Last Updated on July 15, 2022
Thinking of starting your own business but don’t know where to start? Maybe you’re in search of low cost business ideas with high earning potential? Perfect, because in this article we’re going to share some of the best low-cost, high-profit business ideas.
In many cases, starting a business can require significant upfront investments. But you might be surprised to learn that there are also plenty of great business ideas that require little to no investment. If you know you want to quit your 9-5 job and start a business, but aren’t sure which business model to choose or where to start, we’re for you. Here are 10 great low cost business ideas with high profit potentials.
Table of Contents
Low Cost Business Ideas With High Profit
1. BLOGGING
Starting your own blog is one of the best online business ideas around. Literally, anyone can start a blog about absolutely any topic. Although you can start a general blog, it’s a good idea to choose a niche.
Having a clearly defined niche will help with your branding and help you to build a loyal following of readers who will keep coming back for more.
It costs very little money to start a blog. You can get started for as little as $2.95/month. You will just need a hosting provider (we recommend Bluehost) and a domain name.
Although blogging can be seriously profitable, it’s certainly not a get-rich-quick scheme. It requires patience and dedication. It could take a few months before you start making money. It’s absolutely worth it though.
2. AFFILIATE MARKETING
Affiliate marketing is one of the best low-cost business ideas with high profit potential. It requires very little upfront investment. All you need is a website or social media presence.
Affiliate marketers earn money by promoting other people’s products in return for a commission on the sale. This means you don’t need to invest any cash upfront in inventory.
3. DROPSHIPPING
Dropshipping is a great business to start for anyone who wants to get into e-commerce without a huge upfront investment. You’re essentially starting an e-commerce business with other people’s products.
If you haven’t heard of dropshipping before, here’s how it works:
- You build your own online store and list products for sale.
- When a customer purchases a product from you, you order it from the manufacturer at a wholesale price and have it shipped directly to your customer.
- You handle any customer service and returns.
- You keep the profits!
With dropshipping, you order directly from the manufacturer and ship directly to the customer. This means you don’t need to pay anything until after the customer has paid you for the product.
That means no upfront investment, no storing inventory, no packing, and no shipping. The only downside to dropshipping is that you will have to handle the customer service yourself.
4. SELLING ONLINE COURSES
Creating and selling your own online courses is a great way to make money online. Online learning is becoming more and more popular, with many people choosing online courses over traditional in-person learning.
You can start an online course about absolutely anything.
There are lots of benefits to starting an online course business, including:
- After the initial hard work of creating the course, online courses can be a source of passive income. Each course you create can be sold an infinite number of times, so your earnings are uncapped.
- Like most digital products, online courses have very high profit margins. Since a course only needs to be created once, aside from the software you use to deliver your online course, expenses are very minimal.
- You don’t need any experience to start making money from online courses. There will always be someone out there who will want to learn from your unique viewpoint, whether it’s a new language, a cooking class, or something else entirely.
- When it comes to starting an online course business, upfront costs are low. The only real upfront investment is the time you spend creating your course and the software you use to deliver it.
5. AMAZON FBA
If you’ve ever thought about starting your own e-commerce business, but don’t like the idea of storing, shipping, and handling every product you sell, Amazon FBA is the business model for you.
FBA stands for ‘Fulfilled by Amazon’. It means that you can become an Amazon seller without having to worry about where to store your inventory, or how to ship it-Amazon FBA deals with all of that.
Here’s how it works:
- Find the products you want to sell.
- Sign up for an Amazon seller account, create a listing, select ‘Fulfilled by Amazon’ instead of ‘Fulfilled by Merchant.’
- Ship your products in bulk to an Amazon fulfillment center.
- When a product sells, Amazon ships it directly to your customer.
- Amazon deals with any returns and customer service issues.
- You get paid every two weeks after Amazon has deducted its storage and handling fees.
6. BECOME A SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER
The great thing about social media is that it’s accessible to absolutely anyone. It’s free to create an account, and you can reach a global audience without leaving your home.
Social media influencers can make good money too. HypeAuditor’s most recent survey found that on average influencers earn $2,790 per month from their Instagram account.
Micro-influencers – that’s influencers with a smaller following of between 1,000 and 10,000 followers -earn $1,420 per month on average. Mega-influencers with over 1 million followers earn an average of $15,356 per month.
So even with a small following, there’s money to be made.
There are lots of ways for influencers to monetize their social media accounts, including:
- Brand partnerships and sponsorships
- Affiliate marketing
- Advertising
- Promoting online courses
- Selling products or services
If you’re starting your social media account from scratch, don’t be discouraged. With the right strategy, you can grow your social media following very quickly.
7. PODCASTING
Starting a podcast is a great business idea that requires almost no upfront investment. Anyone can start a podcast using free podcasting software.
