The digital age presents numerous opportunities for those who know how to leverage it. Gone are the days when you’ll need to set up a storefront and invest big money before you can start a business.
These days, thanks to the internet, anyone can start a business from their living room or garage and earn a sizable income. Even if you’re an immigrant in the United States, you can start a business as long as your US immigration status allows it. The fact that you don’t need a lot of capital makes it even easier.
Here is a list of possible low-investment business ideas you can start at home.
Dropshipping
Owning your own store requires a lot of investment. You’ll need space to store, package, and ship orders when customers buy from you. That’s not to mention the upfront cost of keeping an inventory of products.
Fortunately, you can avoid that stress and cost by simply going the dropshipping route. This is an eCommerce model that allows you to run a full-scale store right from the comfort of your home.
All you need to do to start dropshipping is to set up an online store and signup with suppliers that have the products you want to sell already. When someone orders from you, the supplier fulfills the order and you earn a commission. It’s an easy business to start and all the resources you need to get started are readily available online.
Landscaping services
Kids do this all the time to make extra money and it’s something you can turn into a money-making venture if you do it right. You may enjoy yard work, but a lot of people don’t. Starting a landscaping business is an efficient way to turn your hobby into a money-making endeavor.
You can mow the lawn for people, get rid of shrubs and weeds, or help them set up gardens. Basically, anything you can do very well in a yard is marketable if you find the right audience.
Your landscaping business can start with your neighbors. You’ll get more clients with referrals and you may also market your services online by showcasing your portfolio. With time you may even be able to add on additional services based on demand or even hire workers on an H2B work visa to assist you with your landscaping business.
Home-based Catering
If you enjoy cooking and have great culinary skills, you don’t need to set up a restaurant before you start your own catering business. It’s possible to make a decent income from the comfort of your home with a home-based catering business. You also don’t need a lot of startup capital.
You can start with whatever you have depending on how big you want the business to be. It’s easy to find people that might be interested in paying for your catering service near you by creating a website, leveraging social media, and optimizing your online presence.
Online tutoring
These days, if you’re an expert in anything, people will pay you good money to learn what you know. Online tutoring is a great way to earn money from teaching others and you can do so from the comfort of your home.
All you have to do is to register with an online tutoring platform such as Tutor.com. Classes are always online via platforms like Zoom and you can teach anything related to your area of expertise. Lectures can be live or pre-recorded depending on the tutoring platform you use.
Cleaning services
You don’t need to set up a shop or open a store to start a cleaning service business. It also doesn’t require a lot of capital. You can offer your services to homes and small businesses in your area for a quick buck and gradually scale as you get more patronage. You can advertise to people within your vicinity or go online to find patronage for your services.
The supplies and materials you’ll need to get started cost as low as $100. You may also purchase some additional cleaning equipment like a carpet cleaner or steam vacuum as your business grows. With such a low entry barrier, anyone who’s good with cleaning and doesn’t mind putting in the work for others can earn some extra cash for this service from their home.
Massage Therapist
If you know how to give massages, people will pay good money to have you soothe their muscles and you may not even need to set up a massage parlor unless you want to. Clients can visit you in your home or you can invest in a portable massage table that you can take with you wherever you need to go.
Of course, you may need to take some training and certification courses to become a fully certified massage therapist.
Final Thoughts
If you do some research, you’ll find several entrepreneurs that have tried out these business ideas and made good returns on them. You can check out their story to learn more about how they made it work for them and use their template to set up yours.