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The 14 Best New Small Business Ideas and Opportunities to Start Today

Have you caught the entrepreneur bug and are wanting to start your own small business?

You’ve heard stories of people that have struck it rich by going out on their own and working for themselves.

The thoughts and dreams of running your own business can be intoxicating.

It’s funny that growing up, I never really thought about starting my own business; not as a child, not in high school, not even in college, and frankly, I didn’t think much about it after starting my career.

When I finally got the opportunity and saw what it really meant, starting my own small business has been one of the best ideas I’ve ever had.

If you’re looking to start your own small business, here are some of the best new small business ideas to kick around.

If you’re looking to start a new venture, here are the best small business credit cards to check out.

1. Uber

Uber made the top of this list because it has become one of the most hassle free ways for people with a relatively clean driving record to get started working for themselves.  Getting started requires little training and you can make enough money during non-business hours to provide a livable income for your family.  You will not get rich driving for Uber, but you can work during the hours you want to work and it may allow you to pursue a small business idea you are more passionate about.

Once you sign up on their website, you will have a background check done.  Once that is complete you have to have a vehicle inspection and then you are good to go.

2. Financial planner

How could I write a blog post about the best small business ideas and not include my profession? Some of the perks of becoming a financial planner are that you control your own hours, you work with the people you want to work with, and the pay can be very good.

I don’t want to make it sound, though, that to become a financial planner is easy breezy because it does take a lot of work. It takes a long time, sometimes several years, to build up a client base and getting hired is often times tough, especially if you don’t have a financial background.

Think you have what it takes to my job? Here’s what you have to do to become a successful financial advisor.

There are independent companies like Primerica and World Financial Group that do allow for you to get into the industry, but oftentimes they’ll start you off with you getting your insurance license first. Still, for an awesome profession, it is a nice way to get your foot in the door.

3. Insurance agent

For some people, the job description selling insurance is not that appealing, but the fact of the matter is it pays very well. Whether you’re a pure life insurance agent or a property and casualty, insurance agents can make very good money.

To get licensed, you just have to take some basic tests that will cost you a couple hundred bucks, including studying materials and the actual testing costs. To become an independent life insurance agent, is really easy now days as there are many independent brokerages that you can connect with.

Getting approved for property and casualty can be tough, especially depending on your geographic location. I’m in the process of adding an insurance division to my financial planning practice, and as of now, we’ve had a few obstacles in getting approved by any carriers for the P&C side.

Nonetheless, if you think you like insurance and you want to help people, it’s definitely a good profession, definitely a good small business idea that you can pursue.

4. Freelance writer

Even though I have a blog and you’re currently reading one of my blog posts, the irony to that is that I hate to write. Mostly because it’s not a natural gift and it takes a lot of time and energy and a lot of extra brain juice to crank out a good post; but if you’re able to knock out solid articles, in your spare time, this freelance writing might be right for you.

Miranda Marquit, who is a freelance writer for my site, has created a full-time small business out of her freelance writing work. You can read an article she shared about how to be a successful freelance writer where she shares her story. Being a freelance writer allows her to work no more than 30 hours a week while working at home, and also to be the breadwinner of her family. Not too shabby for having a skill to crank out 70 words a minute.

5. Make and Sell Clothes

For my son’s first birthday, my wife was proud to show off his birthday shirt that a local seamstress had designed on her own. Next thing I know, this was a tradition for all my kids’ birthdays, including other various celebrations, too.

Turns out that Angie Congiardo has built up a very nice small business side income by doing what she knows, sewing.

She does it on the side and has shared with me that the first full year that she kept track, she was able to bring in $11,000 on the side.

Not bad for a small business idea working out of her house.

She does no advertising other than Facebook Fanpage, but as most of you know, that’s free.

If you have a skill in sewing any type of clothing, there’s definitely an opportunity to turn that into a small business.

Notice the P, B, & S shirts to the right?

Those are compliments of Angie herself.   Always nice to support local small businesses. 

6. Say cheese

Do you have a passion for photography? If you do, there’s definitely a market out there for you.

I have two friends who both made great money from being a photographer. My closest friend, Jason York of Jason York Photography, turned his love for taking pictures into a full-time business. He now owns his own studio and has become one of the most recognized photographers in our area.

Another friend of ours, who has a full-time job, has been able to produce a very nice side income by taking pictures in the evenings on the weekends. She has done so by, also like Angie, marketing her business on Facebook as her word of mouth. With the awesome technology that cameras now days and the awesome free editing software programs that exist, taking pictures and getting paid for it has never been easier.

7. Baby or dog sitting

Having three young sons, it’s almost a necessity for me and my wife to get out of the house for some “us” time. When we leave, we want to make sure that we’ve hired a babysitter that we know and trust, and I remember one of the first times that we had a babysitter come in, me and my wife had discussed how much we should pay.

The ultimate conclusion was we should pay a little bit more than they may make somewhere else because we didn’t want to be cheap to our babysitters since this was the person that would be responsible for our kids for the few hours that we were away. As long as young families are popping out babies, there’s always going to be a need for babysitting. Same goes for dog sitting as well.

Every time that we leave on an extended trip, we’ll take our pet boxer, Klaya, to a local dog sitting service. They’ve built up a great reputation in the area of keeping the dogs entertained allowing them to run and play, and also cleaning them up before we arrive home. The point is, the people will always pay top dollar for good care.

8. Virtual assistant

Prior to reading Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hour Work Week, I had no clue was a virtual assistant was. After reading his book, I was so blown away that I was eagerly trying to figure out how I could incorporate one into my life.

Fast forward to present day, I currently have a virtual assistant that helps out with some of the behind-the-scenes work on my blog. It’s all the administrative stuff that while yes I can do, it’s definitely worth paying somebody else an hourly wage just to take care of it for me.

So what exactly does a virtual assistant do? Essentially, a virtual assistant can do anything that you want that person to do for you. They can schedule meetings, type out emails, answer phone calls, research items online, book travel plans. The better question is what a virtual assistant can’t do.

If you often find yourself wasting time on piddly stuff where you would be more productive doing things that you’re more passionate about and make more money on, then definitely look into hiring a virtual assistant. There are sites like onlinejobs.ph and odesk.com where you can find a virtual assistant for cheap.

9. Social Media Manager

As Facebook and Twitter continue to grow and other social networks like Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram continue to gain popularity, being a social media manager has never been in more demand.

Many small businesses, brands, or websites are looking for people that are knowledgeable within a social media space that can help them manage all the different platforms that exist. If you like Facebook, if you like Twitter and can add value to another small business on how they can use these tools, then being a social media manager is right up your ally.

10. Appraisal service

One of my former coworkers had been in the appraisal service prior to becoming a financial advisor. He still kept his license open because he’s always getting calls for people needing commercial appraisal service. Whether it be home appraisal or commercial appraisal, as long as people are buying and selling properties, there’s always going to be a need.

There’s not a huge barrier to getting in, a few tests to pass, but once you do, it can be a very lucrative small business. As like any new business, you’ll have to shake some hands and make some key connections so people know that you exist, but if you do a good job and build up a good clientele, word of mouth referrals will start to stream in.

11.  Consulting Service

Are you considered an expert in your field or in a certain niche? If so, then being a consultant might be right up your alley. Many companies prefer to hire consultants as a cheaper alternative to having an employee on the books.

From your standpoint, one of the huge benefits of starting your own consulting small business is that typically start-up costs are very low.  You already have the knowledge.   Now you just need a fresh looking website, a game plan and a marketing strategy that will put you in front of the right people.

 12. Start a Blog

Writing a blog post in your pajamas and getting paid for it is a dream for many.   Many people can turn their blogs into a legitimate small business, but they are the minority.

Blogging takes a ton of work.  Behind the scenes on this blog I spend 20+ hours per week managing the daily aspects of the blog.  Luckily, I absolutely enjoy it!

