Whether you want to work from home so that you can set your own hours, stay home with your kids — or just wear pajamas all day 🙂 — here’s 9 businesses you can start to make it happen.
These are all online business that you can start with for a low cost and have a high potential for growth.
And if you already know that you want to start a business, get the free guide that will teach you how:
Download The Beginner’s Guide to Starting an Online Business
9 Businesses You Can Start to Work From Home
Before we dive into these: you’ve probably heard of some of these before. You may even read some of the ideas on this list and think ‘that’s not for me.’
BUT each of these businesses can take shape in different ways. Just because you’ve seen it done one way before doesn’t mean that’s the only way to do it.
As you read through this list, keep in mind what you’re passionate about, what fires you up, and what you already have knowledge about. Chances are, you can apply it to EACH of these businesses.
The trick is just to figure out which business has the best model/way of making money that will work for you. And if you need help figuring this out, get the free GUIDE!
1. Blog
Start a blog. This could be about a topic that you know a lot about or it could share stories from your personal experiences. Blogs generally focus around long-form content and engaging images.
Some of the primary ways that blogs make money is through advertising, partnering with brands for sponsored content, and creating & selling unique products.
I talk to a lot of people who have ‘always wanted to start a blog,’ but never gone through with it. They aren’t sure where to start, aren’t sure what to say, and doubt if anyone will read it.
Here’s the thing: you never know until you try. You can start a blog for around $20 and be up and running this week.
That’s a small investment of time and money for the chance at a new business that you might really love and that can be really profitable.
Blogging is also a skill that can be learned. If you don’t know where to start, there are a million free resources that exist on the internet. Start with this one: How to Start a Blog That Makes Money.
2. Shop
You could also start a shop to work from home. A shop can sell physical or digital products. These could be items that you make yourself or that you buy and resell.
There are many platforms that make it easy to set up a shop. I recommend Shopify because they’re beginner friendly and creating a professional shop is simple.
The most important thing to keep in mind when starting a shop is choosing your niche. If you start another T-Shirt shop selling shirts with fun quotes on them, you’ll have about a zillion other stores to compete with!
Get specific. For example, shirts with quotes about hiking for women in their 30s that like to hike with their family. The point is: get as niche and specific as possible to target your audience. It will feel like you’re excluding customers, but that’s a good thing. Especially at first, you want to get attention by being unique and testing the marketing with a few select products.
3. Etsy
Most people think of Etsy as a place for crafty, handmade items. But it’s become a lot more than that. Etsy is now popular for digital products as well (think photo presets, logos PDF templates, etc.).
If you have a skill for hand making an item or creating art, consider opening a shop. Or check out some of the most popular digital shops for ideas on digital products you could create.
4. Drop Shipping Store
Drop shipping is when you create an online store and sell items that are fulfilled by a 3rd party. You don’t have to keep inventory in stock or deal with shipping and handling. All items are shipped to your customers directly.
The benefit of this is not having to worry about inventory or shipping. The downside is that drop shipping can sometimes have long processing/shipping times, and you won’t be able to quality-check individual orders yourself.
For an example of a popular drop shipping service, check out Printify. You can design your own clothes, home goods or accessories, list them in your shop, and Printify will make & ship them.
5. Influencer
An influencer is someone who builds a presence online through social media (usually Instagram). They make money by sharing about brands or products with their audience. In exchange, brands get exposure to new customers and new content.
The term ‘influencer’ can refer to celebrities who are known worldwide or someone who only has a handful of followers on Instagram. All that’s required to be an influencer is to have an audience who trusts you (no matter how big or small they may be).
Building up the type of audience needed to become an influencer takes time. You probably won’t start making money this way tomorrow — or even this month — but if you start now and are consistent with your efforts this is a viable way to make money & work at home.
6. Online Courses
If there is a subject that you know a lot about or would be interested in teaching, consider starting an online course as a way to work from home.
An online course will take time to create, but once it’s complete, you can use it as a way to produce passive income. And some online courses can be relatively high-ticket products.
There are also several sites that make creating an online course easy & beginner-friendly. Teachable.com is one example of a site that allows you to create & sell online courses.
7. eBooks
Similar to online courses, eBooks are one way to create a product that produces passive income. Ebooks are PDF books that usually sell anywhere from between $0.99 to $25.00 (on average).
How much you charge depends on the content of the book. eBooks are about a specific subject and provide timely, relatable and actionable value.
If there’s a subject that you know a lot about or that you want to share, eBooks are a great option. Free sites like Canva.com make it easy to turn your words into a beautiful, professional-looking PDF.
8. Freelancer
If you have a skill (like writing, web development, graphic design, etc.) you can create an online business that sells your services.
Your website will be your online storefront, where customers can come to connect with you and see your work.
Depending on the skills that you freelance, you can build a business that allows you to work from home, completely remotely. And the benefit of building & marketing your business online is that you have the potential to reach customers around the world.
9. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is when you share about products and make a commission if someone purchases through the product links on your site.
For example, I could write a post about my favorite shoes for winter. Each shoe recommendation would be linked to the product page for the shoe on the retailer’s website using an affiliate link. If a reader clicks and purchases one of the shoes that I linked to, then I receive a commission.
When you join an affiliate network, you’ll receive a way to generate the affiliate links to add to your site. These will usually have tracking metrics, so you can track your clicks and commissions.
There are several large affiliate networks that you can apply to and some individual brands have their own affiliate programs as well. If there’s a brand you love, check out their website or send them an email to see if they have an affiliate program.
For more about affiliate marketing & how to get started, see:
How to Make Your First $100 with Affiliate Marketing
These are just a few examples of businesses that you can start to work from home! For more ideas, more information, and exact strategies, check out:
Leave a Reply