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How to Start an Online T-Shirt Business: Everything You Need to Know

May 11, 2021 , by 露露

This article is from Shopify, and was republished and shared through Elksourcing with the permission of Shopify.

Original link：https://www.shopify.com/blog/start-online-tshirt-business

T-shirts aren’t just a staple of casual wear—they’re articles of clothing that often reflect our personalities, interests, and identities.

Because of this, selling t-shirts online has become a popular choice, especially for entrepreneurs and artists looking for a relatively inexpensive way to learn how to start a business. Plus, the global market for the custom t-shirt printing industry is expected to eclipse $10 billion by 2025.

With the growth in popularity of selling t-shirts, there’s no doubt you’ll face some stiff competition. But by building a brand for a specific target audience and creating t-shirt designs your customers want, you can find your own success.

In this guide, we’ll go through each step of starting an online t-shirt business that brings in extra income month over month.

How to start an online t-shirt business, step-by-step

  • Choose a niche
  • Source quality material and t-shirt printing options
  • Create your own t-shirt designs
  • Mock up your t-shirts
  • Validate your designs
  • Set up your online store

1. Choose a niche

A niche will help your online t-shirt business stand out and better attract the right target audience without blowing your budget.

You hear the term “niche” tossed around a lot, but it’s important to choose one when looking for t-shirt business opportunities. One of the most important parts of building a successful t-shirt business is the ability to stand out, and one of the best ways to do that is by catering to a specific target audience or interest group.

Generally, categories like “t-shirts for people who like funny slogans” are going to be too broad to get noticed in a very developed market. You’re going to want to tighten it up a little more. An example of a more specific niche would be t-shirts with funny slogans that relate to doctors and nurses, or to dog owners, as pictured below.

Photo courtesy of: ThinkPup

There are many ways to find and evaluate a niche, but here are a few:

  • Visit your prospective niche’s subreddits and evaluate the subscriber count and level of engagement.
  • Use Facebook’s Audience Insights tool to gauge the size of your niche on the platform.
  • Scan this list of popular hobbies on Wikipedia for inspiration.
  • Consider your own interests and the communities you belong to—sometimes it’s OK to trust your gut.

Once you narrow down your niche, create a business plan for your t-shirt company that covers your goals and different opportunities to sell custom t-shirts, then figure out how you’ll execute that plan.

2. Source quality material and t-shirt printing options

Not all t-shirts are the same and not all print jobs are the same. As we mentioned above, quality is paramount to your brand and its success, so it’s important to educate yourself and choose your blank shirts wisely.

It might be tempting to sacrifice quality for higher profit margins, but you need to consider how the quality will affect a customer’s decision to share your brand and purchase from you again.

Choosing a quality t-shirt encompasses several factors, including fit, sizing, material, softness, and weight. A great starting point for determining which blank t-shirt to use is to check out T-Shirt Magazine’s review of some of the most popular blank t-shirts for printing.

Once you narrow down your choices, it’s strongly recommended to order samples so you can make an informed final decision.

3. Create your own t-shirt designs

Here are a few ways you can get a head start on your t-shirt business designs.

Find the best selling designs and niches

If you’re stuck for t-shirt niche ideas and designs, a great start is looking at what else is popular and currently selling well.

Below is a list of pages for some of the top graphic t-shirt marketplaces. You can use them to search the “best sellers” and “most popular” sections to help you get a better idea of your next niche or t-shirt design. 

  • Zazzle
  • Redbubble
  • SnorgTees
  • Kickstarter t-shirt campaigns

You may also want to consider checking out Google Trends to get a sense of the topics people are currently interested in.

Hire a designer

Once you have an idea for some t-shirt designs, you’re going to have to actually design them. If you have Adobe Photoshop or a similar program, you likely can produce some great designs by yourself. However, if you’re like most people, you’ll need to enlist some help.

There are a wide variety of tools and marketplaces you can use to find a suitable graphic designer to help you.

Design communities

Dribbble: Dribbble is a designer community with lots of unique talent. Search for the style you’re looking for and message the designers you like to see if they’re available for freelance projects.

Behance: Behance is a cool platform to check out. You can see portfolios from different creators around the world who specialize in illustrations, niches, and styles and more. If you end up liking a designer, you can reach out to them and get a quote on your custom t-shirt designs.

Freelance networks 

Some other options you may want to try are the popular freelance networks like Freelancer and Upwork. You can find qualified t-shirt designers, fast, and check out their past job successes and portfolio. If you like someone, you can reach out in right in the platform and hire them on the spot. 

Buy t-shirt designs

If you’re stuck finding a designer, you can always purchase pre-made designs. Keep in mind that if you choose to go this route, there’s a high likelihood that other people are already selling whatever design you pick, making it harder for you and your brand to stand out.

Check out the following t-shirt graphic marketplaces:

  • Designious: which sells vector packs and PNG t-shirt designs, also clip art to create your own products. 
  • Tshirt Factory: which offers a variety of vector images — from old school to punk rave and urban styles — for t-shirt printing businesses. 
  • Creative Market: which doesn’t focus exclusively on t-shirts, but you can find over 3 million unique fonts, graphics, themes, photos, and templates designed by independent creators from around the world.
  • Graphic River: where you can buy and sell royalty-free, Photoshop files, vectors, and icon packs for your t-shirt designs. 

Keep in mind, if you plan to sell t-shirts online, you may need to purchase a commercial license. 

4. Mock up your t-shirts

Once you have some final designs, your next step will be to get some mockup images made so your customers can see what the final design will look like printed on a shirt.

There are a few ways you can get images of your final designs on t-shirts, including ordering samples and taking product photography yourself or, with the abundance of t-shirt mockups and templates online, opting to create a 100% digital mockup, like the one below.

Adobe Photoshop t-shirt templates are the most common types of mockup files. They allow you to quickly preview how your designs will look printed on a t-shirt. Most Photoshop templates come with multiple layers that let you change the color of the shirt and apply your own design that will blend with the shirt’s creases, folds, and contours.

Here are several resources to help you find the best mockup file for your next project:

  • GraphicRiver t-shirt mockups
  • MockupWorld
  • 19 awesome t-shirt templates

If Adobe Photoshop isn’t right for you, you can also use web-based mockup software that will let you do the same thing without having to download and figure out Photoshop.

  • Printful mockup generator
  • Printify mockup generator
  • Placeit

Another great option for tasks like this is to enlist help from someone on Fiverr. Just search for t-shirt mockups.

5. Validate your designs

Before you invest a lot of money on your new business idea, you should verify that there is a market for and interest in your designs. There are many ways you can go about validating the market and sell t-shirts online.

Some of the most popular and more common methods for validating your design ideas include:

Personal social networks. Post some of your designs to your Facebook profile, niche Facebook groups, Twitter, and other social networks your friends and potential customers frequent. Be careful when asking friends and family, however—their opinions are prone to kindness.

Reddit. Despite the community’s general aversion to marketing, Reddit is still one of the best places to get honest feedback on your designs (which can even translate into sales after you launch). With countless subreddits, it’s easy to find a highly targeted niche of potential customers and ask them directly for their thoughts on your designs before launching.

Crowdfunding. Crowdfunding sites have made it much easier to test, validate, and collect money upfront for your new business idea. Launching a crowdfunding campaign can be time consuming and requires a good deal of preparation. However, the benefits can be huge, including fully funding your project before you launch it. If you have a particularly novel t-shirt business idea (say, matching t-shirts for dogs and dog owners), crowdfunding might be for you.

Print on demand. Finally, with ecommerce platforms like Shopify, it’s never been easier to set up a fully functional online store (domain name included) in a matter of hours to validate your business idea. Start a 14-day free trial and integrate a print-on-demand service to validate your t-shirts by trying to sell them online.

6. Set up your online store

Now that you have your t-shirt designs in hand, have made your mockups, and validated your idea, it’s time to build your store. 

There are a handful of t-shirt print-on-demand services that directly integrate with your Shopify store, allowing you to start taking orders in no time. These services will print and ship your t-shirts to your customers on your behalf every time you receive an order. 

There’s no need to purchase or hold any inventory upfront, making it a great way to get started. Best of all, if you want to use your design on other printable products, such as mugs and tote bags, you have that option as well.

There are a variety of t-shirts available through the following print-on-demand companies:

  • Printful
  • Teelaunch
  • Printify
  • Gooten

Once your store is set up, you’ll be ready to start selling t-shirts online. 

Learn more: Build and run your store website with ease. Visit https://www.shopify.com/online.

5 considerations for starting a t-shirt business

Although the tools and technology available for designing, printing, and shipping custom t-shirts makes starting up relatively simple, the difficult part is building a brand to stand out from the competition. Combine competition with slim profit margins and building an online t-shirt company becomes a little harder than it might first appear.

If you want to design and sell t-shirts online, you have to make the right decisions from the get-go.

There are several critical elements involved in starting a successful t-shirt business. Each of these elements needs to be considered closely before moving forward:

  • T-shirt printing techniques. There are many different ways to print designs on a t-shirt. Choosing the right one can help you save money and make smarter business decisions. 
  • Design. The majority of people purchasing graphic tees are looking for designs, graphics, and slogans that connect with them and reflect their opinions and personality.
  • Quality. The quality of the shirts you use and of the print job need to be top notch to build a sustainable business.
  • Brand, A strong, interesting brand is vital in the t-shirt industry.
  • Inventory, Will you manage your own inventory to take advantage of volume discounts or use a print-on-demand service to save time and effort.

Let’s take a deeper look at each one.

1. T-shirt printing techniques

There are three popular methods for printing onto t-shirts. Each method has its pros and cons and deciding which one to use will partially depend on how much time you want to invest in the product creation and which printing partner you choose.

Below, we have outlined all three t-shirt printing options, to give you a better understanding of each process. Whether you invest in your own printer or use a local supplier, it’s worth knowing how each printing technique works.

Screen printing

Photo courtesy of: Printful

Screen printing is an old technique that has stood the test of time for business owners who design and sell t-shirts online and in-store. 

As one of the most popular methods for printing onto t-shirts, screen printing can produce durable and long-lasting results. It also lets you print on products like canvas items, mugs, hats, and other things to make and sell, if you want to expand your product line. 

However, a labor-intensive initial setup means screen printing is most cost-effective when printing in bulk. Screen printing also poses issues when it comes to complex designs or designs with more than four to five colors, as each color increases costs and production time.

Pros

  • Cost effective for large batches
  • Volume discounts

Cons

  • Not cost effective for multiple colors
  • Can only print simple images and designs

Heat transfer

Photo courtesy of: Transfer Express

Heat transfers have also been around for a long time and exist in several forms. You may have seen basic heat-transfer paper at your local office supply store.

Although this method makes it easy to print designs from your home computer and transfer them with an iron, it won’t cut it when it comes to running a small business. The more advanced form of heat transfers are called “plastisol transfers” and are printed by professional printers on special, high-quality heat-transfer paper. 

The advantage of heat transfers is the ability to order a stack of prints from your local printer and transfer them to your t-shirts with a commercial heat press machine as you receive orders.

Heat transfers can produce full-color images onto t-shirts relatively easily and quickly.

Pros

  • You can “print” each shirt on demand
  • More affordable for small batches
  • No limit in number of colors you can use in a print

Cons

  • Lower quality and less durable than direct-to-garment and screen printing
  • Large upfront investment in a heat press machine (from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand)
  • The do-it-yourself approach means additional time input for you

Direct-to-garment (DTG)

Photo courtesy of: Anajet

The direct-to-garment printing process operates much like an ink-jet printer you might have at home. It’s a common type of t-shirt printing business equipment because it prints ink directly onto the t-shirt and can produce full-color images with accuracy.

Direct-to-garment printing produces quality printing on par with screen printing and better than heat transfers. Because it operates like an ink-jet printer, there are no setup costs, unlike screen printing. This means it’s easy and cost effective to print small orders.

The major disadvantage of direct-to-garment printing is the lack of volume discount for large orders, as it takes the same amount of time to print each shirt.

Pros

  • Unlimited color options
  • High detail accuracy in printed design
  • Great for small orders or one-offs
  • No set-up costs

Cons

  • Not cost effective for large production runs
  • Generally no volume discounts

2. Design

The last thing a visitor would want is to see in your catalog is a copy of a t-shirt design found elsewhere. Your designs don’t necessarily need to be complex—in fact, many of the best-selling graphic tees are very simple. However, they do need to connect with your audience and stand out.

To ensure a quality print, your design files should generally be at least 300 pixels per inch (dpi or ppi), have a transparent background, and be large enough to cover the actual print area of the t-shirt. Just note that your exact specifications will vary depending on the printer and printing technique used (more on that later).

3. Quality

The next most important factor in the success and sustainability of an online t-shirt business is quality. You can disappoint someone once, but they won’t let you disappoint them twice. A pattern that fades and cracks or a t-shirt that shrinks and rips won’t create raving fans that come back and repurchase.

Higher quality t-shirts might cost more to produce but can also command higher prices. The final quality of your t-shirt will depend on the material of the blank t-shirt, printing technique used, and correct preparation of your design file.

Photo courtesy of: Nuvango

4. Brand

A strong, interesting brand is vital in the t-shirt industry. Your brand is a promise that will tie together all your choices, including your niche, designs, and quality. From your t-shirt business name to the logo you use, building a unique and likable brand is important in a high-competition industry.

When customers have more choices, it becomes extremely important for an ecommerce business to have a distinctive presence to capture their attention.

If you’ve chosen a niche that embodies a certain lifestyle, you can incorporate it into your marketing and website to speak to these customers, like in the anime/streetwear example from Imouri, below.

5. Inventory

When starting a t-shirt business, most people either opt to buy and hold inventory, taking advantage of bulk pricing and local printers, or use a print-on-demand service to take inventory management and shipping off your plate. You can also opt for a mix of both.

By holding your own inventory, you can more easily sell in-person and potentially improve your profit margins, whereas with print-on-demand, you take on a lot less risk. Weigh the pros and cons before you start. If you’re unsure, print-on-demand is always one of the best low investment business ideas.

Dropshipping is an easy t-shirt business model for small business owners to wrap their heads around. With services like Printful, it’s incredibly easy to start and test your t-shirt designs.

Of course, if you have the budget for it, you can also invest in your own printer and set up a base of operations.

Online t-shirt business success stories

Many entrepreneurs have been successful starting an online t-shirt company. One in particular, Ryan McCarthy, founder of Imouri (formerly known as Sugoi Shirts), has used Shopify to run his anime-inspired t-shirt printing business since 2016. 

Ryan decided to create his t-shirt business when he couldn’t find anime-style clothing that fit his personal style. He quietly launched what he thought would be a small clothing line, which has since turned into a six-figure print-on-demand apparel business selling streetwear inspired by Japanese pop culture and anime. His secret? Identifying winning designs early on by using Reddit and paid ads to test products. Hear his best t-shirt business tips on our Shopify Masters podcast.

Start your t-shirt business today

It’s never been easier to express your creativity and sell t-shirts online. Whatever niche you choose to serve or however ambitious you decide to be with your quality and designs, a t-shirt store makes for a great first online business for new entrepreneurs.

