Computer Maintenance Service

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  Start-up cost: RM5,000-RM10,000
• Potential earnings: RM50,000-RM70,000
• Typical fees: RM50 per hour on cleaning or repairs; RM25-RM40 per student (if teaching classes)
• Advertising: Word of mouth, Yellow Pages, flyers, business card, opportunities to teach classes
• Qualifications: Knowledge of computer hardware and interfaces, ability to deal with upset clients diplomatically and sympathetically
• Equipment needed: PC with modem, printer, and fax, tools, cleaning supplies, and diagnostic software, spare parts, office furniture, business card, reference books
• Staff required: No
• Handicapped opportunity: No
• Hidden costs: Staying abreast of new technology
• Lowdown: Computers and dust don’t mix. That seems like a simple idea, but many people have little understanding of that concept. They don’t understand why computers tend to crash without regular maintenance, and they need much reassurance before they will trust you to remove a cover and begin cleaning the drives. Once you gain trust and develop your clientele, though, you’ll be able to negotiate ongoing service contracts that will give you a steady flow of work, and income. Twice a year you can service each client on your list, cleaning the vital components of the machines that keep their businesses running. You may also develop connections to possible add-on services you could offer, such as training, software installation, file backups, and other types of computer-related services.
• Start-Up: The computer for your own office is the largest expense because the actual computer cleaning tools are quite simple and not very costly. Fees are usually in the RM50 per hour range. Your biggest challenge is to make potential clients aware of the benefit of maintaining their systems—all too often they’ll wait until something catastrophic happens before they call you. Consequently, advertising and sending reminder cards will cost you at least RM1,000-RM2,000 per year.
• Bottom-Line Advice: If you have the ability to clean computers and peripheral equipment, you can provide a service needed by almost all businesses and many individuals as well. Satisfied customers will probably provide you with plenty of referrals, but you will occasionally be working with distraught clients. You might need to work at your customers’ sites, so careful planning is necessary to make best use of travel time.

Business Plan Writer/Package

• Start-up cost: RM5,000-RM10,000
• Potential earnings: RM30,000-RM100,000
• Typical fees: RM3,000-RM6,000 per plan (about two weeks of work)
• Advertising: Teaching courses on business development, networking, business associations, referrals from bankers and entrepreneurship centers, advertising in local business newsletters
• Qualifications: Understanding of financial statements, savvy business sense, excellent oral and written communication skills, ability to get people to work together, experience writing business plans
• Equipment needed: Computer, fax/modem, laser printer, suite software, business-planning software, office furniture, business card, letterhead, envelopes, brochures
• Staff required: No
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: Organizational dues, business periodical and newspaper subscriptions, insurance
• Lowdown: Businesses are being created all over the country at a phenomenal rate. All of these new enterprises can get two kinds of benefits from having a business plan. First, the plan structures the efforts of everyone involved, outlining what needs to be done and describing the means by which those goals will be achieved. It highlights the feasibility of the products or services the enterprise will be marketing. Most importantly, it estimates expenses and revenues, along with projections. If the revenues won’t cover the expenses, it doesn’t matter what wonderful things could happen down the road. The cash-starved business won’t be able to get there to achieve them. The second benefit of having a business plan is to obtain financing. A business plan is essential for the process of obtaining bank loans and most other types of outside financing. You can take your good sense of business and finance, your high-level business writing skills, and your ability to communicate with fledgling entrepreneurs and earn a hefty annual income writing business plans.
• Start-Up: The equipment and materials to present a reassuringly professional image are fairly costly (in the neighborhood of RM$3,000-RM5,000). You’ll need to be able to produce a very polished printout of the final plan, most likely using one of the better-quality business plan software packages available (try Imbi Plaza for the best bargains!). But, you can charge up to RM3,000 for each package, with hourly fees of RM45 and up (depending on your location).
• Bottom-Line Advice: If you have developed the wide range of skills necessary to do this work, you undoubtedly are the kind of person who loves it and can tolerate the tedious parts. What can be more rewarding than helping a new enterprise take wing and fly? It is very difficult to write an effective business plan, but that is the very reason your market exists. Each situation is different; that means opportunities for constant learning on your part. Once you complete a plan, you will need to find another client, so your marketing must be ongoing. Some business start-ups are shaky, even sleazy, although most failures are due to poor marketing and undercapitalization rather than dishonesty. In any case, try to get at least half your fee up front. You will really be a combination counselor/consultant for the entrepreneurs.

