8 home-based business ideas you can start today
Buy products in bulk to sell.
Sell homemade products you make yourself.
Start a dropshipping store.
Start a print-on-demand store.
Sell your service or expertise.
Productize your service or expertise.
Grow an audience you can monetize.
Buy an existing eCommerce business.
Section 1: The Best Ways to Start a Small Business From Home
Starting a business from home can be both exciting and scary. It’s a huge step to take and requires taking control of your life and financial decisions.
There are a lot of things to consider when starting your own small business, but there are a few things you absolutely need to do in order to set yourself up for success.
1. Decide on Your Business Type
Think about whether you’re going to go into retail or wholesale. For retail, you may want to start out selling from your home in a very traditional way.
If you’re going into wholesale, you may want to think about doing things a little differently.
For example, some retailers make their own products or bring in their own stock.
Buy products in bulk to sell.
Sell homemade products you make yourself.
Sell your service or expertise.
Productize your service or expertise.
Grow an audience you can monetize.
Productize your service or expertise.
Take a basic design class.
Grow an audience you can monetize.
Teach someone how to make money online.
Start a dropshipping store.
Buy products in bulk to sell.
Sell homemade products you make yourself.
Sell homemade products or services you make yourself.
Start a print-on-demand store.
Sell your service or expertise.
Productize your service or expertise.
Take a design class.
Grow an audience you can monetize.
Teach someone how to make money online.
Pay per click ads are a great way to start an eCommerce business.
Sell homemade products you make yourself.
Sell homemade products you make yourself.
Sell handmade products others are buying.
Sell a home-based product or service.
Sell a service you do on a regular basis.
Get a job with an online business.
Sell services online that you don’t do for your day job.
How do I start an online thrift store?
Create an online course that people pay to take.
Start a B2B eCommerce business.
Sell a skill or a service online.
Start an online product or service to sell online.
Or sell a service online where you don’t provide a service for others.
That’s just a taste of how you can start a home business from home.
Another approach would be starting a business where you work from home, but own the company instead. This approach is similar to what Uber does and companies like TaskRabbit.
Start a dropshipping store.
Start a gift or novelty business.
Or create an Etsy shop.
Maybe you can be the first person to design a new product or create an old one.
If you’re a designer, you could start a side business making unique business cards.
Or start a photo-printing business.
Or make your own stationery.
Create your own web hosting.
Start an online photography business.
Create a company that tests and certifies consumer products.
Start a brand new business that you can start from home.
If you’re an artist, make custom products or sell your crafts on Etsy.
Or start a jewelry business.
Or do product photography for weddings or other events.
Start a freelance editing business.
Start a virtual assistant business.
Start a video marketing business.
Start a print-on-demand store.
Sell a product to a big retailer.
Create a video tutorial.
Sell membership sites.
Take advantage of in-house talent to supplement your product lines.
Start a home-based enterprise.
Grow an audience you can monetize.
Find out about the Small Business Administration.
What are the best cloud ERP systems for small businesses?
Ask your lawyer if he knows of any good home-based small business legal counsel.
If you’re seeking some help, search for an employment attorney who specializes in small business and start-up law.
Hire employees that are home-based.
Sell on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media sites.
You’ll need an email newsletter to get people to sign up for your web store or to sign up for your email newsletter.
Diversify your sales with services or complementary products.
Put a buy link on your product pages.
Sell your service or expertise.
Targeted Marketing (Build a community around your business)
Selling on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Selling on Google Ads.
The Cozy Business Card
Choose a unique, personalized and attractive card to sell your business. The great thing is that you can customize the card to make it unique to your business and market. Simply place your logo and name and description of your business in the cards, and as soon as they are purchased, they will be shipped to you.
First and foremost, never underestimate the power of physical mail. It remains the only affordable and low-cost way to reach your targeted audience and potential customers. Some small businesses succeed because they send postcards or letters out to customers, customers write reviews and help spread the word about them.
Productize your service or expertise.
Market your skills or products.
Sell online.
Or, how about starting an online business from home? Many people are jumping in, including many with no business experience whatsoever.
Here are eight ideas for home-based online businesses. If you have any other ideas, let me know!
1. eCommerce store
Perhaps the most popular type of home-based online business, eCommerce stores allow you to sell products online, ranging from books and music to clothing and accessories. There are hundreds of millions of people around the world buying online. If you want to get in on that action, it’s a no-brainer.
There are a variety of ways to start an online business, including the popular digital products eCommerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce.
Grow an audience you can monetize.
Scaffolding for Success
Owning and operating a small business from your home is relatively simple, you can do it even without much capital. If you can make these few changes to your home business then you can make it the centerpiece of your household income and your business can function as a financial supplement to your regular income. These simple adjustments will make your home-based business the best and most profitable one around.
Have a great business plan
It is a must that you have a great business plan. Your home-based business plan is the one document that can get you up and running and protect you from legal issues that might arise from your business.
Buy an existing eCommerce business.
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Do you know of any interesting home-based business ideas that don’t appear on our list? If so, let us know!
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 8 Home-Based Business Ideas That Cost Less Than $500
Also from GOBankingRates:
When it comes to starting a business, all types of people can benefit from launching a home-based business. The sky’s the limit when you have less to lose. From the comfort of your own home, you can start a lucrative side hustle while you spend the majority of your time with family and friends.
However, with all of the costs associated with a home-based business, it’s hard to make a go of it.
