Imagine this: A grey Monday morning. It is cold and drizzling outside, and you just know the highways are packed with angry drivers stuck in traffic as they head to work. You wake up, you decide that the weather looks perfect for sleeping in. So you do exactly that. A few hours later you finally get out of bed. You find your favorite spot on your favorite sofa in the living room. You are still wearing your pajamas as you sip some hot cocoa. You fire up your laptop.
This is your life. Your laptop is where your job is, and you are your own boss. You work whenever you want, for as long as you want, from wherever you want, wearing whatever you feel like wearing. All while getting paid to do something that you enjoy doing. You are completely free. Sounds like the perfect dream, right? Well, think again. This is exactly the life millions of people lead every day.
The internet has revolutionized the very definition of work. You no longer have to spend your best years somewhere making money for someone else in exchange for peanuts and the hope that your kids won’t grow up to do the same. Today, anyone can build their own business online, and work hard at it making money for themselves and the people they love.
Online business is self-employment at its best. Low barriers to entry and an uncapped earning potential. The harder you work the more money you make. And you get to see exactly where all your efforts are going. You can track your progress, and watch your business grow day by day.
I know what you are thinking. You’re thinking, “That sounds great and all, but where do I start?” Well, how about here? Here are several online home based business ideas for you to try out. All you need is a good internet connection and a quiet place to get some work done in.
HERE IS MY #1 RECOMMENDED HOME BASED BUSINESS IDEA – IT IS 100% FREE TO TRY!
1. ONLINE SURVEYS
Everyone rolls their eyes at the mention of surveys. They are a popular money making recommendation, and for good reason. Online surveys are extremely easy to complete, and they take up very little time. However, the pay is ridiculously low.
So how can you make money off surveys the right way? Simple: you need to spread your eggs in multiple baskets. Thing is, survey sites make you an average of $30 to $100 a month per website. When you sign up for multiple survey sites, the numbers start adding up.
Also consider bundling up survey sites with cash back sites. These are sites that pay you to do exactly what you always do online. So you get paid to shop, surf the web, and watch videos. These sites also pay peanuts, so the trick is to sign up for several of them at the same time.
In the end, you get a system that consistently makes you hundreds of dollars month after month. It is a simple way to make money and set the foundations of your online business, and that is why it starts our list.
Where to start: Swagbucks, Toluna, 20/20 Panel, Darwin’s Data, Pinecone Research, Crowdology, Branded Surveys, Paid Viewpoint, Sprindboard America, Opinion Outpost
2. GRAPHIC DESIGN
Graphic designers make $45,000 a year on average. If you have some decent design skills, or are willing to put in the time and effort it takes to learn, there are so many opportunities for graphic designers on the web.
The best part about being a graphic designer is that most of your work is done by software. All you need is a good eye for color and you can call yourself a graphic designer. Some popular graphic design software such as Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop will require only roughly a week or two of intense watching of YouTube tutorials and practice to master them to almost an expert level. This just goes to show that on the Internet, if you put your mind to it, you can become an expert at almost anything within a very short time.
Once you learn the ins and outs of the software you will need, you can start marketing your services or applying for freelance jobs on job boards. The most popular ways that graphic designers make money include designing and selling t-shirts, product design and branding, illustration, and creating and selling their own products online.
Where to start: Study free tutorials on YouTube while working with design programs like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, or other similar free options. Once you are good enough, bid for jobs on UpWork or Freelancer. You can also freelance on graphic design sites like 99Designs or create a portfolio on sites like Deviantart where your work can get commissioned. Alternatively, you can set up your site and sell your services to your audience.
3. BLOGGING
Studies show that at the current growth rate, by 2020, there will be 31 million bloggers on the web. Considering that many bloggers run multiple blogs, this is a massive number of blogs.
So how can you stand out from this crowd? Simple: create and offer value. Giving helpful, interesting information regularly and consistently is the one true key to a blog’s success. The value of your blog lies in your content. It is what drives traffic and makes you money.
In truth, very few blogs make their creators a consistent income month after month. Having a blog does not guarantee you an extra source of income. However, if you are willing to put in the time and the effort, without forgetting to always produce consistently high quality content, you will be well on your way to making money as a blogger.
Blogs make you money in several different ways. You can have Google AdSense ads and make money off that. You can also do affiliate marketing and promote other people’s products for a commission, which I will elaborate on further in this list because it is a whole business idea on its own. Some blogs also charge monthly membership fees for people who want to access the content, while others invite people to write sponsored posts. If you have your own products or services, you can also sell them through your blog and make money that way.
