Everybody wants to make money from home, including you. No wonder you are searching for the best home-based business ideas that you can start and make money.
In the United States, there are about 15 million home-based businesses, making up about 50% of all small businesses in the country.
Being a 9-5er doesn’t stop you from making money on the side. In most cases, as the home-based business ideas grows, you can even quit your 9-5 job and focus on it full-time.
Starting a business generally requires a lot of capital, although that’s not the case for all businesses, as there are some that don’t need huge funds to get started.
30 Best Home-based Business Ideas to Start
If you are looking for the best home-based business ideas with little capital to start and make money in few weeks or months, consider the following:
1. Freelance Writing
People are paid thousands of dollars to do writing jobs. Are you surprised? Well, you shouldn’t be because it is one of the best home-based business ideas to start.
Nowadays, content writing is in high demand. Many online freelance platforms, such as Upwork and Fiverr, give opportunities for freelancers, especially writers to write for clients around the world and make money without leaving home.
If you don’t want to use these freelance platforms, another option is to look for companies that hire remote content writers. Succeeding in freelance writing isn’t really difficult; you just need to write fluently in English and have knowledge of Google algorithms and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
2. Amazon Kindle Publishing
This particular home-based business idea requires you to have writing skills and make money from your work without leaving your home. Amazon Kindle Publishing involves writing a book and uploading it to the Amazon platform.
Once you finish uploading it, the team at Amazon will take their time to review the book, including the content, and approve it if it meets their requirements. Upon selling the book, Amazon will deduct a percentage of the sales and give you the remainder as royalties.
3. Pet Grooming
Personally, I like pets and also love them being around me. If you are my kind of person, then you can begin your entrepreneual journey by grooming pets at home and make thousands of dollars.
As a matter of fact, you don’t need to invest a lot of money in a pet grooming business, and the best part is, it’s easy to manage. Getting clients is not a big deal either, since you have neighbors and people living in your neighborhood who have pets.
You can start from your neighborhood and grow the business into a large company with hundreds of clients in your city.
4. Food Products
Food is life and I don’t think there is anyone who can survive for a long time without food. Since food is an essential commodity, you can expect to make a lot of sales everyday.
Opening a restaurant is not a joke, because you will definitely invest huge capital, your time and energy into it.
If you don’t have enough money to invest, you can start with an online home-based food delivery service. As you start making money, you can then consider setting up a physical location for your restaurant business and manage it alongside the food delivery service.
Before starting the online home-based food delivery service, it’s essential to create a social media page for your business and promote it as much as possible.
5. Virtual Assistant Service
Lots of entrepreneurs and small business owners in the USA are actively seeking assistance with promoting their businesses on social media and offline and are willing to pay for it.
If you have virtual assistant service skills, it is time to make money out of this lucrative business opportunity. You can help small business owners to manage emails, call customers, attend to them whenever they have issues, book appointments, and handle other tasks on their behalf.
Indeed, it’s a win-win situation for both you and your clients because you will make money while your client will grow his business.
6. Social Media Consulting
People are now making thousands of dollars by simply consulting on social media. If you can market a business online and manage its social media page, where you will be posting interactive content to engage with customers, I believe that this business idea is perfect for you.
Social media consulting is easy to start as long as you have the skills and expertise. To get started, you can enroll in some free or paid social media consulting courses, depending on your budget and how much you’re willing to invest in your personal development.
7. Web Designing Business
When you look around, you will discover that almost every businesses now have a website. Nobody want to miss out on the millions of customers online.
That being said, you can start a website designing agency from home and make money from clients. Many business owners who can’t afford to hire a full-time website designer often outsource their web design jobs to freelancers or agencies.
If you’re proficient in WordPress, Wix, and other website design tools, you can start looking for freelance gigs on various websites like Fiverr and Upwork, or you can reach out to businesses directly with your design portfolio.
8. Sell Courses
Knowledge is power indeed! As long as you have a skill that is in demand, you can package it into a course and sell it to make money. Whether you’re a good blogger, coder, chef, or school teacher, you can create a course and sell your expertise.
You can sell your courses on Coursera, Udemy, and other websites where they sell online courses. Alternatively, you can publish them on your personal blog and earn a significant income.
9. Affiliate Marketing
To do affiliate marketing, you simply need to find a trending product, promote it, and receive a commission for sales generated through your efforts. Furthermore, to continue making sales, you should promote the product on your personal blog, social media, or through paid advertising.
This business idea is something I strongly recommend for stay-at-home parents, those working 9-to-5 jobs, and anyone interested in making money online with minimal effort.
10. Tutoring Business
Nowadays, with the prevalence of distracting materials, it’s easier for children to get distracted and struggle with some subjects in school.
You job is to bridge the gap and teach the children the areas that they are struggling with academically. Getting started is simple. Begin by informing your family members, neighbors, and friends about your tutoring business.
