You are probably reading this because you want to start a business and you don’t have or want to invest a lot of capital. Or you could just be looking for a business to start from home. Not all small business ideas require huge startup costs, especially remote ones. This is why we’ve created this list of low-cost home-based small business ideas.
There is no such thing as enough money. So it doesn’t matter whether you are employed, or own a business, we are always looking for that extra source of income.
Here are some of the low cost small business ideas you can start up this 2022.
1. Accounting and bookkeeping
With accounting and bookkeeping skills, you can render this service to people.
Preparation of tax is one of the most lucrative small business ideas that you can start this 2022. You will help individuals prepare their tax returns which is less complicated than other businesses.
Every small or big business needs to keep track of expenses, invoicing, and payrolls. You will help the business to record sales, file receipts, and pay their bills.
The good news is that you do not need any specific qualifications to become a bookkeeper. As long as you are good with numbers, you can start a freelance bookkeeping business today! It will however be good if you had a bit of experience.
2. Virtual assistant
The pandemic was really good for the work-from-home industry, the virtual assistant industry today is now one of the fastest-growing ones.
Companies save up as much as 78% by hiring Virtual assistants.
Virtual assistants do everything a regular assistant does except bring their employer coffee. You will be working remotely and carrying out all types of tasks for your clients which include:
- Making phone calls
- Manage email accounts
- Website management
- Booking appointments
- Data entry
- Making travel arrangements
- Content Production
- Transcriptionist
- Customer service
Listed above are the task that can be carried out by a virtual assistant.
If you decide to follow up on any of the business ideas listed here and can’t come up with a business name, Disruptive Generator does that effortlessly for you.
3. Graphic designer
This is one of the most popular low cost small business ideas out there. Thanks to the growth of the SME industry, the graphics design industry has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last decade.
As of 2021, the global graphics design industry was worth $45.8 billion. The rise of freelance platforms like Fiverr, Truelancer and Upwork has also played a huge part in this growth.
If you have a good eye for design, there is a huge market for your artistic talents. The graphic designing industry is fast booming.
It allows you to help businesses and influencers develop their brand while you work from the comfort of home or anywhere around the world. Some of the task carried out by a graphic designer includes;
- Logo design
- Infographics
- Brochures and Posters
- Flyers
- Product packaging
- Web Design
- Social Media content
Editor’s Pick
4. Social media manager
If you are one of those that enjoy using social media. If you spend hours on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter and understand the tricks. You can start getting paid for doing just that as many small businesses and startups rely greatly on social media platforms to find new customers and build their brands. These brands are often on the lookout for social media experts that can help them to create content and engage with their followers.
Your major role as a social media manager is to look out for brands’ social channels. You’ll help to curate, create, monitor, moderate, and respond to audience comments. You will also need a creative eye to design posts and share images online.
In the US alone, the social media management industry was worth $6.1 Billion in 2020.
Social media manager is one of the best low cost small business ideas you can try.
5. Dropshipping
If you would like to start a Dropshipping business, here is how it works. You create an online store and list products in your online store, advertise or market your product and take orders from customers. Once an order is placed, the order is then sent to a third-party vendor i.e. the Dropshipper, who then takes stock and ships it to the customer.
The cool factor about Dropshipping is that you can start with little to no money. Your supplier also handles the bulk of the heavy lifting like stocking and shipping.
Here are some cool statistics about Dropshipping:
- In 2020, 1% of global retail sales were from e-commerce.
- In 2017, 23% of global online sales were from Dropshipping models. This is valued at $85 billion dollars.
- 27% of online retailers have now adopted Dropshipping.
- Suppliers make 18.33% more profit when they sell to dropshippers.
6. Running ads campaigns
It is one thing to start a business and it is another to make it reach its intended audience. This is a must-know for all businesses that want to grow and get their message in front of the right customers. The different aspect of running an Ad campaign includes:
- Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
- Email Marketing
- Web Content
- Social Media Content
- Facebook Ad
- Google Ad
To get started, you need to have an idea of digital marketing.
Here are some cool statistics about online advertising:
- In 2021, the revenue of online advertising agencies was estimated at 20 billion U.S. dollars in the US.
- A survey carried out in the US in 2020 showed that 51% of consumers made their purchasing decisions based on social media ads.
7. SEO Specialist
This is another business that allows you to help bloggers and businesses to get their websites in front of the right audience and the process is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This simply means understanding and optimizing keywords to show up higher in organic search results of search engines like Google.
There is no doubt that SEO is ever-changing. That is good news is people and businesses will pay top dollar for SEO specialists that can help them to stay ahead of the game.
Here are some cool statistics about the SEO industry
- The SEO industry is worth $80 billion.
- SEO can increase your conversion rate by 14.6%.
- To 70% of marketers, SEO is more important than PPC.
- E-commerce sites get 10x more traffic from search engines than social media.
8. Web Designer and Developer
With a little understanding of HTML and CSS, you can become a web developer. Your skills grow with more projects done.
The good thing about web design these days is that content management platforms (CMS) have made it easy for beginners. Wix and WordPress are two of the best and most common CMS available for website design.
With a few YouTube videos to guide you, you can start designing websites in no time.
These days, growing a business is no longer possible without a website, meaning those who do not have one will need help to build one. Moreover, even those who were ahead of the curve and created a website long ago are becoming desperate for a more updated version.
In essence, those with these technical skills can cash out by just working from home.
Here are some cool statistics about the website design industry.
- In 2010, there were about 210 million websites, today we have $1.8 billion.
