For many budding entrepreneurs, running an online business is a dream that promises financial security and independence. To help you start your own online business and gain the flexibility and freedom that comes with it, we’ve compiled this list of the best online small business ideas. None of these online business ideas require a physical retail store, and some ideas don’t even require you to offer a physical product, just a service.
Not to mention that if you work from home, you can set your own hours, be your own boss, and deduct the home office from your taxes. So, if you’re ready to realize your dream of being an Internet entrepreneur, start with this list of online business ideas for beginners and find the one that best suits your talents and interests.
The 44 best online business ideas
Given the immense growth of the Internet and technology in general, there’s an online business idea for everyone, regardless of your experience or previous career path. Starting an online business can be one of the fastest, easiest, and least expensive ways to start a business – especially if all you need is a laptop and an Internet connection.
As working from home has become increasingly popular in corporate cultures around the world, entrepreneurs have been inspired to take their careers into their own hands and start their own businesses. And if you’re not yet fully committed to your online business, many of these ideas can be done part-time, and if you grow your side hustle, it can be successful enough to become a full-time job.
- Social media marketing
If you’ve a knack for getting likes, favorites, retweets, followers, shares, comments and clicks, consider a career in social media marketing. By advising businesses on how to manage their social media profiles, distribute their content across the web, keep their brands on track, and respond to customer questions, you can make your favorite hobby your day job. - SEO Consulting
Maybe you’re a pro when it comes to SEO, or search engine optimization. If you’ve plenty of skills and experience to get websites to the top of Google, and if you know how to turn searchers into customers, there are plenty of companies willing to pay handsomely for your help.
Whether it’s through editing metadata tags, regularly updating the company blog, or finding smart keywords that rank highly, a good SEO consultant working with a solid SEO strategy can drastically change the appearance of a company’s website to search engine users – and just a few positions on Google can make a big difference in traffic. In short, you could’ve a big impact on a company’s bottom line, which means this online business idea is in high demand.
- Freelance design
Do you’ve an eye for esthetics? Did you go to art school or have you always spent your free time designing posters in Photoshop or Illustrator?
If so, and you want to find what’s right for you on this list of online small business ideas, freelance design might be a good choice. Take on clients at your own pace, build a good reputation online and through word of mouth, and work on projects you find interesting – freelancing has many benefits.
Check out websites like Upwork and Behance to find the right jobs and enjoy the freedom of a freelance lifestyle.
- Freelance writing
If you’re good with words instead, you could become a freelance writer. As long as you’ve an internet connection and a keyboard, you can write blog posts.
It helps if you’ve a specific area of interest or expertise, so your employers know that you’re qualified to comment on certain topics. However, the most important factor is always your writing style. Can you write clearly and concisely? Do you take the time and effort to really understand what you’re talking about? Are you appealing to the right readers? If you’re confident in your writing skills, then this online business idea is ideal.
- write e-book
If business blog posts aren’t your style, you might consider writing and publishing e-books instead. With Amazon and other websites, self-publishing has never been easier. If you think you’ve something interesting or useful to say – and you think other people do, too – then e-book writing could be a lucrative business.
With e-books, you don’t have to design, print, or ship your work. You just have to write, market, publish, and sell it – to anyone in the world. And since you’re self-publishing the book, you’ll get a bigger share of the profits if the e-book is a success. Of course, you’ll have to learn how to properly format an e-book, pay for editing and cover design, and come up with an effective marketing strategy – but fortunately, there are plenty of examples to learn from.
- write e-book
If business blog posts aren’t your style, you might consider writing and publishing e-books instead. With Amazon and other websites, self-publishing has never been easier. If you think you’ve something interesting or useful to say – and you think other people do, too – then writing e-books could be a lucrative business.
With e-books, you don’t have to design, print, or ship your work. All you’ve to do is write, market, publish, and sell – to anyone in the world. And since you’re self-publishing the book, you’ll get a bigger share of the profits if the e-book is a success. Of course, you’ll have to learn how to properly format an e-book, pay for editing and cover design, and come up with an effective marketing strategy – but fortunately, there are plenty of examples to learn from.
