Employment-wise, we live in a very different age than we have in years past. Whether you are a retiring baby-boomer looking to supplement a fixed retirement stipend or a millennial seeking to make your mark in the "gig" economy, you might consider starting a business right in the comforting confines of your own garage!
Here are seven great businesses you can start that have small up-front investment costs and could put money in your pocket!
1) BICYCLE REPAIR
Turn a hobby into a money-maker! If you enjoy fixing things and know your way around a bicycle, you could use or convert your garage into an awesome workshop and offer bicycle maintenance and repair services.
If you live in a northern climate, in the winter you can offer to wax and repair skis!
2) BLOGGER
If you can write well, find a topic that resonates in your heart and then start a website dedicated to covering that topic with zest and passion. Really all you need is a time, a computer and the drive to write consistently.
Blog hosting is inexpensive, often costing about $10 per month. While you won't make money right away, if you gather a following, the advertisers will follow.
3) GET CRAFTY
Do you whittle? Make windchimes or birdhouses? If so, in addition to selling your wares at craft regional craft shows, why not offer lessons teaching others your craft?
Believe it or not, there is probably a market for you to teach your hobby within your community.
4) GET *REALLY* CRAFTY: FURNITURE MAKING/REPAIR
If you have moved beyond birdhouses and sailboats, and are really good at woodworking and have some basic equipment, you could very easily start a business making deck furniture or patio.
You wouldn't need much in the way of tools – a saw, a drill, a hammer and a top-notch sander (like the ones reviewed here) – all you would really need is creativity and passion for working with wood. Note that you could also offer furniture repair as a service, though you might need more tools.
5) JEWELRY
If you have an artist's eye for design, a steady hand, and some patience, making homemade jewelry can be lucrative and fun. You can work with various materials like precious or standard metals, plastic, beads, glass, wood, or paper.
As mentioned above, there are many places and events where you could sell your jewelry: local gift shops, craft fairs, or even sites like Craigslist and Etsy. The sky's the limit!
6) BECOME A "KNIT-WIT": KNITTING, SEWING & ALTERATION
If you have talent with needle and thread, you may wish to consider putting that acumen to work for you! It might sound zany, but your sewing/knitting skills could be the catalyst in an explosion of business opportunities, from mending clothes to making alterations, even sewing custom order pieces!
If you live near a college campus, you can find a veritable bevy of non-conforming hipsters who go out of their way to find custom-made apparel and home furnishings! Once you get known locally, word-of-mouth should do the rest, making your business flourish.
7) WAREHOUSING AND SHIPPING FOR E-COMMERCE
I have saved potentially the most lucrative, if not the most time intensive idea for last. If you have that extra garage or basement space, with very little cost and effort, you could give this a try.
Find local businesses (or find them online) that want to outsource their order inventory and shipping. You will then be the client's keeper of inventory and their shipping headquarters.
Now, while there is no arguing that e-commerce is a powerful business model and is chock-full of potential revenue. You may, however, want to ask yourself if you need the hassle of storing and delivering all inventory required to create a viable e-commerce business?
Additionally, packing and shipping ideally dozens of orders could be really hard work. If you think you can mitigate the spatial needs and the potential hassles, you may have found yourself a cash cow; one that requires neither hay nor milking!
We live in an age where opportunity takes many forms. Where creativity in vision and the harnessing of your own intrinsic resources can lead to real success! Don't be afraid to turn your 2-car garage into a 1-gig garage!
Jelly Triangle says: This post was a guest post by Paul from Woodwork Boss. Thanks to Paul for this great list of ideas!
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BIO:
I’m Paul from Woodwork Boss - and as you might have guessed, woodworking is my thing!
Woodworking is one of my true passions, and I love to share this passion with other interested people on my website. As a woodworker, garage is often the „man-cave“ where the magic happens, so I firmly believe you can also kickstart your dreams from your own cozy garage!
