Are you looking for an idea to start your own online business? If so, we’ve got you covered with a selection of projects with low investment requirements and great cash cow potential.
The costs of running an online business can be almost nonexistent, allowing you to put more cash toward advertising campaigns. Even better if you can spare expenses for office rent, storage space, or employees by reaching out to clients and customers worldwide from the comfort of your living room.
If you are ready to open an online shop, look beyond the usual shops for food, clothes, or household supplies. There are so many other opportunities to make money online, and we are here to fill you in on the deets!
Dropshipping Business
If you don’t want to invest money in product stocking, consider starting a dropshipping business. Dropshipping is an order fulfillment model where you act as the middleman between the customer and the supplier.
Your duty would be to contact suppliers or small businesses interested in this sort of collaboration and promote their products in your online shop. Once a customer places an order, you forward the order to the supplier, and they deliver the product directly to the customer.
You can extend the service to provide customer care and complaint handling. Still, you will never be physically involved in the delivery process, which is a plus on your side.
Before venturing out, ensure your suppliers are reliable and can deliver promptly to provide a stellar customer experience. That is the only guarantee customers will be returning to your shop.
Online Vape Shop
The vaping industry is flourishing as more cigarette smokers turn to vapes as a safer alternative to smoking. Vaping incorporates the cannabis market as a whole, with CBD vaping becoming very popular and non-smokers enjoying the occasional e-cig.
As demand grows, the market could be worth over $57 billion as demand grows by 2025. Plus, according to Provape, it takes approximately 6-12 months to return on the initial investment and start earning money.
So, establishing an online vape shop could be a well-worth investment, especially if you possess a fair share of cannabis knowledge!
Affiliate Marketing
If you are looking for a way to maximize income from your website, blog, or social media channels – look no further than affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is a brilliant marketing strategy that generates traffic to your platform and turns it into a profitable business that makes money continually.
So, how does it work? If you are a content creator, choose a product that you resonate with and will be able to promote effectively.
Next, create content that drives traffic to your platform. After a visitor clicks and purchases through your link, you get a commission. The amount you receive depends on the company’s affiliate policy.
It is a simple concept, yet it requires considerable content promotion and, most importantly, one-of-a-kind content. Once you master content creation, you can consider it a half-job done.
Stock Photography
Are you considering turning your hobby or professional skills into a lucrative business? If you already have a decent digital camera and an artistic streak – you can become a stock photographer and sell your photos online.
Stock photographs are in demand by companies that need images for their websites and marketing campaigns. You can sell them directly or through a stock photography website and get a percentage for every use or sale.
Additionally, photos don’t have a use-by date, so they can be an excellent source of passive income, making this a brilliant online business idea.
3D Printing
If you love building things and have a knack for technology – 3D printing was made for you!
3D printers are not as expensive as they used to be and come at a reasonable price (a minimum of $300 for a starter printer), so the initial financing of this online shop won’t cost much.
You can start a 3D-printing service selling your own printed products or fulfill personal requests from customers.
Focus on something that would be enjoyable for you to print, such as toys and models of cartoon characters for kids and collectors. Cosplayers always need weapons, helmets, or shields of specific movie characters and superheroes.
If you want, you can take a more serious approach – print prototypes and manufacture components for knowledge-based industries such as engineering and medicine.
Whichever niche you choose, this type of online shop is a low-cost investment, and you won’t need to keep an inventory as a big part of your product will be printed on demand.
Online Teaching Courses
If you have formal education, professional knowledge, and skills in a particular field, you can monetize it outside your workplace. Any knowledge you have is an asset – languages, repairing bikes, cooking, music, gardening, or life coaching.
Set up an online teaching course and use your know-how to help people improve their skills. You can offer live teaching sessions and consultation services to students of all ages and young professionals looking for advice from an experienced colleague.
Recently, there has been a demand for writing essays and projects for students struggling to meet a deadline – so you can set up a writing service.
Another idea is to record tutorials and instruction videos and create an online course that you can sell to countless people around the globe. You will be selling a digital product that one can buy with just a few clicks.
Online Fitness Trainer
Finally, we arrive at an idea for fitness and health enthusiasts! If you are naturally sporty, this is one way to turn your everyday activity into a lucrative business.
Online fitness has skyrocketed in popularity in the last few years, becoming the preferred way for people to stay fit.
You can organize group workout classes or promote your services as a personal fitness trainer. Consider full-body strength with weights, cardio, pilates, or even yoga – the options are limitless.
The biggest advantage is that you can create fitness plans and courses, upload videos of your workout sessions, and sell them to a global audience. This way, you can train anyone anywhere, even while sleeping! As a result, your content will bring in revenue for years to come with very little upkeep.
Conclusion
Nowadays, there are so many business ideas and opportunities to create a profitable online business at a low cost. However, this also means competition will grow, as many others will try to jump on the bandwagon.
To keep your business successful and sustainable will demand hard work and dedication.
In the beginning, take your time to research the market and evaluate what is and isn’t a worthy investment to separate yourself from the competition. Make a plan and set long-term goals. A key component is providing quality products via dependable suppliers.
The wonderful thing about having an online shop is that you aren’t restricted to a location and can market to customers worldwide. You eliminate the cost of running a brick-and-mortar shop, bringing a higher margin and more profit.
But the best perk is the freedom it gives you to operate the business from any location – your cozy home, a mountain lodge, or a sunny beachfront escape!
Aidan has been writing about personal finance for over 6 years. Prior to this, he worked as a Corporate Finance Analyst where he specialized in Due Diligence, Company Valuations and more. He is a CFA charterholder.