Starting a podcast can help you position yourself as an expert in your niche. It can also help you network and learn more about your industry as you interview others on your podcast.
There are many different ways to monetize a podcast, but the most popular ways are:
- Sponsored content
- Affiliate Marketing
- Adverts
- Promoting your own products, services, or courses
- Charging a fee for premium content
- Merchandise
You can create a podcast about absolutely anything, from farming to true crime. Just make sure it’s a subject you are interested in so you don’t get bored of talking about it!
8. AIRBNB
Starting an Airbnb business is a great option for homeowners with some extra spac or those who travel a lot.
Running an Airbnb business requires hardly any upfront investment if you already own your own home. This means the profit margins can be huge.
You can rent out a spare room, or even your entire house while you are on vacation.
There are a few things you will need to do to make sure your home is Airbnb ready. You will need to:
- Declutter your space
- Make sure everything is hygienically clean
- Provide clean bedding and towels for your guests
This is a great side-business for anyone who wants to make more money from a property they already own.
9. FREELANCE WRITING
Starting your own freelance writing business requires almost no upfront investment. This makes it a great option for anyone wanting to start a business on a tight budget.
The earning potential is great too, with top-earning freelance writers making upwards of six figures a year. The average earnings come in at a little less than that – around $63,000 – but that’s still pretty good considering no upfront investment is required.
The only thing you might want to pay for is your own website, but you can do this for as little as $2.95 per month with Bluehost.
Freelance writing is perfect for anyone looking for a flexible business start they can start from home. It can be done during the evenings, at nap times if you have kids, or during the day.
Anyone can start freelance writing. All you need is a good grasp of spelling and grammar and the ability to thoroughly research any topic. If spelling and grammar isn’t your strong suit, you can always invest in a writing tool like Grammarly.
10. ONLINE TUTORING
Starting a tutoring business is the perfect low-cost business idea for those with an academic background.
You can tutor students in any subject you have expertise in. You can find potential students in local community Facebook groups or by reaching out to schools in your area.
Online video calling software like Zoom and Skype will enable you to tutor your students from the comfort of your own home.
Depending on which academic level you are tutoring, you should be able to earn between $35 – $55 per hour. Tutoring can be a lucrative side hustle or even a full-time business.
11. SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Become a social media manager
Most businesses these days are on social media. However, not everyone has the time or expertise to manage their social media accounts effectively. This is where social media managers come in.
If you’re social media savvy, you can cash in on this by offering your services to small businesses for a monthly fee.
LinkedIn and Facebook groups for small businesses are both great places to find potential social media management clients. You can also find clients on freelancer sites like Upwork and Fiverr.
Most social media managers charge either an hourly rate, or a monthly rate. A monthly rate can work out to be more profitable in the long run as you get faster and develop systems to streamline your work. Monthly packages also let the clients know what they will be paying each month, and what’s included.
Social media management packages typically start at $200 per month depending on what’s included. Experienced social media managers for high end clients and large businesses that require a lot of work can demand a much higher fee, upwards of a thousand dollars per month.
12. PUBLISH AN EBOOK AND SELL IT ON AMAZON
If you’re looking for low-cost business ideas with high profit potential, self publishing could be the way to go. You might be surprised to learn how easy it is to self publish an ebook on Amazon!
You can write your e-book on any topic you are interested in and have some knowledge about. Non-fiction books are ideal for any beginner wanting to get into self publishing. Examples of book you could write include:
- Business advice
- Humor
- Recipe books
- How-to books
- Travel guides
- Crafts
- Parenting tips
- Health and fitness
13. VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
With the rise of online businesses, virtual assistants are more in demand now than ever. A virtual assistant (VA) is similar to a personal assistant (PA), except they work 100% remotely. A VA can have a wide range of duties, depending on the client’s needs. These could include:
- Data entry
- Transcription
- Inbox management
- Diary management
- Social media management
And more! It’s very easy to start your own virtual assistant business.
All you need is a website where you can showcase your skills. You can find clients on LinkedIn, as well as freelance job boards like Upwork. Virtual assistance is without a doubt one of the best low-cost business ideas with high profit margins out there!
14. EVENT MANAGEMENT
Do you have great organization skills, and love organizing and hosting events? If so then starting an event management business could be perfect for you.
Lots of people need to organize birthdays, weddings, baby showers, and other occasions, but not everyone has the time. This is where the event manager steps in!
Event planners typically charge 15-20% of the total event budget as their fee. This means that planning larger events – weddings in particular – can be very lucrative.
15. CAR WASH BUSINESS
Starting a hand car wash business requires almost no start-up costs. If you don’t have any land you can use as a base for your business, you can offer to wash cars in people’s driveways. This could be very convenient for people who don’t have the time to visit a car wash!
You can advertise your services on local Facebook groups to gain your first clients. You might also want to consider having some flyers and business cards made to advertise your services.