You don’t need to have the IQ of Mark Zuckerberg or the creativity of Steve Jobs to start a business from nothing. There are a plenty of low cost business ideas out there that require nothing more than hard work, dedication and developing a customer service mindset. Sure, none of the business start up ideas here will help you become a multimillionaire, but you would make enough to provide for your family, pay off your debts and save for the future.
If you are looking for ideas on how to start a low cost business, below are some ideas for you:
Online Tutor
So, if you’re someone who is well educated and good at academics, you should consider starting a business as an online tutor. There is great demand for online tutors out there, especially for math tutors, as math is a weakness shared by a majority of students across the globe. The online tutoring industry is believed to be worth $10 billion annuals –maybe you should look to get some of it for yourself. So, how to start a low cost business as a Tutor? The thing about starting an online tutoring business is that you don’t have to teach the students yourself. You can be more of a middleman, connecting students to their tutors – young, bright college grads recruited by you. This is a really easy business to get started with; you can operate out of your home and conduct lessons using Skype. You can charge around $40 to $50 for each private lesson.
Online Retailer
It’s really easy to open an online store these days, especially with easy-to-use e-commerce solutions available, such as Shopify, which you can buy for the cost of a dinner for two at an expensive restaurant. Or, you can choose to be a seller on eBay and open your own store on their website – eBay charges store owners only around $20 a month. Companies such as Yahoo! offer to host your business, provide professional looking templates and offer all the technical assistance you need – just for $10/month! All you really need to do is to decide what you want to sell, and start selling! You should look for the hottest selling items in the online marketplace – such as mobile phone accessories. Import them in bulk from China through Alibaba.com and sell them at a higher price in the US. Keep looking till you find a product that gives you the most profits.
Home Caterer/Personal Chef
There are many families out there who simply don’t have the time to cook as they are busy all day at work. This is actually a great business startup opportunity for you, especially if cooking is one of your hobbies. You can prepare meals for them. Start your own personal chef or home caterer business. The personal chef business is one of the fastest growing industries in the US, and is worth several billion dollars annually. This is a terrific low cost business idea as you don’t really need much equipment to get started with. You can ramp up the equipment and supplies as you get more customers. As your business grows to an appreciable level, you can hire assistants to help you out as well.
House Cleaner
If you’re looking for ideas on how to start a low cost business – here’s an easy one for you – start a house cleaning business. There is a huge demand for house cleaners in the country; perhaps you should take advantage of that. Indeed, the cleaning industry is a multibillion dollar business in the US which employs hundreds of thousands of people. The business startup costs are quite low – all you need to do is to get a vacuum cleaner and a cleaning solution and you’re in business as a professional house cleaner. The important thing is to find customers to hire you. Advertise locally on sites such as Angie’s List and Craigslist, distribute flyers in neighborhoods where there is a great demand for house cleaning services and start your own website. You should charge something like $100 for cleaning a three-bedroom house, and maybe specialize in specific areas such as carpet cleaning, for example. You can hire assistants to help you out as you get more customers.
