5 Profitable Online Business Ideas
If you’re interested in starting your own business this year, then let’s get you started! The first step is to choose a profitable business idea.
Now, you might not feel like you have a lot of good options… afterall, if you don’t have any advanced technical skills then what would people want to pay you for?
I know this is how I felt when I started my own online business about six years ago! I was constantly hearing that to make money online I needed to “give value to others” and that “the more value I gave, the more I would earn.”
But… I didn’t really feel like I had any “value” to offer.
(Spoiler: I was wrong! I just didn’t fully understand my options yet.)
In this article you’ll learn 5 profitable business ideas that you can start TODAY — meaning that you’ll be able to start earning money with them immediately, with only your current skills. Even if you don’t think you have any “current skills.”
Okay, let’s get this list started with your first option:
#1 Start a Job Servicing Business
Let’s get this list started with an opportunity that you can easily start with ZERO experience, is HIGHLY profitable, and gets almost no attention at all.
What is it? It’s a business idea called “Job Servicing.”
Job Servicing is kind of like running an agency — except you don’t have to deal with the expense or hassle of managing employees.
What is Job Servicing? Job servicing is a business model that involves outsourcing client work to skilled service providers and profiting from the difference between your company’s rates and the rates of your subcontractors.
In short, here’s how it works:
You choose a service that people want to pay for. For example, video editing. This service doesn’t have to be something super unique or niche — just a common service that there’s solid demand for.
You find people who want to purchase this service. For example: YouTubers who want to purchase video editing services.
You find quality freelancers who provide this service and outsource the work to them. This is quite easy to do with freelance websites like Fiverr and Upwork.
You outsource the job, get paid by your customer, pay the freelancer, and pocket the difference as profit.
Okay, so now that you understand the basics, let’s run through an example scenario:
You decide to specialize in video editing. You don’t personally have that skill, but that’s completely alright because there are plenty (hundreds of thousands) of freelancers who can complete the work for you.
You reach out to YouTubers and ask if they need help editing. You can find the email addresses of many YouTubers on the “About” page of their channels. For best results, I’d recommend you start by emailing 100 YouTubers to guarantee you land at least a few clients.
You create a Fiverr or Upwork account and hire a video editor — I’d recommend that you test out a few to find at least one who does great work that your clients will love.
You charge each client $100/video, and pay the freelancer editors their fees of $30 – $50 per video.
You earn $50+ per video project.
If your new clients produce an average of 4 videos/month each, then each client earns you $200/month. Ten clients will earn you $2,000/month, or 50 clients will generate $10,000/month.
You don’t have to have any editing skills or do any of the work yourself — just find the clients, facilitate the transactions, and manage the projects!
Before you start any business, it’s important that you write a business plan. But I know what you’re thinking — writing a business plan sounds like a lot of work, and maybe you have no idea where to get started!
But this step is so important, because “failing to plan is planning to fail.” And I don’t want that to happen to you.
Fortunately, writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated — or take very long at all! Here’s a free template you can use to write yours in just 30-60 minutes:
#2 Start a Virtual Assistant Service Business
Freelancing is one of the simplest and most common ways to earn a living online — but you can’t freelance unless you have a valuable skill to offer.
However, there are a few jobs that are simple and don’t require any technical skills. In fact, you can do these jobs if you are just moderately organized, reliable, and a good communicator.
One of the businesses you can start that falls into this category is a virtual assistant service business.
A virtual assistant is someone who helps out with miscellaneous, easy tasks in a business — and does so from the comfort of their own home (and, frequently, on their own schedule as well).
What is a virtual assistant? A virtual assistant is generally self-employed and provides professional administrative, technical, or creative assistance to clients remotely from a home office. (Wikipedia)
Here’s how to become a virtual assistant:
Assess your skills to determine what you might be able to help clients with. (These might include skills like answering emails, researching, writing blog posts, managing calendars, proofreading, social media management, or customer service. Our free Virtual Assistant in 30 Days guide includes a complete list of virtual assistant skills and services you can provide.)
