You can start your own business. Jot down ideas that interest you, pick one and research it on the internet.
Not being smart but this is so stupid. If I had a nickle for every time someone has told me "just start your own business" I would be rich. Starting your own business is not that easy. I have been looking for a job for over 3 years now and any time I mention it at least one person says "oh just start your own business" or if I say I am not happy with my current job then it's "just start your own business". IF it were that easy then everyone would have their own business and sit at home and make all kinds of money doing basically nothing. And no, I am not calling YOU stupid. I just think that is an insane comment. I guess mostly because I get tired of people telling me that's what I need to do when it's not possible. At least not for me.
Not to be mean Countrygirl...
Starting a business is not that hard - really it isn't.
With that said, it's the running of the business - advertising, marketing, etc... that trips people up. If you have no business/marketing skills you're gonna have a hard time being profitable.
So, yeah, running a business and making money with it can be hard if you don't know what you're doing and if you don't have the right kind of business traits - go-getter, ambition, self-reliance, determination, etc... It all goes hand in hand.
For example....
Just about every holiday, Easter, Mother's Day, etc... I see people set up shop on street corners and sell gift baskets for that themed holiday.
When they have a family night downtown - I see people selling those glow-in-the-dark necklaces, bracelets that kids love so much. I know at least one place where you can buy them wholesale for literally cents and re-sell them for three bucks or more.
You could even start a virtual assistant business and take on real estate agents as clients. You could handle their social media accounts, do mailings for them etc...
There are people who go to garage sales, estate sales and find stuff that they could sell on eBay/Amazon and make pretty good money doing that. Books believe it or not, are a hot commodity especially ones that are hard to find. You could have an Amazon/eBay account open in minutes.
People recommend starting a business because the Internet has made it so darn easy to do and there's little to no overhead. If you have any skills or hobbies that can be turned into a business, you're one step ahead of most people.
The point I'm making is that you can start any kind of business -as long as there is a demand for what you're selling. You don't want to over think it -which is what a lot of people do.
With all these said, some people are just not cut out for business - and that's ok.
We're all different.
However, it's good to always have a back-up money plan (a Plan B) in case you lose your job or your spouse does. I was laid off too a long time ago and it was horrible because I was ill prepared.
I encourage anyone who's looking to make more money (than what they're getting doing surveys), to begin exploring a side business. Begin by educating yourself first and foremost and spend just 30 minutes a day to that effort.
That's all I gotta say.
When you say "start your own business" I do not think we are talking about the same thing. I do not call yard sales having your own business. And it also depends on where you live. Where I live we don't have "family nights" down town. And also where I live you can't make random gift baskets and set up on the side of the road some where. And again, I do not call that having your own business. When somebody says "start your own business" I think of a legit business. Not random working for myself doing something like running errands or walking dogs.
I have also figured out, mostly from discussions on here, that a lot of people say they "work online" and in reality all they do is sites like this. They make a little money taking surveys and call that working online. A lot of these same people are drawing a government check so making a little money on the side doing surveys is all they need because they have that big check coming in every month.
So having said that, I guess I have my own business aside from my real job. I do on occasion feed my neighbors dog and get paid for it. I do surveys online and get paid (most of the time lol) for that.
But starting a REAL business where you have a business license, pay taxes, and actually make real money is not as easy as just waking up one day and saying oh gonna work for myself from now on.
You are correct in if you are crafty and have something people want to buy you can easily sell that online. I know people who have done that. But they aren't real smart. I know a girl who sold key chains and was like I made $1500 in one week. But she did not take off her supplies or time so in reality she did not really MAKE $1500.