A predominant search on the internet right now is learning about business ideas requiring as little investment as possible with a great payoff. And we hear you. Sure, it’s cutthroat competition out there. But with the right plan at hand, you can make the best out of very little resources. Here are around 50 ideas for you to try out as your new startup:
Become an Influencer
Right off the bat, we have a very modern suggestion for you. If you have garnered a good amount of social media following over the years, this one’s for you. Heck, you can go for this even if you don’t have one. Building an online footprint with the right strategies can be done by anyone. And it’s very lucrative at that! Brand deals and monetized posts will start putting good money in your pocket soon.
Wedding Planner
No matter how the time goes, one thing’s for sure: People will always keep getting married. And to a lot of people, their wedding days mean the most. So why not monetize this amazing opportunity. Study up on relevant design courses and start building your portfolio with smaller projects, gradually going up to full-fledged weddings.
Blogging
This is a good one (and we promise it’s not because we’re doing the same thing right now). You can start your very own blog or outsource blog articles to companies or people you believe in. Get to know the ropes of writing, understand your audience, write educated articles with practical examples, and above all, write something you’re passionate about. You can earn a decent living just by blogging.
Coaching Class
Students are forever looking for ways to improve their grades. Even the well-performing prodigies enroll in coaching centers to stay on top of their game. This is a great low-investment opportunity for you. Of course, being well-versed in whatever you are planning to teach in your institution is a must, but this could be huge given the right marketing and growth.
E-Commerce Websites
Learning how to build an online website will get you a long way. And it’s not even that difficult, to begin with! Just a few courses on web development and design, and you can start building your development portfolio. Business owners overseas pay good money for e-commerce website development.
Event Organizer
Parallel to wedding planning, you can broaden your horizons and become a full-fledged event organizer. A sense of good taste and market connections will be the key to becoming a great event organizer. The initial startup investment will be negligible compared to the profits you start making through your projects.
Grocery
Evident from the recent COVID-19 crisis, groceries have never been higher in demand. People are willing to pay a good amount for the groceries themselves and get them delivered to their place. If you have a few thousand dollars to invest in a small grocery store and start making deliveries, you’ll be growing in absolutely no time.
Gym or Fitness Center
Remember when COVID first hit and all the gym-goers had a meltdown being stuck at home? That’s how much gyms and fitness centers mean to people. If you have a passion for fitness yourself, or even if you don’t, invest in a small gym, its equipment, some trainers, and guide all your customers, and you’ve got yourself a low-investment venture.
Interior Designer
Who doesn’t like pretty homes with fantastic interiors? We honestly believe this is one of the best ways to spend your investment money. Invest in getting yourself a good interior design degree or a diploma or even some competent courses, and help people design the house of their dreams.
Mechanical / Electrical Works
Artisanship is a great field of work because you will always be in need of it wherever you do. You will always find a good mechanical or electrical work professional very useful. Not only that, but people pay good money to get their stuff fixed. All you need is the relevant vocational education on it and the right equipment.
Mobile Food Service
How many times have you enjoyed a bagel or a burger from a mobile food truck and thought about how much money it might actually be making? Almost never? Yes, we thought so. There is a considerable amount of money and profit in this line of work. Placing your truck in the right locale and serving undeniably good food is a must, though!
Podcasts
A lot of podcasts are going on at the moment. Yet you see new ones pop up all the time. This is because there is great money in a hit podcast. Do you think you have great opinions about things? Do you and your friend have great chemistry together? Rope them in too. Partner up with local sponsors and start your podcast on a streaming service right away!
Social Media Services
As time goes by, companies are getting more and more engaged in social media. This is done to increase their brand recognition as well as gain new clients. But doing it right is a tricky job to do. You could take in this spot and offer your services as a social media manager! Just work on getting yourself the right training, and you’ve got this.
Yoga and Meditation Center
Another low-cost way of making great money is helping people relax and connect with their inner self through meditation and yoga. Yoga centers in the right areas make a lot of money. You don’t even need a roof over your head for this. A lot of great yoga sessions happen right in a park!
Travel Agency
The biggest hassle a traveler faces before making a trip is making all the relevant preparations for it. From hotel deals to food costing and the airline travel itself, it’s all very troublesome. A great travel agency, however, is the solution to all this. With the travel restrictions getting raised now, it’s a great time to invest in this.
