• Home prices are not declining as quickly.  In recent months, they’ve either remained steady, gone up a little, or seen only a slight drop as opposed to the common major falls of the past.  This is a good sign that consumers are purchasing homes again, rolling money back into the market.
• At the same time, home prices have not witnessed a huge increase.  This side is even better for the consumer; it has become easier for many people to afford homes.  While rising unemployment rates threaten the affordability from the other side (and keep the possibility of foreclosures near), the fact that prices have remained relatively steady offer a positive promise for the real estate future.
• With prices low, the people that can afford to buy homes are actually buying them.  One big help has been the first-time homebuyer tax credit.  People that are buying their first home can receive up to an $8000 tax credit that does not have to be repaid.  If you are in the market for a new home (excuse the pun), do not forget to take advantage of this!  It’s only available through December 1, 2009.
• Even though credit requirements have become stricter due to the high number of recent foreclosures, interest rates have remained low.  This equates to more affordable loans for new homebuyers, as well as a great opportunity for many people to refinance their current homes.
• Foreclosures are still common.  This may seem like an oxymoron; yes, foreclosures are a negative occurrence for all involved parties.  However, foreclosures mean even lower home prices, opening up the possibility of homeownership for even more people.  These properties account for about 1/3 of home sales.  Without the low prices that come with them, home sales would not be rising.  Of course, low foreclosures would be a better sign of recovery, but for now, the fact that it equals a low price and a home sale stands to push the market in the right overall direction.

These indicators may be only small glimmers of hope that the recession will end, but a positive outlook is always beneficial.  If these signs can become a solid base to build upon, perhaps we can eliminate the words “slump” and “downturn” from our vocabulary.

You can start with a simple hobby or an idea that plays to your strongest skills.  It’s always going to be unique to you, but here are a few fun business ideas to start with.

• Host parties!  Get into independent consulting with companies like Partylite, Beachbody, Mary Kay, Avon, Pampered Chef, etc.  These are businesses that already have a plan set up for you, but you can tailor details to fit your personality and your life.  They also only require a minimial investment to get started.  You can run them entirely out of your own home, on your own schedule, and get paid to host other people’s parties.  If you’re excited about the company you choose, it will never feel like work.
• If you love kids, start a daycare.  Especially if you can offer cheaper prices than the bigger local businesses, you’ll have parents practically begging you to take their kids while they go to work or have a much needed night out alone.  If you’re of the mindset that you’re getting paid to play with kids, this can be a lot of fun!
• Perhaps you’re into physical labor, or you’d just love to work outside during the warmer weather.  Get into landscaping or home repair.  Many people simply don’t have the time, talent, or energy to do the work themselves.  Enter you to save the day and make money.  Just as with the daycare, if you can offer a competitive rate and quality work, you’ll have so many jobs lined up that you’ll have to turn some people away.
• Do you like to write?  Do you always have a lot of ideas floating in your head or an opinion on almost every topic?  Start a blog.  It will take some time to build a following and be able to make any significant income, but if you can market yourself well and stay interesting, you can have a high chance of success doing something that you love.
• Sell on ebay.  You can sell your old “junk,” scour rummages and sell other people’s junk, or sell unique items that you’ve created yourself.
• If you’re handy and creative with a camera, you can start your own photography or videography business.  Get the word out that you’re available for weddings, bands, corporate and special events, family functions, etc.  You can do this part-time or work to turn it into a full-time gig, too.

Coming up with your idea might be one of the most difficult parts of starting a business.  You have to make sure it can be profitable and that you’ll be excited about it everyday.  What are your strengths?  If you’re much better with numbers or money itself and therefore not into a so-called “creative” idea, become a financial consultant or a wealth coach or even a personal accountant.  If you find your passion, run with it.  Your chances of success skyrocket when you start a business that you believe is fun!

Opportunity

• Penny stocks are advantageous for an obvious reason: they’re cheap.  This means you can buy more shares of the particular stock that you’re interested in.
• More shares=higher profit.  Of course, this is assuming that your stock rises, but when it does, your profit percentage will be quite high.
• Penny stocks move quickly. It is not unusual for a  stock that is worth $0.10 to quickly become worth $1. If you owned $100 worth of stocks at $0.10, they would now be worth $1,000.

Risks

• Penny stocks are risky just by their very nature.  They can rise and fall by hundreds of points multiple times during a single day.  You either need great faith in the stock or the ability to constantly keep an eye on it and know the right action to take.
• There is normally little to no solid information available on the company.  You should be able to trust the company you’re investing your money in, so research is crucial.  It’s possible that your penny stock is either a very new business or an older business in danger of bankruptcy.
• Lack of information means no history.  This makes it difficult to analyze any financial trends that the company has experienced, turning your investment into a guessing game.
• You risk unknowingly falling into a scam.  Penny stocks are sometimes sold through spam emails and subscription newsletters.  Just as with any other email in your spam folder, you must be careful about any decisions you make to go ahead and buy stocks through someone you don’t know and haven’t investigated.

