11 Online Small Scale Business Ideas You Can Start Today!

With more people spending time glued to their smart phones (the web), now is the perfect time to act on the small scale business ideas listed below…

We live in an age where the World Wide Web, better known as the Internet, has become deeply woven into the fabric of our daily lives. Most people can barely go an hour without their smart phones and a Wi-Fi connection.

Web companies like Google and Amazon are replacing traditional businesses and media platforms every day.  Almost anything can be ordered online, such as groceries, clothing, and miscellaneous items like unicorn meat. There are mobile doctors, barbers, therapists, that will come right to your doorstep from an email. You can also buy lunar real-estate online.

Even friendships and relationships have moved to the net. Social media platforms such as Facebook have become one of the major ways that people keep in touch and maintain relationships with their friends and families.

The dating scene has drastically changed as well. According to eHarmony, “there are 40 million Americans using online dating websites and those users range from young to old.” With all that being said, every aspect of the human experience is being affected by the internet, business and entrepreneurship are no exceptions.

Never before in history has it been easier to start a successful business than today. The internet extends the reach of small businesses and gives them global scope.  It doesn’t matter what you sell or what service your business offers; odds are, out of the billions of people that use the web, someone will like what you do.

Many internet based businesses require little to no money and can be started from scratch.  Millions of people use sites like Upwork and Freelancer.com to find potential customers and work for their small businesses. In this day and age, if you have access to a computer with internet and a passion, you can find someone willing to pay you for your products/services.

Many people want to escape working their 9 to 5 jobs, but don’t really know where to start. I have put together a list of small scale business ideas that are easy to start and have the potential to be highly lucrative. Most of the ideas listed can be started on a near zero budget.

Writer

Writing is probably one of the easiest small scale business ideas on this list (to actually start and profit from).  If you have great writing skills, people will pay you to ghost write their blogs, articles, books, even emails. There are plenty of places to find work as a writer online; like I mentioned above, Upwork is a great place to find writing gigs. Another great platform is iWriter.com. I have used iwriter in the past, it’s a great company and there is lots of potential for building a client base.

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is another great place for writers who are looking to self-publish their work. With KDP, you can easily post your ebooks, digital novels, manuals, etc to the Amazon platform and reach millions of people around the world.

Reviewer (via YouTube)

Many people make careers out of reviewing products on YouTube. Look around your house and review some products you own; that new blender you got for Christmas, your new cell phone or laptop. Even a book that you really enjoy can be reviewed and turned into a profit.

Look at other successful reviewers on YouTube and write a list of things they did that you like (what works, what annoyed you, etc). Use other reviewers to come up with your own style.

Reach out to companies and offer to review their products. And don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a professional (DSLR) camera to record videos. Many smart phones today have great looking video quality. After you record your videos, share them on social media with your friends and companies that might be interested or impressed.

Online Teacher/Coach

If you are really good at something, like math, marketing, or even just making friends and networking; people will pay to listen to you. You can build a following by writing eBooks, making free inspirational videos, how to videos, and then charge people for one on one classes/group time sessions. You could also market your pay-to-attend webinars and such through social media.

Domain Flipper

People will pay a lot of money for a good domain name. What makes a good domain name? I could write an entire book on that. But domains like Coffee.org sold for $100,000. And other names like privatejet.com and VacationRentals.com have sold for millions.

If this kind of thing interests you, I suggest you do some research. Start with this article from Godaddy and this other one from Cleverism. The domain flipping industry can be highly lucrative, and many domains can be purchased for cheap ($1 – $12) then flipped and sold for hundreds, even thousands if you find a buyer. Flipping domains is something that Centropy Designs does on a regular basis; we will have classes on this topic in the near future. Out of all the small scale business ideas listed in this blog, this is our favorite.

Thrift Store Flipper (online consignment shop)

If you frequent the Goodwill or other thrift stores, you probably have found some really great things often. I recently when to a Goodwill and found a mint condition PlayStation One Game worth several hundred dollars.

If you have the time and drive, you can make a business out of refurbishing thrift store items and reselling them online. You can set up an eBay or Amazon account and start listing things right now. Maybe you want to setup your own website and start an online eCommerce business. Centropy Designs can build you a professional website that will make major retailers jealous.

Vlogger

There are many people on YouTube that have made careers out of simply talking about their life on video. If you have the ability to speak on camera and upload a video to YouTube, you can vlog. Chances are there will be people that would love to listen to you ramble about yourself and subscribe to your channel.

Google will pay you (after you get your account verified and videos monetized) when people click your ads. Vlogging is a really simple to do and can lead to paid sponsorship’s and many other great things. Finding success can be really easy if you have a unique look or interesting accent. But content is king, so producing high quality interesting videos is the best plan.

Tech Support

Are you really good with computers, operating systems or other software platforms? Maybe you are really good with switches, servers, routers, printers, computer networks, etc.  If this sounds like you, start a small email/phone based helpdesk. Look on Manta, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites for startups/small businesses. Offer your services.

Voice Actor

If speaking is one of your strong suits, something in which you excel at, try voice acting. Upwork has a whole category dedicated to finding work in the voice over, narration, eLearning industry.  People will even pay you to speak on their voicemail’s.

Data Entry

If you can type on a keyboard (you probably can if you are reading this) you can do data entry. Both Freelancer and Upwork have tons of people who are willing to pay to have Excel sheets converted into word documents, paper documents entered into databases, data mining, etc.

Accounting & Consulting

Accounting is one of the fields that will always be here. At the time of writing this blog, I see 2007 accounting jobs available on Upwork alone. Businesses are constantly looking for book-keepers, financial advisers, and management of their finance records. Small businesses commonly look for tax prep specialists and basic help managing their books. If you have these skills, you are will always have business.

Translator

Know multiple languages? If so, start an online business translating videos, movies, phone calls, web video conversation, etc. If you live in the U.S and speak multiple languages fluently, you have a marketable skill. According to the Pew Research Center, “only 25% of American adults self-report speaking a language other than English.” With the growing Spanish speaking population in America, there will be a demand on translators for years to come.

I hope that this list of online small scale business ideas gave you some motivation. These are just a few ways to make money on the web, there are thousands of others that people take advantage of every day. If you need help creating a website for your business, contact us at info@centropdesigns.com. We offer affordable web design solutions to small businesses on a budget. Take advantage of the digital age that we live in; no one should feel trapped at a 9 to 5 job with the internet offering thousands (maybe millions) of lucrative opportunities daily