1. Produce Christmas cards which are printed on the front with, for example, "Happy Christmas from the Smith Family". Or,
instead of the name 'Smith', pick one of the dozens of other popular surnames. Sell packs of these cards by direct mail to people
listed in telephone directories.
2. Make money from renting out expensive children's toys. The toys you rent out will include remote controlled models and
computerised games. Use a little van to deliver the toys to customers. Paint in toy town colour scheme. Call the van a toy mobile
or similar suitable name.
3. Introduce to your region a service which mounts maps for businesses. Keep a stock of local, national and international maps.
Mount these maps in a professional manner to suit the wall space available at offices. Send out leaflets about your services to
office managers.
4. Bring out a regular publication for ambitious amateur musicians. This publication might include ads from : 1) Employers
seeking musicians. 2) Retailers selling equipment accessories and supplies. 3) People selling used equipment. 4) Musicians
seeking to make contact with other musicians. Also publish interesting editorials and letters.
5. Design and manufacture kits for making models with cocktail sticks, for example: model churches, castles, windmills, houses,
etc. Buy the cocktail sticks in their unpacked state from the manufacturer. Sell your kits by mail order from ads in craft magazines
or distribute to model shops.
6. Establish a directory of products no longer made. This directory might include sections on toys, novelties and household
goods. Design the directory for business people and inventors who want to know both what has been made before and what
ideas might be revived and/or modified.
7. Make cotton gloves especially designed for coin collectors. The gloves prevent the grease and moisture from fingers getting
onto coins. Package the gloves and sell them from ads in coin collecting magazines or distribute to shops which sell collectible
coins.
8. Bring out a correspondence course about how to write cookery books. The course might include information about: How to
devise recipes, how to present them in written form and what makes a successful cookery book. Produce a prospectus and
advertise in women's magazines.
9. Begin a business which rents out large and expensive astronomical telescopes to householders who want to develop their
interest in astronomy. Publicise your service at the local astronomy society and use local advertising to attract clients.
10. Set up a company which produces a compendium of strip games, for example: Strip poker, strip snakes and ladders, strip
lotto, strip snap, and strip ludo. Sell by mail order from adverts in X-rated magazines.
11. Paint attractive art on rocks to make souvenir paperweights and doorstops. The art might take the form of abstract pattern,
traditional pictures or tourist scenery. Call your rocks "designer rocks". Add a rubber base to paperweights and a rubber edge
to doorstops.
12. Create a mail order business which specialises in selling products which help people sleep. Products might include: Sleep
inducing cassettes, special bedtime clothing, herbal pillows, books and guides on how to sleep better.
13. Paint on wood stylistic house numbers and names. These painted numbers and names will be an attractive alternative to the
traditional names burned into sliced logs. Get your work stocked at shops which sell garden products or household goods.
14. Start a venture which promotes the art and hobby of window painting. On coloured acetate paper have outlines printed for
painting pictures by numbers. These acetate sheets are stuck to one side of a window and anyone can paint a picture on the
other side of the glass.
15. Select one sea-shell which would be suitable for an ashtray, another for a pip tray and another for a paper clip tray. Put these
shells into a single packet and sell as a set of useful sea-shell-trays. Sell from souvenir and novelty gift shops.
16. Devise and produce a board game which simulates the experience of starting a mail order business. The usual problem of
bringing out a board game is the difficulty of getting it stocked in shops. However, a game about mail order can be sold by mail
order to business opportunity seekers.
17. Make an income by selling lucky charms at car boot sales or door-to-door. Sell, for example: Rabbits feet, horseshoes and
four-leaf clovers. Start by tracking down trade sources of lucky charms.
18. Buy and sell oil paintings. Buy new paintings from artists and old paintings from collectors and householders. Sell the
paintings from: home, a roadside site, a stall at crafts fairs or hire stalls for exhibiting all the paintings you have for sale.
19. Start a manufacturing business which is devoted to making doorstops. These doorstops might range from the humble
wooden wedge to the more exotic and unusual. Package them in polythene bags, staple on a printed card and get them stocked
at gift shops.
20. Decorate everyday objects with pressed flowers. Add an inlaid design of pressed flowers to trays, coasters, jewellery boxes,
paperweights, picture frames, wall-hangings, desk sets and table tops.
21. Set up a home-improvement business which modifies the exterior of houses to give them a Tudor appearance. Your service
will include the fitting of ornamental oak beams, giving exterior walls a white covering and adding metal grids to windows.
22. Make wooden noughts and crosses games. Drill nine holes in a small square block and paint on a grid. Next make ten pegs
and pint on each peg an 'O' or an 'X'. Place the grid and pegs into a clear bag and staple on a product card.
23. Bring together a range of brassware ornaments so you can have a stall at crafts fairs, antique markets and car boot sales.
24. Publish a newsletter which has the title "Ambitious Persons Way to Wealth" or "Clever People Don't Work Hard". The
contents of your newsletter might be in a vein similar to Joe Karbo's "The Lazy Man's Way to Riches".
25. Set up and run a school of window dressing. Organise one-day or two-day seminars for established shopkeepers who want
to learn more about this aspect of their business. Also provide courses fro those who would like to take up a career as a window
dresser.
26. Write and publish a manual about how to make money from property. In the manual include chapters on: Buying and selling
land, buying properties for conversions and renovations, investing in property, etc. Use direct mail and press advertising to sell
by mail order to business opportunity seekers.
27. Found and run a school of investment. Give tuition to solo students and to groups about different types of investments
such as shares, gilt-edged securities, unit trusts, USM, antiques, stamps, arts, etc. For each area covered, prepare lesson plans
and follow these closely.
28. Make a selection of children's prayer plaques: Wooden wall plates which feature popular prayers. The prayers might be
painted onto or burned into the wood.
29. Start a crafts business which uses interesting foreign coins to make jewellery. Incorporate coins into pendant bracelet,
brooches, necklaces and earrings. Alternatively, make jewellery which features reproduction coins from the ancient world.
30. Use small sea-shells strung together to make necklaces. Find a trade source of small sea-shells and either set up your own
production line or employ homeworkers.
31. Produce 'Add-One' drama video cassettes. Professional actors and actresses perform a play on video. However, there is one
character missing from the video. This character is played by a viewer of the video. The viewer learns his or her part and
becomes part of the play at home.
32. Create a folder of sample sales letters for all occasions. The letters might sell: advice, maintenance, products, a service which
gives free quotes, etc. Sell these folders by direct mail to small businesses.
33. Earn money by selling gold chain by the inch at public events such as fairs, markets and exhibitions.
34. Put together your own catalogue of jewellery making supplies. Locate the sources of products by doing the routine work of
the mail order trader: write to potential suppliers. Throughout the country there are thousands of craftworkers who would
welcome a new catalogue.
35. Earn a living by buying gold and silver jewellery from people who need instant cash. Because their need for cash is greater
than their desire to get a high price, your mark-up can be good. Only buy jewellery which you know you can re-sell quickly for a
profit.
36. Use fabrics to make soft cases for pencils, spectacles, scissors, bibles, money and other small items which are either
potentially dangerous or need protection. At first, make a diversity of products until you discover which are the most popular
and profitable, then specialise.
37. Buy old bibles and hymn books from churches and education authorities. Have the pages shredded and use as stuffing
material for 'bible' or 'hymn' pillows, teddy bear and other soft products. Also do 'bible' confetti and stuff bottles to make bottled
bibles.
38. Cut out prints and illustrations from old books. Frame them and sell to a wide range of shops and from a stall at a market fairs
and car boot sales.
39. Make leather and wooden souvenir luggage tags. These tags might feature the name of a holiday town and a popular scene.
Get your tags stocked at shops visited by tourists.
40. Prepare a mixture of dried herbs for adding to bathwater. Invent a brand name for your product like "(your surname) Original
Bath Herbs". Package each mixture of herbs and get them stocked at various retailers.
41. Start a service which arranges for people to have their original pop lyrics set to music. This service is to satisfy the vanity of
lyricists. Offer clients a complete, low cost package. Attract custom by placing ads in the music press.
42. Devise quizzes which test a persons vocabulary. Sell these to a magazine or newspaper on a regular basis. Alternatively you
might do quizzes which test a persons knowledge of a regional dialect. Sell these to regional papers or magazines.
43. Call door-to-door and offer to buy unwanted furniture. Or use local media to advertise your interest in buying second-hand
furniture. Sell what you buy from free ads in local papers, or start your own second-hand furniture shop.
44. Set up a mail order business which sells motorcycle memorabilia. Put together a catalogue which includes: videos, films,
posters, photographs, books, instruction booklets, old magazines and newspapers, etc. Advertise your catalogue in motorcycle
magazines.
45. Start an enterprise which reproduces classic poems on postcards and posters. Also do framed prints of classic poems. Sell
these from a stall in an antiques or crafts market or get them stocked at souvenir or gift shops.
46. Produce a cataloguing system for record collectors. This system might consist of a card index box with pre-printed index
cards. Each card has a printed section for the name of the artist, record and record label. Sell this cataloguing system through
record shops or by mail-order.
47. Publish a monthly audio cassette fro one trade, such as newsagents, grocers, hair salons, booksellers, etc. Each cassette
should give: Trade news, management tips, suggestions for improving sales, etc. Organise a direct mail campaign to recruit
subscribers.
48. Start a newspaper and magazine roadside stand. Ask established newspaper vendors how they got started.
49. Bring out a correspondence course about how to write short stories for profit. Sell from newspaper and magazine ads and
charge anything up to the average weekly wage (paid in instalments) depending on the contents of the course.
50. Produce a correspondence course about how to write good poetry. If most poets received a small amount of tuition about
how to compose poems, their work would improve dramatically. Sell the course by advertising in literary and women's
magazines.
51. Begin a business which deals in old and new American and British comics. This business might: 1) Sell comics by post from
a catalogue. 2) Operate a comics of the month club for specialised collectors and 3) Run a comics stall at fairs and markets.
52. Write to overseas publishers of English language newsletters and offer to act as the distributor for their newsletter in this
country. In your letter to the publishers outline the benefits they will gain if they let you distribute their newsletter.
53. Start a service which cleans wire baskets and supermarket trolleys. Baskets and trolleys often spend most of the day on a
dusty floor or outside, open to the elements.
54. Use wooden jigsaw pieces to make earrings and necklaces. Add a hand painted design to the side of the jigsaw piece not
covered by a part of the picture. Call your goods jigsaw puzzle jewellery. Sell from a stall at fairs, car boot sales or get it stocked
at trendy shops.
55. Take metal rods and tubes of different diameters and cut into slices. Arrange the slices to make pictures and patterns. Mount
these pictures and sell as craftwork. Or produce kits for making pictures with slices of rods and tubes. Use mail order to sell
these kits to craftworkers.
56. Write and sell articles or books about starting a business and making money. Sell the manuscripts to publishers of business
opportunity books, newsletters, magazines and newspapers. For a start, Jon Murray Information Services, 114 Duke Street,
Edinburgh, EH6 8HR will welcome any manuscripts for approval and possible purchase.
