The idea of starting a business sounds scary to some, especially when they think of how much money is needed to kick-start the business. There’s also the worry of risks and debts that may be incurred in the process of starting up.
Luckily, the world is going digital and there’s an array of businesses you can not just start without money, but also from the comfort of your home. You no longer have to worry about having a huge capital or finding investors for your business.
You should research your preferred business niche and try to find a suitable market for your products or services as the case may be.
Here are 50 businesses you can start without money:
1 . Blogging
If you are of the notion that blogging is not the kind of business that brings in the big bucks, you may need to have a rethink. Blogging can earn you a lot of money as long as you are consistent enough to reach the point where you can monetize it.
Luckily for you, you can blog about anything, but if you’re looking to make money fast, you might want to do some keyword research first. Ensure to acquire the right blogging skill and follow the trends. You can start by following blogging case studies on Reddit.
2. Freelance Writing
You can easily become a freelance writer if your writing skills are good and exceptional. All that is required is to find some sites or clients who are in need of your writing skills. You can freelance from anywhere in the world, even in the comfort of your home. A good place to start would be Upwork, Freelancer or Fiverr.
3. eBook Author
You may be surprised to know that there are a lot of opportunities for writers in this digital age. You can write your books and self-publish them with no stress. Some sites allow you to publish for free and they get their cut when you start making sales. It’s easy, right?
4. Affiliate Marketing
If you have marketing skills, then this one’s for you. You just have to find someone who has a digital product to sell, you get a unique, trackable payment link from the seller and you share this link with potential customers. Now, every time someone buys using your unique payment link, you get a percentage of the money paid. It could be 20% or more, you just need to know how to attract customers.
5. Social Media Influencing
If you are consistent with the use of social media and have been able to build a huge follower base, you can become an influencer for brands. You charge brands a certain amount as agreed and you help them put up posts on your page to gain recognition for the brands and convert potential customers.
6. Social Media Management
This is for the social media gurus who know their onions. Most businesses and brands that have social media accounts have issues with consistency or creating time to keep their followers updated.
You can take this job off their hands and help them manage their social media accounts. Of course, you’ll get paid while doing what you know how to do best. Start by reaching out to small businesses in your community and offering your services for an affordable monthly retainer.
7. YouTube
With a good internet connection and a passion for filming, you can earn good money from YouTube. Just as with blogging, you have to be consistent in dropping relatable videos and gain a substantial number of followers and views to be able to monetize your account. You might want to check our post on the best video editors.
8. Start a Podcast
Podcasts have gained huge popularity and more people are leaning towards it by creating new shows in a bid to leverage themselves as industry experts, build an audience, gain exposure, etc. You can start your Podcast channel on basically any topic you’re passionate about.
Podcast requires zero capital to start-up, all that is needed is consistency and quality content. With time, you can monetize it.
9. Errand Services
If you have free time and looking to make quick cash, running errands might just be for you. You can run errands like grocery shopping while charging based on how complex and time-consuming the errand is. A good place to start, if you have a car, is Instacart; you would mostly be shopping for groceries and delivering to people’s homes.
10. Virtual Assistant
It is a digital world and most businesses are going digital. Being a virtual assistant is a remote work you can do from the comfort of your home or anywhere. You will do the things a regular assistant does but this time, virtually and digitally. You might want to check freelance platforms like Upwork for your first gig.
11. Business Consultation
If you have a vast knowledge of the business world, your business knowledge can make you money if you become a business consultant. As a consultant, you will charge people for advising them on how to start and grow their businesses.
12. Graphic Designer
As a graphic designer, all you need is a good laptop, Photoshop, Corel Draw, and other applications that will make your work easier. You can design logos, flyers, and posters for clients. This pays well depending on how good your work is and your client’s worth. You can land your first graphics design gig on Fiverr.
13. Web Designing
Web designing is a skill you can learn online, for free (to some extent) and in turn, use the skills acquired to start-up a designing business. You can design websites for brands and businesses remotely for a fee. Start by approaching small businesses around you and ask to build their websites at an affordable fee.