- In 2020, the web design industry was worth $40.8 billion in the US alone.
- 48% of people judge a company’s credibility by their website design.
- 5% of active websites globally are run on WordPress.
- 62% of companies had their sales increase after designing mobile responsive websites.
Web design is one of the best low cost small business ideas out there.
9. Sell your books
You can make money by selling books online. Also, the process of publishing it by a big publishing house is less arduous but the profits are minuscule, and the support you get is non-existent.
That said, there are people who make a lot of money by writing and publishing books. A quick surf of Amazon will show you just how many books are being written and sold.
Most people who write books prefer to go the eBook route because it is easier to publish and market. Unlike the traditional paperback and hardcover. It is also more cost-effective than printing.
You don’t even need to know how to write, you can simply hire writers on platforms like Fiverr or Truelancer and have them do the heavy lifting. You only need to have a marketing plan.
Abundance Aware has a well-explained array of guides on publishing books on Amazon.
Here are some cool statistics about the Ebook and Paperback Industry.
- 4:1 is how print books out-sell eBooks
- In 2020, 191 million books were sold in the United States.
- In 2020, eBook sales increased by 22%
- Amazon Kindle is credited with 72% of e-book sales
- In 2019, the revenue from book sales was $26 billion
10. Create digital products
EBooks represent only one of many digital products you can sell in your online store. Here are other digital products you can sell;
- Printables: budget templates, organization planners, meal planners
- Assets: icons, infographics, fonts, or social media graphics
- Content: text-to-audio conversions, sound effects, or voiceovers, photographs
- Templates: resumés, even sewing PowerPoint, or knitting patterns.
Make money from your great digital product idea now.
11. Sell Online courses
Opportunity in the e-learning industry is getting bigger by the day. It is a huge opportunity and entrepreneurs should look at creating online courses.
In this information age, people go online to become experts in their fields and hobbies. People are always looking for new things to learn.
That industry knowledge that you have that looks small to you is a big deal to thousands of people.
You should really look into creating a course online and start tutoring to earn a living. Here is a list of courses you can teach online although they are not limited to this;
- Cooking
- Marketing
- Languages
- Photography
- Technology
- Personal Development
- Music
- Software
Start tutoring now!
Here are some cool statistics about the Elearning or Online course industry
- By 2025, the e-learning market is expected to be worth $325 billion globally
- In 2019, the worldwide online e-learning market was valued at $101 billion.
- The online course industry has grown by over 900% since 2000
- The mobile eLearning market was expected to surpass $38 billion by 2021
- Udemy is the number one course platform for eLearning with over 20,000 content creators and 12 million students.
12. Photography
You probably don’t know that you will make a good photographer. Do you have a good eye for lighting, props and aesthetics? Do people compliment your pictures when you post or take them? You probably have the raw skillset. It’s just not polished yet.
There are different aspects of photography that you can focus on and earn a living;
- Wedding photographer
- Portrait photographer
- Food photographer
- Destination photographer
- Stock photographer
You can choose from any of these and start your photography journey. You might need to invest in quality cameras at some point, but you can start by borrowing cameras. There are people who do that.
13. Sell crafted goods on Etsy
Are you a crafty person? If you are good at making handcrafted products like beads and bracelets, you can sell them on platforms like Etsy.
All you need to do is go over to Etsy and create an account. Then you click on ‘Open Your Etsy Shop’ from the navigation menu to open a shop and start selling.
Etsy however doesn’t support all countries. Alternatively, you can sell your products on social media or messenger apps like WhatsApp.
Abundance Aware has a great guide on how to make money on the Facebook marketplace.
You can also look to sell your goods at Art and Craft fairs, trade shows or through local retailers.
14. Podcasting
Podcasting is one of the most underrated businesses out there. To begin, you only need to be knowledgeable. The rest become better and easier with time.
Millions of people listen to podcasts every month so there is room for you. Podcast listeners keep increasing every day, which means people are consuming more content.
The best news is that you do not need a lot of technical know-how or even a lot of money to start a podcast. In fact, a lot of people have started podcasts with nothing more than a phone and vision. You too can start one now as it is never too late.
Here are some cool statistics about the Podcasting Industry
- Only 26% of the adult population in the US was aware of podcasts in 2016.
- That number has increase to 78% in 2021.
- In 2021, there were an estimated 120 million podcast listeners in the United States.
- By 2028, the podcast industry will be worth $94.88 billion.
15. Start a YouTube channel
YouTube is one of the best platforms to make money today.
Starting a YouTube channel and setting up your channel is very simple. What makes it difficult is the more technical stuff like editing, SEO and recording.
With your YouTube Channel, you can talk about things that interest you. It could be anything from tips and tricks, career, tutorials, DIY instructions, talking about politics, to business advice and many more.
Some of the content you can create on a YouTube channel includes;
- Food
- Fitness
- Beauty
- Fashion
- DIY
- Reviews
- Gaming
- Product Reviews
Business of Apps has some cool YouTube Industry statistics.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the best home business for you will depend on your goals. You have to decide if it’s going to be a part-time business (Side hustle) or a full-time thing.
There are thousands of other small business ideas you can try at low startup costs. But our list was curated to spread across many industries.
That said, no business will make you rich quickly, you have to put in countless hours honing your skills. What is however certain is that, if you put in enough work you will make money.
If you need help or guidance in improving your web design, UX Design, Content Writing, digital marketing or branding strategies, simply Contact Us. We are here for you.
