Home-based businesses used to be limited to a narrow range of activities.
They might have been things like crafting and selling home made goods, offering babysitting services, or providing in tutoring, to name a few.
Now I am not saying these businesses can’t be fulfilling and even profitable, but they often required a meaningful investment of time and really couldn’t scale like a full fledged business could.
You were also limited by your physical geography and the need to have face to face interactions. But that has all changed with advances in technology and cultural acceptance and comfort with online interactions.
Now your home based business can cover a wide range of activities and have huge growth potential. The world is literally your oyster if you have the drive to make it happen.
In this article, I am going to cover 7 great home based businesses that you can start right away and that are easy to operate.
Most won’t require any inventory to manage, any employees to worry about, and can be run with just a computer and an internet connection.
Let’s get into it.
If you would like to see a condensed version of this article in video format, check out my YouTube video on the topic below.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link and complete a transaction, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The information contained in this post is for informational purposes only. It is not a recommendation to buy or invest, and it is not financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. You should seek the advice of a qualified professional before making any investment or other decisions relating to the topics covered by this article.
Number 1. Affiliate Marketing Through TikTok
TikTok is an excellent place to build your online business.
All you need is a phone or computer to make short form video content that promotes a product or service. Videos only need to be about 30 seconds to a minute long, so it’s not a ton of effort.
In that video, you promote the benefits of the product. Actual footage of using the product and showcasing its benefits can be powerful, and if done right, can quickly reach a big audience.
Now TikTok doesn’t allow direct links in their videos, so the way you get around that is at the end of the video, you simply tell the viewer that they can get the product by clicking the link in your bio.
The link in your bio will take them to your products landing page, which you can set up easily through sites like solo.to. Solo.to allows you to have multiple affiliate links on that landing page, so you can promote many products through different videos.
If a customer clicks on a link and buys the product, you get a commission.
Where do you get affiliate links? First you need to figure out what you want to promote and see if they have an affiliate program. Usually, you can just google this. Other popular places include Amazon affiliates, cj.com, clickbank, and impact.com.
Obviously, the more reach your videos get, the more clicks you will have, which ultimately means more money in your pocket.
Note that in order to put a link in your tiktok bio, you need a business account and at least 1,000 followers, so build up that follower base and start your affiliate marketing journey.
Number 2: Virtual Assistant
Becoming a virtual assistant can be a great home based business because you don’t need any experience or special training to get started and everything can be done from the comfort of your home.
All you need is a phone and computer.
So if you have solid organization skills and don’t mind helping folks schedule appointments, make travel arrangements and perform miscellaneous administrative tasks, becoming a virtual assistant may be the perfect home based enterprise for you.
Obviously, this type of business offers a ton of flexibility because you generally get to choose how much you work and when you want to do so.
How do you get started? You can offer your services for free on popular platforms like Upwork and Fiverr.
Number 3: Graphic Designer
Another great option that is highly scalable is starting a graphic design business.
People are recognizing the incredible small business opportunities that are out there and creating tons of new enterprises everyday. That means they need logos, marketing materials and new websites.
You can tap into that demand by offering high quality graphic design services at an attractive price.
Let’s take logo design as an example.
Getting started is as simple as going to free sites like canva.com and checking out their templates. For example, they have a ton of logo templates that you can customize easily. Play around and create some awesome logos you can showcase as examples in your portfolio.
Then start advertising your services on places like upwork and fiverr (make sure to include your portfolio in your listing description). When a customer asks you to design a logo for them, you can work with them to come up with the color scheme and general design aesthetic.
Then you just fulfill the order by using canva.
If you want to make things even easier, you can leverage artificial intelligence to help you create designs.
For example, looka offers instant ai generated logos based on your instructions. It can be a great time saver and you can massively grow your business because of how efficient the ai tool is at designing tons of logos for you.
As with virtual assistants, you can offer your graphic design services on Fiverr or Upwork.
Number 4. Social Media Consulting
In this digitally connected world, every business needs a strong social media presence. If you know how to get attention on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, and can grow an account, you have a powerful skill that can be leveraged to make money.
Businesses will pay a lot of money for someone who can get eyeballs on their products, so start a social media consulting company and start making money from your social media expertise.
Again, Upwork and Fiverr are probably your best option for marketing your services.
Number 5. Online Tutoring
Everyone is good at something. So find that thing that you excel at and make money from home teaching others how to do it.
Unlike tutoring business in the past, you now have a worldwide audience and can teach remotely without any issues.
You can get started offering your online tutoring services on places like tutor.com, skooli.com, and superprof.com.
Number 6. Blogging
We’ve talked a lot about blogging before, but it is still an amazing way to make money from home. Just find a niche that you are knowledgeable and passionate about and start writing articles that enlighten and entertain your readers.
The key to success is driving traffic to your website, so you will need to learn how to find the right topics which will rank on google. Check out my detailed article on how to start a blog from scratch where I cover this and other key topics that you need to know to start a successful blog.
Number 7. Ecommerce Business
Platforms like Etsy and Shopify have made it easy to open online stores. Whether you’re selling handmade crafts, vintage items, or digital products, running an e-commerce store can be a rewarding business.
To get started, check out this Shopify article, which will take you step by step through the process on setting up your ecommerce business.
To make things even easier, you can use strategies like dropshipping or print on demand, which takes all of the inventory risk out of your e commerce business because you don’t have to buy an inventory at all.
Your fulfillment company makes the product on demand and ships it out once an order comes in. You then get a cut of the proceeds when the sale is made.
To learn more about how to start a print on demand business, check out my full article on the topic here.
Conclusion
So there you have it – 7 easy businesses you can start from home.
While these business ideas are among the easiest and most affordable to start, remember that they still require dedication, hard work, and persistence.
But with passion and commitment, you can turn your home-based business into a successful venture.
