Hot Businesses You Can Start Now

Children's party planner

Searches by would-be customers: 6,012 in 2013, up from 1,393 in 2012

Entrepreneurs listed: 816 in 2013, up from 229

Typical pay: $105 an hour

 

Planning kiddo's birthday party can be fun and stressful at the same time, especially for parents who try to outdo each other with bigger and better events. That's where children's party planners like Courtney Price come in.

Price got the idea to start the business when she was on maternity leave from her HR job in 2009. "I was already thinking about a total change of pace. I've always been creative and I enjoy children," she said. So she first tried it on a part-time basis. "If I failed, at least I knew I took a stab at it," she said.
Demand quickly took off. Eventually, she quit her corporate job and started Glamour Avenue Parties in 2010.
Price takes her business on the road, going to clients' homes to set up unique birthday party themes such as spa, rock star or tea parties. She can also customize the theme if parents have their own unique ideas.
Based in Spring, Texas, Price typically is booked Friday through Sunday. Her rates range from $275 to about $600 per event. For that, "I provide chairs, decorations, plates," she said. "Basically everything you will need for the party."

NEXT: Senior care giver

Senior care giver

Searches by would-be customers: 3,043 in 2013, up from 1,412 in 2012

Entrepreneurs listed: 415 in 2013, up from 182

Typical pay: $15 an hour

 

As nursing home costs soar in the United States, many families are opting instead to hire in-home caregivers to assist elderly family members.

Nancy Cole was working as a housekeeper at a local hospital in Seaford, Del., in 2003 when her 92-year-old grandmother fell and broke her hip. She cared for her grandmother while also continuing in her full-time job. When her grandmother passed away five years later, Cole started thinking about becoming a full-time senior care giver.

She enrolled in nursing school, moved to a nursing track at the hospital, and earned her certified nursing license in 2007. The following year, she decided to work for herself as an independent caregiver.
Cole now takes care of clients five days a week, and works overnight as well at times. It's hard and rewarding work, she said.

"To succeed at being a caregiver, you have to be compassionate, patient and kind," said Cole. "You also have to enjoy giving back to others."

NEXT: Addiction recovery counselor

Addiction recovery counselor

Searches by would-be customers: 4,664 in 2013, up from 1,131 in 2012

Entrepreneurs listed: 212 in 2013, up from 75

Typical pay: $82 an hour

 

Widespread prescription drug abuse is boosting demand for addiction recovery counselors. On Thumbtack, searches for addiction recovery counselors have jumped 300% from last year.

Warren Schloss owns a Narberth, Penn.-based private practice that specializes in addiction counseling. He started out in the field 19 years ago as a volunteer at a rehab center. "There I realized I had the skill set to make me pretty good at it," he said.

He decided to get formal training. Four years later, he was a certified addiction recovery counselor. He worked as a counselor for 17 years at various centers, then two years ago, started his own practice.
For anyone that's interested in becoming a recovery counselor, Schloss suggests volunteering first to make sure they can handle the challenges.

"You can't get anyone sober, and keep them sober," Schloss observes."They have to do the work themselves. It's important to learn how to separate yourself from clients and still give them your best input."

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