Where to start: WordPress is where everyone goes to learn the ropes when it comes to blogging. The site makes blogging simple and straightforward, and most of its features are absolutely free. If you don’t like WordPress, you can also try other sites like Wix.com, Joomla, Blogger, Tumblr and Squarespace.
You can also check out YouTube tutorials or courses on Udemy and Skillshare if you need a little more assistance with your blog.
4. YOU TUBE
YouTube is another great resource for people looking to make money from home.
As a Youtuber, your job is to make videos that your audience enjoys and to monetize these videos. You can then make money off them from YouTube ads. To do this you will need to join the YouTube Partner Program and fulfill all the requirements, including having over 4000 hours of watch time and over 1000 subscribers.
There are other ways to make money with YouTube. You can promote products or services that you sell, or add affiliate links to your video description and make money when people make purchases using those links. You can also make money through Google AdSense, or from brand sponsorships and merchandise deals.
To get started, you will need a fairly decent camera and a robust video editing software. You will also need to brush up on your editing skills. If you are going to be talking in your videos, invest in a good quality microphone. Your viewers can put up with less than perfect video, but bad audio is unforgivable. Once everything is in place, simply create your YouTube channel using your Gmail account and you are good to go! Start making and uploading those videos and once you meet the requirements, apply to join the YouTube Partner Program.
Where to start: YouTube
5. PODCASTS
Podcasts are becoming more popular by the day. They have become the go to sources of entertainment and news for millions of people, and the numbers are only growing. Although they are not as big as YouTube channels yet, they are heading in that direction, so jumping on the bandwagon now is a smart strategy.
It takes some time to build an audience with a Podcast, just like it takes time to build a list of subscribers on YouTube. In many ways, podcasts are simply YouTube channels in audio form. They also make money in much the same way. You can have ads, sponsorships, paid subscriptions, and selling your own products or services. Also, when you have a decent amount of content, you can turn it into an audio book and sell it. Some podcasts are also crowdfunded and their creators make money that way. It is also possible to make money through affiliate marketing with a podcast.
If you are a great conversationalist, or if you are just simply really passionate about a certain subject, running a podcast might be the perfect fit for you. Consider getting a decent microphone and some good editing software before you begin.
Where to start: iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify, Libsyn, PodBean. These are some of the best platforms to host your podcast on. For the software side, Adobe Audition and Audacity are pretty easy to understand and they are what all the professionals are using, so consider investing in either one of them.
HERE IS MY #1 RECOMMENDED HOME BASED BUSINESS IDEA – IT IS 100% FREE TO TRY!
6. ONLINE TEACHING
If you are knowledgeable in a particular subject or field, you can teach it online to people from all over the world. Although it helps your credibility to hold a degree in that specific field, it is often not always necessary. So if you are a college student, you can teach high school kids or elementary school kids. However, for highly specialized fields, proof of qualification may be required.
Some of the most popular areas and subjects that people seek online tutors for include test preparation, for example for the SATs, AP and college level classes, core subjects such as Math, English, Science, Social Studies and Foreign languages, TOEFL and ESL.
As an online teacher, you will interact with your students primarily through video. This means that you should consider investing in a good quality camera. Programs like Skype, Hangouts and WizIQ will also come in handy.
Online teachers earn anywhere from $15 to $30 an hour on average, but the pay is definitely higher if you are going to teach a more specialized field. However, if your primary market is elementary school students and high school kids, expect to make $15 to around $25 an hour starting out.
If you have a background in teaching, these types of jobs will be easier to come by.
Where to start: TutorMe, Tutor.com, FlexJobs, Chegg, Skooli, Edmentum, Kaplan
7. ONLINE COURSES
This is another great home based business idea. If you have a passion or a skill, or you know a particular subject really well, make an online course about it and share your knowledge with the world for a fee. The best part about creating an online course is that you will only have to do the hard work once. Once the course goes up, all you have to do is market it and sit back as the money rolls in.
This is the main reason why creating an online course could be a very profitable business idea. If your course is a hit, you could make thousands of dollars every month in passive income, getting paid for work you only did once!
You can start making your online course as soon as today. There are many easy to use, efficient hosting platforms that you can use to host your course and to attract potential clients. Most of these sites have drag and drop editors, payment integration, training and support, and built in marketing features to help you get started. However, they take a small cut from what you earn whenever a student purchases your course.
To create a great course, you may need to invest in quality editing software, recording equipment, and probably hire a writer or editor to make sure your course flows smoothly. If you are going to primarily rely on demonstrations on your computer screen, you may also need to get a good quality screen recorder an editor.
Where to start: Yondo, Zippy Courses, Teachable, Skillshare, Thinkific, CourseCraft, Podia, LearnWorlds
8. FREELANCE WRITING
There are several different kinds of freelance writers.