57. Set up a business which produces a quality audio cassette library of nursery rhymes. Alternatively, produce a series of
cassettes which feature X-rated nursery rhymes for adults. Sell these by either getting them stocked in bookshops or by
starting a monthly club.
58. Compile and publish a monthly bulletin which informs subscribers of poetry competitions they are eligible to enter at home
and abroad. Target your recruitment campaign for subscribers at practising poets.
59. Bring out a series of plans for woodworkers, soft toy makers, leather workers and other craftworkers. Either sell printed
copies of these plans at wholesale prices or sell the reproduction rights. Then any craftworker or hobbyist can start a mail order
business selling the plans.
60. Publish a "Which?" newsletter about newsletters. As the number of newsletters and subscribers is ever increasing, there is
a gap in the market for a newsletter which comments on and judges the value of the others.
61. Begin an enterprise which makes model paper products for dolls and dolls' houses. These might include: Newspapers,
money, stationery, napkins, paper hats, Christmas cards, etc. Sell these products by mail order to doll makers and collectors.
62. Write a non-fiction book which may, for example, be about a hobby. Enlist a book printer to produce copies of the book. Sell
these to the market that would be interested in the contents. You might, for example, place ads in hobby magazines.
63. Give personal tuition in your own home on how to write good English. Advertise your service by placing cards in windows
of local newsagents. Point out the advantages of taking the course, such as getting a better job and helping the children with
their homework.
64. Start a singles contact magazine or newsletter, each issue might include both small ads from people looking for partners and
editorials of interest to single people. Use press and magazine advertising to build up a list of subscribers.
65. Set up a holiday companion introduction service. Your service matches and introduces single people who do not have
anyone to go on holiday with. Place classified ads in numerous publications to attract clients. Or produce a publication which
lists people who are looking for holiday companions.
66. Write and publish a newsletter for those who want to start a successful business. The newsletter might, for example, discuss
effective ways of: Selling, managing, generating ideas, locating suppliers and finding customers. Use your local library service
to research these topics.
67. Begin a crafts enterprise which turns out wirecraft ornaments. These ornaments are free-standing, 3-D objects which consist
entirely of wire: the wire makes the outlines. The ornaments might be in the shape of: aeroplanes, helicopters, people, animals,
boats or bicycles.
68. Start a mail order business which promotes the craft of making ornaments and models from shaping wire. Design and make
up a complete kit for beginners. Include this kit in your catalogue, as well as tools, design ideas and raw materials for wire
craftworkers.
69. Make football rosettes and get them stocked at newsagents and sports shops. Each one might be placed in a cellophane
packet or polythene bag.
70. Produce a series of storytelling videos. An actor or actress reads classic novels directly to the camera. Hire out these videos
by post. You can use whole or part of classic stories for which the copyright has expired. This is the case for any work where
the writer has been dead for 50 or more years.
71. Start a venture which organises river or coastal boat trips for: Business parties, wedding receptions, anniversaries, birthday
parties, etc. Your service would do things like: organise transport to the boat, booking catering services, hiring entertainers and
hosts or hostesses.
72. If you can play a musical instrument, earn money by providing background music at: Restaurants, pubs, wine bars, tea-
rooms, hotel breakfasts, amusement arcades, or ice skating rinks. Also play during the interval at theatres and/or cinemas.
73. Sell copies of theatrical plays by post. Put together a wide range of new and second-hand publications and produce a
catalogue. Advertise your catalogue in both the theatre press and theatre programmes.
74. Buy and sell second-hand compact disks. Buy collections of disks by post and use local ads to find sellers in your area. The
disks you acquire can be sold: by post, from a market stall, or get them stocked at local shops.
75. Have a stall which sells fashionable clothes. Your stall might be a full-time business, working at street markets or it may be
part-time and appear at craft and antique fairs.
76. Set up a sheet music of the month club. Each month send members a selection of sheets to include the latest popular songs.
Club members will include: Musicians, who play at clubs and pubs, record companies and keen amateur musicians.
77. Sell Beatles or Elvis memorabilia by mail order. Conduct your own research to discover what memorabilia you can produce
yourself, for example, reprint photographs and duplicate press cuttings. Also buy goods from collectors and trade sources at
home and abroad.
78. Put together a mail order catalogue of children's educational audio cassettes. These might cover subjects such as spelling,
reading and grammar rules, geography, history, etc. Produce some of the cassettes yourself and buy others from audio
publishers.
79. Do your own research to discover the secrets of conjuring. Write a manuscript about your findings and publish it yourself.
The novel and sensational nature of this book will ensure that it sells well from ads in newspapers and magazines.
80. Write and record personalised songs. Produce songs for all occasions, such as engagements, weddings, birthdays,
anniversaries, births, homecomings and congratulations. Use classified ads in the personal columns to attract orders.
81. Start a crafts business which produces gift tags decorated with pressed flowers. Also do similar products like pressed
flowers bookmarks. To make a bookmarker tape take two strips of clear 35mm film, place pressed flowers between the strips and
tie the sprocket holes together with cotton.
82. Bring out an educational newsletter about 'How to Improve Your Written English'. Each monthly newsletter might be like a
lesson. There are only a limited number of lessons, so you can send the same series to different subscribers for many years.
83. Open a school of rock music. Provide classes about different aspects of rock, such as singing, playing electric guitars,
writing music and songs, designing stage presentations, etc. Add credibility to the school by paying established rock
musicians to give many of the lessons.
84. Devise and produce an audio cassette course about how to play the drums. Use ads in the music press to sell this course.
And/or get the course stocked at music shops.
85. Produce kits for schoolgirls to make bead necklaces. Package each kit in a small polythene bag and staple on a printed card.
Mount these kits on a rack and get them displayed at newsagents.
86. Design your own brand of baby sling. Buy one of each of the baby slings currently on sale. Study them and develop one
which is a composite of the best features. Manufacture and package them. Find appropriate retailers and wholesalers to stock
them.
87. Make charming and attractive quilts for babies and children. Make the kind of quilts you would like a baby or child to have.
Give your imagination free reign to see what ideas and designs you come up with. When you have finalised a design, go into
business for yourself.
88. Turn out knitwear garments for children. Sell the garments from your own stall or through retailers.
89. Embroider attractive designs on ladies gloves and scarves. Call on up-market retailers to persuade them to stock your
products.
90. Bring out your own range of shawls. Increase the value of your shawls by giving each design a catchy name. Sell the shawls
by mail order or get them stocked at retailers.
91. Make charming soft toy ladybirds and other insects/animals which can be attached to curtains for decoration.
92. Bring out a selection of souvenir ties. The ties might feature the name or emblem of a holiday resort. Mount the ties on racks
and get them displayed in shops which sell souvenirs.
93.Start a mail order business which sells books, booklets and audio cassettes about how to deal with nasty experiences. Topics
covered might include: Violence in the home, break up of a marriage, death of a partner, being sacked or failing exams.
94. Use ribbon to make souvenir pictures, for example: yellow ribbon can be used as the beach, blue as the sea, brown and green
for palm trees, etc. Or design and produce kits for hobbyists. Sell by mail order or through craft shops.
95. Make a selection of balaclava helmets in the colours of popular football teams or the national flag. Sell from roadside stall on
route to football ground, or through supporters clubs.
96. Produce a series of videos which have titles such as: 'How to give up smoking', 'How to relax', 'How to lose weight' and 'How
to sleep soundly'. Sell these by direct mail to business people. Or try to get a leading chain store to distribute them on a national
basis.
97. Have your own fabrics market stall and sell ordinary fabrics, rolls of discontinued lines and remnants.
98. Do alterations and repairs for dry cleaning services, menswear shops, factories and offices. Visit these places and inform
them of your services. Offer, for example, to collect the goods once or twice a week.
99. Produce cardboard, sightseeing periscopes and sell them at public events. Make them yourself. Arrange for the card to be
printed and shaped. Assemble the periscopes and add two small mirrors. Recruit sales people to sell these periscopes along the
route of the event.
100. Start a knitting patterns of the month club. Each month, members of your club automatically receive a selection of the latest
knitting patterns. Members select the patterns they want and return the rest. Or compile a top 30 of patterns and send new
entries to club members.
101. Begin an enterprise which sells garden gates door-to-door. On your sales trip take with you a smart folder which has a large
photograph of each gate you are selling. Provide potential customers with a price which includes installation.
102. Start a home-based computer bureau. There are hundreds of business computer programs available such as wages, record
files and accounts. Buy and use these programs to provide a computer service to local businesses.
103. Set up a business which promotes the making of lampshades. Lampshade making can be sold as either an interesting
hobby or a business opportunity. Produce a mail order catalogue of lampshade making equipment and supplies. Advertise your
catalogue in crafts magazines.
104. begin a computerised dating service. Operate this service like a traditional dating service but, hold all your records on
computer and use the computer to aid your search for compatible partners. Have leaflets printed and place them in shops and
advertise your service in the personal messages section of your local newspapers.
105. Be a sleep consultant. Large numbers of people have difficulty in sleeping at night. This is not usually a medical problem
but can be corrected by using a suitable method or attitude of mind. Provide people in your area with confidential advice about
how to sleep soundly.
106. Start a venture which designs and manufactures portable theatre footlights. Potential buyers include: amateur theatre and
dance groups, rock groups, children's entertainers, variety entertainers, nightclubs and mobile disk jockeys.
107. Rent computers to private business users. The computers you rent might be new and/or second hand. Also rent out
peripherals such as printers, stands and sheet feeders. Use local media to inform potential customers about your service.
108. Buy original computer games programs from home computer enthusiasts. Find these programs by advertising in computing
magazines. Produce a compilation of the programs on a master floppy disk. Have copies of this disk made and sell from ads in
home computing magazines.
109. Produce a series of low cost audio cassettes which help school pupils revise for public examinations. You might give these
cassettes a brand name like 'Personal School Revision Cassettes". Get them stocked at newsagents and bookshops.
110. Set up a firm which publishes a monthly computer diskette program for home computer enthusiasts who want to improve
their programme writing skills. Each cassette might give ideas, examples and tips about how to become a better computer
programmer.
111. Organise educational holidays and weekend breaks for computer enthusiasts who want to further their programming skills.
The courses might be held at a bed and breakfast house out of season. Advertise in computing magazines.
112. Design and publish diaries for each star sign. The special feature of these diaries is that a star reading is given for each day
of the coming year. Have these diaries mounted in a special display rack. Get a wide range of shops to accept your racks.
113. Use luminous paint of the kind used on watches and alarm clocks to highlight figures on natural ornaments such as
starfish, coral, colourful rocks, pine cones, etc. Place these in a sheltered display case to illustrate their luminosity. Have display
cases on show at gift shops.
114. Start an enterprise which makes a high quality, home-made paper. Sell the paper at a premium for use as : Personal
stationery, certificate presentation scrolls, printing paper for manually operated printing presses, etc.
115. Bring out a selection of lucky charms which are for hanging from windscreens of cars, vans and lorries. They might be mini
horse shoes, rabbits feet, wooden or plastic number sevens, four-leaf clovers, etc. Package your lucky charms to distribute to a
wide range of retailers.