Book Indexer

• Start-up cost: RM500- RM1,000
• Potential earnings: RM15,000- RM30,000
• Typical fees: RM2.50- RM4.00 per printed book page
• Advertising: Direct mail to book publishers, Yellow Pages, industry newsletters
• Qualifications: A strong eye for detail and subject matter; impeccable organizational skills
• Equipment needed: Computer with alphabetical sorting capability, printer
• Staff required: No
• Handicapped opportunity: Definitely
• Hidden costs: Your time - indexes are complex and time-consuming, and must be accurate
• Lowdown: When you’re reading a book and you want to find information on a specific topic, you look in the index first. But it probably didn’t occur to you that putting together an index is a job dependent upon painstaking accuracy and attention to detail. It’s an area of specialization that sets professional indexers apart from other editorial types. These folks are typically not writers (although they can be), and they are not really editors, either. Their expertise is sought after the book is written and edited, but prior to publication; they provide readers with a service that enables them to conduct research or just locate topics of interest to them, saving them time in combing through the entire book. Obviously, indexers work with nonfiction books, but the subject matter can be extremely varied and could include everything from automotive manuals to business or self-help guides.
• Start-Up: Start-up costs are almost negligible for indexing. Begin with memberships in key organizations, then submit a letter of interest or resume to book publishers in and out of your area. Set aside at least RM500-RM1,000 for working capital; you may need it to furnish your office with a comfortable chair (a must). Charge anywhere from RM2.50-RM4.00 per printed book page; for example, a 200-page book will net you RM500 minimum for your indexing work.
• Bottom-Line Advice: Low initial investment makes this a win-win if you don’t mind detail-oriented work. The hours may be long, the turnaround time may be quicker than you had hoped, but the ability to generate income is there for those with talent.

College Internship Placement

• Start-up cost: RM1,500-RM3,000
• Potential earnings: RM20,000-RM50,000
• Typical fees: RM75-RM175 (paid by student/parents)
• Advertising: College newspapers, campus bulletin boards, direct mail to parents
• Qualifications: Background in placement services would be helpful
• Equipment needed: Computer with printer, fax/modem, e-mail address Staff required: No
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: Insurance, on-line time
• Lowdown: It used to be that companies offering internships contacted colleges to find students for vacation or short-term work. But, in the ever-competitive job market such students find that vacation work is essential to be included in resumes and are relying increasingly upon services such as yours to bring them talent in exchange for small pay and experience. It’s challenging work to find a suitable internship for a student (and vice versa), and you’ll have enough resources to choose from at your local library. There are plenty of books that detail such opportunities, and there should be plenty of postings for internships through on-line services or the Internet. You’d have to work pretty hard to exhaust all of the possibilities. You’d be wise to market to the parents of students, as they are typically the ones with the foresight to see the importance of an internship; they also are typically the ones with all the money, too!
• Start-Up: You’ll need to have at least RM1,500 for your computer system and another RM1,000 or so for advertising in your first six months. Charging customers RM75-RM175 (depending on the size of the university or college market you’re serving) will likely lead you to an annual salary of RM20,000-RM50,000 per year.
• Bottom-Line Advice: Your work will be different every day, and the challenges will present themselves on a regular basis, too. Often, you’ll work with folks you simply can’t seem to please, or who don’t come across as highly motivated. Remember that part of your job is to sell the student on the importance of internships—what they can mean later on to a job-seeking student is immeasurable.

