A couple of extra dollars in the bank or more money bills in the wallet never hurt, right?
It’s likely you know people from close quarters, who have made a lot of side income online.
But that’s old news. Today, it is not hard to find people running a full-fledged online business.
Businesses that bring in enough income to pay all the bills, keep you well-fed and well-dressed, and even sponsor exotic vacations and splurge purchases.
And once people start making money online, it isn’t tough to use that money to make more money. Wondering how to start an online business? Don’t have a lot of cash to invest in an online business?
Well, don’t worry.
Here we have listed 20 easy ways to start your own business online and monetize it with minimum investment.
20 online business ideas that require minimum investment
Making money does not always need a lot of money, to begin with.
- Freelancing
There are plenty of websites like Fiver and Upwork that let you create an account for free and take up paid gigs based on your skills.
The only investment that you will need to make here is your time.
- Selling stuff online
If you already own a small business you can sell your products/services online. Building a basic e-Commerce website is possible with website builders like Shopify (plans starting $29/month).
- Dropshipping
Dropshipping essentially means that you sell products online for a commission. You make the sales and the original seller handles the shipping and inventory management. You just get a commission for each sale.
- Blogging/Podcasting
If you have a way with words, you can start your own blog (using a free website builder or by registering on blogging sites like Medium, Blogger, etc.) As you gain readership you can sell ad space on your website, use affiliate links or even do sponsored content and earn from your blog.
If you aren’t comfortable writing but would much rather speak, podcasting is the alternative for you.
- Affiliate marketing
If you are good at convincing people, affiliate marketing is the job for you. Using your blog, website, mailing list, or even a YouTube channel, you can recommend products and services to your audience and get a commission for each sale you make.
- Create and sell digital products
eBooks, printable calendars, and templates are just some of the digital assets that people are willing money for. If you are good at writing and designing, all you have to do is create digital products (you can use free tools as well). And then sell what you create online.
- Start an e-course
If you have a skill that is in-demand, you can create a written or video course and sell them. You can do it using online education platforms or even through your own blog/website/podcast/mailing list.
- Sell a plugin, application, theme, or software
You can put your coding knowledge to good use by developing plugins, themes, APIs, or even software and then selling them. Such off-the-shelf solutions are much loved by people and organizations that want quick solutions.
- Start selling merch
If you already have a popular blog, social media account, or YouTube channel, you can sell your merch online to rake in some cash. You just have to display photos and prototypes on the digital shopfront and the actual products can be made to order. This minimizes the required investment and the hassles of inventory management.
- Make your website gated
If you can create content that people want to consume, they will pay for it. Make parts of your successful business website gated and charge money for access to that content. Gated case studies and infographics are extremely popular.
- Sell a mailing list
If you have spent hours building a list of people in a niche, you can sell that data for cash. But that is only if your list is authentic and accurate.
- Post sponsored content
You can reach out to businesses in your niche with an offer to do sponsored content for them. This works for bloggers, YouTubers, and even social media influencers.
- Do sponsored reviews
When you visit a restaurant, offer to write positive feedback about the food on your blog. You can do this with pretty much any service provider. And people will gladly give you money (or at least freebies) in exchange for good reviews.
- Ask for donations
If you have a dedicated audience, there is no shame in asking them for one-time or recurring donations. When you are pouring your heart and soul into the content that you are creating, and people like it, they’d be willing to make contributions so that you can continue.
- Build and sell websites
Websites are the hottest digital assets today. If you are a pro at building websites, you can sell pre-made websites with scope for customization to small businesses and freelancers. By offering maintenance and update services as well, you can open up long-term recurring sources of income.
- Conduct webinars
Conducting webinars requires a lot of time and effort. If that is something that comes naturally to you, you can conduct webinars for big and small businesses and institutions. It is pretty much like event management, but it is completely online. And of course, you hardly have to spend a penny from your pocket.
- Build a peer-to-peer lending website
By building a peer-to-peer lending website, you can give people to rent and lease products as per their convenience. And in this process, you can earn a handsome commission without having to invest in any physical product.
- Buy and sell domains
If you have a knack for finding potentially useful domains, you can buy domains now and then sell them to willing buyers at a later date. And in this transaction, you can save for yourself at least a couple of dollars.
- Run a private blog network
Link building is a very important but time-consuming and complicated SEO process. By starting, running, and maintaining a bunch of websites (5, 10, 20, or as many as you want) you can help other websites on the web get backlinks. And in this process, you’ll be able to make a fortune for yourself too.
- Create an online job board
Companies are looking for employees and people are looking for jobs. All you need to do is build a platform that helps employees and employers find each other. And you can get a commission from companies for each employee they hire through your platform.
That’s a lot of ideas, right?
So don’t wait up anymore. Get up and monetize your business online with the minimum possible investment today.
