So you’ve decided to start a business, but you don’t have much money to get it off the ground. The good news is that you don’t always need a lot of capital to build a profitable business.
There are actually dozens of proven small business ideas with low startup costs. For those looking to start a business in 2023 or beyond, these low-cost opportunities help you to avoid overspending and increase your chances of financial success.
Here are some popular low-risk small business ideas to consider.
1. Consulting
“One safe type of company to start is in the field of business consulting: it has low overhead and is a highly profitable endeavor. It is low-risk because you often get paid upfront and will not have high overhead expenses. If you want to start a business, think about what you know.
Take the skills you already possess and use them to advise clients as a paid consultant. And, you have connections in the field from your career who might just become your very first customers. The highest-demand consultants now are IT, marketing, financial, human resources, social media, and security.”
Source: ZenBusiness
2. Online seller
“Whether you want to sell apparel, collectibles, or whatever, you can easily get up and running online on the cheap. Marketplaces like Amazon and eBay will let you sell your products for a cut of the sale, while e-commerce platforms charge you a low monthly fee to hawk products over the internet. It doesn’t take too much money to purchase your initial inventory.
You can buy bulk items online or at a local discount store or tap the inventory you have at home. The idea is to sell the products for more than you purchase them, taking into account any marketplace or e-commerce platform fees.”
Source: Business.com
3. Tutoring
“If you’re a master of a particular subject, you can help students struggling in their classes by becoming a tutor. No certification is required to become a tutor, but you should be an ace in the topic. Usually, a tutor has a college degree in the subject they are tutoring.
You can teach in person or online to expand your target market. You may want to invest in some teaching aid tools such as Canvas or Blackboard. These will help you interact more effectively with online students. You can market yourself or join a tutoring platform such as BuffTutor that brings clients to you.”
Source: Forbes
4. Content creation
“Social media and the 24-hour news cycle have created the perfect storm of opportunity for creative professionals like writers and graphic designers, who can use their talents to create high-quality, shareable content for businesses and media outlets. Thanks to a growing gig economy of freelance and contract workers, it’s easier than ever to market yourself as a professional service provider.”
Source: Business News Daily
5. Lawn care
“The equipment is the biggest outlay for starting a lawn care business, and if you start small, you’ll only need a lawn mower and leaf blower. Depending on where you live, this might be a seasonal business, but one that can easily expand. Besides the equipment, all you need are flyers and a Facebook page.”
Source: Business.com
6. Career Coaching
“A lot of people need help finding the perfect career—and those people often hire career coaches to help them figure things out and find the right job, company or business idea for the next chapter in their professional life.
Career coaching has little overhead; you don’t need an office or any products or equipment to get started, making it low-risk. But there’s definitely potential for high rewards—both from a financial perspective (people are willing to pay for the right career guidance!) and from an emotional perspective (helping people find clarity in their careers can be extremely fulfilling).
If you have a background in human resources, leadership development, or coaching, or you’ve navigated a major career change yourself—and you want to help others do the same—career coaching might be the perfect low-risk career for you.”
Source: FreshBooks
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