Dating Service

• Start-up cost: RM5,000-RM50,000 (depending on how high-tech you want to be)
• Potential earnings: RM50,000-RM1.5 million
• Typical fees: RM350 per client
• Advertising: Yellow Pages, classified ads, 1-800 numbers, television ads, singles magazines
• Qualifications: None
• Equipment needed: Extensive phone system for 1-800 numbers, computer (with many using computer video programs to showcase their clients)
• Staff required: Yes
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: Computerized systems can run as high as RM40,000
• Lowdown: Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a living.…Today’s dating scene is vastly different from the old days, when a village woman made matches based on how her knee was feeling that day. Tired of meeting people in bars and the regular “sweat shops,” many young professionals simply want a confidential, efficient way to meet the man or woman of their dreams. Because they don’t have the time to screen a hundred or so applicants, you can provide this service for them—and at a competitive rate (just because they don’t have time certainly doesn’t mean they don’t have money). You’ll need to first decide what kind of dating service you’d most like to be: a well-respected, high-profile agency or an impersonal (yet profitable) 1-800 number. Either type requires you to manage profiles of your clients, so you’ll need to have them answer questionnaires detailing their hobbies, interests, and desires in a potential mate. The next step is to make this information readily available to your client base—and keep track of your successes!
• Start-Up: Your start-up costs can be quite high, based on the fact that most of your competitors (both large and small) are investing in technology that does it all in a few steps: first conducting the interview, then recording the interviewee and, finally, selecting a potential match from the databank. All of this could run anywhere from RM40,000-RM150,000—so be sure to investigate those costs well enough to document them in your business plan, particularly if you are going to need investors. However, if you opt for a more low-cost, manual, non-automated / electronic service, you would need just a good filing system although you cannot work as fast or earn as much income.
• Bottom-Line Advice: This is the love business, so what’s not to love? For one thing, you’ll be meeting quite an array of interesting people, and you’ll be helping them to find long-lasting happiness. But what if it doesn’t work out? Are you prepared to deal with broken hearts, all the while encouraging them to stay in the game? If the answer is yes, you’ll be heartily rewarded for your efforts.

Career Counselor

• Start-up cost: RM10,000-RM15,000
• Potential earnings: RM30,000-RM65,000
• Typical fees: RM350 and up per session
• Advertising: Yellow Pages, classified ads, job fairs, human resource newsletters
• Qualifications: Many states require certification
• Equipment needed: Computer, assessment software programs, TV/VCR (for educational videos), cellular phone, answering service or pager
• Staff required: No
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: Any type of counselor must keep an eye on the clock if he or she is billing by the hour. Remember that time is money; clients often needto be told when their time is up
• Lowdown: There are literally thousands of careers out there—and many people simply can’t follow the road signs. As a career counselor, you can assist them first with personality assessment, then with matching your client’s motivations and interests to a potential career. Next, map out a success plan for achieving that new job or business (yes, many people do discover through career counseling that they would really rather work for themselves). You can use formatted questionnaires or conduct personal interviews (or a combination of both) to arrive at some career-forming conclusions. But your counseling efforts don’t have to stop there; you can also offer résumé services, viewing of motivational videos, cassette tape rental, and a library of resource books. The best part is, your business is recession-proof and corporations often contract with career counselors during periods of downsizing. The difficult part is reaching those who may need your services but are currently unaware that these services even exist.
• Start-Up: Your start-up costs primarily reflect your office furniture and assorted resource/testing materials (RM10,000-RM15,000 is about right if you don’t already have a computer). But the going rate for career counseling services is RM350+ (depending on whether you’re in a metropolitan area). With at least one good corporate client and a few stragglers, you should be well on your way in your own career path!
• Bottom-Line Advice: You will be working with many different types of people, but they do have one thing in common: they have no idea what direction to take their careers. This can be frustrating to them, and no doubt that will translate into work for you which is part information-giving, part hand-holding. If you’re well-adjusted enough yourself to help others deal with a career catharsis, you’ll probably get a lot professionally and personally from this type of service.

