Unique Business Ideas with Low Startup Costs

a woman with a mask on her face

It’s almost everyone’s dream to own a business. Besides, every entrepreneur is always searching for the next billion-dollar idea. The issue with that is realizing these ideas don’t come cheap. More often than not, people give up on a business idea because of high startup costs.

Not all lucrative business ideas have high startup costs. There are many business ventures you can start with limited resources. Read on as we explore some of these business ideas.

Online Store

img

Despite the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, the eCommerce industry experienced significant growth. The global online retail market grew by 27.6% in 2020, which makes an online store an exciting and promising prospect. First, you need to choose a digital product to sell. Finding the right product to sell can be challenging considering the competition. You’ll need to put a lot of thought into your selection process.

Next, build a website to give your brand legitimacy and grow your customer base. You can implement your marketing strategies on your website to generate quality leads and drive sales. If you have coding skills, you can design the website yourself. Alternatively, you can outsource to a professional. Furthermore, you can leverage Chan boards to get the word out about your online store. Chan boards are anonymous forums for sharing content and discussing topics of interest. Like social media, Chan image boards can help increase engagement on a specific topic or trend.

Sadly, these sites have become a gathering place for right-wing nationalists to spread hateful narratives. For example, there was an incident on 8chan in the past that sparked a lot of public outbursts. Some 8chan users alleged to be suspects in a mass shooting incident in El Paso, Texas, posted screeds on the site. 8chan’s owner, Jim Watkins, in response, took down the site before finally changing the name to 8kun. No need to get alarmed, though, you can use open-source intelligence tools to monitor Chan boards for information relevant to your needs.

Gaming Business

The demand for video games has significantly skyrocketed in recent years, making a gaming startup very lucrative. Gaming enthusiasts are constantly looking for video solutions with quality content, amazing graphics, and visuals.

If you’re tech-savvy, consider starting a gaming business. All you need to get started is a robust, user-friendly gaming design tool. Even if you don’t have any programming expertise, you can hire someone to handle that aspect of the operations. Watch out for someone with top-notch technological skills, good people skills, teamwork, and passion.

Are you experiencing difficulty in finding the best candidate to fill a particular position in your establishment? If yes, you can leverage ZipRecruiter to recruit qualified candidates for your new startup. Just so you know, ZipRecruiter is a viable alternative to the typical online job board.

With ZipRecruiter, the chances of your job post getting a hit is high. Interestingly, the company offers a free trial that expires on the fourth day. So you can sign up for the Zip Recruiter free trial and post your job ad on the employment service. Chances are, a job seeker looking through the various job openings will see your job listing and send an application. The good thing is that you can manage and rate all the applications you receive using an admin dashboard.

Supplements Business

img

There’s no gainsaying that starting a business in the wellness sector is highly rewarding. The wellness industry is valued at a whopping $4.5 trillion. Market trends indicate a spike in demand for supplements and vitamins. However, the only obvious challenge with a supplement brand is the exorbitant manufacturing costs. The cost of buying or leasing equipment alone is enough to increase your startup costs.

Instead of doing in-house product manufacturing, the good news is that you can outsource your manufacturing process to save on money. For instance, you can outsource the production of your vitamin supplements to a vitamin manufacturing company. If you search well, you can find a company that handles both manufacturing and packaging.

Furthermore, you can outsource payment processing from business check printing to invoicing. Doing so will save you money on overhead and resources spent on hiring in-house accounting staff for a small business like yours.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a marketing strategy where a business pays you to promote and sell its products. Every time you make a sale, the company pays you a commission. As an affiliate, you can promote products on your website, social media networks, or blog. There’s no denying that affiliate marketing is a business idea with low startup costs that can turn into a profitable business.

With that in mind, sign up for an affiliate program of your choice. Some notable affiliate sites include ShareASale and LinkShare. You should also note that the commission rates on offer vary depending on the company. While most companies offer rates as low as 5% to as high as 50%, others offer a flat rate.

Consultancy

img

Selling a service you are skilled in is a lucrative way to make yourself financially independent. This is a service-based business idea that requires time and skill as your most significant investment. When it comes to selling a service, get a skill that’s in demand. For example, there’s a growing demand for writers, virtual assistants, graphic designers, cleaning service providers, SEO consultants, and real estate professionals.

If you cover your bases, you can turn this skill into a physical product. For instance, a freelance writer can write a book on copywriting and get it published. The key takeaway is that an in-demand skill can create massive revenue streams for you.