116. Manufacture kits for making mosaics. Each kit will have a pre-designed mosaic and people will have to complete it like a
jigsaw puzzle. Use ads in craft magazines to sell kits by mail order.
117. Sell greenhouses door-to-door. Buy the greenhouses from manufacturers at trade prices. Produce sales literature and
recruit sales people to sell the greenhouses for you.
118. Start a postal business which rents out war gaming model soldiers and other accessories. War gaming enthusiasts can use
this service to play war games of any size from any period of history.
119. If you have a spare room, take in a lodger or start a small-scale bed and breakfast business. If you choose the latter, either
place a sign outside your house which reads 'Bed and Breakfast' or advertise in the windows of newsagents and in the
classified ad columns of newspapers.
120. Earn money from anatomical charts. Use the charts to : 1) Make stylish framed prints. 2) Make unusual designs for T-shirts.
3) Decorate household products such as wastepaper bins and lampshades. 4) Make decorative or educational posters. or 5)
Make a collection of educational slides.
121. Make decorations for wine bottles. Each decoration is slipped over the neck of a bottle. These decorations are either wood
carved or metal engraved with the name of a restaurant or family. Or, make floral decorations, the scent of the flowers
complimenting the bouquet of the wine.
122. Start a crafts business which makes unusual table lamps. Each lamp might feature a stand made of a conch shell, for
example, or a Victorian bottle. If you hit upon a design which is popular, and their are no problems for obtaining raw materials,
this can become a full-time business.
123. Take up the craft of jewellery making and as soon as you acquire a basic skill, start selling what you make. Begin by
sending for a catalogue issued by a mail order jewellery making supplier.
124. Start a mail order firm which sells equipment and supplies to weavers and spinners. An important market will be those
taking up weaving and spinning for the first time. Place ads in crafts magazines which are directed at this group.
125. Produce souvenir children's height charts which feature postcard-type views of local scenery. Or do souvenir suntan
charts. These suntan charts have a complete range of skin shades. A holiday-maker buys a suntan chart to make a before and
after comparison.
126. Compile a postal course which teaches people how to cut silhouettes. The course might include instruction on how to cut
all kinds of silhouettes such as landscapes, animals and people. These silhouettes can be framed or mounted to make attractive
wall-hangings.
127. Organise courses about how to build your own house extension or loft conversion. Hold the courses during the weekends
at the construction site of an extension or conversion. Or a bed and breakfast house could be hired out of season for a week-
long course.
128. Begin a crafts business which makes either souvenir or normal tea cosies. Find suitable retail outlets to stock your cosies.
You might, for example, make souvenir tea cosies for tearooms and cafes to sell to their customers.
129. Sell cheap toys door-to-door. Visit neighbourhoods which have an above average population of children.
130.Learn how to make soft toys with the long term objective of being able to earn money from teaching others. Eventually,
teach solo students, classes or use diagrams to teach people by post. Also begin a postal course which teaches people how to
design their own soft toys.
131. Become a calligrapher of poems. Earn money from calligraphing poems to commission for poets and sweethearts. a) Classic
poems like 'Desederata', 'Charge of the Light Brigade', etc, and selling them as gift products. b) Poems of local origin and selling
them as souvenirs.
132. If you have the artistic ability to sketch or do ink drawings of private houses there is certainly money to be made here. get
work by calling on households in the nicer looking parts of town and showing potential customers samples of your work. Also
offer a framing service.
133. Commission an artist to do a series of designs for saucy postcards. Arrange for the postcards to be printed. Mount the
cards on small racks and distribute these to retailers at tourist resorts.
134. Become a portrait artist and work in a thoroughfare of a shopping or tourist area.
135. Publish a 'Who's Who of Business Opportunities'. Sell advertising space in this publication to business opportunity firms.
Use direct mail and ads in the business opportunity press to sell advertising space and the finished publication.
136. Open a small private school of art. Employ artists to teach courses about different kinds of art from oil painting to pottery.
Offer holiday courses, individual tuition and evening and weekend classes.
137. Earn from illustrating personal names in the style of Dickens' illustrator George Cruikshank. Do work at: tourist sites,
shopping thoroughfares, fairs, exhibitions, etc. Also do illustrations by post and offer a service which reproduces your work on
personal stationery.
138. Found an agency for all artists, such as painters, illustrators, pottery workers and sculptors. Provide work for the artists
and specialise in contacting businesses which might not have considered using artists. For example, arrange for morals to be
painted in staff canteens and sports clubs.
139. Begin a mail order firm which promotes the collecting of wine bottle labels. Assemble a wide selection of labels and compile
a catalogue. In your catalogue also include, starter packs, albums, framed labels, etc. Collect the labels from used wine bottles
from wine bars and hotels.
140. Start a business which sells custom designed drinks bars from home. Operate this business in a similar style to firms which
sell fitted wardrobes or kitchens.
141. Establish a direct mail business which sells products to pubs, wine bars and hotel bars. The products in your catalogue
might include: books and booklets about making cocktail drinks, quizzes for contests, promotion ideas, pub games, etc.
142. Set up a mail order business which sells equipment and supplies for making herbal drinks at home. This could be an
interesting and healthy hobby for anyone to take up. Produce a small catalogue and advertise in a wide range of publications.
143. Operate a children's lucky dip at markets and crafts fairs. This would consist of a box of wood shavings mixed with small
toys in wrapping paper. A child or their parent pays a standard charge, for example, one pound and the child takes out a
wrapped toy.
144. If you are familiar with electronics, start a mail order business which sells electronic kits, components and accessories. If
possible bring out your own electronic kits. To obtain other products get some letterheads printed and write to trade suppliers
at home and abroad.
145. Make a wide range of electrical extension leads. Make extra long leads for people with large gardens, for business make
industrial extension leads which are up to 1000 feet in length. Get shops and trade suppliers to accept orders for you.
146. Open a school for disk jockeys. Offer potential students different courses for radio, night-clubs, mobile discos, hospital
radio and pirate radio. Give students tuition: in classes, on a one-to-one basis, or correspondence courses and through audio
cassettes.
147. Supply a fortune teller or numerologist for parties and weddings. A visiting fortune teller makes a party or wedding
reception more entertaining for guests.
148. Become a photographers agent. Sell the work of amateur photographers for a commission. As an agent, your knowledge of
the best place to sell photographs at home and abroad could lead to some amateurs becoming published photographers.
149. Begin a mail order business which sells folk crafts. Pick a national group such as the Scots, Welsh or Irish. Put together
hampers and folk craft products which capture the essence of your chosen group. Have a catalogue printed and advertise it
around the world.
150. Set up a postal enterprise which sells signed photographs of celebrities. Or, if a particular celebrity is in demand, offer to
donate money to charity if X number of signed photographs are sent to you.
151. Make a toffee of your own design and add a stick to make a toffee lollipop. Get them stocked at newsagents and
confectioners or sell from a stall at markets, fairs and exhibitions.
152. Set up a school of 'Self-selling'. Teach students at your school how to sell themselves and impress, for example: The
opposite sex, work colleagues, job interviewers, etc. Hold classes, give individual tuition, or teach people through audio
cassettes or correspondence courses.
153. Start a mail order firm which sells plans, books and supplies to origami hobbyists. Advertise your catalogue in crafts
magazines.
154. Be a professional family affairs adviser. Just as a careers adviser gives advice on career improvement and development,
your service gives advice on improving the future of an entire family. The advice might be about finance, careers, education,
relationships, etc.
155. Design and make leather stamp wallets for philatelists. These would be for keeping duplicates and stamps for sale. The
wallets might vary in size from the pocket to the desktop. Sell through stamp shops and adverts in stamp magazines.
156. Start a mail order business which sells fund-raising accessories. For example: booklets about fund-raising ideas, bingo
calling machines, scratch cards and many, many others. Produce a catalogue about your goods and send it to clubs, societies,
associations and schools.
157. Put together a debt collection training course for small businesses. Every small business is a potential client. A key selling
point is that the cost of the course should be quickly recovered from the more efficient collection of debts.
158. Write and publish a book about betting on horses. In this book, include details of betting systems and suggestions about
how to assess the likely performance of horses. Sell copies of your book to horse racing punters from newspaper ads or by
direct mail.
159. Produce a series of audio cassettes about how to stop or reduce vices and bad habits. The cassettes might have titles like :
'How to Stop Snoring', 'How to Cut Down on Drinking', 'How to Pack Up Gambling', 'How to Stop Smoking', etc. Sell the
cassettes by mail order and through a wide range of shops.
160. Put together a correspondence course about how to become an amateur magician. The aim would be teach people who to
do numerous basic tricks. It would be a foundation course for amateur magicians. Also sell the products that magicians tricks
require.
161. Package selections of empty matchboxes. Distribute these to newsagents to sell to children who collect empty matchboxes.
Or get them stocked at specialists collectors outlets such as stamp and modelling shops.
162. Set up a business which produces a selection of novelty packets of seeds for garden weeds. These seeds might have the
same as stinkbombs. Sell through gift or joke shops.
163. Start an enterprise which delivers table flowers on a regular basis to : restaurants, hair salons, dental surgeries, offices, etc.
Call on these places to sell your services.
164. Earn money by selling cactuses door-to-door. Carry them in a cinema usherette-type tray.
165. Start a craft business which makes a selection of cactus products. These products, such as paperweights, book ends, desk
sets, etc. have live cactuses growing out of them.
166. Make concrete mini-models of cows. Each model is painted to look like a real cow. These cows are for gardeners to put on
lawns to evoke the atmosphere of the countryside. Get them stocked at as many garden centres as possible.
167. Sell garden fountains to up-market householders. Produce quality sales literature and advertise in select magazines. Pay
professional builders to do the building and installation work.
168. Buy ordinary plastic model kits of aircraft and boats. Construct the kits and hand paint them in their original colours. Sell
the finished models from a stall at fairs and markets.
169. Bring out kits for making relief pictures with wood. For example, a kit for making a rural scene might include wooden pieces
cut in the shape of: trees, animals, clouds, buildings, etc. Sell either by mail order to craftworkers or through shops which sell
craft products.
170. Start a seasonal business which sells bulbs door-to-door. This business is best operated by two people: one calls on
houses and the other moves a handcart full of bulbs.
171. Sell novelty trays of British soil to expatriates. This can be applied to any other nationals. Stick a tiny national flag in the
soil of each tray.
172. Set up a company director exchange service. Your service arranges for one or two directors in different companies to swap
places at board meetings. Use telephone or direct mail to sell your service to businesses.
173. Import specialist magazines from overseas English-speaking countries. For example: magazines relating to unusual hobbies
or sport. Your task is to build up lists of subscribers in this country. Begin by writing to overseas publishers to ask if they will
supply magazines in bulk at good discount.
174. Begin and build a weed removal and control round. Operate this like a window cleaning service. You might do this work
yourself or employ students or retired people.
175. Put together a humorous mail order package which sells products that describe the afterlife. For example, produce a series
of audio cassettes which describe exactly what it's like in heaven and hell.
