Today I share my top 5 Small Service Business Ideas that require little to no capital investment or experience to start! I provide you with several ways to specialize in each one, so you can position yourself for success and build a business for the long term.
I also tell you about my upcoming Online Business Program called “How to Start a Low-Cost Small Service Business after Divorce, and Succeed!
**Available starting August 7th**
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Episode Transcript
Welcome back I’m Traci Simkins and this is Refined By Divorce, it’s a place for women who want to rebuild a thriving life and become financially secure after divorce, by starting a small service business. We talk about entrepreneurship, working in and outside the home as a single mom, mindset, and everything in between, and today I’m going to give you 5 service business ideas that require very little capital and little to no experience to start.
But before we get there, I start every episode with a little bit of inspiration, by spotlighting a woman from history who has gone before us and paved the way, affectionately referred to as a refined Rebel.
Refined Rebel - Alexandra David Néel
Alexandra David-Néel was the definition of a rebel. Born in 1800’s France, her parents were walking contradictions. Her father a Protestant anarchist, her mother a devout Catholic, who abandoned her to be raised by a stream of governesses, leading to their strained relationship.
As Alexandra grew, she found solace in her father’s faith and chose to enroll as a Protestant in a Catholic convent school, which provided her with an excellent education and religious freedom, because Instead of attending mass, she was able to spend that time taking field trips, like visiting a museum.
At just 16, Alexandra’s adventurous spirit took her on escapades across Europe, but financial constraints eventually brought her back home. And then at 23, a small inheritance from her godmother allowed her to fulfill her dreams and sail to India where she immersed herself in Sanskrit studies and embraced her passion for music, even becoming an opera singer.
She then decided to study Buddhism in India. Fluent in Sanskrit, she delved deep into religious practices and became a disciple of a Buddhist monk and for two years, she lived in a cave at an astonishing 12,000 foot elevation, where she practiced esoteric techniques.
During her time in India, Alexandra adopted a 14-year-old monk as her own and together they traveled across Asia. At the age of 56, Alexandra and her son disguised themselves and embarked on a treacherous journey over a 19,000-foot mountain pass, and after 19 hours of hiking, they arrived in Lhasa, the Holy City of Tibet with its golden-roofed palace of the Dalai Lamas. After a two-month stay, they were discovered and sent back home to France.
Alexandra chronicled her incredible life, writing her most famous work, “My Journey to Lhasa.” She wrote over 40 books, covering anarchist pamphlets, travelogs, and scholarly studies of various religions.
You can read much more about Alexandra and the other Refined Rebels on the website.
My Top 5 Service Business Ideas
Alexandra’s life was one of extraordinary devotion to freedom and knowledge. She broke barriers, living a life that was unconventional and seemingly impossible for her time.
Speaking of seemingly impossible, today I want to give you 5 service business ideas that require very little capital and little to no experience to start.
Seems impossible right? Well it’s not if you do two very important things from the start – and that is to specialize and to network. So let’s go through the list and I’ll give you ideas on how to position your business for success.
1. Personal Shopping or Errand Service
As you know, there are many personal shopping companies that have popped up and almost every store now offers online shopping and pick up or delivery service, so why would I suggest this as an idea?
Well there is always room for improvement. I’ve received moldy fruit, expired yogurt, and broken dishes. I’ve had my groceries dropped off at the wrong time and left sitting in the hot sun for over an hour. I’ve had half of my order left by the front door and the other half all down the front steps.
Now I’ve had amazing experiences too and one shopper in particular was so good that I would request her specifically. We developed a friendship and I encouraged her to go out on her own as a personal shopper, and now I just text her directly when I need something and she gets to keep all of the profits.
Although the gig economy has its benefits, and it’s a good choice for some, the downside can be troubling, and I believe starting your own small personal shopping or errand business is a superior option. You could specialize in providing errand services to those who can’t get to the bank or post office before they close, you could focus on shopping for special occasions and big events, you could offer corporate concierge services, or you could offer a white glove service where you not only deliver groceries, you bring them in, put them away and take away all the packaging. Busy professionals can always use help, and with a little bit of creativity, you can capitalize on that need.
