Most people don’t use print photos anymore, but many have lots of old photos that they don’t want to fade, crack or become lost. Scanning photos is a time-consuming task for which help would surely be appreciated.
PROS:
— Control your hours
— Can be lucrative
CONS:
— You may need to buy a scanning printer if you don’t already have one
How to Get Started:
NOTE: Before you start your business, you should read the page on this website entitled “things to think about before you get started.” After you have taken the preliminary steps for starting any business, you can take the specific steps outlined below.
You can scan photos for family, friends, neighbors and local business in your area. Tell people you know that you have started a new business and you can help them get their photos organized. You can also post fliers around your neighborhood.
How Much to Charge:
On average, people who have home photo digitizing businesses charge 40 cents per photo (according to theworkathomewoman.com), so anything below that gives you a competitive advantage. You might want to offer a discount rate for a shoebox full of pictures; a shoebox usually has about 750 pictures, which would come to $300. Offer a $250 price to help you get more customers.
Taking it to the next level:
Ready to upgrade your services? Try these tips.
- You can rent your scanner to people who are interested in scanning their own photos. This gives you another way to earn more money. The average rental cost for scanners is $100 a day, so anything below that will give you a competitive advantage.
- You can also create slide shows and photo books for families for graduations, weddings and anniversaries.
- Offer supplementary services, like organizing and uploading the photos to a CD or to an online site like Shutterfly so they could be easily shared with customers’ out-of-town friends and relatives.
