Interested in making money online? The good news is you launch today. But with so many options to choose from, you may not know where to start. Don’t fret. Below are several ideas that can help you get your feet wet in the online business world, and they won’t cost you more than $100.
1. Blogging
Do you enjoy researching writing about a specific topic? If so, a blog could be a good fit as it’ll give you a platform to express yourself freely and make money while doing so. Even better, the startup costs are low and it only takes a few minutes to set up and launch your site since there are several free and low-cost themes on platforms, like WordPress, to choose from. And whether you choose to monetize the site through affiliate links or by selling your products or services, it’s a great way to earn passive income.
2. Bookkeeping Services
You’ll find that many small business owners use Quickbooks to input transactions and manage their accounting records. And while the software isn’t extremely difficult to navigate, it helps to have an expert on hand to take it off their hands so they can focus on growing the business. This equates to opportunity for you to start a bookkeeping service and place clients on a monthly retainer that varies by scope to keep manage and keep Quickbooks up to date.
3. Business Coach
The beauty of being is a business coach is the ability to take industry knowledge acquired from research or by working in the field and disseminate it to others who seek clarity. You can set your hours and work in coaching calls or meetings with clients at your convenience.
To illustrate, if you worked in the financial services industry for years and would like to help aspiring financial coaches chart their course to success, you could bundle up that knowledge in a way that’s easy to digest. And once it’s finely tuned, you can promote yourself as a business coach that specializes in helping financial coaches.
4. Business Consulting or Training
Businesses, both big and small, often have large projects that are a heavy lift but don’t necessarily call for a full-time hire because they’re short-term. That’s where you can come in as a business consultant. So, if you’re an elementary educator and a non-profit wants to develop literacy curricula for underserved young students in a particular area, they could look to you for assistance.
You can also serve companies as a business trainer by coming in and facilitating employee enrichment programs. These include anything from basic financial literacy to mental health and awareness.
5. Financial Coach
Statistics show that millions of consumers struggle to manage their finances. But if you don’t fall into this category and have mastered the art of managing yours, it may be worthwhile to develop resources and materials that you use and spreading the word around to others that you’re willing to assist them through financial coaching. They may just take you up on your offer.
6. Freelance Writing and Editing
As a freelance writer or editor, you choose the type of projects you want to complete and set your rates, which means your income potential could be enormous with minimal effort. To illustrate, if you charge a client $100 for a 500-word article and they want 8 per month, you’ll earn $800. And if it only takes you one hour per article, you can knock a bulk of the work out during the first week of the month and use the remaining weeks to find similar projects to increase your bottom line.
And you’re not just confined to writing articles. You can explore copywriting by writing web copy, sales letters, the content for direct mailers or ads, and scripts for infomercials, just to name a few.
7. Graphic Designer
Aesthetics play a major role in branding for most companies. If you get the graphics wrong, you may have a rough time attracting prospects. Or even worse, your business could get written off as unprofessional, which may not be the case. Business owners get this, so they have no problem hiring graphic designers to make sure they stand out from a visual perspective.
Graphic designers also ensure that anything the business puts out, whether it’s a new website, logo, company correspondence, written, or digital resource is consistent and meshes with the identity of the brand.
8. Life Coach
Are you the go-to person in your circle of family or friends when things are going left? Do you often find yourself helping others work through problems or navigate murky waters to find a solution or reach a goal they’re trying to accomplish? An online life coaching business may be worth considering.
There are certification programs to help you ramp up your skill set, but they aren’t a must to get started.
9. Online Marketing
The term, online marketing, encompasses many components, which gives you options to choose from if you’re interested in this line of business. Companies are always searching for ways to expand their reach and if you can help them most effectively and efficiently possible, it shouldn’t be too difficult to fill up your client roster.
As an online marketer, you could perform a range of duties, including email marketing and social media management, content marketing and management, online advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), branding, and a host of other creative services, just to name a few. But when starting out, it may be best to start by specializing in a particular niche. Doing so makes it much easier to narrow down and pitch prospects, and you won’t stretch yourself too thin.
