If you’re one of the few people googling “books on starting an online business,” then you’re in luck—my $19.99 book is on sale right now—I kid. I kid. I have no book to sell. Often the best teacher is your experience, and you can use your passion and ambition to start any business you desire.

Not to get all woo-woo on you but I’m a big believer in manifestation and the law of attraction. Everything around you started with an idea. The chair you’re sitting in was a thought or idea at one point. The cellphone you’re reading on was someone’s brainchild, too. The point is the only limitation is your mind [and the law], because the business has to be legitimate for you to succeed.

So, keep an open mind and an open wallet—I’m kidding. Let’s get started.

If you’re interested in a particular topic, please feel free to jump ahead:

Determine the type of business you will start.

The first thing you want to think about is what type of business you want to start. If you’re on the fence about starting an online business or a brick-and-mortar business, then keep reading. If you’re already sold on the idea of starting an online business, please skip ahead.

What are the pros and cons of opening an online business?

The advantages of opening an online business are the following:

• Limited overhead and start-up costs
• Low marketing costs
• Flexibility: you can run your online business anywhere you have an internet and phone connection
• 24/7: your online business never closes and you can make money while you sleep
• International market: your online business has a global presence and you can sell your products or services to anyone in the world

The disadvantages of opening an online business are the following:

• Highly competitive market: your online business will be competing with existing online businesses
• Slow Revenue: it may take a month or several months to make money
• Effective marketing: you will need to be able to effectively reach your target market via online marketing to get customers into the “door”
• High lead times: it may take days or weeks for customers to receive an order. Based on the Amazon prime model, customers expect fast shipping and delivery times. Some online retailers are even providing same day shipping.
• Constantly evolving market: since your online business relies on internet traffic, your business may be impacted by Google algorithm changes; this will affect how results are displayed based on certain search inquiries. This is why it’s important to do email marketing or even SMS marketing so that you will have access to customers no matter what.
• Website: your website will be the first impression customers will receive of your business and it needs to be professional, have a fast-loading time, and effectively convert customers

What are the pros and cons of opening a brick-and-mortar business?

The advantages of opening a brick-and-mortar are the following:

• Customer convenience: nothing beats the opportunity for consumers to physically go to a store to test or try a product in-person
• No lead time: customers don’t have to wait for a product to be shipped and/or delivered. Customers can leave with their in-store purchases immediately
• Easy return and after-sale experiences: customers can go back to the store and receive the refund the same day or even exchange the product

The disadvantages of opening a brick-and-mortar are the following:

• Higher overhead costs: leasing a building and/or space, inventory, furniture, etc. all add up to a hefty bill before you even made your first sale
• Higher costs of maintenance: your storefront will need to be maintained so it has a professional experience
• Insurance costs: liability insurance, employee insurance, property insurance etc. are some expenses that need to be accounted for running a legitimate business
• Website: you will still need a website. Most consumers expect a legitimate business to have an online presence

Of course, my preference is an online business, because it’s more accessible to start. So, the rest of this article will focus only on online business ideas.

Online business ideas that make money

• Affiliate marketing: Have you ever read a glowing product review that contained a link for the product? Well, every time a customer clicks on the link and completes a purchase, the website owner gets paid.
• Google AdSense: Have you ever seen an ad pop up on a website when you’re scrolling through it? Well, every time a customer clicks on the ad and completes a purchase, the website owner gets paid.
• Social Media Marketing: use any social media platforms to promote a business and/or product.
• Virtual Assistant: provide clerical services and/or complete administrative tasks for individuals or companies.
• Start a Blog: yes, blogs still make money in 2023. For example, HuffPost earns about $500 million per year.
• Coaching Business: help business owners to grow their business.
• Tutor: teach children, teenagers, or even college students online or in-person.
• Launch a Podcast: yes, everyone and their mamma started a podcast in 2022 but that just means there is money to be made. The golden rule is to follow the money. All you need is a laptop, reliable internet connection, and a quality microphone.
• Drop shipping: No inventory? No problem. Drop shipping allows entrepreneurs to sell products that are manufactured, warehoused, and shipped by a third-party.
• SEO consulting: SEO or search optimization is an important pain point for most small businesses who need lead generation or need a lot of and/or better-quality website traffic.
• Freelance graphic designer: visual storytellers who design or create graphics for commercial or promotional needs.
• Freelance web designer: use design programs to create engaging and appealing websites.
• Freelance researcher: conducts and organizes research on a specific subject and topic.
• Freelance writer: uses their writing talent for any companies or individuals that hires them.
• Freelance developer: self-employed professional coders who work for different clients on various projects.
• Proofreader: Do you love to read? Get paid to read for a living by reviewing various forms of content to ensure proper spelling, sentence structure, and readability.
• Create a subscription or membership website: create amazing content on a continuing basis that subscribers would pay monthly access for.
• Write an e-book: write a novel or series of e-books on any subject
• Translation: Do you know a foreign language? Use this skill to your advantage by translating various documents
• Set up an eCommerce store: you can choose sell products on popular platforms like Shopify and Etsy. You can also create a WordPress website.

