Running an online business sounds appealing for many reasons, such as planning your own time and deciding how to grow and develop your business without anyone telling you what to do.
On the other hand, starting an online startup also comes with a set of challenges. Building a business from zero is hard work because you have to deal with all of the legal issues, build a website, and look for the most effective ways to connect your target audience to your brand.
However, having a good business idea that has potential makes the process of reaching your target audience much easier. Therefore in this article, we will share seven great ideas for an online startup.
Idea #1: Start Your Own T-Shirt Line
If you like creating designs for products, releasing your own t-shirt line can be both fun and financially beneficial. Printify has an extensive print-on-demand catalog. In fact, the monthly amount of orders Printify stores have received in June 2020 exceeded 400,000. Therefore, you can browse between many different styles of t-shirts or pick any other product you like.
This way, you will be creating something original and also save a lot of money because of all the benefits a print-on-demand platform can bring. By using a POD service, you will not have to pay upfront for large quantities of items, and the processes of production and delivery will be taken care of for you.
Idea #2: Sell Your Artwork
If you are a photographer, graphic designer, painter, or musician, you can find multiple ways to make money from your artwork online.
For example, you could start a website to sell the prints of your art as posters. Many people like to purchase posters because it helps spice up the interior and does not cost as much as an original painting or photograph would. Also, you can sell your art on websites like Etsy or launch a Facebook shop.
Idea #3: Build an Online Course
Building an online course does not require significant financial investments, but it takes some time. Having it in mind that the video content is the most engaging nowadays, you will probably want to incorporate it into your course. However, video editing is time-consuming.
On the other hand, when you finally finish and launch your online course, you will have a great source of passive income because you will be able to sell the same course repeatedly.
Idea #4: Become a Freelancer
If you have great skills in a certain field like writing, graphic design, or programming, you can easily create a portfolio and start working as a freelancer.
Depending on the niche you are in, you can advertise yourself on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Also, you can gain more visibility by registering for such websites as Dribbble to share your artwork.
To find your first customers, you can participate in logo contests and browse the listings on freelancer websites like Upwork.
Idea #5: Start a Blog
There was a time when blogs were very popular, but the main point of these blogs was writing a virtual journal. Then, for some time, blogs were out of sight, and recently, they have come back as new platforms for monetization and marketing approaches.
There are plenty of ways you can earn money from a blog. You can run sponsored ads, publish guest posts, write sponsored reviews, promote another business of your own, or even start selling merchandise.
Idea #6: Start an Influencer’s Career
If you follow some super popular influencers with hundreds of millions of followers, it may seem utopic to think that you could become an influencer and ever earn a profit out of it.
Influencer marketing has been popular and growing for a few years now. Thus, many big influencers have lost the trust of their followers due to too many dishonest reviews. Therefore, micro-influencers generate better engagement rates and are more appreciated by brands nowadays, so there is a great chance for you as well.
Idea #7: Create Hand-Crafted Items
If crafts are your thing, you can earn a great deal of money from them by selling hand-made products. Your product could be anything, starting from unique hand-made clothing and ending with hand-crafted dream catchers.
To sell your items, you can use such websites as Craigslist or Etsy at first because it will bring you more attention. Later on, if your products are successful, you can think about creating a Facebook shop or launching your own online store.
Also, make sure you ask your customers to write reviews for you. This way, you will be able to create social proof and appear more trustworthy.