For many an important part of the retirement life is not having to face the daily commute.  Luckily there are lots of ways to make some income that don’t involve leaving your home.  Like many retirement sources of income many are little businesses rather than traditional jobs.  Here are some to get you thinking.

Ebay Seller

Selling on EBay has to be one of the older ways to make money online for ordinary folks.  While EBay has changed if can still be a reliable source for a temporary or permanent income stream.

The basics are the same.  Look around your house and see what you might sell.  Most households have at least some things, even those that have pared down their belongings before.  See what makes sense.  Old Lawnmowers are difficult to ship and might be a better candidate for Craigslist!  Then you can expand by finding things that you can buy and resell for a profit, all from the comfort of your desk.

AirBNB

AirBNB shows up on many “Make extra money” lists, and for good reason.  People all around the world are renting out their spare room to make a little extra money.

Those spare rooms left after the kids moved out might be worth much more than you expect on a nightly basis.  It helps if you happen to be near a tourist area, but the system works almost anywhere.  Many business travelers prefer AirBNB to traditional hotels and this creates a market almost anywhere.

Your AirBNB business (and it is a business) can take many forms.  You need to cover the basics – a clean and relatively quiet spot helps.  You need to decide what amenities you offer.  Many customers like to socialize a bit and AirBNB people say they enjoy meeting all the new people.

Article and Blog Post Writer

Almost anyone with reasonable writing ability can write an article and these can be turned into another income stream.  The Internet and most websites starve for quality content, and retired authors can help fill that need.

The difficult news is that there is a lot of competition out there that has really lowered payment rates for writers.  The good news is that there is a huge need so if you can find a way to differentiate yourself there is still a demand with reasonable income.

Fiverr Service Provider

Fiverr started out as a website where people could supply all kinds of services for $5.00.  It has evolved into more than that, but the basics are still the same.  Take a look at the site and see if there are services that you could provide.  The trick is to find services that are in demand but where you can still make a reasonable profit.

Pet Sitter

People love their pets.  When they are away they need to decide what to do.  This is a real problem for them and an opportunity for retired people looking for income.  Some pets do fine when they are boarded at kennels.  Others are more spoiled or don’t handle the noise and commotion of a kennel.  This is where a pet sitter comes in.

Of course, if the point is to stay at home it means you will care for the pets in your own home.

Selling Crafts

Selling crafts from home is one of those things where you can do it because you love it and want to make a little money, or purely as a money-making opportunity.  Most crafts take time and if you figure out your hourly income it is sometimes difficult to justify purely from a financial standpoint.  But there are exceptions.  You have to figure out something that people want and are willing to pay for, but can be made efficiently.

Web Designer

There was a time when almost anyone could study a few books and hang out a shingle and call themselves a web designer.  While those days are mostly done there are still opportunities.

Knowing how to design web sites is a skill that is so useful that almost everyone should learn it.  Websites are a requirement for many income sources and that provides an opportunity if you have the skills.

WordPress is a good place to start and getting a basic website up and running is not difficult.  Learning the details and keeping up with upgrades and latest plugins can make your skills much more valuable.

Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistants first became popular back when small online business owners figured out they could hire assistants offshore for a fraction of what it costs to hire an employee.  Virtual assistants can theoretically handle any task that can be done via the phone and Internet.

Good Virtual Assistants work hand in hand with the business owner or manager.  They are proficient with office applications, searching and using the internet, and accomplishing all kinds of tasks via the Internet and phone for the owner.  There are lots of articles out there about how to find a good Virtual Assistant.  Look at these as a guide to setting up your own VA business.

YouTube Creator

YouTube has taken the world by storm and you hear about people having their own channel with millions of subscribers.  Can you be one of them.?

There are several strategies that can be used on You Tube, but most involve getting viewers first.  Then strategies revolve around:

• Advertising
• Influencing
• Partnering
• Selling stuff

The key seems to be consistency and really caring about what you are talking about.

Equipment for your videos is like photography.  You can start out simply with just your cellphone or you can spend thousands on the best and latest.  It seems the first place to splurge might be a good microphone.

Online Course Developer

As a retired person you probably have knowledge gained over many years of experience.  Why not create an online course?  There are multiple online platforms that will host your course for a share in the profits.  And there are online courses that teach you how to create online courses!

There are so many ways to make income from home these days.  You are limited only by your imagination!