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From Clicks to Customers: 16 Online Business Ideas You Can Start on the Side

  • 24 minute read

Running an online business definitely has its appeal, but it also presents its own set of challenges. The truth is,starting a businessof any kind requires a lot of hard work.

Essentially, "online" is just a way of connecting businesses and consumers. This is a highly effective tool that lets you communicate with anyone from anywhere in the world. Creating a business with it is still about matching the right customers with the right products.

Many people have already taken the leap into entrepreneurship. If you have the right ideas and put in the work, you can do the same.

This isn't about one simple trick that can change your life. Starting an online business doesn’t work that way. Instead, to help you find a product idea or online business idea that fits your lifestyle, we’ve put together a collection of simple online business ideas that you can pursue without quitting your day job.

Start an online business with these 16 ideas.

  1. Launch your own clothing line
  2. Set up a dropshipping store
  3. Sell your artwork online
  4. Become a freelance writer, designer or developer
  5. Teach an online course
  6. Flip your thrift store finds
  7. Publish your own book
  8. Start a blog
  9. Become a virtual assistant
  10. Try your hand at being an influencer
  11. Build apps and websites
  12. Launch a podcast
  13. Sign up for affiliate marketing
  14. Curate subscription boxes
  15. Develop a niche product
  16. Create handmade goods

1. Launch your own clothing line

If you have some designs in mind and a little bit of time on your hands, you canget your clothing companyoff the ground.

If you already own a Shopify store, you can set up your own clothing line usingOberlo,Printify,Printful, or a similar product sourcing app.

Each automatically links your store to apparel printers and clothing manufacturers. They also handle every step of the retail fulfilment process for you, giving you the freedom to design and ship a wide range of pieces right out of the gate.

Why start a clothing line?

  • There’s nothing more satisfying than creating products that people will use every day.
  • As soon as you build your Shopify store, you’ll be able to start selling instantly. Thanks to apps like Printify and Printful, the process of designing and delivering your own custom-made clothing has been streamlined and simplified.
  • You’ll love the feeling of seeing your designs come to life by transforming your creativity into something real and profitable.
THINK PUP Apparel store business idea

We used Printful to createTHINK PUP, an apparel store for dog owners and ended up makingover $1,200 in just three weeks。With some time and research, you could be well on your way to building a successful t-shirt company, too.

We’ve curated some handy resources that will help grow your apparel business at every stage, from crafting your brand’s story to creating at-shirt mockupto promoting your products with influencer marketing:

2. Set up a dropshipping store

You don't need a warehouse full of inventory to run your own business.Dropshippingis a great way to start an online business on a budget. You can hit the ground running by sourcing a pre-existing product from a supplier and having them take care of things like packaging and fulfilment.

This process lets you skip over a lot of obstacles that might be standing in the way of you starting your own business. More importantly, adropshipping businesseliminates the risk of finding out there’s no market for your product after placing a huge order with a manufacturer or supplier.

Why choose dropshipping?

  • You don’t need to stock products in a physical location, meaning that your cash flow won’t get tied up in inventory. There’s less of an up front cash risk.
  • Whenever a purchase is made, you place an order with a third party, and they handle the rest of the process for you. Since you don’t have to deal with tracking inventory or mailing packages, dropshipping eliminates a lot of potential headaches for budding entrepreneurs.
  • No warehouse means you can run your business from anywhere. Whether it’s your living room or the café down the street, you decide where you want to work from.

Read ourUltimate Guide to Dropshippingto help you get started if you're interested in dropshipping.

If you don’t have any unique online business ideas, here are some strategies for narrowing down the perfect product:

3. Sell your artwork online

Whether you’re a painter,photographer, or musician, there are plenty of ways to start an online store and turn your latest masterpiece into a source of revenue with a beautifully designed ecommerce website.

If painting or photography is your forte, you can sell your work as prints, canvases, and framed posters using Printify or Printful. This is a fantastic way to turn your art into something tangible that people can take home and integrate into their space. Is music your thing? You can sell your beats, songs, samples, and more asdigital downloads。

Just take a look atThe Drum Broker, the largest online drum sample business in the world. It created a successful and sustainable online business model with the help of apps likeFetchAppandShipStation。

Why sell your art online?

  • You’ll be part of people’s lives by getting your work into customers’ homes and headphones.
  • You’ll create a platform for showcasing your work by setting up an online store.
  • As an artist, creating art isn’t just a hobby—it’s a way of life. This is your chance to turn your passion into an income stream and potentially do what you love for a living.

