Having multiple streams of income is essential. In today’s world, you must have a source of passive income. As Warren Buffet says,
“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.”
It’s much easier to start an online business than it is to start a brick-and-mortar one. There are no legal documents, paperwork and all that. Setting up an online business is as easy as ABC.
Here are some business ideas that you can implement to get a side income.
- Bakery
You can make cakes, brownies, and cupcakes and sell them online. You can use social media platforms for the marketing of your bakery.
With an online bakery, you save the cost of opening up a shop and storage. Instagram is the best place for making an online bakery.
Make sure to keep the vibe and aesthetics of your page consistent as it affects users subconsciously. This is very important if you want to stand out.
I would suggest you get someone to do digital marketing for your home-based bakery as it helps a lot. Marketing is an investment that always pays off.
Some specialty you can branch out:
Cookies
Cakes
Keto bakes
Cupcakes
Pizza
Bagel
- Customized Necklaces and Jewelries
A lot of people love these. Necklaces are easily available on the market, but you’ll be providing something unique.
While every other store will be selling pre-made necklaces that people may or may not like, you’ll be creating customized ones.
By doing so, you can give customers exactly what they want. People are willing to pay more for the things of their choice. You can make an online store for this or just use social media. The choice is yours. However, I would recommend opening a small online store on a website.
Similar niches:
Stone jewelries
Spirit stones
Custom jewelries
Earrings
Rings
Wristbands
Headbands
Keychains
- Clothing Merchandise
Online shopping is one of those things that people overspend on. More people are shopping online than they ever did before. Consider yourself. I’m pretty sure you ordered clothes or shoes online in a span of one month.
There are thousands of online clothing merchandise. You will have to stand out from them. You can do so simply by providing high-quality items. In this regard dropshipping and print-on-demand products come in handy because they allow you to manage while they take care of the products.
Clothes bought online are often not as they are shown. However, if you sell the exact thing as you show, your customer loyalty will increase. With the passage of time, your same old customers will keep coming back to you because of how good your products were.
Similar niches:
Baby clothing
Men clothing
Women clothing
Occasion clothing
T-shirts and hoodies
- Pillow Covers
Bed sheets and pillow covers are another one of those things that are sold like hotcakes online. Unlike clothes and shoes (wherein sizes may vary), the sizes are universal for bed sheets and pillow covers.
A king-sized bedsheet will be of the same size everywhere. Therefore, people won’t have doubts as to whether the size would be the right one.
However, as it is with other businesses, you’ll have to provide value to your customers. There has to be something that only you are offering. That something could be the price to performance ratio, quality or the pricing. Some of the recent trends in this niche is custom printing and quotes on cushions and pillows which are a great idea to spruce up your living or bedrooms.
- Home Decorations
People are willing to pay more for home decorations that are unique. You can keep quite the margin in these. As long as you provide high-quality home decorations that aren’t found easily, people will pay you.
You can either make a collection by buying from physical shops or you could make your own decorations. I would recommend going with the second option as it is unique and provides a personal touch to the product.
To do something unique, you could make sets for different things. For example, you could make a complete set of accessories revolved around a minimalist theme. Make sets on a theme and sell the whole set.
Similar niches:
Wall hangings
Printed frames
Vases
Bookshelves
Clocks
Quirky decors
- Bookstore
Even though e-books are available easily, many people don’t prefer them. Even today, people still prefer the physical touch and feel of books.
With bookstores, there’s nothing unique that you can come up with. The success of your online bookstore depends on your marketing. Social media marketing, specifically, is one of the crucial factors that will determine your bookstore’s success.
You could also make small personalized covers for the books and give the books in them along with small notes. That would be something different, and people would love it.
Similar niches
Comics
Collection cards
Diaries or notebooks
Rare books
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- Digital Art
This is the sort of business that will require your direct interaction. Unlike other businesses, it’s hard to create a passive income from this. However, I’ve included this in the list of top ten businesses that you can start online because of their demand.
Learning how to make digital art doesn’t take a lot of time but pays off a lot. You can either digitalize things that already exist or make digital art from scratch. The one that you make from scratch will have a lot more value than the former one.
Similar niches:
Bookmarks
Calendars
Social media covers
Wallpapers
Worksheets
- Handmade Items
Handmade items sell out quickly online. You can sell any handmade item. Though these do take some time to make, they also get sold for quite a lot of money.
I would suggest focusing on social media for handmade items. With social media platforms, you can easily reach the right audience. You wouldn’t need to go through the hassle of even building a website if you use social media.
These handmade items could be anything from baskets to knitted stuffs to everything in between. There’s no boundary; your creativity is your limit.
Similar niches:
Pet sweaters
Crochet pot holders
Planters
Knitted animals
Painted pots
Scented candles
- Photography
You could do two things: you could either provide services as a photographer or you could sell stock photos. I would recommend you capture and sell stock photos. In doing so, your involvement will only be in the earlier stages of the business.
Instead of starting from scratch, I would recommend you sell your pictures on well-established sites like iStockPhoto and ShutterStock. Though they do charge some commission, it’s totally worth it because they’re running sites that can get you clients.
Alternatively, you could also offer photography services. It all depends on what you’re comfortable with.
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- Learning Courses
This is another popular thing. If you’re good at something, you can start offering courses for that instead of actually doing that thing. Take freelancing for example. Many people who are good at it make courses and start selling those.
You could sell a course for literally anything. You can sell anything from consultations to graphic designing courses as long as you know how to sell.
For this, I would suggest you create a professional website of your own. Then, start your marketing through social media platforms. Instead of just talking about your product or service, talk about your niche. Tell the audience some interesting things about what you’re doing.
Similar niches:
Graphic design
Calligraphy
Computer Coding
Foreign language
Digital marketing
These are just some of the easiest online business ideas that you can get working on right now. You could literally sell anything online; there will always be customers. I would suggest you make something that is not constrained by location (e.g. courses).
Let us know what was your favorite idea and whether you currently have an online business of your own or not.
Feature image: unsplash.com