Copywriters
Copywriters primarily write promotional materials like ads and newsletters for businesses. They also write blog posts and website content, and usually get acknowledged for their work.
Ghostwriters
Ghostwriters are jacks of all trades. They will write literally anything if you pay them well enough. However, once something is written by a ghost writer and paid for, the client gets to do whatever they want with it without having to acknowledge the original writer. As a ghost writer, you can use your past work as part of your portfolio, but it is not yours anymore once the client pays for it.
Freelance Journalists
Freelance journalists are journalists who do the job out of passion. They may not have a journalism degree, but they still follow a story and work with local media houses to tell their stories to the world.
Where to start: Depending on what you are looking for, there are lots of resources for copywriters, ghost writers and freelance journalists on the web that you can take a look at. A good strategy is to start small by taking on writing gigs from the various job boards and content mills, then identify what you like and start charting your career path from there. Examples of job boards and content mills include Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, Writeraccess, Textbroker, HireWriters
9. CALL CENTER REPRESENTATIVE
Many companies have been actively hiring more and more local contractors to handle call center representative jobs. This is largely because of the homeshore movement, which advocates for hiring more independent contractors to work from home on such jobs.
This means that if you have a phone line, and internet connection and an hour to spare to learn about a company, you can become a call center representative.
Call center representatives help the customers of a particular company to understand the company’s products, or if the customers have any technical issues, the representative may refer them to someone who can help.
Where to start: You can find call center representative jobs on various job boards, or apply directly to companies that might need representatives directly from their websites.
Here are some more online jobs with no fees!
10. AFFILIATE MARKETING
Affiliate marketing is another great online home based business idea. To be completely transparent, it is my favorite method! It is one of the few ways you can make a decent income online, and it can potentially be a massively profitable business for you, just like it has been for thousands of other affiliate marketers.
So what exactly is affiliate marketing? Well, it is a business model that allows you to promote other people’s products and make a commission from every sale made from your leads. In this business, there are three major players: the affiliate, the customer, and the product owner or producer.
When you become an affiliate marketer, your first job is to source products to promote. You do this by approaching the product owner and asking to be allowed to promote their products. By doing this, you become that product’s affiliate. As an affiliate, you will be given a unique affiliate link which attributes your sales to you.
Your next job will then be to share your affiliate link with potential buyers or customers. When they make a purchase using your link, you will get paid a commission for ever sale made. This is how affiliate marketers make money. As you can see, in this business model, everybody wins: the customer gets to buy what they want, the producer gets to make a sale, and you get to make some money as an affiliate.
There are many other benefits that come with affiliate marketing. Some of them include:
– You get to be your own boss. You choose the products you want to promote, determine your hours, and decide how much work you would like to get done each time.
– It has a very low barrier to entry. Anyone can become a successful affiliate marketer, even with zero skills when starting out.
– It is a very low risk business. You do not buy or stock up on any inventory, and you do not owe it to anyone to sell any particular product. If things don’t work out, you can move on to another product whenever you want.
– It is very cheap and straightforward to set up and get started.
– It can be your source of financial freedom. Nothing beats the passive income you can earn from this business. With affiliate marketing, you can finally stop worrying about when the next paycheck will come in and finally start enjoying everything life has to offer.
To be successful as an affiliate marketer, you will need a platform through which you can reach your audience and promote your products to them. The best such platform is obviously a website or a blog. If you have a highly successful YouTube channel, podcast, or social media page, you can also use that to reach your audience. However, to reach the kind of heights you are probably imagining right now, you will need a dedicated website for your affiliate marketing business.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you are tired of being stuck in the rat race, or if you feel like your life has turned into an endless loop of waking up and going to work just to barely survive each month, perhaps it is time to begin setting yourself free by trying one of these home-based business ideas.
You might not make a ton of money in the beginning, but it will definitely feel good to make a little money running your own business as your own boss. Home based business ideas allow you to pursue your passion even on the side without quitting your regular job. With time, they may grow into something big, and you can finally quit your job and do something you love full time.
With the internet, self-employment is not an elusive ideal anymore. Anyone with persistence, patience and the will to work hard can build a thriving home business today. You have nothing to lose by trying, so why not get started right away?
HERE IS MY #1 RECOMMENDED HOME BASED BUSINESS IDEA – IT IS 100% FREE TO TRY!
I hope you take a few minutes to check out my recommendation. If you want to start the journey to financial freedom, I believe that is the best place to start. It is completely free and there is absolutely no downside to you!
Hopefully you found this post helpful,
To your success,
Mike A