Thanks to the internet, we are surrounded by so many opportunities. Starting a business has never been easier – or more accessible to more people.
You can start some business ideas in as little as three minutes.
Amazingly, people choose to follow the path of passion and create an income from what they love every day. And it is something that you can do too!
Photo by Jean Gerber on Unsplash
Is there a perfect business idea?
Many people who are hoping to launch a business are trying to find the perfect business idea. But that really doesn’t exist.
The perfect business is one where you get to fulfill your passion every day and make enough money to live on comfortably.
Or perhaps a not-for-profit company that has a visible and meaningful impact.
A business can take many shapes, and what is perfect in the eyes of others might not be ideal to you – and vice versa.
All you need to do is ensure you choose the proper company formation for you and are ready to get to work!
Do I need a lot of money to launch a business?
You don’t need a lot of money to launch a business – depending on the type of business you want to create.
If you want to become a real estate investment company, for example, you will need access to plenty of funding.
However, if you want to launch a writing company or a consulting company – all you need is your skill, organization, and time.
What are some low-cost business ideas?
When you think about low-cost business ideas, there are three products that you will be selling:
- Someone else’s products, like affiliate work
- Your products – physical products
- Your time and services – things like writing, editing, design
Courses and Coaching
Got skills and knowledge? Then you can sell it. Teaching other people what you know in the form of a course is very popular right now. But that is what makes it so interesting too.
It is better if you are an expert in the field, but you can teach what you know.
Here are some great websites that offer courses:
- Podia is great for memberships and digital products
- Kajabi can set your course on autopilot
- Thinkific ideal for building a course
- Udemy a great experience to launch your first course
- Skillshare for all creative skills
- Teachable to create a whole ecosystem of learning
You’ll need to test a few out to see what you like the most and the one that brings the most cash in.
Podcasts
All you need to start a podcast is a microphone, some opinions or ideas, and time.
At the moment, over 75% of adults listen to podcasts – some with regularity and others not.
If you wonder how you can make money from a podcast, there are a few ways.
- Podcasts are often sponsored when they have a good readership
- The platform you choose may offer to have adverts
- You can film your podcasts and put them on youtube, and add adverts.
Create a series about your interests, and reach out to others for conversations and interviews on the podcast.
It doesn’t require too much time, and as you learn the ropes, the process becomes faster.
T-shirts
If you have a few ideas about quotes or words that would make a great t-shirt, then consider launching your own t-shirt company.
If you don’t mind making a small income per sale, then this could be an idea.
You won’t pay any of the printing costs, and you have control of what you sell. Check out some of the most popular options:
- Redbubble
- Zazzle
- TeePublic
- TeeSpring
- Fine Art America
- Merch by Amazon
- Sellfy
You upload artwork, images, and more. Then select the products you want them to be printed on. You also have control of the price, but you will see a small percentage of cash per sale, as you aren’t covering any of the shipping, printing, or storage costs.
Become a VA
If your organizational skills are unrivaled, then you can put that to good use – virtual. As a virtual assistant, you can tackle a lot and earn well too.
Here are some of the tasks that you can offer as a virtual assistant:
- Travel and accommodation booking
- Editing and proofreading
- Drafting
- Data management
- Email management
- Social media management
- Administrative tasks
- Community management
- Lead generation
You can also offer skills that are within your skillset. This might mean you are in a niche and more valuable.
The great thing about offering VA services is that you are in charge of your hours, and you can choose the clients you want to work with.
For example, you only want to work 10 hours a week; you can dedicate that to one client, work from home, and make extra income.
Content writer
If you have a flair for words, or at the very least the ability to type well, content writing could be the best low-cost business idea.
You will most likely need to check many websites and research where other content writers are getting work. It is also good to research how much you should be charging for any freelancer work you do.
Here are fantastic, great places to look for freelance writing work:
- Upwork
- Worksome
- Toptal
- SimplyHired
- We Work Remotely
- Guru
- Freelancer
- Working not Working
Some come with a fee for membership, but you usually get access to some job postings.
A key thing to remember is that you need to make sure your profile stands out on every platform, and if you don’t have a portfolio, write a few pieces and use those.
Don’t worry if you think your writing skills are up to it – everyone started somewhere. There are several tools that can help make your writing better.
- Hemingway
- Grammarly
- Frase.io
- Ginger
- ProWritingAid
Often these tools cost money, but Hemingway and Grammarly are great starting points with their free options.
Check out the Grammar section of the blog: Grammar Matters
Photographer
Many websites offer several membership fee tools that can stock photos, and while they do have competition from websites like Unsplash and Pexels, it is still possible to sell well on them.
Web content, printed media, adverts, and more all require stock photos – or at least some images.
Each time the right to the photo is purchased or used, you will get some royalties.
You can usually set the rates or go with the preset rates to make it easier.
This is an ideal option for those who love to take photos but perhaps don’t want to build or sell on their websites.
Here are some of the best websites to sell your own photos:
- Etsy
- Fotomoto
- 500px
- Adobe Stock
- Getty Images
- iStock Photos
- Shutterstock
Rather than sell your photos as stock photos, you may choose to be a photographer full-time (you can do both of course).
You will need your own website for this so that you can promote what you do, and show off your work. Most photographers specialize in a niche like children, pregnancy and birth, weddings, or landscapes.
Choose what you think works best for your skills and the one you enjoy the most.
Building a website might sound daunting, but actually, you can create quick websites with Wix, Squarespace, or even with WordPress and a free theme.
Handmade Jewellery
Outside of selling digital items, you might want to sell something physical – like jewelry.
If you already have some stock, you can start adding them to an eBay or Etsy store (although not many people appreciate the Etsy cut).
Just like photography, you can set up your online store with Wix or WordPress. Using their step-by-step guides, you can add photos of your goods.
Add pricing, decide how much shipping will be (there are guides to help), and share the website on your social media.
Personalized jewelry has a huge market, and everyone wants to purchase one-of-a-kind items.
You can take custom orders or simply offer a line that you line.
Art Lessons
Got a keen eye and some artistic talent? Maybe it’s time to put your love of art out into the world and help others unlock their abilities.
You can run online classes, but in-person classes are so much more fun.
Your classes might require people to bring all their materials, or perhaps you include materials in the price of the tickets or the learning fee.
Giving art lessons will likely have costs attached for the space you want to hire and some materials.
Not only will you need to consider the students, but you will need some materials too.
Art can take many forms too, and you might decide to have different skills each week or focus on a specific medium like watercolor, digital art, sculpture, or installations.
And there you have it, a range of fantastic low-cost business ideas that you can start almost any time you like. Researching the opportunities in your area and combining that with your talents and skill will help you find something that you are passionate about.