2. Pet Care
People love their pets and are happy to pay top dollar for help, and if you can tap into the pet owner market, you will do well . You can care for pets while their owners are away, you could offer dog walking, running or hiking services, you could focus on one specific type of dog, like think about Corgi lovers and how catering to them specifically would be a great idea. You could board pets overnight in your home and give the owner’s limited viewing access so they can see they’re ok, or you could run a doggie day care that has fun activities, like the one my sister takes her dog to, I mean, how fun is this? Once again, there are lots of ways to specialize around taking care of pets and to become known for it.
3. Personal Organizer/Decluttering Services
If your closet is organized by color, season, or any other kind of classification system, then this might be right up your alley. You can specialize with one type of space, like an office, kitchen or garage, or you can focus on one time period or event, like moving, first home, starting a family, or downsizing. You can make minimalism or eco-friendly your selling point. Or you can specialize in organizing commercial spaces or stores. There’s one area that I think is needed, but I don’t hear a lot about it, and that is digital organization. Think emails, photos and everything saved on your computer. It’s probably a mess for most of us, and if you were to figure out a good decluttering and filing system, you would have more work than you could take on.
4. Travel Planning and Booking
We all want the best deal and we want everything booked correctly, but we just don’t have the time, patience or both. By positioning your business as the solution to this problem, you can build up a clientele that will keep coming back, over and over again. You could specialize in corporate travel or retreats, or president’s club reward vacations, you could focus on pet-friendly, family friendly or LGBTQ+ friendly travel, you could cater to one specific destination or one type of travel, like cruises or health spa retreats. You could specialize in the once in a lifetime European vacation that every family in the US wants to take. You could be the Dream Honeymoon specialist or cater to the retirement crowd, or deal exclusively in cruises. Once again, there are many options, but choose one and stick with it, because not only do you become an expert in the service you offer, but you will develop relationships with the hotels, airlines, transportation companies, and more, so that you can maximize your profits and offer the best experience possible.
5. Elderly Care
I saved this one for last because I believe it has the most potential and that is Elderly Care: this is a huge category because of the growing elderly population, and with humans living longer, there’s a lot of potential for creating a very specialized service that only you offer. You could offer respite care for caregivers who need a day or week off, you could offer basic tech assistance with cell phones and tv’s that seniors struggle with, or you could offer home modification services to help people make their homes more accessible and safe. The sandwich generation describes people who are raising children and caring for their aging parents at the same time. Imagine the difficulties they face in having all of this responsibility but not enough bandwidth, and what are the things that you could offer that would alleviate some of those pain points, like transportation, meal prep, medical care management, I mean the list is endless and so needed.
Now while these can be started without any training or experience and have a lower financial investment upfront, they do require you to invest your time and energy, and require you to learn everything you can about your specific idea .
This can be difficult when you’re going through divorce, but it’s also one of the best times for big changes. Leverage the adversity and inherent need for change, to create a way for you to support yourself and your family financially, and at the same time, have the freedom to be there for them when they need you.
Is Entrepreneurship Right for You?
Even though there’s a lot of misinformation and an unreasonable amount of fear surrounding entrepreneurship, it is not for everyone, but I do believe it’s not only possible, but a great option for women. So how do you know if it’s right for you?
I have a Free Mini-Guide that will help you gather all of the information you need to make the right decision for you and your family.
To get it, go to my Website and sign up, then go to your inbox to confirm and your free guide will be instantly available!
My New Course!
If you already know that you’re ready to become your own boss and would like some help getting started, I’ve created a new course called “How to Start a Low-Cost Small Service Business after Divorce, and Succeed!” It will be available starting Aug. 7th, at a significantly lower price point than my Consulting services, but with all of the same great information, tools and resources.
I’ve taken everything I teach my one-on-one clients, and condensed it down into 8 self-guided modules, along with various worksheets and training videos. With the course, you’ll also have access to my growing list of recommended resources and tools for success. Although it’s structured to be 8 weeks long, you can do it at your own pace and on your own timeline, because your access to the program doesn’t expire.
For more information, please go to the website and sign up to Join the Kaleidoscope, so you’ll be up to date on all the latest news and information.
I hope these five service business options provided some inspiration for you and if you enjoyed it please follow and subscribe, like and comment so that the podcast and youtube channel can grow and reach the women who really need it. Oh and by the way, the podcast will be going to a bi weekly schedule, as I’ve recently started doing short business tip videos that are released daily. I’ll link to them in the show notes. Thank you so much for your support.
Love In, Peace Out.
Bye.
