Don’t waste your time — you only have so much of it. If you don’t like your job, it’s up to you to make a change.
And if you think you need your own pot of gold to start a new venture, you’re wrong. You really can start a business with no money, or least very little. Here are seven startup ideas that require little or no upfront cash:
1. Virtual assisting
Busy businesses, entrepreneurs and even freelancers usually need help managing their day-to-day affairs, and most are willing to pay good money for it.
This startup idea needs absolutely no cash up front. All you have to do is create an account on an online freelancing platform to start finding clients — Upwork.com is a popular, easy-to-use choice.
If you’ve worked as an assistant in the past and have strong organization and communication skills, this venture may be for you.
2. Content marketing
Every business knows how important engaging, SEO-optimized web content is for driving traffic and converting sales.
If you’re a skilled writer with fresh ideas, this startup idea may be for you. A background in marketing or communications, with knowledge of meta descriptions, title tags and keyword integration, will help you find and keep clients.
If you don’t have a relevant background, you may want to invest in an online marketing course, a small investment compared to starting a brick-and-mortar business.
3. Affiliate marketing
All you need is a blog or website and some time to commit to it each day. Here’s how it works — find a product or service you like and promote it on your blog or website and on social media for a commission.
Check out these popular affiliate marketing programs offered by eBay and Amazon to help you get started.
4. Website development
Do you have a computer background or know your way around a few popular programming languages such as JavaScript or Python?
If you do, you should strongly consider website development. Every business needs a functional website equipped with product pages, shopping carts, blogs and so on.
If you like the sound of this gig but don’t have the prerequisite skills, you can take online programming courses, many of which are free.
5. Website flipping
The concept is similar to flipping houses — you buy a website, make it better, and sell it for a profit. This start up idea is another cheap venture for computer geeks.
If you’re already developing websites, you might as well flip them, too, to increase your income.
6. Bookkeeping
The good news is you don’t have to be a certified public accountant to offer bookkeeping services — you just have to be a numbers person.
Bookkeeping services include creating financial reports, monitoring accounts receivable, creating balance sheets, and recording receipts and invoices.
An added bonus is that lots of companies, such as Due, offer inexpensive accounting tools to help numbers nerds like you get started.
7. Travel planning
This cheap startup business is ideal for the would-be traveler. Help other travelers plan adventures of a lifetime by booking flights, hotels, activities, car rentals and restaurants.
You don’t need much to get started as an at-home travel planner — just a website or blog, and a little marketing savvy to start attracting clients.
The bottom line
You can start a business with no money, or at least very little. Your time is precious, so spend it doing something that brings you joy as well as income.
