A Mail Merge Is Made Up Of Two Components A Document (Which Can Be A Letter: Fill & Download for Free

I asked something among the lines of this question and I'm going to leave the best of what I got here:What are the most useful gems to use in Rails?Check out the Ruby Toolbox for better feedback:The Ruby Toolbox. But here is a rough list that is collected from Marc Anguera's Github repo and most of the ones I recall to be recommended.Also, to learn more about the following gem, I've made a list of Ruby podcasts that actually talk about some of the following gems in depth:Yad's answer to Are there good alternatives to Ryan Bates' RailsCasts?AbstractionActiveInteraction - Manage application specific business logic.Cells - View Components for RailsInteractor - Interactor provides a common interface for performing complex interactions in a single requestLight Service - Series of Actions with an emphasis on simplicity.Mutations - Compose your business logic into commands that sanitize and validate inputReform - Form objects decoupled from models.Admin Interfaceupmin/upmin-admin-ruby Upmin Admin is a framework for creating powerful Ruby on Rails admin backends with minimal effort.ActiveAdmin - a Ruby on Rails framework for creating elegant backends for website administrationRailsAdmin - A Rails engine that provides an easy-to-use interface for managing your dataAnalyticGabba - Simple way to send server-side notifications to Google Analyticsactivenetwork/gattica Gattica is a Ruby library for talking to the Google Analytics API.Ahoy - A solid foundation to track visits and events in Ruby, JavaScript, and native appsLegato - Model analytics reports and queries against the official Google Analytics Reporting APIAPI BuilderActiveModel::Serializers - JSON serialization of objectsCrêpe - The thin API stackGrape - An opinionated micro-framework for creating REST-like APIs in Rubyjbuilder - Create JSON structures via a Builder-style DSLJSONAPI::Resources - JSONAPI::Resources, or "JR", provides a framework for developing a server that complies with the JSON API specification.Jsonite - A tiny, HAL-compliant JSON presenter for your APIsPliny - Opinionated template Sinatra app for writing excellent APIs in Rubyrabl - General ruby templating with json, bson, xml, plist and msgpack supportRails::API - Rails for API only applicationsRoar - Resource-Oriented Architectures in RubyAssetsLess Rails - The dynamic stylesheet language for the Rails asset pipeline.Less - Leaner CSS, in your browser or Ruby.Sass - Sass makes CSS fun againManagement:Rails Assets - Bundler to Bower proxySprockets - Rack-based asset packaging systemAuthentication and OAuthAuthlogicClearance - Small and simple email & password based authenticaton for RailsDevise - A flexible authentication solution for Rails based on WardenOmniAuth - A library that standardizes multi-provider authentication utilizing Rack middlewareSorcery - Magical Authentication for Rails 3 and 4OAuth:Doorkeeper - An OAuth2 provider for RailsOAuth2 - A Ruby wrapper for the OAuth 2.0 protocolAuthorizationAuthority ORM-neutral way to authorize actions in your Rails app.CanCanCanPundit - Minimal authorization through OO design and pure Ruby classesCachingAction caching for Action Pack - Action caching for Action PackDalli - A high performance pure Ruby client for accessing memcached serversRecord Cache - Cache Active Model Records in Rails 3CLI BuilderCommander - The complete solution for Ruby command-line executablesGLI - Git-Like Interface Command Line ParserMain - A class factory and DSL for generating command line programs real quickRake - A make-like build utility for RubySlop - Simple Lightweight Option ParsingThor - A toolkit for building powerful command-line interfacesCMSAlchemy CMS - A powerful, userfriendly and flexible Open Source Rails CMSLocomotiveCMS - A simple but powerful CMS based on Liquid templates and Mongodb databasePublify - A self hosted Web publishing platform on RailsRadiant - A no-fluff, open source content management system designed for small teamsRefinery CMS - An open source Ruby on Rails content management system for Rails 3 and 4Code Analysis and MetricsBrakeman - A static analysis security vulnerability scanner for Ruby on Rails applications.Flay - Flay analyzes code for structural similarities. Differences in literal values, variable, class, method names, whitespace, programming style, braces vs do/end, etc are all ignored. Making this totally rad.Flog - Flog reports the most tortured code in an easy to read pain report. The higher the score, the more pain the code is in.fukuzatsu - Complexity analysis tool with a rich web front-end.MetricFu - A fist full of code metricsrails_best_practices - A code metric tool for rails projectsReek - Code smell detector for RubyRubocop - A static code analyzer, based on the community Ruby style guide.Rubycritic - A Ruby code quality reporter.SimpleCov - Code coverage for Ruby 1.9+ with a powerful configuration library and automatic merging of coverage across test suites.Coding Style GuidesRails style guide - Community-driven Rails best practices and style for Rails 3 and 4RSpec style guide - Better Specs { rspec guidelines with ruby }Ruby style guide - Community-driven Ruby coding styleConcurrencyCelluloid - Actor-based concurrent object framework for RubyConcurrent Ruby - Modern concurrency tools including agents, futures, promises, thread pools, supervisors, and more. Inspired by Erlang, Clojure, Scala, Go, Java, JavaScript, and classic concurrency patterns.EventMachine - An event-driven I/O and lightweight concurrency library for RubyConfigurationConfigatron - Simple and feature rich configuration system for Ruby appsConfigus - Helps you easily manage environment specific settingsdotenv - Loads environment variables from .envEconfig - Flexible configuration for Rails applicationsFigaro - Simple, Heroku-friendly Rails app configuration using ENV and a single YAML fileGlobal - Provides accessor methods for your configuration dataRailsConfig - Multi-environment yaml settings for Rails3Core ExtensionsActiveSupport - A collection of utility classes and standard library extensions.Ruby Facets - The premiere collection of general purpose method extensions and standard additions for Ruby.AttributesActiveAttr - What ActiveModel left outFastAttributes - FastAttributes adds attributes with their types to the classVirtus - Attributes on Steroids for Plain Old Ruby ObjectsHashHashie - A collection of tools that extend Hashes and make them more usefulCountry DataCarmen - A repository of geographic regionsCountries - All sorts of useful information about every country packaged as pretty little country objectsi18n_data - country/language names and 2-letter-code pairs, in 85 languages, for country/language i18nnormalize_country - Convert country names and codes to a standard, includes a conversion program for XMLs, CSVs and DBsDashboardsDashing-Rails - The exceptionally handsome dashboard framework for Rails.Data VisualizationRailRoady - Ruby on Rails 3/4 model and controller UML class diagram generator.Rails Erd - Generate Entity-Relationship Diagrams for Rails applications.Ruby/GraphViz - Ruby interface to the GraphViz graphing toolDatabase DriversCassandra Driver - A pure ruby driver for Apache Cassandra with asynchronous io and configurable load balancing, reconnection and retry policiesDataObjects - An attempt to rewrite existing Ruby database drivers to conform to one, standard interface.mongo-ruby-driver - MongoDB Ruby drivermoped - A MongoDB driver for Rubymysql2 - A modern, simple and very fast Mysql library for Ruby (binding to libmysql)Redic - Lightweight Redis Clientredis-rb - A Ruby client that tries to match Redis' API one-to-one, while still providing an idiomatic interfaceruby-pg - Ruby interface to PostgreSQL 8.3 and laterSQLite3Database ToolsDatabase Cleaner - Database Cleaner is a set of strategies for cleaning your database in Ruby.PgHero - Postgres insights made easySeed dump - Rails 4 task to dump (parts) of your database to db/seeds.rb.Seed Fu - Advanced seed data handling for Rails.Date and Time Processingbusiness_time - Support for doing time math in business hours and daysChronic - A natural language date/time parser written in pure Rubygroupdate - The simplest way to group temporal data in ActiveRecord, arrays and hashestime-lord - Adds extra functionality to the time classtime_diff - Calculates the difference between two timevalidates_timeliness - Date and time validation plugin for ActiveModel and Railsyymmdd - Tiny DSL for idiomatic date parsing and formattingDebugging ToolsByebug - A simple to use, feature rich debugger for Ruby 2.debugger - A port of ruby-debug that works on 1.9.2 and 1.9.3.DecoratorsDraper - Draper adds an object-oriented layer of presentation logic to your Rails applicationDevOps ToolsBackup - Provides an elegant DSL in Ruby for performing backups on UNIX-like systemsCapistrano - A remote server automation and deployment tool written in RubyChef - A systems integration framework, built to bring the benefits of configuration management to your entire infrastructureLogstash - Logs/event transport, processing, management, searchMina - Really fast deployer and server automation tool.Puppet - An automated administrative engine for your Linux, Unix, and Windows systems, performs administrative tasks (such as adding users, installing packages, and updating server configurations) based on a centralized specificationRubber - The rubber plugin enables relatively complex multi-instance deployments of RubyOnRails applications to Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).DocumentationAsciidoctor - A fast, Ruby-based text processor & publishing toolchain for converting AsciiDoc to HTML5, DocBook, EPUB3, PDF & more.grape-swagger - Add swagger compliant documentation to your Grape APIInch - Inch is a documentation measurement and evalutation tool for Ruby code, based on YARDRDoc - RDoc produces HTML and command-line documentation for Ruby projectsYARD - YARD enables the user to generate consistent, usable documentation that can be exported to a number of formats very easilyE-Commerce and PaymentsActive Merchant - A simple payment abstraction library extracted from ShopifyPaypal Merchant SDK - Official Paypal Merchant SDK for RubyPiggybak - Modular, Extensible open-source ecommerce solution for Ruby on RailsROR EcommerceShoppe - A Rails-based e-commerce platform which allows you to easily introduce a catalogue-based store into your Rails 4 applicationsSpreestripe-ruby - Stripe Ruby bindingsEbookBookshop - Bookshop is a an open-source agile book development and publishing framework for authors, editors.Eeepub - EeePub is a Ruby ePub generator.Gepub - A generic EPUB library for Ruby : supports EPUB 3Git Scribe - Basically the best way to write an ebook.Mobi - A Ruby way to read MOBI format metadataReview - Re:VIEW is flexible document format/conversion systemEmailIncoming - Incoming! helps you receive email in your Rack appsLetterOpener - Preview mail in the browser instead of sending.Mail - A Really Ruby Mail LibraryMailCatcher - Catches mail and serves it through a dreamMailman - An incoming mail processing microframework in RubyPony - The express way to send mail from RubyEnvironment Managementchgems - Chroot for RubyGemschruby - Change your current Ruby. No shims, no crazy options or features, ~90 LOCfry - Simple ruby version manager for fishgem_home - A tool for changing your $GEM_HOMErbenv - Use rbenv to pick a Ruby version for your application and guarantee that your development environment matches productionruby-build - Compile and install Rubyruby-install - Installs Ruby, JRuby, Rubinius, MagLev or MRubyRVM - RVM is a command-line tool which allows you to easily install, manage, and work with multiple ruby environments from interpreters to sets of gemsError HandlingAirbrake - The official Airbrake library for Ruby on Rails (and other Rack based frameworks)Better Errors - Better error page for Rack appsErrbit - The open source, self-hosted error catcherException Notification - A set of notifiers for sending notifications when errors occur in a Rack/Rails applicationNesty - Nested exceptions for RubyRaven Ruby - Raven is a Ruby client for Sentry.File UploadCarrierWave - Classier solution for file uploads for Rails, Sinatra and other Ruby web frameworksDragonFly - A Ruby gem for on-the-fly processing - suitable for image uploading in Rails, Sinatra and much more!PaperClip - Easy file attachment management for ActiveRecordrack-secure-upload - Upload files securelyForm BuilderAbracadabra - The gem that swaps out text with a fully-compliant Rails form in one clickFormtastic - A Rails form builder plugin with semantically rich and accessible markupRails Bootstrap Forms - Rails form builder that makes it super easy to create beautiful-looking forms with Twitter Bootstrap 3+Simple Form - Rails forms made easyGame DevelopmentGosu - A 2D game development library for the Ruby and C++ programming languagesYeah - Practical Ruby video game frameworkGeolocationGeocoder - A complete geocoding solution for Ruby. With Rails it adds geocoding (by street or IP address), reverse geocoding (find street address based on given coordinates), and distance queriesGeokit - Geokit gem provides