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Advertising Agency

• Start-up cost: RM7,000-RM16,000
• Potential earnings: RM35,000-RM75,000
• Typical fees: RM75-RM150 per hour, a monthly retainer, or a per-job basis
• Advertising: Networking, trade publications, teaching at a community college or adult school
• Qualifications: Knowledge of design, layout, and typography; writing skills; experience
• Equipment needed: Computer with modem and high-resolution printer, presentations, desktop publishing, and photo software, scanner, CD-ROM, fax, copy machine, business card.
• Staff required: No
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: Organizational dues and schmoozing may get costly
• Lowdown: You’re probably not going to be doing ads for Cellcom, but if you are motivated and highly skilled you can build up a home-based ad agency serving clients in a specialized area. To get a foothold, you’ll need to have experience from a larger agency, or a source of clients who know you and respect your interest in what they do. Activities such as collecting or participating in a special sport could be your lead-in to a small but profitable market. Or you could specialize in one type of store, one product, or a type of service. You will get to know your client organizations well, and you will draw on all of your creativity, both verbal and graphic. New ways of getting a commercial message out to the public are revolutionizing the advertising field, so creativity extends into the nature of the business itself as well. Very few businesses can succeed without advertising in one way or another, so your creativity and awareness of market needs has many possible customers. You’ll need to educate your clients about the value of advertising—even when things don’t seem to be going very well for the company or when they are overbooked with too much business.
• Start-Up: High-end computers with the graphics and print-production software now available enable small agencies to produce ads that once required an entire art department. Setting up this equipment is expensive, though, and could cost from RM3,000-RM5,000. Bill out between RM75-RM150 per hour, or determine your rates on a per-job basis that takes into account how much work is actually involved in the project. Many ad agencies also work on monthly retainers of RM500 or more; again, look at the workload and the time and expertise involved in each project.
• Bottom-Line Advice: Advertising is a rewarding occupation because it relies so heavily on ideas and inspiration, connected directly to business results. Successful ad agency personnel (in this case, you) develop close relationships with their clients. You’ll be serving an area or group that you know about and enjoy, and you’ll be using all of your talents to do so. As a one-man (or -woman) band, you must be able to do all the facets of the advertising process, from sales to writing and pasteup. The pressure never lets up—and the competition for clients is sharklike.

Consumer Researcher

• Start-up cost: RM2,500-RM5,000
• Potential earnings: RM25,000-RM59,000
• Typical fees: RM25 per hour
• Advertising: Business periodicals, trade journals, Yellow Pages, networking, referrals, business organizations
• Qualifications: Business background, experience in consumer research, proven track record, excellent written and oral communication skills
• Equipment needed: Office furniture, computer, suite software, laser printer, modem, fax, cellular phone
• Staff required: Probably
• Handicapped opportunity: No
• Hidden costs: Preparation of materials, utility bills
• Lowdown: Your experience in communicating with consumers will allow you to provide essential information to your corporate clients. How is their product viewed in the marketplace? How do people feel about it? What would they like to buy to go with it? How were they treated as they bought it? Would the average consumer be interested in trying a certain type of new sports equipment or baby chair? What is the most appealing approach right now in window treatments? Thousands of questions like these are the grist for your mill, and you’ll arrive at answers via phone, mail, or in-person surveys. You will need to market your own services to show that you can find the answers to the questions that affect your clients’ businesses. Each successful project should lead to further work. Estimating costs, and price, accurately will be challenging. Managing the workflow will also require considerable skill. You’ll be moving from the big picture to the details and back again constantly.
• Start-Up: Keeping in communication, tracking data, and reporting information clearly are all essential. Your office needs to support these functions (for a start-up cost of about RM2,500). You could earn around RM25,000 after the first year.
• Bottom-Line Advice: Writing an effective questionnaire, or interview script, is no easy task. Clarity, simplicity, and effectiveness are all vital. Gathering and interpreting the data is much more challenging than just talking to people about a topic. You’ll be helping your clients decide what knowledge about their customers is important. Then you’ll present the results of your research in a clear, concise form. Business will build slowly as organizations become more confident in your skills.

