UncleLim:

Hi concern2, good points.


Possible to do at home does not mean every parent at home can do it. You are spot on there. There will still be a trade-off. Attention otherwise directed at the children's welfare will be focused on tasks at hand to deal with customers, online presence, payments, suppliers etc etc. Sometimes, when kids get sick or marital problems surface, the home-based business can suffer or even collapse.

Do home-based workers or businesses pose a competition to the real-world kind out there offering the same services? Yes and No. Home-based businesses are generally priced lower. This translate into cost savings for the client. But the client is also aware of the constraints of this type of business and sometimes use a mix of vendors. The critical or larger sized projects are usually given to SMEs or MNCs.

What makes a \"comfortable\" living is subjective. If you have a spouse who is already bringing in the bread and butter. The desserts you earn is comfortable. For some, like my hi-tech friend mentioned in my earlier post, \"comfortable\" will have to be a lot more as his wife is not working.

Some home-based businesses do grow and in time, require a real office or shop or factory. Some stay home-based forever. In any case, home is a good place to start.

pojo:

Uncle Lim raised some useful suggestions.


From what concern2 wrote, one obvious \"job\" SAHP can do is to provide the childcare or baby sitting service. This will also help other SAHP to take on jobs which require outside meetings.

UncleLim:

In the past, when sewing was a cottage industry in Singapore, it was possible for many lowly or un-educated women to make a small living in a HDB flat and looking after their children at the same time. My mother was one of them. The factory van will deliver the ready-cut cloth to your block. After a few days, when the sewing is done, call them and the van man will come back to collect the completed clothing. These seamstresses earn peanuts and had to keep on sewing day and night. But it helped to put food on the table and buy our school books.


Sewing is no longer a key industry now. Intensive labour is out for most of us because we not longer accept $150 as a reasonable monthly pay. But many women are also more educated and hence can do outsourced tasked that require more intellect. Some trades these days that can be successfully run from home include:

- Part time writing and editing for periodicals and magazines
- Telemarketing
- Recruitment
- Web design and photography
- Consultancy (whatever it means)
- Operating an online or blog shop
- Freelance book keeping (this requires going to clients' offices at times)
- Forex/Equity/Index/Options-etc trading for yourself and your family/friends

I recently met an old friend who transformed one of his bedrooms into a robotics research lab ! He is a tech wizard and makes machines and kiosks for exhibitions. He is one of the rare people who I see making a very comfortable living from home.

Oppsgal:

concern2:

[quote=\"Oppsgal\"]Actually is a good idea if interested parents just pool the resources, talents to start an online business, with little capital. As long not too much risks, and have limited liability (lost only the amount spent).


Can also spend more time with kids. No need OT. No bad boss.

Good idea. But sell what and do what?

When I was a kid, I remember seeing my aunts sewing and making umbrellas. Maybe cos things are so much cheaper to import these days, and there are no manufacturers of umbrellas in Singapore anymore. But I don't think some parents will mind doing a bit of labour intensive job to make extra pocket money, at the same time looking after their kids . There's no need to concentrate so can attend to kids as and when, unlike things that require computer, for instance. Kids are curious and they often want to see and learn what parents are doing. When they crowd around you even when you are reading emails and KSP, it is difficult to get things done. I remember watching my aunts sew umbrellas, and thinking to myself - I could do that too...

Anyway, I'm not saying SAHM should start sewing umbrellas, but perhaps not totally shutting out labour intensive stuff that manufacturers can get SAHM to do - come around HDB to distribute materials and collect at set schedules... - other than having SAHM to sell things which they may not like to do...

indigoblue:

concern2:

[quote=\"Oppsgal\"]Actually is a good idea if interested parents just pool the resources, talents to start an online business, with little capital. As long not too much risks, and have limited liability (lost only the amount spent).


Can also spend more time with kids. No need OT. No bad boss.

Anyway, I'm not saying SAHM should start sewing umbrellas, but perhaps not totally shutting out labour intensive stuff that manufacturers can get SAHM to do - come around HDB to distribute materials and collect at set schedules... - other than having SAHM to sell things which they may not like to do...

concern2:

Oppsgal:

Actually is a good idea if interested parents just pool the resources, talents to start an online business, with little capital. As long not too much risks, and have limited liability (lost only the amount spent).


Can also spend more time with kids. No need OT. No bad boss.

