Looking for a unique and exciting home-based venture? The possibilities are limitless. For example, Toronto area police recently uncovered a home-based counterfeiting ring. The counterfeiters 
were using a home office color printer and scanner to create some of the most convincing fake $100 bills police have ever seen. Now if this sort of work doesn’t appeal to you (because you dislike working with computers or perhaps you have ethics) – don’t despair.
New home based business opportunities are popping up faster than woodchucks during an earthquake. Consider the following potential gold mines . . .
Operate a Gerbil Daycare: Doggy daycares are a growing fad, so why not jump on the pet daycare train before it leaves town and offer one for gerbils? Providing a highly social environment with lots of stimulus has shown to increase the number of brain cells in gerbils. This information will allow you to tap into gerbil owners guilt about leaving their gerbil home alone all day while it’s brain slowly atrophies.
Phone Book Accuracy Checker – The perfect low-stress job for people who enjoy sitting around home talking on the phone all day. By making sure that people’s phone numbers match their names, you’ll provide one of the most important public services known to the modern world.
Operate a Dial-a-Joke-Center – Your target market, of course, are the thousands of corporate drones who have yet to discover the joys of working out of their home. Those poor bored souls will be phoning your 1-900-JOKES line every hour to hear the latest joke. Your voice mail system will direct folks to the appropriate location, for example, “please press one for airplane and travel jokes, press two for jokes involving barnyard animals and bars, press three for jokes about corporate drones who are so bored they need to phone a dial- a- joke number.”
Soap Opera Story-line Summarizer – Wouldn’t you be making life so much simpler for thousands of folks by distilling hours of drivel (sorry, compelling television) into a concise summary and faxing or e-mailing it to folks at work? Sure there are magazines that do this, but where’s the human touch? Where’s the customized service? Where’s the remote?
Junk Drawer Organizer – Everyone has one. That drawer. That drawer crammed full of 1973 discount coupons, an instruction manual on how to change your record player needle, and various unidentified implements dating back to the early Precambrian. And what a service you’ll provide as people drop off their junk drawers at your home office as they head into work. By the end of the day, not only will their drawer be fumigated and sorted chronologically (by decade), but a team of anthropologists will have furthered our understanding of this complex world we live in. (Note: this opportunity could easily morph into a fishing tackle box organizer as well).
Professional Opener – It’s a simple concept whose time has come. People will drop off things they can’t get open and by the end of the working day you’ve opened them. Can it get any simpler?
Missing Sock Clearing House – Each year an estimated 6.4 million socks go missing somewhere between the laundry basket and dryer. Why not manage a clearing house and data bank service where people can report missing socks, return found socks and match up single socks?
E-mail Timer – Do you ever wonder how long it takes your e-mail to arrive in Cleveland? Sure you do! And when people wonder about something you know there’s money to be made. By establishing a network of other home office workers throughout the world, you’ll be able to tell folks precisely how long their e-mail is taking to reach it’s intended recipient, thereby quenching the curiosity of millions of people who have a little too much time on their hands.
Home Office Personal Motivator – Your role is simple: phone up other home based workers who are having trouble staying motivated or focused and egg them on with such timeless phrases as “You know, only the early bird catches the worm”, “I knew you’d never amount to anything” or the always successful “Get off your duff and make something of yourself!” You better believe people will pay for this kind of tough love.
These are but a few of the opportunities awaiting those who will not wait for opportunities that others aren’t waiting for. Remember folks, the only things preventing us from achieving our home based business dream are: time, money, support from family and friends, some really, really good ideas and in a few rare cases, the Toronto area police department.
Michael Kerr is a Canadian Hall of Fame Speaker, highly in-demand international keynote speaker, and the creator of the Culture Leadership Online Academy. Michael is also the author of 8 books, including: The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank; Hire, Inspire, and Fuel Their Fire; and The Jerk-Free Workplace: How You Can Take the Lead to Create a Happier, More Inspiring Workplace. www.MikeKerr.com
