90+ Low Investment Small Business Ideas You Can Launch (2024 Updated)

If you want to start a business but don’t exactly know which one exactly, we are here to tell you about almost a hundred low capital business ideas you can choose from.

If you are looking for ways to make money, we will give you the right ideas to upstart the perfect business that’s tailored just for you. Below we provide you a few dozens of business ideas to choose from suitable for every skillset.

Online business ideas

This section has many ideas because the possibilities of great business ideas with low investment in this field are endless You know how everything ‘E’ is popular these days. All you would need is a blog, traffic to it, and some investment from your side towards social media.

Dropshipping

This is pretty much like being an affiliate except for slight differences. You sell items as usual, but you also control the buying process. It’s difficult, to begin with, but it can give more revenue than affiliates. If you do great, there is a possibility of taking your e-commerce site international.

The most recommended platform today for dropshipping business is AliDropship (read our full review here), an all-in-One dropshipping plugin for WordPress that lets you create a dropshipping business by selling AliExpress products, or Shopify with Obrelo plugin (which will be more expensive, though).

Affiliate and content monetization

Most companies have affiliate programs — even big ones like Amazon and Fiverr, Airbnb, Podbean, and many more, which can provide you a great capital returns for many years.

The first step you need to take in this method is by copying the referral link from the service which provides you the affiliation and paste it into your website, blog, etc. and if your visitors sign up, you get a commission for it.

You can do the same for products as well. You can set up a website and put up reviews with links to these products and every time your readers buy these products, you get a commission for monetization. If you understood what affiliation means and you are doing well on your website with excellent traffic, you can put up advertisements on them.

Start with ShareASale.com >>> – one of the world’s leading affiliate marketers based in Chicago, IL USA. ShareASale services two customer sets in affiliate marketing: the affiliate, and the merchant. Affiliates use ShareASale to find products to promote and earn a commission for referrals on those products.

Start with Fiverr Affiliates Program >>> the world’s biggest marketplace for freelancers with over 12 million users in almost 200 countries. Got a generous commission plan, with a CPA of up to $150. Plus, there’s no referral limit and you get lifetime attribution.

Start with ClickBank >>> a popular choice among affiliate marketers with digital products in over 20 categories that reach about 200 million people all over the world.

Don’t forget, to get out the most of the available affiliate products, you will have to launch your own affiliate website, we suggest you use DreamHost for this.

Online store – eCommerce shop

One of the best business ideas with low investment requirements is in the eCommerce niche. E-commerce sites like Etsy and Shopify will help you make your dream come true. You will love making money by selling products, developing your own brand, or dropship products from other creators.

Check out our guide to start an online shop.

Being a blogger and starting a blog

One of the great website business ideas is starting a blog. Being a talented writer can help you in many ways by having a blog. There have been many popular bloggers who started with nothing but ended up with millions. Write captivating content, optimize your site, earn more traffic and see cash flow in.

Copywriter

There are countless blogs and websites out there on the internet world, and these sites require content. You can freelance as a content writer through Fiverr.

Ebook

Do people love what you write? Are you motivated to do it? If you have a lot of knowledge or stories you want to share you can write an E-book, upload it on Kindle and sell it.

Writing freelancer

You can share your talent with people through freelancing. There are many people ready to pay you for your ability. You can register on sites like oDesk, Elance, PeoplePerHour, Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, etc., and try to get projects you are good at. Once you hit it off, there won’t be a stopping.

Transcription service

Being good at hearing and penning it down may prove to be a boon for you. You can earn a lot through transcribing files and if they are in foreign languages even more so. You can try Mechanical Turk by Amazon.

Start an agency

You can start an agency that specializes in SEO, Design, paid search, etc. You don’t really need special tools or machines you can start with the gadgets you already have. You don’t even need to start an agency you can try your luck from your desk at home.

Make apps

Apps can give you money. Of course, if you know how to make them. If your apps get popular, your business will thrive. You can upload them on sites like Apptopia, and others, to sell them. It’s one of the side business ideas that require more skills from you, so no easy money here.

Training company

If you are talented in a field and confident with it you can start a course and offer people to join you by charging them a fee. You can advertise on various websites to get your participants. Udemy is one such company that helps those who want to start training or tutoring others.