geocoding and distance/heading calculationsHTTPexcon - Usable, fast, simple Ruby HTTP 1.1. It works great as a general HTTP(s) client and is particularly well suited to usage in API clients.FaradayHttp Client - Gives something like the functionality of libwww-perl (LWP) in Rubyhttp - The HTTP Gem: a simple Ruby DSL for making HTTP requests.httpartyPatron - Patron is a Ruby HTTP client library based on libcurl.RESTClient - Simple HTTP and REST client for Ruby, inspired by microframework syntax for specifying actionsSavon - Savon is a SOAP client for the Ruby programming language.Sawyer - Secret user agent of HTTP, built on top of FaradayTyphoeus - Typhoeus wraps libcurl in order to make fast and reliable requestsImageryMiniMagick - A ruby wrapper for ImageMagick or GraphicsMagick command linePSD.rb - Parse Photoshop files in Ruby with easeRMagick - RMagick is an interface between Ruby and ImageMagickSkeptick - Skeptick is an all-purpose DSL for building and running ImageMagick commands.Internationalizationi18n-tasks - Manage missing and unused translations with the awesome power of static analysisi18n - Ruby Internationalization and localization solutionr18n - Advanced i18n library for Rails, Sinatra, desktop apps, models, works well with complex languages like Russian.twitter-cldr-rb - Ruby implementation of the ICU (International Components for Unicode) that uses the Common Locale Data Repository to format dates, plurals, and moreLoggingCabin - Structured+contextual logging experiments in Ruby.Fluentd - Fluentd collects events from various data sources and writes them to files, database or other types of storagesHttpLog - Log outgoing HTTP requests.Log4r - Log4r is a comprehensive and flexible logging library for use in Ruby programsLogging - A flexible logging library for use in Ruby programs based on the design of Java's log4j library.Lograge - An attempt to tame Rails' default policy to log everything.MongoDB Logger - MongoDB logger for RailsScrolls - Simple loggingYell - Your Extensible Logging LibraryMachine LearningPredictionIO Ruby SDK - The PredictionIO Ruby SDK provides a convenient API to quickly record your users' behavior and retrieve personalized predictions for themRuby Datumbox Wrapper - It's a simple Ruby Datumbox Wrapper. At the moment the API currently allows you to build applications that make use of machine learning algorithms.Markdown Processorskramdown - Kramdown is yet-another-markdown-parser but fast, pure Ruby, using a strict syntax definition and supporting several common extensionsMaruku - A pure-Ruby Markdown-superset interpreterRedcarpet - A fast, safe and extensible Markdown to (X)HTML parserMiscAASM - A library for adding finite state machines to Ruby classesAXLSX - An excel xlsx generation libraryBetty - Friendly English-like interface for your command line. Don't remember a command? Ask BettyForeman - Manage Procfile-based applicationsGollum - A simple, Git-powered wiki with a sweet API and local frontend.Guard - A command line tool to easily handle events on file system modificationsJsonCompare - Returns the difference between two JSON filesplay ► - Your company's djPry Debugger - Pry navigation commands via debugger (formerly ruby-debug)Pry - A powerful alternative to the standard IRB shell for Rubypygments.rb - A Ruby wrapper for the Python pygments syntax highlighterRuby Operators - A webpage showing awesome names for different Ruby operators.Termit - Google Translate with speech synthesis in your terminalTreetop - PEG (Parsing Expression Grammar) parserYomu - Read text and metadata from files and documents (.doc, .docx, .pages, .odt, .rtf, .pdf)Mobile DevelopmentRuboto - A platform for developing full stand-alone apps for Android using the Ruby language and librariesRubyMotion - A revolutionary toolchain that lets you quickly develop and test native iOS and OS X applications for iPhone, iPad and MacMoneyeu_central_bank - A gem that calculates the exchange rate using published rates from European Central BankMoney - A Ruby Library for dealing with money and currency conversionNatural Language ProcessingTreat - Treat is a toolkit for natural language processing and computational linguistics in RubyORM/ODMActiveRecordDataMapper - ORM which works well with legacy databases. Last release (1.2.0) was on 13 October 2011.Guacamole - An ODM for ArangoDBMongoid - An ODM (Object-Document-Mapper) framework for MongoDB in RubyMongoMapperMongoModel - Ruby ODM for interfacing with MongoDB databasesohm - Object-hash mapping library for RedisSequel - Sequel is a simple, flexible, and powerful SQL database access toolkit for RubyORM/ODM ExtensionsMongoid Tree - A tree structure for Mongoid documents using the materialized path patternPackage ManagementGemsBundler - Manage your application's gem dependencies with less painRubyGems - Community's gem hosting servicePackages and ApplicationsBerkshelf - A Chef Cookbook managerCocoaPods - The Objective-C dependency managerfpm - Effing package management! Build packages for multiple platforms (deb, rpm, etc) with great ease and sanityHomebrew-cask - a CLI workflow for the administration of Mac applications distributed as binariesHomebrew - The missing package manager for OS XPaginationKaminari - A Scope & Engine based, clean, powerful, customizable and sophisticated paginator for modern web app frameworks and ORMswill_paginate - A pagination library that integrates with Ruby on Rails, Sinatra, Merb, DataMapper and SequelPDFGimli - Utility for converting markup files to pdf files.Kitabu - A framework for creating e-books from Markdown/Textile text markup using Ruby.Pdfkit - HTML+CSS to PDF using wkhtmltopdfPrawn - Fast, Nimble PDF Writer for RubyRGhost - RGhost is a document creation and conversion API.Shrimp - A phantomjs based pdf rendererWicked Pdf - PDF generator (from HTML) plugin for Ruby on RailsWisepdf - Wkhtmltopdf wrapper done rightProcess MonitoringBluepill - Simple process monitoring toolGod - An easy to configure, easy to extend monitoring framework written in RubyProcesses and ThreadsParallel - Run any code in parallel Processes (> use all CPUs) or Threads (> speedup blocking operations). Best suited for map-reduce or e.g. parallel downloads/uploadschildprocess - Cross-platform ruby library for managing child processes.forkoff - brain-dead simple parallel processing for rubyposix-spawn - Fast Process::spawn for Rubys >= 1.8.7 based on the posix_spawn() system interfacesProfilerbullet - Help to kill N+1 queries and unused eager loadingPeek - Visual status bar showing Rails performanceperftools.rb - gperftools (formerly known as google-perftools) for Ruby coderack-mini-profiler - Profiler for your development and production Ruby rack appsruby-prof - A code profiler for MRI rubiesQueueactive_job - Declare job classes that can be run by a variety of queueing backendsDelayed::Job - Database backed asynchronous priority queueResque - A Redis-backed Ruby library for creating background jobsSidekiq - A full-featured background processing framework for Ruby. It aims to be simple to integrate with any modern Rails application and much higher performance than other existing solutions.Sucker Punch - A single process background processing library using Celluloid. Aimed to be Sidekiq's little brother.RoboticsArtoo - Next generation robotics framework with support for different platforms: Arduino, Leap Motion, Pebble, Raspberry Pi, etc.RSSFeed normalizer - Extensible Ruby wrapper for Atom and RSS parsers.Feedjira - A feed fetching and parsing library.Ratom - A fast, libxml based, Ruby Atom library.Simple rss - A simple, flexible, extensible, and liberal RSS and Atom reader.SchedulingClockwork - Clockwork is a cron replacement. It runs as a lightweight, long-running Ruby process which sits alongside your web processes (Mongrel/Thin) and your worker processes (DJ/Resque/Minion/Stalker) to schedule recurring work at particular times or dates.resque-scheduler - A light-weight job scheduling system built on top of Resquerufus-scheduler - Job scheduler for Ruby (at, cron, in and every jobs)Whenever - A Ruby gem that provides a clear syntax for writing and deploying cron jobsSearchattr_searchable - Search engine like fulltext query support for ActiveRecordelasticsearch-rubyhas_scope - Has scope allows you to easily create controller filters based on your resources named scopes.pg_search - Builds ActiveRecord named scopes that take advantage of PostgreSQL's full text searchransack - Object-based searching.Rroonga - The Ruby bindings of GroongaSearchkick - Searchkick learns what your users are looking for. As more people search, it gets smarter and the results get better. It’s friendly for developers - and magical for your users.Searchlogic - Object based searching, common named scopes, and other useful named scope tools for ActiveRecordSunspot - A Ruby library for expressive, powerful interaction with the Solr search engineThinking Sphinx - A library for connecting ActiveRecord to the Sphinx full-text search toolSEOFriendlyId - The "Swiss Army bulldozer" of slugging and permalink plugins for Active RecordMetaTags - A gem to make your Rails application SEO-friendlySitemapGenerator - A framework-agnostic XML Sitemap generator written in RubySocial NetworkingCampo - Campo is a lightweight forum application, base on Ruby on Rails.diaspora* - A privacy aware, distributed, open source social networkDiscourse - A platform for community discussion. Free, open, simpleForem - Rails 3 and Rails 4 forum engineState MachinesAASM - State machines for Ruby classes (plain Ruby, Rails Active Record, Mongoid)simple_states - A super-slim statemachine-like support libraryStatesman - A statesmanlike state machine libraryWorkflow - A finite-state-machine-inspired API for modeling and interacting with what we tend to refer to as 'workflow'Static Site GenerationHigh Voltage - Easily include static pages in your Rails appJekyll - Transform your plain text into static websites and blogsMiddleman - A static site generator using all the shortcuts and tools in modern web developmentNanoc - A static site generator, fit for building anything from a small personal blog to a large corporate web siteTemplate EngineCurly - A template language that completely separates structure and logicHaml - HTML Abstraction Markup LanguageLiquid - Safe, customer facing template language for flexible web appsMustache - Logic-less Ruby templatesSlim - A template language whose goal is reduce the syntax to the essential parts without becoming crypticTilt - Generic interface to multiple Ruby template enginesTestingFrameworksRSpec - Behaviour Driven Development for RubyFormattersEmoji-RSpec - Custom Emoji Formatters for RSpecFuubar - The instafailing RSpec progress bar formatterNyan Cat - Nyan Cat inspired RSpec formatter!Bacon - A small RSpec cloneCapybara - Acceptance test framework for web applicationsCucumber - BDD that talks to domain experts first and code secondCutest - Isolated tests in RubyKonacha - Test your Rails application's JavaScript with the mocha test framework and chai assertion libraryminitest - minitest provides a complete suite of testing facilities supporting TDD, BDD, mocking, and benchmarkingRR - A test double framework that features a rich selection of double techniques and a terse syntaxshoulda-matchers - Provides Test::Unit- and RSpec-compatible one-liners that test common Rails functionality. These tests would otherwise be much longer, more complex, and error-prone.Spinach - Spinach is a high-level BDD framework that leverages the expressive Gherkin language (used by Cucumber) to help you define executable specifications of your application or library's acceptance criteria.Spork - A DRb server for testing frameworks (RSpec / Cucumber currently)Test::Unit - Test::Unit is a xUnit family unit testing framework for RubyFake DataFabrication - A simple and powerful object generation libraryfactory_girl - A library for setting up Ruby objects as test datafaker - A library for generating fake data such as names, addresses, and phone numbers.ffaker - A faster Faker, generates dummy data, rewrite of faker.Forgery - Easy and customizable generation of forged data.Machinist - Fixtures aren't fun. Machinist isMockActiveMocker - Generate mocks from ActiveRecord models for unit tests that run fast because they don’t need to load Rails or a database.TestXml - TestXml is a small extension for testing XML/HTML.WebMock - Library for stubbing and setting expectations on HTTP requestsWebDriversSelenium WebDriver - This gem provides Ruby bindings for WebDriver.Watir - Web application testing in RubyExtraAppraisal - Appraisal integrates with bundler and rake to test your library against different versions of dependenciesRuby-JMeter - A Ruby based DSL for building JMeter test plansSpring - Preloads your rails environment in the background for faster testing and Rake taskstimecop - Provides "time travel" and "time freezing" capabilities, making it dead simple to test time-dependent codevcr - Record your test suite's HTTP interactions and replay them during future test runs for fast, deterministic, accurate testsThird-party APIsdatabasedotcom - Ruby client for the Salesforce's Welcome to the world’s most trusted and secure cloud database, salesforce.com. - Salesforce.com and Chatter