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New Business Trends  Working From Home
Turning your talent into a business – taking a look at home based education as a business opportunity.
What do a blonde, Greek-speaking mother of two from Constantia and a 20-something drummer from Cape Town have in common? A skill, passion, and a profitable home based business built around passing this skill onto eager students.
What is your skill, your special talent? That thing that you do better than any of your friend or relatives? Almost everybody is good at at least one thing – whether is be sewing, mathematics or gymnastics. While being able to execute double somersaults in a tight lycra bodysuit might not seem like the most obvious entrepreneurial requirement, it can, in fact, turn out to be the foundation of a successful home-based educational business.
Were you a straight-A mathematics student with a flair for numbers and a natural aptitude for figures? Why not use this talent to earn extra cash in the afternoons if you are a stay at home mom, (or in the evenings if you are a nine- to– fiver), by giving extra-math lessons to students in the area? It can be as simple as contacting your local high school and asking them to pin your details to the school notice board, or making an announcement at the next weekly assembly.
If you are in fact a double somersaulting gymnastic extraordinaire, turn the extra space in your home into a mini-studio for pre and primary school kids to develop their own double-jointed potential - and make some cash doing what you love in the process!
Georgia Papangeli, a 30 something mom of two, runs a Greek Language School from her home in Constantia, Cape Town. Storm Buckingham contacted Georgia for her take on running an educational business from home.
Georgia, give the SA Guide to Working from Home readers a description of what it is that you do?
The Greek Language School is a Greek Tuition school for Adults and Children. I run adult and children’s group lessons as well as private lessons. The classes range from 3 – 6 students. The levels include Beginner to Advanced. I teach six mornings and two afternoons a week.
How long have you been doing this?
I have been teaching different subjects for the last eight years, at various institutions, but only recently started my own business from home.
What was your inspiration?
I love teaching and I love the Greek language. Although I was born in South Africa, my cultural background is definitely Greek. This is the first year that Greek is being offered as a Grade 12 subject. The number of qualified Greek teachers is very limited in Cape Town, and, as far as I am concerned, Greek is definitely an up-and-coming subject. Cape Town is also populated by a very large number of Greeks. On a totally different level, I was also inspired by my twin daughters, Michaela and Gabriella, who turn four in November. My girls were born premature, so after their birth, I completely gave up work to be with them. When they turned two, I did try teaching on a few occasions, but this was extremely stressful for me. So I stopped teaching again, but just being a mom, wasn’t enough. I’d be physically exhausted at the end of the day, but mentally I felt deprived. I needed some sort of mental stimulation. Then eventually this year, I launched my very own business from home. I am finally able to do something I love as well as be there for my daughters when they need me. Another obvious plus when working from home is the fact that you choose the hours you want to work, a great bonus for moms with young children.
What are the challenges one faces when educating from the home?
The biggest challenge is that your home and work-place can very overlap. Your work-place is part of your home, so your home, garden etc has to be kept perfectly clean and tidy at all times, not very easy with small children. Another challenge is the fact that because you actually live at work, it’s difficult to completely separate home from work, you always have one more thing to do, which can be exhausting.
How have you managed to overcome these?
It is very important to completely separate home and work. Your work area must be completely closed off from your home. It’s also very important to designate certain hours to work, and when the hours are done, to leave your work-place, like you would any other job. Friends and relatives also need to be aware of your work schedule, and must not just arrive while you are working.
When working from home it is often said that having the support of family is of utmost importance. What is your take on this?
Yes, the support of your family is very important, which I am very lucky to have, especially from my husband. You need the utmost co-operation from your family if you wish your business to be successful. They need to respect your work-place and clear boundaries need to be set.
What advice can you give to others who are looking to turn their skill / talent into a profitable home based business opportunity?
I would definitely advise anyone with a specific skill / talent to start their own business from home. With so many people unemployed, and the relatively low salaries in Cape Town, running your own business from home can definitely develop into a very profitable business. You will obviously need some capital to start up your business, but you don’t have your bigger, normal expenses to worry about like rent, transport, parking, etc. And because you are essentially selling a “skill”, you normally only have initial expenses, not monthly, ongoing expenses. In addition to the financial advantages of working from home, you don’t have to worry about transport, a major bonus in Cape Town with the current, horrendous traffic and road rage problem. And the ultimate pleasure, is working from your own peaceful home, rather than in a noisy, polluted city. So, I would advise: try and find a skill that is relatively rare, that has a demand, (it helps if you enjoy this particular skill,) and go for it!
You can contact Georgia for lessons by calling the Greek Language School on (021) 712-2851, 083 679 2409 or via email on georgiap@telkomsa.net.
Ian Black of Urban Beat is an experienced musician in his twenties. He teaches drumming, bass and guitar from his home in Bothasig, Cape Town. Ian tells the SA Guide to Working from Home how he turned his passion for music into a successful home-based business.
Ian, tell us about your home based business, Urban Beat.
Urban Beat is a small tuition company that provides it’s students with practical, hands-on lessons in Drums, Bass, and Guitar, and equips them with the tools and techniques they need to reach their full potential in their chosen instrument.
How long have you been doing this?
I started very informally in 2001.
What was your inspiration?
When it comes to what inspires me, whether back then, or here and now – it’s all about the music. My first love, in this case, has always been sitting behind the kit and playing with a band, or along to music. To me, it was a high like no other, and why keep it to myself?
What are the challenges one faces when educating from the home?
There can certainly be huge challenges when teaching from home; especially at the age I was when I started. It seems almost infallible in theory, because one only really thinks about the pro’s and the benefits, but on the other hand, especially in the music industry, there are issues like “soundproofing”; “lesson venues”, and having complete strangers walking through your house…
How have you managed to overcome these?
It’s really important to keep a solid barrier between home-life and work-life, and try not to mix the two. Then there are more practical things like putting in soundproofing (or perhaps not using real drums at first, but pads instead), being considerate when a family member is ill at home. For each business scenario, these factors will differ, but it really helps to keep teaching arrangements as flexible as possible in order to accommodate the unexpected.
Do you find that family support plays an important role in the success of a home based business?
That could not be more true. The support of your family (or lack thereof) can make or break your business. The key is to really listen to advice (or criticism) and take concerns seriously.
What advice can you give to others who are looking to turn their skill / talent into a profitable home based business opportunity?
1. Just because you are in the position to pass on what you have learnt, be careful not to neglect your own growth, or you will become stagnant – and your students will know.
2. Students come and go, but your family lives with you (just think about that…)
3. Your driving-force MUST be your PASSION for what you teach.
Contact Urban Beat on 021 558 6258 or visit the website on www.urbanbeat.co.za.
The SA Guide to Working from home would like to thank both Ian and Georgia for sharing their stories with us and providing inspiration to our readers. We hope that their success will encourage you to take the next step to turning your talent or skill into a prosperous home based business opportunity, too.
By Storm Buckingham
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section specialist
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Jaqueline Martinez
Jaqueline studied Public Relations and Journalism at CPUT between 2001 and 2003. She completed Information Systems and Communication Science 101 at Unisa. She teethed on business journalism as a communication specialist with Old Mutual for several years. Jaqueline travelled to Asia and the US teaching English before returning to South Africa and finding her niche as an online editor and features writer with BizAssist Technologies and SA Guide to Business Opportunities. |
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