Top 10 Businesses to Start on a Shoestring Budget
Starting a business is never easy. There are a lot of industries to choose from, but the requirements generally limit your actual choices. It becomes even tougher when you consider the initial budget most businesses necessitate. Fortunately, there are businesses you can start with only a shoestring budget. Here are ten of them:
Top 10 Businesses to Start on a Shoestring Budget
1. Tutorial Classes
Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” That’s perhaps the reason why parents are adamant to ensure their children get the best education. While some are easy to learn, however, there are students who struggle with specific subjects. If you like certain school subjects and love teaching kids, this is the right business to start. You can offer tutorials in your own home or do a home service.
2. Freelancing
The freelancing world is continuously growing as more people aim to work at their own pace and at the comfort of their own homes. If you want to spend the least money possible, this is the shoestring business for you. Here are some freelance jobs you can take on:
- Writer
- Virtual assistant
- Bookkeeping and accounting
- Graphic and web design
- Taking ecommerce photos for startups
3. Homemade Food and Crafts
So, you love to cook or create crafts such as figurines, knitwear, or jewelry? Then you would love a “homemade” business. You can offer the food in small amounts or through catering. On the other hand, you can sell your crafts through any of the following:
- Social networks (Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube)
- eBay
- Etsy
4. Daycare
Children are bundles of joy. However, there are times when their seemingly inexhaustible energy feels like a burden to their guardians, especially when they have their own jobs and businesses to take care of. This is where you come in. For this business, you can offer to keep watch and entertain children.
You can offer your services in your own home or your client’s home.
5. Pet Sitting and Walking
Maybe you love animals more than kids? If yes, then why not start a pet sitting and walking business? For this, all you will need is a natural affinity or love for animals, some knowledge about breeds (although you can directly ask owners for possible concerns), and enduring patience. After all, animals tend to be as energetic and excitable as toddlers.
6. Lawn and Garden Services
Lawns and gardens are the one of the best parts of a home. However, more and more people are starting to lose time for maintaining them. A lot others are also at a loss on how to create a visually appealing and organized one. If you have a green thumb and would love to make art out of plants and grass, then you ought to offer lawn and garden services.
7. Cleaning Services
Many people nowadays don’t have the time or patience to clean their houses and are willing to pay anyone to do the job for them. Starting a cleaning business is actually not very difficult at all. While the business requirements may vary from state to state, this is a service that can offer almost immediately.
The great thing about this industry is that cleaning services are in high demand, and if you are able to offer great services at affordable prices, you will find this business to be very lucrative.
8. Delivery Services
Great driving and organizational skills, a clean driving record, and a suitable delivery car are the only requirements for this specific shoestring business. You can start delivering items for people in your neighborhood and then specify the types of products and services you offer as your business grows.
9. Drop Shipping
This is a supply management business wherein you will act as a middle man. That means you will have a supplier and clients. When one of your clients orders a product, you will relay the order to your supplier and have the items shipped directly to your customer’s address. This reduces your initial expenditures and increases profits. If you want to launch a drop shipping store, you should start by selecting reliable ecommerce hosting from a cloud host provider. Then, you can design the website and launch your ecommerce store.
10. Blogging
Are you a whiz when it comes to crafting with words? If yes, then blogging is the best affordable business for you. The only things you will need for this are:
- Hosting Account
- A domain name
- A niche to target
If you’re ready to start blogging, then check out my step by step tutorial here.
Most people think that only highly-experienced, thoroughly-knowledgeable, and well-off people can start businesses. While it’s true that you will need some insight about your chosen niche, as long as you’re willing to learn and love what you do, you will certainly achieve success.
So tell me…are you thinking of starting a business anytime soon? If so, what type of business would you like to start?
