Have plenty of courage, dedication, and commitment—but not a lot of cash? Don’t worry. You don’t need a lot of money (or any money at all!) to start your own business. You just need to have a good idea. Oh, and a good work ethic, of course. If you’re looking for information on businesses you can start with very little money, you’ve come to the right place. Here are 30 different businesses that you can start with little to no money—many of which you can do right from home.
Businesses You Can Start With No Money
Freelance Writer
Starting a freelance writing business is one of the best decisions you can make if you have a good head on your shoulders, strong communication skills, and a great writing voice. In fact, with the rise of content marketing services, freelance writers have never been in more demand.
There was once a time where writers were a dime a dozen and had very little places to market their skills. You could sell your content to a magazine or publication or work for pennies as a newspaper staff writer. Today, that’s far from the case. You can write for many different online publications or set up a profile on a freelance website like Freelancer or Upwork. While these bidding sites might not be the most profitable avenues for work in the long term, each website offers freelance writers an excellent and free way to build up their portfolios.
Other than having a solid portfolio, there’s not much else you will need to do (or pay for!) when you are starting your career as a freelance writer. You should have a website where people can find all of your content gathered together in one place. This will also allow your personality as a writer to shine through.
Another good tip is to provide as many samples as possible in a specific niche. On your website, try to produce samples of content that you created for various niches, like healthcare or finance. By honing in on one small niche, you’ll attract a more profitable client base.
As long as you have strong writing skills—and can move quickly to meet deadlines—this is one small business idea you should not pass up! It’s one of the best businesses you can start if you want to set your own hours and work from home, too.
Web Designer
Knowing how to design a website is an invaluable skill that many people desire—but very few people actually have. Once you master the basic skills necessary to create websites on various platforms, your client base will be virtually unlimited. You can create websites for all kinds of clients—all you have to do is find them. Usually, this is easy to do. You just need to offer a website with samples of your other projects.
This niche is easy to break into, even if you have no formal training. You can start a web design business with just a good portfolio. Showcase your best content, and you’ll have clients flocking to you.
Marketing services via social media is a free way to find work without having to spend any money. Content and web design is one of the many businesses you can start with zero money upfront—all you need is a bit of time to learn the ropes.
App Developer
If you have a good idea for a new app, this is a small business idea you’ll want to jump on immediately. Hundreds of new apps are being created and released every single day. Don’t miss out on the boon by sitting on a money-making idea!
In order to start your own app development business, you don’t even need to have specific technical skills in app creation (though it can help). There are plenty of services and tools you can use that will transform your idea into an actual, marketable app. But if you’re good at creating apps, that’s another potential small business idea—you could offer to develop apps for others.
To be successful at this kind of small business, all you need is a reliable internet connection and plenty of creativity. A bit of marketing can also help when it comes time to sell your app, but you don’t have to spend a fortune—or anything at all—to craft an effective marketing message and plan.
Social Media Consultant or Manager
Do you know exactly what it takes to make a Facebook post go viral? Is your Instagram page drool-worthy? If so, consider starting a small business as a social media consultant or manager. As long as you are creative and can find and follow the latest trends in social media, this could be the perfect opportunity.
There are plenty of business owners who recognize the importance of social media in building a brand and a solid online presence. There are very few, however, who have the technical and creative skills necessary to follow through with that plan. When you offer up your skills as a social media consultant, you can offer businesses one of two potential services. The first, and most basic, is to offer businesses social media plans and strategies. These can be customized to meet a business owner’s needs and plans for his or her company. Another option is to take control of a company’s social media profiles directly and post updates and information for the company so they don’t have to lift a finger.
Either way, you won’t need much money to start a business as a social media manager. You may want to invest some time in marketing your services, but if you’re good at social media, this is something you’re probably already doing.
Just a reliable Internet connection, nimble thumbs, and the ability to find new clients are all you need to be successful!
Graphic Designer
When you start your own business as a graphic designer, you don’t need much in order to make it happen. All you need to get started is a clear eye for detail, a strong sense of self-motivation, and the ability to meet tight deadlines.
As a graphic designer, you’ll design brand packaging, social media graphics, posters, brochures, logos, and other visual materials for individuals and businesses. Since you can do this work from home, you can set your own hours and spend very little (or no) money to get started. All you need is a computer and a reliable internet connection.
SEO Consultant
Search engine optimization, also known as SEO, is a growing practice that is incredibly important for any businesses that want to build their online presence. It refers to the practice of optimizing advertisements, web pages, and other online content so that it’s more likely to be ranked highly by Google.
Why would businesses want to rank highly? It’s simple: The higher you rank in Google’s algorithm, the more likely your page is to appear when customers search for a relevant term or service.
Figuring out what makes Google and other search engines tick can be tricky, but if you have the necessary skills, it could be a profitable idea for a small side hustle. You don’t have to have any startup capital to get started—all you need is a bit of internet savvy and an analytical, data-driven mind. You may also want to brush up on Google Analytics tools, too as this is a program you’ll be using quite often.
Blogging
If you are a strong writer and have a passion for a certain niche, you can easily start making money by launching your own blog. There are plenty of free services and tools you can use when you are getting started—options like Blogger and even WordPress offer free trial programs so that you can try your hand at blogging.
Blogging isn’t just about writing cute, carefully crafted posts, though. You’ll also be able to post links to other websites, services, news, photos, videos, and more. As long as it’s relevant to your niche, it’s fair game.
The content itself isn’t what will make you money, though. No, the real money in blogging lies in the monetization you do to your blog. You have a few options here to get some traction.
One popular avenue is to monetize your blog through Google AdSense. If you’ve ever been to a website and noticed an ad on it, you have already seen Google…