Virtual assistant

There were days when people wouldn’t do without Personal assistants, but these days, all you need are virtual assistants to keep you organized. You can try being a virtual assistant and see if this job is for you.

Buy and sell on eBay

It’s simple, buy products for cheap or make them, upgrade them, repackage them and resell them for a higher price. One of the most available low investment business ideas.

Buy and sell domains

People buy domains; they even sell domains! How do you gain from this? You buy popular domains for cheap and then sell them at higher prices. It’s the easiest way to make money. You can get alerted every time a domain goes for sale if you put a watch on it.

Holiday rentals

Do you perhaps have a spare room, or are you going on a long time vacation? You can utilize this space by giving it out for rent on Airbnb. What will make you happier is that they give you many dollars to compensate for any possible damage. It is the easiest way to make money so far.

Sell photographs

If you are good at taking pictures, all you would need to do is to upload them on the stock image website. Most websites need photos, and they pay to buy them if you have some good shots then it’s time to put them up for sale.

Market research service

You can offer services to businesses and help them earn better by giving strategies to get their game on. You can offer your services through social media or as a freelancer. There are many genuine freelancing sites out there.

Take surveys

It depends solely on luck. You can apply for survey tasks – if they find you suitable enough they will send you surveys you need to take part in. These start at 2$ and climb up to 35$.

YouTube celebrity

If you are up to showing your best side to the world, then you don’t have to need much except a good camera to take videos and a laptop to edit them. If even one of your videos makes you famous, you can make a humongous amount of money through advertisements, and the possibilities are endless.

Webinars

Target your expertise area. Make a widespread community and sell other products and services. You can charge a fee for entry and marketing.

User testing

Every company needs to test the products they want to put out on the market. And for this, they require someone who can test them out and find faults in them. You can make a website for this, and once you gain the trust of companies and plant your steady foot in this industry, it will become a full-time business.

Business Development

Are you an excellent salesman who doesn’t give up till a set goal is achieved? If so, then you can give it your all by spending a few hours of marketing and making sales. Once you get the gist of it, you may even want to start a call center of your own. You can also try services like Fiverr to kick-start your career.

You can learn about how to get better with Fiverr sales in this article.

Proofreader

Good at catching grammar mistakes, reading, and catching flaws? You can try being a proofreader. You can use Fiverr for this as well. 

CV/Resume writer

Being good at writing is a gift. Being good at writing resumes helps people get jobs even more so. You can use Fiverr to find Clients.

Recruiter

Many companies are looking for talented professionals who can take their company to the next level? How can you benefit from this? By referring some talented lot to them of course. If you have been on LinkedIn for a while, you might know who is suitable for a different profession. You get a commission from these companies if they hire the people you recommend. Even mail can make much difference.

To start a recruiting company, all you need would be a phone and excellent conversing skills.

Photographer

You would need a professional camera and a knack for taking good photos to get into this. Many people hire freelancers for special occasions so that they can save on their budget.

To publicize your work, you might need social media like Facebook and Instagram to let the world know what you got, and the orders will flow in.   

Videographer

The only difference between photography and videography would be that the videographer would need some solid strength in their hand and some cool editing skills with the main video editing software such as Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro and also the more handy online video editings tools like Promo.com and others. If you do well, you won’t need to hunt for orders, and the orders will find you.

Fundraiser

You help companies get finance – you get paid. As simple as that. The companies ask for help with finance from venture capital or business angel. The more your network expands, the more gold will flow in.

Domestic and household ideas

The best thing about a domestic business is that you don’t have to invest too much into it and the profit is way more than your investment, and once you hit it off you can make these long-time options that will last a lifetime.

Gardening company

If you are a nature lover, there is nothing more suitable for you than gardening. If you know the know-how of taking care of landscapes, it won’t be difficult. You can start by taking care of your neighbor’s lawn. It may look like a small step but once you get a hang of it; it won’t take long before you start a company of your own.

Catering company

This might be the perfect business for you if you enjoy cooking but catering for parties isn’t easy. If you don’t fear hard work and are all ready to give it your all, then start from home by supplying to cocktail parties, birthday parties, and such.

Once you get more confident and start getting regular orders, you can take it up a notch by employing people to help you and begin taking orders for catering for bigger occasions like weddings. Before starting, you may want to make sure you have the license required to start this business. A  Food hygiene certificate etc. is necessary to start any business related to the food industry.