It sure looks as though the risks far outweigh the opportunities, doesn’t it?  The truth is that any stock that you invest in comes with risks, and you’re just as likely to lose your money as you are to gain no matter the case.  Penny stocks do come packaged with a few risks, but for someone with little money to invest and little experience, they can be a good stepping stone with huge potential.  Make sure you do as much research as possible before investing, and find a trusted source to help  you.  Your best bet with any stock is to work on gaining experience first.  When you’re comfortable with reading trends, you can move on and take some bigger risks and make some bigger profits.

A foreclosed home presents a great opportunity.  The previous owner was unfortunately unable to keep up on the mortgage, leaving it available for you at a considerably lower cost.  You have three different windows of time to attempt to purchase a foreclosed home, and depending on your level of homeownership experience and any advisors you have available to help you, one option will work better than the other two for you.

Pre-Foreclosure

Pre-foreclosure may offer the best chance for the greatest price discount, but it’s also the toughest time to get your offer noticed and accepted.  In this case, you would be dealing directly with the current owner, attempting to help them ease through the foreclosure process with a buyer on board and hang onto the equity that has been built into the home.

The problem is that the owner is experiencing a rough financial and emotional time—it’s unlikely they’ll want to talk to yet another person that wants to take their home away from them.  They may be desperately searching for a way to keep the home, or simply too angry and frustrated to be bothered by you.

If you do manage to get an offer in, know that you’ll be competing with experienced investors that typically buy foreclosed homes in order to fix them up and resell them for a profit.  If you’ve done all your research and have the right help, don’t be afraid to hop in.  If you’re buying your first home or are even a little unsure of your negotiating skills, you should stay away from this period.

Auction

Inexperienced homeowners may also want to avoid auction.  The main issue here is that you’re taking a big risk.  You need to make sure you are aware of the home’s true value, and that can be tough—you’re not allowed to inspect the home before you buy it.  You must pay the full price in cash, and you accept the home in as-is condition along with any judgments or liens currently held on it.

Again, if your research determines that you can get the best price on a particular home during auction, you’re encouraged to do so.  If you’re not already fully experienced with foreclosures, make sure you consult with an agent who can guide you through the process.

After Foreclosure

This can be the best option for first-time homebuyers; the process is the most similar to buying a regular home.  The price will still be discounted, and you may even have some wiggle room for negotiation yet since the bank is the new owner and it is hoping to sell the home as quickly as possible.  You can mortgage the house now through the bank, and all of those nasty liens and judgments have been removed.  Be aware of the need for some home repairs, though.  Generally, if the previous homeowners were unable to meet their monthly payments, chances are high that necessary repairs were neglected due to financial reasons.

On a final note, be sure to dig deep to find the right foreclosed home.  If you’re a first-time homebuyer scared away from pre-foreclosure and auction purchases, you may want to search for hidden foreclosures.  A perfect example is a new home that was in the process of being built (not necessarily by the home’s intended owner), may or may not have been fully completed before the loan money was spent, and there weren’t any buyers.  These may not be listed as foreclosures, but they can be found and purchased at discounted prices just to get them off the market.

Elderly services and e-commerce appear to top the list.  Society is always talking about the baby boomers and how they’re starting to edge into their senior years, meaning the demand for services in that industry is high.  This doesn’t mean you need to invest in a new nursing home; really, it’s about offering services that people may have more trouble doing for themselves as they get older, such as landscaping, home improvement projects, in-home medical support, etc.

If e-commerce appeals to you, keep in mind that it’s not just teenagers and twenty-something that are interested in social networking.  The older crowd is also looking for contact with people their own age.  Many are creating their own Facebook accounts, and they welcome other sites that cater to their age group where they can discuss advice about mortgages and raising children and even look for a date.

Parents are also demanding better school food choices, so if you can get into food services and provide some healthy options, you could have a successful business on your hands.  Business opportunities like this one and elderly services can be easy, but don’t confuse that with low start-up costs.  With any option you choose, you need to create a business plan and weigh the potential returns against your initial required investment.  Sometimes you might need a large amount of money to start, but the profits can start rather quickly.

If you’re looking for east-to-start small business with low initial investments, consider things you can do out of your home, such as opening a bed and breakfast, being  a dog-walker, using your truck for a hauling service,  becoming a wedding planner, or even a professional organizer.  Yes, I said professional organizer—there’s even a National Association of Professional Organizers.  There are plenty of people who just can’t do it for themselves, so why not do it for them for a profit?

Finally, be sure to choose a path that you can be passionate about.  If you get into elderly services but you’re not excited to be helping them, that’s not the right business for you.  Even when looking for a passive business to run, you’re still the one ultimately responsible for its success or failure.