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Do you want to start a home-based business without funding, equipment, or seed capital? What if I show you 20 small business ideas from home you can start with little or no capital? 

Small business ideas you can operate from the comfort of your couch, beach, hotels, and anywhere remotely. 

And possibly supplement your monthly income or even replace your full-time job. 

Awesome! Isn’t it? 

If the idea sounds good and you’re ready to put in the work, there are several works-from-home business ideas you can start with no capital.

The only requirement is a computer with an internet connection and the skill and knowledge to excel in the field. 

I have published several pieces of content on the best places to learn digital marketing skills; some are free. 

Let’s check the list of 20 small business ideas you can start from home. 

Best Small Business Ideas From Home

Most small business ideas on this page require no significant upfront investment except for a laptop and internet connectivity; you’re ready. 

However, depending on your skill level, you may need to commit to learning if you must excel in some of these industries. 

That aside, check out the list below to discover your passion, follow your dream, and discover how to start a small business at home with no money; you can operate from anywhere worldwide. 

1. Start a Blog 

Blogging can be a very low-cost business idea to start today and explore all income generation possibilities. 

Whether you want to sell your products, offer services, or be the middleman selling other people’s businesses, you can achieve all with a blog. 

For example, I often offer writing services on this blog, sell affiliate products, sell information products, and offer brands a place to reach more audiences. 

Starting a blog is easy, but it requires careful planning. 

First, you must be thorough and clear on your why, who, how, and what. 

  • Why do you want to start a blog?
  • Who is my target audience?
  • How do you want to start?
  • What are the tools and steps you must take to achieve your goals? 

To answer these questions and more, I have published many guides on starting a blog you will find on this blog.

Here are some to get you started. 

In summary, here is what you need to start a blog to build your small business ideas online. 

You must register a domain name; you can do this with Namecheap for less than $ 10 yearly. 

Also, having a reliable web hosting plan with a flexible and scalable pricing model would be best. 

I recommend Namecheap or Bluehost for beginners, but if you are an experienced internet marketer, Cloudways is a better choice

Cloudways is a fast host, offers more flexible pricing options, and provides cloud services from five providers – Google, Amazon, Linode, Vultr, and Digital Ocean. 

You can test Cloudways hosting for three days.

2. Business Coach 

If you’re an expert in a thing or have what it takes to lead others to achieve a particular goal, you can sell your knowledge for profit online. 

As a professional with unique business ideas, you can set up online classes to teach interested audiences your craft. 

You can create and teach courses on various skills, from trades to digital marketing, how-to, self-development, academics, etc. 

Anyone with unique knowledge and skills can teach online, whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, dad, or subject matter expert. 

There are several online learning platforms to set up your classroom and course materials; Thinkific and MightyNetwork are good places to start. 

3. Start an eCommerce Business. 

The e-commerce industry saw massive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there’s no sign of slowing down even in the future, as more businesses are now moving online. 

There are many possibilities in the e-commerce business; you can start dropshipping, retailing, selling, manufacturing your products, etc. 

There’s a lot of money in the e-commerce business, but it also requires upfront investments and business knowledge.

An excellent place to learn all about e-commerce is the Shopify blog. And you can also start your online store for $1/month for the first three months. 

Shopify is an all-in-one solution for starting an online e-commerce business.

From setting up your store, shipping, inventory, payment handling, POS, etc., Shopify ensures your business runs smoothly without any hiccups.

You can learn more about how to start selling on Shopify in this guide if you’re a beginner. 

In summary, here is the process to start selling online

  • Research the market for trending and high-demand products. 
  • Test product demand by running experimental ads. 
  • Set up your e-commerce store – Shopify.
  • Design your store – product pages, categories, collections, etc.
  • Set up taxes, shipping costs, additional costs, etc. 
  • Test your store functionalities – shopping cart, product pages, payment buttons, receipts, etc. 
  • Promote your store 
  • Make money.

Setting up an online e-commerce business is theoretically easier, but getting relevant traffic to your store is challenging. 