Ready to bring your art shop ideas to life? Get started with these resources:

4. Become a freelance writer, designer, or developer

Writers, developers, and graphic designers can start a business based on their talents. As a freelancer, you’ll be able to put your skills to good use by helping people across the world with their projects (while making some money yourself, of course).

Freelancing doesn’t mean committing to month-long projects that eat away all your free time. You can easily pick up bite-sized tasks that fit your schedule which makes it a great online business idea.

To find people that need your help, try freelancing marketplaces likeUpworkandFiverr。

Freelancing on sites like Fiverr

It’s worth noting that Fiverr is a little different from a traditional job board. As the name suggests, all the posted jobs cost five dollars. The key to making big money on Fiverr is carefully setting up your offers so you can easily upsell the client for more money.

You can tweak your services until you’ve found a combo that makes it worth your while. For instance, you could offer to write a 150-word introduction for a blog post as your initial five-dollar service. You could charge another $10 for every additional 150 words as an upsell.

If you want total control over how much you charge, create a Shopify store. You can list your services as products and disable shipping since you won’t actually be physically delivering anything to your customers. You can even use apps likeBookThatAppandEvents Calendarto give your customers the option to schedule appointments.

Why freelance?

  • When you freelance, you choose which projects you want to work on and set your own schedule and workplace.
  • Getting paid to do something you’re good at is a rewarding feeling, whether you’re looking to strike out on your own or just want to make some extra cash on the weekend.
  • If you’re new to writing, designing, or developing, freelancing is an excellent way to build your portfolio and get some real experience in a wide range of industries. You might discover that you have a knack or passion for something you never expected.

If freelancing sounds like it might be a good money-making online business idea from home, we’ve put together some great articles that can help you make the most of your time:

5. Teach an online course

Teaching an online course is a low-investment online business idea for generating passive income. All you need to do is put together a video walkthrough explaining a subject you’re familiar with and then host it on your personal website.

Although it requires effort upfront, if you manage to design a popular, high-value video tutorial series, you would make money on an ongoing basis as people continue to enrol in your course.

To start creating your first online course, brainstorm a topic you know well enough to teach someone how to do it from scratch. This can be literally anything—music production, social media marketing, web development, you name it.

Next, you’ll want to grab a screencasting app, likeScreenFlow, to record your screen and voice while you walk your students through your tutorial. ScreenFlow also has a built-in video-editing suite, letting you shoot and cut your videos on the same platform.

Why teach an online course?

  • With an online course, you can literally set it and forget it. Depending on the complexity you’re aiming for, take a few days or weeks to build an online course, and you could be reaping the benefits for weeks.
  • You already have the knowledge; you just need to share it. Focus on teaching something that you’re already an expert at, and the rest will come naturally, whether it’s building iOS apps, creating monthly budgets, or running Facebook ad campaigns.
  • Teaching someone a new skill is its own reward. While there’s definitely money to be made teaching online courses, helping other people is always a satisfying experience in itself.

6. Flip your thrift store finds

If you love hitting up thrift stores and hunting down great deals, then selling your second-hand treasures is one of the best online business ideas.

Your potential customers want to buy cool stuff, but they don’t want to dig through old soccer jerseys and braided belts to get their hands on that one amazing find. Take advantage of this by positioning yourself as a trustworthy curator who can go out and uncover those great vintage pieces for others.

Why sell your thrift store finds?

  • Let’s face it; you’d be combing through thrift store racks anyway, so you might as well make some money while you do it by putting your shopping addiction to work.
  • The margins are huge. That two-dollar RadioShack ball cap you found over the weekend? Next, it might be a $40 vintage vaporwave strapback.
  • You’re selling something unique. Nowhere else on the web will people be able to find the vintage collections that you put together.
Windy Gaming online vintage video game store

Sometimes a passion for second-hand curiosities is all it takes to kickstart a business. Windy Gaming, an online store dedicated to selling vintage video games, started when its owner received a box of old Japanese games from a friend and wanted to sell them online. Now, Windy Gaming generates $1,000 per week selling retro gaming gear worldwide.

Want to turn your cool stuff into pizza money? Take a look at these guides to make your products look great in photos:

7. Publish your own book

It’s okay to admit it: you’ve thought about publishing your own book someday. While seeing your name on a list of bestsellers might seem like a pipe dream, it’s actually not that far out of reach.