Here’s the good news: Building and launching a new t-shirt brand on Shopify is relatively inexpensive and quick. If you already have designs you want to sell, you can be up and running in as little as a few hours.

With the abundance of apps and integrations in the Shopify App Store, you can also connect your store to a t-shirt printer/dropshipper in minutes and quickly have a fully functioning store, ready to print and ship to your customers.

Illustration by Alice Mollon

FAQ: Starting a t-shirt business

Is a t-shirt business profitable?

T-shirts are a staple for men, women, and children around the world, with global retail sales reaching $1.9 trillion in recent years. Creating an online t-shirt business is profitable and has low startup costs compared to other business opportunities. While t-shirt business profit varies depending on your niche and marketing costs, you can set up a profitable additional revenue stream in as little as 30 days.

How much does it cost to start a t-shirt business?

Starting a t-shirt business from home can cost you a minimum of $260, according to one Shopify store owner Tucker Schreiber, which is a small investment compared to opening a brick-and-mortar t-shirt store and buying your own t-shirt printing business equipment and embroidery machines. 

How do I start a t-shirt business?

  • Do market research and find a passionate community.
  • Come up with a t-shirt company name.
  • Make a business logo and set up an online shop.
  • Create your own t-shirt designs.
  • Set up your social media accounts.
  • Run paid ads for your online t-shirt business site.
  • Do blog outreach and free promotions with influencers. 

How much can you make selling t-shirts?

The amount you make selling t-shirts depends on how much time you put into your business. There have been many accounts of business owners making $100,000 selling and dropshipping t-shirts online.

How can I start my own t-shirt business with no money?

If you want to start a t-shirt business fast with no money, add products to your store using print-on-demand dropshippers like Printful. Go to the Shopify App Store, search for Printful, and click ‘Add app.’

Do you need a business license to sell t-shirts online?

Typically, you do not need a business license to sell t-shirts online. You may want to get a resale license to buy clothing from a distributor free from sales tax. Check with your local county revenue or finance department to learn more.

Shopify Tutorial

Shop Small: 50 Sustainable Products for Earth Day—and Every Day

May 10, 2021 , by 露露

This article is from Shopify, and was republished and shared through Elksourcing with the permission of Shopify.

Original link：https://www.shopify.com/blog/eco-friendly-products

Earth Day arrived quietly this year—did you almost miss it? There is, after all, a lot going on in the world, and it may be hard to find the energy to care about sustainability when a global pandemic is dominating our collective attention. But today is a good reminder that being thoughtful about how we consume is as important as ever. Now is the time to support independent businesses that have been hit hard by COVID-19—especially those on a relentless pursuit to make the world a better place.

For the environment, the impacts of a global shutdown have cut both ways. Pollution has seen a decrease and emissions have been reduced in many big cities as planes stay grounded and cars parked. On the other hand, consumption is up—and an uptick in online shopping is contributing to an increase in excess packaging.

Minimize your footprint by growing your own vegetables in a self-watering container. Orta Gardens

We can, however, make incremental changes to our shopping habits—say, switching from plastic wrap to beeswax wrap—to help minimize waste. And, with all this extra time, maybe this is the moment to eschew bagged carrots and realize that balcony container garden of your dreams.

Whether you’re looking for sustainable home office solutions, ethical loungewear, or clean comfort foods, we’ve got you covered. To help you shop more sustainably on this 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, we’ve handpicked 50 good-for-you—and good-for-the-earth—products from independent business owners everywhere.

Sustainable tech

Get a glimpse of a more eco-friendly future with innovative gadgets powered by the sun or made from recycled materials.

1. Limited edition Bee AirPods and phone cases in honey by Pela Case

Bonus: 5% of the sale price supports causes like Save the Whales Coalition

2. RIVER solar generator by EcoFlow

3. SunLight portable solar light by BioLite

4. Handcrafted wood laptop stand by Oakywood

5. Wireless charger made with hemp and recycled plastic by Nimble

Bonus: shipped in biodegradable, plastic-free packaging

Ethical fashion

Style for staying home, picked from brands with a thoughtful, transparent supply chain.

6. The Pocket Classic crew tee in penny by Franc

7. Black Tulip tee by Free Label

8. Recycled cotton long shorts in stone by Pangaia

9. Cotton structured mini dress in gold medal by Hoibo

10. The Wanderer wide-leg slacks in hemp organic cotton by Uniform

Good for pets, good for the earth

Keep Rufus entertained while you (try to) work from home, with recycled and upcycled dog toys and treats.

11. Hemp and cork dog leash by Wigglywoos

12. Recycled Tug and Toss dog rope toy by Harry Barker

13. Beco Family George the Giraffe recycled dog toy from Chopper & Otis

14. Upcycled dog treats made from food rescued from agricultural and production waste streams by Shameless Pets

Gardens and the great outdoors

Turn your backyard into a staycation oasis—and a bountiful food source—with smart green goods for the outdoors.

15. Self-watering microgreen grow kit by Orta Kitchen Gardens

16. Portable campfire made with recycled soy wax by Radiate

17. Outdoor loveseat set made with recycled ocean plastic by Yardbird

18. Organic Pizza Garden Collection by The Living Seed Company

19. Beehive kits by BackYardHive

Kind foods

Organic, fair trade, or solar-grown—sure, they’re good for you, but they’re also delicious.

20. Organic and fair trade Peanut Butter Pitbull bar by Rescue Chocolate

Bonus: 100% of profits support animal rescue

21. Organic Mayan Magic espresso coffee beans by Higher Grounds

22. Upcycled vegetable Pulp Chips in jalapeño lime by Pulp Pantry

23. Solar-roasted coffee beans by Fluid

24. Salted caramel plant powered energy balls by Little Tucker

Low-impact (on the earth) fitness gear

Stay inside, but don’t stay still. Up your at-home fitness game with sportswear and yoga gear constructed with recycled or renewable materials.

25. Sustainable sneakers by Norm

26. Biodegradable rubber eKO yoga mat by Manduka

27. Performance wear made from recycled coffee grounds by Five12

Clean beauty and personal care

Take care of your skin—and the planet—with products made from organic and naturally derived ingredients.

28. Plum beauty oil by Le Prunier

29. Bamboo and organic cotton pads and tampons by Tsuno

Bonus: each box sold helps fund girls’ education

30. Naturally derived red clay facial mask stick by Found

31. Bamboo toothbrush with plastic-free packaging by VirtueBrush

32. Clean and cruelty free All-Over concealer stick by p/y/t Beauty

33. Juniper and Birch soap by Boreal Folk

A sustainable kitchen

Ditch disposables in favor of reusables or upgrade dinnerware to recycled—and seriously cute—alternatives.

34. Flora & Fauna drinking glass set made from recycled bottles by Green Glass

35. Durable kids’ dinnerware made from recycled bottles by Re-Play

36. Family pack of four bowls handcrafted from coconut shells by Coconut Bowls

37. Collapsible drinking straws by Final Straw

38. Reusable produce bags by Flip & Tumble

Compassion for animals

Buy critter-friendly goods from brands that give back.

39. A symbolic moose adoption by WWF

Burst

40. Merch to support the dog rescue efforts of Justice Rescue

Burst

41. Piggy pin to support Herbivorous Acres, an animal sanctuary operated by Herbivorous Butcher

Burst

Eco-minded accessories

Treat yourself (if not now, when?) with little extras made from materials diverted from landfills.

42. Recycled and fair trade embroidered zipper pouch by Rice Love

43. Vera net socks in recycled polyamide by Swedish Stockings

Bonus: send in your old socks for recycling and get 10% off

44. Recycled firehose wallets by Recycled Firefighter

45. Reusable tote and backpack combo in forest green by Notabag

46. Sustainable eyewear by Dick Moby

Natural creativity

We can’t guarantee you’ll get a day off, but these kindly made craft supplies and exploration kits might buy you a few moments of kid-free silence.

47. Bike Basket Jumbo Journal made from post-consumer recycled paper by EcoJot

48. Set of six Beeswax and soy chick crayons by A Toy Garden

49. Mineral face paint by Natural Art Supplies

50. The Forest School Den Kit for outdoor discovery from Conscious Craft

Illustration by Amanda Berglund

Shopify Tutorial

50 Exceptional Shopify Stores to Inspire Entrepreneurs

May 10, 2021 , by 露露

This article is from Shopify, and was republished and shared through Elksourcing with the permission of Shopify.
Original link：https://www.shopify.com/blog/shopify-stores
At Shopify, over a million independent businesses, from a variety of industries and walks of life, create their own version of change through commerce.
Here’s a list of Shopify stores that supply a jolt of inspiration for those who are on the journey of building their own business. These businesses are creating change by turning trash into fabrics, preserving heritage variety of crops, developing cult-favorite beauty products, eliminating single-use items, and so much more.
Check out these stores and see how businesses are using their products and services to express who they are and what they believe in, while building for the future.
Learn more: How to Start an Online Store with Shopify


1. Partake Foods

When Denise Woodard couldn’t find healthy snacks for her daughter, Vivane, that were also allergy friendly, she founded Partake Foods. Partake offers cookies in flavors like chocolate chip, birthday cake, and ginger snaps that are school safe and free of the top 8 allergens as well as artificial colors, preservatives, and genetically modified ingredients.


2. Uppercase magazine

For over a decade, Uppercase magazine has offered interesting articles and photos focused on craft, fashion, illustration, and design, all wrapped up in a beautifully printed package. Creator and editor Janine Vangool uses her platform to feature fellow creators and, since launching in 2009, has expanded the publication to include Little U, a tiny magazine for the young and young at heart, and Encyclopedia, a series of books that deep dive on topics like ceramics, quilting, and printmaking.


3. Hiut Denim Co.

Hiut Denim is based in Cardigan, Wales, a town that, until 2002, was home to the biggest jeans factory in the United Kingdom Hiut Denim was founded in 2011 to take advantage of the jean-making skills and knowhow that remained with many locals, showcase their dedication to craft and bring manufacturing back to Cardigan. Dedicated to making the best jeans, not the most jeans, Hiut Denim focuses on details, satisfaction, and quality.


4. Manitobah Mukluks

Founded by Métis entrepreneur Sean McCormick in 1997 and based in Manitoba, Canada, Manitobah Mukluks keeps and celebrates Indigenous traditions through footwear. Its Storyboot Project collection is made in partnership with Indigenous elders and artisans. On the flip side, to make its footwear accessible to more people, there are also lines made internationally.


5. Package Free

Package Free founder and CEO Lauren Singer is on a mission to make the world less trashy by selling beauty and household items that come package free. Lauren lives a zero waste lifestyle and has dedicated her life and business to creating less wasteful consumer behaviors. Her 2015 Tedx Talk generated millions of views discussed how to have a zero-waste lifestyle and showcased her 16-oc. Mason jar containing three years’ worth of trash.


6. Flourist

Much like a charming flower shop, Flourist showcases each of its grains, beans, and freshly milled flours like a fresh blooming bouquet. Flourist sells 100% traceable and freshly stone-milled flours and dried goods, and offers pages on its website dedicated to telling more about the farmers it works with. The store is a haven for baking enthusiasts—sourcing ingredients from Flourist is an exploration in the difference of freshly milled flours and heritage grains.


7. Allbirds

Footballer Tim Brown and engineer Zoey Zwillinger are the cofounders behind Allbirds, a footwear company that puts natural materials and sustainability first. Allbirds is a merge of comfort and consciousness, with threads made from wool and eucalyptus, simple designs, and packaging made from 90% post-consumer recycled cardboard.


8. Naja

Founded by designer Catalina Girald and Golden Globe-winning actress Gina Rodriguez, Naja makes inclusive undergarments in multiple nude colors to match every shade of skin tone. The company employs single mothers and female heads of households to empower women through employment. Naja also gives 2% of its sales to support sewing programs at local foundations.


9. United by Blue

United By Blue removes a pound of trash from the ocean and waterways for each product sold. The apparel and home goods company founded by Brian Linton incorporates sustainability through all areas of its operation. United By Blue is committed to ending the use of single-use plastics like poly bags, bubble wrap sleeves, and plastic tape. It also hosts organized cleanups, allowing customers to get involved with the company’s mission without even making a purchase.


10. Bailly

Co-founded by Ariel Gough and Edwina Govindsamy, Bailly is a vegan all-natural fragrance company that gives away 15% of every sale from our Girl Power collection benefits the Just Like My Child Foundation’s Girl Power Project. As coconut oil-based scents, Bailly products will not irritate or overpower while providing a soft scent that’s also moisturizing to the skin.


11. BLK and Bold

Pernell Cezar Jr. and Rod Johnson founded BLK & Bold with the purpose of helping local communities through the sale of caffeinated beverages. BLK & Bold leverages wholesale and direct-to-consumer as a force to equip young people with tools to live their best lives and overcome unfortunate circumstances. The company pledges 5% of profits to initiatives that sustain youth programs, enhance workforce development, and eradicate youth homelessness.


12. Adored Vintage

Browsing Adored Vintage’s website of vintage clothing and vintage-inspired modern pieces is like a virtual escape to a romantic French countryside. Owner Rodellee Bas curates and creates pieces out of her affinity for silhouettes of times past. Adored Vintage donates a portion of its revenue to local classrooms, and Rodellee is a regular mentor to other women in business.


13. Cheekbone Beauty

Founded by Indigenous owner Jennifer Harper, Cheekbone Beauty creates beauty products that are vegan and cruelty free. As part of the brand’s commitment to becoming waste free by 2023, its lipsticks are packaged in biodegradable paper and use 85% less plastic than traditional lipstick tubes. Cheekbone Beauty’s team founded First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (FNCFCS) and continues to support its initiatives by donating 10% of the profits to Shannen’s Dream.


14. Meow Meow Tweet

Life and business partners Tara Pelletier and Jeff Kurosaki are the visual artists and founders behind Meow Meow Tweet. This organic vegan skincare company is known for its products made from natural ingredients and its sustainable packaging featuring whimsical illustrations drawn by Jeff. In addition to donating to and supporting organizations that align with its values, Meow Meow Tweet offers a bulk refill program to reduce packaging and waste and a system for customers who would like to return their empty containers for the team to reuse.
Learn more: How to Start Your Own Skincare Line (From Scratch)


15. Bebemoss

Mom of three Izabela Erşahin is the founder and designer of Bebemoss, a Turkey-based sustainable children’s toy company. Beemoss proudly employs stay-at-home mothers and offers fair pay. Most of the mothers it hires are refugees from Syria, working to rebuild their lives in Turkey. From adorable lions to unicorns to rabbits, each toy is made by moms who are making a living to support their families.


16. Kirrin Finch

Kirrin Finch is an apparel company offering gender-defying clothes inspired by menswear but designed to fit a range of female and non-binary bodies. Co-founders Kelly and Laura Moffat source eco-friendly fabrics and implement practices that reduce pollution while partnering with fair labor and ethical manufacturers to produce each garment.


