration or celebratory reasons than play. Into the

latter category come such as the now highly successful Teddy Bear

gift service which, operating on a national scale, produces

customised teddy bears, sometimes with the name of the recipient

hand embroidered on its clothing; sometimes dressed in a manner

which would indicate the profession or employment of the

recipient. And so we have teacher teddies, traffic warden

teddies, building site teddies and so on.

The same firm will also do a range of 'teddies to hate' and use

for dubious purposes as effigies; again the poor old traffic

warden features prominently in this section. But perhaps the

greatest part of this particular business is not only the highly

personalised service involved, as much as the fact that each

teddy comes complete with its own name, adoption certificate and

usually is delivered by carrier instead of less personal postal

services.

Have you noticed when cult figures creep onto our screens, that a

similar variety finds its way almost instantly into the craft

shops, this time in soft toy version? Here we find Mickey Mouse

and Minnie, Turtles, Marios, Care Bears and so on. At local

fetes, rallies, seaside resorts and anywhere potentially

thousands of people congregate, soft toy makers or their

representatives are there to provide for seemingly insatiable

visitors' needs.

Soft toys can be sold privately, by mail order, by party plan, or

on commission to agents selling on the creator's behalf. Car boot

fairs, fleamarkets, craft fairs and trade fairs also lend

themselves more than adequately to the selling of such items.

Additionally many shops, craft and toy shops, are more than happy

to carry your goods on a sale or return basis, with commission

earned for every sale made on your behalf.

Into this section come the masses of wooden toys that prove so

popular with younger and older children alike: building blocks,

dolls houses, forts, rocking horses, and so on.

CURRICULUM VITAE SERVICE

This rather ominous-sounding title may at first be a little

off-putting, and I wouldn't blame anyone tempted to skip this

proposition in favour of more familiar-sounding business

ventures. But think again, for here we have an excellent

opportunity to make up to 25 each time a conversation takes place

with the potential customer and the details of that conversation

are put to paper.

A curriculum vitae is nothing more than the biographical details,

personal and career-related, of persons wishing to change jobs,

seek advancement, and undergo virtually any change in their

working lives, which necessitates them giving interviewers,

employers, and college heads sufficient details to make a full

and accurate assessment of the candidate.

At one time the humble application form was the order of the day,

requiring one to neatly present personal data in little boxes on

the employer's or whoever's individual forms.

But forms presented several problems, not the least being that

their designers, who like the rest of us are not infallible,

often asked ambiguous questions, or else allowed no space for the

inclusion of information which those labouring over the form

considered of vital importance. In the later case, the astute

applicant would add a typed or hand written addendum to the

application before submission. On too many occasions though, even

the experienced applicant could be left with that niggling

feeling of, albeit inadvertently, answering a question 'not quite

accurately' or inadequately, or wishing that extra space had been

available for more detailed information.

Here the curriculum vitae comes to the rescue, offering the

candidate the facility to include in the application all of those

details which he and the intended recipient feel necessary for a

fair analysis to be made. It contains all of the information

required on a standard application form and those additional

points peculiar to the individual applicant. But how does the

inexperienced applicant or those with insufficient time or

inadequate facilities go about the task of preparing this

ostentatiously named document in a neat, orderly and professional

manner? The answer is - they don't - they get someone more

experienced to prepare the document on their behalf!

This service, much needed in today's competitive job and

education market, has led to the emergence of many specialist

'CV' enterprises. Fees range from œ20 to œ25 and more, and all

for what essentially amounts to handing over a few copies of a

short document.

Some offer the document in 'designer' folder, often with the

customer's name and address gold-leafed on the front. 'Very nice'

you might think, and yes it is - and very expensive too. To my

mind such glossing over is also highly unnecessary. The documents

will not be forwarded to the intending employer in their

glamourous cases, and surely, the more costs are kept to a

minimum whilst still providing a reliable and accurate service,

the more competitive will be the price asked of the customer, and

the more customers will thereby be attracted.

The person who decides to enter this lucrative business must of

necessity possess two prime qualifications: an ability to put his

or her customers at ease as personal details are elicited as

fully and accurately as possible, and, access to a good

typewriter or if all possible, a word processor or typesetting

facilities. The end result is professional, and in the majority

of cases where word processors are used, also completely free of

typing and spelling errors.

Should this business seem a likely proposition for you, then send

off to several existing CV agencies for details of their

services, obviously presenting yourself as someone likely to

require their services. You will then be able to judge for

yourself what documentation and advertising is employed by the

better firms, as well as taking the undoubted advantage of

incorporating the better points of all agencies into your own.

HOME PUBLISHING

It's one of the most lucrative businesses ever, one requiring

very little in the way of starting capital; yet surprisingly, few

people have even heard of 'Home Publishing'. Good news indeed for

those business men and women currently earning anything from

1000% to 4000% profit on each and every sale they make, often

charging œ20 or more for an item that has cost œ1, perhaps less,

to produce.

Just how much home publishers make each and every week depends

entirely on the time and effort they put into their businesses;

into the analysing of advertising trends and techniques; into

selecting suitable titles to offer their customers; into

establishing a good and regular list of customers who, being

satisfied with past purchases, will continue to buy from them in

the future.