Personal chef

Being a personal chef is nothing but catering but at a lesser effort. If you have the gift of turning plain ingredients into a delicacy then, this might just be the right job for you. Instead of a whole lot of people, you may have to cook for a small lot. It’s not too much hard work, but it can help you earn enough. Applying for a license is the same as it is for catering.

House staging

If your taste in interior designing is epic and your friends don’t get tired of praising the interiors of your house and its setup, then you may surely enjoy doing this job.

House staging is nothing but decorating the houses that have been put up for sale to make them look good to the buyers and tempt them to buy the property. Once you make a name for yourself in this industry, then you will get better results and higher commissions.

Childcare

Do you have a gift to connect with kids? Then let me tell you what will suit you best. You can start a basic day-care to look after kids if you love children; this business will be less work and more joy.

This job is mostly a hit because most parents choose to put their children in daycare than hire babysitters so that their children can bond well and develop values. Once you get famous for how good you are at taking care of kids and earning their trust, it will become a good source of full-time income for you.

Painter/Decorator

The first step towards this business would be publicizing your business Print flyers and pass them out. Once you start getting orders, purchase all you need and are ready to get going.

House sitting

The easiest job there can be so far. All there is to it is taking care of houses while the owners are away on vacation. No worries about meals as owners usually allow you to use the kitchen and provide you with comfortable rooms to stay in. Stress-free living for a couple of days as the money flows in.

Window cleaning

You can’t go wrong with this one; I mean, come on who doesn’t have windows? As long as there are windows, you have work. Print out flyers and distribute them around your local area.

Pool cleaning

Rumor has it that only those above 21, with muscles, are allowed to take on this job, the truth is, anyone can as long as they perfectly know how it’s done and have experience with it.

Carpet cleaning

The equipment required is a bit pricey but still worth it since the job pays more, and once you hit it off, you won’t regret investing in it. Pretty great “sweaty job” option.

Cleaning company

There have been many companies that have started from the bottom but have established stars in the cleaning industry. All you need to begin are cleaning supplies, and some advertisements through posters and you are ready to start.

Laundry service

To make any business successful, it’s the advertisement that plays the most significant role in it. A company’s success all depends on how and where you have invested in publicizing it. Start passing out flyers around apartment blocks with a delivery option you can even partner with your local launderette and sort out some options like cheaper rates and free delivery.

Perfect business for animal lovers

When doing a job with animals, it feels like not working at all. Here are a few jobs that will get animal lovers all excited.

Dog walking

Everyone needs a walk, and so do Dogs. However, not everyone has the time to take them for walks, so they hire people to walk them for money. Here again, you can pass out flyers around the neighborhood. You can advertise on various pet sites like BorrowMyDoggy. Really.

Pet grooming

Dogs and cats love to go to the spa too. Really, Pets love pampering. They get bathed and groomed. They even get a haircut. If you are comfortable with pets and you know how to groom them you can opt for it. It is not as easy as cutting our hair, so it costs a lot more too.

Pet sitting

There can’t be anything more fun than looking after and playing with dogs. Your job is to look after them all day, play with them and love them. It’s babysitting but with half the paperwork. You can advertise through social media and bypass out flyers. You can even try to work out a partnership with other animal-related companies.

Dog training

The name says it all. If you have the magic to train dogs, if they listen to you and follow your commands, then you might want to give this a try. After all, who doesn’t love a dancing dog? 

Aquarium cleaning

Fond of fishes? You can try cleaning aquariums by talking to local pet shops and advertising on the net. You can partner with local pet shops and every time they refer you for the job you can give them a fee.

Make gifts

Handmade gifts never get old. Make pretty stuff for the pets to play with. All pets love gifts, and the owners love to give them too. Start your store on platforms like Shopify you can even try making a website of your own. You can either make your own stuff or import them from foreign countries on which you keep your profit cut, and you are good to go. 

Ideas for professionals: 

Networking and e-mailing clients can get you some money if you are looking for academic ways to make cash, whether you are a writer, architect, software developer, or accountant.

There is a job for every profession.

Financial adviser

You can make a blog and market by talking about things like money management, it is very similar to accounting, but it has a much broader spectrum.

Architect

freelancers are very much needed in every field for special projects. It all depends on networking, so the prices are not too high, and the chance is not too many unless you establish your name in this field.

