Pocket-Friendly Startup Business Ideas with High-Profit Potential

Many young entrepreneurs dream of turning their idea into lucrative businesses. However, starting and growing a business requires capital.

As a result of this requirement, some people with an entrepreneurial spirit fail to pursue their business dream because they can’t raise the required capital and can’t access a bank loan without collateral.

This article has been prepared to enlighten people who want to start a business but they have little or no funding.

Here are 30 ideas that will inspire your entrepreneurial passion.

Content Creation: Today creative professionals such as graphic designers and writers have seen increased attention as a result of the 24-hour news cycle and social media. In fact, this field is experiencing a perfect storm of opportunity and content creators can now earn a decent income using their talents to generate high-quality, shareable content for media outlets and businesses. Further, the growing gig economy of contract workers and freelance is making it easier for content creators to market themselves as professional service providers.

Affiliate Marketing: It’s easy and cheap to start an affiliate marketing business but it’s a field that requires a long-term vision and dedication to be successful. This is a business that involves promoting other brands’ offerings and earning a commission from every generated lead and sales. To get started, you can create a website or a blog and then select a specific brand, service or product that you want to promote. Also growing your following and site visitors increase the number of customers purchasing products and services through your affiliate link or from your affiliate partners.

Virtual Assistant: Do you have good organizational skills? If so, you can start a personal assistant business targeting entrepreneurs who want to focus on high-return tasks such as growing their sales and generating revenues. In other words, these business persons want to outsource front-desk functions or secretarial to persons working from home. Such remote workers can track calendars perform clerical work and make flight arrangements for many clients at the comfort of their homes.

App Developer: An individual experienced and knowledgeable in technology can start an app development business. Actually, because smartphones have become part of people’s life thus increased demand for apps. Still, the availability and popularity of virtual reality software has grown in recent years and so is the VR app development.

Event Planning/Organizing Services: Wedding, graduation, anniversary, bar/bat mitzvahs or business-related occasions are some of the common events that are hard to plan. In fact, some people lack the inclination or the time to contact caterers, decorators, bands, DJs, etc. so if you’re an organized person then you do it for them. Begin with small, home-based parties for children such as graduation or birthday parties. Next, shift to bar/bat mitzvahs and big weddings because such big events have high competition. They are also logistically demanding, quite complex and major life events that you can’t afford to mess. So starting with small kiddy parties will help you learn the loops and gain the confidence needed in planning bigger events.

Concierge/Errand Service: The majority of working parents find it hard to manage their professional responsibilities and taking care of their children.  As a result, such parents are left with little to no time to take care of their personal errands like mailing packages, making returns at the mall, grocery shopping and more. Starting a business to assist them to run these time-consuming errands can help them use their free time on important things in their life. All that you need is to add travel expenses when setting your rates which can be by the task or hourly.

Social Media Consultant: Large companies hire either full-time staff members or agencies to run their social media such as Twitter, Facebook or blogs. On the other hand, small businesses don’t have the budget to pay for such resources and so they do it themselves. However, because of so many responsibilities, such companies have no time to interact with their followers or they lack a great social media strategy. So by becoming a consultant you can help them determine the best tactics, generate content for their target audience and schedule posts. It’s important to note that your business will grow as the company’s follower counts grow.

Start a Podcast: Today many people listen to podcasts than years before. Joe Rogan for example was paid $100, million before accepting to move his podcast to Spotify. You too can earn a good income if you engage in podcasting. The first step is to sign up for podcast hosting or service that stores and distributes your audio files to networks like Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher, iTunes, etc. To get started invest in the right equipment, software podcast hosting.

Online Coaching and Courses: Sharing knowledge or expertise has become easier because you can do that via online course platforms. Are you passionate about something or a subject matter expert? If so you can earn a substantial income by offering online coaching classes. You can do that by setting up a podcast, or a Facebook page where you connect with people or students looking for online coaching classes. Still, you can register with online platforms such as Teachable and Thinkific and start coaching right away.

Test Prep Coach: Getting the right school can be stressful. However, you can help by becoming a test prep coach. Specialization is key and so it’s advisable to focus on one or two tests, study and practice them so that your knowledge and results can be truly outstanding. You don’t need previous experience for you to get a coaching job because parents are looking for individuals who understand the subjects well. Further diligent preparation for the tests increases the scores and one-on-one tutoring can be what your students need to a high score. You can start by promoting your business on every offline and online bulletin board accessible to you such as libraries, schools and coffee shops.  You can put ads on Craigslist or contact guidance counsellors.

Personal Chef: This involves planning and preparing daily or weekly meals for clients. It’s a perfect pocket-friendly startup business idea for individuals with working knowledge of special diets, nutrition, and strong cooking skills. While you don’t a bachelor degree from culinary school, having some cooking classes can boost your credibility. Also, you will travel a lot between client homes and supermarkets but customers pay for ingredients and service.

Web Development: The internet has become part of people’s day-to-day life and so there are 4 billion internet users across the globe. Businesses have not been left behind and as a result 6 out of 10 of them have a website. That means there are several businesses either locally or international that require the service of a front-end web developer. Creating websites for your friends and family can get you started. Actually, there are several new businesses that are looking for efficient coders but at relatively lower prices and you could be one of them. So web development is a perfect fit if you have basic coding skills or computer languages such as JavaScript, CSS and HTML.

Translation Services: Are you fluent in a second language? If so, you can find work to convert spoken and written words from language to language. For instance, the increased number of non-English speakers and broadening international ties have increased the number of people or companies looking for translation services. So you can start offering independent service and look for translation opportunities in schools, conference centres, courtrooms, hospitals and businesses.

Transcription Services: If you can type quickly and has a good ear then transcription is your perfect business opportunity. A transcriber can work from home because it has a flexible schedule. One of the popular transcription opportunities is medical transcription. You can become a certified transcriptionist and jump into a few specialties.

