15 Online Business Ideas
Recently, more and more often we hear about modern online businesses and the success stories of their founders. Many of you have probably wondered what it really takes to start your own digital business as well as what is the model for creating and managing it.
In this article, we will look at some of the most popular business options and fields, as we can’t physically name all possible niches of supply and demand. We will cover the necessary steps you need to take in order to establish and develop an online business once you have chosen a niche and product.
The success and creation of each of the businesses listed in this article requires several key tools that are used to make and then promote any company which operates in a digital environment.
Regardless of the business that you are going to be establishing, there are some essential things that you need to consider and implement in order to be successful online such as:
- Having reliable Web hosting
- Getting a fast and easy to navigate website
- Digital marketing efforts including SEO, content optimization, Google Ads
Research and analysis
Above all, it is very important to do in-depth market research and analyze the needs of consumers in different sectors.
Find their pain and the appropriate solution so that the product or service you offer can be truly successful, and you do not waste time and money in developing something that has no potential from its beginning.
Choose the product or service you will be selling
Prior to making any steps towards establishing your business, you must first think about what you want to offer the public. Remember, you need to provide them with products or services that will truly benefit them in order for potential customers to see your business’ value.
Your services can be both digital or physical, meaning that you can start a business in which you feel confident that you can use your skills.
Most popular digital services
There are many digital services that can be offered on the market. As we already mentioned, you need to firstly consider your best skills, and seriously think about what you'd like your time to be occupied with.
The following are some examples of the most popular digital services that are available on the market which could be developed into a profitable business as long as you have the required skills and knowledge in any of those fields.
VA - Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular with the advancement of technology and the increasing digitalization of any business. The activity they perform is related to the administrative processes and customer support in the companies.
Overall, the profession is no different from that of administrative assistants, who work in offices with the only difference being that VA work is done remotely, which in turn would save companies costs when it comes to office space.
If you have experience with administrative activities, it will not be difficult for you to create your own small business and start offering VA services as the need for digitally literate people is rapidly growing. Many businesses diminish their teams and would benefit from part-time help, while others shift online, so hurry up and catch the trend, before the market is flooded with companies offering the service.
Graphic Design
Graphic designers are becoming highly valued professionals. Each company needs visual materials for their online presence or for the physically printed materials they use. Again, the needs of each customer will be different. They may need someone to help them out on an hourly basis when there is a project that their team cannot handle alone due to the high work volume.
In such cases, a guest graphic designer is needed to get involved temporarily in irregularly occurring projects. As you can guess in such a situation, an external company would be very suitable, as there will be no need for a contract and a separate invoice for the performed job can be issued, which is another benefit for your future customers.
Digital marketing specialist
Digital marketing specialists are extremely popular, valued, and wanted. Every company that wants to establish itself as a specialist in its field of work and expand its reach to as many people as possible, needs a person or team to manage their digital presence.
Marketing specialists can successfully manage the company’s advertising campaigns while also developing a strategy to reach more potential business clients.
Here again, the development opportunities are endless. From part-time work for small businesses, to joining large companies teams. Digital professionals can help their partners, both long and short term when it comes to a particular project.
Therefore, this type of digital business is very popular and would pay off well only if you are curious and have the drive to constantly evolve. You have to be aware of the latest changes in the industry because it changes by the minute. There are new rules to learn and things to be careful about. It is important for such specialists to carefully monitor the latest trends because if something goes wrong customers can lose their good reputation.
Digital marketing has different directions, and you need to have a good overall understanding of how it works. It's a good idea to focus on a specific niche. This may be SEO, social media development, Google advertising or content writing.
Each of these industry branches can become a different business. It is possible to connect with colleagues working in the specific niche and to together create a company that offers customers a 360 digital marketing service.
Online influencer
Influencers are gaining more and more popularity, and although this profession is not taken very seriously by a significant part of the society, it can be extremely lucrative, profitable but also time-consuming.
People trust individuals much more than companies. This makes influencers attractive in terms of advertising by many large companies. If you can create a good image for yourself, gain followers who trust you and engage with your content, many companies will want to work with you. This will allow you to become an ambassador of their brand, improving its visibility.
Let us not create a false conclusion for that particular occupation. It is not an easy job being a successful influencer and at the same time developing yourself as a successful brand. The daily task of developing your social channels, the skills needed and the persistence required for this can be exhausting.
Exposing yourself in the public space regularly shouldn't be neglected too. Behind all of this there must be a lot of knowledge and constant development in the field of digital marketing. If you want to pursue this unusual and dynamic profession, it is better to start immediately, because it will take you a long time to reach a level where you can really make a living from it.
Building websites
It is not required to have deep technical skills to start building websites. Many platforms such as WordPress allow you to create functional, modern, and good-looking ecommerce or business websites due to the number of themes and plugins already available.
If you dedicate enough time to get familiar with any of those platforms and their features you will be able to offer your future clients website development.
Offer digital courses
If you have knowledge in a field in which you think you are really good, not necessarily business-oriented, but rather for fun and personal development, you can start offering online courses. Your clients might be people who would like to improve their practical skills.
The courses can be different with some possibilities being:
- Language courses
- Digital skills
- Art classes
- Craftsmanship
- Construction
- Personal development
Web hosting resale
Although not very popular, web hosting reselling could be very profitable. To manage such a company successfully you need to have a good knowledge of system administration. With this model, you don't own the physical server, but you have rented it from another hosting company that offers VPS or VDS servers.
You can offer your clients various hosting plans and services related to server administration.
In order to be competitive in the market, it is good to make an in-depth analysis of the services offered in the field and their price ranges. Already having an idea of what the prices on the market are and what features the customers expect will allow you to structure your pricing accordingly.