Accountant

Who doesn’t need an accountant? Every company does! Not everybody is knowledgeable in this field, so those who do will have enough work if they look around well enough from payrolls to tax returns. You can sponsor an organization such as a start-up accelerator.

Lawyer

If you have enough years of experience, you can start up your law firm. If you want to start freelancing, you can try various sites like freelancer and Fiverr.

Business consultant

Good with business strategies? Then you might help others reach great heights as well if you have a good network and experience and can help others with their business, you can flourish as a business consultant. 

Tutor

If you are one of those who love to share knowledge with everyone you meet, you will definitely enjoy tutoring. There are sites that do one on one tutoring for kids, and they give pretty good money. You might want to try that out and see if it’s tailored for you. 

IT support

Good with technology as well as with helping others? As the world innovates and improves, so do people need tutoring for all that’s new.  If you provide good, IT support, you may get followers and clients for a long time. Also, in a remote mode, it’s of the best paid small business ideas from home you can do.

PR services

Being good at public relations can open doors. If you have the magic to charm anyone and have a wide array of networks at your service, then you might as well give it a try. You can also provide private services or join a PR firm. You can make side money if you know any financial websites or newspapers by publicizing businesses.

Personal and beauty business ideas

In love with makeup? Are you first in the queue whenever a new product is launched? Do ideas of being a makeup or tattoo artist wake you up in the middle of the night? This field has a wide array of businesses, but to make it simple, we have only the top-notch ones for you.

Body piercing

If you know how to pierce and have the tools needed for it, all you would need is space to start up. You can rent a place out or see if someone is hiring. 

Tattoo artist

The best thing about this profession would be that you don’t need to shell out much money to open a shop of your own. You can contact your local tattoo shop to see if they can rent your space. You can look for advice from them as well.  

Hairdresser

If you have a knack for styling hair, then go for it, we are here to cheer you on.

Makeup artist

The popularity of this profession is on the rise these days. If all love your makeup, why not give it a try by having your own tutorials on your website or tutorial on YouTube. You can also advertise through social sites and give a free makeup look to the bride to be in your area so that she knows whom to look for when her big day arrives. 

Massage therapist

If you have a bit of experience in this field you might want to try this one out since the craze over massage and spas is yet to cool down, and I doubt it would cool down for years to come. There are various massages, and you can take a short course to specialize in one. You can publicize your business through pay-per-click and social media. 

Personal stylist

If you love checking out what’s latest season fashion and love to see others doll up through your choice. If style and fashion are your cups of tea, then you might even try blogging and start making trends.

Personal shopper

You might have to be a social butterfly for this one, A social butterfly with an excellent taste and up-to-date with fashion that is. You can get clients whom you might need to shop for -per their taste or accompany them and give them advice as they choose what to buy. 

Health & fitness businesses

If you are one who loves living healthy and knows all about being fit, then some businesses will suit you well.

Personal trainer

You don’t need to own your own place to make use of your personal training skills, just visit your local gym and introduce yourself, you need to pay a small fee to the gym to use the equipment and the place, and as a bonus, you can find your clients inside the gym.

Fitness programs

Military fitness is pretty popular these days. You may find such programs at your local park. It’s a ten-week program, and you charge the fees as a set. You can publicize these fitness programs by advertising at your local gym and posting flyers around your neighborhood. You can put it up on the net so that people can find you easily.

Dance instructor

If you are a professional dancer, all you need is to rent a space and pass out flyers, and that’s good enough to start earning.

Sports instructor

If you are in the sports field and have plenty of achievements it’s time you start freelancing as a sports instructor for local teams It could be rugby, cricket, football anything you are an expert at really.

Yoga instructor

If you are certified, you can hold classes at your local gym or rent a space of your own and start classes. Another option would be getting permission to hold classes at your local park. You will get more students; it’s enough publicity and it wouldn’t really cost anything at all.

Nutritionist

A degree in nutrition? You can rent an office and start planning diet plans and become a personal nutritionist as well. As the world becomes more health-conscious, the work of a nutritionist won’t really fade away. You can even write nutrition advice on websites or find celebrities to work with. You might want to make yourself really popular before that.

Creative business ideas

Gifted with hands that can create fantastic stuff out of crap or basics? Then there are some ideas to put your magical hands to good use.

Furniture refinishing

You might want to start with hunting for cheap furniture at yard sales and redecorate them to make them look new and classy. Who doesn’t want furniture that looks good and doesn’t cost too much?

Antique dealer

Buy antiques. Find old treasures and sell them to those who bid the highest. Consider this only if you know to select genuine antique objects.

Artist

Have paintings that no one has seen? Why waste talent? Put them up for sale and see how people appreciate your good work and get excellent feedback. Once you make a name in this field, there would be no stopping you. If you got the skills, it’s part of the best small online business ideas we can offer.

Design

If web designing is your thing and you are awesome at it, then your services are very much in need. There are innumerable out there, but not each, and everyone is as talented to suit different needs. If you are good at it, put up some samples on the website, and you are ready to achieve success.

Chocolate and cake retailer

If the sweet kingdom is where you belong if you are the king or queen of bakers, then you might want to consider starting up on Etsy and Shopify.

Car boot sales

Buy cars and sell them at car boot sales. If you are good at marketing automobiles, this will become a full-time job for you.

Pop up shop

WeArePopup Yup! If you have any stuff that you feel will be liked by the public, then this is it. You can start up your storefront.

Market stall

Rent a market at Cayden. Display the good stuff and make a profit. All it will cost you is as little as 15 Euros.

Make anything

Take pictures of the stuff you got to upload up on Etsy and put a price tag on it. That’s it. I am nothing more. Nothing less.

Miscellaneous business ideas

There are a lot of these but not enough space. Let’s just get on with it and see what we can do with the little stuff.

Flyering business and distribution

People need to advertise. You can do it for them and make them popular by handing out flyers and putting them in post-boxes for them. Offer your services at lower prices than others. The business will fly towards you.

Event/party planner

If you are good at organizing, then you might want to consider planning events. You can even partner with others to jump-start your business sooner.

Tour guide

If you know every nook and cranny of your city, then you might consider being a tour guide. All you need to be is friendly and a good talker.

Ticket reseller

Buy popular tickets early for cheaper rates and sell them close to show time at higher prices.

Lemonade company

Make lemonade and sell them to supermarkets. All you need would be good packaging.

Delivery company

If you have a van you can start up your delivery service. Promote it on social media platforms.

Removal company

A really big van can be of the same service as mentioned above. Remove stuff and drive.

Snack/coffee stall

Coffee stands can be bought for a few hundred pounds and can be set up across major cities, and the margin is not bad at all!

Disc Jockey

DJ services can be rendered to events and parties. This can be done by partnering with event planners and companies.

Security

If you are strong and good at guarding, you can take up being a bouncer at nightclubs. You would be surprised how much you can earn with it.

Car wash

Are you good with sparkling cars? Do you have the experience? Then you might want to work at a car wash or hire a shed and give it a go.

Chauffeur

This one would be getting paid to drive an amazing car as long as you have the license that is. Enroll as a driver on UberLux.

Mystery shopper

Shopaholics would love this one as one gets paid to go shopping! What more entertainment could one ask for?

Private investigator

Always dreamed of becoming Hercule Poirot? Or Sherlock Holmes, maybe? Become a private investigator and help unravel mysteries for a living. If you have it in you and are licensed, then this job can produce a great deal of profit.

Printing

A high-resolution printer can be used to start printing for local businesses at a good profit.

Equipment rental

Interesting Snow machines, DJ equipment, cleaning and working tools various other equipment can be rented for a good deal of money. The cost of equipment isn’t very high, and there’s always somebody in need of their assistance. If you are into such a small business ideas niche, it can suit you well.

Recycling

Ever thought that one could be paid for taking in things that are considered waste or something that can be recycled? You get money in little things like metal Poppins that one can offer to rip off for free for and sell it at a profit later on.

Distributor/Franchisee

Another great idea for small businesses is franchising, especially if you ever wanted to be a part of a bigger chain of businesses. Franchising is when you open your store under a big brand and you sell their products in your store.

Bed and breakfast

An empty home can always be utilized by turning it into a B&B with platforms like Airbnb.

Voice over

A great small business idea if you have a character voice or are great at impersonating can be an amazing trait. Contact the relevant firms and offer your service as a voice-over actor. Also, you can offer your services on sites like Fiverr.