Let’s be real – Starting a business is hard. Harder than that is successfully managing and registering profit. While some businesses are easy to run and make profit, most aren’t. The situation turns worse when you don’t have an idea which industry to enter. Should you enter the tech industry? Or make millions selling your SAAS company? Should you start small or go ballistic by raising capital from potential investors?
Unfortunately, all these reasons are often the root cause of why most people don’t want to start a business. Hence, in this post I’ll list down the 11 best low investment business ideas that you can start as a simple side hustle. Most of these business ideas don’t require a huge investment, and you can start them just as a side hustle.
Before you read forward, please know this one thing: You’re free to choose any business idea you want. These are just my personal suggestions. Sure, you’re welcome to share your ideas down in the comment section…
(1) Freelancing
Freelancing is probably the lowest investment side hustle that you can start. The investment is usually lower than a month’s pocket money, and the great thing about it is that if you can establish yourself as a genuine freelancer, the returns are insane. Top performing freelancers on Fiverr get so many orders that they find it hard to complete all of them.
Freelancing is quite common among people with a 9-5 job. They treat freelancing as a side hustle and wait for the time when side hustle income exceeds their job income. And you know what’s the best decision when your freelancing side hustle has made it big? To establish it as a small business. Of course, you’re free not to hire anyone, but once you establish your side hustle into a full-fledged business, you are open to more opportunities and future expansion.
I personally know a very successful graphic designer on Fiverr who makes 5-figures daily. The person started solo, but today is the owner of a small graphic designing company. So, if this person can do it, you SURE CAN!
(2) Dropshipping
Few years ago, Dropshipping was the hottest thing on Facebook. Anybody with a little technical knowledge could easily set-up a Dropshipping store and make money. People who started a Dropshipping store back then made insane money. Unfortunately, those days are gone when you could make $100K in sales within a month, but that does not mean Dropshipping is completely dead.
You can start your own Dropshipping store on TikTok as a side hustle. Yeah, sure you can spend some money promoting your products, but it’s better if you treat it as a side job. Only invest money on ads if you see some traction. Of course, if you promote heavily, your Dropship store will take off within a month, if not in a week. But, that’s too risky and there’s no guarantee you’ll get the same expected result.
Hence, Dropship is a bit risky, but it can teach you a lot on how to grow and manage a business. I have said this before: Ring.com was a Dropship store. That simple Dropship store was acquired by Amazon for a whopping $1 Billion. So, if Ring.com can sell for $1 Billion, your Dropship store can also rake in the big bucks.
(3) Airbnb
Airbnb is a revolutionary business model. It’s one of the best passive income you can have if you have an empty house. Tourists love using Airbnb when they don’t want to shed too much money on expensive hotels. Of course, you need to have enough space to register on Airbnb, but the returns are decent, and it’s usually completely passive.
So, if you already have a house which is just laying down, decaying, you can register it on Airbnb. Usually, the initial investment is super-low and the returns are good enough for a side hustle. But, if you can provide good service, Airbnb can easily become your primary business. And, this has been like this before too. There are many people who have bought property in strategic location only to provide services on Airbnb and make money.
(4) Amazon eBook Seller
Few years ago, I stumbled upon a YouTube channel of this old man who was making big as an Amazon eBook seller. Guess what he sold? Empty eBooks. Yeah, he sold empty eBooks and made 5-figures every month. Even he couldn’t explain why his empty eBooks were selling like hotcakes! He banked upon this opportunity and made more eBooks, and those too sold like hotcakes.
Many of his followers followed the suite and tried selling blank eBooks. They too got the same results. Completely white eBooks are still in great demand on Amazon because of it’s low starting investment.
You can literally create an empty eBook within an hour with Canva and other epub creation software. Why don’t you try it for yourself? Maybe you won’t notch 5-figure days, but you may hit 5-figures a month during holidays.
(5) Food Truck
Food trucks are a superhit business idea. No matter what they sell, food trucks has a charm. Kids love ice cream trucks, just as we love to see some unique food truck. Food trucks business has a major advantage that a brick and mortar business don’t – accessibility. Food trucks are mobile, so they don’t have to depend on just one single location. They can change their location and move to a place where they can easily sell.
Few companies sell premade food trucks, but since you have chosen the “low investment” side, you can make your own food truck if you have a personal vehicle. Surprisingly, unique looking food trucks do better business than a general looking one. As I said, food trucks are more like an experience for tourists than just a regular business.
Few years ago, my uncle tried his hands on food truck business. He didn’t have enough money to invest on a big truck, so he transformed his small truck into a food truck. Something clicked while he was making his food truck. He chose to make the truck more colorful. Guess what? It was a insanely successful! He made more money than he invested within a month of starting his side hustle.
Unfortunately, he had to close it down in 2020 during the global events. Who knows how big the business would have become if he continued.
