Starting a business may only need you to have a marketable skill that you can sell and start making money from. This is a great way to make money and secure your future, and it’s especially attractive if the startup costs are minimal. You simply need to figure out the best way to turn your skills into a package that people will be willing to pay for, and you may be on your way to financial freedom. There are many businesses that can be started in this way, only calling for good marketing and some planning. Here are some amazing businesses that you can start with a marketable skill that you haven’t monetized yet, so find out if there’s one that looks like a potential goldmine for you.
Sell or Rent Something
People are always buying something, so it makes sense that the first marketable skill you should think about using to make money is to actually sell or rent something. These could be items that you have and that you no longer need, but that work perfectly. To do this, you can list the item on any of a number of platforms on the internet. You can also make items or repair broken items and then sell them for a profit to buyers who will be happy to have them. Remember to stay transparent when selling items, volunteering any issues that the said items may have so that the buyers don’t end up with a surprise that will tarnish your reputation.
As for renting, you can rent a space in your home that you don’t use, such as a spare room in your house. You can also rent out a vehicle that you don’t drive, something that may open the doors to you starting a vehicle rental company if you do it well and for long enough. In these cases, remember to always do background checks so that you know who you’re renting the items to. Borrow ideas from existing businesses to see what you can do to keep your risk low, and you can start to make money.
Build or Repair Homes
If you can’t remember the last time you had to hire someone to do repairs to your home, this may be another marketable skill that you have. You simply need to make sure that you have a good idea of the safety implications and have the ability to do a good job, and you can start marketing your services. Find out the amount to charge for your time and labor to make sure that you can be compensated properly, and then get to work looking for clients. Home repairs and renovations will always have a market since they’re a necessary part of keeping a home in good condition.
Before you get started marketing this skill, find out if you need to apply for licenses and insurance. This will ensure that you can do a legal job in which both you and the person who hires you are protected. One of the repair projects that you could work on is repairing residential roofing, which is a particularly risky project to do. For this, you need to invest in quality tools and equipment both for your protection and to enable you to do a good job. With time, your services may end up being in more demand and allow you to get a good amount of money.
Work With Animals
If you love working with animals and you’re particularly good at this, you should think about making money from this marketable skill. You can start with just one puppy, for example, and soon end up with a popular puppy day care if you’re good enough. Remember that people with pets need different services, so you don’t actually need to have a lot of space to market your skill. You could offer pet grooming services, or take dogs for walks, building your client list one happy pet at a time.
Learn about the ways in which you can improve the services that you offer in this case so that you can give the best. To start with, you can talk to friends and neighbors who have pets, letting them know that you offer a service that they may need. From this point, you can get a lot of referrals from the people with whom you work. As long as you deliver clean, happy pets at the end of the day, you can expect to keep getting business.
Teach People Something
Another marketable skill whose demand is rising steadily is teaching people things. If you’re particularly good at something, and you enjoy sharing this knowledge with others, you can get paid well for it. There’s no end to the list of things that you can teach, so brainstorm and think about what you’re best at doing. You can be sure that there will be a party or more who are willing to trust you to teach them a valuable skill.
Remember that you don’t even have to teach people brand new things, since refreshing their knowledge also counts as teaching. Take driving, for example, which is something that people go to learn at a driving school. If you can teach people the basics of driving, you could offer to coach people who have already gone to driving school, but don’t quite feel satisfied with the knowledge and skills that they have. By refreshing the knowledge that they got and reinforcing it with practice, you can improve their skills, and many people will be happy to pay for your help.
Offer Healthcare Services
A marketable skill that you could offer, and one that may call for you to have professional training, is healthcare services. If you’ve gone to school and learnt about health, you can offer your professional services to those in need. This is another service that may call for you to have a license to offer legally, so remember to look into your area’s legal requirements. You don’t want to take a chance with people’s health, and that’s why you need to make sure that this skill is something that you have training in.
You can also offer information and advice to people who need it so that they can make better decisions for their health. In this case, you can offer your services remotely, getting paid for consultation. One of the things that you can advise people about is something like dental implant restoration, which can be a necessary but complex procedure for someone with missing teeth. Remember to always share factual information in this case, and remind those that you advise that they need to get the final word from the professional with whom they’ll work. This way, you won’t mislead people and leave them worse off than they were before.
Help People Understand Each Other
If you can speak and understand more than one language, this is the other marketable skill that can make you money. You can find demand for your services in a number of fields and industries since communication is an important part of business. For instance, you could come across a firm that needs to communicate with Chinese speaking lawyers, and if you’re fluent in the language, you can help the two parties communicate effectively and get paid for it. Over time, you can build your portfolio and see an increase in demand for your services.
Keep in mind that you may need to achieve native-level fluency in order to do a good job. As such, it’s worth thinking about taking a course to polish your grasp of the additional languages that you speak. This way, you’ll be assured of improving your skills and therefore landing jobs that pay a lot better as time goes by.
Build Commercial Buildings
A major marketable skill that you can leverage to make money is working on commercial building construction. This could be in a particular field, like sourcing local commercial glass or another material. If you can deliver amazing results every single time, you can be assured of a constant stream of work. That’s because, as mentioned, construction is an industry that has a lot of demand, so you can be sure that there will always be someone in need of your skills and knowledge. In this case, make sure to stay informed of industry progress so that you’re knowledgeable and able to give the very best to each project you’re entrusted with.
You can also start a commercial concrete company in your area, which will see you getting hired to install and repair concrete projects. The best thing for you to do in a case where you have a number of different skills is to pick one and perfect it. This way, you’ll become an authority in the field and you can partner with other professionals and teams to offer the service at which you’re best. You can make a name for yourself and start to enjoy the joys that come with being a professional.
Start a B2B Business
If you know a lot about B2B marketing, this is a marketable skill that can make you a lot of money over time. Most marketers and other professionals tend to focus on B2C marketing and other details, so you can take a different route. To thrive in this field, you should be sure that you understand the right language to use, as well as a number of the issues that businesses face in their efforts to communicate effectively with each other. This is necessary in cases such as where one business supplies another with materials and such. In such instances, the businesses may have a tough time approaching other businesses with whom they want to work, and you can fill this gap for them.
You may have to invest in business VoIP phones and additional communication devices so that it’s easier for you to foster communication. Remember that you’ll need to be professional and stay aware of the specific needs of the businesses with which you work. This will ensure that you become a credible point of assistance, and when businesses know that they can trust you with their needs in this area, you can be sure that they will be willing to compensate you well for your time and effort. Make sure that you can keep time and that your communication is clear and concise so that you can get a lot of work done in the most effective way possible.
Work in a Specialized Industry
The final marketable skill that you could take advantage of is to work in a specialized industry. This will be easy for you to do if you have training or prior experience with the industry in question. You can seek to get training in an industry that you’re interested in, keeping in mind that it will be easier for you to learn and become competent in the field if you already have a keen interest in it. One of these may be offering funeral services, something that not too many people may have the knowledge or interest in doing. By getting training or an apprenticeship in the field that you like, you can improve your odds of getting ahead in the industry.
Take time to think about your interests and check to see whether there’s a possible demand in the market for developing a skill in this field. Most specialized industries will normally call for short courses or training in order to grant a certificate or other form of license. In this case, if you’re interested in the field enough, you should have an easy time gaining the skills that you need to work in the field you choose.
If any of the items on this list appeal to you, you should consider turning them into a money-making venture. This could end up being the best decision that you make because you’ll get to work in a field in which you’re interested. As such, it will be easy to develop a lasting passion in the field that will make you a lot better at the job you choose.