Again, I have several guides on this blog about driving qualified traffic to any business you can check out. 

4. Start a YouTube Channel 

Starting a YouTube channel is now easier than decades ago, before the emergence of high-end smartphones. 

Depending on the content, you can create high-quality, entertaining YouTube videos with your smartphone if you have excellent editing skills. 

However, if you want to take it seriously, investing in modern, high-quality cameras and microphones and hiring professional editors can make a big difference. 

Several apps, like Invideo, let you edit visual content on mobile with plenty of editing features.

Sign up for a free Invideo account to begin your  YouTube marketing. 

Invideo is available both online and on mobile apps. It’s a powerful AI video editor with many helpful features to help you create high-quality video content.

You can start a YouTube channel on a topic that interests you; here are some pointers;

  • How to 
  • Do it yourself 
  • Health and Fitness 
  • Political commentary 
  • Self-development 
  • Financial advice 
  • Yoga 
  • History 
  • Digital Marketing 
  • Religious 
  • Culture 
  • Politics 
  • Sport 
  • Gaming 
  • Parenting Advice 
  • Academics 
  • Etc.

5. Sell Computer and Smartphone Accessories 

Approximately 86.29% (6.92 billion) of the world population own a mobile phone; that’s a massive market on so many levels. 

Additionally, approximately 47.1% (about half the world population) of personal computer users globally, according to Statista reports of 2019, is expected to have changed. 

Statista reports 2019 computer worldwide users

While the personal computer and smartphone accessories market is already saturated, there is room for new players to jump in. 

There is growing interest in the market, which presents golden opportunities for new marketers to tap into. 

Several platforms to source bulk products include Aliexpress, Alibaba, Made in China, Konga, Jumia, and direct contact with manufacturers.

Though it requires significant capital to start the computer and smartphone accessories business, the return on investment makes it worth trying. 

This huge market has massive revenue potential if you can source high-demand products, get buyers, and deliver them as expected. 

You can advertise with Facebook or Google Ads to reach more audiences and increase sales potential. 

Many ecom marketers do this to sell products cash-on-delivery if you don’t have a walk-in store for customers to visit. 

The computer and smartphone industry is a lucrative market you should consider. 

6. Copywriting 

You’d think content writers would no longer be in demand with the surge in AI writing assistant tools like ChatGPT, but no, AI has its place, and humans have its place in content writing. 

If you have excellent copywriting skills and a knack for creating content that converts, builds leads, and helps businesses generate more revenue, there’s a place for you. 

Copywriting is one of the cheapest small business ideas to start from home, requiring no startup capital. 

Your skills, knowledge, and experience play significant roles in your success. 

Start writing daily to hone your skills, practice regularly, and become a better writer. 

Next, research relevant sites where you can write as the guest author. This will help you build confidence and followers, test your writing, and attract clients. 

You can write several content purposes, including website copy, email newsletter, advertising copy, ebook, sales pages, etc.

On average, experienced freelance writers get paid $1,000 to $5,000 monthly. It depends on your experience level, target clients, industry, content requirements, etc.

Here are some writing tools to help you improve and correct grammar, spelling mistakes, sentence fragments, and more. 

7. Graphics Designer 

You can start a graphics-designed business if you’re skilled in using editing software like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effect, Illustrator, and online graphics manipulation tools. 

Graphics design is an in-demand job in most industries, as the demand for visual content cuts across boards and audiences. 

You don’t need to set up a personal online blog to promote your design services; there are several freelance marketplaces to get you started in minutes. 

Register a free seller account on Fiverr, Upwork, People per Hour, Freelancer, etc. 

If you’re looking for low-cost small business ideas from home, you can operate them. Graphic design is one of the best ideas. 

Here is a post that walks you through setting up your Fiverr seller account, the pros and cons, and how to get the best of the platform. 

8. Web Development

Web development is another profitable home business idea you can start with little capital.