- Translation
If you’re a great writer but not so interested in publishing original material, we still have a few simple online business ideas for you. For example, if you’re fluent in several languages, translating could be the ideal job for you. You can do it wherever you want, as long as you’ve the text you’re working on and you understand the goal of the translation. - Proofreading
Copy editing comes in many shapes and sizes, from editing a company’s marketing materials to proofreading novels to indexing scientific manuscripts. As long as you’ve a keen eye for detail, a command of grammar, and a willingness to learn the ropes, proofreading could be a great business idea if you want to work when and how you want. - Write a blog
A blog isn’t really a business, but it can definitely support any of these online business ideas.
Freelance writer or designer? Show off your skills in each post. Are you interested in coding, photography and video, fitness, food, or something else? Prove your knowledge by writing great articles on these topics.
The more people trust your authority, the more they’ll read, and the bigger your audience, the easier it’s to grow your business through blogging. Even if you’re still deciding which of these online business ideas to pursue, it’s never a bad idea to start a blog because it’ll give you an online presence to build upon.
- Freelance Research
Freelance research is another smart online business idea where you can work from anywhere and on your own terms. You don’t have to be a talented writer or a born designer, you just need to be diligent and know how to find what you need.
Whether you’re compiling research documents for competitor or market research, answering tough technical questions in forums, or analyzing statistics to show trends, you’ll be doing valuable work for your clients – at a good price and with the freedom to work the way you want.
- Freelance coding and web design
Can you spot a trend yet? A lot of the work you can do in an office for one company, you can also do for a number of different clients, when and how you want.
If you’re a software engineer, the benefits of working for a startup or tech giant are pretty great, but if you value more flexibility, a variety of projects, working at your own pace, and the freedom to be your own boss, freelance coding is one of the best online home-based business ideas. Whether you’re interested in web design – a particularly popular category for freelance coders – or another type of software development, finding clients to help shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.
Plus, you can also act as a software consultant and provide your critical eye and expertise without necessarily having to program.
- Software and app development
Want to take freelance programming to the next level of entrepreneurship? Instead of helping clients, you can work on your own apps, programs, extensions, and add-ons. Whether you sell your work in the app store or make money through advertising – or stick it out in the long run and hope to be bought by a larger company – the money you make will be a direct result of your efforts and ingenuity.
Unlike typical freelancing, however, this is a slightly tougher nut to crack. It’s not that easy to generate a predictable income stream until your app is on the market, and by then you’ve already invested a lot of time and energy. So before you make a financial mistake, be sure there’s a market for the product you’re developing and that people are willing to pay for it.
Still, the rewards can be great. Could your project become the next Minecraft or Angry Birds? There’s only one way to find out.
- Photography
If you’re a gifted photographer, you can also turn your passion into a paycheck. Stock photo sites like Shutterstock and iStock offer you a commission on the images you sell. So if you enjoy sharing your lens with millions of others, this is an easy and convenient way to fund your freedom.
And if you’re particularly talented, you can also sell your photos on more exclusive sites with higher commissions – or even on your own website or Internet store.
- Business Coaching
You’ll need a good track record and a number of references, but the business coaching industry is on the rise – so now is the time to get in. You can charge anywhere from less than $100 to many times that, depending on your qualifications and effectiveness, and it’s perfectly acceptable to coach by phone or video chat.
So if you’re interested in fixing other businesses and getting paid for it, check out this online business idea.
- College Counseling
About $40,000 per course: that’s how much some college coaches make advising students and their families on how to make it to their dream schools.
While that’s the exception rather than the rule, college counseling is a lucrative business – and it can be done over the phone or via video chat. You should probably have attended a top college yourself (to “prove” to your parents that you know what you’re talking about) and have good writing skills, since college applications rely heavily on personal statements and other essays.
College counseling can also include financial aid planning, which means you need to be familiar with government financial aid programs, various financial aid guidelines, and possible scholarship opportunities.
- Tutoring
If you’re interested in online business ideas for beginners that involve calling clients or helping them with various problems via video chat, then starting a tutoring business is another option you should consider.
For hardworking entrepreneurs who do well on standardized tests, know how to teach the best test-taking strategies, and know their material inside and out, tutoring can bring in a lot of money without much effort. The better your results, the greater your reputation – and the more you can charge per hour, session or package.
