100 Profitable Business Ideas With Little To No Money

Make And Sell Stuff

Handcrafted goods have become extremely popular in the last few years (from customised dog coats to engraved rings and beyond) and the demand for bespoke handmade goods shows no signs of slowing down.

Starting a handcrafted goods business is all about skill and choosing a trendy/in-demand range of products you can produce (you’ll need to carefully work out product cost, hours and materials). If you already have a handcrafting skill or know how to make a particular product you can get started straight away. If you don’t there are plenty of skills, you can learn enabling you to make crafted products. For instance; you could learn jewellery making, book making or leatherworking to create a range of different handmade products.

Selling handcrafted products has never been easier, you can use platforms like Etsy or NOT ON THE HIGH STREET to reach consumers (each platform charges a commission on goods sold, worth noting that Etsy is the lowest). You can also set up your online store using software like Magento or if you’re not technically minded Shopify.

The handcrafted market is competitive, to stand out you’ll need to create a really attractive brand and ensure that your product images and descriptions are excellent. From there in terms of customer acquisition on the crafting platforms, it’s all about getting positive reviews to get boosted the rankings for particular searches. For your own store, social media is a great place to promote and specifically these types of products do very well on visual platforms (i.e. Pinterest, Instagram…).

If you’re looking to expand your revenue beyond products, you can also sell workshops teaching people one-to-one or in groups how to make different products or particular handcrafting skills. Many handcrafting specialists are making £200–300 a day running such courses, for workshop customers list yourself on craftcourses.com.

Webinars

Webinars are live video sessions where a specific topic is covered by expert/s, and the audience can interact/ask questions. Effectively they are a form of online training, webinars have boomed in popularity in recent years, particularly in the technology, marketing and finance areas (complex subjects and products). Webinars are an excellent way to market products and services.

To start building a webinar business, you’ll need to decide on the webinar software you’re going to use. You’ll also need expertise in a particular area that is popular, prepare course/programme materials and have enough reach via paid advertising or existing marketing channels to get participants to sign up for your webinar.

Virtual Assistant

The days of hiring a PA are in the past; virtual assistants are all the rave. Virtual assistants operate remotely and carry out all manner of digital tasks for their busy clients. This could include everything from carrying out online research, processing data, ordering equipment to much more.

If you’re passionate about being organised and are an experienced administrator, this is a great home-based business idea. To get started, you can list yourself on platforms such as Upwork for small projects, to find clients you can work with over the long term (these are the most profitable). Getting business through these platforms and increasing pricing needs positive reviews, so start offering your services below market rate to build up reviews and a great portfolio.

As you expand, you might also consider creating a virtual assistant agency, managing other assistants who can work with clients on your behalf. This business is highly scalable as it relies largely on labour and by its very nature, your team would likely be remote (reducing equipment and office space costs to almost nothing).

Affiliate Marketer

Why sell your own products, when you can sell someone else’s (eliminating the hassle/risk of stock, delivery and payment)? This is where affiliate marketing comes in; Affiliate marketing is the process of marketing another company's product/service and taking a cut if they sell a product/s based on a customer you’ve referred through marketing activity.

To get started is relatively simple, create a basic eCommerce website for a particular niche (i.e. health and tennis) find interesting products with affiliate schemes (either by directly approaching the supplier or through third-party affiliate platforms), and then list these products on your store. Then link all the ‘Buy’ buttons through to the supplier website (using tracking links). Every time somebody buys, you get paid a commission for the sale. To get started quickly you can work with Amazon Affiliates which offer a huge range of products (there is little to no upfront cost, as you don’t need to purchase the product, you only handle sales).

Generating affiliate sales is all about marketing to the right audience, and driving relevant traffic to the landing/product pages you have set up to sell. Also; If you’re running an online blog or another type of media site and you’ve managed to create a community of dedicated followers setting up paid access features is another great way to monetise, many online publishers and magazines are now pursuing this type of monetisation as advertising and affiliate revenues decline. You can even launch a paid access feature using website builders like NING, which offers you a platform to build your community and launch a paid access easily.

Transcription Service

Transcription is where you take audio files, listen and convert them into written content. Businesses regularly use transcription services to convert audio and video to written content (for media businesses this is typically audio interviews).

You’ll need good hearing, access to decent headphones and the ability to touch type or type accurately at speed. To get started, you can find transcription jobs on platforms like Mechanical Turk by Amazon. Just listen to some audio and write every word down. There’s also a higher-priced market if you can translate foreign languages from audio to English.

As your business grows, you may choose to create a brand/website and launch your own transcription service, to market going forward you’ll need to invest in digital marketing particularly search orientated.

User Testing

When you launch a new software/web product or service, it takes a shed load of time to iron out all the bugs and errors. To mitigate this problem and speed up the error/bug fixing process, companies spend a lot of money on user testing.

User testing is where you test software, websites or applications for bugs through general use or by carrying out specific actions (testing plan). A company commissioning user testing will generally give you access to and use of software to record/spot bugs/errors. User testing varies greatly in terms of complexity and the fee paid.

To get started, you can sign up as a tester for many third-party user testing platforms (UserTesting.com), set yourself up on the usual freelancer platforms or set up your own website promoting your user testing services. As you expand, it may be worth approaching businesses directly offering testing services.

