Is the Holiday Season the Wrong Time to Start a New Home Business?
The holiday season is a very hectic time for many families. There’s so much going on. So many things to do and people to see. Does all that make it the wrong time to start a new home business?
Maybe, but it might just be the perfect time. It depends on the kind of home business you want to start. If you’re doing anything that might be in demand during the holiday season, it’s a great time to get started.
The Challenge of the Holiday Season
Starting a new home business is always challenging. There’s a lot to learn, even if you’re starting one with something you know well already. Running your own business is just different from working for someone else. You won’t know how different until you get going.
The other problem is that you may well be busy yourself. You probably have a lot of things you’d like to get done, and dealing with the kind of time management owning a home business requires may be overwhelming. Be prepared to deal with marketing, taking orders, fulfilling orders, dealing with payment issues and much more. If you’re offering something in demand at this time of year, your learning curve may be sharp.
What Kinds of Home Businesses Do Well During the Holiday Season?
There’s a reason why many business owners love this time of year. People spend money and lots of it. You have a wide range of choices for the type of business you want to run.
Physical Product Sales
You can sell physical products as an affiliate online or through a direct sales company. Lots of Amazon affiliates do very well at this time of year, although getting a website up and driving traffic to it isn’t always easy. On the plus side, once you get traffic, people are in something of a buying mood now.
If you choose to join a direct sales company, make sure you will be able to fulfill orders in plenty of time for the appropriate holiday. Pay attention to any shipping cutoff dates that apply to your customers’ orders. You don’t want to have a lot of people screaming at you because their order with you didn’t arrive in time.
If you’re into crafts, you can also make and sell products you make at fairs and such.
Another way to sell physical products is to create your own holiday designs to be printed on tshirts, mugs and other products on sites such as CafePress and Zazzle. They’re free to join and you set your own prices within a certain range. The price you set determines how much you earn off each sale.
In all cases, be sure you check into any home business licensing you need. This will vary from place to place. Some places you won’t need anything at all, but others you will. If you’re selling products you may also need to get information on how to collect sales tax.
Santa Letters
You can write your own Santa Letters or sell them and related products as an affiliate to one of the more established companies. These have become quite popular in recent years. Kids do love to hear from Santa.
Event Planning
There’s a lot going on at this time of year, and many people need a professional to plan it for them. If you’ve always been good at making parties special, event planning may be a good choice for you. Just be warned that it’s not easy, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience doing this for others. It takes time to learn how to find good locations, get a great caterer, great music or other entertainment, all on a budget.
Putting Up Holiday Lights
You’d better have a good head for heights with this one. Many people would rather pay someone to put up their holiday lights than do it themselves. This isn’t a job you can haul young children along for either. It’s still a good seasonal business if childcare won’t be an issue for you. Don’t forget take down service after the holidays.
Child Care
Even if you just do it for family and friends, you can earn some good money watching other people’s children. Set an appropriate hourly rate per child and place ads in the paper and online to bring in more clients.
