Start a Business for Less Than $2,000

From Airbrush Artist to Wellness Instructor, 75+ Profitable Business Startups for Under $2,000

Richard Walsh

• Publisher: Adams Media
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781440539428
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Small Business
• Index: Business

Millions of Americans are out of work. Their savings accounts have shrunk, and they're taking out second mortgages and cashing in their retirement accounts to pay off overdue credit card bills. But the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in America, as clear in initiatives like Small Business Saturday and Entrepreneur.com. And hundreds of thousands of courageous innovators have decided to start their own businesses. The question is—how much money will it take to do it successfully? Here are innovative, exciting ideas for businesses based on what the reader can afford. For each venture author Richard Walsh outlines start up expenses, probable earnings, qualifications, and gives the low down on what the business is really all about. This is the essential down-and-dirty guide for every aspiring entrepreneur who wants to select a business, get a business plan together, and join the small business revolution.

The Businesses

Airbrush Artist

Start-Up cost: $500–$1,000

Potential earnings: $25,000–$50,000

Typical fees: Varies; could be as low as $125 and as high as several thousand per project; $100–$200 per hour is not unusual

Advertising: Local art galleries, art studios, art supply houses, trade and craft shows, website

Qualifications: Graphic design, art background or degree

Equipment needed: Airbrush, paints, hose, canvas, cloth, masks

Home business potential: Yes

Staff required: No

Hidden costs: Ventilation system, rising materials costs

Lowdown

Airbrush art is found in many different places, such as on billboards, T-shirts, pickup trucks, vans, and motorcycles. An art background is a must for this job. It’s essential that you can separate colors as well as mix them. The ability to think in fine detail and visualize is also essential. Build your reputation as an artist wherever you can find work. For broad exposure, try magazines, ad agencies, and public relations firms, but don’t neglect local opportunities either. Restaurants and retail shops, for example, sometimes display the work of local artists free of charge. Galleries are another route, but keep in mind that you will have to give up a percentage of any money you make on the sale of your work at a gallery. You might also try entering a contest or displaying your work at an art fair or craft show. The icing on the cake, of course, would be to get your work commissioned for private or public display. Either way, this shows that someone (hopefully with big money) has noticed your work and is willing to pay for it. You’re well on your way.

Start-Up

Most of your initial investment will be entry fees for contests and art fairs or craft shows. And because you are working in a visual medium, at some point you will probably want to invest in a website and/or some type of promotional piece, such as a brochure or postcard for a direct mail campaign. This is not a field you can enter without a good deal of practice, which means you should already have the tools you need because of your background training (start-up could be as little as $500). Be prepared to start out slowly until you build your reputation. If you hit some craft shows and are lucky enough to get into an exhibit, your monthly income could soon be approximately $1,000–$3,000. But don’t quit your day job just yet, since your income is bound to be unpredictable. It’s the nature of the creative beast to live paycheck to paycheck.

Bottom Line Advice

If you live for creativity, the sky is the limit. You can airbrush on all types of materials: wood, fabric, brick, film, metal, glass — you name it. Sure, it will take a while before you’ll make really big money, but in the meantime you can console yourself with the fact that this is a growing industry and you will have repeat business once you’ve complete at least a few good projects and the word gets around.

Apartment Preparation Service

Start-up cost: $500

Potential earnings: $25,000–$35,000

Typical fees: $100 and up per apartment; or $20–$25 per hour

Advertising: Yellow pages, direct contact with apartment owners/landlords, apartment rental websites

Qualifications: Knowledge of cleaning procedures and painting skills

Equipment needed: Cleaning supplies, vacuum, carpet cleaner, mops, buckets, painting equipment, hand tools

Home business potential: Yes

Staff required: No

Hidden costs: Insurance, equipment maintenance and upgrades, vehicle large enough to accommodate your equipment

Lowdown

You pick up where the vacating tenants leave off by adding the finishing touches to apartments before the next tenant moves in. To increase your marketability, offer several services, including carpet cleaning, wall washing, painting and wallpaper repair, minor repair and maintenance, as well as overall cleaning services. Set fee schedules appropriately depending on individual services (or offer an all-inclusive package price). Advertise your services to many apartment complexes and landlords. To cut down on driving, try to get a contract with a multiunit apartment complex offering short-term lease options.

Start-Up

Invest in good quality cleaning equipment, including a vacuum and carpet cleaner. Start-up costs can be as low or as high as you want, depending on the services you offer and the quality of the equipment you purchase. This business can be started for a relatively low cost with high return on investment; you can always upgrade your equipment, even add staff, as your business grows.

Bottom Line Advice

This business is not for someone who is afraid of good old-fashioned elbow grease. Even the tidiest tenants often fail to clean adequately, so be prepared to encounter some messy situations. You may be spending quite a bit of time on your hands and knees cleaning baseboards and floors — consider the health of your back and always wear a back corset. In addition, invest in a good pair of knee pads and rubber gloves.

Aquarium Maintenance and Set-Up

Start-up cost: $1,000–$2,000

Potential earnings: $15,000–$30,000

Typical fees: $25–$65 per job (depending on tank size)

Advertising: Flyers, bulletin boards, Yellow Pages, online classifieds, website

Qualifications: Knowledge of freshwater and saltwater fish and aquarium maintenance and set-up

Equipment needed: Cleaning equipment, including nets, tongs, siphons, and algae pads; buckets, plastic tarps, and towels; saltwater test kits; fish food; a vehicle to haul it all around

Home business potential: Yes, but your actual work will be on-site

Staff required: No

Hidden costs: Vehicle costs, mileage

Lowdown

This is a great business opportunity for a person with the right combination of patience and enthusiasm for underwater creatures and self-marketing ability. Aquariums, whether freshwater or saltwater, are lovely to look at, but they can require a surprisingly high level of maintenance. The tanks must be cleaned regularly, replenished with fresh water, and treated with chemicals to ensure that the fish remain healthy. Your clients will be those businesses and individuals who love their fish, but would appreciate being relieved of the tiresome, ongoing chore of caring for them and their environment. Experience caring for your own fish, or prior work in a store that sells fish and aquarium supplies, will help you recognize the needs of each aquarium that you service.

Start-Up

Start-up costs are minimal for a maintenance service; if you already have a vehicle, you can probably equip your business for around $1,000. Your costs will increase if you decide to move into sales and set-up of aquarium equipment. You should charge $25–$65 per cleaning job, and remember to include your mileage as overhead; out-of-pocket costs for saltwater test kits, fish food and medications, if needed, should be passed on to your clients.

Bottom Line Advice

This can be a nice part-time job for a self-starter. Many people are simply happy with the opportunity to earn a little extra money from their hobby. If you live in a metropolitan area where many businesses are likely to have aquariums, and you are willing to pound the pavement in search of clients, you can earn a full-time li...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Legal Issues for Small Businesses
• Putting Together a Solid Business Plan
• Why Some Start-Ups Fail (and How You Can Succeed)
• The Businesses
• Also Available
• Copyright Page
• Back Cover