16 Online Business Ideas You Can Start on the Side

Starting a business allows a person to earn more while sitting anywhere in the world. With digitisation, it has become easier to launch a business easily and quickly. And with the deadly pandemic taking over the entire world, more and more people are now seeking online business opportunities.

Although the idea of online businesses is exciting, entrepreneurs often get confused about what type of business they should start. More often, it becomes difficult for them to think about how to start or where to start. The most important step in starting an online business is to find business ideas that suit your strength, skills and budget.

16 online business ideas that you can start

Whether you are looking for full-time entrepreneurship or want to start a part-time business, your services and products must fulfil your customers’ needs. Below is a list of 16 online business ideas that are trending.

1. Blogging

Blogging might seem an outdated business strategy, but, in reality, it has maintained its popularity. Although the competition in blogging is high, if you have a strategy ready with you, you can give your blog a competitive edge. Starting a blogging website as a business is extremely simple with various website builders like WordPress and Weebly available now. However, the key to success is quality and consistency. You have to work very hard to produce high-quality content that offers value to your visitors and readers. You can also sell sponsored posts or ad space on your blogging site. This kind of business strategy takes a little time, and a bit of effort to get monetised but is extremely profitable in the end.

2.  E-commerce retailing in a niche market

If you have a good budget in your hand and are interested in a specific area like clothing, jewellery, or any other e-commerce business niche market idea, you can consider venturing into it. It mainly depends on your interest. With a niche e-commerce website, you can reach out to customers seeking specific products. In this way, you can differentiate your brand from other businesses. For making it a successful one, you must deliver an easy and simple shopping experience process to your customers in order to earn their goodwill.

3. SEO consultancy

If you have good knowledge of search engines and related technical skills, then working as a freelance SEO consultant could be a lucrative option for you. Many business owners are still not aware of SEO, so, by starting a virtual SEO consultant agency, you can start educating various business owners and explain to them the power of SEO, which will help them bring more conversions.

4. Web developing or web designing

Are you a creative person with skills in designing websites with striking visual themes, layout, colour palette, and font set? If yes, then you can opt for being a freelance web designer or web developer. This type of career can be both full-time and part-time. If you seek to start your own business, you can start a web development or web designing agency to help other startups start their website launch process.

5. Affiliate marketing

You can consider affiliate marketing as your professional source of income. If you own a personal website or have a strong social media presence, you can start with affiliate marketing programs. In this type of business, various PR firms and startups reach out to affiliate marketers to advocate their business.

6. Social media consultancy

Social media is quite helpful in bringing in more revenues to any business. And that is why large enterprises are always searching for social media consultants who can handle their social media profiles and boost their online presence. As a social media consultant, you will be responsible for helping various small businesses determine the best tactics of bringing in more followers to their business.

7. Craft businesses

If your expertise lies in creating amazing DIY products for handmade crafts, you can reach out to various e-commerce websites and online marketplaces to sell your handmade goods. Being a handmade craft seller, you can make a lot of money with your skills. If you target good websites like ArtFire and Etsy, it will be extremely easier for you as an artisan to sell your handmade products.

8. Freelance writing

If you have any hands-on experience in writing, then being a freelance writer is never a bad idea. Start with your own domain and register yourself in various freelancing websites like Upwork and Freelancer to make out money by bidding on projects for yourself.

9. Virtual teaching

We all know that owing to COVID-19, everything has shifted to the virtual domain. And teaching is not an exception. You can register yourself as a virtual teacher on various online teaching platforms and start taking video classes. Choose your own subject, register yourself on any popular teaching website, and get hired as a teacher. Apart from that, you can also start your own personal website and post high-quality tutorial videos.

10. Virtual assistant

If you love to stay super organised and manage the behind-the-scenes of any business, then being a virtual assistant is the best business option for you. You can be a virtual assistant for any business or entrepreneur and organise their professional schedules. You can handle a broad range of duties like scheduling appointments or a basic marketing meeting and lots more.

11. Online influencer

Influencer marketing is just the trending thing that you can see on various social media platforms. This is an opportunity for you to be an influencer and help businesses in promoting their brand. If you are someone with over 10k followers, then being an influencer marketer can be a good business opportunity.

12. App developer

If you have good knowledge of coding and app development, then being a freelance app developer can help you earn more revenue for yourself. This requires proper training on building mobile and website applications. Plenty of businesses are now looking for software developers to create both websites and mobile apps for their businesses. And this creates a lucrative opportunity for you as an app developer to try out.

13. Food delivery businesses

If you are a foodie by heart and would love to invest more in this business, you can start with a food delivery business. You can register your food delivery business to an aggregator food delivery business website and get started with it instantly.

14. Dropshipping businesses

If you need to run an online business website, you may be stressed over putting away stock. With outsourcing, you can take client orders online and send them straightforwardly to a third-party online retailer for satisfaction. However, as long as your plan of action includes selling things at a cost higher than what you’ll pay to the third-party retailer, your outsourcing business will be set for progress.

15. YouTuber

Start with your YouTube channel on any subject you prefer. Today, many people search for ‘how-to’ videos, and you may start your YouTube channel with some informative videos. As the number of viewers in your channel grows, you will be able to monetise your business and make an income out of it quickly. Once you start uploading videos to your YouTube channel, start sharing them on social media to get widespread views.

16. Podcasting network

In recent years, podcasts have been greatly popular. If you have an excellent voice and want to lend it to various businesses, you can start your own podcasting network. You can upload your own podcast in your channel and put on prices as per the market value for podcast download.

Ready to Start Your Online Business?

Initiating an online business is always an exciting venture, but it doesn’t mean that the path will be easy. There will be several hindrances in the way. However, the list of online business ideas mentioned here is extremely lucrative and easy for any person to start with. So choose your business idea wisely and go ahead with full passion.

Also read:

1) Online Business Ideas You Can Start Quickly
2) What online business can I do to make money? Here are the top-6 ideas for you.
3) Where Do the Best Business Ideas Come From?
4) Best Home Business Ideas in 2020
5) OkCredit: All you need to know about OkCredit & how it works.