By
Sarah Harris
Looking for online business ideas that will let you work from home? You’re not alone! But an important part of getting started with your online business ideas is to understand the smaller pieces that go into a successful small business.
This article will break down these aspects into actionable steps that you can use to reach your goal.
First, let’s look at the different types of businesses you can start building TODAY.
Online Business Ideas to Start from Home
Most people assume that, in order to start an online business, you need to be an expert in some arena. However, waiting until you’re an expert” is an impossible idea — you’ll never be an expert without experience under your belt.
Whether you’re ready to rock or still concerned, the best thing you can do is to begin. And that means deciding on what your online business will be.
Here are some simple, no-nonsense online business ideas to help you get started.
1. Start Your Own Clothing Line
You don’t have to be a celebrity to start your own clothing brand. In particular, creating your own fitness brand is a great place to start. Why? The audience is already online, and they’re looking for you.
In this case, you may choose to appeal to a large group of people who have formed an online community, like bicycle lovers. Perhaps your shirts will cost less and your designs will be more colorful. Voila! Your brand is born, and you can start attracting attention to your new company.
2. Launch a Dropshipping Store
Dropshipping is a great, low-risk way to sell a wide variety of products. In essence, you work as a middleman, advertising the products manufactured by other companies through your online store. When a customer orders off of your site, their request gets sent along to your dropshipping service, which packages the product and sends it out.
Want to know where to start? Check out our helpful guide to launching a dropshipping store!
3. Build Apps and Websites
Have a knack for the technical side of things? Building apps and websites can make you big bucks from home. Even if you’re not a pro, you can turn your interests into a thriving small business if you have a passion for design. You can start off as a beginning freelancer on websites like Fiverr and Upwork or set up your own website to start using a service like Squarespace or Wix.
4. Launch a Podcast
Like to talk? There’s plenty of people who want to listen! If you’re an expert on something, this is a great way to share your knowledge.
Not sure what to talk about? Peruse through Spotify and Apple Podcasts for some ideas. You might feature guests discussing the latest episodes of their favorite television shows or answering interesting questions, like the popular podcast “Stuff You Should Know.”
Once your podcast starts getting popular, you can scale your work to a full online business and even begin to sell merch for your fans.
5. Become an Affiliate Marketer
Affiliate marketing is similar to a referral. You’ll have links that are personalized to you that leads to a product that is not your own. When someone clicks your link (or uses your coupon code) and buys the product, you get a percent of the profits. This percentage will vary by company and product type.
An easy way to do affiliate marketing is through Amazon Affiliates. This online business will not require you to buy any products at all. However, your audience is more likely to give weight to your recommendations if you enjoy and use things for yourself!
6. Curate Subscription Boxes
Got a particular knack for piecing a collection together? If you can do it while appealing to a niche, a small business centered around a subscription box service might be right for you.
Self-care is a big hit in the subscription box service industry, but there are a plethora of groups you can appeal to with specially designed products.
Print Bind Ship can even provide all of the support you need to fulfill subscription box orders without leaving your home!
7. Develop a Niche Product
Are you part of an online community that has an inside joke? Do you enjoy connecting with other members of a fandom or people who have a super-specific hobby (like crocheting adorable octopi)?
These uber-specific interests can be huge moneymakers. Developing a niche product to let these groups display their passions is a fast way to sell your merchandise. Why? They won’t be able to find something like it anywhere else!
8. Publish Your Own Book
Selling books is a great way to make money from home! Whether you’ve got a gripping fantasy novel building up inside you or you’re excited to craft a very simple children’s book using online tools over the course of a single afternoon, you can have your book on the market in no time.
While publishing houses offer a route to “traditional publishing,” recently, more authors are going with the independent publishing route.
Print Bind Ship offers full printing services. When someone orders your book, we print it, bind it up beautifully, and send it out. It’ll look just like they bought it from a bookstore!
9. Sell Creative Work on Etsy
Graphic designers, it’s time to upload those gorgeous designs. Analog artists, simply scan your images and prep them for printing. For those without an artistic bone in their body, there are lots of free online resources that allow you to create fun and simple prints with ease!
Have a store on Etsy already? Print Bind Ship integrates seamlessly with Etsy. When someone buys a print from your shop, we get the order and physically print it onto high-quality paper, and send it off. You won’t have to deal with the post office or mountains of packaging in your home. Your small business can grow using the resources and printing services of a big business!
10. Build and Monetize a Blog
One of the online business ideas that takes a bit longer – but is no less profitable – is building and monetizing a blog. Most blogs narrow down their focus to a niche, drawing readers in through relatability.
Not sure what to write about? Choose some of the ideas above and write blog posts about your experiences, struggles, and successes! For example, a blog post could be “How to Start an Online Business!”
Tips to Getting Started with Your Online Business
You’ve made it past the “how to start an online business” Google searches. It’s time to actually get started – and prepare for potential roadblocks.
Two of the largest issues that new online businesses run into are:
- Inventory management
- Brand recognition
These are both space issues. When it comes to inventory management, no one wants to store everything in their cramped apartment or office space. You end up with one of two results:
- You have too much merchandise sitting in your home
- Your limited space can’t keep up with demand
When it comes to brand recognition, it’s important to understand one thing: The internet is a very, very crowded space. And with so many online stores popping up every day, the market can become oversaturated with designs and ads and so much more.
Making yourself recognizable in this space will help you stick in the brains of potential buyers and lead to a greater number of sales.
Partner with a 3PL
Physical space is not an issue when you partner with a third-party logistics company (3PL). While you work on the design, branding, and marketing, a 3PL allows you to outsource the complications of a physical supply chain. In most cases, a 3PL handles physical printing, order fulfillment, distribution, warehousing, and returns.
Print Bind Ship is an expert 3PL. We can help you with package design, shipping, inventory, subscription box fulfillment, and more!
Work on Branding Your Business
Your brand is the “personality” of your business. It says who you are, what you do, and why. Your brand explains how your product will improve the life of your customer…and why you’re a better option than your competitors.
The goal of building your brand is to ensure that your audience understands the values behind your business. It’s what makes you memorable.
Look into Storefront Integration
When it comes to selling merchandise, part of branding your business properly is to create a “storefront” where your buyers can better connect with you and your brand.
An online storefront is a digital place that your audience can visit to see all of your different products and get a better idea of your overall vision.
Most of these storefronts allow you to collect information from your visitors, like their email addresses, so you can reach them more directly the next time a product you create is ready for purchase.
What’s Next?
Now that you’ve figured out what type of business you want to start and how you’re going to manage the physical merchandise associated with it, it’s time to create your products and connect with a service you trust for all of your shipping needs.
Print Bind Ship offers quality items ready for printing, worldwide shipping, storefront integration, and more. Our team is ready to support you all the way to success, whether you require package design assistance or need to scale your business tenfold overnight. Find a $500 startup voucher here.
Ready to bounce your ideas off an expert? Contact us for a free consultation and prepare to see your merchandise fly off the shelves!