17. Rothy’s

Rothy’s transforms eco-friendly materials into stylish footwear and accessories through 3D knitting technology. It also strives for zero waste. Over 60 million plastic water bottles and counting have been turned into bags or shoes by Rothy’s, and its shoeboxes are strong enough to ship without additional packaging. They’re also biodegradable, made with 85% post-consumer recycled materials.


18. MFMG cosmetics

Tomi Gbeleyi used social media to create a community that showcased and celebrated diversity within the beauty industry. By highlighting talent within the community, Tomi created a line of products specifically designed for deeper skin tones. Building MFMG is a way for Tomi to shift the narrative within the beauty industry, push for inclusivity, and get the community as a whole to expand beyond its existing range of shades and tones and create with diversity in mind.


19. Suta

Founded by sisters Sujata and Taniya Biswas, Suta is a fashion house based in Mumbai, India dedicated to employing weavers and artisans in disempowered communities and using sustainable fabrics. Mixing unique handmade fabrics with classic saree silhouettes, dresses, and blouses, Suta’s pieces represent a meeting of tradition, creativity, and design.


20. Beneath Your Mask

Dana Jackson was diagnosed with a severe form of Lupus. The disease impacted her hair and skin, and Dana began searching for pure, all-natural products to rejuvenate her. Dana’s beauty line, Beneath Your Mask, is dedicated to using non-toxic, pure, all-natural ingredients to bring nourishing and healing to beauty routines.


21. Tentree

Inspired by time spent immersed in Hawaii, Dave Luba and Kalen Emsley founded Tentree as a way to positively impact the environment through commerce. For every item sold, Tentree plants 10 trees, with a goal of planting over a billion trees by 2030.


22. Beauty Bakerie

Beauty products packaged and named after baked goods is just one of the sweet things about Beauty Bakerie. Founder Cashmere Nicole went through her share of ups and downs on her journey of entrepreneurship, from being a single mom to battling breast cancer. But her beauty routine has always brought moments of sweetness. Now the maker of cult-favorite items and a coveted beauty brand, Beauty Bakerie started Sugar Homes in 2016 to support and sponsor orphanages by providing funding and supplies.


23. Artisire

Artisaire is the epitome of a business honing in and dedicating itself to a craft, in this case, the art of wax sealing. From customized wax stamps to premade wax seals, Artisaire has made an old tradition new again. Owning each step of the production process, Artisaire makes all of its items in its Canadian factory. The Thomsen family who run Artisaire still find joy in handwriting their own thank you notes and sealing each one by hand.
Learn more: A seamless checkout process, Shop Pay checkouts convert at a 1.91x times higher than regular checkouts.


24. Bésame Cosmetics

Designer and cosmetics historian Gabriela Hernandez channels the glamor of her grandmother’s beauty routine into great vintage-inspired beauty products. From 1920s-inspired cake mascara to long-wearing classic color lipsticks, all of Bésame Cosmetics’ line is 100% cruelty-free, formulated for sensitive skin, and produced in California.


25. Terre Bleu

Located in Milton, Ontario, Terre Bleu’s owners, Ian and Isabelle Baird, left behind the busy city life for the country—and to start a lavender farm. Terre Bleu has attracted many visitors looking to soak in its atmosphere, which brings a piece of Provence to Canada. The Bairds also have expanded their business to include a line of lavender-infused beauty, food, and household products.


26. Tsuno

Roz Campbell founded Tsuno to create period products made from eco-responsible materials. Tsuno’s sustainable bamboo fiber sanitary pads and organic cotton tampons also provide support for disempowered women. Half of the products Tsuno makes are donated to charities that focus on education and menstruation support.


27. Ketnipz

Cartoonist Harry Hambley was a teenager when he started sharing his character Bean on Instagram, under the handle @Ketnipz. Ketnipz’s positivity, puns, and humor caught the attention of millions and allowed Harry to work with art festivals and Instagram, and to create his own merchandise. Bean’s positivity and cuteness can be found on sweaters, t-shirts, and accessories.


28. SUGAR cosmetics

Founder and CEO Vineeta Singh wanted to create cosmetics for fellow Indian beauty enthusiasts designed with their skin tone and weather conditions in mind, such as humidity-proof foundations and vibrant lipsticks. This Mumbai-based beauty company grew from an idea into an Indian direct-to-consumer and retail giant.


29. Tofino Soap Company

Inspired by Tofino’s moss-draped trees, lush greenery, and ocean waves, Angela L’Heureux modernized her family recipes to create candles, soaps, and body care products under the name Tofino Soap Company. Tofino is committed to using 100% natural ingredients, some from Angela’s garden, others forged in the wild or, whenever possible, bought from fair trade suppliers. Each item is produced in small batches and packed with sustainability in mind—80% of Tofino’s packaging is made from glass and biodegradable paper stock.


30. Velasca

Founded by Enrico Casati and Jacopo Sebastio, Velasca was born as a direct-to-consumer solution to reduce the distribution layers of handcrafted leather shoes in order to provide them at more affordable prices. Its products are a showcase for Italian shoemaking and the brand is dedicated to bringing employment to the heart of the Marche region. Velasca has grown to employ over 10 families of shoemakers while running more than a dozen retail stores throughout Europe.


31. Satya

Motivated by her daughter’s skin conditions and eczema diagnosis with, Satya founder Patrice Mousseau began researching and testing the creation of effective, nontoxic, and fragrance-free skin products. Made with just five certified organic ingredients, Satya’s line provides a simple alternative to traditional skincare. Proudly Indigenous- and female-owned, Satya is also committed to being carbon neutral, not testing on animals, and using sustainable materials in its packaging.


32. LastObject

Isabel Aagaard, Kare Frandsen, and Nicolas Aagaard founded LastObject with a mission to design replacements for single-use items. Through successful crowdfunding campaigns, the LastObject team created reusable swabs and tissues that have at least 10 times real environmental impact than their traditional single-use counterparts.


33. Verve Coffee Roasters

Starting with a single neighborhood café in Santa Cruz in 2007, Mike Eyre, Ryan O’Donovan, and Colby Barrbuilt Verve Coffee into a multifaceted business that includes over a dozen retail locations in the United States and Japan, a wholesale distribution arm, and an online shop. Through it all, Verve has placed its commitment to sustainable growing practices and supporting farmers above everything else, through its Farmlevel initiative, which preserves heirloom coffee varieties, manages nurseries, and pays fair prices.


34. Unwrapped Life

Wanting to create a beauty company with future generations in mind, Arden Teasdale and Hayley McKenzie started Unwrapped Life to provide products that eliminate the juxtaposition between sustainability and effectiveness. With shampoo, conditioner, and soap bars wrapped in compostable paper, their items are virtually wasteless. Applying this waste reduction philosophy to all areas of business, Unwrapped Life set up an extensive network of wholesalers to help reduce shipping while reaching more users and starting a refill program for liquid products with a retail partner in Calgary, Alberta.


35. Chocolate Alchemy

John Nanci founded Chocolate Alchemy to not only provide cacao beans but also his wealth of knowledge to those wanting to enter the world of bean-to-bar chocolate making. The art and science of making chocolate is daunting, to say the least, but John and his team remove some of the mystery. With lessons on beans, nibs, and molds, Chocolate Alchemy is a school for those enchanted by the magic of chocolate.


36. KOTN

Benjamin Sehl, Rami Helali, and Mackenzie Yeates launched KOTN with a desire to create simple closet essentials that were both affordable and good quality. Sourcing directly from the Nile Delta, KOTN’s pieces are made with Egyptian cotton that’s finer, softer, and more breathable than other types of cotton. Supporting the local economy and farming families that have seen a massive decline in business since larger corporations moved away, KOTN buys directly from farmers at guaranteed prices while funding the construction of schools in the region to raise literacy rates.


37. TPMOCS

TPMOCS was founded by Maria Running Fisher Jones with a mission to continue the emphasis her mother placed on recognizing and giving back to her own Indigenous roots. TPMOCS’s baby footwear is a meaningful way to address poverty by providing employment and resources for Indigenous communities in need. With teams located in California, Washington, and Montana, TPMOCS currently works with The Blackfeet tribe.


38. Made In Cookware

Chip Malt’s extensive ecommerce background complemented Jake Kalick’s third-generation expertise in cookware manufacturing when the two launched Made In Cookware to disrupt the kitchenware industry. Working with multi-generational makers and renowned chefs, Made In Cookware delivers quality pots, pans, and knives directly to cooking enthusiasts at affordable prices, without the layers of traditional distribution models.


39. Fresh Heritage

Brothers Jamil and Gamal Codner were inspired during a trip to Africa to bring back traditional grooming habits and oils to the US. Fresh Heritage’s products are designed to nourish and strengthen hair specifically for men of color. With grooming kits, beard oils, and combs, Fresh Heritage is servicing a market that’s been underrepresented.


40. Then I Met You

Charlotte Cho, the skincare and beauty curator and founder behind Soko Glam, decided it was time to create a line of skincare products of her own. Then I Met You celebrates the idea of “jeong”—the feeling of empathy and affection for people, places, and things. After a decade-long testing, the line of cruelty-free skincare products was created, bringing to market transformative experiences for users, made by leading chemists and manufacturers in Korea.


41. GiveMeTap

Each water bottle sold by GiveMeTap provides a person in Ghana with clean drinking water for five years. Edwin Broni-Mensah founded GiveMeTap after having difficulty finding a water refill station in his homebase of London. Edwin built an app to showcase the eateries and establishments that offered free water refills to reduce the use of disposable bottled waters. With the dual commitment of reducing single-use plastic bottles and providing water to those in need, Give Me Tap has provided over 50,000 individuals with clean water for life and reduced about 45 million plastic bottles as of late 2019.


42. Beefcake Swimwear

Mel Wells took more than two years to craft and launch Beefcake Swimwear, a line of sustainable and ethically made suits inspired by 1920s fashion. These thoughtfully produced, androgynous pieces are manufactured by people making a living wage in Portland, Oregon. Staying as transparent as possible, Mel has openly shared how the cost of making a piece for Beefcake Swimwear breaks down.


43. Silk and Willow

Silk and Willow is a sustainable wedding decor boutique designed for the environmentally conscious. Founder Shellie Pomery began her career as a graphic designer before finding her calling creating fabrics with natural dyes. Silk and Willow carries plant-dyed silk ribbons, table linens, and handmade stationery and is a place to get lost within each beautiful detail associated with planning a wedding.


44. Taza Chocolate

Life and business partners Alex Whitmore and Kathleen Fulton are the founders behind Taza Chocolate. Inspired by the rustic taste and texture of Mexican chocolate, Taza stone grinds its ingredients for a gritty and intense flavor. Taza Chocolate works directly with farmers to ensure fairness and ethical treatment and has set up a third-party direct-trade certification. The company’s payments, farming partners, and impacts can all be found in its annual transparency reports.


45. SmartyPits

When founder Stacia Guzzo’s mother discovered she had breast cancer after noticing a lump in her armpit, Stacia began deeply researching cancer risk factors. After learning about the link between aluminum in antiperspirants and breast cancer, Stacia set out to create deodorants of her own. SmartyPits was born to create a safer alternative to traditional deodorants and antiperspirants by eliminating paraben, phthalate, talc, and aluminum, while also being cruelty free and packed in 100% recyclable materials.


46. MakerGear

When Rick Pollack began experimenting with 3D printing in the early 2000s, he was working full time while making parts and fixing homemade printers in his spare time. Finally, in 2009, Rick started MakerGear to provide parts and eventually create his own line of 3D printers. Since then, MarkerGear has received many accolades, provided a source of local employment in Ohio, and, above all, helped creators make products of their own.


47. Parkland

Founded in 2015, Parkland turns plastic into backpacks and accessories. All of its exterior fabrics are made from 100% recycled water bottles, while its “leather” accents are made from apples. Merging functional design with purpose, each item is a way to buy better and waste less.


48. The Honey Pot

The Honey Pot is an all-natural feminine care company powered by herbs, made by women, and backed by science. Founder Bea Dixon wanted to help other women find relief when she experienced discomfort from bacterial vaginosis for months. With products designed for specific use cases like expecting or current moms, or those on the go, or looking to sooth, heal, or rejuvenate, The Honey Pot provides natural ways to calm itch and irritation and handle menstruation.


49. Goodfair

Topper Luciani founded Goodfair to give clothing headed to landfills a second chance. Unlike most vintage or secondhand clothing retailers, Goodfair doesn’t list each item individually. Instead, customers buy mystery bundles. This process saves time and money for the company and the savings are passed on to the customers. Combating the culture of fast fashion, this low-carbon initiative is changing the way people are buying preloved fashion pieces.


50. Lunchskins

Kristen Quigley founded Lunchskins as a way to eliminate the use of plastic wrappers, bags, and containers when packing lunches and snacks for her kids. The reusable bags are dishwasher safe and grease and moisture proof, while the line of paper bags are unbleached and compostable. Every online order raises funds for the Oceanic Preservation Society, and since 2015, Lunchskins has also designed a cause bag, where 10% of its proceeds are donated to various conservation organizations, such as the Sea Turtle Conservancy and 5Gyres.


Shopify Store FAQ
What should I sell on Shopify?
Here some ideas on how to find a product to sell on shopify:
Solve a customer pain point
Appeal to hobbyists
Go with your personal passion
Sell your professional expertise
Capitalize on trends early
Find product opportunities in keywordsBrowse what’s trending on online marketplaces
Research products with higher profit margins
How do I find top Shopify stores?
Read the Founder Stories category on the Shopify blog, listen to the Shopify Masters podcast, use the Shop mobile app (iOS & Android), check out Shopify Compass to see how successful shopify store owners grew their business, use a tool like BuiltWith to see if an online store is hosted on Shopify, or use a website like MYIP.MS

Shopify Tutorial

The Business of DIY: 14 Things to Make and Sell Online

May 10, 2021 , by 露露

This article is from Shopify, and was republished and shared through Elksourcing with the permission of Shopify.

Original link：https://www.shopify.com/blog/things-to-make-and-sell

Salted fish and tobacco are traded for fur and feed grains. A block of raw wood is whittled into a toy horse and sold at a local artisan market. Watermelon seeds, sowed and tended, become full-fledged fruit before exchanging hands at a roadside stall.

Making things from scratch, cultivating them by hand, and carving out a living by selling and trading them—these are the inceptive transactions of commerce. Commerce has evolved in the past few hundred years, with the biggest changes coinciding with rail transport, the manufacturing boom, and the internet. As far as we’ve come, the roots of commerce remain firmly planted.

Today, thousands of Shopify merchants produce made-by-hand goods, selling them at craft shows, pop-up shops, and through their online stores worldwide. Ecommerce gives makers more reach, and apps help keep their businesses running more efficiently, letting them focus on what they do best: their craft. The best part is that many of these business ideas can be started from home with minimal upfront investment.

Over the years, we’ve shared deep dives into DIY businesses, producing case studies and guides to help you turn your handmade passion into a living.

But maybe you’re not quite sure what things to make. Maybe you’re looking for a new hobby to busy your idle hands (and earn additional money on the side). Or maybe you’re not crafty at all.