Body Piercing

Body piercing is the practice of body modification, it most commonly involves the piercing of ears and belly buttons (particularly for ear piercing there is a large demand from the female demographic).

Body piercing is something you can quickly learn via a course if you do not know already how to do it (the knowledge barrier to entry is lower with this service than most). Make sure to get to grips with safety and get the relevant business insurance in place. In terms of space, you can rent from a local piercing parlour and arrange to meet clients there.

This type of business relies on word of mouth and passing trade, hence being located in a high foot traffic area is important. You can also conversely go entirely online, invest in digital marketing and offer a home piercing service in your local area.

Sports Instructor

Football/rugby/athletics… if you have a natural talent for sports and enjoy teaching, then becoming a high-level sports coach and working on a freelance basis for local teams and individuals might be a great business for you. There’s a demand across the country for freelance sports coaches who can work on a one-to-one and group (team) basis.

To get started you’ll need a background in the sport you’ll be coaching in, be personable (as you’ll be working with people) and ideally have some level of coaching qualification either at a college or university level.

You can advertise your sports-based coaching business through local sports clubs and by approaching local private schools. It is a competitive business, and your level of skill at coaching and ability to market will be key to your success. Who knows, maybe you’ll even be the next Alex Ferguson.

Poop Scoop

Believe it or not, people run businesses based around picking up dog poop. Most owners just let their pets do their business in the back yard and somebody must clean it up with many choosing not to. It’ll cost you about £5 to set up and you can market it just like pet sitting.

The poop scoop business only works with a large repeat customer base (as the fee is quite low). A nice addition to your revenue scheme could be consolidating this waste and selling it to farmers as fertiliser (you’ll need to check the mix required).

The simplest way to market your poop scoop business is by using online advertising and flyering in your local town or city. You can also contact the local council and see if they're looking to contract someone to clean up the mess in public spaces (bear in mind local council contracts can be difficult to obtain).

Makeup Artist

A makeup artist professionally applies cosmetics to women (although the male makeup industry is growing). In the UK, individuals will generally hire makeup artists to apply cosmetics pre important events or functions i.e. weddings, parties, dates…

To start as a makeup artist, you need to have a good understanding of cosmetics, skin tone and the application of said cosmetics (this could mean having a formal education in makeup or learning online, there are lots of tutorials). You’ll also need to select a hair product supplier and stock a product range of cosmetics you want to use. You can initially work from home and visit your clients at their location or at events (there’s a big demand for onsite makeup artists for weddings in particular). From there you can scale up to a makeup studio when you have the capital in place and want to access foot traffic for the business.

To market this business, you can partner with wedding-related companies such as dressmakers, florists, wedding planners, event agencies, caterers and wedding venues to access their clientele. Aside from charging for your service, one of the ways you can increase your income is to buy makeup wholesale and sell to your clients the products you applying.

Gardening Company

Over 87% of homes in the UK have gardens, many homeowners want to enjoy their garden but lack the time or don’t want to take care of it to achieve that end.

This means the demand for professional gardeners who will come in and maintain people’s gardens is high (mowing lawns, cutting hedges, planting…). All you need to get started is basic gardening equipment such as shovels, trowels and wheelbarrows. You don’t need a formal gardening qualification although an understanding of horticulture would do help and will be necessary for larger/more complex gardens.

In terms of marketing, you can start by asking friends and family about their gardening needs and by leafletting your local area. This type of business grows heavily based of word of mouth marketing, so it’s essential you keep your customers happy, it’s all about building a repeat customer base whose gardens you regularly maintain.

The great thing about gardening is the results speak for themselves, start working for a neighbour and work your way up to an empire.

Pool Cleaning

There’s been an increase in the number of private and public pools in recent years in the UK (particularly in southern England where the temperature is warmer). To keep these pools running and hygienic requires constant maintenance, meaning there’s a need for professional pool cleaners (who clean pools and keep the chemicals required for operation topped up).

Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t have to be 21 and well-built to run this business, it can also easily be home-based as you’ll be visiting clients to carry out the work. To start a pool cleaning business, you’ll need a basic understanding of pool cleaning and maintenance, as well as a range of chemicals required to clean the pool and prevent infection (including chlorine). You’ll also need a series of the pool cleaning devices, perhaps most importantly a net for dredging large particulates from a pool.

To market your pool cleaning business, you should target affluent homes with pools via leafletting, you can also partner with local businesses who sell pools/installation to offer your services alongside there’s (with them taking a commission).

Beyond initial marketing, growing your pool business is all about building up a repeat clientele list, and customers hiring you for maintenance and cleaning on a monthly basis (typically during the summer months).

Aquarium Cleaning

Fish and amphibians can be fantastic pets but depending on many you have and the size of your aquarium they can be a lot of effort when it comes to maintenance.

Particularly aquarium cleaning can take hours and aqua imams require professional cleaning equipment and chemicals. To start an aquarium cleaning business, you’ll need to know how to professionally clean tanks and aquariums. You’ll also need to have a range of equipment such as gravel cleaners and nets.

You can advertise your services on platforms like Gumtree. You can also approach local pet shops and partner with them — offer them a fee for each successful referral. Local partnerships will work with independents; I wouldn’t waste your time with the national stores unless you scale this business.

100 Profitable Business Ideas With Little To No Money