APIsDropbox - Dropbox API Ruby Client.facy - Command line power tool for facebookfb_graph - A full-stack Facebook Graph API wrapperflickr - A Ruby interface to the Flickr APIgitlab - Ruby wrapper and CLI for the GitLab APIgmail - A Rubyesque interface to Gmail, with all the tools you'll need.hipchat-rb - HipChat HTTP API Wrapper in Ruby with Capistrano hooksinstagram-ruby-gem - The official gem for the Instagram REST and Search APIsitunes_store_transporter - Ruby wrapper around Apple's iTMSTransporter programlinkedin - Provides an easy-to-use wrapper for LinkedIn's REST APIsOctokit - Ruby toolkit for the GitHub APIPusher - Ruby server library for the Pusher API.ruby-gmail - A Rubyesque interface to Gmailruby-trello - Implementation of the Trello API for Rubysoundcloud-ruby - Official SoundCloud API Wrapper for Rubyt - A command-line power tool for Twittertweetstream - A simple library for consuming Twitter's Streaming APItwitter - A Ruby interface to the Twitter APIwikipedia - Ruby client for the Wikipedia API.youtube_it - An object-oriented Ruby wrapper for the YouTube GData APIYt - An object-oriented Ruby client for YouTube API V3VideoStreamio FFMPEG - Simple yet powerful wrapper around the ffmpeg command for reading metadata and transcoding moviesWeb Crawlinganemone - Ruby library and CLI for crawling websites.LinkThumbnailer - Ruby gem that generates thumbnail images and videos from a given URL. Much like popular social website with link preview.Mechanize - Mechanize is a ruby library that makes automated web interaction easy.MetaInspector - Ruby gem for web scraping purposes. It scrapes a given URL, and returns you its title, meta description, meta keywords, an array with all the links, all the images in it, etc.Upton - A batteries-included framework for easy web-scraping. Just add CSS! (Or do more.)Wombat - Web scraper with an elegant DSL that parses structured data from web pagesWeb FrameworksCamping - A web microframework which consistently stays at less than 4kB of codeCuba - A microframework for web developmentLotus - It aims to bring back Object Oriented Programming to web development, leveraging on a stable API, a minimal DSL, and plain objects.Padrino - A full-stack ruby framework built upon SinatraPakyow - A framework for building modern, realtime web-apps in Ruby. It helps you build working software faster with a development process that's friendly to both designers and developersRamaze - A simple, light and modular open-source web application framework written in RubyRoda - A routing tree web frameworkRuby on Rails - A web-application framework that includes everything needed to create database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) patternSinatra - Classy web-development dressed in a DSLVolt - A Ruby web framework where your ruby code runs on both the server and the clientWeb ServersGoliath - A non-blocking Ruby web server frameworkPhusion Passenger - Fast and robust web server and application serverPuma - A modern, concurrent web server for RubyRack - A common Ruby web server interface. By itself, it's just a specification and utility library, but all Ruby web servers implement this interfaceThin - Tiny, fast & funny HTTP serverUnicorn - Rack HTTP server for fast clients and UnixWebSocketFaye - A set of tools for simple publish-subscribe messaging between web clients. It ships with easy-to-use message routing servers for Node.js and Rack applications, and clients that can be used on the server and in the browser.Firehose - Build realtime Ruby web applicationsRails Realtime - Adding Real-Time To Your RESTful Rails App.Sync - Real-time Rails PartialsWebsocket-Rails - Creates a built in WebSocket server inside a Rails application with ease. Also support streaming HTTP

Need a Business Idea? Here are 55NEXT ARTICLEThe 15 Most Profitable Small-Business Industries in 2016Next ArticleImage credit: EntrepreneurThe Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.•Entrepreneur StaffThis article has been excerpted from 55 Surefire Home Based Businesses You Can Start for Under $5,000 by Entrepreneur Press & Cheryl Kimball (2009).Today, tens of thousands of people are considering starting a home based business, and for good reasons. On average, people can expect to have two and three careers during their work life. Those leaving one career often think about their second or third career move being to their own home. People who have been part of the traditional nine-to-five work force and are on the verge of retiring from that life are thinking of what to do next. The good news: Starting a homebased business is within the reach of almost anyone who wants to take a risk and work hard.$1,500 or less to start up1. ACCOUNTANTExperience, training or licensing may be neededCreate a flier outlining your services. Before you do that, you need to know what those services will be. Do you want to simply do bookkeeping for a small business? A more involved level of accounting would be do actually work up balance sheets, income statements, and other financial reports on a monthly, quarterly, and/or annual basis, depending on the needs of the business. Other specializations can include tax accounting, a huge area of potential work. Service companies like Due.com assisted freelancers with payments. Many owners don't mind keeping their own day-to-day bookkeeping records but would rather get professional help with their taxes.2. BICYCLE REPAIRIn many parts of the country, this business tends to be seasonal, but you can find ways around that. Rent a storage unit and offer to store people's bicycles over the winter after you do a tune-up and any needed repairs on them. If you want to cater to the Lance Armstrong wannabes, you can have business all year round. These road race riders are training through snow, sleet and dark of night. Some of them work on their own bicycles, but many of them don't, so you can get their business all year. And if you keep Saturday shop hours, you can be sure you will have a group of enthusiasts coming by to talk all things cycling.3. BOAT CLEANINGExperience, training or licensing may be neededBoats that are hauled out of the water for the winter or even just for mid-season repairs will need the hull cleaned. And depending on the type of boat, it is a good time to give a major cleaning everything else too--the decks, the sleeping quarters, the head, and the holds. Start by approaching homes that have a boat sitting in the yard. Or you could market your services to the marina to contract you to do the boat cleaning it offers to customers.4. BUSINESS PLAN SERVICEHas expansion possibilitiesOffer a soup-to-nuts business plan, including market research, the business plan narrative and the financial statements. Plan your fee around the main one that the client will want and offer the others as add-on services. You can give clients an electronic file and allow them to take it from there, or you can keep the business plan on file and offer the service of tweaking it whenever necessary. Have business plan samples to show clients--and make sure to include your own!Read This: Write Your Business Plan by The Staff at Entrepreneur Media | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble5. CHIMNEY SWEEPLearning to be a chimney sweep may mean nothing more than apprenticing with someone already in the business. By becoming a chimney expert, you can combine a chimney sweep business with a chimney inspection service--covering more than just whether or not the chimney needs cleaning but whether the chimney is in good working order or in need of repair.6. CLEANING SERVICEThere are many directions you can take this business. If you want to work during hours when no one else does, you can focus on office clients. You can focus on retail businesses and keep your customers clumped into one or two blocks. Restaurants are in great need of daily thorough cleaning and can be a great source of steady clients. Perhaps you would be more interested in house cleaning. Many times with cleaning services you don't have to spend lots of money on advertising or marketing because your customers will come by word of mouth.Read This: Start Your Own Cleaning Service by Entrepreneur Press and Jacquelyn Lynn | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble7. COMPUTER REPAIRExperience, training or licensing may be neededStudy the main types of software that system users will want--word processing, photo manipulation software, mail merge, spreadsheet, design and especially security software. Investigate all the components--monitor types in all their varieties; keyboards, from wired to ergonomic to wireless; mouse types; as well as peripheral components like printers and scanners. Become completely familiar with all the ISPs (internet service providers) available in the market area you plan to cover. Establish yourself as the guru who can meet the needs of the personal computer user, the small business or a larger corporation.8. CONSULTANTHas expansion possibilitiesTo be a consultant, you need to have an expertise in something so you can market yourself as an advisor to others looking to work in that area. Perhaps you managed several large warehouses in your career with a drugstore company, you did all the marketing for many years for a large shoe manufacturer or you set up a chain of beauty supply shops or take-out restaurants. You can use this experience to help others do similar things without making the same mistakes that you made along the way.Read This: Start Your Own Consulting Business by Entrepreneur Press and Eileen F. Sandlin | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble9. DOG WALKINGExperience, training, or licensing may be neededDog walkers take pooches out for their daily constitutional one or more times a day, either individually or in small groups. In some cities across the United States, like New York, dog walking alone can be a booming business. But it's actually more common for dog walkers to offer additional services, including playing with and feeding pets, bringing in newspapers and mail, and turning lights on and off.Read This: Start Your Own Pet Business and More by Entrepreneur Press and Eileen F. Sandlin | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble10. EBAY ASSISTANTDo you have items lurking around your household that you could sell on eBay? Figure out your asking price and decide whether to auction it or put it in your eBay store. Then decide if you want a minimum bid and how long you want the auction to last. You will want to establish a PayPal account to use for transactions. The eBay website provides all the information you need to know to get up and running with an eBay business. Chatbots are offering creative new ways to help businesses with these functions.Start Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, 5th EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Strategic ManagementBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Effective LeadershipBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Etsy BusinessBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Nonprofit Organization, 2nd EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, 5th EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Strategic ManagementBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy From12345Read This: eBay Business All-in-One For Dummies by Marsha Collier | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & NobleFrom Editorial Services to Household Organizer11. EDITORIAL SERVICESHas expansion possibilitiesHere are some of the editorial services you can provide from the quiet of your own home:Copyediting. This is where fact checking takes place, and where grammatical, stylistic and typographical errors are caught.Proofreading. This is the last stop for a "finished" piece. The proofreader makes sure the copyediting changes have been properly made and no new errors are created in the process.Indexing. There are indexing courses available and you can get indexing software.Developmental editing. A developmental editor works with a manuscript on big-picture things like organization and content issues.Book doctoring. This is an editorial service provided for manuscripts written by experts. They create a manuscript as best they can and then a book doctor puts it into publishable shape.Ghost Writing. As a ghost writer, you actually do the research and write the book and someone else's name is attached as the author.Copywriting. Also known as business writing, this is writing that promotes a product or a service.Book writing. Do you have an expertise in something professional, such as accounting or interior decorating? Or personally, like knitting? Why not write a book about it?Magazine article writing. Magazines and newspapers are a great way to get your writing published before tackling the daunting task of writing a whole book.Web page content provider. Providing content for a web site is a good way to make some money writing.Read This: Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business and More by Entrepreneur Press and George Sheldon | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble12. ELECTRONICS REPAIRHas expansion possibilitiesThis business is similar to the computer repair business, but you will