We’ve compiled a list of 14 things to make and sell online from home, things to appeal to everyone, from the beginner to the advanced craftsperson, from skilled trades to relatively hands-off ventures. Each idea includes a link to a comprehensive guide, as well as a Shopify store to inspire your own.

14 Things to Make and Sell

  • Bath bombs and soaps
  • T-shirts and printed merchandise
  • Jewelry
  • Curated gift and subscription boxes
  • Candles
  • Sweets
  • Art and prints
  • Digital products
  • Enamel pins
  • Traditional handcrafted products
  • Lip balm and cosmetics
  • Pottery and clay objects
  • Pet supplies
  • Music

1. Bath bombs and soaps

Burst

A simple Google search returns pages of tutorials to teach you to make your own soaps, bath bombs, and other beauty products at home. They range from simple recipes for bath salts to more complicated formulations requiring emulsions and preservatives. This business idea has low creativity requirements—soaps and bath bombs can be made using commercial molds—but packaging and branding are important in beauty, so consider hiring design help.

Get inspired: The Story of the Brazen Soap Maker Who Beat the Banks With Bath Bombs

Get started: How to Make Bath Bombs

 Tips:

  • Keep your inventory tight—fresher bath bombs have more fizz, and natural ingredients (like essential oils) in soap can expire.
  • Investigate your raw ingredient sources to ensure they’re beauty grade and safe for skin. Shopify merchant Salem Essentials recommends understanding the basics of chemistry.
  • Check with your local government to ensure that your production facility (even if it’s your own kitchen) meets health standards. In the US, for example, the FDA sets guidelines for ventilation, air control, and surfaces.

2. T-shirts and printed merchandise

Passionfruit

This is a maker business for the non-maker. Your original idea can be designed (this is where the “maker” comes in) and printed onto various goods—including t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, and dog bandanas—and shipped directly to your customers. It’s a hands-off business that has a very low barrier to entry and an easy thing to make and sell. If you want to increase the handmade factor, consider learning the art of screen printing and purchasing equipment to print your designs at home. 

Get inspired: Passionfruit Interview: Her LGBTQ+ Lifestyle Brand was Inspired by a Dog

Get started: How to Start an Online T-Shirt Business: Everything You Need to Know

 Tips:

  • T-shirts and printed merch can supplement an existing business. Gyms, musicians, and charities, for example, can sell branded swag to current audiences and help to build their brands.
  • Not a designer? Use sites like Shopify Experts, Creative Market, or Upwork to find talent to help you turn your ideas into designs for your t-shirt business.
  • Use a print and fulfillment app, like Printful, Lulu Express, Gooten or Teelaunch. They integrate with your Shopify store and automatically print, fulfill, and ship each order.

3. Jewelry

Moorea Seal

Jewelry is another business idea that can range from simple and low-tech (say, beaded necklaces and woven bracelets) to skilled trades with special equipment (such as silversmithing). It’s a saturated market, so doing your homework up front is important—how can your designs stand out? Is there a niche market to sell to?

Get inspired: Sloths and Shiny Things: Inside the Mind of a 10-Year-Old Founder

Get started: How to Start a Jewelry Making Business

 Tips:

  • Fashion is fickle. Validate your idea by tracking trends in jewelry—use Google Trends, and follow popular fashion blogs and influencers.
  • Consider adding apps like Jewelfie to help your customers with fit.
  • Photography is extremely important but also difficult because of the scale and reflective qualities of jewelry. Invest in great photos by hiring a pro. You can save money by partnering with complementary apparel brands to share the cost of lifestyle shoots.
  • This is a great idea for budding young entrepreneurs. Basic jewelry like beaded necklaces are among the many things kids can make and sell.

4. Curated gift and subscription boxes

Matthew Wiebe

A gift or subscription box business is a great idea for those who are less crafty but have an eye for curation. Contrary to print-on-demand t-shirts, curated box businesses can be very hands on. Assembly can be a tedious task, but the business has its advantages: subscription boxes are usually packed all at once at the same time each month and in the same size box, making the shipping process simple.

Get inspired: A Day in the Life of Sophia Pierro, Entrepreneur

Get started: How to Launch a Subscription Box Business

 Tips:

  • Calculate your storage and assembly needs. Can your home accommodate your business, or do you need to rent additional space?
  • Ease your customers into commitment. Offer a substantial discount to those who pay up front for subscriptions, or offer the first month free.
  • Use a subscription management app like Recurring Orders and Subscriptions to keep everything organized.

5. Candles

Jennifer Roberts

The candle business in the US is a $2.3-billion industry, and within that there are several niches to explore: religious, birthday, eco and natural, scented, beeswax, novelty, and more. Like with soap, there’s no shortage of DIY tutorials for novice candle makers, and basic melt and pour methods require little to no previous craft skills.

Get inspired: How One Founder Fulfilled Her Cottage Living Dream

Get started: Hot Products: How to Make Candles Into a Blazing Business

 Tips:

  • Get insured and use safety labelling. Due to the nature of candle use, and the increased risks of injury or fire damage, be sure to protect your business from civil suits that may result from the use of your product.
  • Tap into a niche to stand out in a crowded market. Frostbeard Studio appeals to book lovers with cleverly named candle scents and copy filled with literary references.
  • Pay attention to branding and packaging. Candles don’t differ much from an ingredient perspective, but your product can stand apart with beautiful packaging and strong branding.

6. Sweets

Burst

Candy, cookies, baked goods, chocolates, and jams. Sugar can be spun and dissolved and baked into endless things to make and sell. This is a category with unique complications—legalities, labelling, and shelf life—but also with lots of room to get creative. Niche markets include: holidays and occasions, custom, novelty, catering, pet treats, and gift baskets. Be sure to investigate the viability of selling your product online. Are fragility and refrigeration barriers to shipping?

Get inspired: Oh My Goodness! Case Study: This Dessert Founder Doesn’t Sugar-Coat Her Start-up Story

Get started: How to Start an Online Food Business

 Tips:

  • Trace the supply chain. Carefully select your raw ingredient suppliers to ensure that what’s on your label is what’s inside.
  • Consult with a lawyer or food inspection agency to be sure that your labelling meets local requirements for nutritional content, ingredients, and allergy warnings.
  • Rotate your inventory and stress the importance of doing so to everyone who handles it.

7. Art and prints

Artist Michael Reeder in his studio. Spoke Art

Forget the story of the starving artist. It’s never been a better time to create the art you want to create and sell it (without selling out). Whether you’re dealing in fine art, reproduction prints, or just want to sell photos online, you can access far-reaching audiences and sell worldwide.

Get inspired: This Artist Conjured a Magical World of Black Anime Characters

Get started: How to Sell Art Online

 Tips:

  • Work with an established gallery like Shopify-powered Spoke Art to show your work in person and help build an audience for your online store.
  • Have your work professionally photographed or, as a low-cost option, scan it on a flatbed scanner in pieces and stitch the image together in Photoshop.
  • Consider reproducing your art in multiple formats, from prints and cards to t-shirts and mugs. Do it yourself through a print and fulfillment company, or license your work to other ecommerce brands.

8. Digital products

Retro Supply

The digitization of goods shows no signs of stopping. Making and selling digital products like font licenses, wedding invitation templates, webinars, or Photoshop actions requires a little up-front work but is relatively hands off once you get started. The overhead costs are very low, and some typical pain points that come with physical goods (inventory, shipping) are non-existent.

Get inspired: From Diaper Money to Debt-Free: How This Designer Created His Own Passive Income

Get started: How to Sell Digital Products with Shopify

 Tips:

  • Choose a delivery method. Apps like Digital Downloads and Sky Pilot integrate with your Shopify store to automatically deliver digital goods, or provide a download link to each customer.
  • If you’re hosting files on Shopify, make sure files are each 5 GB or less. For larger files, try compressing them into .zip archives.

9. Enamel pins

Tuesday Bassen

Enamel Pins remain incredibly popular and are still on a strong upward trend. You’ll usually work with a manufacturer to make enamel pins, but the design component can be as involved as you make it. Design your own, or work with a designer to illustrate your vision.

Get inspired: Tuesday Bassen Case Study: Lessons from an Indie Artist Who Waged War on a Mega-Brand

Get started: How to Make and Sell Enamel Pins

 Tips:

  • If you choose to design your own pins, use Photoshop, Illustrator, or free alternatives like Pixlr and GIMP. Stick to solid colors (no gradients) and avoid fine details.
  • Whether you manufacture overseas or locally, be sure to ask the right questions of your manufacturer: What are your clasp and material options? Can you send me physical samples? What packaging options do you offer?

10. Traditional handcrafted goods

Old World Kitchen

Leather tooling, wood carving, furniture making, and embroidery are all traditional mediums with thriving markets. And they’re just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ideas for DIY crafts to sell. The backlash against mass production is driving trends back to slow food, one-of-a-kind and bespoke goods, and artist craftsmanship. Many of these disciplines require skills honed over time, but you can access your inner maker and learn these skills via online tutorials, local workshops, and trial and error.

Get inspired: Growing a Handmade Brand: One Family’s Journey from Etsy to Shopify

Get started: How to Sell Furniture and Home Decor Online: The Ultimate Guide

 Tips:

  • Much of the appeal of crafted goods is the story behind the maker. Weave your own story into product pages, a compelling About page, and even packaging.
  • How will you scale? If your idea takes off, consider how you will maintain the handmade nature of your goods while producing in large quantities: Can you hire contract makers? Can certain components of the process be outsourced to a manufacturer then finished by hand?

Consult Google Trends to determine how to use your skills to make things that are in high demand. Wine racks and hanging chairs are identified among some popular things to make and sell in 2020.

11. Lip balm and cosmetics

Burst

Like bath bombs and soaps, lip balm is an easy thing to make with the tools you already have in your home. Simple formulations using beeswax and natural oils require little more than a heat source to assemble. You don’t need fancy equipment, but you should ensure that your setup still meets the standards of the industry and follows local regulations for home production. When you’re ready to scale, lip balms are a gateway to more complicated cosmetic formulations.

Get inspired: How an Ex-Financier Built a Beauty Behemoth from her Kitchen

Get started: How to Make Lip Balm: Turning Natural Lip Care Into a Homemade Business

 Tips:

  • Invest in ingredients—research suppliers and the source of your ingredients to be sure you’re using those that have been rated for cosmetic use.
  • Understand the labelling laws of any country or region where you plan to sell your products. In some countries, the word “organic” is regulated, and you cannot use it unless you have acquired the proper certification.

12. Pottery and clay objects

Corbé

One of the more technical items on our list, pottery requires skill and equipment. If you’re new to the craft, check out local college and community programs to give you the know-how and shared studio space to use the kiln and tools (versus investing in your own at the start). There are, however, other materials that have a lower barrier to entry and can be used to make traditionally potted items, like planters and ornaments. Try air clay, polymer clay, or poured concrete. 

Get inspired: How I Build and Sell Handmade Products in My Spare Time 

Get started: Source materials from independent stores like ACTÍVA and Krueger Pottery Supply 

 Tips:

  • Things to make with clay or clay alternatives include: planters, sculptures, ornaments, jewelry, magnets, containers, and coasters.
  • Have a future entrepreneur in your family? Some clay alternatives are quite safe and offer many possibilities for things kids can make and sell. 

13. Pet supplies

Dayna Winter

Making products for pets is a business idea with huge potential. In fact, the global market is estimated to top $269 billion by 2025. What can we say? Fur babies deserve to be spoiled. Dog treats, catnip toys, and pet collars are all items that can easily be made from home if you already have a fairly creative side. 

Get inspired: BuddyRest Case Study: How to Use Content Marketing to Generate Sales

Get started: Sell Pet Products: Ideas for Your Own Pet Business

 Tips:

  • Use your own pets (free models!) as the “faces” of your business. 
  • If you’re making and selling treats or toys—basically, anything that can be ingested—be sure to do your research. Are your cookie ingredients safe for pets? Do your toys have small parts that could cause choking? Have you considered the appropriate labels and warnings to protect yourself legally?

14. Music

Burst

Music is a challenging industry, but if you have the talent, the world should know! While it can be tough to break in, there are many advantages to starting a music business in the age of ecommerce and TikTok. Selling stock music, giving music lessons, licensing your songs to brands, selling merch, and maybe, just maybe, becoming the next big internet thing are all possible business avenues for budding musicians. And if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that fame can be achieved right from your own bedroom. 

Get inspired: How A Tribe Called Red Brought Activism to the Dance Floor

Get started: How to Sell Music: 6 Ways to Make Money as a Musician 

 Tips:

  • Brand storytelling is important, even when your brand is just you.
  • Build your following by collaborating with other artists and sharing your music across multiple platforms. 
  • Beyond making a splash on social media platforms, own a dedicated domain name and build a website so fans can find you. 

The ideas don’t stop here—there are many creative ways to make money through crafting your own goods. You can make and sell everything from dog biscuits and coffee tables to handbags and terrariums. Browse our case studies for more maker inspiration.

FAQ: Things to make and sell

How do I make things?

You can learn anything from embroidery to car maintenance thanks to free expert DIY videos on YouTube. Pinterest is also a source of inspiration for what to make, trends in handmade goods, and step-by-step tutorials.

How do I find popular things to make and sell?

Evaluating market demand and following trends (Google Trends, industry trends, social trends) is a great place to start.

What handmade things make money online?

Again, make sure there is a market for your goods and that you understand pricing strategy so you choose products that have the potential to turn a profit.

How do I price crafts and handmade goods?

There are simple formulas for establishing a retail price for your products that factor in all of your costs (materials, labor, overhead) plus a markup. But there are also several more involved strategies for setting price, like psychological pricing, premium pricing, and penetration pricing.

How do I sell handmade things online and make money?

Once you have a product, start with this step-by-step resource to help you start your business, then set up a Shopify store with a free trial. You’re ready to get selling!

Illustration by Eugenia Mello

Shopify Tutorial

Online Business Ideas: 16 Best Low-Cost Ideas and How to Start

May 8, 2021 , by 露露

This article is from Shopify, and was republished and shared through Elksourcing with the permission of Shopify.

Original link：https://www.shopify.com/blog/online-business-ideas

Running an online business definitely has its appeal, but it also comes with its own set of challenges. The truth is, starting a business of any kind is hard work. While some may think of the internet as a get-rich-quick scheme, basic business principles still apply. 

In reality, “online” is just a channel that connects businesses to people. It’s a powerful tool that lets you reach anyone from anywhere in the world. But creating a business with it is still about connecting the right customers with the right offering.

Countless people have already made the leap into entrepreneurship. And with the right online business ideas and plenty of sweat equity, you can too.

This isn’t about one simple life-changing trick. Starting an online business doesn’t work that way. Instead, to help you find profitable online business ideas, we’ve put together a collection of simple ways to start a business without quitting your day job.

Find your next big idea

  • 16 best online business ideas
  • How to start an online business
  • Bring your online business idea to life
  • Online business ideas FAQ

16 best online business ideas

Wondering what some good online business ideas are? Browse the following list to find the best business idea for you. 

