In this online age, everything seems to point aspiring entrepreneurs toward e-commerce. You do not need business acumen to launch a successful start-up online.
Online business gives you the freedom to make money regardless of your location. What is your passion in life? Can you turn it into an online business and cash in on what you love doing?
The internet is full of small online business ideas that can confuse you. This article will equip beginners with feasible ideas for a successful first-time e-commerce entrepreneur.
See also: Is Freelancing Actually Worth it Today? Here’s What You Need to Know.
Is Starting An Online Business A Good Idea Now?
Even though there are risks, it is currently the best time in history to start an online business. The world is successfully managing to curb the pandemic, but it has effects we will not forget any time soon. Even as economies open up, the effect of the current pandemic can still be felt in many people’s lives.
Besides claiming millions of lives, the pandemic wreaked havoc on small businesses, huge corporations, and world economies.
Several people had to work from home as brick and motor organizations thought of alternative means to meet their customer’s needs. However, many businesses closed shops, and millions of employees lost their jobs.
Many entrepreneurs want to test the waters with reduced income and economies returning after long lockdown periods. The world is witnessing an increase in online business as people look for ways to make ends meet.
If you are scared to dip your feet into an e-commerce start-up, remember that some businesses can thrive after a crisis. Data shows that you can venture into many business opportunities and succeed as the world adapts to the post-pandemic era.
So, yes! Now is the time to venture into an online business.
15 Best Online Business Ideas For Beginners
As a first-time entrepreneur, you do well to remember that some business ideas can prosper while others may not. Therefore, analyze the market and see where there is a need that you can fulfill through your online business.
We have compared the success rate of various business ventures, considering the current economic situation, and compiled ten practical online business ideas to help you make money.
1- Start An Online Pet Business
The pet industry is booming with significant growth each year. The global pet care market grew from $245 billion in 2021 to $261 billion in 2022 at an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1%.
This statistic demonstrates that selling pets online or providing online pet care services is an excellent idea.
Many people love their pets, considering them as close companions and part of the family. In the United States, pet owners love spending money on these friends. So, regardless of your love or hate for pets, you can make good money from selling pet supplies and products online.
You can sell pet products such as:
- Toys
- Pet food
- Litter
- Beds
2- SEO Consulting
If you know what SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is, you can profit from starting an online consulting business and offer your services to companies with websites.
The digital space is very competitive, and many brands want to stay ahead of competitors by ranking higher on search engines. They know that ranking higher will increase their web traffic and enable them to convert searchers into customers.
However, most companies do not have the necessary knowledge of SEO, link building, schema, and other content marketing strategies.
As an SEO consultant, you will examine your client’s websites and provide them with effective strategies to enhance traffic. SEO consulting is highly demanded across the globe by many businesses.
However, before you start selling your services, build a website and try your ideas on that website. Of course, you have to read extensively to understand the changing SEO dynamic that you can propose to clients.
3- Virtual Online Training
If there is one thing every industry, including the education sector, learned from the pandemic, learning should continue even in the face of a crisis.
Many schools moved from offline and embraced eLearning during the pandemic. Now that the pandemic is subsiding and economies are opening up, online classes have not lost their glory.
People still prefer online courses and training due to their flexibility and convenience.
Although there are many online learning platforms, the demand continues to rise, thus providing you with a perfect avenue to make money.
Many people use e-learning platforms to learn new skills such as:
- Digital Marketing
- UI/UX design
- Fitness
- And SEO marketing.
However, before you sell a virtual course, ensure you know the subjects you want to teach. After creating the course, you sell it by making tutorial videos, organizing digital training sessions, and offering a free valuable eBook.
If you haven’t figured out what to teach on your online course, you can leverage apps such as Social Trigger and educate your audience on how to sell their skills.
4- Become a Writer/Designer
Freelancing makes it to the list of best online business ideas for beginners in many similar blogs because it provides you with flexibility. You can cold pitch for clients on various social media platforms, including LinkedIn.
Alternatively, you can join freelancing platforms like Fiverr and Upwork to apply for jobs. These platforms have numerous writing and designing jobs from different potential clients you can work with.
If you have writing and designing skills, you can showcase these skills on your profile and when bidding for jobs to woe clients. Additionally, you can complement your writing skills with SEO skills and improve your charges per article.
Every online brand needs a designer to create logos, posters, infographics, and other visual designs. You offer your services to these companies at a reasonable fee.
5- DIY Craft Seller
Are you obsessed with crafts, designs, aesthetics, and art? Now is the time to turn that obsession into an e-commerce storefront to showcase your handmade craft.
If you have some handcraft at home, take good pictures of these items and showcase them on your Amazon or Etsy store.
Alternatively, you can link up with a supplier to sell them online. However, you will have to sell them at a lower price or share part of your proceeds with the supplier.
Are you wondering how to get started with Etsy? I have written a comprehensive guide. Check it out to find out how to successfully market your products on Etsy.
6- Sell Second-Hand Items
People are looking for cheap second-hand goods in good condition, and you can take advantage of this demand. Instead of dumping decluttered items, you can sell them to second users.
What items can you sell? You can include home décor, electronics, and clothes. Why not choose a niche product or specialize in different products when deciding what to sell?
Ensure the products you want to sell are highly demanded. And you could create more demand by advertising your second-hand goods on various social media platforms.
7- Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a good online business idea where you promote other people’s products or services. The product’s owner shares a referral link that you include on your blog, email, and social media platforms.
You earn a commission if a visitor on your page follows the link and buys a product from the store.
Several businesses need affiliate marketers to promote their products to a new customer base. You can profit from this resource through affiliate marketing if you have a successful blog with high traffic or a huge social media following.
You can research various affiliate programs that relate to your niche and apply. However, avoid products unrelated to your brand or blog posts because they could turn off your audience.
8- Social Media Management
We cannot overemphasize the value of social media marketing for businesses looking for a competitive advantage in the market. Social media is a huge part of various marketing departments’ strategies, taking a huge chunk of the marketing budget.
Nevertheless, most companies struggle to manage their social media accounts. Managers have a packed schedule with many things requiring their attention, and managing social media accounts is the least thing they can think about.
And that is where you come in. Companies are turning to people with social media skills to manage their accounts, and they pay handsomely.
You can approach small businesses and suggest managing their Instagram accounts.
9- Become An Influencer
Do you have a huge social media following? Brands are looking for you to sponsor their product or services on your page. Since you have a huge following, your fans consider you an expert or authority figure in your niche.
For instance, if you regularly post about fashion or are an expert in a certain field, you will be considered a fashion influencer and can be paid for sponsoring products.
The advantage of being an influencer is that you have many platforms you can use. You could create a YouTube channel, become a TikToker, or build a stellar Instagram account.
You might be wondering what are Instagram Brand Ambassadors and How you can become one? Read this interesting and detailed guide.
10- Become a Web Designer/ App Developer
Are you a tech guru with knowledge in software and app development? You can take advantage of advanced technology and start a business online. Furthermore, several companies are looking for developers to build their websites and apps.
The chances are that entrepreneurs who want to start a business would want a website, but they may not have the technical skills to create one. Even businesses with websites could be looking for your services to help them upgrade their sites.
If you are passionate about coding, CSS, HTML, or web design, you can work as a freelancer with many clients. Build your website and use it as an advertising tool for your skills.
You might enjoy reading: 9 Best Ways to Effectively Make Money Online with Autocad.
11- Start a blog
Starting a blog is probably the best and an incredibly less investment-intensive idea that you can find on the internet right now.
With only a small knowledge of creating beautiful posts, writing content on different niches, and engaging the audience with your writing, you have a clear chance of turning it into a successful online business.
With tools like WordPress available for you to work with, creating engaging blog posts that people might want to read can become a successful endeavor.
With an ultimate audience seeking interest on your website, you can finally have it monetized and start earning the big bucks.
Following are the popular ways that you can use for the sake of monetizing your website:
- Advertising
- Selling eBooks
- Online courses
- Coaching
- Affiliate marketing
- Membership website
You might enjoy reading: Is Blogging Still Popular Today? (Yes, and here is why!)
12- Start an E-commerce Website
It has been the oldest way to make money that you must sell what others may want to buy. Creating an online store is the classiest way to earn money online.
With tech giants like Amazon and eBay earning their fair share of income from selling items people are interested in buying, they have become the next-level e-commerce giants.
Without products, you won’t have an online shop, so it is important that you strategize what you want to sell that others might also be interested in.
When you finally have the products you will sell on your online e-commerce store, you can finally begin to think about buying a domain and working on your online store.
Well, first thing first, get your website up and running, and then you can have the services of WooCommerce plugin that you can use to set up your online store.
It is clearly one of the unique online business ideas out there that you can begin with.
13- Publish an eBook
Many people want to have self-help books and eBooks on several topics that can help them get a hold of their life and the situations they find themselves in.
If you have always wanted to become an author, writing eBooks on different topics and walks of life can be a great starting point to begin with.
Self-publishing stuff is a great industry on its own, and there are various ways out there that these publishers can use to publish those eBooks out there. The most favored of them is Amazon Self Publishing.
With the self-published eBook writing business, your books will get to the market fast as these could be easily downloaded from the internet using a paid subscription and would also make tons of money for you in the process.
14- Try Your Talents In The Freelancing Business
This is probably one of the best online business ideas for students out there. If you are good at delivering services, then you are a perfect fit for the freelancing business.
You can either start with copywriting/content creation, search engine optimization, social media marketing, PPC ad management, web design, and development or become a virtual assistant.
But the basis of this business is that you would have to be the best at what you do or either be able to fulfill the tasks you are burdened with.
Any of these ideas would be a massive hit if you seriously gave them a try. That is why you should start with these ideas right away, or else you will miss out on a huge opportunity to build an online business for yourself.
15- Become a Translator
Becoming a translator might sound a lot like freelancing, but there is a clear difference. As in the freelancing business, you would have to fulfill the people’s tasks for them, but as a translator, you can help your clients translate documents, books, websites, speeches, or even videos.
The best way to get started as a translator is to register through freelancing platforms such as Fiverr, Upwork, Gengo, and Fairlingo.
Final thoughts
Starting an online business is not free of challenges, regardless of how suitable the idea may seem. However, you can successfully launch your online business and grow it with resilience and hard work.
Choose a suitable niche with high demand and stick with it. You can also work with mentors who will give insight on how to succeed with an online start-up.