不管它是一个科幻小说,a marketing guide, or a children’s picture book; there are now plenty of options to successfully self-publish your work. These include releasing your writing as an ebook with theDigital Downloads appto on-demand printing services likeBlurbandCreateSpace。

Digital Downloads app for selling ebooks

Selling ebooks is a great online business idea. To sell ebooks through your online store, install the Digital Downloads app, and you’ll instantly be able to stock digital files as products. Once purchased, your ebooks will be sent to your customers via email or as a direct download link.

If you choose to sell physical copies of your book, you’ll just need to place an order with Blurb or CreateSpace whenever your work is purchased. They’ll custom print your book and handle the entire storage and fulfilment process.

Why publish a book?

  • 的点是写东西如果有no one around to read it? Self-publishing is the quickest way to get your book into the hands of potential readers.
  • Printing, storage, and delivery are taken care of thanks to services like Blurb and CreateSpace.
  • Creative writing is your passion, and you deserve to make money while doing something you enjoy.

Ready to live out your dreams of being a published author? These resources will help you on your way to the top:

8. Start a blog

Blogging has come a long way since its inception. What was once a virtual journal has now turned into a marketing and evenmonetisationtool.

Whether you make money from publishing sponsored posts, hosting third-party ads, or selling your products, a blog is a great online business idea.

The key to starting a successful blog is to build an engaged and loyal audience. When you start with an audience-centric approach, you’ll cultivate a community that trusts you. And when you can earn trust, you can start to drive revenue.

That’s howMr. Money Mustachestarted his popular personal finance blog. What began as a movement has turned into a successful online business idea that’s earned national media coverage.

Mr. Money Mustache business idea

Why start a blog?

  • Blogs have unlimited growth potential. You can expand into affiliate marketing, ecommerce, courses, and essentially any other online business idea. Some blogs even use a paid subscription model to drive revenue.
  • 博客是一个长期的玩。虽然你不会看到机汇ernight results, they are likely to be more sustainable. A blog lives on the internet forever—or at least until you delete it.
  • It lets you practice your writing—an essential skill to have in business and communication. Use tools likeGrammarlyorHemmingwayto improve your writing.

For more information on getting started, check out these articles:

9. Become a virtual assistant

Are you super organised and love working behind the scenes? If so, you might be the perfect candidate to start a virtual assistant (VA) business.

A VA helps entrepreneurs, businesses, and executives organise their personal and professional lives. There’s a broad spectrum of duties, ranging from appointment scheduling to basic marketing management and everything in between. And everything is done online.

Why become a VA?

  • Work with your ideal client. Even if you don’t know at the start, over time, you’ll find out who you love working with and what you love to do for them. You can evolve your online business idea to cater to those preferences.
  • Interact with people from all over the world. All you need is an internet connection to do your work, and you can have the chance to work with international clients and professionals.
  • 你的在线业务增长理念的网络VAs. If you become too busy or have growth goals, you can hire and train VAs to work under you and increase profits.

10. Try your hand at being an influencer

Influencer marketinghas exploded on the marketing scene, and though consumers are becoming savvier, there are still plenty of opportunities to be had.

Because influencers have gotten in hot water for dishonest practices, there’s been a movement toward micro-influencers—profiles with smaller but more engaged followings. Good news: you don’t need millions of followers toearn money on Instagram。

Why be an influencer?

  • It’s an opportunity to get an introduction to marketing—particularly valuable if you’re interested in pursuing that as a career or additional business venture.
  • You’ll learn about new and interesting brands. You might discover products and companies you love that you would never have found had they not solicited your services.
  • It’s so easy a monkey can do it. Well, not literally—but you can make your pet the star if you’re camera shy.

Here are our inspiring tips and stories to get you started as an influencer:

11. Build apps and websites

If you’re tech-savvy, acquire some coding skills and start building. Whether it’s mobile apps, Shopify apps, or websites, you can create digital products for purchase or as a service provider.

For example, you can create a customShopify themetemplate and sell it to merchants looking for an affordable DIY approach to designing their website. Or work with clients directly to build websites and apps tailored to their specific needs.

Why build apps and websites?

  • Technology isn’t going anywhere, and the demand for the technical skills necessary to build apps and websites will only continue to grow.
  • There’s an endless amount of platforms and systems out there. If you get bored of one, learn and transition to another.