Executive Search Firm

• Start-up cost: RM5,500-RM9,000
• Potential earnings: From RM40,000 to as much as RM150,000 (gross)
• Typical fees: Varies, but often equals 25 percent of first-year earnings of person placed with client
• Advertising: Cold calls, attending trade shows, newsletter to potential clients, direct mail, ads in publications
• Qualifications: Excellent people skills, patience, self-confidence, knowledge of specialized fields to be able to select
• Equipment needed: Computer and office equipment, telephone, business cards, letterhead, brochures
• Staff required: None
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: Phone expenses and advertising costs could exceed budget early
• Lowdown: Executive recruiters (also known as “headhunters”) are paid by companies to fill management, professional, and technical slots within their firms. Most of a recruiter’s work is done via phone and E-mail, so you can do this job anywhere, although networking face-to-face is also important. You will collect as many qualified applicants as you can (gleaned mostly from your vast resume collection and a few friends in high places). Many consultants choose niches in which to specialize; others serve all areas. A sales personality is helpful in this business, as is the ability to be self-motivated. Often, finding good people for the positions is easier than finding clients who will hire you to conduct the job search. You will need self-confidence, tenacity, and good networking skills to make it as a recruiter. This career choice gives you a great deal of flexibility and personal freedom, since you can work from any location that has a phone.
• Start-Up: A computer and printer are essential, as is database, word processing, and communications software. These items will cost from RM3,000 to RM5,000. You will need a telephone, a headset, and fax, along with office furniture and business cards, letterhead, and brochures to promote your business. These pieces will cost RM1,500-RM4,500. You’ll earn an average 25 percent of the new hire’s salary—so it behooves you to search for the high-end, top-level managers.
• Bottom-Line Advice: Competition for the best companies and top-notch candidates is stiff, and you get paid only when you successfully match a company with a candidate, but the financial rewards can be considerable, and the satisfaction of helping a good candidate to find a job and your client to fill a key position, make your efforts worthwhile.

Employee Leasing

• Start-up cost: RM15,000-RM35,000
• Potential earnings: RM60,000-RM80,000
• Typical fees: Mark up the going rates by 40 to 50 percent
• Advertising: Direct mail, networking in business and trade associations, publishing a newsletter
• Qualifications: Knowledge of and contacts in a specific field, excellent organizational skills
• Equipment needed: Office furniture, computer, printer, fax, telephone headset, business card, letterhead, envelopes, brochure
• Staff required: No
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: Liability insurance against employee misconduct
• Lowdown: While you may not be able to compete with the big general help agencies, a small employee leasing agency can provide workers with specialized skills who cannot be reached through the traditional temp services. This business produces good earnings relative to time and materials: you’re not doing the actual work—just the organization. Build your database of specialists in a field you have experience with, then begin direct mail to your prospective clients.
• Start-Up: Although the cost of building your initial database and center of operations is not high, you will need a sizable initial investment (RM20,000) to cover the delays in cash flow between your clients and your employees. You could see at least RM60,000 at the end of your first year.
• Bottom-Line Advice: You may need to consult an attorney to stay abreast of the laws regarding taxes, workers’ compensation, and employment. Some types of temps will need to be bonded, and you will need to measure the advantages of incorporation over the extra costs and red tape involved.

Direct Marketing/Sales

• Start-up cost: RM1,000-RM3,000
• Potential earnings: RM20,000-RM50,000
• Typical fees: Percentage basis
• Advertising: Word of mouth, direct mail, cold calling
• Qualifications: Energy, persistence, ability to manage time well
• Equipment needed: None
• Staff required: None at first
• Handicapped opportunity: No
• Hidden costs: Some organizations charge for catalogs and other sales materials, attendance at meetings, inventory replacement
• Lowdown: Many, many people try their hand at direct sales, yet only a few of them make it big. What is the difference? Consider your goals. Do you want to make a few bucks and sell a line of products you like to family, friends, and acquaintances? Is your main goal to make your own purchases at a discount? Or are you planning to put the effort and commitment into direct sales that you would into establishing any other type of small business? Many products are best sold person-to-person because they benefit from demonstration. Finding an excellent product line to work with is vital, and you should feel confident in the company as well. The rest is up to your selling skills and personal drive. Many direct sales-oriented companies encourage their salespeople to create networks, additional salespeople whose sales bring a percentage to the person who recruited them. This practice acts as an incentive to everyone in the sales force. It is the way to large earnings, if you can achieve it.
• Start-Up: Costs to start are very low (around RM1,000), but watch out for hidden charges and fees from the manufacturers. These should warn you off the companies that might exploit you. An income of RM20,000 in the beginning is realistic.
• Bottom-Line Advice: How many opportunities are left in this country in which your own hard work will define your success? Direct sales is one of them. Are you comfortable with cold-calling? Are you committed enough to keep yourself going with no one to answer to but yourself? Do you genuinely like people and enjoy helping them find products that will add something to their lives? Or, on the other hand, would you be satisfied with direct sales as an add-on to some other activity? Be sure you’re clear on what you want, and what you will need to do to achieve it. If you have big ambitions, you’ll need a very big commitment to achieve them in direct marketing and sales.