'Publishing', loosely defined, is the preparation and

distribution of printed material, from which we can conclude that

a 'home publisher' is a home-based entrepreneur, needing no

special business premises, and requiring no stock other than one

master copy of each publication he or she intends offering for

sale.

Some home publishers deal exclusively in publications relating to

one particular hobby or interest, for instance, consumer

competitions or stamp collecting. Others deal in a wide range of

subjects, from leisure interest, to self-improvement, to perhaps

the most profitable line of all, namely that of information

concerning business and income boosting opportunities.

Basically, the publisher selects and acquires those titles that

form his or her stock, decides upon the means by which they will

be advertised for sale, and subsequently places appropriate

advertisements to which prospective customers are invited to

apply.

He or she then forwards the publication or publications, where

cash in advance has been requested, or else provides the

potential customer with a detailed sales leaflet, from which the

inquirer will decide whether or not to order the publication. The

publisher usually takes the opportunity to include details of

several other publications in which the potential customer might

be interested. If the original enquiry does not result in a sale,

there is every chance that one of these other publications will

appeal to the inquirer.

Customer manuals and folios may be produced as photocopied

versions of the master document, or in professionally printed

form if the publisher desires. By shopping around for the best

rates in photocopying, or else installing a photocopying machine

at home, the cost of manuals can be kept extremely low, thereby

making for far higher profit margins.

The market for information is vast, some would suggest unlimited,

and the means of reaching potential customers are similarly many

and varied, and perhaps best of all, inexpensive. Without costly

business premises and similarly prohibitive overheads, the

publisher can afford to concentrate his or her efforts and

financial resources into reaching that vast clientele awaiting

each and every publication brought onto the market.

To build and maintain a good customer list you must of course

offer only quality information, and for this reason the prudent

publisher will always choose the titles that form his stock with

the utmost care. It's surprisingly easy to acquire a good,

extremely saleable title for anything from œ10 to œ40 for

reproduction rights; more of course for sole copyright, the

latter affording an enviable situation indeed for the publisher

to find himself in, for he alone will have authority to offer the

copyrighted manuscript for sale. Your titles may come from one or

more of several sources; direct from the writer or his agent in

the case of copyright; from the writer or agent, or other

publishers in the case of reproduction and resell rights.

Reproduction rights as the name implies, allow you to produce and

sell as many copies of the document as you wish, often at a price

you yourself decide. If these rights come with 'resell rights'

you may also transfer reproduction and resell rights to other

publishers, thereby making very handsome profits indeed, and

usually recouping the cost of your own outlay with your very

first order.

With exclusive copyright you might, quite rightly so, feel

reluctant to share your market with other publishers, which of

course would happen if you decided to sell reproduction rights,

with or without resell rights. Many publishers jealously guard

their copyrights, especially in the case of titles much in

demand. Such a title could well continue selling to the public

for many years to come. With copyright the profits are entirely

yours; pass on reproduction rights and the chain grows rapidly,

until after just a few transactions your title is shared by many

publishers. If selling by direct mail, remember too that the very

same people contacted by you will almost certainly have been

approached with the same title by several of your competitors - a

huge waste of time, energy and money.

Home publishing is one of many sub-sections falling under the

umbrella of mail order, and as such those rules, tips and

techniques that make for increased profits in mail order apply

equally to home publishing.

Arm yourself with as many books and manuals as you can on the art

of advertising, direct marketing techniques, and standards of

mail order professionalism in general. Remember to keep abreast

of the times, never stop learning, and never ever stand still!

LIST BROKING

This is one big business proposition that requires an absolute

minimum of capital, but nevertheless offers extremely high

rewards to the operator.

'It's not what you know that counts, it's who you know', or so

they say. In the business world this is indeed the case. Some

firms survive very nicely from dealings with only passing trade,

or with customers drawn into their premises as a result of

effective local advertising campaigns. Many firms though, and

primarily those with no obvious business premises for customers

to visit, depend heavily upon postal contacts to sustain an

adequate level of trade.

In this category we find mail order traders and those dealing in

specialised products for particular sections of the public. There

are also firms for which business premises might be wholly

unnecessary, perhaps because they operate in short-term

undertakings, as would be the case for someone seeking to rent

out sales and promotion pitches at once-off exhibitions. What

these businesses need above all are lists - lists of potential

customers who might otherwise remain unaware of their existence.

Having acquired this list of potential customers, they themselves

contact the firms and individuals concerned, usually by post, in

contrast to normal business procedures where it is more often the

customer who arranges approach to appropriate sellers or service

industries.

For firms requiring such contacts, the task of compiling lists

for themselves would no doubt be so arduous and time-consuming a

task, as to leave little or no time for normal business

obligations.

The specialist list broker therefore collects or co-ordinates all

necessary information, and either sells his list outright, or

more likely hires out the addresses for once-off use only.

But it's not just potential business customers who may be

contacted by means of appropriate lists. Addresses can be

similarly provided for:

* Private individuals requiring set services and products

* Specific businesses, eg undertakers, grocers, hotels, etc

* Schools

* Persons involved in particular sports or hobbies

* Craftworkers

I have personally seen offers to sell or rent lists of people who

take an active interest in entering consumer competitions, people

who collect antiques and books, stamp collectors, even people

interested in contacting pen pals or being entered onto dating

agency files.