  • Start your own clothing line
  • Launch a dropshipping store
  • Sell your art online
  • Become a freelance writer, designer, or developer
  • Teach an online course
  • Flip your thrift store finds
  • Publish your own book
  • Start a blog
  • Become a virtual assistant
  • Try your hand at being an influencer
  • Build apps and websites
  • Launch a podcast
  • Become an affiliate marketer
  • Curate subscription boxes
  • Develop a niche product
  • Create handmade goods

1. Start your own clothing line

If you have some designs in mind and a little bit of time on your hands, you can get your clothing company off the ground.

If you already own a Shopify store, you can set up your own clothing line using Oberlo, Printify, Printful, or a similar product-sourcing app. Each automatically links your store to apparel printers and clothing manufacturers. They also handle every step of the retail fulfillment process for you, giving you the freedom to design and ship a wide range of pieces right out of the gate.

Why start a clothing line?

  • There’s nothing more satisfying than creating products that people will use every day.
  • As soon as you build your Shopify store, you’ll be able to start selling instantly. Thanks to print-on-demand apps, the process of designing and delivering your own custom-made clothing has been streamlined and simplified.
  • You’ll love the feeling of seeing your designs come to life by transforming your creativity into something real and profitable.

We used Printful to create THINK PUP, an apparel store for dog owners, and ended up making over $1,200 in just three weeks. With some time and research, you could be well on your way to building a successful t-shirt company, too.

We’ve curated some handy resources that will help grow your apparel business at every stage, from crafting your brand’s story to promoting your products with influencer marketing :

  • 19 Ready-to-Use Online T-Shirt Templates and Mockups
  • How to Start an Online T-Shirt Business
  • How to Start an Online Boutique: A Complete 2021 Playbook
  • For the Fans: How to Make and Sell Your Own Merch

2. Launch a dropshipping store

Think you need a warehouse full of inventory to run your own business? Think again! Dropshipping is a great way to start a business on a budget. You can hit the ground running by sourcing a pre-existing product from a supplier and having them take care of things like packaging and fulfillment.

This process lets you skip over a lot of obstacles that might be standing in the way of you starting your own business. More importantly, it eliminates the risk of finding out there’s no market for your product after placing a huge order with a manufacturer or supplier.

Why choose dropshipping?

  • You don’t need to stock products in a physical location, meaning that your cash flow won’t get tied up in inventory. There’s less of an upfront cash risk.
  • Whenever a purchase is made, you place an order with a third party and they handle the rest of the process for you. Since you don’t have to deal with things like tracking inventory or mailing packages, dropshipping eliminates a lot of potential headaches for budding entrepreneurs.
  • No warehouse means you can run your business from anywhere. Whether it’s your living room or the café down the street, you decide where you want to work from.

If you’re interested in dropshipping, read our Ultimate Guide to Dropshipping to help you get started.

If you don’t have any online store ideas, here are some strategies for narrowing down the perfect product:

  • Find products to sell on Oberlo.
  • Read our guide Find a Product to Sell: 12 Strategies for Finding Your First Profitable Product.
  • Check out these 17 places ecommerce entrepreneurs go to find product ideas.
  • Find out how we made more than $2,000 in five weeks with imported gaming glasses.

3. Sell your art online

Whether you’re a painter, photographer, or musician, there are plenty of ways to start an online business and turn your latest masterpiece into a source of revenue with a beautifully designed ecommerce website.

If painting or photography is your forte, you can sell your work as prints, canvases, and framed posters using Printify or Printful. This is a fantastic way to turn your art into something tangible that people can take home and integrate into their space. Is music your thing? You can sell your beats, songs, samples, and more as digital products.

Just take a look at The Drum Broker, the largest online drum sample business in the world. It created a successful and sustainable business model with the help of apps like FetchApp and ShipStation.

Why sell your art?

  • You’ll be part of people’s lives by getting your work into customers’ homes.
  • You’ll create a platform for showcasing your work by setting up shop online.
  • As an artist, creating art isn’t just a hobby—it’s a way of life. This is your chance to turn your passion into an income stream and potentially do what you love for a living.

Ready to bring your online store idea to life? Get started with the following resource:

  • How to Sell Art Online (from artists who have successfully monetized)
  • How to Start Your Own Custom Phone Case Business

4. Become a freelance writer, designer, or developer

Writers, developers, and graphic designers can start a business based on their talents. As a freelancer, you’ll be able to put your skills to good use by helping people across the world with their projects (while making some money yourself, of course).

Freelancing doesn’t mean committing to months-long projects that eat away at your free time. You can easily pick up bite-sized tasks that fit your schedule.

To find people that need your help, try freelancing marketplaces, like Upwork and Fiverr.

It’s worth noting that Fiverr is a little different from a traditional job board. As the name suggests, a lot of the posted jobs pay $5. The key to making big money on Fiverr is carefully setting up your offers so you can easily upsell the client for more money.

For instance, you could offer to write a 150-word introduction for a blog post as your initial $5 service. As an upsell, you could charge another $10 for every additional 150 words. You can tweak your services until you’ve found a combo that makes it worth your while.

If you want total control over how much you charge, create a Shopify store. You can list your services as products and disable shipping, since you won’t actually be physically delivering anything to your customers. You can even use apps like BookThatApp and Events Calendar to give your customers the option to schedule appointments.

Why freelance?

  • When you freelance, you choose which projects you want to work on and set your own schedule and workplace.
  • Getting paid to do something you’re good at is a rewarding feeling, whether you’re looking to strike out on your own or just want to make some extra cash on the weekend.
  • If you’re new to writing, designing, or developing, freelancing is an excellent way to build your portfolio and get some real experience in a wide range of industries. You might discover that you have a knack or passion for something you never expected.

If freelancing sounds like it might be a good money-making website idea for your lifestyle, we’ve put together some great articles that can help you make the most of your time:

  • 7 Ways to Be More Productive While Working from Home
  • 13 Free Tools and Travel Apps That Make Working Remotely Work for You

5. Teach an online course

Teaching an online course is a low-investment business idea for generating passive income. All you need to do is put together a video walkthrough explaining a subject you’re familiar with and then host it on your own personal website.

Although it requires effort up front, if you manage to design a popular, high-value video tutorial series, you would make money on an ongoing basis as people continue to enroll in your course.

To start creating your first online course, brainstorm a topic that you know well enough to teach someone how to do from scratch. This can be literally anything—music production, social media marketing, web development, you name it.

Next, you’ll want to grab a screencasting app, like ScreenFlow, to record your screen and voice while you walk your students through your tutorial. ScreenFlow also comes with a built-in video-editing suite, letting you shoot and cut your videos all on the same platform.

Why teach an online course?

  • With an online course, you can literally set it and forget it. Take a few days or weeks, depending on the complexity you’re aiming for, to build an online course, and you could be reaping the benefits for weeks.
  • You already have the knowledge, you just need to share it. Focus on teaching something that you’re already an expert at and the rest will come naturally, whether it’s building iOS apps, creating monthly budgets, or running Facebook ad campaigns.
  • Teaching someone a new skill is its own reward. While there’s definitely money to be made teaching online courses, helping other people is always a satisfying experience in itself.

6. Flip your thrift store finds

If you love hitting up thrift stores and hunting down great deals, then one great ecommerce business idea is to sell your second-hand treasures online.

Your potential customers want to buy cool stuff, but they don’t want to dig through old soccer jerseys and braided belts to get their hands on that one amazing find. Take advantage of this by positioning yourself as a trustworthy curator who can go out and uncover those great vintage pieces for others.

Why sell your thrift store finds?

  • Let’s face it, you’d be combing through thrift store racks anyway, so you might as well make some money while you do it by putting your shopping addiction to work.
  • The margins are huge. That two-dollar RadioShack ball cap you found over the weekend? You can turn it into a $40 vintage hat.
  • You’re selling something unique. Nowhere else on the web will people be able to find the vintage collections that you put together.

Want to turn your cool stuff into pizza money? Take a look at these guides to making your products look great in photos:

  • The Definitive DIY Guide to Beautiful Product Photography
  • 7 Steps to Beautiful DIY Apparel Product Photography
  • 10 Common Jewelry Product Photography Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

7. Publish your own book

It’s OK to admit it: you’ve thought about publishing your own book someday. While seeing your name on a list of bestsellers might seem like a pipe dream, it’s actually not that far out of reach.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a science-fiction novel, a marketing guide, or a children’s picture book, there are now plenty of options for successfully self-publishing your work. These include releasing your writing as an ebook with the Digital Downloads app to on-demand printing services like Blurb and CreateSpace.

To sell ebooks through your online store, install the Digital Downloads app and you’ll instantly be able to stock digital files as products. Once purchased, your ebooks will be sent to your customers via email or as a direct download link.

If you choose to sell physical copies of your book, you’ll just need to place an order with Blurb or CreateSpace whenever your work is purchased. They’ll custom print your book and handle the entire storage and fulfillment process.

Why publish a book?

  • What’s the point of writing something if there’s no one around to read it? Self-publishing is the quickest way to get your book into the hands of potential readers.
  • Printing, storage, and delivery is taken care of thanks to services like Blurb and CreateSpace.
  • Creative writing is your passion and you deserve to be able to make money while doing something you enjoy.

Ready to live out your dreams of being a published author? These resources will help you on your way to the top:

  • How to Start a Business: The 12 Steps Every Founder Encounters on Their Entrepreneurial Journey
  • Hacking the Press: Clever Ways to Get Free Press Coverage with Zero Budget

8. Start a blog

Blogging has come a long way since its inception. What was once a virtual journal has now turned into a marketing and even a monetization tool. 

Whether you make money from publishing sponsored posts, hosting third-party ads, or selling your products, a blog is a great online business idea you can start at home. 

The key to starting a successful blog is to focus on building an engaged, loyal audience. When you start with an audience-centric approach, you’ll cultivate a community that trusts you. And when you can earn trust, you can start to drive revenue.

That’s how Mr. Money Mustache started his popular personal finance blog. What began as a movement has turned into a successful business that’s earned national media coverage. 

Why start a blog?

  • Blogs have unlimited growth potential. You can expand into affiliate marketing, ecommerce, courses, and essentially any other online business venture. Some blogs even use a paid subscription model to drive revenue. 
  • A blog is a long-term play. While you won’t see overnight results, they are likely to be more sustainable. A blog lives on the internet forever—or at least until you delete it.
  • It lets you practice your writing—an essential skill to have in business and communication. Use tools like Writer or Hemmingway to improve your writing. 

For more information on getting started, check out these articles: 

  • How to Start a Blog You Can Grow Into a Business
  • 8 Brilliant Blogs Run by Ecommerce Stores (And What You Can Learn From Them)
  • 4 Ecommerce Blog Post Templates To Build Traffic For Your Store
  • How a Blog Became a Physical Store in Two Years

9. Become a virtual assistant

Are you super organized and love working behind the scenes? If so, you might be the perfect candidate to start a virtual assistant (VA) business. 

A VA helps entrepreneurs, businesses, and executives organize their personal and professional lives. There’s a broad spectrum of duties, ranging from appointment scheduling to basic marketing management and everything in between. And everything is done online. 

Why become a VA?

  • Work with your ideal client. Even if you don’t know at the start, over time you’ll find out who you love working with and what you love to do for them. You can evolve your business to cater to those preferences. 
  • Interact with people from all over the world. All you need is an internet connection to do your work, and you can have the chance to work with international clients and professionals. 
  • Grow your business into a network of VAs. If you become too busy or have growth goals, you can hire and train VAs to work under you and increase profits. 

10. Try your hand at being an influencer

Influencer marketing has exploded on the marketing scene, and though consumers are becoming more savvy, there are still plenty of business opportunities to be had.

Because influencers have gotten in hot water for dishonest practices, there’s been a movement toward micro-influencers—profiles with smaller but more engaged followings. Good news: you don’t need millions of followers to earn money on Instagram. 

Why be an influencer?

  • It’s an opportunity to get an introduction to marketing—particularly valuable if you’re interested in pursuing that as a career or additional business venture.
  • You’ll learn about new and interesting brands. You might discover products and companies you love that you never would have found had they not solicited your services.
  • It’s so easy a monkey can do it. Well, not literally—but you can make your pet the star if you’re camera shy. 

Here are our inspiring tips and stories to get you started as an influencer:

  • What It Actually Takes to Become a Full-Time YouTuber: The “Yes Theory”
  • How to Make Money on YouTube (Without a Million Subscribers)
  • The Unfair Advantage of Making a Mega Influencer Your Co-Founder

11. Build apps and websites

If you’re tech savvy, acquire some coding skills and start building. Whether it’s mobile apps, Shopify apps, or websites, you can create digital products for purchase or as a service provider. 

For example, you can create a custom Shopify theme template and sell it to merchants looking for an affordable DIY approach to designing their website. Or work with clients directly to build websites and apps tailored to their specific needs. 

Why build apps and websites? 

  • Technology isn’t going anywhere, and the demand for the technical skills necessary to build apps and websites will only continue to grow. 
  • There’s an endless number of platforms and systems out there. If you get bored of one, learn and transition to another.

For more information on building apps, check out these articles from Shopify Partners:

  • How to Build a Shopify App in One Week
  • 4 Essential Tips for Building Your First Shopify Theme

12. Launch a podcast

If you like the sound of your own voice, consider recording it for a podcast. Podcasts are a great home business idea with multiple monetization options, similar to starting a blog. 

Here’s what you need to start your podcast: 

  • A high-quality microphone 
  • Audio recording software 
  • Call recording software

To promote your podcast, consider collaborating with prominent figures as guests on your show. Encourage listeners to leave reviews and share your podcast with their friends and family. 

Why start a podcast?

  • Podcasts continue to grow in popularity. According to Podcast Insights, 51% of Americans have listened to a podcast.
  • A successful podcast can lead to endless possibilities: turn your episodes into a blog, solicit sponsors and advertisers, and make connections you never would have been able to before. 

13. Become an affiliate marketer

Affiliate marketing is when you recommend a product or service by sharing it on a blog or social media to your email list, on your website, or on other channels. You earn a commission each time someone converts through your unique referral link or code.

Find an affiliate program that suits your interests, personal brand, and target audience. Affiliate Future, ShareASale, and FlexOffers are a few examples. Amazon has its own affiliate program, and you can also check out the Shopify Affiliate Program. 

Once you’ve signed up, start sharing. Create social media posts, blog articles, emails, and other content about how great the product or service you’re promoting is. Don’t oversaturate your audience with ads, otherwise you risk coming across as spammy or inauthentic. 

Why do affiliate marketing? 

  • It’s easy: you likely already promote the products and services you use. Now you can get paid for it! 
  • Affiliate marketing is a great source of passive income. With the Shopify Affiliate Program, affiliates earn an average of $58 for each user who signs up for a paid plan and $2,000 for each Plus referral.

14. Curate subscription boxes

Subscription boxes are themed packages of various products. There are subscription boxes in pretty much every industry, from meal-prep kits and craft snacks to fitness products and makeup. You can curate subscription boxes around virtually any theme of your choice.