14. Tutor
Whether physically or virtually, you can become a tutor if you are academically qualified or have the experience. All that is required of you is knowledge of the subject matter, students, and a comfortable time and place for you and your students.
15. Personal Trainer/Fitness Coach
You can leverage your muscles and toned body to make money. A lot of people are willing to jump on the fitness train but are too lazy or just can’t find the time. You can search for such people and become their personal trainer.
16. Music Coach
If you know quite a lot about music and are a good musician yourself, you can use your skills and knowledge to make money. There are children and adults alike who have interests in music and require a coach to brush up their skills.
17. Dog Walking
A lot of dog owners love to care for their dogs but just don’t have the time. If you have free time, you can become a dog walker for a fee per dog. The only skill required is a love for dogs, and maybe how to handle them.
18. Baby Sitting
If you love babies, have space in your home and time, then you can make money off it. You just have to tend to each baby properly and keep them engaged. You can earn money daily, weekly, or monthly from this, as you wish. Be sure to check with your city on permits before starting this business.
19. Interior decoration
If you have a flair for decoration, arts and furniture arrangement, you can easily become an interior decorator. You can decorate homes, restaurants, and offices, all that is required is to build a strong clientele base and learn some decorating tricks to boost your skills.
20. Translator
Some people learn languages in their spare time, if you are on this list, you can make money translating articles, books, or audio files into desired languages.
21. Ghost Writing
A lot of authors out there have their books written by other people. You can become a ghostwriter by writing books or articles for other people, though they take the credit for it, you can earn a lot from this.
22. Proofreading and Editing
If you have an eye for details and your language knowledge is exceptional, you can edit and proofread for writers for either a fixed price or bargained amount.
23. Resume Writer
You can write resume/CVs for people if that is your writing niche. Of course, you’ll have to write professional and worthy resumes for people so you’ll be referred.
24. Voice over artist
If you have the sort of voice that makes people pay attention, you can become a voice-over artist. All you have to do is record yourself saying lines given to you by a client to advertise their brand, products, or services.
25. Baker
Baking can be fun and if you are good at it, you don’t need a shop to make money from baking. People value homemade food over store-bought ones. You can bake at home, put it online, and sell to interested customers. If you are good, they’ll come back for more. Check out this cookie page on Instagram for some inspiration.
26. Snow Plowing
This business is perfect for people who live in countries where it snows a lot, you can make a living from plowing snow off lawns and on the roads. You can either use your existing snowplow or that of your client. You can switch to mowing lawns during summer and blowing leaves during autumn.
27. Pet Sitting
When pet owners travel, they worry about how their pets will be taken care of in their absence. This is where you come in; you can earn money from taking care of pets until their owners return. They also provide you with all of the things their pets will need for the time they spend with you, so you are not spending out of your pocket plus you will be paid.
28. Event Coordinator
If you have been helping your friends and family plan dinners and small house parties, then this is your chance to monetize it. Family and friends can patronize you, also referrals will help you grow.
29. Personal Chef
If cooking is your hobby, you can become a personal chef for people who don’t have the time to cook or who just hate cooking. You can take advantage of this by helping them prepare their meals on-demand. With time, you can venture into providing catering services for events.
30. Handyman Services
If you are good with tools and DIY repairs, you can make money from being a handyman. You’ll help with minor home repairs, fixing, or installations.
31. Rentals
If you have plenty of space with no occupants, you can rent out space or even make it a sort of lodge, where you provide food and accommodation for people who only want to spend a little time in your city. Think Airbnb.
32. House Cleaning
For most people, cleaning is such a chore and they simply hate to do it. If you like to clean and see spaces neat and sparkling, don’t just sit at home and clean all day. You can help people clean their homes at your convenience and for a good fee.
33. Window Cleaning
Like house cleaning, people don’t like to clean their windows and find it very stressful. You can take this chore off their hands and make money. You don’t have to restrict yourself to homes only, shops and offices also require window cleaning services.
