Holiday Decorating

• Design your own holiday decorations. You will want to focus on moderately priced Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween decorations that you can sell to consumers through local arts and crafts shows or to specialty retailers for wholesale prices. Focus on using raw, recycled or up-cycled materials that you can find for very low costs but that will trigger an emotional appeal with buyers.
  
  

Tailor

• If you have a lot of sewing experience, you can start your own home-based tailoring business. You can establish your business by offering your services to local men's wear retailers on a subcontract basis. Arrange to pick up the garments that need to be altered at certain times of the day and return the completed garments on the following day. You can then expand your business to women's retailers and private clients.
  
  

Mosaic Tile

• You can start your own mosaic tile creations business for little out-of-pocket expense. You can purchase discounted mosaic tiles or even broken tiles from local renovation and building companies. You can create your mosaic tile creations, such as picture frames and plant stands, and sell them at local arts and crafts shows or flea markets. You can then expand your business by setting up an eBay store and website and by renting weekend kiosks in your local mall.
  
  

Wedding Consultant

• If you have a knack for decorating and organization, you could start your own wedding consultant business out of your home. Study the demographics of the area you live in, and tailor your services to fit a specific group within that market. Check out a website such as the U.S. Census Bureau's American FactFinder Community Survey (find a link in the Resources section below) and notice how many single people live in your town, what their average incomes are, and how old the majority of them are . If there are many single younger people in your town, then you could specialize in large yet affordable first weddings. If there aren't many people in your area under age 30, then it would be a good idea for you to go after another niche market. For example, you could specialize in tasteful second weddings, which could have you working with many people in their 30s, 40s and 50s. You will want to use your current home office supplies and only invest in things that you absolutely need, like business cards and inexpensive local advertising. You will want to make several visits to introduce yourself to the local wedding suppliers, such as florists, wedding dress shop owners and cake suppliers. You can then begin your business by including the upfront fees for wedding items and services into your consultant's fees.