Plus, with these small online business ideas – business coaching, college counseling, and tutoring – you’re essentially devoting your time and energy to helping other people achieve some of life’s greatest goals. Coupled with the freedom to work from anywhere, it’s a pretty enticing job.
- Online Fitness Trainer
“Online fitness training” may seem like an oxymoron, but it’s a real industry – and if you’re investing in online business ideas, don’t overlook it.
If fitness and health are your passion, then becoming a fitness instructor for clients could be a fulfilling career. However, you should keep in mind that it’s much harder to train people online than it’s to be right there with them. Without much experience as a trainer, you might even come across as untrustworthy to potential clients.
There’s always the option of traveling to clients’ locations instead of running an online-only business, but that mightn’t be your thing. Or you could make up for your lack of in-person presence by focusing more on nutrition education.
- E-commerce business
Starting an e-commerce business is one of the most common online business ideas around. It’s relatively easy and inexpensive – at least compared to opening a brick-and-mortar store.
If you’re crafty or creative, you can make your own products and sell them on websites like Etsy, Amazon or eBay – right from your home. The biggest challenge would be getting discovered, depending on what niche you’re in and how viral your products are. But luckily, there’s plenty of advice to help you along the way, from the right pricing to taking the best photos you can.
- Virtual junk store
Maybe you’re not interested in arts and crafts, but the idea of an online store is still appealing? Online consignment stores and consignment stores, like thredUP, are a model you can follow to achieve this goal. There are also other companies that scour sites like eBay to find cool, unique and interesting items and then present them in an appealing way. With good copywriting and a strong brand, you can stand out from the crowd here.
So if you’re more into curating than creating objects, these types of simple online business ideas are for you.
- Affiliate marketing
Social media gurus take note: You don’t have to be a consultant to profit from your social networking skills.
Instead, you can get paid by companies to recommend products on your blog, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or other social channels. The higher your profile, the more influence your brand recommendation has and the more you earn from product placements. As long as your fans aren’t put off by this promotion, affiliate marketing, sometimes called influencer marketing, is a way to use your social media skills to your advantage.
And like all other of these online business ideas, you can work as an affiliate marketer wherever you want, with the freedom and flexibility to set your own hours and be your own boss.
- Selling Internet Domains
Trading Internet domains is like buying and selling real estate – except you can do it from your home computer. Some Internet domain names are more popular, sought after and valuable than others. Successful Internet domain name flippers buy high-value domains cheaply at online auctions after doing a lot of advance planning and research, and then sell them to the highest bidder for a nice profit. For example, www.hotels.com was sold for $11 million in 2001.
To make a living selling domains, you really need to devote time, energy and attention to the market. You can’t just buy domain names at random, or you’ll end up with a handful of websites that no one wants. Instead, you need to research the SEO optimization of the websites you’re bidding on, predict which companies and industries will be looking for new domains, and get creative when it comes to fancy names that you can buy for little money but easily flip. Also, patience is a virtue: it can take months or even years to get the right price for some domains you’ve acquired.
But the advantage of this online business idea is, of course, that it’s 100% online. There’s only you and your computer.
- Accounting or bookkeeping
Although entering the industry as a virtual accountant or bookkeeper can be difficult due to competition from foreign contractors, there are companies that offer these services. If you’re already an accountant, you may also be able to take your current clients and offer to lower their costs by working from home or another location.
Of course, online business ideas like this require formal training and certification, but if you’re a proven and dedicated accountant, it shouldn’t be impossible to work online most (if not all) of the time.
- Telemarketing
If you’re a natural conversationalist and enjoy helping others, virtual telemarketing is another good idea for an online small business. Many companies outsource some of their sales and customer service staff. So if you don’t mind making calls from home or on the road, you should try this option. - Online personal assistant
Organized. Efficient. Hungry to live your life on your own schedule.
If these three things apply to you, then you should think about becoming a virtual assistant. What exactly you’ll do will depend on your skills, experience and network of contacts, but expect tasks ranging from data entry to client management, research, scheduling and more. And, of course, like all online business ideas, you can do this one from anywhere.