How much money can you make starting a blogging business?  The sky is really the limit but it takes time.

It took me over 5 months to get my first Google Adsense check from this blog and that check was a measly $100.   Definitely not worth quitting your day job over.

Since then I’ve been able to bring in a consistent nice side income.  A few times while my wife was still working she would exclaim, “You’re making more from your blog than I do from my job!”.  Hehe…

If you’re interested in learning more check out this blog post where I share how to make money blogging,

13. Hairstylist

If I ever tried to cut my own hair, I would probably be a few fingers shy to having a complete set.  That’ s why I go to a professional.

The lady who has been cutting my hair for the past several years has bounced around a few salons in the area before she finally just opened her own shop appropriately named after her first name.  She has a good client base because she’s good at what she does and hasn’t look back since making the giant leap.

To help cut down costs, her iPhone serves as her business phone line and also her credit card machine using some awesome technology by Intuit.   But being cost conscience, her profits are at record numbers and continue to grow while also enjoying the freedom of owning her own shop.

14. Start a Franchise

I had a classmate in high school whose parents owned 4 or 5 McDonald’s franchises in the area.  Needless to say, they were loaded!  Franchises are great for those that don’t want to worry about creating the idea, they can just run with an already existing business plan and focus their efforts on the business.

A friend of mine who is a serial franchise entrepreneur has opened several Little Caesar’s pizza chains in our area and from what I can tell is doing very good.   Not be satisfied with his conquests, he decided to open another franchise, Sports Clips, a hair salon that caters to men.   At last count, he’s opened 3 of those and continues to grow his empire.

Every franchise is different so it’s extremely important to read all the fine print before embarking on your franchise journey.

 Your Next Small Business Opportunity

I love hearing stories of people that get their small business idea and take the giant leap.  Unfortunately, the odds are against you so make sure you do your research and have plenty of cash on hand.

Have you started a small business?  What small business idea did you get the work?  Are you considering starting your own small business?  Share the details! 

 

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These 3 Companies Are Hiring as Part of Obama’s Youth Employment Program

One of my biggest fears was not being able to land a first job after college.

Certainly, I’ve had my share of internships and small side gigs, but I’d heard too many horror stories of young people coming out of high school or college and remaining jobless.

Thankfully, I was one of the lucky ones. But I have too many friends who are still struggling.

To help combat this all-too common, frustrating saga, President Barack Obama announced “First Job” Hiring and Recruiting Compact earlier this year, a $5.5 billion proposal to help young people snag first jobs.

Although Obama’s about to wave goodbye to the White House, he’s is still pushing forward on the jobs front — this time to help teenagers and college students.

The initiative challenges companies to create more entry-level jobs and internships for people between the ages of 16 and 24 — who are likely experiencing the intimidating situation of being fresh out of school and jobless.

“The President’s Budget will propose new investments — nearly double last year’s request — to connect more than 1 million young people to first jobs over the summer and year-round,” the press release states.

So far three major corporations have signed on to the compact, but the deadline isn’t until Nov. 4 so more are likely to follow.

Get your resumes ready, young people, because big-time companies are jumping on the hiring bandwagon.

3 Companies Hiring Tons of Young People For Their First Jobs

Although these jobs probably aren’t as “cool” as Obama’s first job, you’ll be happy to see these three big names are taking part in this hiring binge.

Check out the job openings at these major corporations, and we’ll be sure to update you when more companies make a hiring announcement.

1. Delta

Currently, Delta employs 80,000 folks — and it’s adding at least 100 more for young people in the next year, according to a recent press release.

You can find the job openings on Delta’s career page. When you apply for a job, be sure to answer #FirstJob when asked how you found out about it.

2. Dollar General

Last week, this penny-pinching mogul announced its signing with Obama’s compact. It’ll partner with high schools and workforce development centers to hire approximately 1,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 24 in the next 12 months.

The jobs are available in full-time and part-time form. If you’re interested, check out Dollar General’s career page for the most up-to-date openings.

3. FedEx

One of our favorite shipping companies (alongside UPS, of course) is also openings tons of jobs as a part of this initiative. This company is calling for people between the ages of 16 and 24 to make FedEx their first employer.

As a part of the initiative, FedEx is opening up 50,000 seasonal holiday positions — “positions that have served as the first job for many of the more than 400,000 global FedEx team members,” the press release says.

Often, these seasonal jobs turn into full-time, year-round opportunities. To find a FedEx hiring in your area, search the careers page.

Want to find out what other companies are hiring? Glassdoor has pledged to be part of the compact. It plans to continue to source candidates for entry-level roles and will also promote these jobs with a new “First Job” badge so you know that the position is just for you, according to a press release.

And for even more jobs, you can visit The Penny Hoarder jobs Facebook page.

Your Turn: What was your first job?

Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. After recently completing graduate school, she focuses on saving money — and surviving the move back in with her parents.

The post These 3 Companies Are Hiring as Part of Obama’s Youth Employment Program appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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The Top 25 Self-Employed Jobs (that are actually fun) You Can Start Today

There was a time when I had a job.

I had a boss to report to.

I was required to wear shirt and tie.  <shudders>

If it wasn’t for my old brokerage firm selling I’m not sure if I would have ever crossed over into the realm of self-employment and owning my business.

Let’s just say I don’t even want to contemplate it because I’m so thankful they did.

Being self-employed is A.W.E.S.O.M.E.!

Do you want to start your own business, but don’t know exactly which business to go into? Or not sure if you can leave the 9-5 grind because of too much debt? Check out our post on how to get out of debt to help you get the ball rolling on being self-employed!

Here’s a list of some of the best self-employed jobs available right now.

And if you find one you like, jump into it.  Even if it’s on a part-time basis.

Each will cost you very little to enter, it can start as a part-time way to make money fast, and could be the kind of work you’ve been looking to do all your life allowing you to not only have money but also have enough money to save!

We’re going to focus on business ideas that are skills-based, and cost little or nothing to start.

If you are wanting to keep your personal and business finances separate, I recommend getting a separate business credit card and opening a separate checking account.  This will allow you to keep business money by itself and then pay yourself a “salary” into your personal account.

Oh – even though these are numbered, it’s not a ranking – it’s just for easy organization.

What will determine the value of a self-employed job is whether or not it’s right for you.

1. Uber Driver

Uber has become a work on your own time sensation.  Their requirements are pretty mild and you can get started right away by going to their website, filling out the online application, and getting your background check going.

You can expect to make anywhere from $13 to $25 per hour with Uber.  A lot of that variance has to do with where you live and how many Uber riders are in the area.  Also, if you have a nice vehicle, you may qualify for some upgraded Uber services that charge a premium price.

2. Social Media Consultant

If you’re under the age of 30, you probably have a built-in advantage for a business like this. If you spend a lot of time on social media – Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, Instagram, or any other of the social media outlets that are popping up all the time – you may be able to find some clients who are in need of a social media consultant.

What started out as a social game just a few years ago, is rapidly becoming important in the business community. The social media is an important way for businesses to connect with ordinary people, without having to go through all channels.

It’s also a way to market businesses, products and services. If you know how to promote events, products, and even concepts, using the social media, then this can be the perfect business for you.

3. Academic Tutor

This can be a natural business for you if you are at least above average in one or more academic subjects. English, science and mathematics are prime subjects for tutors. Since they are required course curriculum in virtually every school, and many students struggle with them, you can create a business out of helping kids improve in these subjects.

You can market your tutoring business just by creating a professional looking flyer, and distributing it to the local schools.

Notice: At GFC we work with self-employed business owners all the time. One thing many self-empl0yed individuals lack is proper life insurance. Before you set off on being an entrepreneur make sure to have your life insurance policy in place to protect your loved ones, should something happen to you. Get more information in our guide to the best term life insurance companies. So you can find the right coverage for your needs.

4. Music Tutor

Academic courses aren’t the only subjects were tutors are in demand. If you can play an instrument, and are reasonably good at it, you can create a business teaching kids – or even adults – how to play.