As you get more kids and start making money, you can print hand bills, posters, and banners, and advertise your new tutorial business.
11. eCommerce
eCommerce simple means buying and selling products on the internet. Over the years, the internet has turned into a large market where people buy and sell different products.
You have two options: the first is to build your own website, and the second is to use social media to reach customers. The best part is that you are free to sell any product that interests you greatly.
There are several popular platforms for e-commerce, including Shopify, WooCommerce (WordPress plugin), BigCommerce, Magento, Wix, Squarespace, Volusion, and Etsy (for handmade and vintage items).
12. Buying products in bulk and Selling
Business is mainly about buying and selling. If you have enough money to invest, you can buy products in large quantities and make a profit when you sell them.
All you have to do is pick the best product for your business, preferably durable goods to reduce your chances of running into risks. When sourcing for products, you can buy within your country or import them, depending on which option is the most profitable.
13. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a business model where a retailer doesn’t keep products in stock. Instead, what they do is when they make a sale, they buy the item from a third party and have it sent directly to the customer.
Dropshipping eliminates the need for inventory storage and upfront investment in stock. However, the retailer will have less control over shipping times and the quality of the products.
14. eBook Writing
Writing can indeed be lucrative. I remember the first dollars I made through writing; it was an exciting feeling. Since then, I have made thousands of dollars writing online.
If you can write good content, then you have a dollar-making machine at your disposal. The first thing is to pick a niche that people need more information about and how it can benefit them. Convert your content into an ebook and sell it online.
When you are writing your content, you should give your readers relevant information to enable them implement whatever ideas you want to convey in real life.
15. Video Editing
Many businesses now use videos to advertise their products to both new and existing customers. Sometimes, these are short videos that they post on their social media pages.
If you can use Illustrator, Photoshop, and other video editing software, then the time has come for you to make money through video editing services.
Several companies are looking to hire remote video editors online, especially on freelance websites, and with your skills, you are one of the best candidates.
Your potential clients will definitely ask for your portfolio, so create one and upload your most creative work. This way, they will have interesting examples to look forward to when reviewing your previous projects.
16. Home Salon
People are willing to spend hundreds of dollars to look beautiful and handsome. Home salons are becoming popular because their services are affordable, and they deliver excellent services to their clients who are all out to look good.
Services provided by a home salon typically include haircuts, hair styling, hair coloring, manicures, pedicures, waxing, facials, and massages, among others.
Your clients can either come to your home where you offer your services, or you can go to their homes and provide home services. Generally, you will make money from home services.
17. Daycare
Day care business is lucrative and there is no limit to what you can achieve with this business idea. As a Daycare provider, parents can leave their children under your supervision and care during the day, especially while they are at work or otherwise occupied.
Daycare centers often offer activities for kids, meals, and a safe environment for children to play and learn until their parents come to take them home.
Therefore, if there are no daycare services near you, I think you should take advantage of it and start one today. To get started, simply inform your family, friends, and neighbors about your new business, and they will spread the word to others. Before you know it, you will have enough kids in your care service.
18. Bookkeeping services
Bookkeeping is a crucial business task. Regardless of your business size, you’ll definitely need a bookkeeper to help manage your finances.
If you have bookkeeping skills, especially in the application of the double-entry bookkeeping system, you can make money in this area. The most exciting thing is that you can work remotely and get paid while working from home.
Bookkeepers record transactions, reconcile accounts, prepare financial statements, and manage accounts payable and receivable.
19. Dog Walking
Some pet owners are so busy that they don’t have time for their pets, especially dogs. In many cases, they may be away for days, weeks, or even months and will need someone to walk and take care of their dogs while they are away.
Therefore, if you love dogs, you can offer dog walking services in your neighborhood and make money from your services. This business idea doesn’t require any capital, and you won’t have to exhaust your energy doing it. And since you love pets, it means you will be paid for doing what you love: pet walking.
You can start by informing your neighbors, friends, and family about your dog walking services through word of mouth. As as you get more clients, you can print business cards, posters and handbills to further advertise your business.
20. Graphic designing
Companies use promotional materials to convey messages to their customers. This is where the services of an experienced graphic designer will come in.
If you can design quality graphics that effectively convey messages in a clear and concise manner, you will be on your way to making money from home.
Graphic designers help businesses to create logos, branding materials, advertisements, social media graphics, business cards, infographics, brochures, posters, packaging designs, and more.
You can work as a freelance graphic designer on remote job platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr, or you can directly approach clients to offer your services.
Conclusion: Best Home-based Business Ideas to Start
The best 20 home-based business ideas to start are definitely not your regular business ideas. Take your time to study these ideas and pick one to focus on. With dedication and commitment, I can assure you that you will make money from it in a few months.
For the ones that require skills, you can dedicate the next three months to learning those skills and become proficient enough to start making money from them while you continue to learn and improve.