Work @ Home Series (#1) Businesses for under $100

Hey gals, or guys. Lol I will be starting a series on work at home business opportunities that are easy to start and the best part.....cheap! So, if you are a crafty person, or most importantly know how to sew, consider an alterations business. There are so many opportunities for this kind of business because in a way this type of business isn't really around a whole lot anymore. A few decades ago it was common to see this kind of business. You rarely see alterations businesses anymore, except for wedding dresses. We live in a time where if something breaks or doesn't fit or is just plain dated, we just toss it. But if you are on a budget, and many are these days, you may want to either consider finding this type of service or, if you know how to sew, start your own work at home alterations business. The reason why I'm posting this is this,first because it is something that just fell in my lap. Here's how I got into it. So, I make handmade clothing and Accessories, I have for years. I posted an ad on craiglist about this and I got not only repeat business, but more customers and a new friend just from one ad. So, I get an email from a customer who wanted to know if I altered designer jeans. Now I had only altered my own jeans at this point but had a lot of experience sewing and designing clothing, so I said yes. I did two pairs of Miss Me jeans (for those of you who aren't familiar, these are expensive designer jeans). She basically told me she couldn't find anyone that was affordable and the only person she could find was totally booked for weeks. Now, when you are just starting out, you want to be flexible with your prices and turn around time. I even did some trades as we(more on this later). Basically you want your first transaction to be amazing! You want to go above and beyond. You want referral and repeat business. One thing leads to another, one person knows someone else that needs something done and you go from there. To start: Make sure you have the proper equipment. A great working sewing machine, threads, pins, notions. You can buy things as you go though. That's the beauty of this business. Advertising: flyers, business cards. Pass them out to other like minded businesses, clothing stores, consignment stores, dry cleaners, boutiques, vintage clothing stores, etc. Post on craigslist, start a Facebook page, offer a free service or discount or even a grand opening contest. You could do a press release and contact your local newspaper. Post on social media. Have a pintrest account, Twitter, instagram, etc. Costs and pricing: Ask for half down for materials if you don't have all the supplies needed. Don't shortchange yourself. Markup about 40-50 percent and include your cost for labor as well. Examples: cost $10 materials, charge $20 then decide if you want to charge per hour or based on the item. So charge what you see fit for your time. $15-20 an hour in my area is reasonable but I prefer to charge by item. A pair of jeans, taking them in, only takes me like 15-20 mins so I would be really shortchanged if I were to charge per hour. So back to trades: when you have a business keep in mind the power of bartering. In this tough economy a cash trade my not be possible sometimes,so think about what you need and would be buying with the money you earn anyway. For example. I traded for jeans and boots before. Why? Because I needed them and I would have bought them anyway. I ended up with about $150 worth of clothing for one job. I consider that a win-win. Everyone is happy! More home business opportunities to come and be on the lookout for my newest e-book The Hustling Housewife:101 Home business you can start today! Peace out mommies