176. Write and publish a series of booklets or cassettes about how to make money from flowers and plants. The titles might
include: 'Starting a Florists', 'Setting up a Nursery', and 'How to Open a Garden Centre'. Advertise in gardening magazines.
177. Hire out: Window boxes, bottle gardens, exotic plants, tubs of plants and hanging baskets. Your clients will include:
offices, banks, pubs, hair salons, restaurants, exhibitions, etc. Also provide your clients with a maintenance service.
178. Learn about flower arranging at evening classes then, earn money from teaching others in your own home. Give afternoon
classes to pensioners and housewives. A major attraction of the classes is that they act as a social occasion.
179. Set up a production line which turns out mini-gardens in bowls and pots. Sell from your own market stall or through a range
of retail outlets.
180. Design and make herb gardens for the house or garden. Produce the herb gardens in a range of different containers such as
bottles, tubs, trays, large pots or hanging pots. Sell through suitable retailers or by mail order.
181. Devise a selection of scents specially designed for love letters and greeting cards. For example, the scent of roses for love
letters and pine trees for Christmas cards. Set up a business which manufactures, packages and distributes the scents.
182. Bring out a range of herbal or hop filled pillows. Make pillows for different functions, for example: pillows which are an aid
for people who have difficulty sleeping, siesta pillows for the garden nap, pillows for the living room and pillows which are
especially designed for daydreaming.
183. Devise and organise the manufacture of cosmetics for bald heads. The vacant space on a man's bald head is not something
which should be covered up but is a canvas for an artist. For example a bald head might feature wavy lines, a rainbow, sunburst,
or a colour to match the eyes.
184. Begin an enterprise which manufactures old-fashioned, reliable flypaper. The novelty value of this old method of flying
insect control suggests that it is time it enjoyed a revival.
185. Make wooden puzzles for children. For example, brightly painted wooden shapes have to be fitted into the corresponding
hole in a block of wood. Or make a flat wooden animal like a dinosaur or rabbit. Cut this animal into lots of wooden shapes so
that it is a challenge to assemble.
186. Hand-paint pictures or witty statements on small squares of wood. For example, the pictures might feature animals and the
statements might be about cooking like 'Oliver Twist's Favourite Kitchen'. Add a magnet to the back of each square so that they
can be stuck to fridges and other metallic surfaces.
187. Set up a mail order business which promotes the hobby of collecting seashells. Bring out a catalogue which has a large
collection of seashells, collectors accessories and books about seashells.
188. Write and publish a newsletter about how to start a newsletter publishing business. Each issue of the newsletter might be a
lesson about one of the various topics involved in beginning and running a successful newsletter.
189. Introduce to your area a daily home-visiting, morning make-up service. Build up a timetable of appointments with different
clients. Or work for a local hotel providing a make-up service for the guests.
190. Start a mail order business which sells health improvement books, booklets and audio cassettes. Discover what titles are
available from publishers and produce your own catalogue. Also publish some of your own booklets and cassettes.
191. Earn money by selling all sorts of formulae by post. For example: formulae to DIY enthusiasts, housewives, hobbyists,
craftworkers and many others. Produce either a general directory which has universal appeal or bring out specialised booklets
for different markets.
192. Write and produce an audio cassette course for those who want to stop smoking. Sell this course through adverts in
newspapers and magazines or by direct mail to business people.
193. Bring out a series of booklets or cassettes which have titles like : 'How to Cure Boredom', 'How to Beat Depression', 'How to
Get Out of a Rut', 'How to Beat Back Pain', etc. Sell by mail order, through bookshops or other retail outlets.
194. Start a business which rents out drum kits and electric guitars. Advertise your business both in the local press and in the
windows of newsagents. Provide a delivery service.
195. Make money from bringing out your own happiness plants. A happiness plant is any plant for which it can be claimed
gives off an unseen aura or odour which humans find pleasing. Sell from a market stall or by mail order.
196. Found your own institute of beauty. This institute would be the beauty world's equivalent to : 1) a finishing school (for
women who want to become expert in doing their own make up) and 2) a secretarial school. (for women who want a career in
the beauty industry.)
197. Start a walking menu board service (A sandwich board with a giant menu on it). Sell to restaurants and cafes throughout
the region. Employ students and young people to carry the boards.
198. Hire premises at a busy tourist site and take portrait photographs of tourists. Add a novelty to the photographs by, for
example, dressing the tourists up in national costume. Or dress clients in Victoriana or Wild-West garb and add a sepia, aged
appearance.
199. Reprint old photographs of a town and mount in attractive frames. Sell through local shops. Advertise in local press for
residents who have old photographs you could pay a fee to have reproduced.
200. Produce a correspondence course which teaches about how to trace your own ancestry. Call your business a 'School of
Ancestral Research'. Advertise in a wide range of publications.
201. Start a newsletter for diarists. Diarists nearly all work in isolation and many would welcome a newsletter to inform them
about the existence and activities of their fellow diarists. The newsletter may act as a forum for discussion about diary writing
and also give advice about how to improve upon the technique of diary writing.
202. Sell by post to record collectors unsorted parcels of new and second-hand records. Less than 5% of singles released get
into the top 20 of the charts. So there are a lot of new unsold singles in the hands of record companies.
203. Produce and sell a home study course on how to write self-improvement books. Writing this type of book is one of the
easiest ways to become a published author. In this field there are always themes which sell well, such as how to make money,
attract love and how to be a success.
204. Start a mail order business which specialises in selling classic singles from the sixties. Classic singles are constantly being
re-issued in various countries around the world. Import these and sell by post.
205. Serve coin collectors by starting a coin or coin of the month club. Activities might include sending collectors new foreign
coins as they are issued.
206. Devise unique cocktail drinks and punches to commission. Name each drink after the person nominated by the sponsor.
These recipes make unusual gifts, for example, a specially designed punch would add fun to a wedding reception or birthday.
Sell from classified ads.
207. Use direct mail to sell a range of novelties, games, toys, quizzes and ornaments for the office. Produce a catalogue and send
to offices.
208. Launch a carved ornament of the month club. A collection of beautifully carved ornaments will add character to a house
and make a good investment.
209. Start a mail order business which sells books, equipment and supplies to those interested in amateur rocketry. Put together
an amateur rocketry kit for beginners and advertise this to attract new hobbyists to the business.
210. Compose poems to order for any occasion, such as engagements, births, weddings, birthdays, valentines, etc. These
poems make a unique and memorable gift. Use classified ads to sell your service. Or set up a stall at a fair or tourist site and
compose poems on the spot.
211. Compile a correspondence course about writing drama or comedy for radio. Radio is a proven route to becoming a
successful drama or comedy writer. Your course would help people to develop their writing ability and aid a route into the
business.
212. Bring together a range of products specially designed for left-handed people. Have a catalogue printed and start a mail
order business.
213. Set up a garden improvement business which designs and builds ornamental Japanese or Chinese gardens. Produce a
brochure about your work and advertise in up-market publications.
214. Use ball bearings to make attractive ornaments, either 1) decorate large ball bearings or 2) stick smaller ball bearings
together. The ornaments might be shaped to look like people or animals. Sell through gift shops or from a stall.
215. Act as a sales agent for fan clubs. Sell memberships for a commission at concerts, festivals, and to people in your area.
Write to fan clubs to offer this service.
216. Familiarise yourself with products on sale at shops which sell arts and crafts materials. Visit similar shops abroad to find a
good product or products that are not on sale in this country. Start a business importing and distributing your chosen product.
217. Build up a sales round where you call on customers once every eight weeks, for example, to sell cheap or unusual
household items. First call door-to-door to sell your products then keep a record of buyers and call back eight weeks later to sell
other products of a similar nature.
218. Sell mounted etchings by calling on private households and shopkeepers. Buy from the original artist or from a wholesaler.
219. Produce an audio cassette course about how to use the telephone for business. Cover subjects such as telephone selling,
dealing with enquiries and complaints, interviewing, etc. Sell by direct mail and classified ads.
220. Run an international pop music pen pal club. Produce a quarterly publication which lists people looking for pen pals. Also
boost your income by selling advertising space in your publication. Use small ads world-wide to recruit subscribers.
221. Start an interior decoration business which specialises in period decor. For example decor with a theme related to the
Victorian or Georgian age, the 1910s, 1920s or Art Nouveau. Produce a glossy brochure about your service and use ads in up-
market publications to attract enquiries.
222. Set up a direct mail postal library. For a fee any business can borrow examples of previous direct mail campaigns. A client
business might borrow the work of either competitors or potential clients.
223. Bring out a library of audio cassettes about hobby subjects such as model making, angling, stamp collecting, treasure
hunting, etc. These cassettes might be about specialised areas of each hobby. Sell the cassettes from ads in hobby magazines
or get them stocked at hobby shops.
224.Produce a separate audio cassette for each star sign. Each cassette should feature astrological predictions and advice.
Mount the cassette in a display box. Arrange for all kinds of shops to stock them.
225. Market a short or toy tug-of-war rope. Package the rope and get it stocked at sports or toy shops respectively. A short
rope for adults and a toy rope for children could be used to play small scale games of tug of war. Or the rope could be attached
to a wall to make an exercise device.
226. Rent out photocopying machines on a temporary basis. These machine might be rented by the day, week or month.
227. Open a market stall which sells celebrity products. Sell books, badges, posters and other products on the latest celebrities.
These celebrities will include new pop stars, film stars, models and national heroes. Also sell products about classic celebrities
like the Beatles and Elvis.
228. Organise pop or rock music talent contests. The income from each contest would come from either, charging the performers
an entrance fee or selling tickets to the public. You may even be able to find a sponsor to back the entire contest.
229. Design and produce a range of children's badges. These might feature pictures of animals, spacecraft, robots or funny
faces. Mount them on a felt covered board or place them in small cellophane packets. Have them displayed at newsagents and
toyshops.
230. Sell home-made bubble mixture to children at markets, roadside sites, fairgrounds and fetes. Give each child a ring made
from soft wire to make the bubbles with.
231. Make military play uniforms for children. For example: 7th Cavalry, navy uniforms, toy soldier uniforms, etc. Package and
sell through toy shops. Alternatively have a catalogue produced and sell by mail order.
232. Design and make fashionable jump suits. Make the rounds of boutiques to find suitable stockists.
233. Produce a library of audio cassettes which give advice about health and psychological problems experienced by men and
women. Draw up lists which are unique to men and to women. Sell by mail order.
234. Start a vegetarian food catering service. Devise a menu with imaginative meals. Advertise in political and environmental
publications.
235. Have a market stall which sells cosmetics. Cosmetics usually have good profit margins and a market stall has low
overheads. These two factors combined make it an attractive business opportunity.
236. Start a postal school of the cinema. Compile a variety of courses about different genres of the cinema such as westerns,
science fiction and musicals. Produce a prospectus and advertise in cinema and film magazines.
237. Establish a one-man, dial-a-handyman service. Produce a leaflet which lists examples of the jobs you do and your prices.
Deliver leaflets to households and businesses in your area. Use a telephone answering machine to take calls while you are out.
238. Start a van sales and delivery business which works for importers and small manufacturers. Build up a complimentary range
of products from different importers and manufacturers and call on potential customers. Examples of product ranges are health
foods, hobby supplies, sportswear and electrical goods.