Anyway, I'm not saying SAHM should start sewing umbrellas, but perhaps not totally shutting out labour intensive stuff that manufacturers can get SAHM to do - come around HDB to distribute materials and collect at set schedules... - other than having SAHM to sell things which they may not like to do...

concern2:

Oppsgal:

Actually is a good idea if interested parents just pool the resources, talents to start an online business, with little capital. As long not too much risks, and have limited liability (lost only the amount spent).


Can also spend more time with kids. No need OT. No bad boss.

Good idea. But sell what and do what?

When I was a kid, I remember seeing my aunts sewing and making umbrellas. Maybe cos things are so much cheaper to import these days, and there are no manufacturers of umbrellas in Singapore anymore. But I don't think some parents will mind doing a bit of labour intensive job to make extra pocket money, at the same time looking after their kids . There's no need to concentrate so can attend to kids as and when, unlike things that require computer, for instance. Kids are curious and they often want to see and learn what parents are doing. When they crowd around you even when you are reading emails and KSP, it is difficult to get things done. I remember watching my aunts sew umbrellas, and thinking to myself - I could do that too...

Anyway, I'm not saying SAHM should start sewing umbrellas, but perhaps not totally shutting out labour intensive stuff that manufacturers can get SAHM to do - come around HDB to distribute materials and collect at set schedules... - other than having SAHM to sell things which they may not like to do...

Oppsgal:

Actually is a good idea if interested parents just pool the resources, talents to start an online business, with little capital. As long not too much risks, and have limited liability (lost only the amount spent).


Can also spend more time with kids. No need OT. No bad boss.

pojo:

UncleLim:

[quote=\"pojo\"]I think the more accurate question is: \"What is your passion?\" If someone's passion is say collecting something, then the person has a better chance of putting up a blog, wrriting about his or her passion and concurrently sell those items to those visiting the website. Chances of success are therefore much higher.

pojo, you are absolutely passion helps. But strangely while we all think we are unique and special (well, to a degree), we all actually end up looking the same. We take photographs of our children, we blog about our travels and the food we tried at this restaurant or that cafe, we review a new gadget or a piece of furniture. So, in the end, none of us really stand out.

sssdarlings:

What about co-op for mothers/ parents? This idea was brought up sometime ago, in the papers??


Since there are a number of us keen to work from home, can pool resources/ talents together and offer something 'in demand'?

UncleLim:

pojo:

I think the more accurate question is: \"What is your passion?\" If someone's passion is say collecting something, then the person has a better chance of putting up a blog, wrriting about his or her passion and concurrently sell those items to those visiting the website. Chances of success are therefore much higher.

pojo, you are absolutely passion helps. But strangely while we all think we are unique and special (well, to a degree), we all actually end up looking the same. We take photographs of our children, we blog about our travels and the food we tried at this restaurant or that cafe, we review a new gadget or a piece of furniture. So, in the end, none of us really stand out.

UncleLim:

concern2:

The question is: What to sell?

Decades ago, it was a big big thing to get an \"agency\" or \"distributorship\" for a brand or a range of products. If managed properly, that business relationship can turn out to be very lucrative. People got rich selling a certain brand of watch, or an industrial machine, or a good collection of books. But that has eroded somewhat in recent years. Anyone can go onto the Internet and buy the same product from another country and save money. So the big fat margin for the local distributor is gone.

Most Singaporean businesses are traders. True to our heritage, we continue to buy and sell to this day. But the globalised world of internet portals, cheap shipping, digital payments has diminished the rewards of trading greatly.

So the only way one can get a rewarding profit is to create new products. This includes innovation, design and manufacturing. But too bad our education and upbringing did not give us the chance to be creative, or to have a backyard in which we can do little DIY projects. These are the necessary ingredients for budding inventors and manufacturers of great products.

I have been through this question a million times \"But sell what?\" and I am sure some of you have been down that road too. And the truth is, even when you do succeed despite all these obstacles, you will find your product copied and sold on the market at cut throat prices, thanks to the efficient of Shenzhen factories.

pojo:

I think the more accurate question is: \"What is your passion?\" If someone's passion is say collecting something, then the person has a better chance of putting up a blog, wrriting about his or her passion and concurrently sell those items to those visiting the website. Chances of success are therefore much higher.

concern2:

The question is: What to sell?

LLK:

Two days ago, I came across an ST article on mother doing online businesses from home like selling baby/children products. I wonder how to start/design website for such online business? Anyone can share? :thankyou: