In recent years, more people have started their own businesses. In fact, a report from the Commerce Institute shows that there were about five million new businesses started in 2022. If you’re looking for low-cost business ideas with high-profit potential, you’re in the right place. We’ve compiled a list of 34 opportunities with low startup costs.
There are many low-cost business ideas that you can start online. We’ve compiled a list of the most profitable options with information on how to begin, startup costs, and earning potential.
Many Teachable creators earn money by selling digital products and downloads. And if you have something to teach others, you can sell a digital product.
For example, Darnell Brown is a business coach. He’s been using Teachable for years to create digital downloads to help his clients start and grow their businesses.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: With Teachable, creating and selling your digital products is easy and affordable. And you can join at no cost, then select from various pricing plans to fit your needs. Whether you’re selling courses, coaching, or digital downloads the no-code platform means you can start now.
How much money can you make: Earning potential for selling digital downloads depends on your products, audience, and topic. Some creators make up to six figures annually.
Find out which digital product you should create first.
Copywriting is one of the best low-cost business ideas with high potential profit because it’s versatile.
Most companies need copywriters to craft landing pages, social media posts, advertising copy, blogs, video scripts, and more. And they also prefer working with freelance writers because they can save on overhead costs.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: If you have experience copywriting for brands, you can start at no cost. But, if you’re building skills, then a copywriting course usually costs about $300. Creating a portfolio website will cost about $0 to $65 per month.
How much money can you make: Many freelance copywriters charge per word, hour, or project. So your earning potential also depends on the type of content you write.
When it comes to blogs, highly experienced writers charge $100 or more an hour, or anywhere from .25 to $1 per word. If you write 10,000 words per month, you can earn $2,500 to $10,000 monthly.
Because online businesses are booming, the demand for virtual assistants is higher than ever.
Tips to get started:
Consider taking a course to learn virtual assistant skills. Then, create a website to display your services, which usually include:
Startup costs: Similar to copywriting, startup costs are low for virtual assistants. You’ll likely spend anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand dollars on courses to learn the necessary skill set and create a website to market your services.
How much money can you make: Your income as a virtual assistant can vary depending on your services and experiences. Many virtual assistants charge up to $100 per hour.
Like with many other low-cost business ideas with high-profit potential, if you have the knowledge to share, you can host workshops. Workshops might be in-person or online and last anywhere from an hour to a few days.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs:
There are various costs to consider when hosting a workshop.
How much money can you make: If you only host one workshop per month and charge 30 people $250 per workshop, you can make $90,000 per year.
Online courses are an excellent way to share your knowledge with others from the comfort of your home. With platforms like Teachable, it’s easier than ever to get started with an online course business and generate significant profit. Courses are even one of the top five sources of income for bloggers today.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: Teachable makes creating and selling courses simple and affordable. Various plans range from $0 to $375 per month.
How much money can you make: It’s possible to earn upwards of $200,000 per year selling online courses. Thousands of Teachable creators earn a comfortable income from online courses. For example, Julia McCoy earned $150,000 from one online course.
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You can create low-content books in little time and easily sell them online. Low-content books don’t require much writing on your part. They usually have pages that the person buying fills in, similar to workbooks.
Examples of low-content books include:
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: You can create content on Canva and join Teachable at no cost. It’s free to sell on Amazon, but you pay for printing and shipping after you sell a book.
How much money you can make: Low-content books usually sell for $4 to $15. If you sell 300 low-content books per month, you can make up to $4,500. That said, 60% of that usually goes to Amazon for printing and shipping.
If you enjoy shopping and are looking for a low-cost business idea, try clothes flipping.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: You can begin clothes flipping at no cost by starting with items you already have. And once you start earning money, you can buy new-to-you items to grow your inventory and increase sales.
How much money can you make: Your earning potential depends on where you find and sell your items and how much time you put into it. The casual thrifters make around $300 per month on average.
More devoted thrifters earn as much as $70,000 to $100,000 dollars per year. This couple earned $12,000 to $15,000 monthly as full-time clothes flippers and sellers.
Do you enjoy teaching and have a subject you’re passionate about? If so, you might want to start an online tutoring business that costs little to nothing to start.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: If you already have a computer, you should only need noise-canceling headphones and a microphone to get started. This means you can start with less than $100.
How much money can you make: Online tutors can earn $35-$150 per hour. If you tutor for one hour each week, you’ll earn $1,400 to $6,000 monthly.
If you’re passionate about fitness and looking for low-cost business ideas with high profit potential, consider becoming a personal trainer.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: This is one of the easiest and most affordable businesses to start because the only investment you’ll need is a personal training certification for less than $100.
How much money can you make: On average, private personal trainers earn up to $70,000 annually. But, running a personal training business can be more lucrative. If you start doing 10 personal training sessions a week at $150 each, you’ll make $1,500 monthly.
Becoming a freelance illustrator is one of the best jobs for artists and costs little to start. While many illustrators attend art school, this is optional.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: Art supplies and tools like Adobe Illustrator will cost anywhere from $200 to $500. A website costs less than $100 monthly.
How much money can you make: Beginner illustrators typically charge $25 to $100 per hour. However, most experienced illustrators charge per project. Ultimately, you should price your services based on how complex each project is and how much time and effort it takes to complete.
You can also package several illustrations into a bundle price. Some illustrators charge anywhere from $500 to $5,000, so don’t be afraid to negotiate higher prices.
Do you enjoy social media, connecting with others, and getting creative? As influencing and social media marketing are rising, so is the demand for social media managers. A recent report shows the market will grow from $17.5 billion in 2022 to $51.8 billion in 2027.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: Social media managers need a website to share their services and portfolio, which usually costs $0 to $65 monthly.
How much money can you make: Social media managers charge $25 to $250 per hour, depending on experience and services. Like many other online businesses, you can increase your earnings by generating passive income through digital products. Specifically, you might create social media templates that brands can buy.
Photo editing is as important as ever, with a high need for visuals to promote businesses, services, and products. While a photography business requires startup money for cameras, lighting, and other equipment, photo editing doesn’t.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: A website costs less than $100 monthly, and the popular Adobe Lightroom for editing starts at $9.99 monthly.
How much money can you make: Photo editors can make $40 to more than $100 per hour. On the low end, you can earn $1,600 monthly. On the high end, $4,000 monthly.
Event planning is an excellent low-cost business idea with high profit potential for those with organizational, multi-tasking, and planning skills.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: Event planning startup costs usually only include a website ($0 to $65 monthly). But, you might also hire a professional photographer or videographer to record content from events for your marketing.
How much money can you make: Earning potential depends on what kind of events you plan and where. Private event planners charge between $50 and $150 hourly. You can also earn a commission from event vendors.
Website developers create and maintain websites to help companies meet their goals, and they’re in high demand.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: Web design courses usually cost $100 to $1,000, while a website costs less than $100 monthly.
How much money can you make: The average cost to build a website for a small business ranges from $5,000 to $20,000. However, more complex web development projects cost more.
In your first few years of running a web development business, you can earn $80,000 to $250,000 or more.
If you like traveling and are good at planning, why not earn money by becoming a travel planner?
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: Around $0 to 65 monthly for website costs.
How much money can you make: Although travel planners that work for an agency don’t earn a high salary, you have more opportunities running your own business.
If you charge $30 to $100 hourly and work at least 10 hours a week, you’ll earn $1,200 to $4,000 monthly. You can also increase your earning potential by creating passive income with a blog, travel guides, and more.
Learning how to start a blog and make money is how many creators begin their business journey.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: To start a blog, you need a website. This costs $0 to $65 monthly.
How much money can you make: With so many ways to monetize a blog, a blogger’s earning potential is high. For example, Lauren McManus and her business partner have two blogs and make six figures per month.
Bloggers in the most profitable niches earn between $5,000 to $9,000 monthly.
If you enjoy helping others, consider becoming a life coach. The life coaching industry brought in $1.5 billion in 2022, with an expected annual growth rate of 4.85%.
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Tips to get started:
Startup costs: Coaching programs start at about $1,000.
How much money you can make: Freelance life coaches usually charge $75 to $250 per hour.
Graphic design is one of the top low-cost business ideas for creatives. There’s ample opportunity for graphic designers because every industry has design needs.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: You can make designs using software like Adobe Creative Cloud, which is about $60 per month.
How much money you can make: Graphic designers can charge up to $200 per hour, but usually set rates by the project. For example, you might charge $500-$1,500 for a logo and upwards of $2,500 to $10,000 for a full brand identity package.
Another low-cost business idea for creatives is upcycling furniture. Once a popular side hustle, people now find it a lucrative full-time job.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: You can start at no cost by cleaning up and selling items you already have. When you start making money, buy used items and materials for flipping.
How much money you can make: Furniture flippers often make up to $500 per piece. If you upcycle and sell 10 pieces of furniture per month, you can earn $5,000.
Are you passionate about fashion? If so, you could be a fashion consultant and offer clients style advice.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: A fashion consultant can start by creating a website for under $100.
How much money you can make: Fashion consultants usually charge an hourly fee of up to $100 or a daily rate of about $1,000.
The dog walking industry has grown in recent years and has an expected growth rate of 11.52% from 2022 to 2030. Dog lovers who enjoy staying active can start their own dog walking business.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: You can start walking dogs for people you know at no cost.
How much money you can make: Dog walkers usually charge up to $50 per hour.
If you’re tech-savvy and organized, you could offer data entry services and update online records for companies.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: You can learn data entry skills for free or take a course starting at a few hundred dollars.
How much money you can make: Freelance data entry clerks charge up to $50 per hour.
Influencers or digital content creators are experts on a specific topic and share their content to earn money.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: Most influencers don’t pay anything to start.
How much money you can make: Earning potential varies based on different income sources. That said, some influencers report earning a few thousand dollars per post. So, if you share five branded posts per month, you could make $15,000.
With many companies relying on video for marketing, video editing jobs are booming. This is the ideal low-cost business idea because it requires little equipment or startup costs.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: You can create a website with your portfolio and services for less than $100.
How much money you can make: Video editors usually earn $50 to $150 per hour.
The global yoga industry was $105.9 billion in 2022 and expects to hit $177.6 billion by 2028. If becoming a yoga instructor is on your bucket list, now’s a perfect time.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: Yoga teacher training programs usually cost a few thousand dollars. Most of them offer payment plans.
How much money you can make: Yoga instructors usually charge about $20 per class. If you teach 10 classes to 10 students each, you can earn $2,000 per week.
Another lucrative business idea for creatives is designing print. Print designers use digital software to create visuals for physical items, including
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: Adobe Creative Cloud costs about $100 per month. A website costs $0 to $65 to start.
How much money you can make: Print designer rates are similar to graphic designers. You can earn anywhere from $25 to $150 per hour, but it depends on the project.
Search engine optimization (SEO) helps companies increase traffic to their sites and get more potential customers to view their products and services. It can be a lucrative way to make money online, especially if you’re familiar with technical SEO.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: There are no costs to get started. You can find various free SEO courses you can take and get your first clients on platforms like Upwork.
How much money you can make: If you know technical SEO, you can charge $1,500 to $5,000 for a basic SEO audit. You can earn $2,000 to $5,000 monthly.
Being a songwriter is one of the best low-cost business ideas with high profit potential for musicians.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: You can take songwriting courses for free and create a portfolio for free.
How much money you can make: As a new songwriter, you can charge up to $500 per song and increase this as you gain experience.
If you have a camera and take good photos, selling stock photography is an easy, low-cost business opportunity.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: You can join stock photo sites for free.
How much money you can make: You can usually earn up to $40 for one image.
With an expected growth of 10.36% by 2027, the IT support industry offers excellent earning potential.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: IT support courses usually cost $0 to $1,000. You can start your website for free.
How much money you can make: Freelance IT support providers charge an average of $100 per hour.
If you’re looking for an in-person job and like working with children, childcare offers excellent opportunities.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: You can take a CPR and first-aid class for less than $100.
How much money you can make: Earning potential depends on your experience and where you live. Many freelance childcare providers charge up to $40 per hour.
App development is one of the fastest-growing industries, offering ample job opportunities.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: If you take a course, it’ll cost up to $100.
How much money you can make: Most app developers charge $5,000 to $10,000 per project.
Beauty consulting is a great low-cost business idea with high profit potential for skin, hair, or nail experts.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: Supplies to start can cost up to $500. You can create a portfolio at no cost.
How much money you can make: Beauty consultants can earn up to $50 per hour.
Because all industries produce written content, there’s always a need for editors and proofreaders.
Tips to get started:
Startup costs: There are many free online courses. A website costs $0 to $65 per month.
How much money you can make: You can charge up to $100 per hour.
With so many low-cost business ideas with high profit potential, there are several ways you can choose the best option:
If you choose a job you already have the skill set for, you’ll save on startup costs and time. Make a list of your skills and interests to help you pick your business idea.
To start a business that aligns with your personal and career goals, use these questions to guide you:
After you answer these questions, consider jobs that allow you to meet these goals.
Startup costs for the businesses on this list vary based on these factors:
Determine what your budget is to get started. Here are some high-profit job ideas based on various budgets.
Budget of $100:
Budget of $500:
Budget of $1,000+:
Once you narrow down business ideas, check their demand to ensure there’s earning potential.
Use social media and other online communities for market research. You can also do keyword research at no cost using Semrush Keyword Magic Tool to see what industries people are searching for.
Consider who you want to work with by thinking about your target audience.
With so many low-cost business ideas with high profit potential, there are many ways to earn money without a significant investment.
Thousands of Teachable creators have started lucrative businesses for little to nothing. Start today with a free Teachable account.
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