239. Set up a postal business which hires out replicas of rifles and pistols. Your main custom would come from gun collectors
and amateur theatrical producers.
240. Begin a business which bottles sea or lake water. Sell the bottles as either souvenirs, i.e. 'pocket or desktop Atlantic Ocean'
or a natural beauty treatment, i.e. 'bathe your face in natural lake water'.
241. One of the characteristics of sexual attraction is that people are often fascinated by one part of the body such as legs, build
or faces. Start a mail order business which sells slides, photographs and posters about legs, for example, or faces.
242. Make novel paperweights by modifying: snooker balls, golf balls, cricket balls, pool balls, etc. Get them stocked at
stationers, sports clubs and gift shops.
243. Research, write and publish a series of booklets about how to start and run specific home businesses. Examples of titles
might include: 'Money from Typing at Home', 'Your Own Telephone Sales Business', 'Your Own Knitting Business', etc. Sell by
mail order.
244. Package individual apples, oranges and bananas. Sell through newsagents and other suitable shops.
245. Produce a series of audio cassettes about the crimes of the century. The crimes covered might include: mass murders, bank
robberies, arson and fraud. Sell these cassettes by direct mail, mail order or get them stocked at bookshops and newsagents.
246. Design a log book for the house. This is to record every physical change to a house so a householder can: Analyse costs,
plan future changes and have the feeling of being well organised. Arrange for the log book to be printed and sell by direct mail
to householders.
247. Invent and manufacture cosmetics for plants. These should be designed to bring out or emphasise the natural colour of
plants. Sell you plant cosmetic from ads in gardening magazines or get them displayed by retailers who sell garden products.
248. Design a sport log book so that sport enthusiasts can keep a record of their performance. Get copies printed and sell to
shops or sell from ads in sports magazines.
249. Make a selection of soft toy or fabric luggage tags. For example, a normal luggage tag is accompanied by two small dice
made from soft toy materials. Alternatively make a range of soft toy luggage tags which are designed to act as travel mascots.
250. Make rosettes. Add to each rosette either a calligraphed or printed label which reads 'Cook of the Year', 'Prize Winning
Mother', or 'Dad of the Year'. Have them displayed in local shops.
251. Make soft toy lucky charms. One idea is a giant number seven. Other ideas include: four leaf clovers, horseshoes, rabbits
feet and destiny dice.
252. Start a mobile installation and repair service for all kinds of car lights. Produce a leaflet which lists prices for different jobs.
Deliver the leaflets to houses or stick behind windscreen wipers of cars in your area.
253. Make a selection of soft toy insects. For example: caterpillars, ladybirds, bumblebees and wasps. Package the soft toys and
claim that everyone should have a pet insect.
254. Use clothes pegs to make souvenir ornaments. These might take the form of animals, castles or boats, windmills and many
others. Also design and produce kits so that craftworkers can make their own ornaments from clothes pegs. Sell by mail order.
255. Arrange holiday exchanges between various English speaking nationalities such as English, Scottish, Americans,
Australians and Canadians. You might either provide a personal service which matches people or publish a newsletter listing
people seeking exchanges.
256. Set up a service which gives independent valuations and assessments for those considering the purchase of a particular
expensive antique.
257. Bring out an information package about 'How to Start Your Own Carded Products Business' (ordinary products are
mounted on card for displaying on racks or walls in shops). An information package might consist of cassettes on sales
dialogue, booklets and diagrams about ideas and methods.
258. Design and produce your own badges. These might have designs which feature sports, witty statements, pop stars or
flowers, etc. Mount on specially printed display cards and sell cards to shops.
259. Start a market stall which sells low valued antiques. Obtain stock from either trade sources or buy saleable goods from the
public.
260. Earn money from selling badges at pop concerts, festivals, tourist sites and other places where there are crowds.
261. Put together a mail order service which sells rocks and mineral specimens to collectors. Produce a catalogue which lists a
wide range of minerals and rock specimens. Also include in the catalogue collectors supplies and accessories.
262. Collect a wide range of aerial photographs. These might be high altitude shots of villages, towns or cities. Start a mail order
business which frames and sells these photographs.
263. Slice timber logs and burn letters into the wood to make house name signs. Also varnish them and sell from a stall at special
markets or get examples stocked at retailers who would take orders for you.
264. Produce writing paper which has borders printed with pretty rural scenery or flowers. Get this stocked at stationers and
tourist shops.
265. Bring out a booklet which has a title like "1001 Unusual Facts About Your Town". Discover these facts by reading local
history books and visiting the archives of local newspapers. You could do similar booklets about a variety of towns and
specialise in those which are popular with tourists.
266. Organise the production of concrete or plastic garden gnomes and statues. Have them stocked at garden centres and
retailers who sell garden products.
267. Prepare a correspondence course about how to increase chances at winning at poker, the pools or horse-racing. The course
allows people to develop their skills over a period of time and allows you to charge a reasonable amount of money. Use press
advertising to sell.
268. Add a stand to small cubes of marble and sell as ornaments.
269. Design, produce and distribute T-shirts and sweatshirts which have an astronomical theme. The idea is that people will buy
a T-shirt or sweat shirt that celebrates their star sign. Package them and have them displayed at a wide range of retailers.
270. Prepare astrological readings and charts about family ancestors. Use astrology readings and charts to shed light on
personal characteristics of ancestors. Advertise in genealogy publications.
271. Open a school of creativity. Teach business people about the various techniques of creative thinking such as
brainstorming, lateral thinking, quick think, value analysis, etc. Hold classes or give personal tuition during work hours or lunch
breaks.
272. Produce a series of famous biographical audio cassettes about famous artists, writers, politicians, inventors, film stars, etc.
Sell these through bookshops or start a monthly club.
273. Start a novel sedan chair service in the centre of a tourist town. Carry a tourist on a short tour of the city centre.
274. Set up a horsedrawn minibus service in a tourist town or resort. Provide a short trip around places of interest.
275. Organise outdoor holidays in America. For example, walking or cycling holidays in the Rockies. Sell places on these
holidays to people in Britain and the rest of Europe.
276. Write and publish a booklet about '101 Ideas for Off The Beaten Track Holidays'. Get this publication stocked at bookshops
or sell from classified ads. You might also sell advertising space to firms who organise unusual holidays.
277. Hang low cost, imported leather belts on racks. Get various shops to take a rack of belts.
278. Set up a business which organises weddings. Compile a list of tasks which need to be done to make a wedding successful.
Put together a selection of packages at different prices and sell these to potential clients.
279. Open a stall in an antiques market which sells collectable plates. Buy your stock of plates from manufacturers, wholesalers
and collectors.
280. Devise and produce biblical role playing games. For example, people might take the roles of characters in parables. Arrange
for the games to be manufactured. Sell by post or get them stocked at shops, particularly shops specialising in religion.
281. Start a pen pal club for children and adults who have an interest in literature. Members of the club can write to each other
about books they read. Advertise in literary publications.
282. Produce a library of audio cassettes about the history of world war II. The advantage of these cassettes is that they can
feature the sounds of historic events. Have them stocked at shops which sell books or records or bring out a catalogue and set
up a mail order business.
283. Use low value foreign coins to make unusual pictures. For example, might be either a coin mosaic or a selection of coins
mounted next to each other to make silhouettes of landscapes. Frame the pictures and get them stocked at shops which sell
gifts, coins or souvenirs.
284. Put together an audio cassette course about teach yourself the Welsh language. Sell the course by mail order and get it
stocked at bookshops and souvenir shops throughout Wales.
285. Produce wall-charts which helps individuals and couples manage their financial affairs. A thorough record of expenditure is
made on the wall-chart. The wall-chart helps to make it easy to control finances because it is so visible to all in the household.
286. Create a mail order business which sells drinking accessories and memorabilia, for example, yard-long drinking glasses,
personalised tankards, traditional pub games, collectable beer mats, books about drinking and breweries.
287. Start a service which produces high quality, demonstration audio cassettes for new pop groups. The groups pay for the
production of the cassettes. Your service also distributes copies to people in the music business. Advertise in the music press.
288. Write, produce and sell a correspondence course about inventing for profit. The course would help a person to develop
creative abilities and identifies areas where small inventors get the most patents. A key selling point of your course is that
inventing is both fun and lucrative.
289. Produce a selection of postcards which feature traditional oil paintings of tourist sites. The paintings featured might be
contemporary or historical.
290. Organise the building of reproduction stone monuments. The reasons why anyone might want a reproduction monument
might include: personal gratification, an interest in the occult, to create a tourist site, to attract customers to a business, etc.
291. Manufacture wooden snooker score-boards for professional and amateur players. Try to bring out an inexpensive score-
board which can be sold to players who have a snooker table in their own home.
292. Begin a lesson of the month club for those who want to start a business. Each lesson would be like a monthly newsletter
and would be part of a comprehensive course. The lessons might be about starting a business either in general, or about a
specific type of business such as mail order or retailing.
293. Create a company which designs and manufactures children's kits for : making kaleidoscopes, constructing pinhole
cameras, growing crystals, and other things which demonstrate simple scientific principles. You might include all the projects in
a compendium of basic scientific experiments.
294. Put together a hamper of children's jokes and novelties. In each hamper include many of the products popular with children
such as trick matches, itching powder, plastic spiders, etc. Get small hampers stocked at toy shops and newsagents. Sell larger
hampers by mail order.
295. Begin a woodwork business which makes toys for children which are variations of the traditional rocking horse. For
example, rocking mythical creatures, rocking rafts with a single sail, aeroplanes, UFOs, etc. Sell finished toys or kits through toy
shops or by mail order.
296. Make small and attractive mosaics for hanging on walls like paintings. For example, a mosaic might be circular and feature
the face of a goddess from the ancient world.
297. Sell products related to the game of bridge by mail order. Conduct a world-wide search for products related to bridge.
Produce a catalogue and advertise in up-market national publications.
298. Design and make a selection of gloves for football goalkeepers. Try to add some special feature such as 'extra lightweight',
'extra tough', or 'extra warm'. Have them stocked at sports shops.
299. Use leather fabrics to make pen wallets and pencil cases. Sell the wallets and cases empty or buy pens and pencils at trade
prices and fill the wallets and cases to make the finished product.
300. Set up a mail order business which sells second-hand books. Use your own books for the initial stock. Find further stock
by advertising for both trade source and complete collections from private individuals. Produce lists and place ads in various
magazines.
301. Give tuition to those who want to enlarge their vocabulary. Your advertising material might include a word test similar to
Reader's Digest's 'Test Your Wordpower' and an offer to improve the score.
302. Put together a range of noticeboards for displaying things like: Staff notices, fire instructions, health and safety rules,
productivity figures, etc. Call on businesses to sell the noticeboards and include a free installation service in your offer.
303. If you are an expert on crafts, earn money from teaching it in quite corners or back rooms of shops which sell wools, crafts,
artists materials or picture framing services.
304. Take mechanical things like locks or gears. Cut them in half or remove the outer casing. Mount what you have left to make
unusual ornaments. You might, for example, buy used and obsolete locks and gears from engineering companies.