The person involved in the mailing list business can compile

lists from scratch, (a time consuming exercise), or else he or

she can act as the middle man or woman for other people's lists,

renting the list at one price and subsequently hiring it out at

another obviously higher price.

The middle person or broker often buys or rents very many large

lists which are then split for hiring or sale to firms unable to

afford the larger lists, or not needing vast quantities of names

and addresses.

Ideally, the names and addresses are offered on self-adhesive

labels to facilitate easier usage by the buyer or renter, and

also to lessen the temptation to use a rented list more than

once, thereby breaking the usual conditions upon which the list

is supplied.

Lists should be kept 'clean', that is free of people no longer

living at the stated address, or perhaps no longer active members

of that group to which they purport to belong. This cleaning

exercise can be done by making frequent mailings yourself, or

else by analysing the results of someone else using the list, and

removing from the list all communications removed as gone away or

non-deliverable for whatever other reason.

Prices vary greatly for these lists and it is not unusual to sell

or rent the same list several times each year, at a price ranging

from œ25 to œ125 or more every time. Very nice indeed!

MAIL ORDER

Far from the bustle and throng of shops with their queues, busy

streets, traffic jams, recessions and closing down sales, there's

a group of traders for whom business flourishes, though many

might never even come to see a customer, let alone make a

personal transaction. All dealings are carried out by post, with

sometimes a telephone call to supplement the deal, or to convey

some message between dealer and purchaser. This is mail order,

widely accepted as one of the easiest of businesses to begin in,

and certainly one of the few in which massive fortunes still lie

in wait for those keen to join the ranks of dealers by mail. Mail

order is not an easy, though it can for some be a quick route to

riches. Fast profits go to those determined to succeed,

individuals who seek never to be content with their efforts, and

who strive continuously to improve those already high standards

they set themselves.

Mail order proves attractive to customers for many varied

reasons, primary amongst them the fact that most things offered

by mail are just not available from everyday high street

shopping. For some, the sheer ease of buying by mail is

sufficient to warrant repeat and continued custom. No queuing; no

parking problems; no time battling your way into town; and no

travelling or parking costs involved once you get there. And as

we have already said, all of this assumes that the customer can

find the goods concerned in the shops; for as many a successful

mail order dealer knows, success sometimes comes entirely from

locating and offering for sale items not available from any other

source. This may perhaps best be illustrated by reference to the

current boom in mail order publishing, where hundreds of guides

are available to those seeking business and moneymaking

opportunities, of which there is very little on offer in book

shops.

For many dedicated buyers by mail, the principal allegiance is

one of excitement such as only mail order offers, in that once

the order has been placed, sheer anticipation is the order of the

day until that delivery is made.

So what do people buy by mail? The answer is 'practically

anything!' Anything that is, which the customer can be adequately

informed of by means of advertisements placed in publications, or

communicated by direct mailshot. The items should also be

sufficiently light to keep down the costs of postage or whatever

form of delivery.

And so amongst those thousands of items sold by mail, we find

clothes, books, household items, and hobby items. Services too

can be offered by mail, as is discovered by a profusion of

typesetting services, stationery design facilities, writing

services, insurance, printing, circular mailing, and so on.

For the dealer, the benefits are numerous. It is in fact

surprisingly easy to make a good living in mail order, whilst

benefiting also from the inherent advantages of working one's

chosen hours, working from home, and selling whatever one wishes.

Mail order is also a very easy business to enter, and also one in

which to make massive profits for very little effort. It is also,

ironically, one of the main businesses abandoned in the

newcomers' early days, simply as a result of disillusionment of

promises of vast fortunes coming through their doors failing to

materialise. The entire business though, is one which becomes

easier with experience, and even the big names in mail order will

admit to making massive and usually very costly mistakes in their

early attempts at selling by mail.

Selling can take place by several methods. That which is used at

any particular time depends upon the product or service involved,

the price, cost of advertising in relation to product price, and

the amount of information that must be conveyed to the potential

customer if a sale is to be forthcoming.

Selling 'off-the-page'

Here the item is described via advertising in appropriate

publications, or by display advertising or usually less costly

lineage advertisements in classified advertising sections. The

reader is requested to send the price of the item advertised,

following which the dealer will complete the transaction by

fulfilling the order to the purchaser.

The two-stage 'enquiry' method

Selling by this method involves placing an advertisement, briefly

outlining the main features of what is on offer, and inviting the

reader to write to the advertiser for further details. The dealer

then sends out a sales circular for the item or service

concerned, and additionally includes circulars relating to other

items available.

Direct Mail

Direct mail incorporates many of the features of the enquiry

method, since the prospective customer is usually sent the very

same circulars that would be provided if instead selling by the

enquiry method. The mail order operator here, is not involved in

promoting his wares by means of advertisements placed in

publications; rather he or she sends mailshots (sales circulars)

to names hoped to represent fair targets for the items or

services being promoted. That mailing list might be the dealer's

own list; it might instead be hired from a mailing list broker or

fellow trader. The importance of a good mailing list can never be

over-estimated - it is the life blood of effective and profitable

direct mail.

When deciding what to sell, it is ironically better to sell

something already available from other dealers. Monopoly of stock

on offer is of course an ideal situation for which to aim, if

that item is also one actually in demand. An item extremely

different to those offered by your counterparts in mail order

though, is unlikely to earn you very much by way of profits, if

that item has no real market.