Companies constantly seek highly skilled developers to build custom websites that meet their unique business needs. 

Starting a web development business does not require a big budget, but your coding skills and knowledge will make you stand out.   

You can start by building websites for friends and co-workers to build your work portfolio. And gradually offers competitive pricing to businesses to gather testimonials from clients. 

Once you’ve built a solid freelance profile, you can charge premium prices and offer your services to high-value businesses. 

You can also set up a freelance web developer profile at Fiverr; this option ensures you get regular job offers at a lower price. 

At the barest minimum, you must have basic coding knowledge in programming languages like HTML, JavaScript, CSS, PHP, and others relevant to your projects. 

If web development is something you’re interested in but lack the coding skills, start your learning from Codecademy, w3school, TreeHouse, etc. 

9. Become a Virtual Assistant 

The need for a remote virtual assistant has risen as more businesses transition online. 

You can leverage your organizational and professional skills to start a virtual assistant (VA) job. 

You can work remotely from anywhere in the world where there is an internet connection and work for multiple businesses in a day.

Since the virtual assistant job is mainly per hour, and there are likely opening and closing hours, you can work as a virtual assistant for two companies daily. 

The income from a Virtual Assistant job may not replace your daily job; it’s a good home business idea to meet new people, develop yourself, and connect with top industry influencers.

10. Start Developing Apps

When you look at Google Play or the Apple Store, you may conclude that there’s nothing left to create as an app.

You’re mistaken.

As new markets emerge and technology advances, there will always be the need for new tools, ways, applications, etc. 

And guess what? Today, it does not require advanced coding skills to create an app.  

You need the ability and the key strategies to market the application and build your ideas.

The big challenge is researching the market for high-demand needs and building apps that fill that gap. 

If you have what it takes to create apps and get them listed in the app stores, you can monetize with ad platforms like Adsense, an excellent way to make money online. 

The more people download and use your application, the more money you can make. 

11. Start Affiliate Marketing 

If you’re looking for a quick fix to your financial insecurity, affiliate marketing is not for you. 

But, if you’re here for the long haul and committed to learning and growing a business to replace your 9-5 day job soon, affiliate marketing is your best bet. 

It is a proven business model with massive opportunities and income potential. 

You act as the middleman between a merchant’s products and the buyer. 

Your job is to find buyers, presell the products, educate buyers on the product’s benefits, and if a sale is made through your affiliate ID, you get a cut from the sales revenue. 

It is a win-win for everyone in the circle. 

But affiliate marketing isn’t that easy. It requires effort, constant learning, copywriting skills, advertising skills, trust, authority, and blog readers who trust your recommendation. 

I have several guides to help you start affiliate marketing and build a real business.

Here are a few to help you start on the right track. 

Conclusion 

Most of the home-based small business ideas listed above have the potential to generate significant income or might even replace your full-time job. 

If you put in the effort and give it time, these businesses offer opportunities beyond your wildest dreams. 

Starting a side hustle gig to earn extra cash can be one of your best financial decisions, from homemade products and online stores to freelancing.

Whether considering it a side hustle or building to make it a full-time business, the key to a successful small business idea lies in research, planning, marketing, demand, and the quality of your products or services. 

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4 Comments

  1. Hi Shamsudeen, Little did I know when I started a blog over 10 years ago that I was going to be in business for myself. It has been a wonderful adventure and I’m glad I left the cubicle to start my own business from home. It can be done but it’s hard work.

    1. Hi, Lisa,

      I’m glad to read you decided to leave the corporate profession to start a business more than a decade ago.

      It is not always an easy decision, but the reward and the fulfillment of being your boss, and having absolute control over how you spend your days and time are worth the risk.

      To your success, thank you for reading through.

  2. Based on the information provided, what are the best practical small business ideas that can be started from home? Which one has more potential and does not take long to start earning some money?

    1. Hi, Oana

      Copywriters and graphic designers can work from home, requires minimal financial investment, and has the potential to make a full-time business.

      I hope this helps?

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