Work from home - desktop publishing

Desktop publishing isn't one of those career you would associate with working from home, but is certainly one worth considering, and a career which with a bit of foresight and planning could be made into a highly successful business. Desktop publishing , or DTP was one of the first real killer apps of the pc, along with word processing and spreadsheets. It enabled individuals and companies to produce documents and pamphlets and books that previously had always had to be done, by publishers and specialist companies. DTP skills can be more focused than other industry's but the principle is the same really. If you are good at what you do, and there is a company or individual who wants what you produce and is willing to pay for it, then you have a business on your hands.
The process is two fold. Firstly to find out what is needed. This means being aware of what is currently produced, by whom and for whom. This will also give you an idea of what is not being covered in the market by way of being left out or neglected. It may be certain sectors of an industry , or small business or non profits. At any rate it will tell you who your market is.
Then its a case of working out what they need. This can be done in several ways – by talking to them directly, by talking to people in the industry or retired from the industry or putting yourself in the mindset of someone in the industry and thinking about what their needs are. Once you've done that, its simply a case of working out what software programs you need to know, learning them and then going out and getting business ! Certainly not for the faint hearted – could be a lot of work depending on what you already know or not, but definitely do-able as a home business .
The world of all publishing is constantly changing, and being aware of what current market conditions are is also part of knowing how to market yourself to employers as being someone who know what they are doing. It is something worth remembering simply because if you work for someone else there is an expectation that they will keep abreast of what is happening in the market in different ways and will adapt as a company, and that will involve keeping you involved as well hopefully. When you work for yourself, that is not the case, you will need to do it for yourself.