If you’re looking to earn extra income or to start a full-time business, this list of 10 online businesses you can start today will give you plenty of ideas on how to get started!
These businesses can all be done from your laptop or computer and don’t require an expensive up-front investment. You simply need to invest some time and energy into making them successful.
1) Affiliate Marketing
With affiliate marketing, you partner with brands and companies and promote their products to earn a commission on each sale you make. This online business model is great for those who love working from home.
Whether you choose to go all in with your own website or simply become an affiliate for another company, there are tons of ways to monetize your online presence—you just have to find what works best for you and there’s never been an easier time to start an online business; one that allows you to work where and when it suits you.
First, you need to choose a niche market, create valuable content, link up with other bloggers and experts. Look around for potential affiliates/referral partners programs on marketplaces like Commission Junction.
Then, get yourself some search engine optimization (SEO) skills (which basically means knowing how to get your site ranking high in organic searches).
Once you have those three things down, consider hiring someone else to handle technical aspects like web hosting and building out ecommerce store capabilities while you focus on driving traffic through SEO.
Traffic will ultimately lead to sales which will mean income (hopefully). Online businesses can be successful if they fill an unmet need in your community or industry.
2) Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads are a quick and easy way to launch an online business, especially if you’re not good at writing emails. There’s no waiting for a response because your ad will appear right in people’s newsfeeds with no effort on their part.
It might seem like magic, but it’s just basic science: More impressions means more sales. The key is knowing how much to spend on ads so that you don’t spend money faster than you make it. Start by setting aside $100-200 of your initial startup capital and allocate it solely toward ads.
Continue running ads until you run out of cash or reach profitability; whichever comes first. When done correctly, Facebook Ads can be one of the fastest ways to start a successful online business from scratch.
What’s more, unlike other online business ideas where there’s a lot of competition (think DropShipping) there isn’t as much competition when starting a new company through Facebook Ads since many businesses still overlook Facebook as an advertising platform.
No doubt about it—this is one online business idea you can run with today!
3) WordPress Websites
WordPress is one of today’s most popular CMS (content management systems) on the web. In fact, it powers around 25% of all websites out there.
That’s massive and it means there are thousands of jobs available to WordPress developers and designers. While designing a website using WordPress, you can come up with several options: small business websites, e-commerce sites, social media sites etc.
It all depends on your skillset as well as your client’s needs for specific purpose. Here I have gathered some ideas for creating a great online business website for multiple types of clients.
Make sure you follow these steps before making any design decisions and don’t forget about hiring high quality designers from around the world who know how to make such websites from scratch.
If you want to start an online business right away without having to build your own brand or anything like that then freelancing is always a good choice.
There are many people out there looking for people with different skill sets that they need doing part time work on their projects and these people will be willing to pay big bucks for them.
4) Dropshipping
If you’re looking to build an online business but don’t want to invest a lot of time and money upfront, dropshipping may be for you.
For example, if you spend $1,000 on new inventory at your wholesale supplier each month and sell it at a markup of 50%, then you would have made a profit and not much time is required in-between receiving inventory from your supplier and selling it to your customer.
But like I said, if you’re going to get serious about starting an online business, my advice is always to work with a proven system like Shopify first rather than making things up as you go along.
Shopify makes it easy to launch an ecommerce store quickly because it has everything from design templates (including mobile designs) and credit card processing already integrated—and they won’t even charge you until after your first 30 days of sales! It takes just minutes to set up.
To see how fast you can start earning, check out their free 14-day trial today.
5) YouTube Videos
This is an interesting one, because even though YouTube may not be a business idea you would’ve thought of on your own, you can use it to promote your business.
However, if you want to do that effectively and make money from it, there are two things you need to keep in mind: 1) growing a large enough following and 2) monetizing it.
It takes more than just shooting videos for people to want to visit your channel and subscribe. If you follow these guidelines, however, you will certainly find yourself with an active community and a healthy revenue stream from advertising.
The first thing you have to do is choose what kind of videos or projects you plan on doing. Once you know what kinds of content you want to upload onto your channel, think about who would want to watch that content—and why they might want to watch it.
Also consider whether anyone will care about watching yours (rather than someone else’s) video about the topic. You probably won’t become famous overnight, but if you focus on creating quality content that appeals to a targeted audience within its niche, you could build up a substantial following over time.
Also important: Channel consistency. Unless your goal is simply to practice streaming/filming or trying out new equipment/techniques, it’s recommended that you post at least weekly so regular viewers can come back each week after viewing previous episodes and expect fresh content.
