Starting a business can seem like a mountain of a task. But the amount of time, money, and risk involved all depends on the business idea you chase.
Contrary to popular belief, there are actually many ways to start a business that let you focus less on the logistics and upfront costs and more on getting started.
These low-investment business ideas make a great entry point for beginners, bootstrappers, or anyone with a busy schedule, letting you pick up a side business without having to drop everything else.
You still need to come up with a solid idea, build a brand, put effort into marketing, and provide excellent customer service. But you can bypass many traditional startup costs, such as initial inventory, warehousing, and retail space.
Here are 10 of these low-investment business ideas you can start today.
10 low-investment business ideas you can start on the side
1Partner with a dropshipper 2Design and sell print-on-demand 3t-shirts 4Launch your own book 5Create digital products or courses 6Sell print-on-demand posters, prints, etc. 7) Start a charitable business 8) Sell a service 9) Create an online fashion boutique 10)Sell handmade goods Build an audience you can monetize
1. )Partner with a dropshipper Buy stock, store it, pick it, pack it, ship it. Managing inventory can be a big commitment when youβre running a business.
Dropshipping is a fulfillment model where a third party supplier stores and ships inventory to customers on your behalf. You just need to make the sales and pass orders on to your supplier; you donβt need to handle the products yourself.
You can curate products from one or more suppliers into your own online store under a theme that focuses on a specific niche, like gear for yoga enthusiasts or water bowls for dog owners. When a customer buys a product from you, the order is sent to your supplier who fulfills it on your behalf. However, you are still responsible for your own marketing and customer service.
There are both local and overseas suppliers you can work with, as long as you can establish a relationship with them built on trustβan unreliable supplier will reflect poorly on your brand.
Dropshipping is a low-investment way to test product-market fit and launch a business before you invest in your own original products. Just be sure to always order a sample for yourself to make sure that your supplier is reliable and that the quality of the products is fit for selling to your customers.
Additional Resources:
The Definitive Guide to Dropshipping with Aliexpress How to Use Dropshipping as a Low-Cost Way to Test Product Ideas Oberlo (free Shopify app for importing products into your store)homemade goods If youβre a makerβwhether you DIY soap, candles, sauces, or potteryβyouβre in a unique position to find an online business idea since product development and procurement are literally in your hands.
Unlike many of the other ideas on this list, you will need to consider shipping and inventory management, but you can start out simple on a per-order basis or with a small batch until you start generating consistent sales.
In fact, many makers on Shopify started out with a part-time home based business, selling from their homes on Etsy or to friends and family, growing into full-time business owners after establishing demand for their products.
Just be mindful of any regulations in your product category, especially for anything customers will eat, inhale, or put on their skin.
brooklyn candle studio on shopify Brooklyn Candle Studio is one of many maker-owned businesses on Shopify that started on Etsy. Additional Resources:
How to Start an Online Food Business How to Sell Art Online How to Turn Your Jewelry Hobby Into a Business 10 Things to Make and Sell Online 12 Creative Ways to Make Money 10. Grow an audience you can monetize in multiple ways In todayβs connected world, the ability to capture and keep the attention of others is an asset. Itβs one that many businesses are even willing to pay for, and one that many creators are able to convert into a business with multiple revenue streams.
Whether you choose to grow your following on YouTube, Instagram, or a blog (ideally a combination of different channels), you have many avenues for monetizing your audience:
Do sponsored posts on behalf of brands Become an affiliate Sell physical or digital products (via any of the ideas on this list) Patreon A combination of the above (theyβre not mutually exclusive) Taking an audience-first approach to starting a business means youβre playing the long game (it might be months until you’ve figured it out). But you don’t need millions followers to do itβInstagrammer Kat Gaskin, for example, pulled off a $10k product launch with only 3,000 followers.
kat gaskin started an instagram-based business Kat Gaskin’s personal Instagram account links to her Shopify store: The Content Planner. Additional resources:
How to Get More Followers on Instagram How to Build an Email List How to Become a Fulltime YouTuber The Right Way to Monetize an Audience (From Wait But Why) Three tips for choosing a business idea choosing a business idea
The business ideas weβve covered might be easier to run when it comes to logistics, but that doesnβt make them easy. There are at least three things you should keep in mind as you consider
Starting a business can seem like a mountain of a task. But the amount of time, money, and risk involved all depends on the business idea you chase.