• eBay seller: sell your used items or curate the most popular items to create a bidding war earning you cold hard cash.
• Amazon seller: this mega-successful ecommerce platform earned 469.8 billion USD in 2021. Get a piece of the Amazon pie selling various types of products, e.g., books, clothing, shoes, gadgets etc.
• Buy and Sell Websites: this business model is similar to flipping houses. You can buy a [low-profit] website and change it to increase its value. Then, you can sell the improved website. You can also buy an existing [high-profit] website and figure out ways to maximize your profit. Some popular companies for buying and selling websites are Flippa, Empire Flippers, FE International, Latona’s, etc.
• Virtual Tech Support: if you’re smart and savvy with computers, you can provide technical support to small businesses.
• Open an Etsy shop: Etsy earns about 2 billion in profits a year. You can sell jewelry, digital products, clothing, etc. Etsy also has a built-in audience. So, you can market your items to millions of customers using Etsy.   
• Sell digital products: this is a low-cost business idea with high profits. If you can create high-quality products once, you can resell the items multiple times.
• Build an app: if you have a great app idea, you can pay someone to build it for you. Also, there is software that allows you to build an app without any coding knowledge, e.g., Appy Pie, Andromo, etc.
• Create and sell NFTs: NFT stands for non-fungible token. A NFT is a record [on the blockchain] that shows ownership [of a digital product]. So, a person selling a NFT is selling that record or ownership. Selling NFTs on platforms, such as OpenSea has become extremely popular in the last few years.
• Do voiceover work: do you have a great voice? Small businesses need voiceover artists for their commercials, presentations, promotional ads, etc.
• Build niche websites: the key to finding a profitable niche website is to find a high-volume keywords with low competition. Build a website that provides a narrow focus on this subject for the best results.
• Invest in stocks and cryptocurrency: investing is profitable if you know what you’re doing. You can try different trading styles. For example, you can become a day trader. So, you wouldn’t leave your money in a stock overnight. Or you can become a swing trader who leaves money in a stock for a span of time, e.g., three months.

• Become a social media influencer: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson makes a whopping $1 million per post on Instagram. Not everyone is making these big bucks. But sponsoring products or brands on social media is a very lucrative business. Decide what you’re passionate about and build a following. Once you have enough followers, you can monetize your channel.
• Online fitness trainer: Covid-19 changed a lot of things. Gyms were closed and a lot of people still haven’t returned to the gym. Also, people with busy schedules may not be able to go to the gym regularly. Create easy workout routines for people who don’t go to the gym.
• Buy and sell website domain names: this business is all about buying the domain name. You don’t have to build a website. The name itself is the goldmine. Some domain names can reach thousands of dollars. One downside is you would have to wait for a buyer to make a profit on your domain. The costs can add up if you buy several domains without a ready buyer available.
• CV, Resume, and Cover Letter Writing: resumes templates are a huge business. People will always be looking for jobs. Job seekers need to set themselves apart with a solid resume. Use your writing skills to make templates or customized resumes.
• Sell your music: if you’re a musician, you can sell your music for commercials, stock videos, etc. You can also sell your music as an NFT. The possibilities are endless.
• Freelance financial advisor: people will need advice on how to invest and grow their money. If you’re smart with money, you can scale this business pretty quickly.
• Ghostwriter: ghostwriting isn’t just for your favorite musician’s songs. You can ghostwrite anything, e.g., books, speeches, internet content, etc.
• Transcription: if you can type fast, you can convert audio/video to text. A lot of customers may have hearing issues. So, businesses pay big bucks to provide text for their video or audio content.
• Online Recruiting: if you’re good at scoping out new talent or candidates, try your hand at helping companies fill their companies with quality candidates
• Start a YouTube Channel: you don’t have to take off your clothes or show your feet—unless you’re into that sort of thing—to make money uploading vides to the world wide web. YouTube has 1.7 billion unique monthly visitors and it’s the world’s second-most visited website. Get in on some of that action by creating high quality content videos in a profitable niche.

