10 best low-investment business ideas

Starting a business can seem like a difficult task, especially with the idea of the high competition and high investment costs floating around.

Contrary to popular belief, there are actually many ways to start a business that let you focus less on the logistics and upfront costs and more on getting started. And the amount of time, money, and risk involved all depends on the business idea you chase.

We have compiled a list of low-investment business ideas that will make a great entry point for beginners, bootstrappers, or anyone with a busy schedule, letting you pick up a side business without having to drop everything else.

Of course, you still need to come up with a solid idea, build a brand, put effort into marketing, and provide excellent customer service. But you can bypass many traditional startup costs, such as initial inventory, warehousing, and retail space, moving smoothly into the initial stages of the business, working on Personal competence, professionalism, and accountability for individual performance.

Here are some of the low-investment business ideas you can start today.

1. Start your own business and partner with a drop-shipper

Dropshipping is a fulfillment model where third-party supplier stores and ships inventory to customers on your behalf. All you need to do is make the sales and pass orders on to your supplier. The products are handled by the supplier.

The idea is to either start your own product line or curate products from one or more suppliers into your own online store under a theme that focuses on a specific niche, be it gear for yoga enthusiasts or water bowls for dog owners. You will be responsible for your own marketing and customer service, but when it comes to the fulfillment of the order, the supplier will do it on your behalf.

There are both local and overseas suppliers you can work with, though it is important to establish a relationship with them built on trust.

Dropshipping is a low-investment way to test product-market fit and launch a business before you invest in your own original products.

 

2. Freelancing

Freelancing has a great business opportunity for people who are looking to work on a part-time basis. If you have expertise and skill in a specific subject, with so many opportunities available, you can start freelancing from today with whatever you are good at.

There are many websites that you can sign up with connecting employers with freelancers. Ideally, you’ll have to bid on a project and showcase your skill-set, but with time you can develop a reputation and even bid on higher-paying jobs.

 

 

3. Design and sell print-on-demand t-shirts

Similar to a dropshipping model, print-on-demand puts inventory, shipping, and fulfilment in the hands of a third-party supplier. The focus here, though, is on customizing these products with your own designs to create something original.

T-shirts, hats, phone cases, hoodies, skirts, tote bags, and more become canvases for your creativity. Even if you’re not a designer, you can find a designer to work with using freelance websites.

You’ll be paying per product so the base price per unit will be more expensive than if you were to order in bulk. But the advantage is that since you will print as the product sells, you won’t have to pay for a product if it doesn’t sell. Also, with t-shirt mockup templates available, you won’t need to spend money on a full photoshoot for every new design.

There are a variety of print-on-demand platforms you can work with, many of which can be integrated with your Shopify store for seamless order fulfilment.

 

4. Online Fitness Classes

The best thing about the pandemic is that it has started a trend of the home workout. Rather than travel to fitness centers, working out in the comfort of home is a great way to become fit.

With Zoom meetings where people workout together with an instructor to many starting their own YouTube channels, fitness routines for all body types are making the rounds.

And now, you can capitalize on that too.

If you’re a fitness geek, or just have a routine way of keeping fit, excel at a sport and hence have knowledge on the subject or even if you are good at motivating people, the online fitness class is definitely something you should try.

With the absence of location costs, this is essentially a low-investment business idea that requires careful planning and research. It is an industry that continues to be lucrative for small businesses and entrepreneurs globally.

 

5. Launch your own book or start a bookstore

Cookbooks, picture books, comic books, poetry books, photo books, coffee table books, and novels, with the knowledge or the creativity in any sector, there are a variety of original books you can bring to the market.

Print-on-demand publishing is a relatively safe way to get started with self-publishing while giving you control over the quality and look of your book.

There are a variety of popular platforms for this purpose, letting you create, order, and distribute your own books as digital and physical products.

Consider pre-selling or crowdfunding your book idea to ensure that there’s demand and guarantee a certain number of customers for a bulk order, though printing individual books is also possible, though maybe a little more expensive.

