What’s the Cheapest Online Business to Start?

(Last Updated On: January 9, 2023)

The concept of success has changed dramatically over the years.

With the help of social media, people from all over the world are able to share their talents and skills with a global audience.

But when it comes to receiving advice on how to “build a successful online business,” people will give you anything, from waking up earlier, reading more books, studying your competition, working hard, and so on.

Simply put, you have to hustle and work hard.

In my opinion, all of that is bullshit. Those will not make you a successful business owner.

I mean don’t get me wrong — it’s good to organize your life.

But as someone who runs a portfolio of websites, has a dropshipping business, and is selling digital products on Etsy, these trendy pieces of “advice” are all platitudes.

You know, even though the internet is full of information, it’s often hard to find the best and cheapest business ideas that will work for you and your skills.

In fact, when it comes to starting a business, the first steps are crucial. The right idea could be the gateway to your success.

And in this article, I will give you pieces of advice based on my experience with running online businesses, I will also give you examples of the cheapest online businesses you can start from your home.

But first, here are two of the most valuable pieces of advice I can give you that will help you build a successful online business.

Pick a Niche, and Master it.

This might seem a little too general, but I mention it because it’s something that’s really important, but not always talked about.

Identify the industry or niche you want to enter and become a master in it. You should do your own research and learn everything you can.

Picking the right niche is crucial for businesses to be successful.

Picking a niche will help with business growth because it will narrow down the type of customers that are being targeted and make it easier to pinpoint their needs.

Choosing a niche that matches your skills can also help you become an expert in a certain area and build credibility in it.

Try the Cross-Niche Method

You should consider breaking into a niche within your chosen industry. You can do this by finding a place that is less competitive and either expanding into it or creating a new, original niche for yourself.

This strategy is called cross-niching.

And it is quite easy to implement.

Cross-niching is a strategy where you are combining two different niches or categories and creating a new one. This strategy is being used by more and more business owners because it can be very profitable.

With cross-niching, you are targeting a small specific group. By understanding the needs of a small group and providing them with products and services that are tailored to their needs, you can build trust which translates into sales.

Cheapest Online Business to Start

Those are two valuable pieces of advice that can help you get started on the right foot.

With this in mind, let’s talk about the cheapest online business you can start from home.

In my opinion, and also from my own experience, the cheapest online business you can start is a service. Freelancing to be exact.

I simply mean you should start selling your skills.

And don’t worry, it is relatively easy to find clients if you are good at something that can be done online.

For example, if you are a good writer, you can start making money grinding out written content.

One of the best places to go for this is Upwork, which has a large variety of writing jobs that pay per word. The other popular sites for this are iWriter, TextBroker, and Fiverr.

However, it’s often necessary to spend some of your money on learning new skills in order to attract new clients.

You have to understand that learning new skills allows you to charge more money. In the writing category, you should learn about content marketing, copywriting, or SEO techniques.

While freelancing can be a great way to make extra money, it is not scalable.

This is because as the business grows and becomes more successful, you will need to spend more time completing the jobs. In order to keep up with the demand, you would need to hire someone else or increase your own workload. And still, deal with deadlines.

And this is not always possible.

That is why I like to recommend people build a niche site.

It is a relatively cheap online business and you can outsource most of the aspects of this business to boost your income. There are no deadlines, you are your own boss, and you can publish articles whenever you want.

Niche sites are reasonably cheap and anyone can start one. What’s the harm in trying?

• The domain ($15 per year usually)
• Shared hosting ($10 per month)
• The WordPress theme – Even the free themes are good enough.
• Content – In the beginning, you can write all posts by yourself; after you make some money, you should outsource it.

However, the downside is that it takes about a year or more to get enough traffic and start making decent money.

In my opinion, it is one of the best and easiest ways to make money online.

If you become an expert in a certain topic, you can easily build a brand around your website, and boost awareness not only through the site but also through social media accounts and a YouTube channel.

This will multiply your income to unimaginable levels.

But those were just two examples of online businesses you can start for cheap. Just remember, it will take three main things to get you success.

Learning – You always need to learn new techniques, skills, and tricks to stay on top of your competition.

Persistency – Everything takes time. Building a long-term business takes time and a lot of effort. So, work hard and be patient.

Implementing – Learning is one thing, but it’s another to put those skills into practice. There are so many opportunities online that it can be confusing. Simply write down a detailed plan, commit to it, and work on it.