10 Online Business Ideas For The Early-Career Entrepreneur

Starting a business is easier now than it’s ever been with the rise of online business models. Whether you’re looking to pick up a side hustle or you prefer the comfort of working from home, there are countless ways to make money from home and begin your entrepreneurial journey. Online retail and e-commerce are booming industries that follow remote business models; they save costs on renting a physical store and in fact, there are 7.9 million online retailers around the globe – 2.1 million of which are in America.

Not only are online businesses more accessible for their owners and employees, but they allow the company to cater to a larger demographic who may not otherwise have access to what they sell. It can also help cut startup costs and require fewer resources than a traditional business if business owners are worried about their first business venture succeeding. To get your creative juices flowing, we sourced the top online business ideas to inspire anyone with entrepreneurship on their mind.

10 online business ideas for beginning entrepreneurs

1.   Start A Dropshipping Store

This type of online business is an order fulfillment method where another entity has the products you sell. Your dropshipping business would sell the product and then they pass on the order to the entity that supplies and ships the order to the customer. This offers benefits such as not having to keep your own inventory and instead outsourcing it to a separate supplier. To get started, you’ll need a supplier who provides the product you’re looking to sell as well as an e-commerce website where customers can buy your products.

2.   Sell Homemade Goods

Many consumers look for ingredients or companies that they trust since there is a lot of ambiguity when it comes to where products come from or how they are made. Making items by hand and selling them online is an excellent business strategy as many entrepreneurs find success doing this online through websites like Etsy. Candles, jewelry, and art are excellent ways to make money from your creative skills and reap the benefits of your hard work. It’s a good idea to have a space in your home dedicated to making your items as you will typically need some sort of workstation.

3.   Run A Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) Business

Much like starting a dropshipping store, entrepreneurs can sell their items on the online marketplace Amazon and have the company ship and deliver your products to your customers. From the back end, Amazon handles shipping, returns, refunds, packaging as well as product warehousing in the Amazon warehouse. On the front end, FBA business owners must handle the sales and inventory by communicating with Amazon and paying the subsequent fees. Some perks of running a FBA business include 24/7 customer service with Amazon, having fulfillment and shipping costs included in the fees, and having a relationship with one of the biggest online marketplaces in the world.

4.   Shoot Stock Photography

Virtually everyone uses stock photography from time to time, so what better way to make your name as a photographer and get your work out there than becoming a stock photographer. This is an excellent way to make money off your talents and gain more exposure to potential clients to hire you for your services. It also gives you the opportunity to practice your skills and build your portfolio. All you need is a good-quality camera, photo editing software, and an account with a stock photography website.

5.   Consider Blogging

Blogging is a huge industry with millions of blogs all over the internet covering every topic under the sun. Whether your passion is cooking, fashion or personal finance, finding a niche to write about and honing your skills is a phenomenal way to make passive income and connect with your readers. Bloggers make money through a variety of ways, such as influencer or affiliate marketing, running ads on their blog, sponsored posts, or even selling their own merchandise and products. There are countless ways to monetize a blog and make money doing something you’re passionate about.

6.   Become A Tutor

People are always looking to level up their skills in one field or another, and your expertise can come in handy when it comes to helping others learn a novel topic. Offering your services as a tutor can allow you to help your local community as well as obtain passive income from teaching others. This can be done in person or online through a video conferencing platform. You could even offer group classes or one-on-one sessions depending on your preferences. If you have expertise in a subject area, it’s an excellent strategy to share your knowledge and make some extra cash while doing so.

7.   Start A Podcast

As a growing form of media, podcasts have become extremely popular for all demographics. Much like blogging, there is a podcast for practically every niche that you can imagine. Starting a podcast is relatively easy as long as you have access to a computer, a good-quality microphone, and a topic worth podcasting about. Websites like Anchor or Buzzsprout are great hosting platforms that can help you get started; from there, you just need some beautiful cover art, a podcast name and a vision.

8.   Begin A Personal Training Business

Every day, folks decide they want to get in shape or improve their fitness in one way or another. Expertise in this area can come in handy as people often need a push or direction from a trainer to see the results they are looking for. A personal training business can be an amazing way to help others achieve their fitness goals while also giving you a profit margin to help them achieve this with. Different ways you can generate income by being a personal trainer is selling workout plans, meal plans, custom merchandise, one-on-one sessions or even offering group classes at your local park.

9.   Create 3D-Printed Products To Sell

While the first 3D printer was made in the mid-1980s, it has come a long way since then. Also known as additive printing, 3D printing offers a great business opportunity since you can sell the items you make through the printer. An easy way to start your 3D printing business is making prototypes for customers as they often are looking for a quick way to bring their vision or idea to life. There are also 3D printing businesses that can make movie prop replicas, cool accessories, and a variety of other items. All you need is a 3D printer, materials like polylactic acid (PLA) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and a slicer. You can sell your items on eBay or any other similar online marketplace where customers can buy your products.

10. Write Royalty-Free Music

If you’re looking to get some practice writing music without the pressure of putting out music with lyrics or complex arrangements, it may be worth selling royalty-free music online. Many musicians looking to make an extra buck can make passive income through selling their compositions online to YouTubers or other content creators who are looking for affordable music to include in their media without using copyrighted material. Some of the top royalty-free music websites include PremiumBeat, Artlist, and Audiojungle.

Starting an online business is no easy feat, however, an online business model can help early-career entrepreneurs ease into the process of becoming a business owner without the upfront costs of a traditional business.