A lot of people just learn better in a one-on-one environment, rather than in a classroom. You don’t have to be an accomplished musician either. If you know the basics, and you have the patience to teach them to students, this can work very well for you.

5. English-as-a-Second-Language Tutor

There are millions of people coming to the US, and many of them have a poor grasp of the English language. You can make a business out of teaching people how to speak English, or how to speak it better.

The market is also wide open here for tutoring the children of immigrants, who may need help with English because the family’s native language is spoken in the home. But whether you are teaching first generation immigrants or their children, this can be a rich business opportunity.

6. Eldercare

With millions of people now living into their 80s and 90s, and with the cost of institutional living arrangements skyrocketing, many elderly and their families are opting instead for at-home companions. It not only keeps the cost of care low, but it also enables the elderly to continue living in their own homes.

If you have patience and skill to work with the elderly directly, you can become a companion. However, if you want to scale it up into a full-scale business, you can instead start a service that provides care providers for the elderly. As the owner of the business, you would arrange and manage the care engagements which are provided by others.

7. Consultant

Sooner or later every business needs specific help either with an established area of the business, or in taking on an entirely new function. As a consultant, you can come in and help them do just that. The advantage is that you will be coming in as a fee based independent contractor, rather than as an employee in need of a permanent salary and benefits.

One of the best ways to do this is by offering related services. For example, if you have significant marketing experience, you can act as a marketing consultant for a retail operation, a computer software company, or an ecommerce business.

Identify your specialization, then figure out ways that you can help various businesses move forward, and you will have created a consulting niche for yourself.

8. Video Production

An entire closet industry in the video space has developed with the arrival of YouTube. If you have been creating your own videos, such as music videos, how-to videos, or just-for-fun videos, you may be able to sell your services to the general public.

Small businesses are looking for custom videos put on their websites, to broadcast through the social media, and even to include in emails. Videos provide a better way to reach prospective customers who are either primarily visual learners, or people who simply don’t have time to read a lengthy article or webpage.

9. Freelance Writer

The Internet has opened up all kinds of opportunities to write on a freelance basis. There are millions of websites and blogs, and many of them need content to drive traffic. If you have solid writing skills, and can write intelligently on several topic areas, you can quickly earn a living as a freelancer.

Even beyond blogs and websites, you may also step into marketing type emails, advertising copy, and even ghostwriting ebooks. This is the kind of business venture that can start small, and grow into a six-figure income as you get better at it.

10. Freelance Web Designer

Almost everybody wants to start a website of some type but most people lack the skills to make it happen. You know how to build even simple websites, you can turn that into a full-fledged business. If nothing else, you can prepare simple websites for upstart businesses that have limited budgets. But as your business grows and your skill level and your client base increases, you can begin doing more complicated websites for higher fees.

Much like freelance writing, freelance web design can be done on a remote basis. That means you can run your business completely from your own home.

11. Any Kind of Repair Work

We live in a society of machines, and sooner or later every one of them is in need of repair. But we also live at a time when very few people choose careers based on repair work. If you can repair just about anything – cars, computers, furniture, appliances, or homes/buildings – you can start a repair business.

There’ll be some investment of capital needed for tools, and perhaps even a vehicle. But once you get your name and reputation established, you’ll probably have more work than you can handle.

12. Mobile Repairs

If repair work represents a viable business idea, then mobile repairs is potentially even more lucrative. If you are a person who makes house calls, you will likely be in demand in short order. In that way, you will not only be providing much-needed repairs, but they’ll be delivered directly to the customer’s door – which is made to order for today’s market.

One prominent example of this are mobile mechanics. Rather than having the customer bring their vehicle to a repair shop, the mobile mechanic instead goes to the customer’s home. It’s easy to see how this will be a valuable service for the customer whose vehicle won’t start.

But mobile mechanics aside, virtually any repair business that will come to the client’s home will be a welcome relief to people who schedules are already stretched too tightly.

13. Blogger

Do you have a topic area that you are passionate about? If you do, you could turn that into a business by starting your own blog. Thousands of blogs come and go each year, but the ones that offer topics in information that adds value to the readers tend to stick around. And they also tend to be profitable.

The way to make money blogging comes from advertising revenue. Advertisers love to place ads on specialized blogs, and those ads generate revenue, either as one-time payments, or as ongoing cash flows provided by pay-per-click advertising. You can also add affiliate programs to your blog. These are ad offers in which you are paid either a flat fee or a percentage of the sale amount any time a visitor makes a purchase from that vendor from your site.

You can also sell your own products and services from your blog. E-books are especially popular offerings from blogs, as long as they provide valuable information that your readers would be willing to pay for.

The best blogging niches are in areas like investments, credit cards, autos and auto repair, computers, real estate, travel, fashion, or even entertainment. Any topic area that is relevant to a large number of people can turn into a profit generating blog.

14. E-Commerce

If you have ever sold anything on eBay or related sites, this could be a business option for you. It’s simply a matter of developing low-cost product sources of items to sell. EBay even allows you to create an online store that enables you to sell your products and services on a regular basis.

As you might imagine, an eBay business is not quite as simple as many of the proponents claim. It is a business in the true sense, and that means you’ll have to provide products that offer some type of advantage over to what’s out there right now. For example, products need to be either unique, low-cost, or have certain valuable features that make them stand out. Competition is heavy, especially with Amazon.com slowly gobbling up the retail world.

And speaking of Amazon.com, it’s another outstanding site to consider running your ecommerce business on.

15. Grocery Delivery

There are people who spend so much time on their jobs that they have little time to perform even necessary chores, such as grocery shopping. You can make money in a business that handles that job for them. And with the Internet, it’s pretty easy to automate that business. People can simply email or text their orders to you, then you can arrange delivery. You can even set up an online payment arrangement, such as PayPal.

Once you get large enough to have multiple customers, you could probably even combine shopping trips, by shopping for several customers at the same store and time frame. You can charge a flat fee, or one based on a percentage of the grocery order.

16. Buying and Selling

If you are good at locating bargains at places like thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales, or even online, you can start a business buying and selling. The basic idea is to buy items on the cheap, and sell them at a healthy profit.

This is something like running a pawn shop in your home and online. You can sell your merchandise on websites such as eBay, Amazon.com, and Craigslist. You can also opt to sell them at garage sales from your home, or even at flea markets and swap meets.

The basic idea is to sell an item for $100 that you purchased for $10. If you have a skill like that – and some people actually do – it could turn into a lucrative business.

17. Career Coach

If you’re good at whatever career you have (or had), but you’re looking to make a change to take it in a new direction, becoming a career coach could be a natural shift. You’re taking what you know that works in your career, and training others in the same career how to use those skills to improve their own career paths.

In a way, you have to become an advocate for whatever your career specialization is. That means you have to have an idea as to what the bigger picture factors are, such as the credentials that a person may need to move ahead, as well as the contacts or networks. There may also be certain skills that need to be learned in order for a person to be promoted. You should be able to help with all of that.

There are different ways that you can handle this too. For example, if you have held several careers in your life, you may be able to act more in the capacity of a general coach, helping prepare people either to advance in their current careers, or to transition into a new one.

18. Life Coach

This is similar to being a career coach, except that you are extending to nearly all facets of a person’s life. It can include career coaching, but it isn’t limited to occupation alone. You’ll be offering advice and planning in the areas of motivation, finances, social activity, and even hobbies. Your job will be to create a successful and well-balanced life for your clients.

People do pay for the services. After all, if your job is dominating your life, you might consider paying someone – an outsider – to help focus you on improving other areas of your life, including your career.

You can also create specialized niches here too. For example, you can specialize in being a life coach for people who are coming out of a divorce. Or, you can work with people who are undergoing career transitions, or even people who are new in town and are looking for connections and meaning in a strange place. You can take this in any direction you like!