In choosing to offer something in the same mould as that your

competitors offer, you are of course offering something that

someone, somewhere, will already have tested market demand for.

You are on fairly safe ground, even if in choosing something

similar, you will inevitably be sharing your potential market

with many other dealers.

And because you share that vast market place with other traders,

here comes to the fore one of the main means by which the astute

trader can ensure that his is the firm with which the order is

placed. That trader must therefore endeavour to make his or her

offer different in some respect; perhaps by offering a gift or

special discount to purchasers, that item being something not

available from any other source.

One's advertising strategy must be planned carefully from the

very outset, by investigation of all publications in which one's

competitors, if any, advertise. The operator is also advised to

study the frequency with which specific firms advertise, by what

means, at what product prices, whether by display or classified

advertising, and so on.

It is essential that advertising is never skimped on;  NO

ADVERTISING = NO ORDERS = NO BUSINESS. It is however, equally

essential that you do not simply place advertisements

haphazardly, without a full and meticulous investigation of the

likely suitability of the medium concerned.

Look to those publications in which competitors advertise,

particularly those whose advertisements have been placed for some

time. Advertisements that stand the test of time are working;

from these very same advertisements you may therefore learn a

great deal about choice of words and techniques, as well as the

selected method of advertising.

Similarly, items that are promoted almost exclusively by direct

mail, speak volumes for the effectiveness of this particular

marketing method. This is often the case for business plans which

require a substantial outlay from investors, and which might also

require much 'telling' before 'selling' can take place.

So mail order is a learning process, and a business which must

never be taken for granted, even when massive and regular profits

start coming your way. Learning and striving for improved

standards are essential if the successful businessman expects to

continue enjoying the fruits of his labours.

A business allowed to stagnate whilst the proprietor takes

inordinate periods of time off, albeit deservedly, to enjoy too

much in the way of leisure time, is one which will invariably be

overtaken by those whose owners put business first, at least

until that happy time when the well-established business can

indeed be left to run itself for short periods of time, or else

can be left in the capable hands of staff the owner's new found

affluence has provided.

SECRETARIAL AND OFFICE SERVICES

For those who can turn out neat and accurate typing within set

deadlines, a regular and often very high income awaits them. This

might not be a business with any place in the 'get rich quick'

category, but certainly it will provide extra cash for family

commitments, and for offsetting the burdens of unpredictable, but

generally rising interest and inflation rates.

Running a freelance typing or word processing service can also be

an ideal business opportunity for those who must of necessity

spend most of their time within the home. We find this business

extremely popular with mothers, the disabled, even 'failed' or

'discouraged' writers, who nevertheless have equipped themselves

with the typing skills their preferred profession would have

benefited from.

A business such as this takes time to build up in terms of

clientele, and your own reputation for good, efficient work, as

well as ability to meet customers' deadlines. You might in the

very early days consider the whole thing anything but worthwhile;

perhaps you are spending more on advertising than you are

recouping in custom. Keep at it though, for all businesses

relying so heavily on advertising need time for what's on offer

to filter through to the ultimate customer, often from the shop

floor of a large corporation to the upper echelons of its

management structure.

Regular advertising leads to a faith in your ability to produce

the goods. You are, as yet, a faceless quantity, and one that can

vanish as easily as it appeared if your work is unsatisfactory.

But someone whose service has been advertised for some time gains

a position of trust in the minds of those they are seeking to

attract. One hit wonders and those who can't stand the pace, are

unlikely to meet often tight deadlines most businesses work to.

Gain their trust and you will find yourself the recipient of

regular custom. Repeat custom and word of mouth advertising from

satisfied customers, could find your business growing to

full-time status, perhaps find you needing to sub-contract work

out to other efficient sources, or perhaps looking to employ

adequate emergency staff yourself.

WHAT EQUIPMENT WILL I NEED?

Naturally, you wouldn't start a venture such as this without the

physical ability to produce good type. You need not be a highly

qualified typist to offer such a service; you might not need any

qualifications at all; some of the best typists are self-taught.

I have known some keyboard operators who, falling into the latter

category, could batter the highly qualified ones into submission

when their accuracy, presentation, speed and professional

abilities are put to the test. Don't offer what your can't

deliver though. If you are accurate but your speed requires

improvement, don't offer to deliver a huge report at breakneck

speed, when you know full well your speed will need to be boosted

to such a degree that your accuracy will suffer. Wait until you

can produce work at the speed such work necessitates before you

make rash promises. At the very best you'll be paid, but you'll

almost certainly lose the customer concerned and suffer adverse

word of mouth publicity at his next meeting with counterparts in

the business world. Don't bite off more than you can chew!

As to the gadgetry you will need, there are many types of

typewriter and word processor on the market, ranging from the

humble manual, to the electric version, and on to the most

wonderful of all inventions - to my mind at least - the word

processor. Which you choose to operate with will depend largely

upon finances available, and will no doubt be influenced by what

equipment you have so far been accustomed to. Each has its

advantages, though for the manual typewriter I am somewhat at a

loss to find more than its need for a cheap energy supply from

tired typists' fingers. Energy of the electrical variety leads to

a better, more even type and requires far less effort on the part

of the user. 'Sorry' to advocates of the manual, but today,

unless you prove to the contrary, I think it fair to say that the

manual typewriter has long since outlived its usefulness.

