Tips for Starting a Home-based Business
Setting up a brick-and-mortar store can be capital intensive and time-consuming. But what if you could save yourself the stress and still build a profitable business? Thankfully, with the influence of technology and the internet, you can run a profitable business from home with little or no capital investment.
There are several home-based business ideas available today. In this guide, we review 25 of them. A few may require you to put some physical arrangements in place, while others are entirely online.
Let’s jump right in!
25 Profitable Home-based Business Ideas
There are several home-based business opportunities you can try out. However, the ones on this list are some of the most profitable home-based business ideas you can efficiently run from home with a computer and an internet connection.
1. Start a Dropshipping Business
Dropshipping is one of the several businesses you can start from home without inventory or storage space. Dropshipping is a very profitable home business idea you can consider if you are interested in selling products online.
With dropshipping, you don’t have to worry about the production, storage, and shipping of the products you choose to sell. All you have to do is manage tasks like sales, marketing, and customer service while your supplier handles the rest.
You profit by selling the product for a higher price than the product’s cost price and other costs you have to factor in.
To get started with dropshipping, you will need to decide which eCommerce platform to use: Shopify and WooCommere are popular options.
2. Flip Websites
This business idea is one of the most exciting small business ideas you can implement from home. All you have to do to flip websites is buy a website that is already running, improve the content and design and then resell it for a profit.
Flippa is a good place to look for websites to flip. In order to ensure your website’s content stays protected try to choose a standard SSL encryption.
You can further improve a website through SEO, content marketing, and several other tactics. This added value makes the websites worth more, and you can sell them for a higher price and profit.
3. Sell Homemade/Handmade Products
If you love making crafts, art, or other things that can be used within the home, you can easily monetize your skills by selling the products you make. You can create these products in your home, a studio, a workshop, or a commercial kitchen; store, and even sell them from your home.
For instance, you could choose to:
- Create paintings
- Make wooden sculptures
- Create jewelry
- Crotchet items
- Sew clothes
By making the products yourself, you can control most of the production process. This means you can employ different means to make the process more cost-effective, improve the quality and even tailor them to individual requests from customers if you wish.
Not sure where you can sell them? Try Etsy. The competition is fierce, but the market is large.
4. Start a Print-on-Demand Business
Just like the dropshipping business model, a print-on-demand business does not require you to hold inventory or ship any of your products.
This business idea involves selling customized products with your designs on them. You can customize items like basic tees, hoodies, cool tank tops, sneakers towels among other things. All you have to do is get a trusted supplier you can work with.
Teespring is a good place to start.
5. USPP website
This business idea is a no-hassle, no-stock business that you can start from home. USPP is a global leader in promotional solutions and also offers the ability to develop unique customized products. They can help you get up and running in less time and at a lower cost.
Unlike other businesses, you can own the website they build for you to operate. They offer great sales capabilities and professional customer service by shipping on your behalf so you don’t have to worry about production and shipping. All you need to do is promote it and then get a commission when a customer places an order.
And from your first sale, they will provide you with unparalleled solutions that will enable you to increase your sales more quickly. This is a great platform for home business ideas.
6. Develop Apps
With the world becoming a global village and more companies springing up every day, the need for apps has never been higher. This large market is what makes it very profitable as a home-based business. Interestingly, the cost of learning and starting this business has reduced significantly because of affordable developers and easy-to-use tools.
You can use different tax software for a small business such as Sketch, CoreAnimator, and OmniGraffle wireframes and mockups, after which you can proceed to publish the app. You can even choose to hire a mobile app development company to work with and still make a significant profit.
7. Become an Online Tutor
If you have a passion for teaching, you can become an online tutor. There are many people who are willing to learn the skills you have. Skills like music, advanced marketing, sewing, DIYs, or even a second language can get people to register for your course.
You can decide on how large you want your class to be. They could be one-on-one classes or small groups. You can also decide how long you will take each class. Whether you prefer to hold two hours of classes every week or even an all-day teaching session, you can pace the course as you like. You will also have to create a syllabus and a teaching plan for whatever skill you have to teach.
Thankfully, with platforms like Udemy, you don’t have to bother too much about how to sell your courses.
8. Sell Pre-owned Items
With rising concerns about the environment, many consumers are adjusting their lifestyles to promote and enhance sustainability. This gives you an opportunity for you to build a profitable business from the comfort of your home by selling pre-owned items out of your garage – like a yard sale.
