Online Businesses to Start with Little or no Capital
If you have ever thought of starting a business, but the lack of capital keeps holding you down, have no fear. Running an online business is more about research and creativity than money.
As long as you can talk people into buying a product and marketing it for a broader audience to see, you're good to go. Why go about searching for jobs when you can channel your energy to making some cash for yourself?
If you're unemployed and looking for other lucrative sources of income, then check out these five online businesses you can start with little or no capital. Here we go:
1. Blogging
If you are passionate about any niche, why not put it to good use by starting a blog? You can create a blog for free or host it for a fee.
Blogging is not only about words, pictures, or videos, it goes beyond that. The most important thing is that your content is original, creative, and engaging so that your audience is excited to click whenever there is a new post.
You also get ranked high on search engines when your content is rich; thus, more users click on your blog. When you have an audience, it is easier to make money. How can you make money from blogging? Google AdSense is one way you can make money from your blog.
When you get a code from Google, ads start to display on your site, and whenever a visitor clicks on it, you make some money. Asides from google, Blogads also offer advertising services, but you need thousands of visitors to use it.
2. Online video
You can make money while having fun on-screen. There is virtually no kind of information you wouldn't find on YouTube today. This site currently has over 2 billion users watching millions of videos every day. Like blogging, what stands you out is creative and engaging content. Select a niche you're comfortable in, and focus on reeling content your target audience would love.
You can monetize your channel by enabling monetization on the settings, after which Google displays ads on your videos. You get paid when a user clicks the ad. Paid sponsorships are another remunerative way to make money from your channel. Companies and organizations love to pay YouTubers with enormous followers to promote their products or services.
With your smartphone, you can start making videos and uploading them, but you need to ensure that the video quality is high. Your audio quality needs to be clear as well to enhance listening. A quick reminder: humans have a short attention span and would not be patient to watch long and boring videos. Compress the video as much as you can so that you do not lose viewers.
3. Affiliate marketing
Maybe you hope to own a world-class boutique, but the capital is not handy. Why sit and wait for that breakthrough when a solution is at hand? With affiliate marketing, you can get paid from your sales even while you are asleep. How does this work? Pick a niche for your business, particularly around your area of expertise, and find an affiliate partner who has those products.
There are many affiliate sites you can subscribe to, and they are always open to affiliate marketers. Amazon.com is an example of an affiliate site, and it is arguably the most popular one. When you have registered with an affiliate site, advertise their product on your e-commerce site or blog. Every product has a unique link that when a user buys from, the marketer gets a commission. The commission ranges from 5 to 50 percent, depending on the product.
You do not need to invest in any product but on advertising and marketing. You will succeed in this line of business if your site generates enough traffic, and this is where content comes in. You should upgrade your marketing and advertising game if you want to make it big. Although you could spend money on marketing and advertising, there are other free options available to you.
4. Drop-Shipping
Dropshipping eliminates the cost of owning a warehouse and paying a salesperson. These days, warehouses depend on others to drive sales because the cost of running one is expensive. To start this business, you do not need to own a store or produce any product.
Like affiliate marketing, you only need to focus on advertising and marketing products to a customer. You are not a loner in this business, but you work in collaboration with a company specializing in dropshipping. How does it work? You list a product on your site, and when a customer wants to buy, you order from the drop shipper at a reduced price.
The drop shipper sends the goods to the customer. Your job is to advertise and take orders but not to deliver. This model is simple, and there is little risk attached. To reduce the risk of doing this business, you need a trustworthy partner that can deliver quality goods because you get the blame for inferior quality goods.
5. Digital freelancer
A freelancer is a skilled person who doesn't work for any organization in particular but sells its services to anyone that needs it. There are various skills in freelancing that you can do from the comfort of your home. If you are a skilled writer, website designer, or copywriter, you can leverage on freelancing sites like Upwork, Fiverr, etc. to get clients and work at your pace.
There are no fixed rates in this field as you can charge at your price and work for whomever you want. What is more important in the freelancing business is that you know your onions and can deliver quality jobs at the stipulated time because no one loves to pay for low quality.
Bottom line
To succeed in the online space, you need to choose a profitable niche and understand the kind of goods and services your audience is willing to pay for. After identifying a hotspot, hone your skills to fit in so that growing your income becomes easier. Also note that the online market is competitive, and if you must thrive, you need to do things differently.