5 Home-Based Small Business Ideas For The Islamic Market

5/31/2016

At 1.8 billion people, the Muslim Consumer market is undeniably the next important, "and largely untapped", global opportunity.

The halal market alone is worth a staggering US$2.1 trillion dollars a year and is increasing at US $500 billion a year due to the growth of the global Muslim population.

Now is the best time to take action! Take action, and begin changing your financial circumstances with a small home business. Many of these businesses can be developed in your spare time while you continue to work your other job.

Not only will this method help support you, but it can also pay for some of the expenses associated with a new business.

More and more people are looking for the flexibility to work for themselves so they can live where they wish, work when they want, and balance their work-life- hereafter better by earning the income needed to support their family.

By using my 15 years business expertise in this market, and looking at the upcoming Islamic market, I have decided to list some unique, low supply and high demand small business ideas. These ideas will help anyone with a passion to start a new venture. Most home based small businesses can be started with an investment of just a few hundred dollars. In most business ventures, experience, training or licensing may be needed.

Are you ready to turn one of the following business ideas into a small home based business? Then this can be an opportunity for you to take one of those terrific ideas for a small business in this niche market.

1. Islamic Bed & Breakfast

Does your home have several different bedrooms?

Is it comfortable or charming? Is it located in an interesting place where visitors visit and come to see the sights?

Then consider offering an Islamic Bed & Breakfast accommodation in your own home, for Muslim tourism.

The Islamic tourism industry offers huge potential. This is a form of religious tourism defined as activities permissible under Islamic law. Halal tourism is a new product in the tourism industry which provides holiday destinations for Muslim families who abide by Sharia rules.

Muslims prefer to stay in an environment offering facilities in accordance with their religious beliefs while traveling to an unknown foreign country.
An environment that offers freedom from the consumption of alcohol, which provides halal food, is mindful of gender mixing and offers calls to prayer.

A Bed & Breakfast business gives you the ability to meet people and discover different places without ever leaving the comfort of your home. This is one of those good home based small business ideas that can be extremely rewarding as you provide folks with a good bed, a terrific breakfast, and even guide them with sightseeing trips. Start an Islamic Bed and Breakfast – putting your equity and your host/hostess skills to work for you in your business.

How would you find customers? This idea is still new for the Muslim consumer, and you want to make sure that they will definitely find you. Start by listing your business on a Bed & Breakfast services website. Having your own website and submitting it to search engines using keywords that include the name of your city, your neighborhood and the terms "Bed & Breakfast," and "Islamic Bed & Breakfast" will get you ranked high on the search engines.

2. Week - Weekend Child Care

The number of working Muslim parents is climbing in a 24/7 society which creates a need for 24/7 services, including child care.

Couple this demand with a shortage of available quality Islamic child care, and you have opportunities to serve Muslim parents who work nights and weekends, and other parents who simply need time off for a holiday weekend or a trip to Mecca.

Providing in-home Islamic childcare during the week or weekend can be your next home based business. Using your own home will keep your overhead down. Combining the care of your own kids while taking care of other kids can result in a joyful play group, where learning, halal entertainment, and blessings can abound.

Have you ever noticed how the behavior of your children can change for better in the company of others? Do you find your children bored at times and in search of new friends or activities? An in home childcare business can solve this problem for you! Not to mention the blessings you may receive for helping to take care of/educate the children.

How would you find customers for week or weekend? The good news is, most will find you. First, if you get licensed, you can get listed with the child-care referral agency in your area. The referral agency is easy accessible to parents who are looking for matching child care. There are also babysitting websites that you can put your profile up on. This business idea currently has a low supply and a high demand in all different parts of the western world, so marketing your business will be relatively easy.

3. Halal In-Home Takeout

If cooking already is your passion you might consider turning it into a money making business.

Takeout services are amongst the fastest growing businesses on the Main Street.

Your target audience would be Muslim working families who need to work for a living and are finding less time to cook quality halal meals for.

Unfortunately it is often hard to find quality halal food. In other words this market is very competitive and there is high demand for halal food. Imagine a small takeout business in the comfort of your own home that you run, which provides quality halal food that is homemade. Don’t we all prefer homemade food?!

Your ideal customers can be a hardworking Muslim family living in your neighborhood who would love to drive by your house and takeaway one of your fresh homemade dinners, or maybe even breakfast and lunch.

How would you find customers? Create a website with fresh looking homemade dishes and launch promotions in your neighborhood and business offices nearby your home; this will help to kick off your new venture. If your business takes off, you can hire a commercial kitchen or incubator kitchen in your local city and provide them with the same service on a higher level.

4. Virtual Assistant

The virtual assistant industry has become so popular because it helps mostly women become entrepreneurs yet also achieve a work/life balance.

Business trends forecast an increase in service demands, startup costs are minimal and the profit potential is good.

Virtual assistants are independent entrepreneurs who work remotely and use technology to deliver services to clients globally. Most work from their home offices and receive their project instructions by phone, fax and e-mail.

Many virtual assistants offer secretarial services, but more people with diverse backgrounds and skills enter the market, virtual assistants who specialize in such areas as marketing, graphic and Web design, IT support or even translations are becoming more common. That makes the market more accessible for male virtual assistants.

Clients are most likely to hire virtual assistants to save money, (virtual assistants pay for their own equipment, taxes, training, healthcare and insurance), or because they need help with a temporary project.

As your own boss you get to choose which company and country to work with and there is currently a high demand in the Gulf countries such Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar as well in the United Kingdom.

How do you get customers? After you have decided what type of services you want to offer and determined your business niche, you might want to consider joining a professional organization or networking group. This will give you the opportunity to network, build camaraderie and have access to upcoming projects.

5. Coaching & Mentoring

Providing coaching and mentoring services is something that is new for the Muslim consumer. With coaching and mentoring there are many different avenues to choose from.

Coaches vary from: life coach, business mentor, faith coach, career coach, or parenting coach.

How to start? The best way to start is with your own expertise and specialized industry knowledge, and find a mentor, someone who is already running a successful coaching business, who can guide you through the process of starting this type of business. A good mentor should be skilled in teaching you the skills needed for success in coaching and for a successful business ownership.

Finally, when working from your home you still have to have a businesslike approach to your work. This includes your paperwork and your public appearance. The best home business idea is the one that fits your background, skills, interests, abilities and needs. Matching your resources with the perfect business idea is the only way to begin a new business designed to succeed.