As the job market changes, people are looking for new and different ways to diversify their income or to change careers and become their own boss. The allure of being the boss is significant for many people. However, you may feel limited if you do not have the money to invest in starting a new business. Here are five online business ideas that you can start from home in your free time and have no initial investment. You can start the business for free and investment money once you start making money.
Offer online classes in your field of expertise
There are a variety of websites that offer user-generated online classes that you can join. For example, Udemy is a website that allows professionals to offer classes in their field, so you can share your knowledge with others. The creator of the class sets the price of the class and provides all of the content. As people take your classes and recommend them to others, your classes will be promoted within the website, generating more traffic to your courses.
It is vital to offer high-quality content for an affordable price. It requires no investment to start, you can post as many classes as you want as long as they adhere to quality standards, and you can promote the courses on your own to drive more traffic.
Join a network marketing company when they offer no-money-down opportunities
Direct sales companies used to be based solely on the home show model. While many still operate with home shows for the social aspect of shopping with friends, many companies have adjusted their model to encourage online and social media-based shows. Joining a networking marketing company generally involves an initial investment. However, many companies will offer opportunities once or twice a year for prospective new consultants to join with no initial investment.
Become a freelance writer
Being a freelance writer is not as easy as many make it sound. However, if you are skilled at writing, you can make a solid income writing from home with no initial investment—there many different areas of writing that you can choose from and grow your experience in that niche. For example, there is blog writing, SEO writing, ghostwriting, and ebook writing. Each type of writing is slightly different and requires knowledge on best practices, but that can be learned through free online research.
Offer your knowledge and experience to others as a consultant
Similarly, to offer online classes, becoming a consultant allows you to use the knowledge and experience you already have to start a business and help others. You can promote yourself entirely through social media to get started and then eventually start your website to help establish yourself as an authority within your industry. You can offer written content to other sites as a guest blogger connecting people back to your website and services.
Become a social media influencer
Becoming a social media influencer requires a high level of hard work and dedication to your online presence, but it does not require an initial investment. You can become an influencer in nearly any area or niche as long as you have passion, dedication to self-promotion, a flair for the dramatic. You can not be afraid to put yourself out there and risk the criticism that comes with being online.
Social media influencers get paid through their ability to market. As your online audience grows, you can make a profit off the advertising that is put out on your channel. Additionally, companies will start to reach out to ask you to promote their products through your channels, which will further increase your income and profitability.