Resume Service

Start-up cost: $1,000–$5,000

Potential earnings: $20,000–$50,000

Typical fees: $150–$500 per resume (depending on location)

Advertising: Yellow Pages, newspaper classifieds, Web site with testimonials, banner ads on job-search Web sites and career boards

Qualifications: Writing ability, attention to important detail, strong organizational ability

Equipment needed: Computer with Internet access, printer, and fax, paper, extra computer disks or CDs

Staff required: No

Hidden costs: Insurance, spending too much time with one client

What You Do

To get a job in a competitive marketplace, people simply must have a dynamic resume. Those who really want to put their best foot forward will come to you for a resume and cover letter that looks professional. Since many of your customers may not have the time or patience to post their resumes in multiple places at once, they may also pay you to do so for them. Regardless, your days will be spent meeting with a wide variety of clients from all walks of life (from foundry supervisors to attorneys), writing down specific job histories, and adding pertinent skill information that will get your clients those sought-after interviews. It’s a time consuming job, but it gets easier with experience. You can add value (and income) with additional services such as cover, follow-up, and referral letters.

What You Need

Your start-up is relatively low ($1,000–$5,000) because all you really need is a good computer setup and a small advertising budget to get the word out. You can expect to earn $20,000 or so in most medium-size markets; in New York City and other large metropolitan areas, you’ll be charging much more for your services (up to $500) and could easily make $50,000 per year. But remember—you can do this work over the phone and via the Internet, so the sky is the limit for your customer base.

Keys to Success

If you’re a writer, this is an easy way to make a living (or earn an additional income to support your quest for the Great American Novel). However, you do need to enjoy working with people. They will hound you day and night until their project is finished, and possibly even afterward. If you don’t like to be hounded, stick to novel writing.

EXPERT ADVICE

What sets your business apart from others like it?

Katina Z. Jones has a nontraditional resume service called Going Places Self-Promotions, Inc., in Akron, Ohio. She says that her business is unique because it breaks many of the traditional rules of resume writing. “We do resumes that are not only eye-catching, but also go beyond providing a mere rundown of a client’s job history. We like to add a sense of not only what a person has accomplished in her career, but also who she is and how she might fit into an organization. We have a 98 percent success rate in helping clients secure interviews because of that personalized approach.”

Things you couldn’t do without

“I couldn’t do without my computer, laser printer, phone, pager, and fax. My clients want fairly quick turnaround, and these items help me to accomplish that. Also, I need to have plenty of paper catalogs on hand, as I use a ton of specialty preprinted stationery on which to produce resumes.”

Marketing tips

“Set yourself apart from the people who are glorified typists . . . recognize that the resume industry is changing rapidly, and the resumes of the past (with cookie-cutter objectives and meaningless buzzwords) are just not getting people results anymore. After you have your niche, network like crazy. Anywhere you go, introduce yourself; you’re bound to meet someone who either needs a resume or knows someone who does.”

If you had to do it all over again . . .

“I would have started networking much sooner and would also have put together a more meaningful marketing plan. I don’t think I strategized nearly enough in the beginning.”