By making the products yourself, you can control most of the production process. This means you can employ different means to make the process more cost-effective, improve the quality and even tailor them to individual requests from customers if you wish. Just make sure to NOT create it with paints or other materials that are toxic so you can avoid product liability lawsuits.
You can even go ahead to help your friends, family, neighbors, and anyone else sell their unwanted items and make a profit. Things you can sell range from clothing items, accessories, home decor, furniture, and any other item you can get a customer for. If you are getting started, you can use the Teachable platform; they offer a 50% discount code for all new users.
9. Start a Dog Grooming Business
If you have enough space in your home, you can set up a dog grooming business. Most pet owners are so busy that they don’t have time to care for their pets. So, if you are good with pets, they won’t mind paying you a decent fee to help them with that task.
You can just start by leveraging connections from friends and family.
You can choose from two options when going into the dog grooming business. The first is to go the retail route. This would mean selling pet grooming items online or from your home. You could also choose to go the service route by offering grooming services to people’s dogs for a fee. If you like, you can even combine both.
10. Become a Content Writer
Several companies need help creating content for their blogs, product pages, and other web pages. So, becoming a content writer can be a worthwhile home business idea for you.
You can use different platforms like Upwork, LinkedIn, and Facebook to get customers and create more exposure for your business. To make the most of it, you can learn more skills like Search Engine Optimization to add value to your customers and charge higher.
11. Become a Virtual Event Planner
Are you skilled at organizing events and programs? Do you love creating schedules? Can you network with people, negotiate with them, and bring them together? Then event planning is a great business idea you may want to develop. With the pandemic, most companies now hold virtual events instead of in-person events, and this has created a market for virtual event planners.
As a virtual event planner, you can start without any significant running expenses. All you need is a laptop, a smartphone, and access to the internet. Over time, you can grow your skills within a particular niche to increase your income.
12. Launch a Photography Business
If you have the skill and ability to capture perfect moments, you should consider becoming a stock photographer and launching your photography business. You can choose to open a Shopify store to sell your pictures or sell them on websites like Shutterstock, iStock, and Adobe Stock.
Many companies and individuals are always searching for spectacular stock images. However, running a photography business is more than just taking amazing photos. You will need to learn how to market yourself, build and grow your brand and select a photography niche.
13. Become a Virtual Assistant
Virtually everyone, both individual entrepreneurs and large enterprises, need someone to help with the day-to-day running of their businesses. If you have excellent organizational skills, starting up a virtual assistant business is another home-based business idea you can try. Typically, you will have to handle basic tasks like scheduling meetings, answering emails, and other basic administrative tasks.
You will be paid for the effort and time to perform these tasks. You can find companies and businesses that need to hire a virtual assistant through platforms like Virtual Assistant Jobs, FreeUp, or PeoplePerHour. This work from home business idea is quite viable because of its unending demand.
14. Become an Affiliate Marketer
If you have digital marketing skills and can build traffic to a website, affiliate marketing is another small business idea you can try. As an affiliate marketer, you can earn a commission on certain products if you can convert your audience into customers.
You will have to determine what affiliate strategy to use. This is where your creativity may get tested. What’s more, you can leverage various platforms and skills to creatively sell the products to your customers and earn a profit.
15. Become a Social Media Manager
With the popularity of social media platforms, the job of a social media manager is in high demand. Interestingly, you do not need to be employed by any agency to get started as a social media manager.
With access to a laptop, the internet, a social media presence, and social media tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social, you can easily set up your own social media management business. Leverage your network to land your first customers and market yourself and your services to land more clients.
16. Blogging or YouTubing
If you love creating content, you can build an audience around a specific niche and grow that following to a significant size. You can do this by growing a readership for a blog, growing a following for an Instagram account or building an audience for a YouTube channel.
Once your audience becomes large enough, you can start implementing monetizing strategies. To monetize your audience, you can market products for a brand for a fee in the form of brand sponsorships, or a commission in the form of affiliate marketing. You can also choose to sell physical or digital products to your audience.
17. Start Your Instagram Consulting Business
Instagram consulting is a viable home-based business idea you can try if you have the skills to get more followers on Instagram and boost engagement.
You can offer services like writing engaging captions, creating attractive bios, responding to comments, and more. Your clients will gladly pay you for these services.
You can charge by the hour, with a subscription model, or any other payment structure that you opt for. The best part is you can easily do this from the comfort of your home.