Digital Imaging Service

• Start-up cost: RM20,000-RM40,000
• Potential earnings: RM25,000-RM45,000
• Typical fees:RM15-RM45 per scanned-image product
• Advertising: Yellow Pages, mall kiosks and other high people-volume locations
• Qualifications: Training in equipment
• Equipment needed: Computer with scanner and video imaging capability
• Staff required: No
• Handicapped opportunity: Possibly
• Hidden costs: Insurance, equipment maintenance and upgrades
• Lowdown: The digital craze is on—and it’s not limited to musical instruments or compact disks. You can cash in on the trend by starting your own digital imaging service. You’ve probably seen such businesses in your local shopping mall or at a community flea market: the proprietor simply takes a video image of a person and places it onto a computer screen for printing on a color printer; the image is then transferred to a product (such as a felt banner, T-shirt, or coffee mug) and a personalized gift has been created. It’s that simple, and the product generally sells itself if positioned in a high-traveled area. You can buy a franchise or start your own version if you are familiar enough with the equipment and can work with product vendors. Expect to market your service aggressively; you’ll need to talk to people and have excellent sales ability to make enough money to cover your expenses (particularly mall rent). Still, it’s a fun method of gift-giving for many consumers—and they will buy if you are visible enough.
• Start-Up: You’ll need RM20,000-RM40,000 for your equipment and space rental, slightly more if you buy a franchise. Your equipment will include a computer with color printer, video camera, and software that permits image transfer from video to computer screen to printer. Thermal transfer equipment will also be necessary to produce those personalized coffee mugs and T-shirts. On the plus side, you might see as much as RM45,000 for little effort on your part.
• Bottom-Line Advice: Your business will fluctuate according to season; expect low times in the fall and spring, and festive seasons high (complete with long hours and heavy volume).

Day Care Service

• Start-up cost: RM3,000
• Potential earnings: RM25,000-RM40,000
• Typical fees: RM40 per child per week or RM50 per adult per week
• Advertising: Referral service, bulletin boards, classified ads
• Qualifications: Some states require a license and insurance
• Equipment needed: For children: cribs, toys, movies, and games; for adults: furniture, medical supplies
• Staff required: No (but many states impose a limit on the adult-to-child ratio;
• Handicapped opportunity: No
• Hidden costs: Insurance
• Lowdown: The day care business has been growing in direct relation to the rising number of women choosing careers in addition to families—and never has it been more flexible. There is a need to care for both seniors and children—and a few innovative entrepreneurs have integrated both at their care centers, so that the two groups can enjoy and learn to appreciate one another. You can easily start a day care center in your home if you meet the necessary zoning requirements of your community. It works best if you have a large yard and extra room (perhaps a finished basement) so that there is plenty of room to play. You’ll need to be clear in your rates/policies (especially about regular hours, vacations, and payment due dates), and be careful not to let the parents treat you like a baby-sitter who is at their beck and call. Be assertive about protecting your personal time with your own family.
• Start-Up: Your main start-up cost will be getting the word out about your service. Classified advertising, bulletin boards, and mothers’ groups are a good way to build word of mouth. Your larger expenses will likely come from updating your home to meet zoning regulations; your home may have to pass inspection before licensing. If you decide not to license or not to carry insurance, be sure to let the parents/families know, because you will be held liable in the event of a disaster if you don’t. Along those lines, be sure to familiarize yourself with safety procedures in case of an emergency.
• Bottom-Line Advice: If you love to be around little people or seniors, you’ll enjoy the opportunity to do so daily. Also, if you have children of your own, you can be paid for watching them play with others—not a bad position to be in. On the downside, although you are responsible for the children you watch, you are not their parent—a fact the parents themselves may constantly remind you of. Be sure to meet with the parents of children or the families of seniors on a regular basis to keep communications straight.

