Most entrepreneurs have experienced the feeling of excitement when they come up with a brilliant business idea, only for it to be shot down by their friends or family. It’s too difficult, too unrealistic, and too expensive, they say. And low cost business ideas you set up at home can only lead to low-profit margins.
Sounds familiar?
Fortunately, the nay-sayers are wrong.
There’s no reason to feel like you can’t start a business all on your own, from your home or basement. Some of the wealthiest people in the United States made it on their own terms.
New research suggests that a staggering 62% of billionaires today are self-made. Only about 20% of them inherited their fortune.
That’s great news if you’re not giving up on your entrepreneurial dreams.
A lack of support isn’t the only obstruction people face on the road to success. Starting a business may seem impossible when you don’t have enough money. But these days, you don’t need a second mortgage to become your own boss.
You can start a business from your home with little to no money at all.
1. Blogging
For almost two decades, blogging has presented an opportunity for anyone with a computer to make money from the comfort of their home. Brian Clark started a copywriting blog back in 2006 with just $1,000 in cash. Today, CopyBlogger is one of the biggest names in the industry and rakes in a million dollars in revenue every month.
Why Should You Start It?
Starting a blog is not only convenient, but in the early stages requires nothing but hard work and patience. You can also earn an honest living from blogging. Bloggers make anywhere from $19,000 to $79,000 per year, according to numbers provided by Glassdoor.
How To Start?
All you need are some decent writing skills, a personal computer, an Internet connection, and you’re off to the races. ProBlogger has several great articles if you want to know more about how to make money from home by maintaining your blog.
2. Create and Sell Courses
Everybody has a passion. With a little bit of effort, you can take all of the knowledge on your passion, turn it into a course, and make a profit of it. That’s what the teacher Lynda Weinman (of Lynda.com) did in the 90s when she couldn’t find video tutorials for web designers. She decided to record her own and has since then produced an impressive video library and closed sales with the likes of LinkedIn for $1.5 billion.
Why Should You Start It?
In today’s day and age, people turn to videos, tutorials, and courses if they want to learn about a certain topic or want to acquire a new skill. In turn, that allowed people to start careers as online tutors. Some people manage to make more than $100,000 a year creating video courses.
How To Start?
This business model does involve a bit of investment if you want to do it properly. While you can always record your courses on your phone, it would be a good idea to buy a DSLR camera to make things look good and stand out in the crowd. Other than that, you need knowledge on a topic you’re passionate about.
3. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is one of the most popular eCommerce business models in recent years. There are many success stories out there, but the most impressive is perhaps that of Irwin Dominguez, who went from $0 to $1,000,000 in just eight months.
Why Should You Start It?
Imagine opening a store with no need to stock any items or hire any staff. That’s what dropshipping is in a nutshell. You essentially work as the middleman between the manufacturers and the consumers. That means your overheads are really low and most of your work can be automated.
How To Start?
Head over to sites like Shopify and read their guides on dropshipping. You’ll need to set up an eCommerce website, research which products to sell, find a reliable supplier in China, and then advertise the products to the right audience. For example, Shopify has over 1.75 million sellers already.
4. Flip Domain Names
Ever browsed the web to find a good domain name for your new business only to find that all the good ones are taken? But they can be yours for the small price of your annual salary. Welcome to the world of domain flipping, where people like Page Howe buy domain names for $12 each and sell them for over a million in profits.
Why Should You Start It?
If you have $12 to spare and access to the internet, then you’re good to go. Few low cost business ideas are more low cost than this one. You also don’t need any expertise or education apart from what you can find on countless blogs that deal with domain flipping.
How To Start?
Head over to a website like GoDaddy where you can find domain names for cheap. You can then sell the domain on an online marketplace, or you can build a website and drive traffic to it in order to increase the value of the domain.
5. Plan Online Events
Now is the time when people spend most of their work hours online, so why not you start organizing online events? With affordable video streaming services, setting up a webinar, virtual conference, or any other online event is easier than you think.
Why Should You Start It?
Now there’s no shortage of online meetings. That means you’ll never complain about a lack of business if you decide to go into online event planning. What if we tell you that planning and producing an online event can result in a profit of more than $200K?
How To Start?
It’s all about using the right format, which will give attendees what they want to get (an online fitness class, mini music concert, or cooking lessons) and offer ways to connect and chat with other members. You will have to promote your events and engage your attendees if you want to make them impactful and memorable.
Which One Will You Pursue?
Don’t worry if you’re not too interested in any of the jobs we listed above. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
There are dozens of other jobs we didn’t mention that will allow you to start a business with little to no investment. Be patient, you’ll find what you’re looking for, soon enough.
We hope you found our article helpful and interesting. Have you ever started a business before? Share your business experiences and ideas with the rest of us by leaving a comment below.