There are many providers in the web hosting industry, but it isn't impossible to establish a company which can grow and be successful. You need to work hard to promote your brand and keep your clients happy in order to succeed.
As a matter of fact, we at VPSBG have a very well-structured affiliate program, which you can sign up for and start earning by promoting our services.
Resume and cover letter writer
In each sector competition is growing and having a resume with a well-written cover letter is key to finding a good job. Not everyone can write a well-structured CV that can grab the attention of recruiters.
There are many professionals whose expertise is in other areas which are not related to writing. They can benefit from the services of a person or company who is well aware of what HRs are looking for in a resume and can also structure it in a professional way.
If you have knowledge and experience in the field of human resources, starting a business which offers that type of service can be profitable. Writing intriguing, well-structured resumes which can keep the readers’ attention isn't easy and people will appreciate such help.
Human resource specialist
Each company needs a human resource specialist who will take care of all processes related to the company and its staff members.
Specialists in the field can be responsible for ensuring that employee recruitment happens quickly and with minimal effort from management’s side. This is why many companies turn to recruitment agencies.
It is good to have experience in recruitment and to be able to communicate well with people. Knowing what questions to ask and how to assess whether a candidate is suitable for a particular position or not will help you start developing your own small business in this area.
Another important point that we want to cover is that human resources specialists can help the company's employees feel valued. It's beneficial for them to have someone to turn to when there is an internal conflict without leading to unpleasant situations.
Another service that specialists in this field can offer on the market is managing a company’s payroll. In the absence of an accounting department in a given company, which would be responsible for the calculation of salaries and monitoring of labor legislation, the help of an external company would make it easier for those who manage it.
Physical business ventures
The sale of physical products has always been a popular business form. When offering online physical goods there might be additional complications that you will have to take care of, such as logistics, storage space and customer complaints.
There are different ways to create a business with physical products. Here again, it is important to do your market research and to consider what is best to offer, while also taking care of the above-mentioned problems that you will encounter when starting such a business.
Dropshipping
One of the most popular models for selling goods online is dropshipping. Starting such a business does not require huge investments as there are already well established platforms such as Shopify.
Here is a simple explanation of how it works - you, as the owner of an online store, need to find products to resell. They will be stored and shipped by the manufacturer or supplier of the product, allowing you to act as a middleman who finds clients and makes sales.
To be successful in this industry you need to have a well-functioning information architecture and system, to know how to attract new customers as well as being capable of precisely tracking your inventory.
It is of immense importance to track shipping and make sure everything is arriving on time and at the right place. This way your business will gain positive reviews and attract new customers.
Handmade crafts seller
If you have a talent and like creating unique and interesting products you could start your own business by selling your arts and crafts online.
There are many platforms and ways to do so - you only need to choose the one suitable for your needs and taste. Before starting the site, produce various items to stock your new online store and publish it. With some marketing activities and good products, you can establish a stable business.
T-shirt business
If you are creative and digital drawing is something you are good at, it is easy to create your own line of T-shirts with a unique design.
In addition to creative designs, you will need to contact one or more T-shirt printing companies located in different parts of the world. That way, no matter where you are, you will be able to sell worldwide.
The customer orders a T-shirt with a particular print, you forward the order to the contractor, they, in turn, send the product to the customer. It’s a business that requires very little funds in the beginning and can grow fast.
Sell your second-hand treasures online
There are more and more shops offering second-hand goods. Many businesses are focused on reselling used products. There are well-known brands that people are looking for and are willing to pay good money for, even though the product isn’t brand new. The finds in question are often offered at a low price in thrift shops and the profit margin on such sales is large.
It’s fundamental to choose a suitable shared hosting plan and build your online store as that is the easiest hosting option to manage, allowing people with no prior technical experience to run their own website. To better establish the brand, it is good to have a lifestyle blog and to attract followers through it and your social networks, which you can then convert into customers. Working with influencers is also a great way to grow your brand.
Curate subscription boxes
Subscription boxes are very popular seasonal products that have gained popularity in recent years. They are highly promoted by various influencers on social networks. People like them because they bring excitement, and they have different products that they probably haven't tried before.
When starting such a business you have to define your concept in the first place. You have to decide on what thematic surprises will be hidden in the box you will curate. The design and concept behind those types of boxes are the most important thing that you need to choose.
Go for something which is different, catchy, and will get people’s attention. Promotion is crucial, which is why influencers can help you immensely. Mass communication channels will also help a lot. Popular figures with a highly engaged audience can influence the masses, and sharing information about your subscription box can turn it into a very desirable product.
Flower store
Starting a business with flower deliveries in different cities can be profitable if it is advertised well enough. Sometimes we want to surprise someone with flowers. This might be harder when living in another town or country, and some flower shops, especially in small towns, do not offer online payments and delivery service.
Such an online store should have good advertising and should clearly show on its homepage that deliveries are possible and happen quickly.
Having a well-functioning and easy-to-navigate website is essential. In addition to that, you need to research different delivery methods and know how long it would take to deliver a package. Then choose an assortment of flowers which can last longer.
Start a business today
We mentioned just a fraction of the endless amounts of opportunities for starting an online business with both digital and physical products. It is important to do your research and create a well-functioning website before starting to offer your goods or services.
It should have a clean design and should also be easy to navigate. Needless to say, you have to work hard to establish your company before imposing it on the market. Building trust in the brand and gaining popularity between customers isn't easy and doesn't happen overnight, but it will pay off in time.
Know that every start is difficult, but if you put enough effort, offer quality services and transparent conditions - customers will appreciate it and choose you.