An electric typewriter will not set you back a great deal, and

purchasing one is something you should seriously consider if your

work is to be of a consistently high standard. Equipment

necessary to the running of a business can be set against Income

Tax liabilities, so contact your local Inland Revenue office for

advice.

But, if you really want to create a stir in your new business

venture, you can forget the word 'typing' and substitute in its

place the highly respectable concept 'word processing'. Little

more than a computerised typewriter, the word processor renders

typist correction fluid a thing of the past, and dirty carbon

residue need never again soil your hands or the precious

newly-typed documents they come into contact with.

At first, the thought of using a word processor can frighten the

typist rigid, but within weeks he or she will be using it like an

expert. No photocopiers and carbon papers are necessary, since

the machine's memory banks store work for as long as the operator

wishes, thereby allowing him or her to churn out copies of past

work at the mere touch of a button or two. Work can also be

produced virtually error free; any errors that do remain are due

usually to lack of observation, since errors can be rectified

before the document is ever produced on paper. Typing appears on

a computer screen and errors can be corrected immediately.

Additional software allows your spelling to be checked by the

machine, thereby allowing one of the great problems of many an

otherwise accurate typist, or now word processor operator.

All of these benefits of the word processor can lead to a

doubling or even trebling of your output. Never again need you

start afresh on a document that fails to come up to standard. The

machine will adjust layouts for you, alter typefaces, remove

errors, change spacing, etc., etc., etc. Remember too, you are

effectively able to offer the customer something of a back-up

filing system, merely because his or her work will remain on

disk, if necessary and convenient to both parties.

Advertising your service as one of 'word processing' instead of

'typing' can also create a more professional image, thereby

leading to greater customer interest.

HOW DO I ADVERTISE MY NEW BUSINESS?

There are several ways to bring yourself and your business to the

attention of potential customers, but remember that you are

offering something of an artistic service, and your first

communication with prospective customers must be one of total

professionalism. A tatty business card in the local fish and chip

shop window will lead the reader to wonder if your typing will be

prone to a similarly ill-thought out standard.

Take your business cards with you everywhere. Nothing looks worse

than a hastily scribbled telephone number on a tatty piece of

scrap paper when a potential customer's interest is aroused. That

would likely be the last you'll see of him or her, since

subconsciously that person will convince him or herself that your

work is likely to be of a similarly unprofessional standard.

Business cards are not limited to personal delivery. They can be

left in any suitable place where those requiring your services

are likely to congregate. I recently saw a batch of cards for a

word processing service, neatly displayed on the counter of a

local photographic centre. I have also seen them built into the

covers of home videos. Well, not only the kids need the

relaxation offered by the box - the TV box that is! I personally

thought this method of advertising little short of ingenious.

Your card can be pinned in many places where custom might be

attracted: business clubs, job centres (for curriculum vitae and

job application forms), in youth clubs and on college notice

boards (students need their theses typing to a professional

standard), etc.

You can also have postcards printed to advertise your business,

and A5 handbills are invaluable for popping through the

letterboxes of businesses old and new. Deliver them before the

summer holidays begin and you might find yourself inundated with

work that would normally have gone to agency temps when staff

shortages necessitate an additional pair of hands. You might even

address a letter to company managing directors informing them of

your services at holiday times and at other times when staff

shortages are likely to exist. Such an approach shows initiative

- something usually much admired in today's fast moving business

world.

You can if your capabilities and other commitments allow, offer

an emergency service, with collection and subsequent delivery of

documentation. But never put another client's work to one side

for the purpose of attracting higher fees, unless you are already

ahead of any predetermined deadlines for that other customer. In

gaining the gratitude of one, you may well lose the respect and

repeat custom of another!

Your postcard advertisements can be placed in suitable shop

windows, perhaps in larger stores and post offices which we all

need to use at some time or another. Don't disregard the little

corner shops either. You are unlikely to get big business deals

from them, but you might attract students, small business people,

club secretaries, and so on. Since such an advertisement is

usually extremely cheap you should consider it a worthwhile

investment however little custom it generates, unless of course

that 'little' fails to rise above zero for any length of time.

Don't be tempted to type these postcard advertisements just to

save a little cash. Remember the 'first impressions' rule and

have them properly printed. You'll save time to concentrate on

the business your professionally prepared advertisements

generate. Again, with the printed variety, you can have an

attention-grabbing but subtle design incorporated, that will

inform the public of what service you offer, long before they

have read the text hidden amongst many other advertisements

displayed in the window.

WHO ELSE NEEDS SECRETARIAL SERVICES?

You will, as your business grows, find yourself serving

businesses large and small. Some will want a one-off service, and

you might never see that customer again. Others might need a

regular service for a very small workload on each occasion. At

the other end of the scale you might be offered one enormous job

by a business whose secretary has taken extended sickness leave.

That same business might be so impressed with your work that its

management later decides to sub-contract to you the entire

workload of another employee who subsequently leaves the

workforce.

Never underestimate the importance of the smallest jobs you are

offered. Those small bread and butter pieces might not even seem

worth the time and effort involved, but a satisfied customer of

whatever standing is an added avenue for your much needed ongoing

advertising campaign.

Local Newspapers

Local newspapers and freesheets are excellent places in which to

advertise your services. The same people who place their

advertisements in these publications are in all probability the

same people who will need your services at some future time.