Contrary to popular belief, there are actually many ways to start a business that let you focus less on the logistics and upfront costs and more on getting started.
These low-investment business ideas make a great entry point for beginners, bootstrappers, or anyone with a busy schedule, letting you pick up a side business without having to drop everything else.
You still need to come up with a solid idea, build a brand, put effort into marketing, and provide excellent customer service. But you can bypass many traditional startup costs, such as initial inventory, warehousing, and retail space.
Here are 10 of these low-investment business ideas you can start today.
10 low-investment business ideas you can start on the side
1Partner with a dropshipper 2Design and sell print-on-demand 3t-shirts 4Launch your own book 5Create digital products or courses 6Sell print-on-demand posters, prints, etc. 7) Start a charitable business 8) Sell a service 9) Create an online fashion boutique 10)Sell handmade goods Build an audience you can monetize
1. )Partner with a dropshipper Buy stock, store it, pick it, pack it, ship it. Managing inventory can be a big commitment when youβre running a business.
Dropshipping is a fulfillment model where a third party supplier stores and ships inventory to customers on your behalf. You just need to make the sales and pass orders on to your supplier; you donβt need to handle the products yourself.
You can curate products from one or more suppliers into your own online store under a theme that focuses on a specific niche, like gear for yoga enthusiasts or water bowls for dog owners. When a customer buys a product from you, the order is sent to your supplier who fulfills it on your behalf. However, you are still responsible for your own marketing and customer service.
There are both local and overseas suppliers you can work with, as long as you can establish a relationship with them built on trustβan unreliable supplier will reflect poorly on your brand.
Dropshipping is a low-investment way to test product-market fit and launch a business before you invest in your own original products. Just be sure to always order a sample for yourself to make sure that your supplier is reliable and that the quality of the products is fit for selling to your customers.
Additional Resources:
The Definitive Guide to Dropshipping with Aliexpress How to Use Dropshipping as a Low-Cost Way to Test Product Ideas Oberlo (free Shopify app for importing products into your store)homemade goods If youβre a makerβwhether you DIY soap, candles, sauces, or potteryβyouβre in a unique position to find an online business idea since product development and procurement are literally in your hands.
Unlike many of the other ideas on this list, you will need to consider shipping and inventory management, but you can start out simple on a per-order basis or with a small batch until you start generating consistent sales.
In fact, many makers on Shopify started out with a part-time home based business, selling from their homes on Etsy or to friends and family, growing into full-time business owners after establishing demand for their products.
Just be mindful of any regulations in your product category, especially for anything customers will eat, inhale, or put on their skin.
brooklyn candle studio on shopify Brooklyn Candle Studio is one of many maker-owned businesses on Shopify that started on Etsy. Additional Resources:
How to Start an Online Food Business How to Sell Art Online How to Turn Your Jewelry Hobby Into a Business 10 Things to Make and Sell Online 12 Creative Ways to Make Money 10. Grow an audience you can monetize in multiple ways In todayβs connected world, the ability to capture and keep the attention of others is an asset. Itβs one that many businesses are even willing to pay for, and one that many creators are able to convert into a business with multiple revenue streams.
Whether you choose to grow your following on YouTube, Instagram, or a blog (ideally a combination of different channels), you have many avenues for monetizing your audience:
Do sponsored posts on behalf of brands Become an affiliate Sell physical or digital products (via any of the ideas on this list) Patreon A combination of the above (theyβre not mutually exclusive) Taking an audience-first approach to starting a business means youβre playing the long game (it might be months until you’ve figured it out). But you don’t need millions followers to do itβInstagrammer Kat Gaskin, for example, pulled off a $10k product launch with only 3,000 followers.
kat gaskin started an instagram-based business Kat Gaskin’s personal Instagram account links to her Shopify store: The Content Planner. Additional resources:
How to Get More Followers on Instagram How to Build an Email List How to Become a Fulltime YouTuber The Right Way to Monetize an Audience (From Wait But Why) Three tips for choosing a business idea choosing a business idea
The business ideas weβve covered might be easier to run when it comes to logistics, but that doesnβt make them easy. There are at least three things you should keep in mind as you consider
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