At 50, I have been downsized out of a job. Can anyone advise me on a good business to start?

	At 50, I have been downsized out of a job. Can anyone advise me on a good business to start? I have 2 small children and a hefty mortgage... I am looking for a sure fire opportunity that will deliver immediate cash flow with short ramp up time. Asked By: bromate - 7/5/2010

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You have a number of options to choose from. First off, do you want to continue working out of the home or be stay home with your children? If you would like to or want to stay home with your small children there are a number of ways to stay home and make money. First off (if you like beauty, which I see as one of the listed topics above) have you ever considered selling Mary Kay from home? http://www.marykay.com/sellmarykay/default.aspx If you do, I am friends with someone who does exactly this and I am sure she will help you out. If you do choose this route, please email me and we can talk, perhaps via our personal emails. I totally understand that you need immediate cash flow, but finding a job is most of the time not immediate. So before you get hired at your next job you can being doing things on the side/part time to make money. Sell things on the internet. (Trust me I know this is not big money but it's something). I sell books, CDs and DVDs on amazon and I have made some good side money for my husband and I. There is a website called etsy.com where people sell all sorts of things they make by hand, http://www.etsy.com/ And of course there is always Ebay. I know people, who have made a good amount of money selling on Ebay, you just have to sell in volume as opposed to something here and there. I see you have computers as one of your listed topics. As I am searching for a job as well, I came across a website called http://www.millionairevirtualstaffing.com/index.html, where you are a "virtual assistant." I spoke to one of the owners today and you really are being an assistant but working out of your home. I know all of the job websites and I am sure in your local paper, there are tons of listings for all types of office jobs, be it an executive assistant or an office manager (I don't know what you your experience is in but I am going by the fact that you listed computers above). You can inquire from your friends or family if the companies they work for are hiring. I personally have been looking into all of these websites that say "make money from your home." I hate to say this but so many of them seem like scams, but I have heard of so many people who do this and they really are making a lot of money. Here's one website I have come across http://www.top-10-online-jobs.com/, it doesn't hurt to check these types of websites out. How about becoming a Real Estate agent (which I am currently looking into actually). Taking the test to get your license is very easy. The one major downside (which is not in your or my favor) is that the first several months to a year you will not be making much money. But I hear and know many people who are agents and they make over 6 figures. Do you still communicate from anyone from your job that could have any leads for you? Let me know what happens and if you are interested in Mary Kay let me know. Good luck and hang in there, I am trying to, and believe me I know it's hard. Answered By: tophel - 7/6/2010

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Check out this site http://livelife.reshapingwealth.com/40club.php Answered By: Homebizguru - 7/6/2010

Maybe you can start up a Personal Assistant and Errand service. Post an ad online like craigslist and put up signs. You can offer services like office help, mail and bank runs, pet services, elderly assistance service, meal runs, laundry and drycleaning, pet services like taking someones dog to the vet or for grooming, dog walking, home services like house sitting, bringing in mail while they are away. The list goes on... Good luck! Source(s): Me Answered By: karmiko - 7/5/2010

What type of skills do you have and what state are your from? Answered By: Lisa - 7/5/2010

You could set up shop near a Mail Boxes, Etc., UPS Store, or any similar shipping center in a strip mall or shopping center. You could make it easy for customers to sell things on Ebay! 1. The customer brings as many pictures as they can take of the item. These can be film, digital, or photo prints so you need to make sure you have a very high quality scanner for the prints, a digital scanner for film negatives (the customer needs to have the film developed elsewhere unless you wanted to do that too for a extra fee), and every kind of memory card reader and a computer with internet access (usually an eight or ten place memory card reader from Circuit City or Best Buy will do). 2. The customer then fills out your paper form version of Ebay's item description form with as much detailed description and information as they can. 3. You then put in the form information and upload the pictures you and customer think are the best between customers. 4. Profit! 5. You could even have a "house call" service for an extra fee so you take your camera and forms with you to their house! This could be dangerous so it would be your call if you wanted to hire someone to do this like a pizza delivery. P.S. I would like to know if you decide to go with this since I wanted to set this up myself but have not needed to yet. Answered By: conacre - 7/5/2010

This happened to my Brother recently (about the same age). In his lifetime he had developed many skills and interests... some in his professional life and some in his private life. We sat down with some paper and pen and did a personal inventory of his interests and skills; strenghts and weaknesses. This requires the input of another person... it is hard to look at yourself honestly and see these things. We came up with a narrow path of potential jobs that would exploit a combination of multiples of interest, skills, and strenght (and that would avoid his weaknesses). He is working that job and learning it so that he may learn enough that he can start out on his own with his own business. I would recommmend that to you. In 50 years you have a lot to offer that you may not even realize you have and be the prefect fit for something that will make you very happy. Answered By: Comfort - 7/5/2010

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