34. Upcycling
If you are creative, you can upcycle waste items like plastics, glass, cans, and paper into something nice, useful, and attractive and put them up for sale. A lot of people are now interested in upcycled materials and you will readily find a market for it. You can go on eBay to get some ideas and also find a market.
35. Travel Booking Service Provider
Travel reservations and booking can be a hassle for people with a busy schedule, you can help people make all their travel arrangements – bookings, flight, hotel room, and every detail of their travel. You just have to find a reliable travel agency website that offers good deals.
36. Gardening Services
You can help other people tend to their gardens or even help them grow and maintain gardens. Gardens beautify the home and most people want it but just can’t bring themselves to go through the stress of gardening. If you also have a garden of your own, you can sell the flowers or vegetables grown in your garden.
37. Landscaping
If you live in an environment where there are overgrown plants and unkempt lawns, you can offer to take care of these. You just have to be good with a lawnmower/shears and advertise yourself to your community members.
38. Drive for Uber
This is quite easy; with a driving license, you can make money driving for Uber or other taxi companies. You don’t need a car of your own to start-up this business, you can simply rent from a friend/rental and pay from the proceeds of the business.
39. Bicycle Repair
If you are a bicycle expert, you can repair bicycles for a fee. You can also help people store their bicycles or watch over them. Your target market includes people into cycling, you can also offer them maintenance service, storage, etc.
40. Door-to-door Delivery
Some businesses cannot afford to have delivery buses or vehicles, you can offer your service to them and help them deliver their products to their customers at home or offices. It is an added advantage if you have a bike or a minivan at your disposal.
41. Tour Guide
If you are familiar with the nooks and crannies of your city, you can become a tour guide. You can put up your services online and tourists visiting your city can reach out to you. It also helps if you are multilingual; if you can speak and understand your indigenous language and the tourists’ languages.
42. Car Cleaning
You can easily start a car cleaning business right in front of your home with no start-up capital required. You just need soap, a hose and clean running water, a brush, and a sign that says you clean cars.
43. Property Management
It is quite a common phenomenon for people to own properties in another city or country while they live somewhere else. You can manage these properties and see to their maintenance. If the clients want to put up the properties for sale or lease, you can also act as the middleman between a potential customer and the client, and at the end of the deal, you get your commission.
44. Packing/Moving Service
Some of us just love to pack and we are good at it. If you love to pack, you can help people who want to travel or move to another house pack up their belongings and even unpack and arrange their stuff when they get to the new house. If you also have a van or a car, you can move the belongings in your vehicle and charge them the combined fees.
45. Referrals
There are some brands and businesses that pay for referrals. That is, you refer people to patronize a particular brand or business and you will be paid a certain amount of money per person you refer.
46. Hairdressing/ Hairstyling
If you are good at hair styling or hair treatments, you can start a hair business without having a salon. You can offer home services and still earn as much as a salon owner or even more.
47. Make-up Artist
You might want to put all of the knowledge you’ve gained from those YouTube tutorials you watch and monetize it. You also don’t have to have a studio and all of the necessary products. You can start small with basic, simple makeup for clients in their homes and with time, you can have a professional make-up box and studio.
48. Personal Styling
With a good fashion sense, you can become a personal stylist. A lot of celebrities and elites employ personal stylists to help them choose outfits for events.
49. Dropshipping
This involves selling goods for a business directly to customers without actually stocking any physical products. It will seem like the business has an inventory of its own but it is the manufacturer that is the source of delivery. All you have to do is fulfill the delivery of every order placed.
50. Stock Photographer
Although most photography businesses require a studio and studio equipment, with a good camera and internet connection, you can take pictures and sell them on stock photo websites.
Generally, there’s no need to take a loan or even have employees or helping hands to start up. All that is required of you is a smartphone or a laptop, certain skills and you are on your way to earning money without any capital or investment. Bear in mind that you will need to find a niche that suits your skills and abilities to make it easier for you to excel in the business you choose to venture into.