19. Professional Speaker

Are you comfortable speaking in front of large groups? That’s a potential business right there. And again, there’s a lot of flexibility with this type of business. You can give specialized talks to businesses and industry groups, talking about specific topics, or even just providing motivation. You can even become a pitch man for certain products.

A lot of businesses are looking at presentations as a way to market their businesses. But if business owners don’t have the ability or courage to do so, they may a hire a professional speaker to do it for them. You could be that speaker. All it takes is a few clients, and you’ll be on your way.

20. Voice-over Specialist

This is another business idea that’s growing with technology. Companies often hire a voiceover specialist to do podcasts on their websites. They may also want a voiceover specialist to handle the audio on any videos they are preparing.

At the higher end, there is also voiceover work doing commercials. This is a growing field since commercials are no longer limited just the TV. Thousands of commercials are popping up all over the Internet, especially on YouTube.

21. Resume Writing Service

If you can put together a pretty resume, this could be a good business for you. And even if you can’t, there are online sources where you can learn how to do it quite easily. The secret is knowing how to write effective resumes for specific careers – which again, is a skill you can learn quickly. Resumes are typically written off of templates, and when you have access to those templates – which you can often get free – all you need to do is customize the details.

The built-in advantage that you have here is most people either lack the ability to construct a coherent resume, or have no desire to do so. You’d be filling a valuable niche by stepping in and doing it for them.

22. Stand Up Comedian

I realize that this is a very unconventional business idea, but it could also be perfect if you have the ability to make people laugh. The ability to do that is actually quite rare, at least on a consistent basis. But if that describes you, this could be a viable business.

Like all entertainment-based businesses, getting into it is hit or miss, and moving forward might be more of a zigzag pattern than a straight line. For that reason, most people who get into it typically have “day jobs”, in order to pay the bills while getting started.

You can look for jobs playing for company functions, being an emcee at parties, working steadily at local comedy clubs, or even as the opening act for another comedian, a band or some other entertainment act.

23. Light Hauling

If you have a sturdy pickup truck or van, you may have all you need to operate services for light hauling. People need a service like this for jobs that fall short of a full scale household move. For example, they may need delivery of a large item that they purchased at a store. Or they may need a large item that they sold to people moved to the buyer’s home. It could even be a situation in which an adult child is moving out on their own.

Any of these situations create the need for light hauling. Customers will prefer a low-cost independent to an expensive moving company, since they may charge a premium price based on the small size of the job. As well, your ability to perform light jobs quickly will give you a competitive advantage.

24. Childcare

With so many people working outside the home, child care is becoming a critical household need. The demand for childcare has grown now that most households feature either a single working parent, or two parents both holding full-time jobs outside the home.

There are different ways that you can approach this. You can provide care for children in their own home, or you can care for the children of several families in your own home. While the second option will obviously allow you to scale up your business, it is a highly regulated business, likely to require state licensure. If you want to take it up to the next level, you can even open up your own daycare center.

You can also opt to do it as a full-time program, an after school only program or even seasonally to cover summer vacations and the various school vacations during the school year.

25. Home Staging

One of the major requirements for real estate agents selling homes is making sure that the interior of the house is sales-worthy. That means converting someone’s home from a place where people live to one that’s almost like a museum.

That involves removing clutter, rearranging furniture, and even adding helpful touches here and there, such as a house plant in a corner, a picture on the wall, or a coffee table in just the right place. Most property sellers – being emotionally attached to their own homes – lack the objectivity to be able to stage their homes for sale.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, it could involve putting a tasteful amount of furniture and decorations in an unoccupied home, in order to help prospective buyers to visualize themselves living in the property.

It’s a specialization, and if you have a knack for it, you can create a business based around it. You mostly market this kind of business to real estate agents, but you may also find willing clients among builders and even people who are trying to sell their homes on their own.

BONUS – Graphic Artist

People and businesses are in need of all kinds of graphics for websites and other projects. If you have skills in this area, you can offer your services out to customers on a retail basis. You can find yourself doing diverse projects, from designing logos to creating webpages.

You can start any of these business for no more than a few hundred dollars – and some with no upfront cash at all. Most can be started as side businesses, that you can grow into full time businesses over time. Find one that will work for you, get a couple of clients, and you’ll be on your way to becoming an entrepreneur.

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8 College Majors That Set You Up for Surprisingly Good Entry-Level Salaries

Which college majors offer students the most earning potential once they enter the workforce?

Glassdoor compiled a list of the 50 highest-paying college majors, using data from resumes and salaries shared on its site. The site determined the median entry-level salary potential of the top 50 fields by examining members’ salaries in their first five years of work.

It’s no shock that the top 10 majors are in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

But many of the ranked majors aren’t high tech, and encompass a wide array of career fields.

Here are the most surprising majors we noticed in the top 50 and where they ranked:

19. Fashion Design — Median Base Salary: $50,000

Popular entry-level jobs include fashion designer, textile designer and stylist.

Glassdoor salaries for fashion designers range from $43,000 to $90,000, with a national average of $62,607.

24. English — Median Base Salary: $45,000

What isn’t an English degree good for?

Glassdoor notes popular entry-level jobs, including English teacher, editor or copywriter, but you can also work your wordsmithing magic in advertising, the arts or any number of careers that value writing skills.

26. History — Median Base Salary: $45,000

To make the most of your history degree, take it to museums or academia.

Working as a research assistant could earn you between $48,000 and $81,000 per year. Imagine how your income could grow once you’re in charge of the research?

28. Journalism — Median Base Salary: $45,000

We think this median base salary is ambitious, but a journalism degree can still help you find a satisfying career.

While Glassdoor notes reporter salaries start at just $26,000, an entry-level job in public relations can get you in the door at about $33,000 per year.

30. Philosophy — Median Base Salary: $45,000

Don’t write it off as being old-fashioned. A philosophy degree could set you up for a career in law, academia or any other career you can dream up.

37. Music — Median Base Salary: $44,000

Want to share your love of music as a teacher? You could earn a starting salary of about $35,000, according to Glassdoor.

Take on a few freelance performance gigs, and your earning potential could be limitless.

42. Anthropology — Median Base Salary: $43,000

Fancy yourself a junior Indiana Jones? Research analyst salaries start at $40,000 and max out at more than $100,000.

49. Social Work — Median Base Salary: $41,656

Social-work careers are often rumored to be a labor of love over an income generator. But Glassdoor shows social-worker salaries starting at $35,000.

Your Turn: What was your college major? Did you spot your career path on this list?

Lisa Rowan is a writer and producer at The Penny Hoarder. Her history degree netted her $32,000 right after graduation. But that was a long time ago.

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7 TV Game Shows You Can Audition For — Without Leaving Your Home

If you catch yourself shouting answers at the TV during “Wheel of Fortune” or killing it during bar trivia night, you might want to show off your skills on the small screen.

We found a variety of game shows you can audition for without leaving home.

The first four are advertising open casting calls, with filming starting soon. In this list, we’ve also included ongoing audition information for some of your favorite classic shows, in case you want to throw your hat in the ring for future seasons.

1. Match Game

Alec Baldwin hosts the most recent revival of this iconic game show. Two contestants guess how a panel of six celebrities fill in the blanks to a series of “somewhat silly” questions.

The player with the most matches after two rounds goes on to play the Super Match, where they can win up to $25,000.

To apply: You must be at least 21 years old and legal resident of the U.S. to apply.

Answer a few questions and upload recent photos online here. You’ll be contacted within a few weeks if you’re chosen to proceed further in the casting process.

If you’re cast on the show, you’ll need to be able to go to New York City between Nov. 2-7 for filming.

2. $100,000 Pyramid

This most recent version of the original “$25,000 Pyramid” is hosted by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan.

The game features two contestants, each paired with a celebrity, attempting to guess a series of words based on clues from their teammates. You can win up to — you guessed it — $100,000.