take on all sorts of electronic equipment besides just computers. With smaller electronics, you will need to be prepared to have customers bring their repair projects to you, as you would have difficulty recovering the cost of driving around picking up broken equipment and returning it. You may also want to encourage people to give you their old electronics so you can use them for parts.13. EVENT PLANNINGHas expansion possibilitiesOne of the first things you need to do is visit every potential event location with which you plan to work. Work with the marketing manager to tour each site and learn what is available at each location. Start a database that will allow you to sort venues by varying features--the number of people each site holds, if there is AV equipment available on site, will you need to arrange for rental chairs, etc. Then when you are beginning to plan an event with a client, you can find out what the key parameters are for the event and easily pull up the three or four sites that meet the basic criteria. and engagement parties, etc.Read This: Start Your Own Event Planning Business by The Staff at Entrepreneur Media and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble14. EXPERT WITNESS SERVICEExperience, training or licensing may be neededOne way to make money in this field is by being an expert witness yourself. If you have an expertise that could be useful in legal cases, you can market yourself to attorneys to act as an expert witness. Another way to be active in the expert witness field is to play a sort of matchmaker, matching attorneys up with expert witnesses for their cases--either for the defense or for the prosecution. Expert witnesses for big money cases can be expected to fly anywhere to testify. There's no reason your database of witnesses can't be from all parts of the country.15. FINANCIAL PLANNERExperience, training or licensing may be neededTo start, you should go through the certification process so that you can label yourself a CFP (Certified Financial Planner). Your certificate shows that you have expertise and credibility, and this differentiation will help people choose you as their financial planner.16. FLEA MARKETHas expansion possibilitiesPeople love to spend weekends rummaging through tables full of other people's unwanted items, looking for treasures. Make sure to change your layout and put new stuff out for sale often. You want people to come back time and again to see what's new. You don't even have to have that much new stuff to make things look new. Just moving an item from a table to the top of a bookshelf might get it noticed, even though the item has been in your inventory since you first started having sales.Read This: Flea Market America: The Complete Guide to Flea Enterprise by Cree McCree | Amazon | Barnes & Noble17. GOLF COACHExperience, training or licensing may be neededLet the local public courses know about your coaching business. Cultivate relationships with the staff and encourage them to recommend you as a coach. Another place to look for customers is the corporate world. Golfing is a game that business people use to develop relationships outside the office. You do need to be a better than average golfer to develop a reputation as a golf coach. You also need to be a good teacher, know how to be motivational and be willing to work with many different types of people.18. HOME ENERGY AUDITORExperience, training or licensing may be neededAll homeowners are always on the lookout for ways to save on their utility bills. You can come to their aid by providing them with an audit of their house and giving them a breakdown of how they could accomplish real savings in heating, cooling and electrical use. You can go one step further and do the implementation and installation of some of your suggestions in their home yourself. Do a complete appliance audit, with efficiency ratings and calculations based on the age of the appliance. And don't forget the water heater!Read This: Toward a Zero Energy Home: A Complete Guide to Energy Self-Sufficiency at Home by David Johnston and Scott Gibson | Amazon | Indigo.ca | Barnes & NobleGetty Images | David Sacks19. HOME INSPECTIONExperience, training or licensing may be neededIn order to be successful, you will want to establish contacts with real estate agents who can recommend your services to customers. The home inspection field is one where you will need to do constant updating of your education and knowledge. New products are constantly coming out on the market--if you only know about decks made of wood, you will not know how to inspect and assess the new materials on the market, such as composites that are made to look like real wood. Also keep apprised of all safety updates of materials and issues with things like off-gassing, carbon monoxide production, and other chemical precautions.Read This: Start Your Own Home Inspection Service by Entrepreneur Press | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble20. HOUSEHOLD ORGANIZERHas expansion possibilitiesStart Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, 5th EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Strategic ManagementBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Effective LeadershipBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Etsy BusinessBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Nonprofit Organization, 2nd EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, 5th EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Strategic ManagementBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy From12345You can choose either to do the organizing work or to come in to a home and consult on the things the homeowner could do to better organize. Have a portfolio of different organizational scenarios in different rooms in the home and talk with the homeowner about the style he or she likes. Create checklists and questionnaires to understand how the family uses the home. Are the kids wildly busy with after-school activities? Or are they usually home after school and want access to their toys? Do they share rooms? All of these things will help you tailor an organizing plan and become the family hero.From Import/Export to Solar Energy21. IMPORT/EXPORT SPECIALISTExperience, training or licensing may be neededIf you don't already have work experience with importing and/or exporting, you will have a longer learning curve. You can start by learning the basics and hosting educational sessions to teach others what they need to know to get started in import/export. That alone would probably gain you your first couple of clients. If you keep going with educational seminars and expand your reach to outside your immediate region, you could probably develop a sufficient and ongoing customer base very quickly, but be careful not to outpace your learning curve!Read This: Start Your Own Import/Export Business by Entrepreneur Press and Krista Turner | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble22. INTERIOR DECORATORExperience, training or licensing may be neededMarket your talents to building contractors. People purchasing new homes can often be overwhelmed with the choices and possibilities in home decorating. Design some questionnaires for each major element and each major room in the house. Find out how the homeowner will use the home--are there children? Pets? Does the woman of the house wear high heels? Do the home's residents neglect to remove shoes? How will each room be used? Where might task lighting and ambient lighting be most appropriate?23. JEWELRY MAKINGExperience, training or licensing may be neededThere are many different ways of getting into the jewelry business and many different types of materials with which you can work. Working in metal will probably require the most in the way of specific tools. You need to be able to heat the metal to manipulate it, and you need metalworking tools to cut and engrave it. But there are many other materials that you can work with to make jewelry--glass, plastic, beads, feathers, even wood, to name just a few.Read This: Start Your Own Fashion Accessories Business by Entrepreneur Press and Eileen F. Sandlin | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble24. MARKETING COPY WRITERExperience, training or licensing may be neededIf you can write copy that gets people excited about purchasing what your client has to sell, you can make good money in this business. Unless you are highly experienced from working in the copywriting field, take a course. There are online courses or classes at community colleges and universities that can give you a leg up in getting savvy at writing copy for brochures, catalogs, advertising and, of course, marketing copy for the web.25. NOTARY PUBLIC/JUSTICE OF THE PEACEExperience, training or licensing may be neededIn most states in the U.S., a notary public is a state officer who is authorized to witness and attest to the legalities of certain documents by signature and stamping a seal. Most states require that you pass an exam and a background check. It costs very little to become a notary and your income from notary work is negligible. A justice of the peace typically performs wedding ceremonies. States have varying rules and procedures for becoming a JP and performing services. Becoming a JP and/or notary public does not cost much money. And it is not a big moneymaking venture! Many states set the fees you can charge for JP services. JPs can add additional fees, and often do, including travel and hourly rates for additional meetings such as rehearsals, other prep time and any special requests.26. PERSONAL CONCIERGEThis business is for someone who is supremely efficient and has the ability to make things happen. People who hire you will expect things when they want them and you need to be able to come through with not only what they want, but with a personal touch and a smile on your face. The most likely clients for a personal concierge service are top executives who find themselves at the office by 7 a.m. and are there most nights until 9 p.m., leaving them very little time to do all those things that often need to be done during those very hours.Read This: Start Your Own Personal Concierge Service by Entrepreneur Press and Ciree Linsenman | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble27. PERSONAL TRAINERExperience, training or licensing may be neededAdvertise your services in places where everyone goes, like restaurants and grocery stores. Having a website is a good idea--people want some privacy in their decision-making when it comes to getting fit. They can go to your website and determine if your approach to personal training is an approach that would work for them. It is important to emphasize the safety aspect of using a personal trainer. You can help clients get fit and avoid injury.Read This: Start Your Own Personal Training Business by The Staff of Entrepreneur Media and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | Indigo.ca | Barnes & Noble28. PROPERTY MANAGEMENTYour job, in the case of rental units, will be to make sure the property is running smoothly. For seasonal properties, you will most likely spend your management time making sure the property is ready for seasonal visits and well-maintained when no one is around. If the owners go away for six weeks in the winter, the property manager makes regular checks on the property. You will be the contact number if the security system operator needs to contact someone about a breach in security.29. SMALL ENGINE REPAIRExperience, training or licensing may be neededMost community colleges offer some level of engine-repair courses. Another way to learn would be to take a part-time position at a repair shop or a rental facility where you could learn on the job, although you will want to be open about your plans. You should be prepared to work on push-behind lawn mowers, riding lawn mowers, generators, garden tools such as rototillers and edgers, chainsaws, wood chippers and snowblowers. You need to decide whether you'll want to take on bigger jobs, such as tractors, snowmobiles and ATVs; space may be your decision-maker.30. SOLAR ENERGY CONSULTANTExperience, training or licensing may be neededHas expansion possibilitiesAs a solar consultant, you can basically conduct a home inspection and give clients a report on their solar options for their particular home and site. This can range from full-fledged general solar installations that generate electricity to simple solar walkway lighting. You might want to start by working in a solar products company to become knowledgeable in the solar energy field. However, to be a consultant, it is often best not to be affiliated with any one company or product and be able to recommend products and options across the field of solar energy.Start Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, 5th EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Strategic ManagementBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Effective LeadershipBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Etsy BusinessBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Nonprofit Organization, 2nd EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, 5th EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Strategic ManagementBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy From12345Read This: Solar Energy: Technologies and Project Delivery for Buildings by Andy Walker | Amazon | Indigo.ca | Barnes & NobleFrom Tax Preparer to Graphic Design31. TAX PREPARERExperience, training or licensing may be neededMost tax preparation franchises offer courses, seminars, and training to get you ready to work for them. You will learn a lot about tax preparation while working for them before going out on your own. There is a lot of educational support out there to learn tax preparation and all its complexities. And there are lots of individuals and businesses willing to spend a few hundred dollars a year to have someone else prepare their taxes and keep watch for tax breaks or tax burdens on their behalf.32. TAXIDERMISTExperience, training or licensing may be neededToday's world of taxidermy isn't exclusive to preserving real specimens. Taxidermy also refers to recreating a specimen using completely artificial materials. Taxidermy schools where you can learn the trade are located almost throughout the country, typically as courses over several weeks specializing in certain levels of expertise, from beginner to master's level. Like any enterprise, there are taxidermy conventions that you can attend and learn about the latest techniques and materials.Getty Images | Jetta Productions33. UPHOLSTERINGIf you have a knack for sewing, upholstery repair might be a perfect business for you. One of the best ways to learn how to upholster is to get some discarded upholstered furniture and start tearing it apart. Many books and some videos are available to help you learn this trade. Often furniture ready for upholstering will also need repairs. Have a list available of furniture repair people you can recommend to your customers. Or you can take the piece in, have repair people you work with do this work for you, and add it to the overall cost. You can also learn to do this work, especially minor repairs, yourself.Read This: Spruce: A Step-by-Step Guide to Upholstery and Design by Amanda Brown | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble34. USED BOOK SALESAlmost everyone has a few boxes of books stashed away in the house somewhere. Why not make a business out of them? In order to gain customers--especially repeat customers--you will need to have some regular shop hours. Make your shop known for something-a specific category (or two) of books, having some first editions for sale, all paperbacks a dollar and all hardcovers two bucks, and/or a swap program. Maps, illustrations, postcards, greeting cards and magazines are good sidelines to include in your shop.35. WEDDING PLANNERYou will need to be up-to-date on wedding trends and fads, dress styles, color trends--almost everything under the sun! Offer your customers an ala carte menu of services, from helping pick flowers, the wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses to picking the venue and hiring the caterer. Before you open your business, shop at all the wedding shops, and even pretend you are a bride-to-be to see what kinds of services the wedding gown shop provides and how they treat potential customers. You need to know every detail of the business to give the accurate impression that you are the go-to person for anyone planning a wedding.Read This: Start Your Own Event Planning Business by The Staff of Entrepreneur Media and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble$1,500 to 3,000 to start up36. APPLIANCE REPAIRExperience, training or licensing may be neededEvery household has a number of appliances, large and small. You can work on your own or on contract with appliance stores to cover their warranty service calls--or, best of all, you can do some of each. Plan to start slow and build your customer base on recommendations and referrals based on work well done. Consider developing relationships with contractors to be the go-to person to install appliances in newly constructed houses.37. COMPUTER TRAININGExperience, training or licensing may be neededHas expansion possibilitiesIf you are proficient in both Macintosh and PC, you should offer training in both types of computers. You could probably make a living helping seniors learn how to use the internet and e-mail to keep in touch with their loved ones, who are now commonly spread around the country. Err on the side of caution in this business. People do not want to know all the details about what makes a computer work. If you overload them with information from the beginning by explaining bits, bytes, and megapixels, they will stick to their paper and pencil forever.38. DESKTOP PUBLISHERExperience, training or licensing may be neededYou can use desktop publishing software to create newsletters, magazines, books or even marketing materials. You can create the content for your desktop publications, or you can pay a writer to create the content for you. Alternatively, you can advertise your desktop publishing services to design and create newsletters and books for others with their content.39. FENCE INSTALLATIONSFences are everywhere. And they don't last forever, so they need to be repaired and replaced with a certain amount of frequency. The most common fence material is wood. However, vinyl has become a popular fence choice due to its longevity and relative freedom from maintenance. Wrought iron is another common fencing, especially in urban environments. You can have fun shopping for vintage wrought iron fencing at salvage yards.40. FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGNERExperience, training or licensing may be neededDespite the proliferation of the internet, print media is here to stay for the foreseeable future! Fliers, newsletters, magazines, information sheets, letters and advertisements are just a few of the types of print media that business hire freelancers to create for them. Websites and online advertising need graphic design services as well. Even if your expertise is only in design, offer the works for potential clients, including the editorial creation and the printing and even mailing of the final piece. You can line up regular freelancers for those parts of the job you can't do.Start Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, 5th EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Strategic ManagementBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Effective LeadershipBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Etsy BusinessBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Nonprofit Organization, 2nd EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, 5th EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Strategic ManagementBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy From12345Read This: Start Your Own Graphic Design Business by Entrepreneur Press and George Sheldon | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & NobleFrom Gift Baskets to Rug Cleaning41. GIFT BASKET SERVICEHas expansion possibilitiesFinding a niche is the best way to start out in the gift basket business. Are you a dog lover, horse lover, or exercise guru who could put together baskets that hold the things that people with this interest would like? Do you already create a product that a gift basket could be built around? Have you made your own soaps for the past 10 years? A gift basket that included one or two of your soaps, hand lotion, a scrub brush and manicure kit could be a lovely basket to receive.Read This: Start Your Own Gift Basket Service by Entrepreneur Press and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble42. GRAFFITI REMOVALCreate an arsenal of cleaning products that can clean almost every kind of product (paint, chalk, markers) from every kind of surface (cement, wood, pavement). The best way to conduct a graffiti service is to offer a subscription-like arrangement. Once a month or whatever interval makes sense for your clients, go around to their property and clean off the graffiti. Charge them a monthly or quarterly fee and make it simple for everyone--they don't have to think about graffiti, and you just do your job.43. HAIRSTYLISTExperience, training or licensing may be neededHairstyling is a popular business that can be quite lucrative. Generally a home based hairstylist business is likely to be started by someone who has already has a cosmetology career and wants a change. If you already have your cosmetology training and license, and loads of experience under your belt working in a hairstyling salon, you probably have a following that will follow you right home without any hesitation.Read This: Start Your Own Hair Salon and Day Spa by Entrepreneur Press and Eileen F. Sandlin | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble4. HERBAL FARM STANDYou need to decide whether you will sell your herbs as live plants, picked or cut in bunches and packed, or dried. If you plan to market to cooks instead of gardeners, you will want to sell your herbs either fresh cut and packed in sealed bags, or dried and sold in baggies. You can also consider a "pick-your-own" arrangement; however, be aware that herbs are more delicate than most P.Y.O. products. You may save your garden a lot of strife and your plants a lot of wear and tear if you do the picking.45. LANDSCAPERExperience, training or licensing may be neededIf you have a knack for this type of work, a degree won't be necessary. Most people want their yards tidied up in the spring, their lawns mowed in the summer, their leaves removed in the fall, and their shrubs and driveways ready for winter snow. You will also want to offer garden work such as spring planting of annuals and perennials; vegetable garden preparation, planting and fall cleanup; pest control and watering. You can offer tree care service. There is plenty to do in the yard that has nothing to do with plants: stone wall restoration, fencing, irrigation system installation.Read This: Start Your Own Lawn Care or Landscaping Business by The Staff of Entrepreneur Media and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble46. MASSAGE THERAPISTExperience, training or licensing may be neededYou will want to become certified in massage therapy to be able to effectively market your services. Courses that lead to certification include not only information on human anatomy and physiology and the effects that massage has on both, but also on how to make a business out of the field of massage. You could do either a certification program or an associate's degree and stay within the $5,000 scope of this book.Read This: Start Your Own Day Spa and More by Entrepreneur Press and Preethi Burkholder | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble47. MOVING SERVICELots of people who are moving want to hire someone to do the heavy lifting for them. You can leave the large-scale, long-distance moving to the big moving companies. Your work can be the local, moving-across-town or to the town-next-door jobs. These are the ones that people start off thinking perhaps they could do themselves, and it will be your job to convince them otherwise. Your signs around town will tempt them to let you take care of that part of the move, while they are busy taking care of those other 500 items on their list.48. MUSIC LESSONSExperience, training or licensing may be neededYou want to stick to the instrument(s) you know, but you may be a skilled enough musician to offer lessons on several different instruments, or those in a particular class, e.g., stringed or woodwind.You can decide to take on individuals or classes, depending on space and availability of instruments. Public schools are continually reducing their commitment to art and music classes for students, so you can try to work with the public school system to supplement their efforts in those areas.49. PHOTOGRAPHERExperience, training or licensing may be neededMaking money as a photographer can be done in a number of different ways. You can specialize in one area, the most common being weddings. There are niches you can explore for photography: portraits of people and their pets, families, and homes; photographs of holiday events, birthday parties or Christmas cards; the possibilities are endless.Read This: Start Your Own Photography Business by Entrepreneur Press and Charlene Davis | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble50. RUG CLEANINGStart Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, 5th EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Strategic ManagementBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Effective LeadershipBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Etsy BusinessBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Nonprofit Organization, 2nd EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromStart Your Own Freight Brokerage Business, 5th EditionBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy FromEntrepreneur Voices on Strategic ManagementBy: The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc.Buy From12345You will need to learn how to work with all kinds of carpet fabrics, from synthetic to wool carpets. Decide whether you will take on valuable antique carpets and family heirlooms; if so, you will want to get specialized training in how to handle these carpets and the specialized ways of cleaning them. Learn how to get tough stains and odors out of carpets--such as dog and cat odors--and your services will be in great demand.From Websites to Pet Sitting51. WEBSITE DEVELOPERExperience, training or licensing may be neededMany courses exist (many of which, logically, are offered online) where you can learn the language of website creation and can learn about the details, like how to set up shopping cart systems, security concerns, etc. You will, of course, need to learn about each company you design for. What is the atmosphere of the company that you need to reflect in the website design--is it wild and contemporary, meaning brilliant colors and fun graphics? Or will more classic colors like black, navy blue and maroon be more appropriate?Offer: Get a 10-day free trial to Lynda.com and learn web development – among many other topics and courses – anytime, anywhere.