4 online businesses you can start now!

Thinking about how to make extra cash?

What if I told you that you can make money in the comfort of your home? What is more, other than your time, you will not need to invest a lot to become an entrepreneur.

All you need is an internet connection and a laptop. Statistically, online businesses have a higher chance of success, require low capital injection, and you can work as a one-man team.

If you are willing to give it a try, here are simple yet effective online businesses you can start now.

Dropshipping

Market research indicates that 20% to 30% of online retailers use direct shipping services to connect consumers to products.

With companies such as Amazon using direct shipping, you are assured that this business concept is solid and you are equally in good company. To start you off with dropshipping, you will need to create a website and include a shopping cart.

Unlike conventional businesses models, you will not have to:

Store products
Package products
Transport products to consumers
Purchase wholesale products in advance

Your primary role will be to market, promote, and advertise the products to potential consumers.

You can use other promotional techniques such as direct email marketing and use social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Once a client makes an order, you purchase the product from the manufacturer, drop shipper or third party at a lower price than you had quoted on the site by simply forwarding the customer order.

The drop shipper will then proceed to forward the product to the customer. Did I say it was easy enough? Yes.

Easy, simple, and no cost incurred. Besides, you can sell products in any business niche.

The downside, ensuring you’re dealing with a reputable drop shipper and low margins between the wholesale and retail price. So, you have to rely on a high volume of sales to make a huge income. Still, it is worth a try because Rome wasn’t built in one day.

Blogging

It’s probably underrated, which makes it a good idea to tap into. The key is interest in a particular subject. Finance, relationships, technology, product reviews, beauty, etc. all these subjects can attract readers to your site.

What you need is to have the knowledge, be informative, and show authority in the niche you pick. However, the real money in blogging comes from adverts.

Ever browsed through a blog and came across a product on sale related to the topic of discussion. Every time you or any other reader clicks on these ads, the blogger will receive money.

This is a hands-off approach, but the real investment is creating a blog that ranks highly in search engines. So, you have to master the art of SEO to drive the right amount of traffic that will ensure your readers click away.

Affiliate Marketing

How does it work? Just like blogging, you need to identify a niche that you are interested in and stick to it. You want to be the go-to-person every time someone thinks of a particular product because you have specialized.

To become an affiliate, create a niche site where you review products or make commentary on upcoming and new products in your chosen niche. To ensure your ideas are fresh ad your content is engaging, you can limit your posts to 1 to 2 per week.

This will give you time to recharge, re-energize, and remain creative in every post. Do your research, and match your content with high-quality videos and pictures.

This is a sure way to keep readers glued to your site and have them clicking on the links to purchase. Currently, the most popular affiliate site in Kenya includes Amazon, Jumia, Google AdSense, Content A.D, Revcontent, etc.

Every time a customer clicks on the link on your website, they are directed to the program website.

This ensures that the company can track the purchase or customer back to you. In exchange your receive a commission that ranges from 5% to 25% depending on the company.

Affiliate programs operate n three categories:

Pay per click: every time a reader clicks on a company link on your site
Pay per lead: every time an inquiry on a product is based on traffic from your website
Pay per sale: every time a referral from you makes a purchase

Before you enrol for any affiliate program ensure that you are aware of the criteria used for remunerating affiliate marketers.

Consultancy

Becoming a consultant or coach is about showing expertise in a particular field and getting paid for it. Most businesses are slowly becoming inclined to consult with experts.

More so because the workforce consists of people that can work particular job descriptions but are not experts per se. Popular consultancy fields include SEO consultancy, niche affiliate, human resource, IT, software and web developer, etc.

To start a consultancy business, you need to:

Pick a niche
Search for potential companies or business that can really benefit from your services
Cold pitch through email
Connect with other consultants to learn new tricks in the industry
Set or determine standard payment for the different service packages you will have designed
Stay ahead by enrolling for online courses or webinars to enhance your craft

Most people that are really good at what they do are equally humble. But do not let humility lead you to miss out on a money-making venture.

You can still be humble but reap from your skillset or knowledge.

Maybe you have some spare time, and you’ve been wondering how else to spend it. Try your hand in any one of these businesses.

But like any other business, consistency, patience, research, and time-investment are key for success.