To apply: You must be at least 21 years old and legal resident of the U.S. to apply.

You’ll need to make a video and fill out an online application here. You may be contacted for a phone or Skype interview/audition, and you’ll hear back via email if you’re selected to move forward.

“Pyramid” films in New York, and dates are yet to be set.

3. Survivor

The reality show that sparked our obsession with the genre is still going strong and casting for seasons 35 and 36 (across 17 years).

Think you’ve got what it takes?

To apply: You must be 18 years or older and a U.S. citizen to apply (19 in Alabama and Nebraska, 21 in Mississippi and Washington, D.C.).

You’ll need to upload a video and recent photo, include your bio, and answer a few questions in the application here.

You can also keep an eye out for open casting calls by your local CBS affiliate here.

You’ll get an email if you’re selected to move forward. Filming dates for upcoming seasons are tentative, but looking at end of April for season 35 and early June for season 36.

You’ll need to be available for filming and travel for 46 days.

4. Idiotest

This game show was derived from the popular app of the same name and is hosted by comedian Ben Gleib on Game Show Network.

Pairs of contestants compete on giant touch screens to “answer deceptively simple questions … trying to win money or at least not look stupid.”

To apply: Email your name, age, contact info and relationship to your game partner to the address listed here.

The show shoots in Los Angeles, and potential shoot dates are mid-November, according to Backstage.

5. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

To throw yourself into the casting pool for the chance to win $1 million, create a 30-second video explaining why you’re a fit. Include a YouTube link to the video in the application here.

If selected, you’ll be invited for an over-the-phone test. A passing score on the test will earn you a video interview audition. If you’re selected from your audition, you’ll be in the contestant pool for the next two seasons.

Producers will select potential contestants from the contestant pool. If you’re selected, you’ll have to make your own travel arrangements to Las Vegas for taping.

You must be 18 years of age or older a legal resident of the U.S. to apply. Kids ages 8 to 15 can apply for the specialty Whiz Kids Week shows. A parent or legal guardian should fill out the Whiz Kids application here.

6. Jeopardy!

Think you’ve got the wits and brains to be the next Ken Jennings? Even if you don’t break records and go home with $2.5 million, you could win a bundle on this classic trivia show.

To apply: The first step to getting on “Jeopardy!” is to take an online test.

Except for specialty competitions, you must be 18 years or older to apply. No residency requirements are listed (Canadians are encouraged to apply).

If you meet the requirements and pass the online test, you may be contacted within a year for a in-person audition in Culver City, California (near Los Angeles).

Your in-person audition will take about two hours and include:

• another test similar to the online test

• a mock version of the game

• an interview that shows your personality

After your in-person audition, you’ll remain in the applicant pool for 18 months, and producers will notify you about a month in advance of taping if you’re selected for a show.

The show typically tapes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from August to May.

7. Wheel of Fortune

Just about anyone is eligible to join this game show, according to its website — “Whether you’re an adult, teenager, undergraduate college student, or member of the Armed Forces, we’re always looking for smart, enthusiastic players!”

To apply: You must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the U.S. to apply. If you’re a teen applying to compete in a specialty week, a parent or guardian must fill out the application for you.

Create a short video, and include a YouTube URL or upload directly to the application here. You’ll also need to include a head shot and answer a variety of questions about yourself.

How to Be Selected as a Game Show Contestant

Ready to audition? Read our tips to make sure you have the best chance to be selected as a game show contestant.

Want to be the first to know about other fun and interesting money-making opportunities like this? Like The Penny Hoarder Jobs on Facebook to stay in the loop!

Your Turn: Have you ever wanted to compete on a game show?

Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s written for Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and more, attempting humor wherever it’s allowed (and sometimes where it’s not).

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Questions About Retirement, Family Thanksgiving, Cookbooks, and More!

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Figuring out bills in collection
2. Finding a better budgeting system
3. Finding a better credit card
4. Car loan concerns
5. Roth IRAs and spouses
6. Starting an unusual side hustle
7. Saving too much?
8. Will or trust?
9. Close to retirement at work
10. Nearby library and bus stop?
11. Cost of hosting family Thanksgiving
12. Cookbook question

A few days ago, I had to chair a public meeting with about fifty people in the crowd. A big part of chairing that meeting was handling a discussion on a topic that upset a lot of people centering around the sale of a property. There were some people in the crowd that bitterly opposed it and others that were strongly in favor of it.

Chairing that meeting did not seem appealing at all. There was the issue of standing up in front of a crowd. There was the issue of talking about a challenging problem. There was the issue of making sure that no one got too upset and that everyone had their voices heard.

Rather than stressing out about it, I prepared for it. I talked to people with differing opinions on the issue. I asked all of them to tell me what points they most wanted to make sure were covered in the meeting.

So, what I did right at the start is that I laid out that research. I talked openly about all of the concerns I had, from all sides, and basically laid out all of the main points at the start. I expressed the feelings of both sides as well, pointing out that some people have a historical and meaningful attachment to the property, while others do not.

I let everyone who wanted to speak have their time on the floor, almost without limit. I stopped anyone who interrupted.

The thing is, no one got upset. It didn’t turn ugly, which was something I was concerned about. The only time I sensed that it might turn ugly, I stopped it immediately and pointed out that just because different people care about things at different levels doesn’t mean that they don’t care and it doesn’t mean that they deserve to be attacked.

The meeting went very well. I attribute it to one thing far above everything else: preparation. I learned about the sides that would be presented going in. I knew what made people emotionally invested in the issue on all sides and did my absolute best to understand those viewpoints. I nipped negative talk in the bud. I did a lot of those things because I visualized them happening in advance and also visualized how I would handle it.

If you’re about to do something scary, prepare. Think about the outcomes that might happen and what you’ll do to handle them. Visualize them in your head as they might happen and visualize yourself handling them effectively. If you’re unsure how to handle things, talk to a mentor or to someone you trust. That’s the best you can do and, usually, that’s enough.

Q1: Figuring out bills in collection

Unexpected divorce. Bank accounts drained by ex. Medical billing in collections. Financially stable and wanting to get collections paid off. 1. How do I find out what is in collections 2. How do I pay without getting ripped off.
– Bradley

The best way to find out what debts you have, how much you owe on them, and how late they are is to grab a copy of your credit report. The federal government gives you a free copy of your report each year; you can get it at AnnualCreditReport.com.

When you get a copy of your report, it will list all of your currently owed debts along with their current balance. You can then use that as a checklist of sorts to get them all paid off.

You can negotiate your debts, of course, particularly if the debt has already been sold to a debt collector. If that’s the case, they’ll often negotiate with you so that you can pay a lower amount. Carrie Smith wrote a very nice article for The Simple Dollar a while back about negotiating with collectors that will help you with this process.

Q2: Finding a better budgeting system

I will be graduating in May 2017 and already have a job lined up where I will be making far above the average salary (~90k). Thankfully my parents have been able to help me pay tuition, and lifeguarding/internships have payed for my living expenses while at school. So I have ZERO debt, which I know is a great starting place. However, as I move from LA to Seattle and start working I feel like I will have a harder time keeping my budget in check.

Throughout college I have used a simple spreadsheet with various categories that I manually tally up each month. For the most part, it was simple to stay within my set boundaries because all of my friends spending habits were similarly cheap and I did not have many major reasons to purchase more than the basics. If I did go over a category in a month, I would just reduce my future spending(which did not always work perfectly).

I know that after graduation I will likely have more expenses due to relocating, the new jobs needs, and switching stuff like insurance and phone bills from family plans to personal, which will make having a manual spreadsheet harder especially before I know the baseline of what I will be spending. Is there a product that you would recommend for budgeting that is easier than going over my statements at the end of the month and adding everything up? Something similar to the enveloping method, but with debit/credit cards, so that I have a better idea of my spending throughout the month? Also, how would you go about creating a budget for a new lifestyle? I do not plan to go crazy and increase my spending to match my income increase, but I definitely will change some aspects by a somewhat unknown amount and am unsure as to how to deal with that.
– Bonnie

My preferred budgeting program is You Need a Budget 4. This is the still-supported previous version. They have since moved on to a subscription version that I am not a big fan of, mostly due to the idea of subscription model software for personal budgeting. I have used YNAB 4 for years and it is hands-down my favorite personal budgeting program. It matches up really well with the features you’re looking for.

