When it comes to starting a business, the most common roadblocks are a lack of capital and time.
To start a business from scratch, you need capital which can be money or labor. The more money is required, the less likely people will invest in your idea because most people will not want to risk their hard-earned money on a new business that they don’t even know will succeed.
On the other hand, a lot of time is needed to start a new business from scratch, which means fewer hours left in a day for family and friends, decreasing social life.
The following article will give you eight online business ideas that require minimal investment both money-wise and time-wise.
Selling photos online
Getting started in stock photography is easy and cheap. All you need is a digital camera, a computer with Adobe Photoshop, knowledge about proper image composition, and quality pictures of nature or objects which can be later used in various designs like brochures, web banners, etc.
Some stock photo agencies allow you to upload photos and get paid for them, but some require membership and paying commission to sell pictures.
It is an ideal option for someone who loves taking pictures and wants to earn money.
Blogging
If you are interested in writing and want to monetize your writing skills, blogging can be a great idea to earn passive income. You can earn by selling ad space on your blog or signing up with affiliate programs that pay commission for directing potential buyers to their site.
Blogging can be your side business that will bring in passive income. There are a lot of tutorials that teach how to start a blog.
However, to get paid by reputable companies, you need high-quality content which Google considers valuable. Each of your blog posts must be unique and of good quality. The advantage of this business idea is that you can have your website with eCommerce functionalities.
It also means you don’t need any investment from the beginning. If you decide to switch from blogging to another online business idea, you can sell your blog domain name and make money.
Freelance writing
It is another online business that can bring in passive income. You can write for various sites that will pay you to contribute your knowledge or experience.
Freelance writers can also do ghostwriting for other authors. You can get paid to write a book that will be sold with someone else’s name on it, and you don’t need any investment to start with unless you want to publish your book, which is an even better idea if you think you have enough knowledge or experience in some field.
YouTube
If you are good at taking videos and have some interesting knowledge to share with others, you could earn money by making videos and uploading them on different video websites.
You can monetize your channel by placing ads before or during the video and get paid for every 1,000 views.
YouTube is a social media platform to start with, and you can make videos about anything.
Freelancing
If you have any skills that others would like to benefit from, it is time to start freelancing. Some skills that could be beneficial include web design, photo-editing, programming, etc.
You need to build up your website where potential employers will find you and see examples of your work to get started.
Drop-shipping
Drop-shipping is one of the best online business ideas where you don’t need to have any inventory because all items will be purchased by your customers from other companies and shipped directly to them.
You only need a website and an account with different drop ship companies that sell various products. The model has become famous thanks to the internet and eCommerce.
Drop-shipping is an excellent way to start an online business if you don’t want to invest any money in inventory or shipping costs.
E-commerce
According to Statista, as of 2019, online marketplaces account for the largest share of online purchases worldwide. Online shops are getting more and more popular every year, and we can soon say that we won’t buy anything from a physical shop anymore.
To start an eCommerce business, you will need to have a good-looking website that sells something and is easy to use. You can choose from thousands of ready-made templates or build your website from scratch by hiring someone on Fiverr or one of the many freelancing websites.
Selling Products
You can sell products online and make money. There are many different business models for selling products online, and some of them require more investment than others.
Another model is affiliate marketing which means that you will promote other company’s products, but you won’t have to buy them for yourself or stock them somewhere.
Conclusion
It can be seen from above discussion that there are plenty of ways through which you can earn money. You hardly need any kind of investment in such things.
