Everybody's Little HelperYou don't have to make things to make money. Just help people get things done and rake in the bucks!

It is often said that it's better to give than to receive.Some of today's entrepreneurs might also say it's better toserve than to be served. Keep that principle in mind as you prepareto start a business, and you may discover that service-themedbusinesses are not only profitable, but also often overlooked.

The key to a successful service business is to offer somethingthat's desperately needed-and often that's somethingyou'd never think could be a business. Jayne Anne Harris andher sisters, Eloise and Mary Lou, discovered just how necessary thecoat-check business is. As aspiring actors and singers, the Harrissisters worked the coat room at the famed Studio 54 in New YorkCity. The company that provided the club's security also workedother events, and it soon asked the Harrises to run coat-checkrooms at other soirees. "At first, it was a side job to payour rent," says Jayne Anne, 46. "We tried a few, and itaccidentally turned into a full-fledged business."