A cottage industry is a small-scale, decentralised business that manufactures low-tech items, and often operated out of a home rather than a purpose-built facility.
These are very good examples of Dingo-style businesses because they can exploit new opportunities much faster than large corporations.
There has been a resurgence of cottage industries as people get tired of commuting, office politics, lack of promotion, fear of redundancy, lack of engagement or the rat race, so working from home could seem like a great way out - but can be isolating as there won't be many people around.
Many things can be created this way, here are some examples :-
- Jewellery like rings, bracelets, earrings. These can be for men or women, made from gold, silver, platinum. Some can be magnetic as many believe this helps arthritis and other aches and pains. Once you have created your masterpiece you can sell it on etsy or if you have your own website, you can sell it on that, as these jewellery craftsmen have done.
- Software can be made just with a laptop and a lot of hard work imagination. In fact, one of the most popular methods of software development is Open Source, where many people around the world collaborate to build extremely sophisticated systems like Linux or FreeBSD.
- Graphic Design is another trade that can work extremely well via the internet. All your work can be sent in digital form to the clients. This is a good example of an online graphic designer with a decade or more of experience.
- Blogs can be a good earner, but you would need to devote a lot of time and have exceptional content to actually get anywhere.
- Food & Drink Baking cakes to sell in local restaurants, making fudge and selling at school fairs.
- Translating this is brilliant for foreign people who speak good English as there is always a need for translation work either online or off-line.
- Consultancy this is also handy because you can work either online or off-line. As many older workers will find it hard to get jobs, this is a good way to make money from their experience.
- Online Fitness Classes can be run from offices or even from home with minimal equipment and expense. A good example is Grandma Groove who used to offer dancing / fitness classes from their premises in Faversham, Kent, UK.
- Accountancy can be run from an expensive office, but many are choosing to work from home instead.
- Handmade Cards can be highly personalized and can be sold locally, on eBay or on a specially designed website.
- De-Cluttering is a good example of the old saying "One man's junk is another man's gold". We all have accumulated lots of unused stuff during our lives, and you would be surprised how much people will pay for it.
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