I think the best way to build a budget after a major life change is to spend a few months just being a little careful with your spending and then looking at how much you’re actually spending. Spend like you’re going to spend going forward, but don’t just throw money around foolishly. Your actual spending patterns should be the guide for your budget, because the most effective thing a budget can do is keep continued lifestyle inflation in check.

YNAB can really help with this process. It functions very nicely as an expense tracking program and you can then use all of that data to build a great budget.

Bonnie has a second question.

Q3: Finding a better credit card

Another thing I would like your opinion on is the best rewards credit card to get. I have an account with Wells Fargo currently, that I have had since I was 16, but it has no cash back, points, or miles. I also think that getting another credit card will help me build credit(my FICO score is around 780 and says it is impacted due to lack of accounts and revolving balances). I think I want cash back, rather than points or miles because it seems more straightforward and less restrictions. I have seen the Simple Dollar promote Chase Sapphire and Freedom cards in the past, which seem like pretty good cards. But there are tons of options out there that all seem very similar and hard to compare. Does it really matter much which I choose once they have the same % cash back and no yearly fee? And having never actually applied for a card, how likely is it that I am accepted/rejected and would that factor into which one to try for? Obviously there are some that are more selective than others. Also, does the timing effect me much? Someone told me to get one a few months before I graduate so that when I have credit checks for a car loan or an apartment enough time has passed to benefit my credit.
– Bonnie

I think that Chase Sapphire and Chase Freedom are both great credit cards. I think they’re both perfectly fine for general use.

Having said that, I think that if there’s a particular retailer that you use a lot, whether it’s a store like Target or a gas station like BP, your best choice is to get the Visa or Mastercard associated with that chain. Almost every time, the discounts associated with that card offer benefits related to that chain that are far better than a general use card; however, the benefits don’t really accrue at places besides that chain.

I do recommend with the general idea of getting a credit card and using it responsibly to improve your credit. I think that the two recommended cards are great general use cards for most people. I also think that a retailer-specific Visa or Mastercard makes a great complement for use at your most-frequently-visited retailer, and might be the only card you need if most of your purchases are at that retailer.

Bonnie has a third question.

Q4: Car loan concerns

Lastly, I do not currently have a car but will need one for my job. I will not have the cash upfront to buy one before I start working, but I think that with my future salary I could quickly pay off a car loan. I plan on getting a late model used car as you and many other people have advised. Is it better to get the loan and throw all my excess money at it for a few months until it is payed off? Or is it beneficial to keep such a car loan and pay it off over its full (or near full) term with my excess money going towards other savings? I assume this also depends on the amount and interest of loan which I don’t know, so feel free to use average numbers.
– Bonnie

Unless the interest rate is extremely low – say, below 2% – you’re better off paying the debt down rapidly. There are a lot of different philosophies on paying down debt, but my belief is that unless the loan is almost interest free, you should be eliminating it quickly because of the personal freedom you get from having fewer bills each month.

Having said that, as soon as you pay off that car, you should start making normal car payments to a savings account. Putting $200 a month aside when you’ve been throwing much more than that at a car payment each month won’t be a big deal.

Why do this? After several years, you’ll have more than enough in that savings account to simply buy a very nice late model used car right out of pocket. $200 a month for eight years into a 1% interest savings account adds up to almost exactly $20,000 saved, which is going to be perfect for your next car.

Q5: Roth IRAs and spouses

Concerning Roths: If I have $6,000 each year to distribute between my and my wife’s Roth IRA’s, is there a most efficient way to do so? For example: Should I contribute the full $5500 to mine and then drop the remaining $500 in my wife’s, or is it beneficial numbers-wise to do an even $3,000-$3,000 split, or somewhere in between? I’m sure there’s a formula for this, but I’m not sure where to start.
– Jerry

My recommendation is to do it equally. Assuming that you’re married to each other for the rest of your lives, it really makes no difference how you split it up (assuming that the investment portfolio and management company are identical). In the event of a divorce, it’s split up according to the judge’s ruling.

Since you can choose the investment house and the exact investment for each Roth IRA, there’s not going to be any difference between the investments in each account unless you choose to make them different. My suggestion is to simply mirror them – contribute the same amount to each in the same investments.

There’s no real reason to do anything else.

Q6: Starting an unusual side hustle

Onto my question. I am considering turning my hobby of folding origami into a small side hustle with an Etsy store. This is something I think I’d genuinely enjoy doing. I figure if I can cover the cost of the supplies I’d buy for my hobby anyway (in the neighborhood of $200/year), it will be totally worth it, and anything I might earn beyond that would be a great bonus. So I’m talking a very modest scale here, but I’m still a little intimidated by the business side of things.

I’m wondering what general advice you have for starting an online side hustle? And more specifically, what would you recommend in terms of a business plan, legal structure and taxation concerns for a very small business? I might well not make enough money to have any tax liability at all, but I definitely don’t want to be caught off-guard there. I’m also wondering how to decide on a business structure, if any, either to prepare up-front or as a possible later development if it grows. Sole proprietorship? LLC? I have fears of inadvertently committing copyright infringement or something and wonder what steps I should take to protect myself and my family if for some reason I get sued. I am a career counselor in my day job, so like many professionals I’m very aware of liability issues–but I can’t tell if I’m being smart or just being paranoid when it comes to my possible side hustle. What do I need to know before I make a move?
– Kelly

My recommendation is to test the waters with this endeavor by leaving it as a sole proprietorship for now. That basically means you just start selling on Etsy with your personal tax ID and treat all profit as normal income.

As for your concern about stealing ideas, just make your best effort at due diligence along the way. Most patterns and recipes don’t restrict you from the thing you make from that pattern, they merely restrict you from selling the pattern itself.

If the business grows, you can consider forming a business structure, but at the level you’re talking about, it’s probably not worth the effort. You’re not doing anything that any reasonable person would sue over or a judge would do anything about.

Q7: Saving too much?

I have one question for you. Am I putting too much away in my savings account? I have 35K in a savings account in the hope this will be used towards a down payment on a house sometime. Im a single 30yr old guy and dont need a lot of space so I don’t foresee myself buying anything too large or expensive. I’m pretty confident I have more than enough for 20% down on a modest house. Im still currently putting $500 a month away in my savings and only putting $575 a month away in my employer sponsored 401k. My question is should I put less in my savings and then increase my 401k contribution to max it out?
– Axel

Assuming you don’t have any other debts and you have at least 20% of the cost of any house you might buy already in savings, I would definitely reduce (or eliminate) your savings contributions and move all of that to your 401(k) contribution.

Honestly, though, if you’re 30, have no debt, have $35,000 saved up for a house, and are already contributing $575 a month to your 401(k), you’re in good shape. If you bump that monthly contribution up to $1,000 a month, you’re going to be in really good shape going forward and probably trending toward an early retirement.

In short, provided you don’t inflate your lifestyle, you’re looking quite good financially going forward, especially given your age.

Q8: Will or trust?

My husband and I just had a baby and we can’t figure out what’s better for our situation, a will or a trust. We aren’t rich, but we own our home and started a college find for him as soon as we decided to get pregnant.
– Denise

I tend to follow the advice from CNN Money regarding whether you need a trust or not:

If you have a net worth of at least $100,000 and have a substantial amount of assets in real estate, or have very specific instructions on how and when you want your estate to be distributed among your heirs after you die, then a trust could be for you.

