Starting an online business may seem intimidating at first, especially if you have little to no experience when it comes to running a business.

Keeping up with the latest business and marketing trends can prove to be a challenge as well, especially if you are on your own.

However, what if we told you that there are certain businesses that you can enter instantly, that may bring you in a lot of revenue if done right, and are beginner-friendly?

Yes, that’s right, today we are going to be explored the 33 online small business ideas that you can start instantly.

1.    Blogging

Through blogging, you can easily share your message across, as well as write about something you are genuinely interested in, and as a result, you can connect affiliate programs to the post which will generate revenue. In fact, we would go so far as to say that starting a blog is one of the most fundamental parts of running an online business, as, through blog posts, you can hint at your other services, as well as promote your knowledge in any given field through the text showcased in the specific blog post itself. People are more likely to hire and trust a person who has talked about a certain topic, than someone who has nothing to back up their claims of a certain topic.

There are currently more than 600 million blogs in the world.

2.    Virtual Assistant

Many smaller companies typically require assistance with web-based tasks, and as a result, if you are skilled enough and have the proper training, you can typically help these companies from a remote location. A virtual assistant can fill in for many roles in a company, however, the most common roles typically are managing the schedule of a person, setting up meetings, and generally dealing with people.

3.       Social Media Management

There are a lot of software solutions out there that try to resolve this issue for companies, but nothing beats a real person with a high level of knowledge and expertise in the topic. A person who is an expert in social media management can constantly follow and adapt to the latest trends, comment on the right posts, and find a way to generate views from the properly targeted audience with ease, and if you see yourself in these shoes, it is the perfect opportunity for you.

4.       Social Media Consultant

If you are especially good at social media, you can take it one step higher and even become a consultant.

5.       Social Media Influencer

If you are good at social media, chances are that you have grown quite the following on platforms such as Instagram. And if not, then don’t worry, because you can learn how to become an Instagram influencer. 

Once you grow your following, you can influence people and sell them certain sponsored products or services. A fanbase is more likely to buy a product recommended by someone they look up to, and have been following for several years, which means that they trust this person. However, the product or service needs to align with the beliefs and interests of the influencer itself as to not cause any backlash.

There are 500.000 active influencers on Instagram

6.       eBook Writer

If you are particularly talented at something or have a knack for writing and storytelling, writing an e-book can take you a long way when it comes to sharing your message and truly showcasing your business prowess. The eBook does not have to be too long in length; however, you do need to follow certain standards in order to be taken more seriously. When it comes to the topic, the book can be just about anything, as long as you take care of the structure and showcase your story in a tone that is easy to read and understand by just about anyone if you want to impress the general masses. If you want to explore a more niche market or have a specific audience in mind, then do your research right, before attempting to write an eBook or novel.

7.       Lead Generation Service

Many business owners tend to want to generate leads online, and if you are a particularly communicative person, and know the right tunnels to those people, you can offer this as a service. A lead generation expert will be able to explore the “depths of the internet” in order to find potential business leads for their client, and know how to manage the information they are given in order to motivate a prospect to decide to use the services which are on offer instead of going to a competing company.

8.       Online Newsletter Service

You can even set up an online newsletter, and if enough people sign up for it, you can sell products and services while working with other businesses.

9.       Video Ad Creator

If you are good with video editing software or have seen some tutorials online, you can begin your career in the world of video editing and offer it as a service to online clients.

10.   Illustration Expert

The same can be said for illustrations, digital art is at an all-time high, and offering custom designs to companies can take you a long way.

11.   Online Recruiting

A lot of HR managers typically have a hard time finding the right person for a job position, so you could help out as an outsourced contractor. These online contractors are focused and help in finding employees online. Online recruiting is typically done through a platform or application which has its own tools to help you source the prospects, and as such, you can just enter the skills the future employee is required to have, the level of education, and the years of experience, after which it will be your job to interview the person, analyze what they have to say, as well as how they say it, and place them in the suitable location.

12.   Life Coach

If you have experienced a lot in life, and have a high level of confidence in your abilities, you can also coach people on how they can improve their life.

13.   Resume Writing Service

You can also write resumes for people who do not have the know-how on how to do it themselves, as such, you can potentially improve someone’s life.

