bookkeeping is a good one (its what i do) also landscaping such as mowing lawns. In another thread that I wrote...im looking into the area of sports agent. Hope that helps or at least gives you some ideas.
Ive always though this would be good business: Mobile car wash (detailers that come to your house or work and detail your car there) Key to starting a business: Don't be afraid to fail.
There's a guy that does this in the Dallas area. He uses Zaino car polish (you know what that is if you're a car/show car lover as it has its own cult following). He charges anywhere from $85-$150+ per vehicle to do this. He does some rather expensive vehicles (lambos, porsches, aston martins, etc.). He used to be a web developer and turned to doing this. Check out www.zainomobiledetail.com. I'm also looking to do something either "on the side" or on my own now that working in IT has bored me. I've had a former manager start a woodworking shop and another manager start a pretzel shop and chicken wing store. They're both having fun.
law practice...i'm serious you're major investment is in your own education, which you can turn around and sell to employers if your practice doesn't work out. you don't carry inventory because you're billing time... only real investment past that is computer...office space..phones..etc...and there are attorneys who do quite well practicing out of their homes, primarily...or even modest office space.
Here's an idea I had (I have a ton)... combination auto shop/driving range/sports bar/haircut... Men go to this large facility. They drop off their car for simple maintenance (inspection, oil change, cleaning/detailing, etc. - no heavy work). While the car is being serviced, he hits a bucket of balls on the driving range. Or, he gets a haircut. Or, he hangs out in the sports bar. When he first arrives, he uses a magnetic strip card to apply his charges from area to area, and when he leaves, the the card is swiped to determine how much he owes. That would also allow the three areas to work independantly (like if he just wants to hit a bucket of balls). I wish I knew of a way to get some of my business ideas started - I have a bazillion of great business startup ideas, but I can't quit my full-time job to pursue 'em, I don't have enough capital to throw at it, and I'm afraid to bring in someone else who would might have controlling interest and take the business away from me. -- droxford
I had a pretty good idea for a small home business, which I think could help me to earn millions during college, but since I don't want anyone to steal my idea, I should not get it on to the bbs
I was going to try to start a creative boutique ad agency at one point with some of the people I went to school with. I figured I could use that to supplement the moviemaking thing and fill up the in-between times of that, since it's a related business. I even figured we could handle the television and radio ad production and bring it in at a price lower than what most folks charge since we wouldn't have to outsource the actual producing and directing of the spots since part of my plan was to buy HiDef camera and editing equipment, etc (which I could then also use on my movie stuff). I also figured it would be a touch easier to raise funds for a going concern like an ad agency than for a one-shot movie that could fail and have no other potential to repay the investors. I even went so far as to come up with a name for the agency and design a logo: But I never followed through with it, mostly because it didn't seem like the people I wanted to go in with were all that passionate about having to build an agency, so it was falling to me to get most of the work done. But I didn't want to go in all alone, either.