Network in entrepreneurship Facebook groups, introducing yourself as a virtual assistant.
Reach out to potential clients and ask if they need help with any of the services you provide.
Create profiles on freelance websites, such as www.upwork.com and www.freelancer.com
Bid on freelance jobs.
Start working with your first clients and making money online!
For a complete plan for becoming a virtual assistant within the next 30 days, download our free guide here:
#3 Become a YouTuber
You might think that “becoming a YouTuber” is a pipe dream that you’ll never be lucky enough to achieve, but… guess again.
YouTube is a great way to earn a living online by creating videos about whatever YOU are truly interested in. It used to be a bit more of a lottery, but now that YouTube has perfected their algorithm, it has become possible to get very predictable results on the platform.
We’ve experimented with a variety of methods for getting views, attracting subscribers, and growing channels on YouTube, and have discovered that the Creator Fast Track method creates the fastest and most consistent results.
If you’re interested in becoming a YouTuber and making a living as a video creator, then sign up for our free, on-demand YouTube strategy workshop now:
#4 Start a Print-on-Demand Business
A print-on-demand business sells items that only get manufactured after they’re purchased by a customer. This means that you, as the business owner, don’t have to worry about purchasing or storing inventory, making this a very low-risk and high-profit type of business.
As with the rest of the ideas on this list, you won’t need any experience or technical skills to start a print-on-demand business. And you can get it up and running in just a few days!
Here’s an overview of how a print-on-demand business makes money:
First, you find or design a product to sell.
Next, you set the product up for sale with a print-on-demand service, such as Printify.
Then, you list that product on a marketplace platform, such as Amazon or Etsy, or on your own website.
Whenever a customer purchases one of your products, the manufacturer (such as Printify) will create the product and automatically ship it to your new customer.
You earn the difference between the price you charge and the cost of the product.
Here’s an example of how this might play out:
You decide to sell t-shirts for mamas-to-be, with cute sayings on the tummy area. You’re not really sure what the designs should say or look like, but you have plenty of ideas after a bit of browsing on Pinterest.
You mock up a design using Canva (a free graphic design software), then upload it to Printify and use it to create a t-shirt.
Then, you create an Etsy account, connect your Printify account, and list your new product for $24. Since Printify charges $16 per shirt ($10 + $6 shipping) you earn $8 for every shirt that’s sold.
From there, you focus on marketing your products and creating new designs!
These are the basics of how this process works with Printify and Etsy, but you can also do something very similar with Amazon’s “Merch by Amazon” service, which allows you to create and sell products all on Amazon’s website.
Does this sound like the right option for you? Then get started now with your first step: writing a simple business plan! It doesn’t have to be complicated.
#5 Start a Dropshipping Business
Here’s one more great opportunity to consider — starting a dropshipping business!
Drop shipping is similar to print-on-demand, except it opens the doors to a much larger variety of products. Instead of just being limited to t-shirts, mugs, stickers, and other printed products, with dropshipping you can sell literally any type of product available.
What is drop shipping? Drop shipping is a form of retail business wherein the seller accepts customer orders but does not keep goods sold in stock. (Wikipedia)
Here’s how dropshipping works:
You set up an online store, using a website builder like Shopify. Then you find products (that are already being manufactured) that you’d like to sell. You register with the manufacturer as a drop shipper, then list the products on your website. Whenever a sale is made, the manufacturer ships the product directly to the customer. You earn a profit that equals the difference between the price you’re selling the product for and the cost of the product.
As you can see, this is another business model that allows you to sell products without having to carry any inventory yourself — which eliminates most of the risk and hassle commonly associated with running a retail business.
Here’s an overview of how to setup your drop shipping business:
choose a niche
find “ready” to ship Alibaba products –
click “ready to ship”
choose category
select product
analyze seller
contact seller about how to set up drop shipping with them
set up a Shopify website
Add the products from your manufacturer
Market your products using Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook/Instagram ads
Conclusion
There you have it! My top 5 profitable online business ideas. If you’re interested in starting your own business this year, then let’s get you started! The first step is to choose a profitable business idea, and download my free online business plan!
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