Database Consultant

• Start-up cost: RM5,000-RM13,000
• Potential earnings: RM40,000-RM100,000
• Typical fees: RM100+ per hour
• Advertising: Referrals, publications, trade journal advertising
• Qualifications: A high level of skill in database management and analysis, possible programming skills, awareness of business information needs, excellent communication skills, project management skills
• Equipment needed: High-end computer, database software, modem, printer, fax, office furniture, business card, letterhead, envelopes
• Staff required: No
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: Business insurance, need to incorporate to protect your assets against risk, updates on software, training to keep up with developments in field
• Lowdown: Companies develop databases to perform a wide range of essential functions; they need information that cross-references their data to make critical decisions and develop corporate strategies. An effective database can reveal all kinds of vital information. For example, an organization can effectively use a database to garner interesting information about its customers, such as what they purchase by mail, what time of year, week, or day they call to place an order, what sizes and quality selections they make, and the types of mailings they find most appealing. If you have the knowledge to create a database system that will present the needed information correctly, efficiently, and accurately, you can sell your services for a very high hourly rate. It may be your responsibility to write the program yourself or you may recommend other programmers—or you may supervise the customization of existing software.
• Start-Up: You will need computer equipment to support your work, even though much of your time will be spent at client companies. This could run you in the neighborhood of RM5, 000 or more, since you’ll need a powerful computer that can handle and manipulate huge amounts of data. But, since you’ll charge at least RM100 per hour for your services, you should be able to see a profit in a short period of time.
• Bottom-Line Advice: This is an enormously challenging business for people who love working at a high level with abstract ideas. Central to your success will be your ability to understand what information your clients really need. This involves learning in detail how the business operates and having the imagination to realize what a database could do to support that mission, now and in the future. The downside is the size and length of each database project. Some of these people have different agendas and may not share your commitment to making the database work effectively.

Coupon Distributor

• Start-up cost: RM500- RM 1,500
• Potential earnings: RM10,000- RM 35,000
• Typical fees: RM3- RM5 per drop site or a bulk rate for mailings (usually RM300 per thousand) Advertising: Word of mouth, cover letter with resume
• Qualifications: Postage meters and knowledge of postal regulations; a clean driving record
• Equipment needed: Solid, dependable vehicle
• Staff required: No
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: Insurance, mileage
• Lowdown: Coupon books are a quick, positive means of getting a company’s message across to consumers; what better incentive to buy than a discounted price for doing so? Producers of coupon books often don’t have the time or resources to distribute the books themselves, so they hire out services such as yours to make sure that potential buyers receive their “golden” opportunities. You’ll either drive around your community distributing such books by hand, or you’ll use direct mail to ensure delivery by a specific date. Because coupons are of a time-sensitive nature, you’ll always need to stay on track—invest in a good time-management system (a personal organizer or even a simple planner) to make sure that you never miss a deadline. Familiarize yourself early on with postal regulations; post offices regularly hold classes that teach you all the ins and outs of mass mailing. Networking with printers, advertising agencies, and coupon book producers will bring you the most business (rather than advertising your services in a publication).
• Start-Up: If you already have a dependable vehicle, you’ll spend between RM500-RM1,500 getting this business off the ground. Mostly, you’ll spend it on postage equipment and your own self-promotion. You’ll charge about RM300 per thousand, or RM3-RM5 per drop site if you’re doing it via your own vehicle. You can expect your annual earnings to be between RM10,000-RM35,000 (depending on which method you choose to deliver the books).
• Bottom-Line Advice: This is a good part-time profession, but it isn’t exactly dependable, as many coupon book producers are disreputable or go out of business in a short period of time. Align yourself with the tried and true, and all will go smoothly. Otherwise, you might consider becoming a coupon book producer yourself.

