Beware! The ideas presented in this article might change your life (in fact, one of them has changed my life!) You might only require minimal travel. You don’t even need to own a computing device. You can borrow your friends’ and colleagues’, go to public library offering internet access, or go to internet cafe.
However, listen – there is no business opportunities requiring no work to get them up and running! Although you don’t need something to invest into the business and expertise in certain technical skills, you do need some knowledge about Internet, willingness to learn and much creativity juice. Hard work is a requirement!
So, are you ready? If so, here are 10 of many small business ideas you can turn into reality today with nothing down:
1. Consulting / selling your expertise
A cliche, no? Well, a bit, but consulting is THE business you can start right away capitalizing on what you know – without any startup capital. You don’t have to be a biz or tech whiz to start a consulting business. Here’s an example for you: Do you know how to build chicken coops and raise chickens at your backyard? You can ‘sell’ your expertise and make a decent small business out of it (yes, just try to Google this and you’ll see what I mean…)
2. Content writing
Yet another cliche… despite the fierce competition, you can do things better on a higher ground: Instead of writing for a client, you can start a business employing writers while serving the always-hungry market for quality content, online and offline: Sales letters, pitches, articles/blog posts, book writing, etc. You don’t have to spend a dime on the business; what you need to do well is searching for talents and spotting the right one… THEN you can start looking for clients on many free-of-charge media and get the job done by your team. Simple, yet powerful.
3. Online promotion/marketing
Similar to #2, you can establish a business employing freelancers to serve clients looking to enhance their business websites’ visibility on search engines. You can laser-target your niche, establishing a business offering local business promotion, optimizing location-specific businesses to that their websites can enjoy great visibility on Google Places and many other local business listings. Alternatively, you can partner with SEO/Internet marketing firms offering reseller program. No investment, no technical skills required, but requiring a lot of work in building credibility.
4. Video production and marketing
Again, you can start video production and marketing business by employing service providers. Here’s a spoiler: Use Fiverr.com (and similar websites.) You will find great talents trying to make a name and build credibility by offering their services for as low as $5. Yes – you can, for instance, get someone talented to shoot a video of him/her read a script to promote your clients’ business. You can then promote the video – also using people’s services on Fiverr.com. Since you will need to pay them, you need to get at least a down payment from your client to get things rolling. Again, no investment, no technical skills required.
5. Mobile phone disposal
Especially in the UK, mobile phone disposal is on the rise. While starting one might require some amount of investment, starting a used mobile phone collection business is not; you can search your neighbourhood for used mobile phone, and you might surprised that there are many people having their old mobile phones stashed in the attic uselessly. They will be ecstatic knowing that someone will ‘dispose’ the mobile phones for them, free of charge. You can then deliver the phones to reputable mobile phone disposal business and will give you cash in return. Want to do something more creative? You can also promise them that you will get them money for their junk mobile phones – how? Well, you could take a commission out of the sales of the old mobile phones.
6. Virtual assistant business
With the mobile technology, you can do many things on the go. This has elevated the importance of virtual assistants. You can establish a small business offering assistance for both business and personal needs. You can help your clients doing chores for them, or – again – employ freelancers to leverage your resources.
7. Blogging Business
Ah, my favourite, as always! You can start one for free – just join WordPress.com, Blogger.com or other blog network. You can then blog about something useful for your readers – and perhaps make money by selling affiliate products or displaying ads from an ad network. Want to generate revenue via AdSense? Try Blogger.com; it is Google’s, so it’s AdSense-friendly. When the time comes, you can re-invest your money to buy your blog a good domain name and a hosting account, and move your blog to the new location. This will enhance the credibility of your blog, as well as starting your journey in building your blog brand and enjoy more opportunities coming to your way.
8. Travel agency
Did you know that many – if not most – travel agencies today partner with travel and accommodation sites, like Agoda? You can do so, too! You can help your clients in seeking the best deals. For such purpose, you can also join affiliate programs, such as the one offered by HotelsCombined.com – helping clients seeking the best deals on hotels, sourcing data from dozens of major hotel booking sites.
9. Social media management
Are you an avid social media user? Well, you are in luck; social media is said to be a strong contender in replacing SEO and link building. Whilst I can’t confirm the truth of the statement, it’s obvious that social media plays a huge role in getting businesses exposed to millions of people. With that being said, companies are now active on several social media sites, typically Twitter and Facebook. You can jump into the middle and start a business offering them social media management: You can help other businesses to engage their fans and followers, acquire new ones, even launch campaigns. No monetary investment, just your time.
10. Reputation management
Similar to #9, but so different in the details; starting a reputation management business means you take your time to search the web and seek whether there are mentions about your clients’ business that can potentially damaging their reputation. This is not an easy business to start, but if you can partner with the right people, who might include hackers, you can, for instance, push down pages containing negative remark about your clients from the search engine result pages.
Now it’s your turn – what’s the best business idea to add on #11?
Ivan Widjaya
Small business ideas for bootstrappers