Resume Writer
Resume writing is no joke. A good and well-crafted resume can make all the difference when it comes to someone’s hiring. However, not everyone knows how to write. Read up on writing resume. In fact, you can even go for some resume writing courses to know the nitty-gritty. If you believe you’ve got the chops for constructing and designing a great resume, then this might be just the field for you.
Public Speaking Lessons
Confidence is contagious. If you’re charismatic and good at public speaking, then you might as well make money off of it. This is one of the most low-investment ventures on this list. The skill you’ll need the most in this field is your own personal proficiency. Students are always looking to improve the quality of their public speaking.
Packers and Movers
How many times have you have had to help your friends move for a pizza and some drinks? Well, time to up your game. Packers and movers are a huge and booming business. With a driven team, an automobile, and a lot of determination, you can big numbers in a very small amount of time.
Mobile / Computer Repairing
Here is another form of artisanship that is more lucrative than you realize. You will be surprised at the amount of money people are willing to pay to get their mobile phones or laptops fixed as soon as possible. After all, they are one of our most used and prized possessions. Hence, investing in this business can be a great idea.
Ice Cream Parlor
A very fun and easy small investment business idea is opening up an ice cream parlor. There are various ways you can go about this. You can either operate through a shack, a mall kiosk, or a mobile ice cream truck. All of these ways are just as viable, keeping in mind your target market.
Freelancer
When looking for low-cost business ideas with high profit, freelancing is one of the top-tier options. Nowadays, everyone can benefit from freelancing. Freelancing is not even limited to one field of work. You can now sit at home, work for your clients and get money while putting in no major investment yourself.
Driving School
Driving is a basic living necessity at this point. You will find many a teen or even adults wanting to learn how to drive. A good driver with knowledgeable driving lessons can rake in some very good amount of money. We do suggest getting car insurance if you plan to use your own car for the driving lessons.
Digital Marketing Consultancy
Firms and companies are aspiring to climb up online more and more. This owing to the potential that digital marketing brings to the table in terms of business growth. With a good grip on digital marketing and SEO strategies, you too can become a part of this billion-dollar industry.
Dance Classes
We bet you didn’t think of this. If you’ve received professional training in some form of dance yourself, you can easily start your own class. The only major cost you would have to cover is renting a spacious studio space and some sound equipment.
Content Writing and Copy Writing
Everything you read on the internet or on physical collateral has been done by a content writer or a professional copywriter. The value of a good content writer can go up to a good few hundred dollars for just a few articles. As a devoted content writer with a grip on your content, you could potentially make thousands of dollars.
Book Store
While this is a great idea, we suggest putting a twist on your book store. Offer services for people to come in, sit and read books on rent as well. Also, offer e-books. It can be a great business idea if done rightly. People Libraries are also gaining traction, in which people come and read lifestory of another individual instead of reading a book.
Affiliate Marketing
This is an interesting passive form of money-making. No need to put in an investment of your own. Just help vendors sell their goods online by placing online ads of their business and products. Each sale made by a user by clicking through one of your links will be considered a sale made by you which is reasonably accommodated with a fixed ratio.
Beauty Parlor / Fashion Boutique
While this is a field of work that will require some amount of investment, the fashion and beauty industries are one of the biggest industries in the world right now. A good amount of knowledge and taste level in the said fields will work miracles for your image in your clients’ eyes.
Cooking Classes
Cooking and baking classes are some of the best inexpensive business ideas to start. That proficiency of yours in cooking or baking (or both) can get you hundreds and thousands of dollars. You can either offer online courses or personal physical classes. You can even work towards publishing a cookbook if you get a decent following.
Dropshipping
You might have heard of this word being dropped around a lot in the startup world. This is because there are very significant and sometimes ridiculously high-profit margins in dropshipping. As a dropshipper, you will be one of the three parties involved in the process, connected to a reliable vendor, and your income will be generated from the commission on each sale made.
Fast Food Restaurant
No need to get big investments to open up a restaurant. One of the best small businesses with high-profit margins is fast food restaurants. There is no rocket science to this. You just need to narrow down a good menu, learn how to make whatever it is that you want to sell, and decide where you want to physically operate out of it.
Laundry
Laundromat services are the underrated dark horses that people don’t realize. They’re quite a big part of our lives, yet we never stop and think how much money a laundry service is making. There is significant profit to this with just the investment cost requiring you to buy the laundry equipment.
Music Classes
Did you learn how to play the clarinet in high school? Or are you a great drummer? You might not have thought about this, but teaching music classes is one of the best ways to make money with very little startup cost. You just need a studio space, or you could home lessons. Own a couple of the instruments, and you’re good to go.