18. Podcasting
Podcasting has grown from being a platform for thought-sharing to a high-income business stream. Especially if you’re an entrepreneur or experienced in a niche field.
As with YouTubing, you can create and record niched content distributed across your social media channels. Known for your expert insights on specific subject matters? Convert your data-backed opinions into conversations hosted on your podcast channel.
The more content you create, distribute, and repurpose, the higher your chances for growth. Podcasting may not be a short-term money-making scheme, but if done well, can grow to fetch you much more than you think possible. Take a look at this list of the world’s richest podcasters for inspiration.
19. Design Websites
Almost every business in this age needs a website to increase its visibility, but most business owners are not willing to put in the time required to learn it. Some just don’t have the time to spare. You can help them with this if you have the skills.
The cool part is that with WordPress, you don’t need to code anything to build a website.
You can use platforms like Dribble, Upwork, and Fiverr to land your first customers and showcase your skills when you are just starting. Over time, you should gain traction, making it easier to build an income stream.
20. Sell Products on Marketplaces
With several viable online platforms like eBay listing tool, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, Bonanza, and Etsy, you can make a decent profit from selling products. And you can sell just about anything. Also, it would be good to present the products you are selling through digital catalogs for more engagement with your customers.
21. Convert Your Expertise or Services into Products
If you run a service-based business, your growth may be limited by some factors. You can only earn based on the amount of time and effort you put in. However, there is a way out of this. You can choose to turn your service or expertise into physical or digital products.
This is an excellent home-based business idea that can significantly increase your revenue. You can do this by creating courses, digital templates, videos, ebooks, or downloadable reports. You do not need an inventory for these products, and you can sell these products to customers on platforms like Selar.
23. Purchase Products in Bulk and Resell Them Online
Several small business runs on the basic concept of buying products in bulk and wholesaling or retailing them. If you think you have a market for a particular product, you can choose to buy it in bulk and sell them individually to make a profit.
You can also choose to resell in larger quantities to retailers for a profit. By buying in bulk, you can get the products at a lower cost.
23. Become a Personal Shopper
Do you have a good taste for fashion? Do your friends and family come to you for fashion and shopping advice? You can build on these skills by becoming a personal shopper. As a personal shopper, you can help your customers shop for clothing items that suit their style.
Your primary duties will be to evaluate your customers’ wardrobe and shop for items for them. You can even shop online to get these items for your customers. Thankfully, there are several online stores to choose from.
24. Home-Based Catering Business
If you’ve got great cooking skills, you can monetize them by setting up a home-based catering business. You can choose to start small or big depending on how much initial capital you are willing to put into setting it up.
If you’re completely new to this, consider starting small, experimenting with your local food markets, and catering for small events. You can also start a food delivery business.
25. Email Marketing
Do you know how to write excellent emails? Do you have a knack for crafting attention-grabbing subject lines? If so, you can monetize these skills by launching an email marketing business.
You can use different platforms to find companies looking for help with their email marketing. You can even show off your skills directly by sending them cold emails. Besides email copywriting, you might need to learn how to use email marketing tools such as Klaviyo and MailChimp.
26. Set up a Virtual Dance Studio
Virtual dance studios are like regular dance studios but virtual. This means you can easily set up a virtual dance studio without having to rent a space. It offers more convenience with recording, publishing, and sharing your choreography.
You can even choose to record your dance classes for your students from the comfort of your home such as in apartments for rent in Tacoma. It also means that you do not have any limitations as to the number of students that you can enroll in your dance academy at once, unlike physical dance studios where you’re limited by its size.
If you’re opting for a virtual dance studio, ensure you have access to high-speed internet and video conferencing software like Zoom.
Bonus Point: TikTok Marketing
Since its 2020 popularity, literally every business wants to be on TikTok. This means you can make a killing with TikTok if you are good at making goofy, yet entertaining videos.
The best part is that you don’t need expensive equipment to start; your mobile phone will do.
Conclusion
We hope you’ll explore one or more of these 25 profitable home-based business ideas. To increase your chances of success, pick one that aligns with your personal goals and interests and focus on it.
These ideas are ideal for students, stay-at-home moms and dads, and anyone looking to supplement his/her income.
If you choose to sell products on Shopify, installing the Adoric Shopify app on your website would supercharge your sales performance. With Adoric, you can convert visitors into customers and subscribers.
The best part is that you can start for free and scale up as your business grows.