Temporary secretarial agencies are expensive propositions; once

the middle man is cut out, your business becomes a much more

inviting financial proposition to businesses large and small,

almost all suffering under the weight of high running costs.

Advertise in the classified section until you are able to

withstand the higher charges of display advertising.

Business Enterprise and Self-Help Groups

Many such groups exist, some under government auspices; others

created by men and women for the promotion of their own business

interests. You will find entire buildings devoted to small

workshops and retail outlets, the businessmen themselves often

working under Enterprise Allowance Schemes. Other buildings are

sub-divided into units, by groups of private individuals for

their own use, or else for sub-letting to other usually smaller

concerns. Craft shops flourish in such environments, as do

antique shops, printing establishments and book shops. Almost all

such entrepreneurs at some time will have need of a typing

facility, and you should therefore advertise your business by

distributing individual handbills, or having a postcard

advertisement placed on any communal notice board you might find.

Always be on the lookout for new business groups, and make sure

you are the first typing agency to get that all-important foot in

the door.

Job Centres and Colleges

Wherever students congregate, whether for educational or social

needs, you have a large and ready made market for your skills.

Students, not all of whose lessons include typing, require their

theses to be presented in a manner that will create a good

impression for the assessment body responsible for grading the

work concerned.

In colleges and job centres you will also find one of your

largest and most regular sources of business, namely in the

constant demand for newcomers to the jobs market to have their

curriculum vitae (CV) and application forms neatly prepared, if

they are to stand much chance of entering the highly competitive

world of work.

Obtain permission from college officials to have your

advertisement placed on suitable notice boards, and register the

services you provide with the appropriate personnel.

Many schools, colleges and universities, have student magazines

which again would provide an invaluable advertising opportunity.

Specialist Publications

Many specialist publications cater for people whose businesses

are largely dependent on mail order. Book dealers, stamp dealers,

ephemera specialists, dealers in a wide range of products, have

regular lists of offers prepared, often monthly, for distribution

to customers old and new. Their entrepreneurial talents do not

always extend to the typing of such documents they require, which

must look as professional as the service they offer. They must

therefore discover some means of having the sales list prepared

on their behalf.

Advertise your services in book trade publications, stamp dealer

and collector magazines, 'Exchange and Mart', 'The Trader', and

many other similar publications. Browse round the larger

newsagents to familiarise yourself with likely advertising

outlets.

Writers, of which there are thousands in this country alone,

often need someone to transform their notes into professionally

typed manuscripts suitable for the eyes of busy editors and

publishing executives. Many writers will have acquired the

necessary typing skills but a great many more will not, perhaps

have no interest in doing so, particularly if their work is in

demand from a very high paying market. Again, advertise your

business in the many specialist publications for writers and via

the chairpersons of local writers' groups. Your library should be

able to assist you with details of local groups. A glance at 'The

Writers and Artists Yearbook' will provide you with details of

some of the many publications writers obtain, usually on a

subscription basis.

Anywhere Potential Customers Congregate

Here lies perhaps the largest marketing opportunity of all. Most

people however busy, find recreation and leisure facilities an

essential part of their lives. Whether it is the local pub, or

the sports centre of small villages or massive city centres, an

ideal opportunity presents itself for you to reach hundreds of

potential customers. Ask if you can have your card or

advertisement displayed prominently on notice boards, or even on

counters - in better establishments of course - you don't want to

soil your business reputation by having a pile of your cards end

up as missiles in the regular Saturday brawls some watering holes

are renowned for.

You might even offer to type certain items free of charge, in

exchange for publicity for your business. College magazines, club

newsletters and church bulletins, all lend themselves well to

such a prospect, if their readership is sufficient to compensate

for the loss of profits you will incur whilst doing this unpaid

work. If the readership is small, forget it, unless of course the

item being typed is of minimal proportions too, in which case you

might include such a public spirited gesture in your overall

business strategy. Ensure that your advertisement or

acknowledgement will adequately describe the services you

provide.

New and Expanding Businesses

As soon as you are aware of a new business coming to your area,

or one that is opening additional premises, have your

advertisement delivered through its door. You might discover many

people who otherwise would seek full-time or part-time staff to

cater for their needs, but who would infinitely prefer to

relinquish the responsibilities of employer status in favour of a

freelance service which will involve payment only in respect of

work done and doesn't include hours spent awaiting work.

Restaurants, Hairdressers, Taxi Firms, and all businesses issuing

price lists, etc.

Many businesses have need for revised price lists and information

bulletins, either for the windows of their business premises or

else for delivery to potential clients. Remember to include these

in your advertising plans.

And also

Many typing and secretarial agencies offer various spin-off

services to extremely good effect. Hairdressers for instance,

might jump at the chance of having their documents delivered to

homes in the locality. Whether you personally do the job of

delivery is entirely for you to decide, but it takes the burden

from them, and might tip the balance in your favour when deciding

where the initial job of preparing the handbills should be

offered.

Many businesses would no doubt appreciate a secretarial service

that offers to collect work to be undertaken and usually deliver

the final product. A same day typing service might gain you the

edge on other typing agencies.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

ACCOMMODATION ADDRESS SERVICE

This is a business proposition presenting an attractive level of

profits for very little effort expended. A business operated from

home, with few overheads, here we also have something which can

be operated with very little time and space at one's disposal.

