Ideas for self-employment

There are lots of good reasons to decide to work for yourself, but what field should you focus on? We round up the top ideas for self-employment over age 50. There are lots of good reasons to decide to work for yourself, but what field should you focus on? We round up the top ideas for self-employment over age 50.

What are some self-employment ideas?

In narrowing down the self-employment options, it’s always best to first look at your experience, skills and interests. Below, we present some of the most popular and beneficial self-employed jobs. See which ones align best with your attributes and preferences.

• Tutoring
  You don’t need to have a teaching qualification or specific work experience to become a tutor. You simply need to know your subject – whether that be tutoring music, art, languages or helping students improve their maths or prepare for exams. The key to growing a tutoring business is to raise awareness of your services, so that you can attract students.
• Driving
  There is big demand for self-employed drivers in the UK – especially local delivery drivers. Many job adverts specifically seek the self-employed who have access to a car or van for work. As a self-employed driver you can choose part-time or full-time hours to suit you, and potentially work for more than one company to maximise your earnings.
• Dog walking
  If you love animals and getting out in the fresh air, dog walking can be a good source of self-employment. Many pet owners need someone to exercise their dog while they’re at work, and if you walk more than one dog a day, you can earn a good income.
• Freelancing/consulting
  Those with professional skills often choose to become freelance consultants. Typical fields where this can be a sustainable and well-paid way of working include graphic design, marketing, copywriting, HR, IT and web design.
• Counselling
  The need for mental health counsellors is ever-growing, and once you’re over 50, your life experience makes you well-disposed to support others. You will need to study for a counselling qualification – usually specialising in a certain area – and gain a licence before you can practice.

What self-employed business can I do from home?

There are plenty of opportunities to work from home in a self-employed capacity, which gives you great flexibility over your working day.

• Pet sitting
  If you’re experienced with animals, offer your services as a pet sitter. You could look after pets at your home during the day supporting those who work full time, or take in boarders while your clients go on holiday. Make sure you look in to relevant insurance!
• Virtual Assistant
  Remote administration jobs are increasingly commonplace. Many small businesses need support with administration tasks, but are unable to pay someone full time to do the work. A virtual assistant can be the perfect solution – they pass the tasks to you to perform remotely. You will need a certain level of computer literacy for this type of role, but it can be a great way to build a flexible, self-employed business.
• Childminding
  If you’re good with children, childminding can be a rewarding and fun self-employed role. If you want to look after children under 8 for more than two hours a day, you will need to register with Ofsted. Find out more about becoming a childminder here.
• Online selling
  Many people now operate successful sales businesses from home. If you’re creative, you can make and sell items through platforms such as eBay and Etsy. But there are also lots of opportunities to make money as a reseller – buying goods at a low price and selling them at a profit. Just find an area that interests you and start researching!
• Running a B&B or holiday let
  Sites like Airbnb have made it easy to make money at home by letting out a spare room, annexe or second property. People use these sites to find accommodation almost anywhere. All you need to get started are some appealing photographs of the space you’re letting, and a description of what you offer. Many people have set up successful home based businesses this way.

There are plenty of options for over-50s that want to become self-employed. For more ideas for self-employment see our self-employment page, becoming self-employed – what to consider and how to start an online business from home. If you have some money to invest, and would like to buy a ‘business in a box’, you could consider franchising. Check out our franchise area for more information.

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