What are the best ideas to create your own business right now? Can we tell the difference, since the very beginning, between a company built to last and another one which won’t make the cut?
If you are willing to become an entrepreneur, you might be asking to yourself: “What business should I turn to, in order to make my company thrive?”.
Let’s face it, it’s no secret. The changes in the economy, during the last few years, have radically transformed our world. Many companies that used to have multi-billion profits are now on the decline, while others are rising up quickly bringing new ideas on the market.
Here comes the good news: I have made a comprehensive list of profitable business activities that you can start with little to no money. They are pretty different from one another, so that you can find one which perfectly matches your skills and preferences.
Let’s begin our journey.
9 Profitable business ideas
I think that the best way to present these ideas is to make a brief description of each one, with some tips and tricks that experts of each field have shared with me.
9 is my magic number for this list. It is the result of all the research and cherry picking I’ve made, so that every single one of this business suggestions is the result of a careful selection.
Trade stocks like a pro
Since the financial markets have undergone the digital transformation, they have become very accessible to private investors.
You can start with as little as 200$, even though such amount won’t be sufficient to achieve significant results. You’d better deposit more when you decide to go full-time, but do not worry about this now.
The first thing you want to do, is just becoming profitable. This is the hard part, way more difficult than raising some capital when you have become an expert. To become a profitable investors you must be willing to study and learn every day, listening and reading about the strategies used by analysts and top traders around the world.
In alternative, you can choose to invest by eToro a specialized platform where you can copy the best performing strategy of trader all around the world.
It is very simple to use thanks to its well performing app and its fantastic graphical interface. With eToro you can buy shares, ETF and trade on the main world indices comfortably from home. An important advantage of eToro is the possibility to activate a DEMO account with which you can simulate investments with virtual dollars before using your savings.
Registration is very simple. You will need:
- visit the official website;
- activate a DEMO account or a REAL account;
- start to invest.
>> Create Your Account Now! <<
Buy and flip both online and offline
Recently I’ve been quite impressed by the story of a guy called Ryan Grant. He has made a fortune by reselling on Amazon some products bought at a lower price at Walmart.
He knows well how to find objects that are cheaper to buy offline than online, and how to turn a profit by reselling them on online marketplaces. You might even go the other way, by selling offline some items that you’ve bought at a lower price on an online store.
This business model can be started with literally a few hundred bucks, just to make sure that you can purchase some stuff to flip. Also, you may participate in auctions to buy items at a cost that is way under their market price.
I know this is easier said than done. This business model still requires a good amount of mastery to make good deals again and again.
Commerce has been on this planet for thousands of years, even if it went through some important evolutions. The internet era is still profitable for those who want to take advantage of it.
Real estate micro-investing
Another sign of times changing is how we invest in real estate nowadays. If 15 or 20 years ago they told you that you can buy a share of a house on the other side of the world, without even leaving home, what could be your reaction?
I am serious now: this is possible today. It is called real estate crowdfunding, and it allows you to make investments with returns averaging 10% on the best platforms.
Basically, on one side we have an entrepreneur. He wants to build something like a condo, a villa or a resort, but obviously this requires money. Instead of asking the bank for a loan at fixed rate, he allows other people to invest and become partners of his project.
There are regulated platforms ruling this process. They act like intermediaries, verifying the credentials of the entrepreneur and making the whole process of investing in his idea very transparent.
When the building is done, the spaces created can either be sold or rented. In any case, the profits made get shared with all investors who contributed to make it real.
Even if the return on investment is good, you still need a significant amount of money to make a leaving on this. So we can call it the best choice for those who already have some savings, and are looking for ways to create a stream of income by investing it.
Help other entrepreneurs by joining their business
Setting up a business can be quite tricky. What if you could dramatically reduce your up-front investment and be more profitable by joining other already established companies?
This is called equity crowdfunding. With just a few hundred bucks you can buy a share in another company, becoming a co-owner of the company itself. Thanks to the many legally-operating platforms which revolve around equity crowdfunding, you can access this kind of opportunity quite easily and fraud-free.
One of the best things about this is how you can benefit from other ideas. Many young entrepreneurs try to find business partners with crowdfunding to kickstart their company. They have little or no money, but they have brilliant ideas and projects that eventually will be a success on the market.
If you like innovation and tech startups, then you should carefully think about it. Are you so keen on opening up a business on your own? Sometimes joining forces is really the best solution.
Turn your opinion into money
Huge corporations spend huge amounts of money trying to find the best product for their customers. And because shareholders don’t like guess-working, they choose to ask the public. Market research is a century-old industry which you can join easily right from your computer or smartphone.
Many research companies, and even private companies, offer the possibility to give your feedback about product ideas or actual prototypes which they are willing to sell in the future. You just have to say what you think about it by answer surveys about their products. It can be a solid stream of income to supplement your salary.
Many times I’ve seen people getting this wrong. They are not satisfied of their income, and they want to open up a business just with the perspective of making a few hundred dollars per month. If this is your case, you should consider taking less risk responding surveys by your phone.
Study the financial markets and make it an online profession
As I said in the beginning, becoming an online investor is just like opening up a business. There are a lot of trading platforms out there which you can use: you only need a computer and an internet connession to be right on the floor of Wall Street.
But there are some ingredients which cannot be forgotten in the recipe of a profitable trader:
- Study: I suggest you check every free piece of information, even buying courses and books before you begin trading;
- Practice: almost every online trading platform allows you to try its features for free, using virtual money. This is crucial to test your trading strategies and consolidate them.
- Dedication: if you think that online trading will make you a fortune overnight, it’s time to think again. You have to train for months, even years before making consistent profits with online trading.
Here you can read my article about the best platform where you can invest your money.
Help the elderly and make it a business
Less than 10% of the elderly receive public assistance in the United States. While medicine is progressing, we live longer and we have to take care of our older family members for many years. This means that the market for family assistance is ramping, and it will keep growing for many years to come.
Helping people is a vocation. If you think this is something that suits your personality, then it won’t be difficult to find customers. Over time you might be able to scale your assistance and grow an established company.
Take test and suverys
Remember what we were discussing before? Corporations don’t like making mistakes when they make projects. You can download apps to give your opinion, but you can even make it in person. You can take surveys or try physical products, all things which are needed to know if a particular idea will be successful.
Browse online and it’s quite likely that you will find many gigs of this kind. Again, this is not like opening up your own business. It is not as scalable, but also not as risky.
Let the money work for you with social lending
Social lending is gradually becoming a big market. Private people and businesses are always trying to borrow money. For a long time, the only answer to this kind of need were banks. Now everyone can lend money legally and with maximum transparency, making money on interests.
Social lending is quite similar to equity crowdfunding. But this time you won’t buy a share of the property of a company: you will lend money at a certain interest rate, and that sum will come back to you with interests.
All players of the credit market benefit from this. Borrowers can enjoy reduced interest rates, while lenders are still making a good profit on their credits.