6) Web Development
Web development is a natural fit for people who know how to code and want to start a business. There are tons of ways you can go about starting a web dev company: Do freelance work for others, find clients on your own, or launch an agency that takes care of all aspects of building and hosting websites (design, development, SEO).
If you don’t have any coding chops yourself, there are plenty of other ways to be involved in web dev without knowing how to code. For example, you could start a content marketing service where you provide blogs and articles to companies that need content created.
Or, maybe you offer online coaching around WordPress—which involves zero coding skills! Since it’s relatively low cost ($20–50/month) compared with some of my other ideas, starting out as a WordPress freelancer is a great way to get started with no experience required.
(Worth noting: When I say no experience required here—I mean it.)
7) Personal Training/Fitness Coaching
There’s a huge demand for personal trainers and fitness coaches, even though there are plenty of challenges. The industry is rife with low-quality trainers who haven’t been properly trained or don’t take their job seriously.
If you can set yourself apart by delivering quality training, in person or remotely, you could really make an impact on people’s lives—and get paid to do it.
Want some more tips on how to become a successful fitness coach? I interviewed several experts with more than five years experience in the field, who shared their best advice for making it big as an online trainer.
And if you decide to pursue fitness coaching as your side business idea, you’ll want to investigate further; all states require personal trainers to be licensed.
This process includes taking relevant courses on exercise techniques and safety standards and passing an exam that shows off your knowledge base (e.g., anatomy, physiology).
Becoming licensed will also allow you to advertise your services confidently at a premium. To learn more about what’s required of fitness professionals to operate legally, check out this site to become a certified personal trainer here.
8) Amazon FBA
Amazon FBA, or “Fulfillment by Amazon,” is a service that allows businesses to outsource their order fulfillment to Amazon. Using Amazon FBA, businesses can send their products to Amazon’s warehouses, and Amazon will take care of packing and shipping the products to the customer when they are ordered.
Amazon FBA is a great option for businesses that want to minimize their shipping costs and improve their customer service.
In recent years, Amazon has become a go-to destination for online shoppers. What was once known as a bookstore and then became an e-commerce site has now become a full-fledged shopping mall.
In addition to its own products, Amazon also allows third-party sellers to sell on its site. These sellers use Amazon’s fulfillment program, FBA, to store and ship their products.
If you’re already selling on Amazon and want to start your own e-commerce business, Amazon FBA is a great option for private labeling products and growing your business.
Simply source your products through Amazon, then sell through your own website and use Amazon’s fulfillment options for shipping. It’s actually really easy to get started. Click here to learn more about getting started with Amazon FBA.
9) List Building
List building is an important part of your business. By getting a lot of people to subscribe to your list, you create an audience that is interested in what you are selling.
This means you’ll get more sales and leads in your email list over time without having to spend a lot of money on advertising. To build a mailing list for your business, use signup forms on your website and include them in any marketing you do online.
Make sure you ask subscribers to opt-in by confirming their email address. Most mail service providers require a double opt-in process where users must confirm their address before being added to your list.
If someone forgets to confirm or doesn’t see it in their inbox, they can request another copy be sent out. When writing e-newsletters make sure there is no incentive for people to give up their address other than gaining access to content or signing up for special offers they may be interested in.
Don’t push deals too hard; remember, many businesses fail because of poor marketing strategies, not because their products aren’t good enough.
After every mailing ask if anyone wants off your list as you don’t want someone receiving emails who isn’t interested in hearing from you anymore.
A customer should always have control over whether or not they receive emails from you; at all times protect your customers privacy and respect their wishes if they ask to be removed from your list.
10) Selling Products on Etsy
If you’re handy with a crochet hook or have an eye for design, selling your crafts on Etsy is a great way to make money online. eBay is more barebones, while Etsy is mostly known for its handmade wares, it’s actually a great place to sell any type of item you can imagine.
On your own or as part of a team, you can create customized items like jewelry, pet toys and even home-decor collectibles. What makes Etsy different from other sites is that each seller brings their own unique style to every listing.
Remember when I said above that eBay was more barebones? That’s because they don’t let sellers embellish their descriptions too much; they want those listings to drive sales rather than become places where people get lost in their childhood memories.
Once you know what kind of items you’d like to sell, whether out of passion or just for some fast cash, see if there are similar businesses already listed on Etsy.
Think about how your products would fit into their market—do they offer custom services that yours doesn’t? This is important information to keep in mind as we continue on our quest to find things to sell online.
In conclusion, there are many online businesses you can start. You can find a business that is perfect for you and your skills. You can also find a business that is the perfect fit for your lifestyle.
With the right planning and execution, you can be successful with any of these businesses. So, what are you waiting for? Get started today!