The service provided is that of allowing others to have their

mail forwarded to your own or your business address. Often the

reason is one of protecting the customers' own privacy; at other

times it's because customers live in accommodation that isn't

their own, and from which they have no absolute entitlement to

operate a business.

All you do is allow customers to use your address, following

which you will have their mail forwarded to them on a prearranged

basis. Take a look at the many advertisements offering such

services in 'Exchange and Mart', and the scope will no doubt

become apparent, particularly where an attractive city centre or

decidedly rural address can be offered. It may be that certain

customers will have particular requirements; some might want

their post forwarding daily; some by recorded post; some will be

happy with a weekly delivery. Your charges will be dependent upon

what specific requirements might be expressed.

Contact a few already established accommodation address services

for details of what charges and special facilities they operate.

Then make yours even better.

GROWING AND SELLING HOUSEPLANTS

Here we have a product for which a ready market exists amongst

young and old alike, whether requiring such plants for their own

enjoyment or as presents for relatives and friends. Nurseries,

garden accessory shops and florists are also amongst the many

customers for whom your 'growing' business will cater.

Usually all you need to start out in business is a selection of

donor plants from which cuttings will be taken, before being

replanted in small pots and grown to a sufficiently attractive

size for marketing.

Apart from those outlets detailed earlier, I have also seen

plants presenting a constant stream of customers for their

growers, when displayed in the boot of cars at local car boot

fairs, at fleamarkets, from roadside stalls, and from pitches at

indoor and outdoor markets.

RESEARCHING FAMILY TREES

Recent years have witnessed the emergence of a great interest in

our heritage. More and more people are interested in discovering

their roots, although not necessarily as some mockingly suggest,

to discover possible family fortunes or hidden links with royal

houses, and thereby facilitating access to titles they always

believed were rightly theirs. As memories fade or the older of

our relatives die, essential information is often lost for ever.

Or is it?

In government records, parish registers, graveyards, and in many

other places, there are segments of information which when

located, and pieced together, offer an extremely accurate and

interesting profile of one's family history. Here a problem

presents itself which precludes many a man or woman from

researching his or her family history. Time! Time in many of our

lives is in extremely short supply, and other demands allow

insufficient time to undertake the painstaking research which

might of necessity take us to the far ends of the country, even

the world.

For a specialist researcher though, several histories may be

researched during one trip to the appropriate archives or

whatever, and since he or she will be paid for hours worked,

there will be little worry over long hours researching, with not

a bean to show for it. Because costs can rise alarmingly due to

these fruitless hours searching for marriages and births that

have been inaccurately recorded by those before us, it is

advisable to keep the customer informed of the progress made on

his or her behalf, and where necessary inform the customer that

further research is likely to be time-consuming and consequently

costly. He or she may then be content to accept what you already

have discovered. In the vast majority of cases it is relatively

quick and easy to accurately present the details of the past few

centuries since official records became mandatory. For many

people, that information will in itself prove more than

acceptable, and will almost certainly be more than they would

have discovered for themselves.

The end product should be presented attractively and in an easy

to understand way, perhaps with a family tree format to guide the

customer through the maze of dozens of forebears who often bore

common ancestral names through several generations.

BABY SITTING AGENCY

Not usually something for you might need to offer personal

service, but rather one in which you can act as coordinator

between those persons requiring a baby sitting service and those

prepared to offer their services as attendants. As coordinator of

so vital and important a list of potential baby sitters, it will

be one of your major responsibilities to ensure the suitability

of those you place on your list. Mature teenagers, adults of both

sexes, teachers and nurses, are usually likely to feature amongst

your most reliable 'workers'; but be careful and always make

assessment of suitable candidates one of your primary objectives.

Your services can be advertised in the press, in local shop

windows, to mother and toddler clubs, in maternity clinics and

hospitals, even children's clothes shop windows.

Usually all you will be required to do is maintain an efficient

appointments diary, and perhaps keep a reserve of 'on call'

babysitters who might jump in at the last minute to cover

emergency situations. Cash is usually paid to the person dropping

the babysitter at the client's door, with accounts submitted for

time over and above that initially paid for. Babysitters

themselves might be paid on a weekly or monthly hour-related

basis.

Rigid rules and regulations not unnaturally govern all those

responsible for children's welfare. Contact your local Department

of Social Services before you set out in this highly lucrative

and much in demand business venture.

CHILDMINDING

A little like baby sitting, but here children are usually cared

for in childminders' homes. Again rigid rules govern those

responsible for children's welfare, details of which are

available from local Social Services offices.

Children are usually cared for during the day, often because both

parents go out to work. Occasionally the childminder's services

are required on an emergency basis only, perhaps during parents'

illness or incapacity.

Register your services with the local Department of Social

Services who will send out representatives to investigate your

suitability for this work. Nothing untoward is required other

than a safe haven for other people's children.

Advertising can take place by much the same methods as those

outlined under 'Baby Sitting Agency'.

MAIL ORDER GIFT SERVICE

A mail order gift service might exist to fulfil any of several

requirements, not all of them much to do with finding and

providing the ideal gift for the recipient. For many, the sheer

ease of ordering is the deciding factor; for others it's the

opportunity to offer something unique; for others it's status

that proves the deciding factor when we discover a service so

expensive and outlandishly expensive (messages trailing behind

light-powered aircraft; thousands of balloons released into the

air; bottles of ever so unashamedly expensive champagne delivered

to the door). For others, the mail order gift service simply

allows guaranteed delivery at a distance and overrides the

possibility of forgetting the occasion.

