6 Ways to Create Recurring Revenue from Home

by Startacus Admin

Born in Los Angeles, Blair Strasser is a business and marketing enthusiast that enjoys sharing his knowledge through his writing. He is also Founder and CEO of eMerchantBroker and passionate about technology.  Check him out on Twitter @BlairStrasser.

"Home businesses are more in demand than ever. In fact, did you know that Mary Kay Cosmetics, Apple Computer, even the Ford Motor Company all started out as home businesses? If you want your businesses to be successful, you’re going to need to land new customers and create recurring revenue from home as well.

 

According to the Online Marketing Institute, repeat customers spend more than first time customers, they’re less likely to shop around, and are less sensitive to changes in prices. Repeat customers are the cornerstone for recurring revenue for any home business.

 

Here are six great ways you as a home business owner can create recurring revenue for yourself.

 

1. Subscription fee-based business

 

Landing new customers is exciting, but can be costly and time consuming. The key to any successful home-based business is not in the large, one-time sales but in the recurring revenue that can follow.

 

Any business where subscription fees for recurring services, or even updates like in the software business, are all great ideas. You can start your own newsletter or blog and charge customers a monthly fee to join. Recurring fees are the lifeblood of any blog or newsletter for profit.

 

2. The perpetual items replacement business

 

Sounds a little confusing, but the concept is actually an oldie but a goody. In fact, many believe that the classic recurring-revenue business itself was invented by Gillette razors.

 

The idea: sell the razor, but the real money is in razor blade replacement. Sell the razor to someone and you have a repeat customer for life. So how can you get in the recurring-items replacement business? Printer ink is a great idea.

 

Ever wonder why printers are so cheap? It’s because these companies are not really in the printer business; it’s the ink where they make their real money. Ink refill/replacement is a very popular business these days. People send you their empty ink cartridges and you can refill and resell them back to them for only a fraction of what new ink cartridges cost. Once you get that first customer, as long as the price is right and your service is good, the recurring revenue should come rolling in.

 

Sell these online by creating your own eBay or Amazon store. The best part about using sites like these is that they are already established in the marketplace. All you have to do is fill in the blanks.

 

3. Retainer-based services

 

The idea of taking a retainer for services is nothing new. Retainers are used in businesses of all kinds. Whether you’re a writer or an editor, you do graphic design or even web development, you can create recurring revenue by charging your clients a monthly fee to have access to your services.

 

This oftentimes is better than charging by the hour because more times than not a customer will not call on you for your services, but the money keeps coming in just the same. More importantly, it’s dependable income and because it is a flat fee, your customers are guaranteed to keep coming back.

 

4. Affiliate memberships

 

You may have heard of affiliate-related businesses, but are not exactly sure what that means. It’s really quite simple.

 

Let’s say you have a blog about tennis. You love tennis, follow all the big tournaments and even give great tips for beginners and intermediates. One great way to create recurring revenue from your blog is through an affiliate advertising program.

 

In this case, the idea would be to sign up for some online tennis shop and run a banner ad for them on your site. You earn money every time someone buys something from their store when they go there through the banner ad on your site. Revenue is usually commission based, can be quite lucrative depending on the amount of traffic to your site, and can all be done from the comfort of your own home.

 

5. Home tutoring

 

Maybe you’d like to go a little bit more old school. If you have expertise in some area, maybe you’re a teacher in your day job or maybe you play guitar. Tutoring is a great way to create recurring revenue through regular-scheduled lessons.

 

While charging just $25 a lesson for piano lessons or whatever your expertise is, you’d be surprised how your revenue can grow over time and become a steady, dependable contribution to your overall income. Best thing, tutoring can be done right there from home.

 

6. Writing for a living from home

 

No, we’re not talking about becoming the next Ernest Hemingway, but because the internet is based on content, you can earn a very good living writing your own blog or starting your own newsletter.

 

How does writing for a living create recurring revenue for you? Easy. Instead of writing for one of those content farms that pay just pennies on the dollar, gain a following for your blog or newsletter and employ an ad service likeGoogle Adsense.

 

With Google Adsense, you can display targeted ads right there on your website and earn money every time someone clicks on them. The best part: all you have to is allow the ads to run on your site. Just bring in the viewers and let Google do the rest of the work."

 

Startacus.net is THE go-to place for startups, entrepreneurs and self-starters. See other great tips like 3 Ways Your Startup Can Work with Brands.

• #recurring revenue
• #home business

Published on: 7th September 2015