305. Sell by direct mail to business executives a kit for practising golf putting at the office. One idea for a selling point is that
ordinary workers have a dartboard or snooker table for use during breaks, the executive needs a golf putting kit to mirror his
style.
306. Use lace to make unusual jewellery, such as lace bracelets, lace earrings, brooches and necklaces. Let your imagination run
wild to create the design of each item of jewellery. For example, embed lace in clear plastic.
307. Produce a correspondence course which is designed to improve a persons standard of general knowledge. In your
advertising emphasise that a better life might result from taking the course.
308. Learn and then teach origami. Also, if you have a flair for making artefacts in an interesting way, earn money from doing
origami as entertainment.
309. Select a range of lingerie and sell it by party plan. Once you develop a winning formula, build up your business by
recruiting and training agents to sell your range of products.
310. Start a fishing companion finding service. Take details of when an angler is available, their interests and level of skill. Offer
members of your service various suitable partners. Place ads in angling publications to attract custom.
311. Put together a one-man theatrical show which is pleasant to watch. For example, recite highlights from Shakespeare or the
work of a well-known poet. Perform your show at pubs, offices during the lunch hour, parties and private households.
312. Write and publish a newsletter which deals with most aspects of self-improvement. The newsletter might consist of ideas
for getting ahead and mini courses about self-improvement. Sell subscriptions internationally.
313. Start a thimble of the month club for new and established thimble collectors. Members of the club receive the club's choice
of thimble of the month.
314. Become a professional organiser of private and business parties. You provide clients with a comprehensive service which
does everything from supplying caterers to organising a coat checking service. Advertise your service in a wide variety of
publications.
315. Produce a series of audio cassettes or booklets about the folklore of your region. Have them stocked at local shops.
316. Start a business which organises snooker holidays and weekend breaks. During each holiday or break provide guests with
tuition from a professional snooker player.
317. Organise board game playing holidays and weekend breaks. Guests might play: the latest fashionable board games, etc.
318. Open a market stall which specialises in selling tights and stockings.
319. Start a mail order business which specialises in selling information and plans about cave systems in this country and
abroad. Produce a catalogue about what you have for sale and advertise in potholing and outdoor adventure publications.
320. Buy and sell second hand household goods from local newspaper adverts.
321. Produce an audio cassette or booklet which is about past major crimes in your area. Do research at local libraries and
newspaper archives. Have your products stocked at local shops. You might give your cassette or booklet a title like 'Your
Town's Top 30 Crimes'.
322. Use sliced logs to make letter racks. Slice a log and cut into two semi-circles. Take a semi-circle and stand it on it's straight
side so you have the silhouette of a mound. Cut slots in the rim of the semi-circle, these slots hold the letters.
323. Write and publish a letter about moonlighting. Give subscribers ideas about moonlighting ventures. Also include articles
about subjects such as how to cope with a full-time job, how to manage your income and how to turn a part-time venture into a
full-time business.
324.Organise holidays and weekend breaks for those who want to play at being soldiers in world war II. The games guests play
might involve... pursuit, reaching physical objectives, defending positions, obtaining information, etc.
325. Begin a mail order business which sells boxing memorabilia. Start this business by finding a trade source of boxing films
and videos. Or obtain the rights to reproduce boxing films and videos.
326.Bring out on audio cassettes a library of rude and saucy songs for different team sports. The sports you cove might
include: rugby, cricket, football, basketball and athletics. Arrange for them to be stocked at sports shops.
327. Make wooden badges in the shape of teddy bears, pigs, elephants, etc. Use a fret saw to cut the shapes and add a few
strokes of paint to bring the shapes to life. Mount these badges on a board covered with a fabric. Ask shopkeepers to display
one of the badge covered boards.
328. Start a mail order business which sells comedy audio cassettes. Obtain your stock from comedy audio cassette publishers
in this country and from English speaking countries overseas.
329. Begin a business which organises woodcraft holidays and weekend breaks for those who want to improve and develop
woodworking skills. Advertise in woodworking and crafts magazines.
330. Make Punch and Judy soft toys or dolls. Sell these toys and dolls through seaside shops. Or get Punch and Judy
performers to sell them to patrons.
331. Start a mail order company which sells a wide range of lace. Produce a catalogue which features an illustration of each
design. Advertise in women's and crafts magazines.
332. Arrange for business and personal cards to be printed which show that the holder is a dedicated supporter of a particular
football team. Sell to football fans outside matches or get them stocked at suitable shops.
333. Use a horse and carriage to take tourists on sightseeing tours.
334. Make glass display cases designed to a clients requirements. The display cases might be used for models, stuffed animals
or antiques. Advertise in modelling magazines and build up a list of regular clients.
335. Earn from selling flowers door-to-door. Buy stock from a flower wholesaler or market. Build up a regular base of clients who
you can expect to buy a bunch every week from you.
336. Start a weekly car cleaning and polishing service. Build up a list of clients by calling on households in your area to promote
the service. Employ teenagers, students and fit retired people to do the cleaning and polishing.
337. Set up an enterprise which organises the publishing of vanity poetry books. Poets pay you to have their work published in
a professional manner. Each book might contain the work of one or more poets.
338. Devise 'crack the code' quizzes and sell to newspapers and magazines. One example of this type of quiz is a statement where
the letters of each word are replaced by different letters of the alphabet.
339. Advertise for job lots in local and national publications. See what offers turn up and buy anything you think you can resell
for a profit.
340. Start a service which buries personalised time capsules which contain items of a persons choice. Advertise your service in
up-market publications. Or start a mail order service which sells time capsules to people who want to bury things on their
property.
341. Organise career selection weekends for teenagers. During these weekends teenagers take aptitude tests, receive
counselling and listen to talks about various careers.
342. Begin a business which produces a series of teach yourself karate videos. Or bring out videos for other martial arts
subjects. Sell or hire out these videos by post.
343. Become an astrologer who specialises in producing charts and readings for babies, children and teenagers. You might, for
example, use astrology to provide career advise for teenagers. Do charts and readings by post and also do personal
consultations with parents.
344. Make cardboard cut-outs of animals for children. Each cut-out would be six to nine inches high and consist of a
photograph or drawing of , for example: an elephant, monkey, tiger or dinosaur. These cut-outs might line a shelf. Package them
and sell through shops.
345. Deal in the antiques and memorabilia of an ethnic group. Put together a catalogue which features: history books, videos,
antiques, prints and ephemera. Examples of suitable ethnic groups include: Polish, Italian, West Indian, Scottish, Irish, Native
North American, Indian, etc, etc, etc.
346. Set up a service which reproduces family business and college crests on plaques. These might be carved, painted or
printed on each plaque. Also offer a design service. Advertise in up-market publications.
347. Have a market stall which sells inexpensive toys. Demonstrate toys to attract attention.
348. Create a range of desktop sea-shell products. For example: 1) Place weights inside suitable sea-shells to make paperweights.
2) use odd shaped sea-shells as 'fidget shells' to occupy restless fingers 3) sell sea-shells which have the sound of the sea as
'stress relief shells'.
349. Sell pegs, dishcloths and dusters door-to-door. All you need to do is to buy these goods from a wholesaler, place them in a
shopping basket and you are in business.
350. Design and make fashion clothes which are tailor-made to an individual's tastes. Advertise your service in trendy
publications and place posters in night-clubs.
351. Start a service which specialises in removing and applying wallpaper. Produce a leaflet which both describes your first
class service and lists your prices. Deliver leaflets to households in your area or advertise in the local paper.
352. Take imaginative photographs of landscapes, cityscapes and people. Enlarge the best of these and frame them. Display at
arts and crafts fairs and sell as photographic art.
353. Design and organise the printing of 'for sale' signs for car owners who want to sell their car. These will have a brightly
coloured backing and are placed in the car windows by the owner. Arrange for signs to be stocked at car accessory shops.
354. Sell simple exercise and keep fit devises door-to-door.
355. Design and produce a selection of satirical, political postcards. Sell sets to collectors, retailers and political activists from
ads in political publications.
356. Start a business which designs and manufactures simple basketry kits for beginners. Have them stocked at crafts shops or
sell by mail order in crafts magazines.
357. Reprint classic photographs and set up a mail order business to sell these reprints to amateur and professional
photographers.
358. Carve or burn into wood 'I love you' or 'Happy Birthday' messages. Sell through shops as an alternative to greetings cards.
Or sell them from a stall at crafts fairs and markets.
359. Set yourself up as a freelance photographer by finding an unusual way into the business. One idea is to go to one of the
many gold rushes around the world and do photo studies. Another idea is to visit a war in a third-world country. One good
photo will sell to publications world-wide.
360. Start a business which imports folk music instruments. Many overseas folk music instruments are made by individuals or
small firms who have not considered selling their products in this country. Distribute the imported folk instruments to music
shops or sell by mail order.
361. Produce and sell novelty hate or confession bags. These are like sick bags except people talk or shout into them. They get
something out of their system and consequently feel better.
362. Make a selection of saucy 'warmers' such as nipple warmers, belly-button warmers, bum warmers, willy warmers, etc. Put
each warmer into a plastic bag, staple a card naming the product to each bag. Find shops to stock them.
363. Provide people dressed in unusual costumes for promotions. The costume might be specially designed to suit the
corporate image of the company. Let advertising agencies and public relations departments know about your service.
364. Start a theatrical enterprise which produces Christmas pantomimes. Do everything yourself, including writing the script,
recruiting actors, finding a venue, organising rehearsals, publicity and selling tickets.
365. Put together a correspondence course which teaches people how to play bridge. Call your business a school of bridge.
Advertise in up-market publications.
366. Set up a service which organises theme parties and banquets. The theme of each party might be, for example: medieval,
Wild West or horror. You organise everything for the evening, such as the music, entertainers, costumes, props, waiting staff,
food, cutlery, etc.
367. Establish a mail order company which sells jokes and tricks. Bring out your own mail order catalogue and build up a list of
regular customers. Your catalogue might specialise in one sector of the market such as women's or X-rated jokes or tricks.
368. Start a business which produces and sells video pets. A person buys a video about a cat or a dog and this acts as a mild
substitute for the real thing. The advantages include: no feeding, no smell or hairs around the home, and no looking after or
taking out for a walk.
369. Manufacture mosaic garden ornaments. These ornaments feature a mosaic picture in the design. They might include mosaic
stepping stones, mosaic bird baths and mosaic sundials. A mosaic ornament adds to a garden a touch of the ancient world.
370. Start a publishing business which produces a guide to unusual products, services or shops. Sell by mail order or through
bookshops. Also sell advertising space to some of the firms listed in your guide.
371. Start a special effects rental service. Hire out machines which make bubbles, wind, fog, falling snow or flashing lights. Your
custom will come from private parties, night-clubs, theatres, pop groups and film companies. Also, if required, provide a person
to operate the machines.
372. Open a school for hostessing. If a woman does hostessing at home she might as well learn to do it properly at your school.
Advertise in up-market publications and provide students with a thorough, first class training in being a hostess.