14.   Website Maintenance

If you are a tech-enthusiast and know your way around a website, you can help people manage their websites. Maintaining websites can be a chore, both from the server and back-end side, and through the front-end side, or the side that everyone online sees and has access to.

15.   Website Development

Website development is possibly one of the best things you can learn in terms of development, as every company out there, at some point in their life, will require a business website.

16.   Researcher

If you are good at working with the Google search engine, this might be the perfect opportunity for you to shine.

17.   WordPress Theme Creator

WordPress theme creation combines both design, and development, so if you have offered those services in the past, you can fuse those skills together and create something truly special that could potentially be sold to millions.

18.   Marketing Consultant

If you have experience in marketing, you can help companies by carrying out their online marketing plans.

19.   Customer Service

If you speak a certain language which a company needs, and are good with people, many companies require technical support, and as such, are willing to train their employees to be as efficient at the job as possible, so even if you are not an expert, you will surely be trained.

20.   Website Copywriter

Let’s say that you do not want to start a blog, well, there’s an alternative, you can always write copies for websites. These copies can include the website content as a whole itself or the posts which need to be shared on the website.

21.   Stock Photography

There are a lot of websites out there such as Shutterstock which offer you solid prices for your stock images, so if you have a passion for photography, you can travel the world, or build a studio and offer stock images on platforms for real money.

22.   Proofreader

If you are particularly good at a specific language, you’d be surprised at how big of a business you can build just by proofreading documents.

23.   Travel Consultant

If you have had the chance to travel the world, or possibly build up life savings so you could see the entire world, and are extremely knowledgeable in the topic, you can also become a travel consultant.

24.   Remote Tutoring Services

If you are a specialist at any given skill, you can offer your knowledge in the form of tutoring, and you do not even have to be physically at a given location in order to do so, as most classes can be transferred online with ease.

25.   Online Course Development

If you are specifically tech-savvy and have rich knowledge about a specific topic, why don’t you offer virtual training? You can share your knowledge on a given topic by recording it on your screen, as you record your speaking voice as well as your actions on the screen itself, you can transfer your knowledge to potentially millions of people out there who might be interested in studying in the field you are experienced in.

26.   T-Shirt Design

Many brands eventually get to the point where they have built up a fan base. This fan base likes showing off that they know the company or the creator, and as such, that specific creator might require a t-shirt design, and if you have a passion for fashion, or simply a knack for this sort of thing, this might be the perfect opportunity to show off your talent.

27.   Freelance Writer

Let’s face it, writing is fun, and if you are particularly talented at writing, you might end up getting a lot of online clients just by offering your writing services at an affordable rate.

28.   App Development

If you want to, you can even go a step further and learn how to develop your own applications, after which, you can end up potentially developing applications for some of the biggest companies out there, keep in mind that this is a difficult road to go through, but it will be worth it at the end.

29.   SEO Consultation

If you know how the Google search engine works, or simply have been following all of the latest search engine optimization trends, you can use this knowledge and offer it to companies that are in desperate need of such an improvement.

30.   Affiliates

You can also enroll in affiliate programs. Affiliate programs work in the way through which you get a % of the total cost of a product or service costs. Many websites offer their own affiliate programs, the most popular one of them being Amazon, where you can get a % of each product you manage to get a person to buy through your special affiliate link. This is good because it can be connected with any other business. You are a blogger writing about some service? Add an affiliate. You are an influencer using a product? Add an affiliate, the possibilities are endless when it comes to this field.

31.   YouTube Personality

If you have an amazing personality and are not too shy to talk in front of a camera, you could make a lot of money recording yourself, talking about something you truly love. Video editing skills are a bit of a requirement when it comes to this specific field of work, however, it is nothing a few online videos can’t prepare you for.

32.   Handmade Business

If you are good at making handmade things, there is an entire market out there, such as the one found on Etsy, where you will be able to sell any handmade products you might have created to fans out there who are into those sorts of things.

33.   eBay seller

If you have physical products you want to sell, eBay is one of the largest platforms out there currently available that will allow you to sell a variety of different products to people across the globe.

About the Contributor

Georgi Todorov is the founder of ThriveMyWay, a place for online entrepreneurs, bloggers, SEO specialists, and freelancers to find success in their own way.