Bokksu, for example, curates Japanese snacks and sends them to customers each month. 

When you curate subscription boxes, you work with brands and artisans to purchase and resell their products in a bundled offering. Typically, consumers expect to be surprised by what’s in the box, though there are some (like meal prep kits) where the customer chooses what they receive. 

Why curate subscription boxes?

  • It’s a viable seasonal business. Ironically, “subscription” boxes are purchased as gifts more often than for the buyer themselves. So if you’re only interested in running your online business for part of the year, this could be a model worth checking out. 
  • It’s a growing industry. Subscription commerce sales grew from $57 million in 2011 to more than $2.6 billion in 2016.
  • You don’t need to create your own products. Instead, you can use proven, successful products and simply put them together in a nice package. 

Interested in finding out how to start your subscription box business? Learn from these resources: 

  • How to Start a Subscription Business: A Brief Guide
  • How to Launch a Subscription Box: Lessons from a Successful Korean Beauty Business
  • Designing a Subscription Box That’s Worth Unboxing Every Month

15. Develop a niche product

If you recognize an opportunity in a certain niche, you might be on to your next successful online business idea. Niche products cater to a unique audience. When done well, they serve a specific community. 

Niches could be based on industry, demographic, price point, geography, values, product attributes, and more. Really, a niche could be anything specific enough to target a small group of potential customers. For example: 

  • Conscious consumers: think vegan, sustainable, and eco-friendly products and brands. 
  • Pet owners: you could even drill down by pet type.
  • Remote workers: these professionals have specific attributes different from the traditional office worker.

Why develop a niche product?

  • Niche products are unique and thus buzzworthy. Early success can be all you need to drive press coverage with zero budget. 
  • Though niching down might be scary to some, choosing a specific target customer makes it easier to create marketing and messaging that resonates. Rather than trying to speak to a broad, diverse group, you’re talking to a group of individuals with lots of shared characteristics. 

16. Create handmade goods

If you’re particularly crafty, selling handmade products would be a great ecommerce business idea for you. Whether you make jewelry, picture frames, or furniture, one business idea is to monetize your craft skills and sell products online. 

While you can use platforms like Craigslist or Etsy, your own online store will give you more control and make it easier to track and fulfill orders. 

Why sell handmade goods?

  • Devote as much or as little time as you want. It’s your choice on how big you want to grow. 
  • Create on your schedule. Make your handmade goods on a set schedule, when you have spare time, or whenever you want. 
  • Turn your passion into income. Like many of the online business ideas on this list, an entrepreneurial endeavor backed by passion leads to a more fulfilling experience. 

Ready to find new homes for your handcrafts? Get started here:

  • Growing a Handmade Brand: One Family’s Journey from Etsy to Shopify
  • The Business of DIY: 14 Things to Make and Sell Online

How to start an online business

Once you’ve decided on an online business idea, you’ll want to do your due diligence and, eventually, give it life. Here’s how to start a business online, step-by-step:

  • Validate your idea with market research
  • Develop your product or service
  • Set up your business finances
  • Find vendors and suppliers
  • Build your website
  • Market your new online business

1. Validate your idea with market research

It might sound harsh, but it’s true: just because you think you have a great idea, that doesn’t mean there’s a market for it. Before investing your time and energy into starting your business, research how feasible it is and whether there’s any potential buyer interest. You can hire an agency to conduct market research for you, but if you’re on a shoestring budget, you can also take the DIY approach:

  • How to Evaluate Market Demand for Your Product Idea
  • How to Use Niche Marketing to Build Your Business From the Ground Up

2. Develop your product or service

You’ve validated your idea, now it’s time to turn it into a reality. Whether you’re selling a product or service, you need to create it. Find a manufacturer to bring your product to life, create packages of your service offerings, or write your book and identify a self-publishing option to bring it to fruition.

If you go the dropshipping route, the product has already been developed for you. It’s up to you to choose the products you’re passionate about or that you’ve identified a hot market for. To help you, we’ve put together a guide to finding the best products to dropship.

3. Set up your business finances

“How do I open a business bank account?” is a common question for many new entrepreneurs. After you’ve officially registered your business with your local government, you should have the tax identification numbers and other information required to open a business bank account.

As you grow, you might need funding for future endeavors, be it a new product launch or marketing and advertising spend. Having business bank accounts makes it easier for you to manage that capital, as well as track your revenue and expenses.

Having a bank account is also helpful when it comes to tax preparation, since your business-related transactions will be in a single place. As your business finances get more complicated, hiring a professional accountant or tax professional could be a viable option.

Further reading:

  • 15 Best Small Business Accounting Software Tools for Growing Businesses
  • Basics of Small Business Accounting: 12 Steps to Get Your Company on Track
  • Crowdfunding 101: Raise Capital, Validate Your Ideas, and Start a Business
  • The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Small Business Finance

4. Find vendors and suppliers

Product-based online businesses in particular may require lots of business relationships. For example: a manufacturer, a dropshipper, or a third-party logistics coordinator. When identifying which partnerships you want to move forward with, it’s best to shop around and compare your options to make sure you’re getting the best solution for your needs.

Other online business ideas may require different relationships or contractors. If you’re writing a book, for example, you may want to hire a professional editor and book designer.

5. Build your website

If you want to start an online business, you need to have a website. And to make money online, you’ll need to incorporate payment processing functionality. 

First, find a business name. You can use a Business name generator to help come up with one if you’re stuck. You’ll need one to start building your website.

Then choose a domain name and verify that it’s available. You can purchase a domain name for less than $20 a year in some cases. From there, you can build your own store on a platform like Shopify and start accepting payments from customers right away.

Here are a few other resources to help you get started with your ecommerce site:

  • Shopify’s Domain Name Generator
  • Ecommerce Business Blueprint: How to Build, Launch, and Grow a Profitable Online Store
  • Ecommerce Website Designs: 27 Best Shops And Why They Work

6. Market your new online business

Getting your first paying customer is a huge milestone for a new small business owner. Now that you’ve got your store set up, you’ll want to start getting your business out there. But finding new customers and creating convincing promotions takes time and energy. 

There are so many channels to choose from—email marketing, Messenger marketing, mobile marketing, etc.—it’s hard to know the best way to grow your online business. It’s easy to get caught up in the wrong tactics and invest your time and money in the wrong places. 

If you want to make marketing your new store easier, we recommend reading How to Get Your First Sale in 30 Days: A Marketing Checklist for New Entrepreneurs.

Bring your online business idea to life

If you’ve been thinking about starting an online business, it’s time to get out there and create your new startup in your spare time. You don’t have to go all in. Start small with a side hustle and scale from there. Or, keep things small. The beauty of learning how to start a business online is that it’s completely up to you. 

Have questions about how to start an online business? Let us know in the comments below.

Illustration by Eugenia Mello

Online business ideas FAQ

How do you brainstorm online business ideas?

If you’re stuck on finding business ideas, there are a few ways to brainstorm through it:

  • Create a brainstorming board and put all your ideas on it.
  • Revisit with fresh ideas and refine your list.
  • Get help from friends and family.
  • Survey existing customers to find new business ideas.
  • Check search trends on Google Trends.

What is the best online business to start?

  • Dropshipping 
  • A clothing line
  • Selling art
  • Curating subscription boxes
  • Selling handmade goods
  • Being an affiliate marketer
  • A blog
  • A consulting business

What is the best online business to start from home?

  • An ecommerce store
  • Buying products in bulk to sell online
  • Teaching online courses
  • A writing business
  • Online services 
  • Selling homemade products
  • Starting a YouTube channel
  • Becoming a blogger

What are some online service business ideas?

  • Graphic design
  • Freelance writing
  • WordPress development
  • Shopify theme building
  • App development
  • Web design
  • Copywriting
  • Search engine optimization consulting

How do I start a small online business?

  • Find a gap in a niche market and fill it.
  • Learn how to write copy that sells.
  • Build and design your own website.
  • Get on social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
  • Optimize your website for SEO.
  • Become an expert in your industry.
  • Provide excellent customer service.
  • Create multiple sources of income.

Do I need an LLC to sell online?

You don’t need an LLC to sell online, but it’s recommended that you file for one. As a business owner, this helps mitigate risk and protects your personal assets in case you end up in a lawsuit or need to file bankruptcy.

Shopify Tutorial

No Inventory? No Problem: 13 Low-Investment Small Business Ideas

May 7, 2021 , by 露露

This article is from Shopify, and was republished and shared through Elksourcing with the permission of Shopify.

Original link：https://www.shopify.com/blog/low-investment-business-ideas

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 are examples of business ideas you can start on your own with a small investment.

Find your next small business idea 

  • 13 low investment business ideas that make money
  • Tips for choosing the best business idea
  • How to start a small business from home
  • Become your own boss, without the financial hassle
  • Business ideas FAQ

13 low-investment business ideas that make money

Curious what a good business to start in 2021 is? Explore this list of business ideas you can start making money with this year: 

  • Start a dropshipping business
  • Design and sell print-on-demand t-shirts
  • Launch your own book
  • Create digital products or online courses
  • Sell print-on-demand posters, greeting cards, and prints
  • Start a charitable business
  • Sell a service
  • Create an online fashion boutique
  • Sell handcrafted and homemade goods
  • Build an audience you can monetize
  • Start a pet business
  • Create a membership program
  • Join an affiliate marketing program

1. Start a dropshipping business

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 quickest and cheapest businesses to start. 

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 2021

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.

Additional resources:

  • How to Start A Dropshipping Business: A Complete Playbook for 2020
  • The Dropshippers Guide to Sourcing from AliExpress
  • Oberlo (free app for importing products into your store)

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.

Additional resources:

  • How to Start an Online T-shirt Business: Everything You Need to Know
  • How to Start a Phone Case Business: The Ultimate Guide
  • Think Pup t-shirt store [Case Study]
  • How to start a tote bag company [Case Study]
  • Printful (Shopify app)
  • Printify (Shopify app)

3. Launch your own book

A book is just another type of product when you think about it. As such, you can create one to serve a particular demand in the market.

Cookbooks, picture books, comic books, poetry books, photo books, coffee table books, novels, and even ebooks—if you’ve got the knowledge or creativity, there are a variety of original books you can bring to the market. The options are endless—that’s why it’s one of the best businesses to start. 

Print-on-demand publishing is a relatively safe way to test the waters and get started with self-publishing. It also gives you control over the quality and look of your book.

Lulu xPress and Blurb are popular platforms to create, order, and distribute your own books as physical and digital products. You could also sell it on third-party marketplaces like Amazon or Powell’s.

While you can order one book at a time, costs naturally go down when you buy in bulk. Consider pre-selling or crowdfunding your book idea to ensure there’s demand, and guarantee a certain number of sales so you can feel confident making a bulk order.

Launching your own book can be a great way to monetize a blog if you have or are looking to start one.

Examples of print-on-demand book types from Lulu xPress.

Additional resources:

  • How to Start a Blog You Can Grow Into a Business
  • How to sell self-published books online [Case Study]
  • Crowdfunder (Shopify app)
  • Lulu xPress (Shopify app)

4. Create digital products or online courses

Digital products like music, courses, and templates are unique on this list of small business ideas. Unlike the others, they’re not tangible. There aren’t recurring manufacturing or shipping costs to worry about, so your margins can remain high, making it another no-brainer for the best businesses to start.

The trick is figuring out what makes for a good digital product. What is useful enough that people are willing to pay to download it?

The answers range from original instrumental beats to stock photos that can be licensed to other creators to information products and templates that help people level up their skill sets in a particular field.

If you’ve got a talent that can be turned into a digital product, think about packaging it into a new stream of income.

Shopify has a free Digital Downloads app that lets you offer digital products in your store as easily as physical products. 

Additional resources:

  • How to Make Money with Music: 6 Reliable Ways for Musicians to Monetize
  • How to Sell Photos Online: For Both Amateur and Pro Photographers

5. Sell print-on-demand posters, greeting cards, and prints

If you’re artistically inclined or know your way around a camera, you can dropship using a print-on-demand business model to let others physically own a piece of your work. Just be sure you have the rights to the content you want to print or are using public domain assets you can freely monetize.

If you’ve already got an engaged online following—say you’re a cartoonist or an urban photographer—you’re in an especially good position to give this small business idea a try.

Depending on the printer you work with, you can turn your work into products such as posters or framed wall art, even greeting cards. There are plenty of digital templates and mockup generators like Placeit you can use to showcase your products without having to print out each item and conduct your own photo shoots.

Additional resources:

  • How to Sell Art Online: The Ultimate Guide
  • For the Fans: How to Make and Sell Your Own Merch

6. Start a charitable business

Starting a non-profit organization isn’t the only path you can take to help fund a better world.

Having a mission to go along with a business, and setting aside some profit for a cause, gives social entrepreneurs a unique way to position their company in the market while addressing the issues they care about most.

While many social enterprises offer their own original products, you can also take any of the small business ideas above and partner with a non-profit or execute that social good with your own hands, as long as you’re transparent about how it works.

As part of your marketing, you can share the impact that your customers are having by supporting your business, such as a blog post covering your work in the community or a real-time impact calculator on your website.

The Give & Grow Shopify app makes it easy to partner with charitable organizations and incorporate your mission into your business. You can set it up to donate a specific amount or a percentage of sales, or ask your customers to add a donation at checkout.

Additional resources:

  • Social Entrepreneurship: How to Become a Changemaker Through Business
  • How This Social Entrepreneur Is Building a Better Detroit By Empowering Its Students

7. Sell a service

Offering services isn’t passive, but it can certainly be a lucrative way to gain self-employment. With services-based small business ideas, “time” is your inventory and your biggest investment. You’ve only got a limited supply of hours in your day. However, that makes it easier to get up and running if you’ve got skills that are in demand.

Writers, graphic designers, virtual assistants, SEO consultants, cleaning service providers, dog walkers, real estate professionals, and more can build a business around their skills.

It’s one of the best business opportunities because it can be expanded with any of the other ideas above to create additional revenue streams by “productizing” services through physical or digital goods.

A photographer, for example, can service a local event while selling prints online through their Instagram account. A freelance writer can sell a copywriting swipe file of high-converting sales copy. Coupling your service-based business with physical products can give you another source of income that isn’t directly tied to your time.

You can use the BookThatApp or Acerill Appointment Booking for Shopify to let customers easily schedule a session or consultation or buy tickets to a class with you through your store.

You can also offer your services through a freelance marketplace like Upwork to increase your chances of getting discovered by the people who need your skills.

Additional resources:

  • 12 Things to Sell on Shopify (Other than Physical Products)
  • Diversify Your Offerings: Takeaways From 5 Service-Based Businesses Turned Retailers

8. Create an online fashion boutique

If you love fashion and sharing your sense of style online, you can consider creating your own online fashion boutique. You don’t need to become a fashion designer—you can simply curate items from other vendors into your own online store (using the dropshipping model we discussed earlier).

Dresses, shoes, swimwear, accessories, and more—you can build your own fashion brand using one of the several product sourcing apps for Shopify, model them in your own product photos and social media posts, and build an online following as a trendsetter.