$3,000 to $5,000 to start up52. BED AND BREAKFASTDo you have a room that has its own bathroom and is private from the rest of the living space? Are you near attractions such as a tourist area, sports stadium or venue for a large annual event? Or is your home in the country with spring peepers, summer crickets and crisp fall nights that could give a city-dweller a weekend of peaceful living? Say you can rent the room for $150 a night for Friday and Saturday nights 48 weeks a year--that's $14,400 in revenue! Utilize what you have and create a unique experience.Read This: Start Your Own Bed and Breakfast by Entrepreneur Press and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble53. CHRISTMAS TREE SALESIf you want to start a Christmas tree farm, you need to plan ahead. It takes approximately seven years for a Balsam fir--perhaps the most traditional Christmas tree--to grow from a small sapling to a 5- to 6-foot tree. Selling your trees yourself is the best option. Consumers come to the property, pick the one they want, and you harvest it for them. The other option is to buy your trees from a wholesaler and sell them either in your yard or in a vacant lot that you rent from Thanksgiving to Christmas.54. DAY CAREExperience, training or licensing may be neededPerhaps you love children. Perhaps you have children of your own and the idea of taking care of a few more for part of the day appeals to you. Child-care needs continue to soar in the United States. Many people prefer the option of their child being cared for in a home environment while they are at work, opposed to a more institutional-like setting. These things mean that a homebased childcare business can get off and running immediately.Read This: Start Your Own Child-Care Service by The Staff of Entrepreneur Media and Jacquelyn Lynn | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble55. PET SITTINGExperience, training or licensing may be neededStarting a pet sitting service requires almost nothing in start-up costs. You do need some general credentials that will cost little or nothing to acquire. Your list of credentials should probably include personal pet ownership--if not currently, at least in the past--as well as other pet-related experience, including working at a pet food store, an animal hospital or other animal-related business. You will need to spend a little to become "bonded." This is known as "honesty insurance," and ensures your clients that you won't get their house keys and make off with their valuables (or that they'll get their money back if you do).i hope that could be more help

Today, tens of thousands of people are considering starting a home based business, and for good reasons. On average, people can expect to have two and three careers during their work life. Those leaving one career often think about their second or third career move being to their own home. People who have been part of the traditional nine-to-five work force and are on the verge of retiring from that life are thinking of what to do next. The good news: Starting a homebased business is within the reach of almost anyone who wants to take a risk and work hard.$1,500 or less to start up1. ACCOUNTANTExperience, training or licensing may be neededCreate a flier outlining your services. Before you do that, you need to know what those services will be. Do you want to simply do bookkeeping for a small business? A more involved level of accounting would be do actually work up balance sheets, income statements, and other financial reports on a monthly, quarterly, and/or annual basis, depending on the needs of the business. Other specializations can include tax accounting, a huge area of potential work. Service companies like Due.com assisted freelancers with payments. Many owners don't mind keeping their own day-to-day bookkeeping records but would rather get professional help with their taxes.2. BICYCLE REPAIRIn many parts of the country, this business tends to be seasonal, but you can find ways around that. Rent a storage unit and offer to store people's bicycles over the winter after you do a tune-up and any needed repairs on them. If you want to cater to the Lance Armstrong wannabes, you can have business all year round. These road race riders are training through snow, sleet and dark of night. Some of them work on their own bicycles, but many of them don't, so you can get their business all year. And if you keep Saturday shop hours, you can be sure you will have a group of enthusiasts coming by to talk all things cycling.3. BOAT CLEANINGExperience, training or licensing may be neededBoats that are hauled out of the water for the winter or even just for mid-season repairs will need the hull cleaned. And depending on the type of boat, it is a good time to give a major cleaning everything else too--the decks, the sleeping quarters, the head, and the holds. Start by approaching homes that have a boat sitting in the yard. Or you could market your services to the marina to contract you to do the boat cleaning it offers to customers.4. BUSINESS PLAN SERVICEHas expansion possibilitiesOffer a soup-to-nuts business plan, including market research, the business plan narrative and the financial statements. Plan your fee around the main one that the client will want and offer the others as add-on services. You can give clients an electronic file and allow them to take it from there, or you can keep the business plan on file and offer the service of tweaking it whenever necessary. Have business plan samples to show clients--and make sure to include your own!Read This: Write Your Business Plan by The Staff at Entrepreneur Media |Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble5. CHIMNEY SWEEPLearning to be a chimney sweep may mean nothing more than apprenticing with someone already in the business. By becoming a chimney expert, you can combine a chimney sweep business with a chimney inspection service--covering more than just whether or not the chimney needs cleaning but whether the chimney is in good working order or in need of repair.6. CLEANING SERVICEThere are many directions you can take this business. If you want to work during hours when no one else does, you can focus on office clients. You can focus on retail businesses and keep your customers clumped into one or two blocks. Restaurants are in great need of daily thorough cleaning and can be a great source of steady clients. Perhaps you would be more interested in house cleaning. Many times with cleaning services you don't have to spend lots of money on advertising or marketing because your customers will come by word of mouth.Read This: Start Your Own Cleaning Service by Entrepreneur Press and Jacquelyn Lynn | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble7. COMPUTER REPAIRExperience, training or licensing may be neededStudy the main types of software that system users will want--word processing, photo manipulation software, mail merge, spreadsheet, design and especially security software. Investigate all the components--monitor types in all their varieties; keyboards, from wired to ergonomic to wireless; mouse types; as well as peripheral components like printers and scanners. Become completely familiar with all the ISPs (internet service providers) available in the market area you plan to cover. Establish yourself as the guru who can meet the needs of the personal computer user, the small business or a larger corporation.8. CONSULTANTHas expansion possibilitiesTo be a consultant, you need to have an expertise in something so you can market yourself as an advisor to others looking to work in that area. Perhaps you managed several large warehouses in your career with a drugstore company, you did all the marketing for many years for a large shoe manufacturer or you set up a chain of beauty supply shops or take-out restaurants. You can use this experience to help others do similar things without making the same mistakes that you made along the way.Read This: Start Your Own Consulting Business by Entrepreneur Press and Eileen F. Sandlin |Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble9. DOG WALKINGExperience, training, or licensing may be neededDog walkers take pooches out for their daily constitutional one or more times a day, either individually or in small groups. In some cities across the United States, like New York, dog walking alone can be a booming business. But it's actually more common for dog walkers to offer additional services, including playing with and feeding pets, bringing in newspapers and mail, and turning lights on and off.Read This: Start Your Own Pet Business and More by Entrepreneur Press and Eileen F. Sandlin | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble10. EBAY ASSISTANTDo you have items lurking around your household that you could sell on eBay? Figure out your asking price and decide whether to auction it or put it in your eBay store. Then decide if you want a minimum bid and how long you want the auction to last. You will want to establish a PayPal account to use for transactions. The eBay website provides all the information you need to know to get up and running with an eBay business. Chatbots are offering creative new ways to help businesses with these functions.Read This: eBay Business All-in-One For Dummies by Marsha Collier | Amazon |eBooks.com | Barnes & NobleFrom Editorial Services to Household Organizer11. EDITORIAL SERVICESHas expansion possibilitiesHere are some of the editorial services you can provide from the quiet of your own home:Copyediting. This is where fact checking takes place, and where grammatical, stylistic and typographical errors are caught.Proofreading. This is the last stop for a "finished" piece. The proofreader makes sure the copyediting changes have been properly made and no new errors are created in the process.Indexing. There are indexing courses available and you can get indexing software.Developmental editing. A developmental editor works with a manuscript on big-picture things like organization and content issues.Book doctoring. This is an editorial service provided for manuscripts written by experts. They create a manuscript as best they can and then a book doctor puts it into publishable shape.Ghost Writing. As a ghost writer, you actually do the research and write the book and someone else's name is attached as the author.Copywriting. Also known as business writing, this is writing that promotes a product or a service.Book writing. Do you have an expertise in something professional, such as accounting or interior decorating? Or personally, like knitting? Why not write a book about it?Magazine article writing. Magazines and newspapers are a great way to get your writing published before tackling the daunting task of writing a whole book.Web page content provider. Providing content for a web site is a good way to make some money writing.Read This: Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business and More by Entrepreneur Press and George Sheldon | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble12. ELECTRONICS REPAIRHas expansion possibilitiesThis business is similar to the computer repair business, but you will take on all sorts of electronic equipment besides just computers. With smaller electronics, you will need to be prepared to have customers bring their repair projects to you, as you would have difficulty recovering the cost of driving around picking up broken equipment and returning it. You may also want to encourage people to give you their old electronics so you can use them for parts.13. EVENT PLANNINGHas expansion possibilitiesOne of the first things you need to do is visit every potential event location with which you plan to work. Work with the marketing manager to tour each site and learn what is available at each location. Start a database that will allow you to sort venues by varying features--the number of people each site holds, if there is AV equipment available on site, will you need to arrange for rental chairs, etc. Then when you are beginning to plan an event with a client, you can find out what the key parameters are for the event and easily pull up the three or four sites that meet the basic criteria. and engagement parties, etc.Read This: Start Your Own Event Planning Business by The Staff at Entrepreneur Media