Want to start a small business? Don’t have any ideas? Or any money? Watch this presentation to get some great ideas for starting a small business on a small budget. Oxbridge Academy offers a range of entrepreneurial and small business courses. Therefore we know what it takes to get a start-up off the ground. It takes skill, knowledge, and a lot of hard work. But before all that comes the 1% inspiration - the idea. This is why we have put together this presentation, to give you a little bit of entrepreneurial inspiration. So take a look at our presentation, share it, download it, and leave a comment to tell us what you think. If you are interested in taking a distance learning entrepreneurship or small business course yourself, you can visit: http://www.oxbridgeacademy.co.za/find-a-course/new-venture-creation/

1. 35 Inspiring
Ideas for Starting a
Small Business
on a Small Budget

2. Why work to make
someone else rich?

3. Why work to make
someone else rich?
Why not start your
own business?

4. Be your own boss.

5. Be your own boss.
Put the profits in
your own pocket.

6. So here are
inspiring small
business ideas
35

7. So here are
inspiring small
business ideas
… for small budgets
35

8. 35 Make scented candles
or soap
There are thousands of online
recipes for making homemade
candles and soap.
You can start by selling them to
stores, at markets, or even
door-to-door.

9. Start a graffiti removal
company
Offer a service where you go
and clean up graffiti for
property or home owners.
In areas where graffiti and
vandalism is a problem, you
can grow a successful business.
34

10. 33 Organise auto-swap
events
Create a regular event where
people can come to sell their
used cars.
Organise a venue, advertise
the event to the public, and
charge those who want to sell
their cars a small fee.

11. 32 Start a home bakery
Who doesn’t like cookies,
cakes, biscuits, and rusks?
Find small shops that are
willing to sell your goods, or
sell them yourself out of your
own home.

12. 31 Begin a recycling
service
People want to recycle, but
usually they don’t know how,
or where, to do this.
Study up on recycling and
offer a collect-and-recycle
service to businesses and
suburban homeowners.

13. 30 Offer help with bookkeeping
and tax returns
All you need is basic bookkeeping and
accounting training and you can offer
people in your community help with tax
returns, budgeting, bookkeeping and even
e-filling.
Find out how you can study Basic
Bookkeeping and Accounting part-time
here:
http://www.oxbridgeacademy.c
o.za/courses/bookkeeping-
accounting/

14. 29 Make and sell crafts
Do you know how to knit,
crochet, quilt, or make
something different?
You can sell your crafts at
popular craft markets, or
online via Facebook and sites
like www.etsy.com

15. 28 Start a babysitter’s
club
Why be the babysitter when
you can organising babysitters
for other people!
Complete an Au Pair course
from home to get started:
http://www.oxbridgeacademy.co.
za/courses/childcare/

16. 27 Market yourself as a
Mystery-Shopper
Shop owners would love someone
to point out flaws in their services,
customer relations, and security.
You can offer such services to retail
companies by compiling detailed
and useful customer experience
reports on their stores.

17. 26 Become a freelance
designer
If you have a computer, there are
hundreds of free design programs
you can download and learn to
use.
A lot of small businesses need
someone to create logos,
letterheads, advertisements, or
other designs for them.

18. 25 What about starting a
Rent-a-Grandma
business?
Who better to babysit
children than a grandmother?
These days, elderly people
also need additional income,
so it’s a win-win arrangement!

19. 24 Teach your skill
Do you know how to do, or
make, something exceptional?
Do you have a field of
expertise or a unique skills?
Teach your craft to others
from the comforts of your
own home.

20. 23 Become a second-
hand clothing dealer
What about buying unwanted
clothes from more affluent
members of society…
… and reselling them for a low
price in lower-income areas?

21. 22 Become a part-time
social media manager
More and more small businesses
want to push their presence on
social media sites like Twitter, G+,
and Facebook.
Manage the social media accounts
of small businesses from home, for
a small fee (…at first!)

22. 21 Make money with a
photography business
You can do portrait, freelance,
or wedding photography.
What about taking photos of
tourists?
Or take stock images and sell
them to websites like
www.shutterstock.com

23. 20 Create a carpooling
company
Create a way for people to
find others who travel the
same routes to work.
Create an app, website, or
even just a newsletter, where
people can find others to
carpool with them.

24. 19 Begin a local music
school
Do you know how to play any
instruments? Do you know
other people who also play?
Organise and advertise music
lessons in your area.

25. 18 Design personalised gifts
for new-borns
Create personalised gifts,
blankets, and clothes for new-
born babies.
This is a great way to make
money from expectant
parents, their families, and
even their friends.