• Create and sell stock photos: photos are everywhere. Photos can be found on the internet, tv, and billboards. But someone or some company owns that copyrighted photo. Earn a commission on photos you upload to stock photo companies for an extra stream of income.  
• Copywriter: if you’re good at writing and marketing, you can use your skills to write text, copy, or messages for marketing or promotional materials.
• Freelance Pay Per Click Consulting: businesses would pay big money to have their sponsored ads bring in new customers.
• Technical Writer: Are you good at breaking down complex things into easy-to-understand terms? Well, technical writers can use their skills to create manuals and instruction documents, create compliance documents for pharmaceutical companies, etc.
• Accounting or bookkeeping: Help businesses keep track of their money.
• Online personal assistant: help people or businesses with their daily lives by completing their personal tasks.
• Online Public Relations: some public figures, celebrities, or even small business owners could benefit from using a public relations professional.
• Start a monthly box subscription service: this industry generated 22.7 billion in 2021. Also, most new subscription box services [in the top 10] weren’t created by established companies. Create a subscription box around a popular industry or hobby to maximize your profits.
• Teach a foreign language: Did you know there are more non-native English speakers (753 million) than native English speakers (379 million)? These non-native speakers used tools or resources to learn English. No matter the language (Spanish, French, Arabic etc.), you can teach a foreign language to students around the world.

Did any of those business ideas speak to you? If not, you can take online tests to determine what should you do. A lot of websites will say the same thing: follow your passion, do what you love, etc.

Almost anything and everything can be monetized, but some things aren’t a right fit for an online business or there isn’t a demand for your idea. So, it’s best to create a list with a whole lot of ideas and eliminate each one until it meets all the profitability requirements, which we’ll talk about a little later.

Find an additional 20 online business ideas

Ikigai Test

My favorite [and free] online test is the Ikigai (pronounced e-key-guy) test. Ikigai is a Japanese concept for something that gives joy and value to life.  If you want a detailed report, then it will cost about $20. However, I did not buy the report and the results I received was sufficient. Here is an example of what an Ikigai chart looks like:

Therefore, your Ikigai or online business would overlap into four primary categories:

1. What you’re good at
2. What you love
3. What you can be paid for
4. What the world needs

It’s okay if your ideas don’t overlap in every category. But the Ikigai test is a great way to think of fresh ideas that are tailored to your interests.

Look Within

When I say “look within,” I’m not referring to some ancient, mystic Chinese proverb that you have to solve. Simply, look within your household. What products do you use daily? What products are you knowledgeable about? Because you’re a consumer and knowledgeable about these products, you can start an online store.

Taking it a step further, is there something you wish were different about the product? Can the product be improved? If so, you can provide a better version of this product, which will be useful in your email marketing campaign.

Leverage your expertise

What is your background? Do you have a marketing background? Do you speak several foreign languages? Do you have any special certifications or specialized training?

Using your existing talents or background can be a way to quickly break away from the competition. Customers will look to you as an expert, and you can use this to your advantage when pricing your products and/or services.

If you don’t have any specialized training or unique experiences, that’s okay, too. If you’re willing to learn, then you can break into almost any industry. Yes, it will take more work. But it’s doable. Remember, if you believe it, you can achieve it.

Amazon Best Sellers

Amazon’s Best Sellers list is a great resource for determining what people are buying. When you’re looking through the list, also look for patterns. As of this writing, here are the top three best sellers in the “Clothing, Shoes, and Jewelry” category:

Here, the top three best-sellers are summer or seasonal items. Therefore, you should keep your eye on the best sellers list but make sure your online store will be stocked with “evergreen” (always high-demand) products.

Also, Amazon has a lot of useful information. It provides reviews for various products. So, you can read the reviews for your competitor’s products to see how you can fill this gap in the market.

Etsy Best Sellers

Another website for seeing what’s trending it Etsy. The best sellers for Esty can be accessed at Marketplace Pulse or EtsyHunt.

Online Business Ideas FAQs

Which is the best online business to start?

The best type of online business to start would be something with high profits and low overhead. So, possible selling services or digital downloads. For example, creating an online course can be lucrative.

Don’t get me wrong. Selling physical products can also be very profitable. But you have to worry about shipping, inventory, and/or returns.

What kind of online business is the most profitable?

The beauty of creating your own business is that there is no limit to how much you can make. So, any business could theoretically be the most profitable.

But here are the most popular profitable online ideas:

• Drop shipping
• Selling digital products
• Blogging
• Creating a membership website
• Provide training or sell online courses
• Selling your own products
• Affiliate marketing
• Sell your services
• Buy and sell websites

Are you inspired to start your online business? If so, what will it be?