Computer Consultant

• Start-up cost: RM5,000-RM13,000
• Potential earnings: RM40,000-RM100,000
• Typical fees: RRM75-RM150 per hour
• Advertising: Referrals, direct mail, publications, networking
• Qualifications: Technical knowledge, specialty knowledge, people and time-management skills
• Equipment needed: High-end computer, hardware and software, copier, fax, office furniture, business card, letterhead, envelopes
• Staff required: No; must be able to subcontract outside of specialty
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: On-line service; time and expense of staying current in fast-changing field
• Lowdown: It’s getting very hard to operate any business without a computer system, so almost anyone is a potential client if you know how to match up a computer system with their needs. Computer consulting is a big field today and will continue to grow rapidly in the near future. Many computer consultants become as essential to their clients as the systems themselves, earning a steady income in the process. This field is for individuals with wide expertise in hardware and software. Even more important is an ability to see issues from the client’s point of view. What are his or her real problems, and what creative solutions to those problems will be best served using computer technology? You will probably need to focus on one area of specialization, such as networking computers, or on one type of business, such as retail outlets or physician offices.
• Start-Up: Your own business must have a computer system, including software, that is comparable to those of your clients. This will be your major expense, but if you have the expertise to operate this business, you probably have much of the equipment and software already. You’ll also need a high-quality copier and a fax/modem. The essential organizational dues and on-line services can also add surprisingly to your operating expenses. But, if you charge the going rates of RM75 and up per hour, you should be able to earn back your initial investment in as little as six months.
• Bottom-Line Advice: Computer consulting is for big-picture people also skilled in keeping track of details. Each client and situation is different, making for a very stimulating work life. You will be able to function outside of normal time-space restrictions and you won’t find competitors undercutting you with cookie-cutter services. But computer consulting is extremely demanding. You will often be working under a deadline or in a crisis situation; you must produce what you promise and be able to train your clients’ employees to make the system work under real conditions. Bidding jobs is challenging, especially at first—keeping track of billing is essential.

Community-Based Coupon Books

• Start-up cost: RM1,000-RM5,000
• Potential earnings: RM15,000-RM30,000
• Typical fees: Ad rates vary (but generally start at RM300-RM500 per ad); plus, you can sell the books to the public for an average cover price of RM29.95
• Advertising: Yellow Pages, community newspapers, local radio
• Qualifications: Ability to relate to both businesses and the public, one-on-one
• Equipment needed: Computer, software, printer
• Staff required: Yes
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: Phone and mileage for ad sales reps
• Lowdown: You’ll be providing a useful service for both the businesses and the public. Businesses offer discounts to attract customers; you are aiding them in their marketing strategies by publicizing these discounts. You will sell advertising space in your coupon books, produce them with a printer, and then sell them to consumers through the mail. If you enjoy people and are good at presenting your "product," you will find that many customers in your community are receptive to receiving discounts from businesses they know and respect. The best part is, your revenue is collected from both sides (the advertiser and the buyer)—so you have a double stream of income.
• Start-Up: It requires a lot of legwork to get a business like this started, but the end-product—an inexpensively printed booklet—is your major cost. Perhaps you can strike a deal with a local printer, offering a percentage of the take. Or, shell out the RM1,000-RM5,000 in your first six months of start-up—if you sell enough ads and begin to generate simultaneous interest from the public, you’ll make enough to cover printing (and still have quite a bit left over).
• Bottom-Line Advice: You’re creating a business enterprise out of almost nothing as you develop and sell your coupon book. This is truly a business that depends on hard work. Many individuals find a deep sense of satisfaction in knowing that they have provided a useful community service while making a profit at the same time. However, gathering enough coupon commitments from businesses is difficult: selling has its discouraging days. This is an enterprise for people with a lot of determination and a great deal of free time to successfully promote the book to the public.