For more information on building apps, check out these articles from Shopify Partners:

12. Launch a podcast

If you like the sound of your own voice, consider recording it for a podcast. Podcasts are one of the best unique online business ideas with multiple monetisation options, similar to starting a blog.

Here’s what you need tostart your podcast:

  • A high-quality microphone
  • Audio recording software
  • Call recording software

To promote your podcast, consider collaborating with prominent figures as guests on your show. Encourage listeners to leave reviews and share your podcast with their friends and family.

Why start a podcast?

  • Podcasts continue to grow in popularity. According toPodcast Insights, 55% of Americans have listened to a podcast.
  • A successful podcast can lead to endless possibilities: turn your episodes into a blog, solicit sponsors and advertisers, and make connections you would never have been able to before.

13. Sign up for affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketingis when you recommend a product or service by sharing it on a blog or social media, to your email list, on your website, or other channels. You earn a commission each time someone converts through your unique referral link or code.

Find an affiliate program that suits your interests, personal brand, and target audience.Affiliate Future,ShareASale, andFlexOffersare a few examples. Amazon offersits own affiliate program, and Shopify also offersShopify Affiliate Program。

Once you’ve signed up, start sharing. Create social media posts, blog articles, emails, and other content about how great the product or service you’re promoting is. Don’t oversaturate your audience with ads; otherwise, you risk coming across as spammy or inauthentic.

Why do affiliate marketing?

  • It’s easy! You likely already promote the products and services you use. Now, you can get paid for it.
  • Affiliate marketing is a great source of passive income. With the Shopify Affiliate Program, affiliates earn an average of $58 for each user who signs up for a paid plan and $2,000 for each Plus referral.

14. Curate subscription boxes

Subscription boxes are themed packages of various products. There are subscription boxes in almost every industry, from meal-prep kits and craft snacks to fitness products and makeup. You can curate subscription boxes around virtually any theme of your choice.

Bokksu, for example, curates Japanese snacks and sends them to customers each month.

Bokksu curated subscription box business idea

When you curate subscription boxes, you work with brands and artisans to purchase and resell their products in a bundled offering. Typically, consumers expect to be surprised by what’s in the box, though there are some (like meal prep kits) where the customer chooses what they receive.

Why curate subscription boxes?

  • It’s a viable seasonal business. Ironically, “subscription” boxes arepurchased as giftsmore often than for the buyer themselves. So if you’re only interested in running your online business for part of the year, this could be a model worth checking out.
  • It’s a growing industry.Subscription commerce sales grewfrom $57 million in 2011 to more than $2.6 billion in 2016. A 2021 report affirmed a further growth of upto $27.67 billion.
  • You don’t need to create your own products. Instead, you can use proven, successful products and pack them together nicely.

Interested in finding out how to start your subscription box business? Learn from these resources:

15. Develop a niche product

Niche products cater to a unique audience. When done well, they serve a specific community. If you recognise an opportunity in a certain niche, you might be on to your next successful online business idea.

Niches could be based on industry, demographic, price point, geography, values, product attributes, and more. Really, a niche could be anything specific enough to target a small group of potential customers. For example:

  • Conscious consumers: think vegan, sustainable, and eco-friendly products and brands.
  • Pet owners: you could even drill down by pet type.
  • Remote workers: these professionals have specific attributes different from the traditional office worker.

Why develop a niche product?

  • Niche products are unique and thus buzzworthy. Early success can be all you need todrive press coverage with zero budget。
  • Though niching down might be scary to some, choosing a specific target customer makes it easier to create marketing and messaging that resonates. Rather than trying to speak to a broad, diverse group, you’re talking to a group of individuals with lots of shared characteristics.

16. Create handmade goods

If you’re particularly crafty, you can try your hand atselling handmade products。你是否让珠宝、相框或furniture, one unique online business idea is enough to monetise your craft skills and sell your creations online.

While you can use platforms like Craigslist or Etsy, your own online store will give you more control and make it easier to track and fulfil orders.

Why sell handmade goods?

  • Devote as much or as little time as you want. It’s your choice on how big you want to grow.
  • Create on your schedule. Make your handmade goods on a set schedule, when you have spare time, or whenever you want.
  • Turn your passion into income. Like many onlinebusiness ideason this list, an entrepreneurial endeavour backed by passion leads to a more fulfilling experience.

Ready to find new homes for your handcrafts? Get started here:

How do I start an online business?

