9 Business Ideas With (Almost) No Startup Costs
For many people with an entrepreneurial spirit, the No. 1 reason why they don’t pursue their business dreams is because of the significant costs associated with starting a business. However, there are many businesses you can launch today with little or no funding, so long as you are dedicated and put in some good old-fashioned hard work.
If you’re looking to start a low-cost business, 9 ideas from Mythes.net will help inspire your entrepreneurial spirit.
1. Content creation
Social media and the 24-hour news cycle have created the perfect storm of opportunity for creative professionals like writers and graphic designers, who can use their talents to create high-quality, shareable content for businesses and media outlets. Thanks to a growing gig economy of freelance and contract workers, it’s easier than ever to market yourself as a professional service provider.
2. Personal or virtual assistant
Along those same lines, those who have good organizational skills are in high demand for other entrepreneurs who are growing their businesses and want to focus on high-return tasks. A personal or virtual assistant performs many of those secretarial or front-desk functions without being onsite. These individuals often work from home for many different clients, keeping track of calendars, making flight arrangements and doing clerical work.
3. Event planning services
If you’re a highly organized, detail-oriented individual who loves putting parties together, you might have the right personality to launch an event-planning business. Working for weddings, birthday parties and class reunions, event planners make it easy for others to host an exciting party. Planning a few pro bono events will help give you the proper experience. Use LinkedIn and cold calling to build up a solid database of vendors and contacts so you can help your clients orchestrate the event of their dreams.
4. Errand/concierge service
Between caring for their children and handling their professional responsibilities, most working parents have very little time to take care of personal errands like grocery shopping, making returns at the mall or mailing packages. A driven individual can take care of these time-consuming errands for clients and free up their days for the important things in life. Account for travel expenses when determining your rates, which can be hourly or by the task.
5. Professional reviewer
Yes, this is really something. The importance of good reviews is not lost on companies large and small. Many corporate websites such as https://www.tosw.org provide products and services to individuals so that they can write reviews about the company. They want good reviews but, more importantly, honest reviews. They pay for your time or with reviews, and you can try new things, read new books, experiment with the latest technology, and more, all while getting paid.
6. Social media consultant
Larger companies can hire an agency or full-time staff member to run their Facebook and Twitter accounts and blogs, but small businesses often have to take care of their own social media marketing. With so many other responsibilities, business owners may be too busy or overwhelmed to come up with a great social media strategy. As a consultant, you can help them determine the best tactics, posting schedules and content for their target audience. As their follower counts grow, so will your business.
7. Etsy shop
Etsy is a popular online marketplace that hosts thousands of at-home retailers and larger productions, like the highly rated Wildflower + Co., selling jewelry, patches and DIY merchandise. Starting an Etsy shop is incredibly affordable. It’s free to join the site and start a shop, though there are three selling fees: the listing, transaction and payment processing fees.
8. Online courses and tutoring
What Interests You? Yoga? Burning? Web design www.qomicis.com? If you know something inside and out, you can help others enrich their lives by offering virtual classes. Create downloadable instructional packages and videos, or schedule real-time Skype lessons with clients. Another option for aspiring educators is to start a virtual or home-based tutoring service.
9. Personal chef
This business requires you to plan and prepare weekly or daily meals for your clients, so strong cooking skills and a working knowledge of nutrition and special diets are a must. You don’t necessarily need to have graduated from culinary school, but having some cooking classes under your belt will boost your credibility. While you may have to do some traveling to and from supermarkets and client homes, your customers should cover the cost of ingredients in addition to your service charge.