Pet Caretaker
Pet owners cherish their pets a lot. Pet caretakers and groomers make tons of money off of taking care of people’s pets by just being good around animals in general. If you believe you’ve always had the knack for it, then go for this venture! You will just have to put a lot of effort in this business, though.
Real Estate Agent
No, it’s not just talks. Real estate agents actually make a crazy amount of money. Buying and selling houses is an age-old job that will never go out of business. In fact, with time, the value of this industry has actually only increased considerably. Either get in touch with a reputed real estate agency or start soloing these projects on your own. The latter will require some industry connections and a lot of hard work, so buckle up.
Tattoo Studio
That’s right! Over the years, people’s fascination with inking their bodies has only increased. According to a 2019 poll by Ipsos, 30% of all Americans, regardless of age, have at least one tattoo. This is a great opportunity for you to jump in and take advantage of. Plus, it’s super low-cost in terms of investment, so no need to worry about that front.
Web Designing
No one pays attention to boring web designs anymore. If you want to grab users’ attention when they visit a website, it is to have a captivating and interactive interface. Companies know this by now, and good web designers are highly sought after now. If you think you’ve got the skills to learn how to become a great one, then this field might be for you. Plus, it’s one of the few business ideas with low investment and high profit.
YouTube Channel
A great personality can get you very far now. YouTube, a platform that started out as just a form of a video collection for entertainment and educational purposes, has now changed its landscape entirely. Now creators can monetize the content that they post. Based on the number of views you garner and the number of interactions you get, you can build a whole empire out of your YouTube career. Lots of successful YouTubers are a testimony of that.
Tourist Guide
If you’re well versed in exotic travel locations or just your own city, you can become a great tour guide. Tourism is a billion-dollar industry, which suffered a huge blow due to COVID-19. But now, with things opening back, this industry is projected to see one of the biggest surges in terms of profits. People have been saving their trips for when things open back up, and that time is now.
Photo Studio
A well-shot photo can be worth hundreds if not thousands. Whether you do it out of passion or need, photography is a staple in many industries. People are willing to pay a good amount of money to have great photographs taken. You can also sell your photographs to websites, bloggers, or book publishers who are looking to put unique pieces in their projects.
Food/Tiffin Service
Ever since the pandemic, demand for home delivery services has increased considerably. You could offer you customer food or tiffin services that they could subscribe to. This would result in ready-made meals at their doorsteps every day, while you don’t have to worry about the in-person dynamics. Plus, the investment cost for this is just the food and automobile cost.
Custom Gift Store
People cherish well-thought-out gifts. Places that offer these custom-made gifts are hard to come by, though. This is the perfect chance for you to swoop in. Construct a type of company structure that would allow buyers to purchase creative custom gift pieces and get gifts made from the ideas they have.
Children Play/Adventure Area
Think of it as an equivalent of daycare, but the children actually enjoy themselves there. Parents would receive great amount of money from having their children be happy and play in an area without any worries. This wouldn’t even require huge amounts of investment money from you to begin with. All you’ll need is a space to build the play area in, toys, small rides, and probably an inflatable house.
Career Counselling
Life during high school or college can be tumultuous. Students can have a hard time finding their true calling or knowing what they want to do with their life. Not only is career counseling an awesome profession in terms of money-making, but above that, this actually helps people in real life and hopefully make better decisions too.
Bakery
Baked goods are a universally appealing delight. Bakeries all around the world offer items that people love and get accustomed to even as part of their daily routines. That is how integrated bakeries can get into a person’s life. Though there’s a science to the bakery, if you’ve already got it down, you could very well consider baking as the profession for your startup. Plus, as you get more customers, there’s always an opportunity to scale up in size.
Antique Shop
Antiquing is not just an old-people thing to do anymore. Renowned designers from around the world end up paying a pretty penny for great antique pieces. In recent years, the green and sustainable movement has also added to people’s interest in collecting antiques instead of buying new items. What was considered old and uninteresting before is one of a kind and inspiring now. If you find a good source vendor, the investment cost for opening up an antique store can be pretty cheap.
Conclusion
We scoured through all kinds of business ideas to come up with these. Though investment cost and projected margins are important things to consider when looking into what venture to start with, it’s just as important that you believe in the work that you put into it, and it’s something that you’re passionate about. We hope this article helped you!
