The idea of starting a business is exciting. But many ideas require time, money, and risk.

Contrary to popular belief, there are actually many ways to start a business that let you focus less on the logistics and upfront costs and more on getting started.

These low-investment small-business ideas make a great entry point for beginners, bootstrappers, or anyone with a busy schedule and let you pick up a side business without having to drop everything else.

You still need to come up with a solid idea, build a brand, put effort into marketing, and provide excellent customer service. But there are ways you can bypass many traditional startup costs, such as initial inventory, warehousing, and retail space.

Here is a list of business ideas you can start on your own with a small investment.

 

12 low-investment business ideas you can start on the side

    1. Partner with a dropshipper
    2. Design and sell print-on-demand t-shirts
    3. Launch your own book
    4. Create digital products or courses
    5. Sell print-on-demand posters, greeting cards, and prints
    6. Start a charitable business
    7. Sell a service
    8. Create an online fashion boutique
    9. Sell handcrafted and homemade goods
    10. Build an audience you can monetize
    11. Start a pet business
    12. Create a membership program

       

       

      1. Partner with a dropshipper

      Buy stock, store it, pick it, pack it, ship it. Managing inventory is a big commitment when you’re running a business.

      Dropshipping is an easy business to start and the first of our good business ideas. Dropshipping is a fulfillment model where a third-party supplier stores and ships inventory to customers on your behalf. It’s one of the best businesses to start because it’s low overhead, hands-off, and scalable.

      You don’t need to handle any products yourself—you just need to make the sales and pass orders on to your supplier. In fact, it’s one of the cheapest and quickest businesses to get up and running.

      You can curate products from one or more suppliers into your own online store under a theme that focuses on a specific niche, like gear for yoga enthusiasts or water bowls for dog owners. When a customer buys a product from you, the order is sent to your supplier, who fulfills it on your behalf. However, you are still responsible for your own marketing and customer service.

       

      Learn more: Trending Products to Sell in 2020

       

      There are both local and overseas suppliers you can work with, as long as you can establish a relationship with them built on trust—an unreliable supplier will reflect poorly on your brand.

      Dropshipping is a low-investment way to test product-market fit and launch a business before you invest in your own original products. Just be sure to always order a sample for yourself to make sure your supplier is reliable and that the quality of the products is fit for selling to your customers.

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      Free: The Big List of Business Ideas

      To help you find the inspiration to start, we compiled a list of 100+ in-demand business ideas, broken down into categories like fitness, apparel, and gaming.

      Get the list now

       

      2. Design and sell print-on-demand t-shirts

      Another dropshipping model, print on demand puts inventory, shipping, and fulfillment in the hands of a third-party supplier. But unlike the dropshipping idea above, the focus here is on customizing products with your own designs to create something original.

      T-shirts, hats, phone cases, hoodies, skirts, tote bags, and more become canvases for your creativity. You can think up witty slogans for developers or references that resonate with cat owners—if there’s passion and pride within a community, there’s a potential t-shirt business you can start.

      Even if you’re not a designer, you can find one to work with using freelance sites like Fiverr, Upwork, Dribbble, or 99Designs.

      With many print-on-demand services, you’re paying per product, so the base price per unit will be more expensive than if you were to order in bulk. But the advantage is that if a certain t-shirt design doesn’t sell, you haven’t actually paid for the item yet (only the design, if you outsourced it).

      You can even use t-shirt mockup templates so you don’t need to spend money on a full photoshoot for every new design.

      There are a variety of print-on-demand platforms you can work with, many of which can be integrated with your Shopify store for seamless order fulfillment. However, be sure to always order a sample of your product (often offered at a discount) to make sure your custom products look good.

       

      Source: Think Pup

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