Top 10 Low-Cost Business Ideas
So you’re looking to start up a business but are short on cash? Fear not! Here are some businesses that you can start up that have little to no cost! These businesses cover a wide array of skills which you may already have! If you do not, you can always hone in on a certain skill! Doing this will allow you to generate revenue by using that new skills you developed. Therefore, here are 10 amazing business ideas that have little to no cost!
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1. Blog
The first low-cost business that you can create is a blog! The great thing about blogs is that you can write about literally any. For food lovers, you can create a blog about recipes. If finance is your thing, you can create a blog that gives advice to those who aren’t financially savvy! If you were like me you’re probably wondering how blogs make money. The truth is that they can be very lucrative once you gain traction. Above is an amazing video by Jeff Rose, he explains that you can make money from blogging!
Money can be made through many different avenues The first is ad revenue where the blog owner can place ads on their website. Whenever someone clicks on it, they get a few dollars! You can also have affiliates on your blog! This means that you can post a link for a book someone buys from that link, you’ll get a small commission! There are many other ways to gain copious amounts of revenue but this is a few. Furthermore, it’s a fun way to make passive income while helping people who seek out advice!
2. Website Design
This is one that I strongly suggest doing if you are into website development! This is also a business avenue that I will personally be pursuing as well! Website development can be very lucrative because websites can be instrumental in a business’s success. A website is a reflection of your brand and helps your customers find you. You can start off with small businesses who are just looking to be found.
Creating a website for someone does not need to be expensive. The only costs that are necessary on a monthly basis are the domain registration, web hosting, and SSL certificate! Once you’ve developed the website and charged them (price depends on the number of pages). You can teach them how to manage the website and they will take over the monthly costs!
If you’re looking to generate even more revenue. You can charge them a management fee where you manage their website for a monthly fee! Furthermore, you can charge the company any time they need to update their website as well! If you have the technical knowledge, you can create a 1 – 3-page website in a few hours.
3. Marketing Business
A marketing business can be extremely lucrative as well. People are always looking for someone to help market their product or business. When running a marketing business, you can create marking strategies and copy that help drive business to your clients. Some marketing strategies include running Facebook ads, increasing social media presence, creating catchy flyers and banners!
Companies are willing to pay top dollars for someone who is technologically savvy. This is because technology has a learning curve. If you use it effectively, you can effectively reach millions of people who can be converted into potential customers. I once met someone who was 4 years younger than me but was making $90,000+ a year by creating various social media ads and marketing strategies for various businesses.
4. Cleaning Services
The next low-cost business that you can start is some sort of cleaning service! You can start this business with as little as $100! From my personal experience, a cleaning service is relatively low-cost and provide a large return. For example, when I started my detailing business, the supplies only cost me $50. However, these supplies allowed me to clean up to 10 cars without needing to buy more! Considering the fact that I charged $150 per car, I accumulated $1,450.
If cleaning cars aren’t your thing, residential areas is always a good choice! Get a friend and buy some supplies! There are tons of people who are either lazy or unable who are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for this service! You can charge by the hour or a flat rate and make a killing! If you have a 3 story house, you can charge based on how many rooms or simply the size! This is an excellent low-cost business where you can develop your skills on the job.
5. Personal Trainer
Considering that everyone wants to be healthier these days, people are always looking for personal trainers! This one is great as well because all you need is a gym membership! Market yourself around your neighborhood or current gym to those who are new. Once you build a network you can explain to them that you do personal training and wouldn’t mind helping them out! You can charge per hour or per session! Above is a video by Youtuber Rich Plana where he outlines the benefits of having your own personal trainer business!
There are people who charge $50 – $100 a session and these sessions are once a week for one hour! Sometimes, you may not even need a gym! People appreciate convenience which means if you’re a mobile personal trainer, you can reach more clients! If you’re into physical strength or working out in general, seriously consider this avenue!
6. Nutritionist/Meal Planner
This may coincide with the previous idea but those who are looking to work out are usually looking to eat better. If you know a lot about nutrition, this may be the right path for you. There are many diets out there but some people need help deciding what is right for them. You can simply educate these people for a fee. If you were to take it one step further, you could also create a day by day plan for your clients.
In this plan, you will outline the different types of macros that are essential to the body. Furthermore, the number of calories they need to be eating in order to reach their goal. After all that is outlined, you will then proceed to create a plan that displays what types of food they should be eating and the time frames. You can charge your client, per plan, or they can have you on retainer and charge them per month!
7. Photographer/Editor
Many people are learning how to take photographs and edit picture these days! All it requires is a camera and editing software! People are always needing professional photos done for either their family events, weddings, etc. Photographers usually charge a flat fee for their event which may or may not include an edited version of the pictures.
This can easily be an add on! Due to cameras progressing and being able to take higher quality photos, clients may not need their pictures edited. However, there are those who want the pictures to stand out in certain aspects. You can also edit pictures for a living. Modeling agencies and other photography companies may be looking to employ editors to enhance their work.
8. Consulting
Consulting can take form in many ways. It is simply a form of teaching or mentoring. If you are a master of a craft, why not teach people how to do it for a fee? Every business that was previously listening can be learned through self-education or consulting. There are people who are looking for a mentor who can teach them how to detail cars or how to use social media to market their business.
Lets using art as an example. You’re an amazing artist and have amazing technical skills. You can provide the opportunity to teach other artists, who may not be as good, how to hone in and develop their technical abilities. This can be done through classes or workshops where customers pay monthly! If you’re an excellent teacher, expect more people to come to your classes.
9. Dog Walking/Dog Sitting
Perfect for a dog lover! Considering dogs need to be walked multiple times a day, there is no shortage of people who are in need of this service. You can easily make over $1,000 a week from doing this. What you would do is go to a neighborhood and pick up each dog from the respective owner’s house. After you do this you just walk them all together.
This makes life easier for you because you’re taking care of all the dogs at once and the client because they do not need to spend time walking their dog! Charges can range between $20 – $30 for a 30-minute walk PER DOG. This means that if you walk 5 dogs just once a day for 30 minutes, you’ve already made $150. Remember, dogs need multiple walks so this number can easily be multiplied.
You can also dog sit, which is just taking care of the dog while the owners are away or out of town! For this, you would have to do activities such as dog walking, feeding and most likely playing with the dog so it isn’t so miserable all by itself.
10. Driving Instructor/Driving Services
Lastly, becoming a driving instructor or providing driving services. For driving services, this can mean becoming an Uber or Lyft driver. However, you can also teach people how to drive. You can become a licensed driving instructor. After this, you can host private driving sessions where people will pay you per-session. This can be done in your car or their own car.
Furthermore, if you know how to drive a car with a manual transmission, you can add an extra fee for that because a lot of people do not know how to drive them.
Summary
These have been 10 amazing low-cost business ideas that you can use to start making a little extra cash. Like any business, if you grow and cultivate it, the business can turn into a very lucrative career!
Shameed is just a man on a mission to help those around him gain financial success. Obsessed with writing about all things finance, this GTA native is constantly learning and sharing his experiences with others.