26. 17 Begin a co-working
space
A co-working space is a place
where entrepreneurs and like-
minded people can come together,
co-operate, share-ideas, and help
each other build their start-up
businesses.
Your small business can be to help
others start their businesses
through your co-working space!

27. 16 Sell home-grown herbs,
potted plants, and
vegetables
This is an easy part-time
business to start from home.
Sell through street vendors, at
local markets, or even at
upper-class organic food
markets.

28. 15 Start an event or party
planning business
Do you have a knack for
organising? Start an event
planning business!
Arrange special deals with
caterers and party supply
stores to make your services
appealing to clients.

29. 14 Open a pet-sitting
business
This may be just as (if not
more) successful than a child
day care centre.
People would rather pay a
small fee than leave their
dogs unsupervised and alone
while at work.

30. 13 Start a delivery
service business
If you have a car, motorbike,
or scooter, you can start a
delivery service business.
You can either specialise in
delivering a specific type of
item, or you can be a general
courier.

31. 12 Start a pool
maintenance business
You just need some simple
equipment and
transportation.
You are guaranteed repeat
business as pools need
permanent upkeep!

32. 11 Begin a flyer agency
Offer local businesses
affordable marketing by
printing and handing out
flyers for them.
You don’t have to do the
boring work yourself: get
other people to physically
hand out the flyers!

33. 10 Digitise home movies
and photos
Many people still have old home
movies or photos that they
would love to have on DVD.
You can start this type of
business with some very simple
equipment. Google it to learn
more.

34. 9 Gift basket business
People are always looking for
new ways to say ‘thank you’.
You can buy goods wholesale
– such as chocolates or fancy
bath soaps - and repackage
them in gift baskets.

35. 8 Organise children’s
parties
Children are very demanding,
and parents don’t have time
to organise big birthdays.
Build a network of suppliers,
caters, and party entertainers,
and you can be in business.

36. 7 Offer fine dining
experiences in your home
If you can cook amazing food,
then why not offer romantic
dinners for two?
You can be the maître-d,
waiter, and chef, offering
couples a simple small fine-
dining experience.

37. 6 Start a local newsletter
Put together a weekly or
monthly newsletter in your
community and sell
advertisement space to local
businesses.
The more popular your small
publication becomes, the more
you can charge for ad space .

38. 5 Begin a furniture
refurbishing company
If you are good with your
hands, start a furniture
refurbishing business.
Restore old pieces, clean
them, repaint, revamp, or
simply fix them up again.

39. 4 Start a catering
business
If you can cook, offer
affordable catering services
for small events, parties, or
even local businesses.
You can start small by catering
from your own kitchen with
one or two helpers.

40. 3 Start a singles dating
club in your area
You don’t need much to get
this going – all you need is a
venue and some advertising.
And single people will pay a
small subscription fee for
potential lifelong happiness!

41. 2 Make designer
mosquito nets
If you live somewhere where there
are a lot of mosquitoes, you can
buy ordinary nets, and decorate
them with beads, ribbons, and
other enchanting things.
Who wouldn’t want a mosquito net
that doesn’t spoil the look, feel,
and atmosphere of the bedroom?

42. 1 Start a Tour Guide
Company
Why not establish a tour
guide company if you live in
an area where there are many
tourists?
South Africa is a popular
tourist destination – make the
most of it!

43. Maybe you think
an idea like ‘making
candles’ is silly…

44. ‘Yankee Candle Co.’ was born
when Michael Kittredge started
making scented candles in his
garage.
Today it is the largest
manufacturer of scented
candles in the USA,
making over
$800 million a year!

45. The business
idea is not as
important as
knowing how
to make a
success of it!

46. “Genius is 1%
inspiration, and
99% perspiration.”
- Thomas
Edison

47. This is why Oxbridge Academy has great,
affordable courses to teach you the building
blocks of entrepreneurship and small
business management:
• Oxbridge Academy Short Course: Small Business Management
• Oxbridge Academy Short Course: Business Practice
• Oxbridge Academy Short Course: Entrepreneurship
• Oxbridge Academy Certificate: Small Business Management
• Oxbridge Academy Certificate: Advanced Entrepreneurship (New Venture
Creation)
• Oxbridge Academy Certificate: Intermediate Entrepreneurship (New
Venture Creation)
• Oxbridge Academy Certificate: Entrepreneurship (New Venture Creation)

48. Learn how you can complete these
Entrepreneurship Courses from home via
distance learning at
http://www.oxbridgeacademy.co.za/

49. Learn how you can complete these
Entrepreneurship Courses from home via
distance learning at
You can also click on the button
below to find out more:
http://www.oxbridgeacademy.co.za/

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