(6) Coach
Personal coaching is always on high demand. Especially for people who really want to change themselves and just need a push. This is the reason you’ll see people employ gym trainers even when they know how to use gym equipment. They don’t want to learn about gym equipment. A coach’s primary purpose is to guide their client when they make mistakes.
As a coach, your job is to push your client beyond their limits and encourage them to try harder. So, if you know how to encourage people and pull them away from hard times, becoming a personal coach will be a great side business for you. The only criteria is that you have to behave trustful. If you aren’t confident enough, then nobody is going to believe what you say.
(7) Vending Machine
Vending machines are a classical example of passive income. Of course, you have to refill the machines when they get empty, but if you keep that aside, vending machines are a great investment. The Japanese people know this very well, and they heavily invest in the vending machine business. Anywhere you visit in Japan, you’ll find at least one vending machine.
Yeah, you may not live in Japan, but you can invest in the vending machine business. While some vending machines are expensive, you can start your vending machine side hustle by investing in the more affordable ones. The profits are good if the location is good. But the only issue with a vending machine business is that it’s risky. If your vending machine doesn’t attract people, then you’re at a loss.
The best way to keep yourself safe from financial loss is to do market research and see whether vending machine can really be a sustainable business in your area.
(8) Finance Content Creator
Influencers are making quite the waves. And let’s just not talk about how much money finance content creators make. While an average content creator makes few thousand dollars a month, a successful finance content creator can notch 5-figure days. Let’s take finance YouTubers for example – An average YouTuber gets a Revenue per thousand impressions (RPM) between $1-$3. For most it’s sometimes lower than $1, especially when a YouTube channel gets more views from countries like India, and low-income countries.
But, it’s a completely different story for a Finance YouTuber. Most finance YouTube channels receive at least $20 RPM. Which is 20x more than an average YouTube channel. So, If a gaming channel makes $1000 for 1 Million views, a finance YouTube channel can make $20,000 with that same views. It’s a stark difference.
So, if you have a good grasp on finance, and how money and economy works, then you should become a Finance Content Creator. You can share your thoughts on the present financial situation on all social media channels, especially on YouTube, and establish yourself as a brand. If you’re serious enough, it won’t be long enough before you start making money not just from ads, but also from sponsorships and affiliates.
(9) Etsy Shop Owner
While Etsy may not be as famous as Amazon or eBay, the store has created a special place among people who are more focused on DIY products. You’ll find those products on Etsy which you won’t find on Amazon or eBay. It’s also quite easy to start an Etsy shop though, and since the competition is not as high as it’s with other eCommerce websites, chances are you’ll sell good.
As a merchant you’ll get access to various tools that’ll help you make more money. Start small, since your target is to start with low investment. It’s on you to decide whether you want to sell digital products or hard products. If you ask me, Etsy works great for homemade and DIY products like sweaters, stickers, and hand-drawn art. This eCommerce platform is the hotspot of artistic people who want to convert their artistic talent to money.
The top Etsy shop owners makes at least 4-figures monthly, and on holiday seasons some shops make the same amount everyday. Few months ago, I found a YouTube video of a guy making 6-figures on Etsy. Guess what product he sold? Complex software? No! Stickers for kids.
(10) Downloadable Digital Products
Downloadable digital products are highly profitable because of how easy it is to deliver. The best part is that you only have to make the product once and just sell its copies. Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store are the two most famous stores for digital products. But, you can take the other route and sell on Etsy as well.
I wonder whether you’ve heard about Canva and Notion templates? These two services are used by millions, because of how effective these apps are. But how can you make money from Canva and Notion? By selling templates for people who really need it. Notion is widely used by people who take productivity too seriously, and Canva is used by everyone, professional graphic designers and an average layman.
You can create Canva themes and make them available only for paid Canva users, or you can sell them for a flat fee. One other way is to sell unique designs on Iconscout. Iconscout is one of the largest marketplace for graphic designers.
Notion has a “templates” option where you can release free or paid templates. Trust me, if your templates are unique and easy to use, you’ll make enough money to establish a business out of it. Selling digital products is one of the best side hustle which can transform into a business.
(11) Website/Domain Flipping
You might have heard about starting a blog, this time, let’s take a different route and take a step forward. Website and domain flipping is a great business model. It’s actually simple, you either make your own blog, write content, make money and then when you feel like, sell it. Or you can buy a website from open market and then sell it for profit after some time. Domain flipping also works the same, but it’s a little different from website flipping.
I have sold websites in the past, so I know that it’s lucrative and highly profitable if you do it correctly. Just to raise your curiosity, an average website sells for 30x it’s monthly income. So, if your blog makes $1000 a month, then there’s a high chance that it’ll sell for $30,000. Nice return I would say.
I have seen gaming blogs sell for millions on websites like Empire Flippers, Flippa. Among these two, Empire Flippers is more professional and safe. If you have a small blog, then you must check out Motion Invest.