- Data Entry
Although the pay isn’t the best, data entry is an online business idea where you can easily work from home. If you’re looking for a job that doesn’t require a lot of time or attention from you and that allows you to earn a predictable income from home or on the go, then data entry is a good place to start. - Stock or foreign exchange trading
Like selling internet domain names, stock trading can be an occasional online hobby or career. If you’re willing to put in the necessary time, and if you’re talented at doing thorough research and predicting trends, you can turn this side hustle into a full-time job.
However, to be a day trader, you need to have $25,000 in your account at all times. So if this barrier to entry is too high for you, consider trading forex or currencies instead.
That being said, stock trading doesn’t offer you as much flexibility as many of the other online business ideas here. While you can work from home and be your own boss when you trade stocks or forex on your own account, it’s still a high commitment job with long hours and a steep learning curve. You need to take the time to understand all the different trading requirements, systems, and regulations you’ll be dealing with.
- Transcription
For a simpler online business idea that requires no background knowledge or experience – other than the ability to type quickly – you might consider transcription. Offering online transcription services can take many forms: You can transcribe audio interviews for reporters, create captions for TV shows and videos, or develop transcribed versions of podcasts.
While this may not be the most lucrative idea on our list, it’s a good start to freelancing and gives you the freedom to work anywhere, anytime.
- Travel Planning
Do you love to travel? Have you been to different places and do you have a network of contacts around the world? If travel is your passion, you might consider starting an online travel planning business. You can help your clients plan all aspects of their trip – from flights to hotels to things to do. You can work out itineraries, provide tips on food, currency exchange and safety, and serve as a point of contact between your clients and any international contacts.
Plus, you can run your travel planning business not only from home, but also while you travel. And as you travel more, you can grow your business – learning about new places, meeting potential clients and making new contacts. You might even start a travel blog or photo site to complement your travel planning business.
- Cybersecurity and IT consulting
If you have a technical background but are not specifically interested in programming or app development, this could be one of the best online business ideas for you. As a cybersecurity consultant, you can work with businesses of all sizes to assess their systems, perform testing, and provide tips on how to improve their system.
On the other hand, if you prefer something broader, you could simply work as a IT consultant, helping businesses or individuals set up their technology, troubleshoot problems, and give general advice on how to use it.
Again, with the right computer equipment, you can run your cybersecurity or IT consulting business from anywhere. If you wish, you can also travel to other offices to provide occasional on-site systems assistance.
- Online Therapy
With the advent of companies like TalkSpace and BetterHelp, you no longer have to have an office or your own practice to counsel patients – you can do it virtually. Although this online business idea requires proper credentials and training, it’s easy for a tech-savvy therapist looking to reach a new patient population to gain a foothold.
If you are a counselor, therapist, or psychologist, you might decide to explore the field of online therapy by joining one of these new businesses or starting your own. By counseling online, you can reach new patients, give them more freedom and flexibility, and get something out of it yourself.
- PR consulting
If you know about branding and marketing and how businesses can best communicate with the public online, you could start an online consulting business PR. You can help businesses with their online presence – including social media accounts, press releases, web content and more – and advise them on campaigns, initiatives and overall public image.
As a freelance PR consultant, your hours and responsibilities may vary and depend on the particular client you work with. However, you will certainly have more control over your work than you would with a PR firm or agency.
- Podcasting
Ten years ago, many people did not even know what a podcast was, but now the podcast industry has really exploded, with newspapers, radio stations, and even regular individuals getting in on the trend. If you have a good story to tell or something you could talk about on a regular basis that people would love to hear, you should consider podcasting.
Podcasting can be done from anywhere, of course, provided you have the right audio equipment. You can then upload your content to various podcast apps and websites, and market your business on social media.
- Life Advice
Looking for an online business idea that allows you to help people by giving them advice and guidance without the extensive training of a medical professional? How about life coaching? Even though you need certification to become a life coach, you have much more freedom to find your niche and decide how to help people through life’s ups and downs.
Plus, as a life coach, you can build your own digital brand to offer your clients additional resources outside of traditional phone or video chat sessions. With the vastness of the Internet at your fingertips, this online business idea allows you to easily fulfill your desire to help others while enjoying the flexibility of your own life.