and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble14. EXPERT WITNESS SERVICEExperience, training or licensing may be neededOne way to make money in this field is by being an expert witness yourself. If you have an expertise that could be useful in legal cases, you can market yourself to attorneys to act as an expert witness. Another way to be active in the expert witness field is to play a sort of matchmaker, matching attorneys up with expert witnesses for their cases--either for the defense or for the prosecution. Expert witnesses for big money cases can be expected to fly anywhere to testify. There's no reason your database of witnesses can't be from all parts of the country.15. FINANCIAL PLANNERExperience, training or licensing may be neededTo start, you should go through the certification process so that you can label yourself a CFP (Certified Financial Planner). Your certificate shows that you have expertise and credibility, and this differentiation will help people choose you as their financial planner.16. FLEA MARKETHas expansion possibilitiesPeople love to spend weekends rummaging through tables full of other people's unwanted items, looking for treasures. Make sure to change your layout and put new stuff out for sale often. You want people to come back time and again to see what's new. You don't even have to have that much new stuff to make things look new. Just moving an item from a table to the top of a bookshelf might get it noticed, even though the item has been in your inventory since you first started having sales.Read This: Flea Market America: The Complete Guide to Flea Enterprise by Cree McCree | Amazon | Barnes & Noble17. GOLF COACHExperience, training or licensing may be neededLet the local public courses know about your coaching business. Cultivate relationships with the staff and encourage them to recommend you as a coach. Another place to look for customers is the corporate world. Golfing is a game that business people use to develop relationships outside the office. You do need to be a better than average golfer to develop a reputation as a golf coach. You also need to be a good teacher, know how to be motivational and be willing to work with many different types of people.18. HOME ENERGY AUDITORExperience, training or licensing may be neededAll homeowners are always on the lookout for ways to save on their utility bills. You can come to their aid by providing them with an audit of their house and giving them a breakdown of how they could accomplish real savings in heating, cooling and electrical use. You can go one step further and do the implementation and installation of some of your suggestions in their home yourself. Do a complete appliance audit, with efficiency ratings and calculations based on the age of the appliance. And don't forget the water heater!Read This: Toward a Zero Energy Home: A Complete Guide to Energy Self-Sufficiency at Homeby David Johnston and Scott Gibson | Amazon | Indigo.ca | Barnes & NobleGetty Images | David Sacks19. HOME INSPECTIONExperience, training or licensing may be neededIn order to be successful, you will want to establish contacts with real estate agents who can recommend your services to customers. The home inspection field is one where you will need to do constant updating of your education and knowledge. New products are constantly coming out on the market--if you only know about decks made of wood, you will not know how to inspect and assess the new materials on the market, such as composites that are made to look like real wood. Also keep apprised of all safety updates of materials and issues with things like off-gassing, carbon monoxide production, and other chemical precautions.Read This: Start Your Own Home Inspection Service by Entrepreneur Press | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble20. HOUSEHOLD ORGANIZERHas expansion possibilitiesYou can choose either to do the organizing work or to come in to a home and consult on the things the homeowner could do to better organize. Have a portfolio of different organizational scenarios in different rooms in the home and talk with the homeowner about the style he or she likes. Create checklists and questionnaires to understand how the family uses the home. Are the kids wildly busy with after-school activities? Or are they usually home after school and want access to their toys? Do they share rooms? All of these things will help you tailor an organizing plan and become the family hero.From Import/Export to Solar Energy21. IMPORT/EXPORT SPECIALISTExperience, training or licensing may be neededIf you don't already have work experience with importing and/or exporting, you will have a longer learning curve. You can start by learning the basics and hosting educational sessions to teach others what they need to know to get started in import/export. That alone would probably gain you your first couple of clients. If you keep going with educational seminars and expand your reach to outside your immediate region, you could probably develop a sufficient and ongoing customer base very quickly, but be careful not to outpace your learning curve!Read This: Start Your Own Import/Export Business by Entrepreneur Press and Krista Turner | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble22. INTERIOR DECORATORExperience, training or licensing may be neededMarket your talents to building contractors. People purchasing new homes can often be overwhelmed with the choices and possibilities in home decorating. Design some questionnaires for each major element and each major room in the house. Find out how the homeowner will use the home--are there children? Pets? Does the woman of the house wear high heels? Do the home's residents neglect to remove shoes? How will each room be used? Where might task lighting and ambient lighting be most appropriate?23. JEWELRY MAKINGExperience, training or licensing may be neededThere are many different ways of getting into the jewelry business and many different types of materials with which you can work. Working in metal will probably require the most in the way of specific tools. You need to be able to heat the metal to manipulate it, and you need metalworking tools to cut and engrave it. But there are many other materials that you can work with to make jewelry--glass, plastic, beads, feathers, even wood, to name just a few.Read This: Start Your Own Fashion Accessories Business by Entrepreneur Press and Eileen F. Sandlin | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble24. MARKETING COPY WRITERExperience, training or licensing may be neededIf you can write copy that gets people excited about purchasing what your client has to sell, you can make good money in this business. Unless you are highly experienced from working in the copywriting field, take a course. There are online courses or classes at community colleges and universities that can give you a leg up in getting savvy at writing copy for brochures, catalogs, advertising and, of course, marketing copy for the web.25. NOTARY PUBLIC/JUSTICE OF THE PEACEExperience, training or licensing may be neededIn most states in the U.S., a notary public is a state officer who is authorized to witness and attest to the legalities of certain documents by signature and stamping a seal. Most states require that you pass an exam and a background check. It costs very little to become a notary and your income from notary work is negligible. A justice of the peace typically performs wedding ceremonies. States have varying rules and procedures for becoming a JP and performing services. Becoming a JP and/or notary public does not cost much money. And it is not a big moneymaking venture! Many states set the fees you can charge for JP services. JPs can add additional fees, and often do, including travel and hourly rates for additional meetings such as rehearsals, other prep time and any special requests.26. PERSONAL CONCIERGEThis business is for someone who is supremely efficient and has the ability to make things happen. People who hire you will expect things when they want them and you need to be able to come through with not only what they want, but with a personal touch and a smile on your face. The most likely clients for a personal concierge service are top executives who find themselves at the office by 7 a.m. and are there most nights until 9 p.m., leaving them very little time to do all those things that often need to be done during those very hours.Read This: Start Your Own Personal Concierge Service by Entrepreneur Press and Ciree Linsenman | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble27. PERSONAL TRAINERExperience, training or licensing may be neededAdvertise your services in places where everyone goes, like restaurants and grocery stores. Having a website is a good idea--people want some privacy in their decision-making when it comes to getting fit. They can go to your website and determine if your approach to personal training is an approach that would work for them. It is important to emphasize the safety aspect of using a personal trainer. You can help clients get fit and avoid injury.Read This: Start Your Own Personal Training Business by The Staff of Entrepreneur Media and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | Indigo.ca | Barnes & Noble28. PROPERTY MANAGEMENTYour job, in the case of rental units, will be to make sure the property is running smoothly. For seasonal properties, you will most likely spend your management time making sure the property is ready for seasonal visits and well-maintained when no one is around. If the owners go away for six weeks in the winter, the property manager makes regular checks on the property. You will be the contact number if the security system operator needs to contact someone about a breach in security.29. SMALL ENGINE REPAIRExperience, training or licensing may be neededMost community colleges offer some level of engine-repair courses. Another way to learn would be to take a part-time position at a repair shop or a rental facility where you could learn on the job, although you will want to be open about your plans. You should be prepared to work on push-behind lawn mowers, riding lawn mowers, generators, garden tools such as rototillers and edgers, chainsaws, wood chippers and snowblowers. You need to decide whether you'll want to take on bigger jobs, such as tractors, snowmobiles and ATVs; space may be your decision-maker.30. SOLAR ENERGY CONSULTANTExperience, training or licensing may be neededHas expansion possibilitiesAs a solar consultant, you can basically conduct a home inspection and give clients a report on their solar options for their particular home and site. This can range from full-fledged general solar installations that generate electricity to simple solar walkway lighting. You might want to start by working in a solar products company to become knowledgeable in the solar energy field. However, to be a consultant, it is often best not to be affiliated with any one company or product and be able to recommend products and options across the field of solar energy.Read This: Solar Energy: Technologies and Project Delivery for Buildings by Andy Walker | Amazon | Indigo.ca | Barnes & NobleFrom Tax Preparer to Graphic Design31. TAX PREPARERExperience, training or licensing may be neededMost tax preparation franchises offer courses, seminars, and training to get you ready to work for them. You will learn a lot about tax preparation while working for them before going out on your own. There is a lot of educational support out there to learn tax preparation and all its complexities. And there are lots of individuals and businesses willing to spend a few hundred dollars a year to have someone else prepare their taxes and keep watch for tax breaks or tax burdens on their behalf.32. TAXIDERMISTExperience, training or licensing may be neededToday's world of taxidermy isn't exclusive to preserving real specimens. Taxidermy also refers to recreating a specimen using completely artificial materials. Taxidermy schools where you can learn the trade are located almost throughout the country, typically as courses over several weeks specializing in certain levels of expertise, from beginner to master's level. Like any enterprise, there are taxidermy conventions that you can attend and learn about the latest techniques and materials.Getty Images | Jetta Productions33. UPHOLSTERINGIf you have a knack for sewing, upholstery repair might be a perfect business for you. One of the best ways to learn how to upholster is to get some discarded upholstered furniture and start tearing it apart. Many books and some videos are available to help you learn this trade. Often furniture ready for upholstering will also need repairs. Have a list available of furniture repair people you can recommend to your customers. Or you can take the piece in, have repair people you work with do this work for you, and add it to the overall cost. You can also learn to do this work, especially minor repairs, yourself.Read This: Spruce: A Step-by-Step Guide to Upholstery and Design by Amanda Brown | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble34. USED BOOK SALESAlmost everyone has a few boxes of books stashed away in the house somewhere. Why not make a business