Want a Career Change? Try Starting an Agency!

House-Sitting Agency

A combination of high boarding costs for pets, rising crime rates and a general reluctance among householders to leave their homes empty when away on holiday or on business has led to a great demand for house-sitters.

These are people who move into a home while the owners are away to look after the place, tend the garden and care for any pets. Sitters don't themselves earn a great deal, and most are retired people or at least middle-aged (though sitters for agencies specializing in larger animals such as horses can be as young as 25).

If you want to earn a reasonable income in this business you will do much better to run an agency providing sitters rather than acting as one yourself.

Introduction Agency

Introduction agencies provide a popular means for unattached people to meet others of like mind.

At one time, agencies suffered from a certain stigma, but with soaring divorce rates and the increasing isolation of modern life, their role in society has become increasingly accepted. Running an introduction agency today can be a profitable and highly fulfilling home-based business.

Agencies fall into three broad categories. The first type uses computers to match members, generally on the basis of a questionnaire which they fill in. Clients are given printouts of around six other members with whom they may be compatible, and left to make contact for themselves.

The second type circulates lists of members, including brief details of their age, background, interests, etc. These are sent on a regular (say, monthly) basis, and again members are left to make contact with other members themselves. And the third type arranges personal introductions. In this case, new members are normally interviewed by the agency owner (or a member of their staff) and assessed for compatibility with other people on the agency's books.

Some agencies combine two or more of these services, perhaps offering a basic computer dating service and a more personalized (and expensive) 'gold service' with introductions arranged in person.

Party Plan Selling

This is a business where you demonstrate and then sell goods to small groups of people in a private home, taking a commission on every sale.

The homeowner is called the hostess (they are almost always female) and the other people are her neighbors and friends. The hostess invites her guests to a 'party' at which she provides tea and coffee (or in some cases wine) and snacks to provide the party atmosphere.

In return for hosting the party, the homeowner receives a gift from the parent company. The thinking behind party plan selling is that it allows the guests plenty of time to handle and try the products in a relaxed atmosphere, which they can't always do satisfactorily in a shop.

Probably the best-known example of party plan selling is Tupperware, the kitchen equipment manufacturer, but there are many others, including companies selling books, photograph albums and accessories, 'adult' products, diet and health foods, happinesslifetime.com skin care and cosmetics, and even energy products and services (gas and electricity).

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online ( sixsigmaonline.org sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.