10. Photography
If you have a digital camera on hand, you can offer photography services or sell stock photos. You don’t need a studio to conduct shoots; there are plenty of nice places outside to set up shop. And if you’d prefer not to deal with clients, you can always shoot a slew of photos and sell them to others on your site or stock photo directories.
11. Resume Writing Service
Not everyone wants to start a business to move up the income spectrum, and that’s ok. But to get ahead in the fiercely competitive job market, they’ll need a resume that shines. And if you have a way with words, you can offer resume writing services to job hunters in various industries.
12. Digital Products
You can design and sell your eBooks, masterclasses, and online courses with very little overhead. Canva has a paid subscription, but you can get started and use many of their design options for free to create your digital products. And then you can use sites like Kajabi to deliver your products or host online courses for a low monthly fee. Teachable is another great option for hosting online courses if you’re working with a tight budget.
13. Social Media Consulting and Management
If you spend hours on social media, why not get compensated for doing so as a consultant or manager? The route you take will depend on how involved you want to be with the client’s social media accounts.
As a consultant, you’ll want to propose solutions that will help companies stand out from the masses on social media platforms they use. You may also make recommendations on which platforms are best for their particular industry and which ones could be ignored until there’s more time or resources available.
But if you choose to manage their accounts, you’ll not only serve as a consultant but be in charge of coming up with content that gets results, posting consistently, responding to comments and inquiries, and finding other ways to engage with your client’s audience. Most importantly, the client will want to see that you’re adding value so they’ll get the results they’re looking for, whether it’s more exposure or higher sales volume.
14. Transcriptionist
Online platforms, like Rev, allow you to earn money transcribing or captioning from the comforts of your home. It’s free to get started, and you’ll receive paid training to help you navigate the platform so you can position yourself to be compensated top dollar for your work. You should also know that there’s no limit to the number of assignments you can accept as long as you can keep meet deadlines.
15. Online Tutoring
No need to apply with Kaplan, Mathnasium, or any of the other brick and mortar tutoring companies to get paid for your services. You can become an online tutor, set your rates and schedule, and tailor solutions to your client’s needs. Even better, you’re not limited to a certain geographic area as video conferencing allows you to serve students from all over.
16. Virtual Assistant
As a virtual assistant, you’ll be lending a helping hand to a small business owner that’s juggling too many balls in the air at once. Tasks will vary by individual and industry, but you can expect to help them manage their calendar, appointments or meetings, organize their daily schedule, make travel arrangements, coordinate with clients, manage social media, and the list goes on. And depending on your level of expertise, you may be tasked with more complex tasks or projects that span beyond the usual administrative duties.
In most instances, you can work when it’s convenient as long as you put the required hours in and get the job done. And to get started, all you need is a computer, phone, and printer/scanner combo.
17. Website Designer
Take a look around the web and you’ll quickly notice and several websites pop up each day. And while there are business owners that are skilled enough to use a drag and drop template or create their own from scratch, there are tons more who’d prefer to leave this to the professionals. So, if you have a knack for designing websites, this could be the perfect online business for you.
18. Website Developer
Not really into web design but have a good grasp of what transpires on the back end? You could set up shop as a website developer that offers services to clients who need features embedded in their websites that require extensive coding that may span beyond the scope of what the web designer can do.
19. Website Maintenance
You also have businesses that launch a website but have no idea how to maintain it. So you can offer website maintenance services as an add-on if you’re a developer. Or you can specialize in maintenance once the foundation has been set and offer your services for a flat monthly fee.
20. WordPress Theme Developer
With the surge in the blogging industry, WordPress has morphed into the most popular platform for bloggers. And while there are free themes available, some bloggers are willing to pay for a customized theme created by a developer who’s available to lend additional support. And some WordPress Theme Developers offer plug and play solutions for business owners or bloggers who want to use particular themes they develop but have no interest in doing any work on the back end to set things up.
The Bottom Line
Online businesses allow you to earn extra money on you terms. And you’re not limited just one idea; feel free to test the waters until the find the idea that works best for you.