If you’ve wanted to go into business for yourself, but don’t think you would be able to find the seed money to get a business up and running, there are a number of businesses that cost little to no money to start, and you can do them from the comfort of your own home.

Over half of all U.S. businesses are based out of the owner’s own home, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, and some of the largest corporations today started out as small, home-based businesses. There are myriad easy businesses to start that don’t need a lot of startup cash or a fancy degree, they simply need someone with the determination and persistence to make it successful.

Virtual Assistant

If you have strong organizational and time management skills, you can head online and become a virtual assistant. As a virtual assistant you could do everything from making customer/patient contacts to making travel arrangements for management teams to maintaining databases. As you start building your business, make sure you are clear about your schedule parameters from the start and keep careful records of your time in case questions arise, advises Sean Stonefield, writer at Forbes online. You simply need a computer and Internet access and you could be well on your way to making as much as $35 per hour without having to leave the comfort of your own home.

Editorial Services

If you have a way with words and are a stickler for grammar and sentence syntax, then you can offer editorial services for businesses, self-published authors, professionals and small publishing houses. As an editor, along with providing editing services you may also do some fact checking and proofreading to development editing and ghost writing. You can make great contacts by attending industry trade shows, notes Priscilla Huff, writer for Home Business Magazine. With a good contract, you can make up to $25 per hour for your editing skills.

Medical Billing

With the use of industry software, you can provide local medical offices with bookkeeping and accounting tasks. You would be in charge of handling their accounts receivable as well as taking care of completing and filing claims to government and private insurance companies. While most medical offices prefer someone that is familiar with medical coding and terminology, it isn’t necessary for you to spend money to acquire these skills. You can start earning $16 per hour in little to no time as a medical billing and coding specialist.

Web Content Specialist

If you love writing, and like the idea of creating amazing content for a number of different industries you can find success as a web content specialist. As a web content specialist you would work on writing specialized pieces for clients’ websites. You may write articles, blog posts, press releases, products descriptions or eBooks. With this kind of business you may have to partner with graphic designers and other media specialists in order to meet the specifications set forth by the client. You can market yourself as a generalist or as a specialist, writing for a specific industry or profession that you are familiar with. The average hourly rate that you can charge for your services is around $27 per hour.

Event Planner

If you love throwing parties or planning meetings, you may find the perfect home based business as an event planner. There are plenty of people and organizations that need help planning their events and that are willing to pay someone else to take the reins. With an estimated 44 percent growth in the event planning industry by 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, you will have plenty of clients to keep you busy. If you can remain calm during stressful situations and are able to deal with customers’ demands patiently you may have just what it takes to run a successful event planning business. At $23 per hour, you can become a successful business owner.

If you are looking to get out of the daily grind or are simply looking for a way to earn a little extra money, starting a small service based business may be exactly what you need. There will always be people that are willing to pay you for the knowledge and experience that you possess, or even pay for you to teach them your specific skill or knowledge. Regardless of your age, business experience, education or financial resources, you can start a small home based service business and be successful. Don’t underestimate the true value of your skills or expertise,  there are plenty of people that will pay you for them. The skills that may come easily to you, may not be so easy for others, take advantage of that and become a successful business owner.