373. Set up an agency which specialises in providing attractive men and women for sales and reception work at business
promotions, conferences and exhibitions.
374. Be a success consultant. Earn an income from giving advice on how people can achieve success. Start by reaching a clear
definition of what a client means by success. Do an assessment of clients strengths and weaknesses and suggest, for example,
a program of changes in approach and career.
375. Rent out stuffed and mounted birds, fish and other animals. Your clients might include: restaurants, breweries, clubs, travel
agents and other businesses with reception areas.
376. Publish a book which lists recipes for making nutritious dog food and biscuits. Sell to discerning dog owners through dog
magazines, pet shops and bookstores.
377. Produce a selection of audio cassettes which feature X-rated poems. Write them yourself or pay poets to write them for
you. Produce a catalogue and start a mail order business.
378. Learn how to catch and eradicate rodents. When your skill reaches a high standard, go into business for yourself. Get a
listing for your services in the Yellow Pages.
379. Set up a business which invents toys for pets. Most cat owners love to use cotton, wool, string or paper to play games
with their pets. This shows a gap in the market exists. A toy which proves popular with cats has huge sales potential. Also,
there is always room for a good new toy for dogs.
380. Produce prints of horses and horse racing. These might be reproduced in a catalogue and sold by direct mail to horse
lovers. Also offer trade discounts for quantities of prints.
381. Put together an educational pack which contains samples of many types of wood. Use direct mail to sell this educational
pack to woodworkers, schools and colleges.
382. Make, mount and frame models of butterflies. The wings are either hand painted or printed. The body of the butterfly might
be made of casting metal. The finished model butterflies may be sold through gift or souvenir shops.
383. Use logs to make a range of rustic bird tables, nesting compartments and feeders. Have your products stocked at hardware
shops and garden centres.
384. Design your own unique brand of cat scratch posts. For example, if you have a cat which scratches an armchair or wall,
base your design on this. Make, package and distribute your scratch posts to suitable retailers or sell by post.
385. Start a rent-a-horse or pony business. Horse riders, instead of keeping their own horse or pony, rent one from you.
386. Begin a service which provides and releases doves for wedding celebrations and other special occasions.
387. Set up a dog obedience school. Provide residential courses for owners and their dogs. Also hold courses which teach
others to become dog obedience teachers. Advertise in both dog and up-market magazines.
388. Begin an enterprise which organises day trips to race-courses. You might, for example, set up a service which leaves a city
centre at a regular time each day and travels to one of the race-courses open on that day.
389. Deal in antique and reproduction dolls, and dolls houses. Build up relationships with collectors so that you know where to
sell any new items that you acquire. Also produce a mail order catalogue of reproduction dolls.
390. Write and publish a manual about how to start a profitable antiques market stall. Sell by mail order to opportunity seekers.
391. Produce and distribute a video encyclopaedia. A video encyclopaedia consists of a series of film clips with very little
description. All the film clips might relate to one subject such as cars, trains, ships, or aeroplanes. The clips might appear in
alphabetical or chronological order.
392. Design a log book for cooks. In this log book a cook records what recipes were tested and comments on the result. Pay to
have the log book printed and sell from ads in women's magazines.
393. Set up a production line which sells besom brooms. The brush part of the broom is made from twigs. Obtain your supply of
twigs from the waste material produced by tree surgeons. Get your brooms stocked at garden centres and hardware shops.
394. Organise staff suggestion schemes for businesses. Conduct your own research to discover which type of suggestion
scheme is the most effective. Then sell your service to businesses.
395. Start a mail order business which sells books and products related to the great composers. Conduct a world-wide search for
products to include in your catalogue. Advertise in classical music magazines.
396. Start a newspaper clipping bureau. Do work for firms who want a comprehensive collection of press clippings about news
and developments in their field. Have leaflets printed about your service and sent them to firms. As an incentive offer firms a
free trial period.
397. Invent and design magnetic toys for children or adults. Ideas for toys include: magnetic building blocks, magnetic picture
kits, magnetic puzzles, etc. Pay a manufacturer to make the toys. Get your toys stocked by wholesalers, gift shops and toy
shops.
398. Start a top 20 chart for witty and arty T-shirts. Distribute copies of the chart and the top 20 T-shirts to a wide range of
retailers.
399. Open and run a school of money-management. Give tuition to classes and solo students. Teach students about the
techniques, attitudes and systems which can be used for the effective management of money. Students should find the cost of
your course more than pays for itself.
400. Set up a postal business which offers people the chance to do all sorts of tests. Examples of tests might include: IQ,
creativity, suitability to be a shop owner or entrepreneur, personality, etc. Pay experts to devise and write the tests for you.
401.Start a dining agency for single people. Match single people and arrange for them to have dinner dates. Or organise dinner
parties for mixed groups. Use ads in local newspapers and singles magazines.
402. Bring out a selection of men's rings which feature the name or emblem of popular football teams.
403. Produce a publication which consists entirely of advertisements from sellers of craftwork and craft equipment and supplies.
This publication might be like a catalogue, but instead of displaying the goods of one seller, it contains ads from hundreds of
different sellers.
404. Start an international advertising publication for philatelists. Provide dealers and collectors with an international dimension
to their sales efforts and search for stamps.
405. Set up a firm which provides tours of the underside of a big city. Your tour might visit: streets where prostitutes and drug
dealers wait for clients, skid row, a main rubbish tip, crime-ridden neighbourhoods, etc. Give your tour a name like 'Shocking
side of the city'.
406. Produce souvenir pillowcases. Each pillowcase might be printed with pictures of tourist scenery. Souvenir pillowcases
have the novel feature that they help a person to relax and sleep because the pictures prompt a person to think of pleasant
holiday locations.
407. Begin a mail order business which sells football videos, photographs, postcards, posters and slides. Advertise in football
magazines and programmes.
408. Assemble sets of fossils. These might be based on a type of animal, for example, insects or fish. Or organise them
according to particular geological periods. Sell to collectors and schools.
409. Start a children's telephone pal club. Pen pal clubs help children develop their writing ability, this club helps them to
become accustomed to using the telephone. Each member receives introductory notes about the interests of the child he or she
will shortly speak to.
410. Locate a source of firewood for stoves and open fires. Start a business which either packages the wood for distribution to
retailers or deliver the wood direct to customers.
411. Start a semi-professional theatre group which earns money from performing at private parties, business promotions, tourist
sites and public events.
412. Begin a crafts business which incorporates a barometer, digital clock, calendar and thermometer into a single framed
picture. For example, these might be a picture of an aircraft cockpit or cityscape and set among the dials or skyscraper is the
barometer, clock, etc.
413. Bring out leather and plastic belts and holsters for holding personal stereos. Arrange for these belts and holsters to be
stocked at shops which sell records and audio equipment.
414. Sell pillowcases printed with amusing designs and statements relating to popular themes, such as football, romance and
sex. For example, one amusing design might be related to the Kama Sutra and a witty statement might be 'The centre forward of
Liverpool and a score every time'.
415. Produce photographs about one inch square of the human eye. Frame each photograph. Sell each framed eye as a novelty
for sticking on a wall or door. This novelty can be unnerving because it creates the impression that someone is watching
through a hole in the wall or door.
416. Manufacture wooden TV caddies for holding an ashtray, drink, sandwiches, TV programmes schedule, Kleenex, etc. A TV
caddie might consist of an upright plank of wood with several shelves.
417. Begin a business which invents, produces and distributes role-playing board games. This field is not as competitive as
other board games and if a game can gain a reputation role-playing game enthusiasts will be willing buyers.
418. Devise role-playing games which can be played by post. For example, someone has to plan an expedition or business
venture and he or she receives feedback by post. Set up a postal role-playing games club and charge members a fee for each
game they participate in.
419. Design a standard notepad for ordering extra goods from the milkman. The notepad should have spaces for house number,
date and the customers name. The rest of the notepad might consist of a list of goods which can be ticked. Get your notepads
stocked at stationers or sell them to dairies who may be willing to give them free to their customers.
420. Put together a company which publishes the bible on video cassettes. Each cassette might be devoted to a different book
of the bible. The bible might be presented by readers juxtaposed with illustrations.
421. Start an interior decoration business which specialises in Tudor. Your service might include fitting ornamental oak beams
and providing iron and brass wall ornaments. Put together a sales presentation and advertise in up-market magazines.
422. Create a mail order business which sell sensory exploration kits for young children. Make many of the kits yourself. For
example, one kit might consist of a wide range of colours on different cards, another might have a wide range of rough and
smooth materials.
423. Earn money from selling house numbers and name signs door-to-door. Houses often have rusty, old or difficult to see
numbers. This presents an excellent opportunity for a direct sales business.
424. Set up your own furniture removals business. Start by hiring a van to do the removals and if business proves promising,
buy your own van.
425. Found a trade publication for publishers of audio cassettes. This publication should give the latest news about this
industry. Also accept ads from businesses who want to sell products to audio cassette publishers.
426. Write and publish an annual directory about 'penny shares'. The purpose is to examine the performance of penny shares
companies over the past year. Sell by direct mail to investors, have stocked in bookshops and advertise in investment
magazines.
427. Start a school of stock market investment. With the number of shareholders growing there is a growing demand for tuition
about investing in the stock market. Hold classes at home and in hired offices and halls. Also do a correspondence course or a
lesson of the month newsletter.
428. Produce 'add-one' plays on audio cassettes for amateur actors and actresses. A play is produced and a gap is left in the
dialogue for a listener to read the line of a character. A printed copy of the play is provided with each cassette.
429. Sell ideas and recipes for making unusual cakes. For example cakes shaped like: cars, UFOs, trains, ships, famous
landmarks, etc. For each design produce a folded page, like a knitting pattern. Sell these printed patterns through outlets which
sell cake decorations.
430. Make pendants from sea-shells. Use gold paint to highlight the features of each shell. Or use ordinary paints for pictures or
patterns on each shell. Sell through gift or souvenir shops or from a market stall.
431. Seek out the most powerful magnifying glass in the world. Buy numerous of these at trade prices and start a mail order
business with your product as the 'World's Most Powerful Pocket Magnifying Glass'.
432. Write and publish a newsletter for those who want to make money with their photographic or video camera. In each issue
give a detailed description of a selected enterprise. Also provide subscribers with other money making ideas and news and tips
about photography and video making.
433. Set up a mail order business which sells gold chain by the inch. Use creative advertising to put across your sales message.
434. Bring out your own mail order catalogue which is devoted to enamelling craft equipment and supplies. You can commission
manufacturers to make many of the supplies.
435. Place racks of bead necklaces at a wide range of shops. Buy the bead necklaces from importers and mount them on the
racks yourself.
436. Write and publish a manual about how to make money from buying bankrupt stock. Sell this to business opportunity
seekers by direct mail or classified ads.
437. Sell figure improving aids and techniques by mail order. For example, you might sell exercise programmes, or products
which help to remove tummy bulges or excess fat on legs.
438. Design and manufacture kits for making moccasins. These kits could be the basis of a mail order business. Advertise in
publications read by young adults and craft magazines.