Amongst those to have discovered the potential of the mail order

gift trade and exploited it to the full, are flower specialists

Interflora, now a nationwide concern that allows the donor to

place his or her order by means of a telephone call to provide

necessary delivery details.

Those coming into the arena a little later include as varied an

assortment of businesses as one is ever likely to encounter: the

teddy delivered to the recipient's door (sometimes he or she -

the teddy - wears clothing emblazoned with appropriate and highly

individual message); baskets of individually selected items just

as much expensive as they are appropriate to the needs and

interests of the recipient; original copies of the 'Times' or

other national and provincial newspapers published on the actual

day the recipient was born; hand-embroidered quilts in which each

patch portrays some event or item of importance to the recipient,

and so on. Usually a quick look through some of the more

up-market women's glossies is sufficient to convince the reader

that here is a market worthwhile penetrating, particularly if he

or she can come up with something just that little bit different

to what is already on offer.

GROWING AND SELLING HERBS

Take a look at the uninviting packets of herbs and garnishing

products available in many supermarkets and it's not surprising

to discover that many people would walk miles to discover an

alternative to this particular 'convenience' product. For those

with fine palates and purses to match, only freshly picked herbs

will provide for their superior requirements. Into this category

fall many higher-income households, restaurants and hotels,

delicatessens and up-market food outlets. Someone who can provide

potential customers, perhaps on contract, with a regular supply

of herbs in which quality and variety are also significant

factors, might well find their businesses achieving hitherto

unexpected proportions.

Yet other herb growers have extended their enterprises to cater

for those who would prefer the bagged and dried variety, perhaps

offering a greater range at lower prices than the shops; often

shops are their major customers for herbs provided in bulk at

reduced prices.

NEWSPAPER CLIPPING SERVICE

For those willing to carry out a few menial tasks before the real

work of earning begins, a newspaper clipping service could be

just the answer.

The aim of the exercise is to select and cut out all items of

news reportage that might prove of interest to other than the

newspaper's or magazine's original readers. But who wants news

when it's yesterday's news? Actually, quite a lot of people,

amongst them writers and historians, genealogists and

geographical researchers, and not forgetting the actual people or

organisation at the centre of the news or article concerned.

Many clippings services cater almost entirely to the needs of

writers, whose time as for all of us is limited; the less time

spent researching, the more time for writing and consequently

earning their living. The clippings service will offer items

under categories - as many different categories as possible! And

so, the writer might be able to request all available information

on 'hats', or 'boxer dogs'; perhaps he or she might instead find

a mass of information relating to a particular geographical

location he or she intends making the focus of a future article.

Such services are usually listed in 'Writers and Artists

Yearbook' and in all of the many magazines and newsletters

produced for writers, both aspiring and professional.

Alternatively, instead of the potential customer coming to you,

you might offer the information you have to that person it

involves. Many firms would be pleased to receive details of

reports about them placed in various parts of the country. A

potentially unlimited market awaits you in respect of trade

journals. For instance, all magazines and journals relating to

such as hairdressing or carpentry, will be interested in

clippings from other publications, and if from other countries

the market can be almost unlimited. The service would of course

extend to providing such clippings to all trade journals in

whatever part of the world, something that could best be done by

either obtaining duplicate cuttings or else having them

photocopied before dispatching. Most journals set their own

prices for the information they use, in much the same way as they

set the fee paid to writers; at other times you might be able to

indicate your cost per cutting. For old cuttings, the fee you ask

will obviously be much higher than something cut from yesterday's

paper, but not always, and writers for instance often expect a

set number of cuttings for a specified fee.

SELLING BOOKS

Either sell cheaply all books that come your way, or specialise

in books on set subjects: local history, biographies, specialist

subjects, novels or whatever. Such can be sold by list or on

approval to those attracted by advertisements placed in book

collectors and special interest magazines.

CHERISHED NUMBER PLATES

Many drivers seek number plates a little different from those of

fellow drivers, whether for investment purposes, to hide the age

of their vehicles, or else for pure snob value. Massive profits

can be made in this business, by firms which do not always have

to acquire the plates concerned in the first place, but might

instead offer to sell plates on behalf of current owners for a

percentage of the takings.

CALLIGRAPHY

This is the rather grand name for the even grander art of

creating beautiful handwriting and printing. We find swirling

flows of lettering, created by hand with the aid of special pens

and inks, adorning menus in the better eating establishments, on

examination certificates, formal invitations, signs, notices and

doorplates.

Courses in calligraphy are available at local colleges and

sometimes from correspondence schools.

CROSSWORDS

Crosswords are surprisingly easy to produce with a little

practice, and many books on the subject of writing will guide the

beginner through the basic techniques. As an adjunct to producing

crosswords for the many markets requiring the services of the

compiler, there is the opportunity to provide 'personalised'

crosswords for clubs, presents, individuals and so on. I have

seen advertisements from people offering to create crosswords

incorporating words appropriate to that person who will receive

the end result as a gift: names, dates, pets, occupations,

hobbies and such, all proving suitable for inclusion.