一旦你决定一个在线业务的想法,哟u’ll want to do your due diligence and, eventually, give it life. Here’s how to start a business, step-by-step:

  1. Validate your idea with market research
  2. Develop your product or service
  3. Set up your business finances
  4. Find vendors and suppliers
  5. Build your website
Template Icon

Shopify Academy Course: Sell Your Homemade Goods Online

Have a product you’re ready to sell? The Kular family shares their experience building a business around mom’s recipe book. From selling one-on-one to reaching the aisles of Whole Foods.

Enroll for free

1. Validate your idea with market research

It might sound harsh, but it’s true: just because you think you have a great idea, that doesn’t mean there’s a market for it.

Before giving wings to your online business idea and investing your time and energy into starting your business, research how feasible it is and whether there’s any potential buyer interest. You can hire an agency to conduct market research for you, but if you’re on a shoestring budget, you can also take the DIY approach:

2. Develop your product or service

You’ve validated your idea, and now it’s time to turn it into a reality. Whether you’re selling a product or service, you need to create it.Find a manufacturerto bring your product to life, create packages of your service offerings, or write your book and identify a self-publishing option to bring it to fruition.

If you go the dropshipping route, the product has already been developed for you. It’s up to you to choose the products you’re passionate about or that you’ve identified a hot market for. To help you, we’ve put together aguide to finding the best products to dropship。

Exchange Marketplace

Exchange Marketplace: Buy a Business

Exchange is the marketplace to kickstart your entrepreneurial dreams and buy a business. Browse thousands of stores for sale.

Browse websites for sale

3. Set up your business finances

“How do I open a business bank account?” is a common question for many new entrepreneurs. After you’ve officially registered your business with your local government, you should have the tax identification numbers and other information required to open a business bank account.

As you grow, you might need funding for future endeavours, be it a new product launch or marketing and advertising spend. Having business bank accounts makes it easier for you to manage that capital and track your revenue and expenses.

Having a bank account is also helpful for tax preparation since your business-related transactions will be in a single place. As your business finances get more complicated, hiring a professional accountant or tax professional could be viable.

Further reading:

4. Find vendors and suppliers

Product-based online business ideas, in particular, may require lots of business relationships—for example, a manufacturer, a dropshipper, or a third-party logistics coordinator. When identifying which partnerships you want to move forward with, it’s best to shop around and compare your options to ensure you’re getting the best solution for your needs.

Other online businesses may require different relationships or contractors. For example, if you’re writing a book, you may want to hire a professional editor and book designer.

5. Build your website

If you want to start a business online, you need a website, and to generate online sales, you’ll need to incorporate payment processing functionality.

First, choose a domain name and verify that it’s available. You can purchase a domain name for less than $20 a year in some cases. From there, you can build your own store on a platform like Shopify and start accepting payments from customers right away.

Here are a few other resources to help you get started with your ecommerce site:

It’s time to bring your online business idea to life.

If you've been thinking about ways to start an oline business, it's time to get out there and create an online money-making business in your spare time. You don’t have to go all in. Start small with aside hustleand scale from there. Or keep things small. The beauty of starting your own online business is that it’s all up to you.

Have questions about setting up your first online business? Let us know in the comments below.

Illustration by Eugenia Mello

FAQs about online business ideas

What are some best online business ideas in India?

Here are some profitable online business ideas:
  • Become an affiliate marketer in a familiar domain
  • Start a podcast and monetise it by charging a subscription fee
  • Offer writing, digital marketing or web development services online
  • Create and sell handmade products like jewellery, home decor or baked treats.

How to start online business from home?

First things first - find out why you want to start an online business. If you already have an online business idea, that’s great! If not, start with looking for gaps in the market and how you can solve a persistent problem.

If you’re planning on selling digital products or skill-based services, all you need to do is join a marketplace or create your website to get started.

What are some new online business ideas for students?

The list of new online business ideas is ever-growing, thanks to the internet. Acquiring new skills, connecting with a potential audience, and showcasing your work has become easier than ever.

You can:
  • Become an online influencer
  • Start an online proofreading or tutoring service
  • Create an informative or news website for students
  • Switch on a camera and create trending YouTube videos.

Are there online business ideas without investment?

Yes. Online business ideas without investment include blogging from home, reselling vintage or refurbished items or selling online courses for skills you excel in.

Topics:
Business Ideas

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