439. Write and publish a series of manuals about starting and running a variety of crafts businesses. Examples of crafts covered
might include: leatherwork, soft toy making, pottery, woodcarving, and eggcrafts. Sell through classified ads or have stocked in
craft shops.
440. Start a business which specialises in writing sales letters. Call on small businesses to sell your service and show samples of
your work. Your service should be good enough to improve the sales pull of almost any sales letter a firm already has.
441. Start a bookplates of the month club for both established collectors and for people who would like to take up a new
collecting hobby. The bread and butter work of this club would involve sending newly issued bookplates to club members.
442. Invent and develop a programme which is designed to turn a failure into a successful person. The programme might take
the form of a series of booklets, loose-leaf binders of information, or a correspondence course. Sell your programme from ads in
newspapers and magazines.
443. Bring out a range of cake decorations which have a football theme. Use these as the basis of a mail order business, or get
them stocked by wholesalers of cake decorations.
444. Take top quality photographs of historic and well-known buildings in your town or region. Select the best photographs
and have these printed on writing paper and envelopes. The idea is that tourists will use this stationery to write home. Also do
the same for other towns or regions.
445. Design a range of first name self-adhesive stickers for children to put on their books or toys. Sell through toy shops and
newsagents.
446. Bring out a cataloguing system for book buyers to use at home. For example, have a card index with pre-printed cards. The
cards have printed on them: spaces for the name of the author, the book title, etc. Also include self-adhesive numbers. Sell your
card index system through bookshops.
447. Start a school of crossword puzzles. Provide tuition for people who want to either, improve their crossword skills or earn
money from devising crosswords. Give tuition during the evenings and weekends. Also bring out correspondence courses on
how to do and how to devise crossword puzzles.
448. Begin a word and phrase origin finding service. This service would be invaluable to academics, lecturers, authors and all
others curious about the origin of words and phrases.
449. Produce a correspondence course about how to write biography. Biography publishing is one of the largest sectors of the
book industry.
450. Bring out a selection of computer programs which can be sold as a business opportunity. For example, one program might
be for starting a computerised dating agency, another for writing a newsletter or classified ad sheet, a third for starting a
computerised marketplace.
451. Set up a business which sends British comics to both expatriates and overseas collectors of British comics. You might send
comics on a weekly basis as they are published, save them up and post every quarter or advertise world-wide offering a sample
of British comics.
452. Start a newsletter for role-playing game enthusiasts. In each issue give subscribers: tips about how to win games, review
new games, act as a forum for discussion about games. Sell space to display and classified advertisers.
453. Produce a series of Whodunit audio cassettes. Get your cassettes stocked at bookshops and build up a reputation for
producing the best whodunit cassettes. Alternatively, produce a series of X-rated whodunit cassettes. They can be sold by mail
order.
454. Publish a booklet which provides a lengthy list of mottos for use by: societies, clubs, institutions, families and individuals.
Have the booklet stocked at shops. Also start a postal service which devises mottos. Use a page in the booklet to advertise
your postal service.
455. Provide yourself with a regular income by selling odd and unusual facts to all kinds of publications. For example, sell
financial facts to financial magazines, football facts to football programme publishers, photography facts to photography
magazines, etc.
456. Bring out a series of booklets or cassettes about how to get rid of, or escape the attentions of various types of people such
as: unsatisfactory employers, salesmen, bores, fools, unwanted admirers, officials, etc. Sell the booklets or cassettes as a
complete set by mail order or through bookshops.
457. Produce and distribute an audio cassette library of fairy tales. Put together a comprehensive collection of fairy tales. Sell by
post as a complete library or start a monthly club. Advertise in women's magazines.
458. Make kitchen wall-pouches from either leather or fabrics. Each pouch is for holding money-off coupons, shopping lists and
other bits of paper which are worth keeping. Find retailers to stock your wall-pouches.
459. Start a universal correspondence club. This club should be able to boast that it can find someone to correspond about any
subject. Produce a leaflet about your club and list many subjects. Recruit club members by placing classified ads in a diversity
of publications at home and abroad.
460. Start a service for newsletter publishers. This might include: handling back issues, enveloping and mailing issues to
subscribers, and selling advertising space.
461. Begin a postal service which hires out or sells Welsh or Gaelic spoken word audio cassettes and videos. If you have a
knowledge of either language, produce many of the cassettes yourself.
462. Publish a newsletter about the changing English language. The contents would provide information about new words and
meanings. Sell subscriptions to writers, academics, advertising agencies and others who might be interested in new words.
463. Give tuition in your own home to those who want to improve their spoken English. There is a vast pool of clients as most
people would like to become more articulate. Use local advertising to attract students.
464. Publish a newsletter for separated and divorced people. Discuss issues relevant to being separate or divorced. Also
include classified listings of people who are looking for new partners.
465. Commission an artist to do a contemporary map of your town or region in the style of maps from antiquity. Produce and
frame prints of this map. Distribute to shops throughout the region.
466. Invest in a course of singing lessons. If others find your voice pleasing to listen to earn money from singing at pubs and
clubs.
467. Begin a mail order business which sells stencil craft. Make stencils which can be used by woodworkers, for example, to add
attractive designs to their work. A stencil might depict flowers and a woodworker would use paint or ink to imprint the design
onto their work.
468. Become a street or market craftworker. Sit at a stall making, for example, ornaments from wire or shells. Display the goods
you make on your stall. The act of making the ornaments attracts the curiosity of passers-by. This should result in a respectable
level of sales.
469. Buy and rent out steam wallpaper removing machines. Start with one fairly cheap model bought from your local DIY
superstore and build up a collection.
470. Start a general problem solving service for personal affairs. This service acts like a private agony aunt. An expert is
provided to deal with the problem your client is trying to solve. The expert might give advice by telephone, by post or in
person.
471. Learn the art of making stained glass windows. Use your newly acquired skills to earn money from: 1) Teaching people in
your own home, 2) Holding courses at bed and breakfast houses out of season, 3) holding classes in a quiet corner or back
room of an arts and crafts shop.
472. Start an agency which supplies entertainers to pubs, restaurants and wine bars. The entertainers might include disc
jockeys, musicians, singers and strip-tease artists. Visit a lawyer to find what legal requirements you must satisfy. Advertise for
entertainers to put on your books, then advertise for business.
473. Make low budget promotional videos for pop groups and solo artists who are just starting out. Advertise your service at
music shops and in the music press. When you receive an enquiry, give the potential client a persuasive sales presentation.
474. Design Christmas sleigh bells for cars. These bells are attached to the exterior of a car. The motion of the car causes the
bells to ring, just like sleigh bells. During the Christmas period these bells should add a pleasant seasonal flavour to cars.
475. Bring out a correspondence course which teaches people how to be a consultant. This course should deal with every
aspect of setting up a successful consultancy.
476. Put together a mail order catalogue of spoken word audio cassettes. Canvass audio cassette publishers to see how they
can be of help to you. Place as many audio cassette titles in this catalogue as possible to give potential customers the widest
possible choice.
477. Begin a business which hires out second-hand pin-ball machines and computer arcade games to householders. These
machines might also be hired out by the night to private parties.
478. Start a children's record or audio cassette of the month club. The records and cassettes sold by the club might be
educational, stories or music.
479. Begin a service which produces newsletters for pop group fan clubs. Devise a method for producing a reasonable
newsletter at low cost. Sell your service to fan clubs. An important part of this business is that it gives a lot of scope for the
selling of advertising space.
480. Produce vanity poetry audio cassettes or videos. Pay a celebrity to read a poet's work to a video camera, or make a
recording on audio tape. Your service might also include producing copies of the recording on audio or video cassettes for
distribution.
481. Write booklets or produce audio cassettes about different aspects of making a career in the music business. For example:
'How to be an independent record producer', 'How to get a recording contract', 'How to form your own group', etc. Use small ads
in the music press to attract buyers.
482. Stain sawdust with different colours of ink. Fill clear bottles and jars with the coloured sawdust so that attractive patterns
are made. Also pictures can be built up on the sides of bottles if different colours are carefully arranged. Sell as souvenirs or
ornaments.
483. Open a television and video school. Organise practical courses in television and video production. Buy a second-hand
closed circuit television system, rent or lease a hall and use this as the premises of the school.
484. Start a music tuition agency. Offer to tutor potential students in popular musical instruments. Call your agency a school of
music. Start by using advertising to recruit both part-time tutors and pupils.
485. Begin a business which organises trips to rock and pop concerts, and football and rugby matches. Your service obtains the
tickets and provides a coach or mini-bus to take fans to the venue.
486. Design and make fashionable clothes for children. You might sell them direct or through agents at party plan.
487. Use soft toy materials to make a puppet-like toy which gives children their medicine. A small soft toy has a clip attached to
one hand. A parent puts the spoonful of medicine into the clip and controls the hand so that it appears that the puppet is giving
the medicine. Sell by mail order through ads in women's magazines.
488. Make household hall letterboards. A board is criss-crossed with coloured elastic. Letters are slipped behind this elastic and
thus easily displayed. Have them stocked at stationers and gift shops. Or sell by mail order.
489. Use wood to make desktop stands for holding reference books such as dictionaries, trade directories, map books and
telephone directories. Have these stocked at bookshops and stationers or sell by mail order.
490. Learn machine knitting. Once your skill has reached a high standard, earn money from teaching others to use knitting
machines. Teach people in your own home or theirs.
491. Make energy saving 'sausages'. Fill a sausage shaped bag with sand so that it can be placed against a draughty door or
window. Sell door-to-door or have them sold in hardware shops. Also sell kits by mail order.
492. Design and make old fashioned country curtains. Display your curtains on a roadside stall near a busy shopping centre in a
similar fashion to the way double-glazing or shower firms sometimes display their products.
493. Set up a mail order business which serves the gay community. In your catalogue include suitable: Books, audio cassettes,
videos, novelty products, posters, contact adverts section, etc.
494. Begin a service which organises the production of wall hanging tapestries to commission. Sell your service to businesses
which might want a tapestry of their logo, for example, hanging in a reception area. Or do a 1066 style tapestry representing
business achievements.
495. Manufacture Australian cork hats. These hats might be a cheap novelty version of the real thing. Sell these cork hats
through shops which sell novelties, souvenirs or gifts. Or import real cork hats from Australia and use ads in magazines to sell
these by mail order.
496. Bring out a range of T-shirts to distribute to bookshops, record-shops, computing shops, gift shops or newsagents. The
design on the T-shirts might be aimed at the customers of the shops they appear in, for example, a literary theme for bookshops.
497. Have an undergarments market stall and sell: men's underwear, socks, tights, stockings, fancy lingerie, long johns, etc.
498. Produce magnetic perpetual calendars. A strip of metal is printed with day numbers and the names of months. Two
magnetic markers are used to indicate the date.
499. Design and manufacture kits for making clothes. The kits might be aimed at those who have basic sewing skills, but would
need a kit if they want to make something a bit more complex. Produce a catalogue about your kits and advertise in women's
magazines.
500. Start a scarf club. Each month or quarter club members automatically receive one of the latest fashionable scarves selected
by the club. Your club might have a single annual membership charge. Membership would make an ideal gift.