Bookkeeping Services: There are several freelance bookkeeping opportunities because of the increased number of businesses launched every year. So an individual with a knack for numbers and some accounting knowledge can generate good revenue from this business. An outsourced bookkeeper processes payroll, create balance sheets, issues financial statements and maintains filing systems and accounting software.

Blogging: The majority of online businesses are service-oriented. They involve selling your time by engaging in opportunities such as consulting and coaching, your own products such as SaaS, or another person’s products such as ads, or affiliate marketing. A blog can be profitable because it involves selling all three things. Actually, you can create a website and sell all these products and other digital resources such as affiliate programs, SEO consulting services and more.

Digital Marketing Services: Individuals with experience in the marketing field can start a low-cost business idea. Still, individuals without such a background can hone their skills using online courses such as those available on YouTube. This is an ever-evolving field and so are opportunities, so an individual with excellent storytelling and conversant with SEO can start a digital market agency cheaply and quickly.

Instagram Influencer: Consumers turn to the internet whenever they want to purchase a product. Actually, they highly esteem recommendations from niche influencers such as those found in social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Catering to the needs of a small, engaged community can earn you some decent income. In fact, what is important is not follower counts but it’s the engagement you have with the fan base. So carefully choose your niche based on your passion so that you can be able to generate high-quality content. This can be fitness, beauty, marketing or tech gadgets. Next, build your following by posting interesting content and engage them in discussions. Use social marketing tools to schedule your content or post in order to ensure consistency. Brands will start to partner with you when you build a strong following via sponsored content/posts or ads.

Graphic Design: Companies are concerned about their brand image and so they are constantly looking out for graphic designers. They are interested in services such as designing marketing collateral like logos, posters, banners, websites, landing pages and more. You can get started by joining freelance platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, Flexjobs, etc.  You also pitch to small businesses in your area and leverage graphic design software like Photoshop, InDesign and Adobe. Still, you can opt for user-friendly online

Resume Writer: Many people are not conversant with writing resumes and so they don’t enjoy writing them. Becoming a resume writer requires a computer and the skill to tweak your clients’ resumes at a fee. You can also sign up and market your skills in freelance platforms like Upwork or Fiverr as well as on social media.

Home Care Service: An individual with a background in hospitality and care can start a business to support housebound seniors in need of in-home care. The service has a high demand because of the growing number of 85 and above population and the rising number of centenarians. These individuals require assistance and care in their own homes, run their errands, and carry out some repairs around their homes. Additionally, you can help them transit from their homes to assisted living facilities like helping them pack, transport, settle and store their possessions.

Pet Sitting: Almost two-thirds of families in the US have a pet. These families need someone to sit with their pets when they go away on holiday or walk them when they are at work or in school. Therefore a pet sitter watches over clients’ dogs, rabbits, cats and more at their house. They also feed them, play with them, give them water, walk them and spend time with them at a fee. Further, the client needs regular updates about their pet. Some pet owners might also allow you to work on your laptop as you spend time with their pets. This means that you can run two businesses simultaneously.

Food Truck: The Covid-19 pandemic has restricted the number of people doing outdoor dining and so aspiring restaurateurs can succeed if they take advantage of this new normal. Food trucks serve different snacks and cuisines and come in all sizes and shapes. So a person can use their favorite style of food to target hungry customers as well as connect with entrepreneurs with similar interests.

Video Producer: Many influencers, companies, and potential YouTube celebrities are using videos to promote their brands, products and services. However, some of these individuals don’t have enough equipment and skills to produce high-quality videos. An experienced video producer can start a business to help such individuals and businesses create videos.

Cleaning Service: A person passionate about cleaning can open a cleaning business and hire few staff members, purchase cleaning supplies and equipment. Some of your prospective clients are apartment complexes, homeowners and commercial properties. A cleaning service business has relatively little overhead but good planning, marketing and dedication can get your business noticed. Still, you can other premium cleaning services like exterior power washing, floor waxing or other floor care at an additional fee.

Interior Decorating: Creating gorgeous interior designs can be fun as well as helping clients remodel their homes. In fact, most successful interior designers didn’t have previous experience when they started but today some kind of educational background is needed because the field has become increasingly sophisticated. You can become a successful interior designer if you’re comfortable choosing colors as well as selecting and arranging furniture. Additionally, design software provides color possibilities and mock-ups of design. These tools are inexpensive and you don’t have to be a technical geek to use them. However, with patience, you can succeed in this kind of business.

Rideshare Driver: A person can become a rideshare driver using their car. Getting started is easy because rideshare service takes care of the overhead and responsibility of controlling the company. Thus giving the entrepreneur the freedom and flexibility of working when they need to. Some of the common ridesharing applications are Lyft and Uber. Since the business doesn’t require upfront capital or too much effort a person can get started immediately as long as they have a personal car.

T-shirt Printing Business: A person with a sharp artistic sense or who enjoy screen printing other people’s visuals onto a blank shirt can start a printing business. You can start a small business by purchasing the necessary tools or outsourcing the services.

Dropshipping: Some of the companies selling goods online don’t have an inventory onsite. Actually, such individuals are involved in dropshipping or the use of a third party to fill an order. This can be a retailer, wholesaler or other entity that have warehouses and run shipping operation. That means you don’t need any inventory or tools because you can liaise with suppliers to fill the order and ship it directly to your customer

Knitting/Crocheting Lessons: Knitting is making a comeback and popular among the millennials and Gen-Xers. So someone passionate or skilled about knitting and crocheting can start a business to teach others about it. You can begin sharing the skills in your free time and at your local community centre. Next, promote your knitting skills in online forums or social media platforms. This will generate leads to people that needs private lessons.