Or as someone who hoards books or has great suggestions for people out there, you can get others to read too. You can start an online store to sell the books you’ve read too many times or those you know you’re not going to read anymore. You could also consider starting a book club and initiate book exchanges.

 

6. Sell posters, greeting cards, and prints online

If you’re artistically inclined or have got an eye for details and lighting – photography I mean, you can dropship using a print-on-demand business model to let others physically own a piece of your work. Another one of the best low cost business ideas, you can set up your website, showcase some of your finest pictures and let your neighbors know that you’re offering photography as a service. You’ll be surprised by the number of takers! 

If you’re a cartoonist or an urban photographer, you’re in an especially good position to give this business idea a try. Depending on the printer you work with, you can turn your work into products such as posters or framed wall art, even greeting cards.

 

7. Grow an audience & become an influencer

In today’s connected world, the ability to capture and keep the attention of others is an asset. Many businesses are even willing to pay for this attention allowing many creators to convert into a business with multiple revenue streams.

Whether you choose to grow your following on YouTube, Instagram, or a blog or a combination of the above, you have many avenues for monetizing your audience:

• Do sponsored posts on behalf of brands
• Become an affiliate
• Sell physical or digital products (you can use our list)
• Patreon
• A combination of the above

Taking an audience-first approach to starting a business means you’ll be doing this for a long time, but you don’t need millions of followers to reach this level. As far as you know how to market yourself, you would be able to sell anything!

 

8. Create an online fashion boutique

If you love fashion and sharing your sense of style online, you can consider creating your own online fashion boutique. This doesn’t require you to become a fashion designer, you can simply curate items from other vendors into your own online store.

From dresses, shoes, swimwear, accessories, and more, you can build your own fashion brand using one of the several product sourcing apps and model them in your own product photos and social media posts, and build an online following as a trend-setter.

In fact, if you are interested in social causes, in addition to this, you can also build your brand up as a charitable organization.

Having a mission to go along with a business, and setting aside some profit for a cause, gives social entrepreneurs a unique way to position their company in the market while addressing the issues they care about most.

89% of consumers surveyed said they were likely to switch to a new brand with similar products and prices if it was associated with a good cause.

You can partner with a non-profit, or execute that social good with your own hands, as long as you’re transparent about how it works.

As part of your marketing, you can share the impact that your customers are having by supporting your business, such as a blog post covering your work in the community or a real-time impact calculator on your website.

9. Sell handcrafted and homemade goods or open your own online bakery

If you enjoy creating things, whether it’s DIY soap, candles, sauces, or pottery, you are in a unique position to find an online business idea since product development and procurement are literally in your hands.

Unlike many of the other ideas on this list, you will need to consider shipping and inventory management, but starting out with a simple per-order basis or with small batches will help till you start generating consistent sales.

If however, you are interested in cooking and baking, selling your food online is one of the best low-cost business ideas.

You could decide a menu for your cloud kitchen/ bakery, set up an online store for it, and let those close to you get their food either delivered or picked up.

What’s more? You get the flexibility of how much business you want to run or how many orders you want to deal with in a day.

If selling your products is not your thing, well, this is a generation that learns online, so why not try teaching what you make? A behaviour that you can tap into to start your own business, if you’re passionate about art and craft, you could start selling online classes or courses. All you need to do is get crafty about how you want to teach on online platforms like Zoom, Skype and others.

 

10. Sell a service

With services-based businesses, “time” is your inventory and your biggest investment. You’ve only got a limited supply of hours in your day. However, that makes it easier to get up and running if you’ve got skills that are in demand.

Writers, designers, developers, photographers, house cleaners, fitness trainers, and more can build a business around their skills.

They can also expand their business to create additional revenue streams by “productizing” their services through physical or digital goods. And coupling your service-based business with physical products can give you another source of income that isn’t directly tied to your time.

There are also multiple apps that you can use to let customers easily schedule a session, consultation, or buy tickets to a class with you through your store.

You can also offer your services through a freelance marketplace to increase your chances of getting discovered by the people who need your skills.