out of them? In order to gain customers--especially repeat customers--you will need to have some regular shop hours. Make your shop known for something-a specific category (or two) of books, having some first editions for sale, all paperbacks a dollar and all hardcovers two bucks, and/or a swap program. Maps, illustrations, postcards, greeting cards and magazines are good sidelines to include in your shop.35. WEDDING PLANNERYou will need to be up-to-date on wedding trends and fads, dress styles, color trends--almost everything under the sun! Offer your customers an ala carte menu of services, from helping pick flowers, the wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses to picking the venue and hiring the caterer. Before you open your business, shop at all the wedding shops, and even pretend you are a bride-to-be to see what kinds of services the wedding gown shop provides and how they treat potential customers. You need to know every detail of the business to give the accurate impression that you are the go-to person for anyone planning a wedding.Read This: Start Your Own Event Planning Business by The Staff of Entrepreneur Media and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble$1,500 to 3,000 to start up36. APPLIANCE REPAIRExperience, training or licensing may be neededEvery household has a number of appliances, large and small. You can work on your own or on contract with appliance stores to cover their warranty service calls--or, best of all, you can do some of each. Plan to start slow and build your customer base on recommendations and referrals based on work well done. Consider developing relationships with contractors to be the go-to person to install appliances in newly constructed houses.37. COMPUTER TRAININGExperience, training or licensing may be neededHas expansion possibilitiesIf you are proficient in both Macintosh and PC, you should offer training in both types of computers. You could probably make a living helping seniors learn how to use the internet and e-mail to keep in touch with their loved ones, who are now commonly spread around the country. Err on the side of caution in this business. People do not want to know all the details about what makes a computer work. If you overload them with information from the beginning by explaining bits, bytes, and megapixels, they will stick to their paper and pencil forever.38. DESKTOP PUBLISHERExperience, training or licensing may be neededYou can use desktop publishing software to create newsletters, magazines, books or even marketing materials. You can create the content for your desktop publications, or you can pay a writer to create the content for you. Alternatively, you can advertise your desktop publishing services to design and create newsletters and books for others with their content.39. FENCE INSTALLATIONSFences are everywhere. And they don't last forever, so they need to be repaired and replaced with a certain amount of frequency. The most common fence material is wood. However, vinyl has become a popular fence choice due to its longevity and relative freedom from maintenance. Wrought iron is another common fencing, especially in urban environments. You can have fun shopping for vintage wrought iron fencing at salvage yards.40. FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGNERExperience, training or licensing may be neededDespite the proliferation of the internet, print media is here to stay for the foreseeable future! Fliers, newsletters, magazines, information sheets, letters and advertisements are just a few of the types of print media that business hire freelancers to create for them. Websites and online advertising need graphic design services as well. Even if your expertise is only in design, offer the works for potential clients, including the editorial creation and the printing and even mailing of the final piece. You can line up regular freelancers for those parts of the job you can't do.Read This: Start Your Own Graphic Design Business by Entrepreneur Press and George Sheldon | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & NobleFrom Gift Baskets to Rug Cleaning41. GIFT BASKET SERVICEHas expansion possibilitiesFinding a niche is the best way to start out in the gift basket business. Are you a dog lover, horse lover, or exercise guru who could put together baskets that hold the things that people with this interest would like? Do you already create a product that a gift basket could be built around? Have you made your own soaps for the past 10 years? A gift basket that included one or two of your soaps, hand lotion, a scrub brush and manicure kit could be a lovely basket to receive.Read This: Start Your Own Gift Basket Service by Entrepreneur Press and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble42. GRAFFITI REMOVALCreate an arsenal of cleaning products that can clean almost every kind of product (paint, chalk, markers) from every kind of surface (cement, wood, pavement). The best way to conduct a graffiti service is to offer a subscription-like arrangement. Once a month or whatever interval makes sense for your clients, go around to their property and clean off the graffiti. Charge them a monthly or quarterly fee and make it simple for everyone--they don't have to think about graffiti, and you just do your job.43. HAIRSTYLISTExperience, training or licensing may be neededHairstyling is a popular business that can be quite lucrative. Generally a home based hairstylist business is likely to be started by someone who has already has a cosmetology career and wants a change. If you already have your cosmetology training and license, and loads of experience under your belt working in a hairstyling salon, you probably have a following that will follow you right home without any hesitation.Read This: Start Your Own Hair Salon and Day Spa by Entrepreneur Press and Eileen F. Sandlin | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble4. HERBAL FARM STANDYou need to decide whether you will sell your herbs as live plants, picked or cut in bunches and packed, or dried. If you plan to market to cooks instead of gardeners, you will want to sell your herbs either fresh cut and packed in sealed bags, or dried and sold in baggies. You can also consider a "pick-your-own" arrangement; however, be aware that herbs are more delicate than most P.Y.O. products. You may save your garden a lot of strife and your plants a lot of wear and tear if you do the picking.45. LANDSCAPERExperience, training or licensing may be neededIf you have a knack for this type of work, a degree won't be necessary. Most people want their yards tidied up in the spring, their lawns mowed in the summer, their leaves removed in the fall, and their shrubs and driveways ready for winter snow. You will also want to offer garden work such as spring planting of annuals and perennials; vegetable garden preparation, planting and fall cleanup; pest control and watering. You can offer tree care service. There is plenty to do in the yard that has nothing to do with plants: stone wall restoration, fencing, irrigation system installation.Read This: Start Your Own Lawn Care or Landscaping Business by The Staff of Entrepreneur Media and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble46. MASSAGE THERAPISTExperience, training or licensing may be neededYou will want to become certified in massage therapy to be able to effectively market your services. Courses that lead to certification include not only information on human anatomy and physiology and the effects that massage has on both, but also on how to make a business out of the field of massage. You could do either a certification program or an associate's degree and stay within the $5,000 scope of this book.Read This: Start Your Own Day Spa and More by Entrepreneur Press and Preethi Burkholder | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble47. MOVING SERVICELots of people who are moving want to hire someone to do the heavy lifting for them. You can leave the large-scale, long-distance moving to the big moving companies. Your work can be the local, moving-across-town or to the town-next-door jobs. These are the ones that people start off thinking perhaps they could do themselves, and it will be your job to convince them otherwise. Your signs around town will tempt them to let you take care of that part of the move, while they are busy taking care of those other 500 items on their list.48. MUSIC LESSONSExperience, training or licensing may be neededYou want to stick to the instrument(s) you know, but you may be a skilled enough musician to offer lessons on several different instruments, or those in a particular class, e.g., stringed or woodwind.You can decide to take on individuals or classes, depending on space and availability of instruments. Public schools are continually reducing their commitment to art and music classes for students, so you can try to work with the public school system to supplement their efforts in those areas.49. PHOTOGRAPHERExperience, training or licensing may be neededMaking money as a photographer can be done in a number of different ways. You can specialize in one area, the most common being weddings. There are niches you can explore for photography: portraits of people and their pets, families, and homes; photographs of holiday events, birthday parties or Christmas cards; the possibilities are endless.Read This: Start Your Own Photography Business by Entrepreneur Press and Charlene Davis | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble50. RUG CLEANINGYou will need to learn how to work with all kinds of carpet fabrics, from synthetic to wool carpets. Decide whether you will take on valuable antique carpets and family heirlooms; if so, you will want to get specialized training in how to handle these carpets and the specialized ways of cleaning them. Learn how to get tough stains and odors out of carpets--such as dog and cat odors--and your services will be in great demand.From Websites to Pet Sitting51. WEBSITE DEVELOPERExperience, training or licensing may be neededMany courses exist (many of which, logically, are offered online) where you can learn the language of website creation and can learn about the details, like how to set up shopping cart systems, security concerns, etc. You will, of course, need to learn about each company you design for. What is the atmosphere of the company that you need to reflect in the website design--is it wild and contemporary, meaning brilliant colors and fun graphics? Or will more classic colors like black, navy blue and maroon be more appropriate?Offer: Get a 10-day free trial to Lynda.com and learn web development – among many other topics and courses – anytime, anywhere.$3,000 to $5,000 to start up52. BED AND BREAKFASTDo you have a room that has its own bathroom and is private from the rest of the living space? Are you near attractions such as a tourist area, sports stadium or venue for a large annual event? Or is your home in the country with spring peepers, summer crickets and crisp fall nights that could give a city-dweller a weekend of peaceful living? Say you can rent the room for $150 a night for Friday and Saturday nights 48 weeks a year--that's $14,400 in revenue! Utilize what you have and create a unique experience.Read This: Start Your Own Bed and Breakfast by Entrepreneur Press and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble53. CHRISTMAS TREE SALESIf you want to start a Christmas tree farm, you need to plan ahead. It takes approximately seven years for a Balsam fir--perhaps the most traditional Christmas tree--to grow from a small sapling to a 5- to 6-foot tree. Selling your trees yourself is the best option. Consumers come to the property, pick the one they want, and you harvest it for them. The other option is to buy your trees from a wholesaler and sell them either in your yard or in a vacant lot that you rent from Thanksgiving to Christmas.54. DAY CAREExperience, training or licensing may be neededPerhaps you love children. Perhaps you have children of your own and the idea of taking care of a few more for part of the day appeals to you. Child-care needs continue to soar in the United States. Many people prefer the option of their child being cared for in a home environment while they are at work, opposed to a more institutional-like setting. These things mean that a homebased childcare business can get off and running immediately.Read This: Start Your Own Child-Care Service by The Staff of Entrepreneur Media and Jacquelyn Lynn | Amazon | eBooks.com | Barnes & Noble55. PET SITTINGExperience, training or licensing may be neededStarting a pet sitting service requires almost nothing in start-up costs. You do need some general credentials that will cost little or nothing to acquire. Your list of credentials should probably include personal pet ownership--if not currently, at least in the past--as well as other pet-related experience, including working at a pet food store, an animal hospital or other animal-related business. You will need to spend a little to become "bonded." This is known as "honesty insurance," and ensures your clients that you won't get their house keys and make off with their valuables (or that they'll get their money back if you do).