If that describes your situation, then get a trust. If it doesn’t, then you’re fine with a will.

Right now, our estate plan is to split things into four pieces, with three of the pieces going to our children and a fourth going to charity. It’s a very simple estate, really, so we currently just have a will.

Q9: Close to retirement at work

I’m 63 and I’m close to retirement. According to my math I am going to be fine when I retire, but I’m still worried about that ~5% chance that things go wrong so I keep working to reduce the possibility of a bad outcome. My boss is doing everything in the world to encourage me to reitre as it will save money when they replace me. He wants me to spend a lot of time doing documentation and such things so they can transition really fast whenever I go. I have this sinking feeling in the back of my head that they’re going to push me out the door before long.

My retirement savings is mostly in a 401(k) with a little in a Roth IRA. I am single (my wife died almost fifteen years ago of natural causes). In retirement I am going to work for Habitat for Humanity across town from my kids and grandkids as both of my children live in the same suburban area about four hours from where I live right now. I also want to do some traveling with my sister who is also single with a spouse that died recently.

I’m trying to figure out how hard I should “fight” retiring and I hope you have some words of wisdom for me.
– Stanley

If I were you, I would listen to your heart. I’d spend time at work quietly documenting the things you take care of, but I wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. Basically, if I were you, I wouldn’t write yourself out of a job, but I would do everything possible to set yourself up so you can leave easily on your own terms.

I think that, very soon, you’re going to wake up and just know that it’s time to walk away from this and do other things with your life. That day hasn’t quite come yet, but I can almost feel it coming with every word you’ve written. So, what I would do right now if I were you is continue doing my work, but use your spare time to make your transition away from the job as easy as possible for you.

Another thing to consider is that your employer might give you some sort of compensation for retiring immediately. You could quietly broach the topic with your boss. A small compensation package might be enough to help you transition to retirement right now.

Q10: Nearby library and bus stop?

How much of a premium would you put on an apartment within 0.1 miles of a library and a bus stop and within 0.25 miles of a grocery store? It would obviously save a lot of money but the apartments are a little pricy.
– Anna

I think it varies a lot from person to person. Assuming you’re a single person who enjoys reading and has a job on the bus route, I think that position would save you hundreds of dollars a month. I can tell you that, if I were single again, this would basically be my ideal situation.

You need to really look at your own situation, though, and decide how much those things will really save you. Will you actually use the library more if it’s 500 to 1,000 feet from your apartment door compared to, say, a couple of miles away? I can’t assess that, but I can say that I probably would if I were in that situation. Will you cook at home more if there’s a grocery store 2,000 feet away? If the grocery store had good prices, I’m pretty sure I would, and that would save me a lot of cash on food, but you may not feel the same.

I also don’t know the actual difference between apartment prices. If the difference is several hundred dollars a month, I might be hesitant to make that choice. If the difference is $50 or $100 a month, I’d go for the apartment with all of the nearby features.

Q11: Cost of hosting family Thanksgiving

In January my mother had a stroke and although she seems to be almost fully recovered mentally, she’s still struggling with motor skill recovery. My father asked me out of the blue over the weekend if my husband and I could host our family’s Thanksgiving dinner.

I don’t mind the work, but I am worried about the expense of it. I’ve been doing some estimation and I think it is going to cost us about $200 to pull off the usual style of Thanksgiving dinner that my mother always put on. We can afford it, but just barely, and the truth is that it will probably cut into our family Christmas.

Help? I don’t want to say “no” but I don’t see how we can pull it off especially if this expense becomes annual.
– Nancy

Go to your father and say that you’ll be happy to do all of the work for everything at their house provided that they buy the ingredients. Basically, you’ll just agree to replace your mother for labor.

That way, you’re not suddenly burdened with the cost of the food, but you can step up and do the work that’s needed for your extended family to continue to bond.

This might also help your mother to feel as involved as she can be with the preparations and be right there for advice along the way (because, trust me, pulling off a Thanksgiving dinner for the first time will require some advice).

Q12: Cookbook question

What value do you get from a cookbook that you don’t get from a blog or a recipe database? Why not just look at recipes on your phone when deciding what to make or when you’re cooking? I guess to me that cookbooks seem outdated and overpriced.
– Chris

There are several reasons. One, the recipes in most well-regarded cookbooks are very well vetted, which means that they’re good and they work. Recipes from a blog or from a recipe aggregation site do not have any such vetting. Two, they’re incredibly nice to flip through for inspiration and bookmark when you find something interesting, and the experience is different enough than web browsing that it seems to itch different parts of the brain. Three, the pages are usually larger and easier on the eyes than a phone or a tablet and the format is much more convenient than a laptop screen. Four, they’re usually very good at explaining technique, something you don’t find in random recipes.

I certainly do use many online sources for recipes and food ideas, but cookbooks definitely have a big role in my food prep process. For me, it comes down to trust, inspiration, and convenience, things that a good cookbook can provide much better than online sources.

There may come a time where electronic vetted recipe collections are delivered in a format that’s as readable and usable as a great printed cookbook, but we’re not there yet. Trust me, I’ve tried a lot of such options. The printed cookbook is still king.

Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.

The post Questions About Retirement, Family Thanksgiving, Cookbooks, and More! appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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10 Contact Page Techniques That Make People Get in Touch with You

Your website’s contact form may seem like the most mundane element of your site, but every marketer should pay attention to it.

In the past, I didn’t give contact forms much attention. It was a sub-secondary didn’t-care-about-it page when I had a lot more to worry about.

Then, I ran some tests on removing a single form field and found this one change boosted my conversions by 26%.

A 26% lift may not seem impressive to some, but from an annual perspective, that one change grew revenue well into six figures.

If you know anything about me, you know I’m obsessed with split testing. I kept testing, kept tweaking, and kept optimizing my contact page. With every test, I learned some new lessons.

Here’s my big takeaway: Getting people to contact you is valuable. Making it easy for them to contact you is even better.

Why? Because these are warm leads.

Anything you do to move qualified leads into your funnel is a smart move.

How do you turn your boring ol’ contact page into a massive lead magnet?

Let me give you the perspective-setting intro, then we’ll dive into some tricks.

Shift perspective to focus on the right things

When marketers are examining their funnels, they typically look at everything under a microscope, especially calls to action (CTAs).

There’s this huge drive to make sure CTAs are perfect. So we change, test, retest, compare samples, examine confidence levels, play with colors, and test some more until we feel like our landing pages are kicking ass and taking names.

Do a search for conversion optimization case studies, and you’ll see what I’m talking about:

I searched and came up with pages of landing page, sales page, e-commerce and opt-in case studies.

What you see less often is case studies on the performance of the contact page. Yet, it’s the one constant customers tend to be most familiar with and use for a variety of reasons:

• can’t find something on the site
• need help with a return
• custom order information
• wholesale request
• vendor inquiry
• press and media requests
• affiliate requests
• finding out hours of operation

That’s just a few things that funnel through the contact page.

The magic of contact page optimization

Given its potential for not only generating leads but also acting as a potent trust signal and delighting customers, the contact page should be in your top 5 list of conversion points to fix.

Here’s a case in point. Click Optimize took on a client that saw, on average, 3,800 monthly visits, which generated around 56 goal completions on the “contact us” page.

They tightened up the contact page and added a short-list contact form in the sidebar of the content. The result was impressive. Without any real change in the amount of traffic, the goal completions climbed to 175.

Imaginary Landscape relies on its contact form to generate new leads for the company. The original form on the “contact us” page contained a total of 21 fields and check boxes. Clearly, the company wanted to gather as much information as possible on leads.

The downside is the data-heavy form was seeing a conversion rate of just above 5%.

The company revamped its contact page, trimming it down to four fields to minimize the load on the visitor:

What I’ve consistently seen with contact pages is that less is more.

When you look at forms like the first one above, with all the extra information, a lot of those fields are extraneous. They provide little value in terms of qualifying a lead.