MY ONLINE FASHION STORE lets you import various styles into your Shopify store.

Additional resources:

  • How to Start a Clothing Line: Secrets from a Project Runway Designer
  • Branding Secrets from 14 Fashion Industry Experts
  • The State of the Ecommerce Fashion Industry: Statistics, Trends & Strategy
  • Modalyst (Shopify app)

9. Sell handcrafted and homemade goods

If you’re a maker—whether you DIY soap, candles, sauces, or pottery—you’re in a unique position to find an online business idea, because product development and procurement are literally in your hands.

Unlike many of the other ideas on this list, you will need to consider shipping and inventory management, but you can start out simple on a per-order basis or with a small batch until you start generating consistent sales.

In fact, many makers on Shopify started out with a home business idea, selling on Etsy or eBay, or to friends and family through word of mouth, and grew into full-time small-business owners after establishing demand for their products.

Just be mindful of any regulations in your product category, especially for anything customers will eat, inhale, or put on their skin.

Brooklyn Candle Studio is one of many maker-owned businesses on Shopify that started on Etsy. 

And Arounna Khounnoraj and John Booth are a couple who have been operating bookhou, an online and physical shop selling handmade homegoods and functional bags.

Additional resources:

  • How to Start an Online Food Business
  • How to Start a Jewelry Making Business
  • 14 Things to Make and Sell Online
  • 11 Practical Ways to Make Money Online

10. Build an audience you can monetize

In today’s connected world, the ability to capture and keep the attention of others is an asset. It’s one that many businesses are even willing to pay for and one that many creators are able to convert into a business with multiple revenue streams.

Whether you choose to grow your following on YouTube, Instagram, or a blog (ideally a combination of different channels), you have many avenues for monetizing your audience:

  • Sponsored posts on behalf of brands
  • Becoming an influencer
  • Selling physical or digital products (via any of the ideas on this list)
  • Patreon
  • A combination of the above (they’re not mutually exclusive)

Taking an audience-first approach to your small business idea means you’re playing the long game (it might be months until you’ve figured it out). But you don’t need millions of followers to do it—Instagrammer Kat Gaskin, for example, pulled off a $10k product launch with only 3,000 followers.

Additional resources:

  • How to Get More Followers on Instagram
  • How to Build an Email List That Builds Your Ecommerce Business
  • What It Actually Takes to Become a Full-Time YouTuber

11. Start a pet business

The pet industry is ripe with opportunity for all kinds of small business ideas. And it’s an industry worth nearly $100 billion, so it’s an easy one to get started in, with guaranteed demand. Your pet business could be product- or service-based—selling accessories, food, or toys, or offering grooming, walking, or training expertise.

Perkie Prints makes personalized printed pet products—everything from apparel to framed prints, plus fun projects in between. 

On the service side of things, Let the Dog Out offers dog walking and “bathroom breaks” to its customers. 

Additional resources: 

  • How to start handmade pet accessories business online [Case Study]

12. Create a membership program

Online memberships aren’t just a hot new business idea that materialized from people being required to stay home during the COVID-19 crisis. Online memberships are ideal for entrepreneurs with an established active and engaged community. They work much like a subscription-based business—customers make recurring payments in exchange for a virtual product or service.

Memberships are great for managing members-only access to content on a website, and even for physical businesses that offer guided sessions online. Yoga studios, gyms, clubs, and art schools are a few examples of businesses that can easily take advantage of this low-investment business model. 

Since this content is behind a gate that only paying subscribers can access through their customer account, you can also host exclusive livestreams in addition to (or instead of) downloadable content.

Regardless of the route you take, be sure to record in a quiet space so the audio is clear and distraction free.

It’s also a good idea to use email marketing to keep your members informed of new content. Emails, video teasers, and customer testimonials are great ways to build excitement for new launches.

And it’s easy to start your membership-based business in Shopify. Set up a new product just like you would for a physical product, but create a name and description that tells people about your membership services. 

Make sure to unselect “This is a physical product” to remove shipping options at checkout. (Note: Some of the setup required might change depending on which apps you choose to use later in the process.)

If you want to offer different options for your memberships, create variants. You can set different prices for each option and limit the number of times available, if needed, by editing each variant.

Additional resources: 

  • How to Start a Subscription Business: A Brief Guide
  • Bold Memberships (Shopify app)
  • Recurring Order & Subscription (Shopify app)
  • Sky Pilot (Shopify app)

13. Join an affiliate marketing program

Affiliate marketing refers to a performance-based marketing tactic where a business pays people, aka an affiliate, to promote and sell products for them. Every time the affiliate brings in a new customer, they receive a commission from the business. 

Affiliates can promote products on their blogs, social media accounts, website, or in communities. For many, affiliate marketing is a low cost side hustle that turns into a profitable business over time. 

To join an affiliate program, take the following steps:

  • Find an affiliate program on sites like ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, or LinkShare.
  • Choose offers you want to promote.
  • Get an affiliate link.
  • Promote that link across your assets.
  • Get a commission every time someone signs up or makes a purchase through your link. 

Commission rates vary depending on the company and offer. You could earn as low as 5% for each sale, while some commissions can be as high as 50% if you’re promoting a class or event. Some affiliate programs also offer a flat rate versus a percentage. 

Additional resources:

  • Join Shopify’s Affiliate Marketing Program
  • What is Affiliate Marketing? Examples and How to Get Started

Three tips for choosing the best business idea

The small business ideas we’ve covered might be easier to run when it comes to logistics, but that doesn’t make them easy. There are at least three things you should keep in mind as you consider your options, no matter what business you decide to start.

1. Focusing on a niche makes marketing easier

As with any business, marketing is what unlocks your success. It’s not enough to know that there’s demand for your products—you need to figure out ways to reach the people that are most likely to buy them. You need to get the right visitors to discover your products.

Luckily, marketing is a lot easier when you’re catering to a specific audience or identity (e.g., vegans, board game lovers, photographers in your city). You can produce social media content that resonates with these people or run ads that target their interests. Taking this approach also helps you project a consistent brand because you’ll have a more specific idea of who exactly you’re talking to.

Think about how you can zero in on a specific audience for your products and how the business you build can serve them. If you already have a sizable audience (a blog, a YouTube channel, or an Instagram account), maybe you can even find a way to base your business off of that existing audience.

Additional resources:

  • The 17 Best Places Ecommerce Entrepreneurs Go To Find Product Ideas
  • Finding Your Niche: 8 Niche Market Examples to Inspire You
  • Calculating Market Demand: How to Find Product Ideas Your Customers Want

2. Pricing is about more than profit

Price your products too low and shoppers might assume they’re low quality. Price them too high and you risk scaring some customers off. In any case, you’ll need to find a sweet spot that also lets you factor in the cost to acquire customers and offer discounts, especially if you plan on paying for ads.

With many of the small business ideas we’ll explore in this post, you may not be shipping your products, but you still need to cover the cost of shipping. Consider your shipping costs and how they will vary in the different countries you want to serve.

Many online sellers try to bake their shipping costs into their retail price so they can offer free shipping or at least a reasonable flat rate. Others focus on encouraging shoppers to add more items to their cart with conditional free shipping (e.g., free shipping on orders over $50) to maximize their profit.

At the end of the day, your prices can be tweaked and you can experiment with a variety of pricing strategies until you find one that works for you.

Additional resources:

  • The Price Is Right: 13 Strategies for Finding the Ideal Price for Your Products
  • Break-Even Analysis: How to Predict If Your Next Venture Will Be Profitable
  • Five Ways to Grow the Average Order Value of Your Online Store

3. Test, learn, and grow as you go

The pursuit of perfection can be one of the biggest hurdles in getting a business up and running. Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone.

Products can be swapped in and out fairly easily (especially when you’re not stuck with stock). Your store can be redesigned. Your prices can be adjusted. You can switch to a better supplier. And you can validate all of these decisions based on the dozens of signals you have at your disposal (traffic, how much time people are spending on your site, reviews, abandoned carts, etc.).

If your idea just isn’t working out the way you planned, think about how you can pivot before you quit.

There are aspects of your own business you can always salvage if you try a different product or approach. The brand you invest time into creating and the followers you amass on social media or in your email list can be assets you repurpose for your next business idea.

Additional resources:

  • What are the Basic Ecommerce Metrics I Need to Focus on First?
  • The Complete Guide to A/B Testing: Expert Tips from Google, HubSpot and More

How to start a small business from home

To start a business, you need more than just a dream. To put the wheels in motion, you’ll need to: 

  • Use the time you have available. It’s good to have a balance of ambitious and realistic with your business aspirations. 
  • Identify a new business idea. This could come from your personal interests, a market opportunity, an experience—anywhere, really.
  • Validate your business idea. This is where you identify if your idea is viable or not. Are people willing to spend money on this?
  • Find a business name. A strong name should be short and simple, memorable, and original. If you need help, check out our tips for generating business name ideas. 
  • Make a plan. Your business plan is critical for keeping your business on track, as well as securing partners, investors, lenders, and more. 
  • Understand business finances. Open your business bank accounts, secure funding, and set up strong bookkeeping and accounting processes. 
  • Develop your product or service. The fun part! This is where you bring your product or service idea to life. 
  • Pick a business structure. Your business structure influences taxes, operations, personal liability, and more. Choosing the right structure is about balancing the legal and financial protections you need with the flexibility offered by different options.
  • Research licenses and regulations. Your business is subject to the laws governing businesses in your area, as well as laws and regulations specific to your industry. It’s important to understand this to avoid bigger problems down the road. 
  • Select your software systems. Accounting, email, ads, project management—you need an entire tech stack to run your business. 
  • Find a business location. Identify where you can open up shop based on space, retail needs, and fulfillment needs. 
  • Plan workload and team size. If you plan to do all of the work yourself, you’re limited by the time you have available to invest. If you plan on hiring help, you’ll need to account for those costs—as well as the time involved in finding and onboarding freelancers or employees.
  • Launch your business. Leverage your network, build buzz with promotions, and test paid ads to get word out about your newly launched business. 

Coming up with great business ideas

There are many ways to come up with good business ideas of your own. You or someone you know might have a poor personal experience with a company—and you know you can do better. Or maybe there’s a complete gap in the market: for example, demand for a specific product but no one meeting it. Other ideas come from everyday moments, in the shower or right before you fall asleep. 

Brainstorming business ideas

If you’re feeling stuck on good business ideas or want to come up with more, there are a few ways to brainstorm even further. Write down all your ideas. Keep a brainstorming board, be it tactile or digital, and plaster your ideas there whenever they come to mind. Then revisit it with fresh eyes. 

There’s power in numbers, too. Recruit help from colleagues or friends and family to brainstorm new ideas. Survey your existing customer base or audiences and get their ideas. Look at what people are saying on social media or searching for online. Start with lots of ideas and then refine your list to the top ideas to explore further. 

Protecting unique business ideas

Entrepreneurs have a few options when it comes to legal protection of their small business ideas, both now and in the future. The right one depends largely on the types of businesses you’re talking about. 

  • Copyright. Copyrighting protects your intellectual property, meaning that others can’t use them without your permission. This applies to text, art, photography, music, graphic design, and similar mediums. 
  • Trademark. Trademarking is another intellectual property protection. Essentially, you “own” a word, phrase, logo, symbol, or design—preventing others from using it.
  • Patent. This is applicable for inventions—a patent prohibits anyone else from making, selling, or using your invention in their business for a period of time. 
  • Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). These legal documents prohibit people from sharing information as outlined in the NDA. 
  • Non-compete agreement. If you hire employees or contractors, you can have them sign this document, which prevents them from working with direct competitors. 
  • Work-for-hire agreement. Another document—this one only for employees—that means any work they do during their term of employment belongs to the employer, not the individual.

Getting funding for a business idea

One of the toughest but most important parts of starting a business is finding the money to get your idea off the ground. There are a few ways to get funding for your business idea: 

  • Small business loans. Shopify Capital offers both loans and grants to businesses, making it a great place to start.
  • Merchant cash advances. If you’re in a bind and need fast cash, you can apply for cash advances through a bank or Shopify Capital. 
  • Investors. Lots of investors look for the next big thing—the types of businesses that go viral. Craft a pitch for your business idea to present to investors.
  • Crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is similar to getting investors, except you need lots of investors who are each willing to make a small financial commitment. 
  • Fund it yourself. It’s not realistic for everyone, but low-investment business ideas make it easier to come up with the cash yourself. Just be aware of the risks involved. 

Become your own boss, with little financial hassle

Thanks to a combination of technology, third-party suppliers, and the ability to quickly test ideas online, it’s easier than ever to build a profitable business and start making sales without getting caught up in sourcing products, renting space, and managing inventory.

With this approach, you can test ideas before you invest in them, or start making good money on the side without all the inventory-related commitments that might stand in your way.

The small business ideas covered above can even be combined in a variety of ways to start a business that’s uniquely yours. If the idea of sourcing, storing, and shipping inventory kept you from starting a business before, begin with an inventory-free, low-cost business model and grow from there. 

The world of self-employment can be challenging, but with a little hard work and know-how, you can make it happen.

Illustration by Eugenia Mello

Business ideas FAQ

What are the most successful small business?

  • Ecommerce store owner
  • Food trucks
  • Personal trainer
  • Pet businesses
  • Online courses
  • Online tutoring
  • Personal wellness
  • Bookkeeping and accounting

What are the top businesses to start?

  • Dropshipping business
  • Selling print-on-demand shirts
  • Sell digital products
  • Become a blogger
  • Sell freelance services
  • Create homemade products to sell online
  • Media (podcast, YouTube channels, etc.)
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Pet sitting and products
  • Online fashion store

What is the easiest business to start?

The easiest businesses to start would be anything online: dropshipping stores, online courses, tutoring, fashion stores, or selling services. Online businesses require minimal startup costs and can easily scale, so you can earn more profit and do less work over time.

What services are in high demand?

  • Freelance writing 
  • Translating
  • Accounting and tax advice
  • Consulting (content marketing, search engine marketing, etc.)
  • Web development
  • House cleaning
  • Pet grooming
  • Uber driver
Shopify Tutorial

13 Home Business Ideas That Let You Work From Home

May 7, 2021 , by 露露

This article is from Shopify, and was republished and shared through Elksourcing with the permission of Shopify.

Original link：https://www.shopify.com/blog/home-business

If you’re planning to start a business, you might start thinking about things like renting commercial real estate, commuting to an office, or managing employees.

But with the rise of home businesses, more and more people are discovering ways to use remote work to pursue entrepreneurship, with their business headquartered at home.

In today’s connected world, where technology affords us more flexibility in how and where we work, home-based businesses come in a variety of forms.

Some require you to convert a spare room into a mini-warehouse for products, while others can be run completely online. But generally, you can start these types of businesses using your existing space and means. You can also check our guide on how to make money online to explore more options.

