Before You "Hang Out Your Sign"

At this point, you probably have a bunch of questions that could include...

Is there room for another writing service? For me?

Can I make a decent living writing resumes?

How will the resume writing industry fair with the onset of services like LinkedIn?

Starting a business can be exhilarating and scary all at the same time.

Like any other, a resume service does have pros and cons, starting with the initial pain of start-up that then progresses to getting clients, managing financials, setting up your website, and so on and so on.

Let's first dive into some initial thoughts you might have.

Here's what's great...

What’s great about a resume-writing business is the ability to shape your services to best meet your lifestyle, work schedule, and family life. Remember, it is your business — and it should cater to you as much as humanly possible, and not the other way around.

Industry/Business Stability

What’s the industry look like?

The number of career coaches, interview trainers, and yes, resume writers has grown significantly over the past 10 years.

What are your chances @ business success?

Your success will depend on certain variables, like your dedication to success; your persistence; and your focus on professional growth.

To guarantee success, you must take an active approach to learning just about every topic there is relative to running a business. You could hire experts, though I believe that solid, long-term success is acquired by those who know their businesses from the ground up.

And if you possess these vital traits, you’re in great shape.

Don’t be fooled, though. Starting a resume business will test your patience.

It’s how well you overcome these challenges that will determine whether your business succeeds or fails.

The Biggie...

Will resumes “die” some day?

It’s entirely possible. If need for a resume comes to a halt, what alternate method will jobseekers use to submit their credentials for consideration?

As companies go online, soft copy submissions seem to be the likely alternative. A number of prominent companies, in fact, currently take resume submissions only via website, appearing online submissions will completely kill the traditional, paper resumes.

Resume content will evolve over time, yet jobseekers will still require a professional writer to help distinguish themselves from the countless other candidates.

Smart jobseekers know the value that qualified and professional writers provide regardless of whether the content is for a traditional resume, curriculum vitae, online portfolio, executive bio, personal branding campaign, or submitted within an online form.

The art of writing sales material for jobseekers will be in demand as long as there are jobseekers to compete against one another.

Business Overview

Do You Need to Work From an Office?

Hands down, most resume writers work from home, making it no longer necessary to work from a fancy office.

A survey conducted by BeAResumeWriter.com revealed that 75% of those surveyed in fact work from home, while only 14% stated they have a formal office.

This is great news, because working from an office is expensive. The excessive overhead that goes along running an office is likely the reason for more resume writers are working from home!

A Look Back...

Consider how businesses operated just 20 years ago.

It was rare in 1996 that anyone worked out of their home, as it was viewed as unprofessional and reflected an individual’s lack of commitment to building their business.

If ever there was evidence of a pendulum swing from one direction to another — in this case, businesses shifting from stores and offices to a high percentage now operating out of their homes — what we consider today is very much different than that of "yesterday."

Revenue Potential

Another indicator of the 2015 survey I mentioned above is that the average sale for a resume and cover letter is now more than $600, which has more than doubled since the findings of her survey conducted just 13 years earlier.

So if you were wondering whether you can make a decent living writing resumes, put your worries to rest.

Let’s also not not forget revenues from add-on sales, so there are plenty of revenue opportunities to be had. 

Resume writers now offer a slew of additional services, including:

• LinkedIn Profile Development
• Career Coaching
• Interview Prep/Coaching
• Job-Bank & Recruiter Submission Services
• Online/Website Portfolios
• Executive Bios
• Customized Letter Writing Services

Key notable: LinkedIn writing seems to be the biggest add-one services for resume writers right now. Bridget noted, "LinkedIn profile development services are becoming a bigger part of the "average" resume writers's typical sale..."