When you trim it down to just the information that’s important, conversions go up. In this case, they rose from 5.4% to 11.9%—an increase of 120%.

But I want to clarify something here because I don’t want to set a dangerous precedent and have you running to your “contact us” page and chopping fields from it.

Less is more, but just the fact that you have less of something doesn’t mean you’ll have more of something else.

It’s okay if that doesn’t make sense. I’ll clarify with another case study by Econsultancy. They shared a daring test from Kindercare.

Kindercare is a national chain with more than 1,700 child care centers throughout the United States. That means it has to maintain a careful balance of increasing contact conversions while gathering as much information from parents as possible.

In one split test, Kindercare decided to increase the length of its form:

Based on everything I’ve said up to this point, you would expect that to be a mistake.

To their surprise, conversions didn’t plummet. There was no drop from using the longer form, and they benefited by getting extra information for their sales team while the quality of leads increased.

That’s the point I want to make about this: It’s not always about fewer form fields.

It’s about collecting the right information and using fields that have a higher perceived value to the prospect.

If they feel that they’re forced to share pointless information, you’ll lose them.

Dan Zarrella researched the contact forms of 40,000 of their customers and found that conversion rates improve by almost half when the number of form fields is reduced from four to three.

Results vary, of course. You need to test what works on your contact page specifically, and that’s what this post is about.

Here’s everything else you should be looking at to design a contact page that creates more conversions and provides real value to you and your visitors.

1. Long forms or multi-step

Since we’re talking about form fields, there’s another point I want to address.

You don’t always have to chop the fields to simplify the submission process of getting in touch with you.

If you absolutely must collect information, but your conversions are abysmal because of the opt-in you’re using on your contact page, you should consider a multi-step contact page.

You’ll see this a lot with landing pages because it’s effective. It presents the visitor with a few basic fields—the most vital information you need to obtain.

When they click “submit,” they are taken to another form that gathers just a little more information. This gives you the extended information you need, but the visitor feels they are only making short submissions.

It reduces the chance for the visitor to feel fatigued or frustrated.

Vendio’s design is an example of it:

The version on the left was a bulleted list that led to the contact form in a multi-step submission.

The version on the right had the contact form embedded into the first page and was a single-step process.

In that case, the two-step process lead to a 59% increase in form completion.

2. Building trust with visitors

The people visiting your site have already taken time out of their day and spent it with you. They have some kind of a problem, and they’re hoping you offer the solution. When they’re ready to engage, they visit your contact page.

And that’s where they are met with fields asking for a lot of personal information.

If you want them to hand the info over, you need to establish trust and reduce friction. Achieving that is a lot like the way we engage people in the real world. It comes down to the little things you can do when engaging someone:

• Be clear about how personal information is used and the purpose of the form.
• Articulate that all information is kept private and link to your privacy policy.
• List your contact information on the “Contact Us” page; it’s easier for people to share information with other people and not some blindly labeled web property.
• Keep the user experience in mind; don’t use complex fields that require dashes or special characters.
• Place trust signals on your contact page: affiliations, certifications, awards, and membership badges.
• Show social proof with testimonials that include faces.

3. Be hesitant to use mandatory form fields

But we need all this information for our sales people.

Have you heard that before?

It doesn’t matter what you want. It’s what the customer wants. Don’t be one of the reluctant marketers who hate optional form fields.

Countless tests have shown you can get better data, and better qualified leads, by not requiring data in your form. Here’s an example:

The above form, void of required fields, converted 31% more visitors into leads. Not only that, the leads were actually more qualified buyers.

Trust goes both ways, and your prospective customers are more likely to respect you more and supply better information when they feel like you trust them.

4. Ask only for information that matters

Simply put,

if you don’t need to know it, don’t ask for it.

You’ll get far more conversions from your contact page by sticking only to the information you need to make an initial contact with a lead.

Everything else can be plugged into your CRM later once you have a chance to make a personal contact.

Right now, it’s just about getting them to click “submit.”

It’s amazing how much friction is generated by asking for unnecessary information. For example:

• Asking for age reduces conversion by 3%.
• Requiring a telephone number, or even asking for it, creates the implication that someone will be calling. This can drop conversions by 5%.
• Asking for targeted geographic data, like city and state, reduces submissions by 2%.
• Get even more specific with a street address, and conversions drop by another 4%.

Total it all up, and you’ll get a significant number. Depending on how much traffic you get, a drop of up to 15% in conversions can be pretty significant.

Every single item on the above list can be acquired after you make contact with your prospect.

5. Be responsive

By responsive, I don’t mean quick to reply. I’ve talked before about the importance of responsive designs and having sites that function well on mobile devices. This is certainly no exception.

Eighty percent of Internet users own smartphones and use them to browse the web, followed by 47% who use tablets.

If your contact page isn’t optimized for a mobile experience, you’re eliminating a huge segment of your audience who won’t bother wrestling with your contact form. They’ll simply leave.

This is especially important if you have a brick and mortar business and use maps or other identifying information on your contact page. When your visitors can’t manipulate, see, or interact with your local contact information, you’ll have a hell of a time getting them into your store.

To make sure your contact page looks and functions great on mobile, go to UserTesting.com and crowdsource UX testing. You’ll get unbiased consumer feedback on your contact process.

6. Reduce friction with minimal design

There are endless ways to design a contact page. Service-based online businesses can streamline the contact process by almost completely reducing friction on their contact pages.

InvisionApp doesn’t get flashy with its contact page. It asks the most basic information, and it gets the job done. Other than its drop-down menu, there’s virtually no friction on this page:

While drop-down menus can potentially cause significant friction, I don’t feel like it would be as limiting on this contact page due to a simplified form and effective use of negative space.

7. Match your brand

When you’re trying to create a branded experience on your site, don’t let your contact page feel like a blemish that ruins the overall experience. While minimalist contact forms can be an effective way to get submissions, you can also do well when your form is a seamless transition that supports the message you’re trying to send.

For example, Mostly Serious is a digital agency that provides great interactive experiences, covering content, branding, and site design.

Their contact page is a brilliant representation of their approach to branding and interactive experiences. While asking for a lot of information, the form reduces friction by breaking the information into segments. There are also interactive sliders that provide a kind of customization element that’s almost enjoyable to complete.

Browns Court Bakery is another good example of maintaining branding on the contact page:

8. Take a new approach

In a world filled with contact forms, it’s refreshing to see a different approach that works. Built By Buffalo provides a number of ways for their customers to get in touch with their team. Rather than clutter their contact page with all the methods plus a contact form, they eliminated the obvious form fields.

Instead, the company targets their primary communication channels as a means of making personal contact with the team. It’s a great example of how to include a lot of detail without clutter.

9. Change your call to action

There’s no shortage of lessons on the web about how to create amazing call-to-action buttons that maximize conversions. It’s not really necessary to go that in-depth on the subject with your contact page.

The best piece of advice for your call to action on the contact page is to stop using “Submit.”

In one study, forms using the CTA “Submit” showed a decrease in conversions of almost 3%.

Instead, use less-common action words and phrases. Using “Click here” resulted in a 30% increase in conversions, while “Go” showed a 25% lift.

10. Drop the Captcha

I get that security is important and you want to eliminate spam. It’s annoying when garbage comes through your contact form. But Captcha fields don’t stop the spammers from making manual submissions (and they will).

They will, however, stop your prospective customers from converting on your contact page. One study showed that Captcha can reduce conversions by as much as 3%.

Conclusion

Don’t spend too much time focusing on the design of your contact page. Your visitors won’t be wowed by aesthetics. That won’t drive them to contact you. Instead, focus on reducing friction to improve conversions.

No matter what you do with your contact form, the more friction you eliminate, the more goal completions and submissions you’ll see.

Make the experience a better one; test everything you do; and you’ll find that communication and conversion will improve overall.

What are some ways you’ve improved your contact page to generate more leads?

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