Table of Contents

  • What makes a “home-based” business: the pros and cons
  • 13 home-based business ideas you can start today
  • Find a home business idea that works for you

What makes a “home-based” business: the pros and cons

A home-based business is a venture—whether full time or run as a side hustle—that you can start and operate using your own home as your base of operations. A few home-based businesses, especially those that sell online and don’t buy and hold lots of inventory, can even be run on the go, without the need to be bound to your home.

Naturally, there are pros and cons to consider when deciding whether a home-based business is right for you.

Pros:

  • A low-investment business has fewer overhead costs (such as warehousing fees), plus potential tax deductions you can claim.
  • The option to sell products or services locally or internationally.
  • Flexible work-life balance, which is ideal if, for example, you’re a stay-at-home parent or a retiree.
  • You can create a family business where your relations or your spouse can chip in as needed.

Cons:

  • You may need to convert space in your home to support the needs of your business (e.g., holding inventory, creating a home office, or storing equipment). The challenge can be doing this without disrupting your life at home.
  • You still have to comply with any regulations that pertain to the business you want to start (e.g., you may need to rent a commercial kitchen if you plan to sell food products or a license/permit to hold inventory).
  • Your business may outgrow your home and require you to rent additional space and hire employees.
  • Working from home offers you a lot of freedom, but it can also be lonely. This might be difficult if you enjoy being around other people.

13 home-based business ideas you can start today

While there are plenty of ways to go about starting a home-based business, the following are some of the most approachable paths to creating a home business for yourself:

  • Buy products in bulk and sell them online
  • Sell homemade products
  • Start a dropshipping store
  • Start a print-on-demand business
  • Offer online services
  • Teach online classes
  • Productize your service or expertise
  • Grow an audience you can monetize
  • Buy an existing ecommerce business
  • Start a subscription box business
  • Get involved with pets
  • Sell unwanted items
  • Play video games

1. Buy products in bulk and sell them online

Many businesses center on the simple concept of importing products in bulk and selling them individually for a profit.

Maybe you recently traveled abroad and came across unique products that aren’t readily available in your market, but that you sense an appetite for. Or maybe you’ve zeroed in on a niche market and know the perfect way to serve it.

Either way, if these products are relatively easy to store and ship, you may have some solid home-based business ideas on your hands.

You can even initially use your home as a showroom to sell locally, giving you the option to expand with additional storage space and employees as you validate your idea and sales start to ramp up. This is how Artemis Design Co. got its start.

“I was living in the south end of Boston, and I had my living room just full of these products. I would have people come over if they wanted to look at something or try something on, and that’s how I made my first sale.” Milicent Armstrong, Artemis Design Co.

2. Sell homemade products

If you’re a maker yourself (or know someone who is), consider turning that hobby into a business. Even if you have to create your products elsewhere—in a studio, commercial kitchen, or workshop—you may be able to store and sell them in your own home.

When you have the ability to control nearly every aspect of the products you sell, you can make them more cost- effective, improve their quality, or cater them to a certain audience by targeting demand in the market.

Josh Pigford already had a thriving home business in a business analytics startup, but wanted to find a way to flex his creative muscles. He started printing succulent planters at home with his 3D printer—and a business was born. Cedar & Sail now carries planters, coasters, and other small desk tchotchkes.

Whether you choose to start on a marketplace like Etsy or build your own branded storefront, selling your creations is a great way to share your passion with others and make money too. Just be wary of regulations concerning products that customers ingest or put on their skin.

Check out these resources for launching a home-based business selling handmade products:

  • How to sell candles
  • How to start a jewelry business
  • How to sell makeup online
  • How to sell art online
  • How to sell food online
  • How to start a clothing line
  • How to make enamel pins
  • How to start an online boutique

Best of all, producing your own products doesn’t have to be overwhelming. When you’re ready to scale, you can establish a process and onboard new employees to help with production.

3. Start a dropshipping store

So far, we’ve covered business ideas that require you to hold inventory in your home. But there are a variety of online businesses ideas to pursue that don’t involve worrying about inventory and shipping.

These businesses employ a dropshipping model, where a third party produces, stores, and ships your products on your behalf, leaving marketing and customer service as your chief responsibilities.

Children’s brand Finer & Dandy is an example of a home-based business that uses a dropshipper. Founder Courtney White started the company in search of a way to make money online without spending too much time providing services to customers. That’s when she discovered dropshipping. Now, she wakes up at 4 a.m. every morning to run her dropshipping business before going to her day job.

Your dropshipping supplier can be local or overseas, but you need to ensure you find a supplier you can trust to deliver a consistently great customer experience after the sale. Always do your due diligence or you might put your business’ reputation at risk.

There are even Shopify apps, such as Oberlo, that can connect you with suppliers to import products into your own store while streamlining order fulfillment.

At its core, dropshipping involves becoming a distributor of a third party’s products, taking on the costs (both financial and time-based) of marketing to be rewarded with the margins when you make a sale. In many cases, this can make your products a commodity with limited opportunity to brand your customer experience. Luckily, there are a few different ways you can still compete, even when there’s no shortage of your products in the market you’re selling in:

  • Curate products from different suppliers to create a store that serves a specific niche.
  • Compete through quality content and customer service, creating value beyond your products.
  • Target an underserved region of the world. (Be sure to pay attention to your shipping costs.)
  • Target a new audience with the same products (e.g., LED shoes can be marketed to music festival goers or runners).

If you’re interested in learning more about starting a dropshipping business, be sure to check out The Ultimate Guide to Dropshipping.

4. Start a print-on-demand business

Using a similar dropshipping model, a print-on-demand business doesn’t require you to hold any inventory or ship anything yourself. Print-on-demand even offers you more flexibility to customize white label products with your own creative designs.

Rebecca Lee Funk launched The Outrage, a women’s rights activist apparel brand that sells print-on-demand t-shirt designs from her home. The business donates a portion of profits to Planned Parenthood in Donald Trump’s name. Her launch campaign went viral, and The Outrage turned into a thriving ecommerce business.

There are many other print-on-demand products you can sell: books, hats, backpacks, blankets, pillows, mugs, shoes, hoodies, phone cases, watches, and more, depending on the supplier you choose to work with.

Many print-on-demand businesses focus on serving a specific niche or, better yet, a shared identity. What are people passionate about and proud to share? What about yourself? From pet owners to vegans to gamers, there are plenty of passionate communities you can create products for.

If you have design skills, you can create your own designs. But if not, you can always hire the talent you need.

For a full runthrough of how print on demand works and how you can get started, be sure to take our video course inside Shopify Academy.

5. Offer online services

Services are even simpler than products to start selling at home, but the challenge is allocating your limited time. “Time is money” is never truer than when you’re running a service-based business.

Creative professionals, like designers or marketers, might freelance or consult with other companies, juggling multiple clients, often remotely from their own home office with occasional travel. Others might operate based on appointments and bookings to offer their services to individuals directly.

Service-based home business ideas include:

  • House cleaning
  • Freelance writing
  • Personal training
  • Virtual assistance
  • Dog walking
  • Marketing
  • Designing

Service-based businesses often require a lot of networking and word-of-mouth referrals to find suitable clients, but satisfied clients will likely retain your services over time.

For this reason, you don’t necessarily need a large number of customers to do well, as you would with a product-based business. Depending on the service you’re offering, a handful of high-quality clients can be enough to support yourself full time while working from home.

6. Teach online classes

Chris Carey, one of the founders of MAPerformance, started his automotive parts and services business from the comfort of home. He began by teaching car maintenance and repair tips to online users in forums. After establishing expertise and trust, people started heading over to his ecommerce site to buy parts.

If you have a teachable skill, you not only can share that knowledge in forums to get your name out there, you can also turn it into online classes. There’s an audience for just about any desirable skill, whether it’s English as a second language, advanced marketing, or everyday home maintenance hacks.

If I Made is Emily Newman’s home-based business teaching classes to creative professionals. When you teach classes online, not only do you have the flexibility to do it from home, you can also choose to offer live or pre-recorded teaching and training. For example, you might offer the live courses at a premium rate, while customers can purchase the recorded sessions at a discounted price.

That’s what Yegi Saryan, founder of Yegi Beauty, does with her business. After establishing a successful online beauty brand, she turned her talents into passive income. Now, aspiring entrepreneurs can purchase lash classes to kickstart their skills and add it as a service offering in their business. Classes are available both online and in-person.

You can also choose the class size and length. If you like small groups or even one-on-one, consider tutoring, mentorship, or masterminds. If you like larger groups, do bigger training sessions and courses. Teach a one-time all-day summit, an hour a week, or somewhere in between.

Not interested in human interaction? Create a fully downloadable course for purchase. All you need is the content, be it a video walkthrough, templates, articles, or how-tos. Use a screen-recording tool like ScreenFlow to capture your screen and voice while you walk students through the material.

Whichever way you slice it, teaching online is a profitable home business idea because it requires low overhead—just an investment in time.

7. Productize your service or expertise

As we just discussed, one of the biggest downsides of running a service-based business is that you’re paid strictly for your time, skills, and effort. Emily Newman of If I Made productized her classes into digital courses, packaging the recordings from her live sessions and selling them at a lower rate.

“Productizing” your service—creating physical or digital products that package up your expertise and streamline or complement the service you offer—can add additional revenue streams to your business. You can cater to your current customer base or even find a new target customer in the same space.

Gabriella and Andrew Morrison started their home-based business by packaging up their expertise around tiny-home living. They sell courses and plans on Tiny House Build and StrawBale.com—operating everything from the comfort of their cozy, non-traditional house.

And here are some ideas for adding products to your service-based business:

  • Courses
  • Designs
  • Selling photos online
  • Downloadable reports
  • Digital templates
  • Merchandise
  • eBooks

As you can see, most of these ideas involve digital media packaged as products, which means no inventory to keep around the house. If you’re running your home business on Shopify, you can sell digital products seamlessly using the Digital Downloads or SendOwl app.

In some cases, though, productizing your expertise is more literal. That’s how Bullet Journal came about. Ryder Carroll created his own methodology to journaling that morphed into a home-based business idea. Now, he sells physical journals on his website.

Learn more: Shopify lets you sell wherever your customers are. Visit www.shopify.com/sell.

8. Grow an audience you can monetize

If you’re a content creator, have a sizable online audience already, or have always thought about starting your own blog, YouTube channel, Instagram account, or podcast, then you can potentially grow and monetize your following using any of the previous ideas on this list.

Andrew Finn co-founded Wait But Why, a blog-turned-business. After amassing more than 371,000 subscribers and millions of visits, they created digital content products tailored to an already loyal audience. Today, Wait Buy Why is a full-blown ecommerce site with digital and physical goods for sale.

Jordan Ferney, founder of Oh Happy Day Shop!, also built an audience via blogging and later turned it into a full-fledged home-based business. She designed her business around her life and being able to spend time with her family and now sells products on her ecommerce site.

Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark used Facebook groups to develop and nurture a community around their podcast, My Favorite Murder. This group of Murderinos, armchair investigators who are true crime fans, grew to more than 200,000 members before the podcast sunset in 2018. My Favorite Murder then created its own paid community, the Fan Cult forum, charging members an annual fee. Capitalizing even more on its fandom, My Favorite Murder also launched an ecommerce site with branded merchandise (it also sold event tickets there).

You can also explore becoming an affiliate—selling other products or services for a commission—or accepting payment for sponsored posts to give brands a chance to connect with your audience.

Building a loyal audience requires patience, consistency, and focus. This isn’t the easiest way to start a home-based business, especially not in the short-term, but if you’re able to build a following around something you love it can be one of the most fulfilling and enduring, giving you the flexibility to pursue multiple revenue streams at once.

The potential to monetize your audience often depends on the niche you choose to serve. If you’re starting from scratch or are in the midst of growing your own audience, be sure to check out the following guides to learn how to best grow and monetize the most popular channels:

  • How to make money on Instagram
  • How to make money on YouTube
  • How to start a podcast
  • How to start a blog
  • How to make money as a self-published author

9. Buy an existing ecommerce business

If you’re more interested in investing in a source of income you can maintain while at home or on the go, consider buying an established ecommerce business.

Prices vary greatly based on a variety of factors, including total revenue generated, profit potential, available assets (like an email list or social following), inventory, and more. Some sellers will even onboard you and teach you the ropes of running their store.

Exchange is a marketplace powered by Shopify for buying and selling ecommerce stores. You can browse the listings for businesses that suit your budget, level of experience, and needs. Maybe you want to buy a proven business and are willing to invest more money to acquire it. Or perhaps one catches your eye with untapped potential that you’d like to build on.

Standing Health is one example of an online store available for purchase on Exchange. The company currently does $1,246 in monthly revenue with a 15% profit margin.

Just be sure to vet each listing and consider everything that’s included in the sale. Revenue and other data can be verified through Shopify, so you can rest assured those numbers are accurate. If you’d like some more guidance, check out our guide How to Buy a Business on Exchange.

10. Start a subscription box business

The online subscription box industry grew 100% over the course of just five years. That explosive growth has led to the emergence of new direct-to-consumer brands targeting this niche, as well as the adoption by major brands like Sephora and Walmart.

You can start a subscription business from home, using the help of Shopify’s subscription management tools. Sylvia Song, co-founder of MISHIBOX, did exactly that. She started importing popular Korean beauty products and selling them to a global customer base—all from the comfort of her home in Virginia. Now, the thriving ecommerce brand is moving headquarters to New York.

For Song, starting a home business was about seeing a gap and finding a way to fill it. This is the secret to success for many top subscription box businesses. Birchbox, for example, saw that there was no way for consumers to test multiple beauty products without spending a fortune. So it filled that gap with affordable curated boxes of smaller sample-sized products.

Ashley Reynolds bundled surplus products into subscription boxes to sell via her ecommerce site, Cloth & Paper. If you already run an ecommerce business at home, you could do the same to make use of what would otherwise be dead stock.

Subscription boxes don’t have to necessarily be about selling. Haverdash is a subscription box company that rents clothes. When customers are finished using the items, they send them back—and Haverdash rents them out to another customer to generate even more revenue.

11. Get involved with pets

Pet influencers are all over social media, promoting brands like BarkBox and inspiring thousands of likes with their cuteness. If you’ve got a pet of your own, you could turn them into a social media influencer and work with brands to promote their products online.

Bodhi the Menswear Dog—a.k.a. the most stylish dog in the world—has made a name for himself on Instagram in particular. Browse his feed and you’ll see collaborations with several brands like Booking.com, Spotify, and Poly & Bark.

No pets at home? Take care of other people’s pets. Apps like Rover opened up the sharing economy to pet sitting and dog walking. Dog hotels were a $6 billion industry in 2016. If you’re looking to make money from home, offer pet owners a place to drop off their animals while they head out of town.

12. Sell unwanted items

As consumers become more environmentally conscious, they’re also looking for ways to adjust their shopping habits to support sustainability. The resale clothing industry is a $4 billion industry in the U.S. alone

COAL N TERRY is one successful home-based business that sells vintage finds. And while the business didn’t exactly start from a home—it was a college dorm room—it has since grown into a brand with a loyal following and celebrity fans.

You can start small with your own home-based business—sites like Poshmark and Mercari are great places to sell your unwanted clothing. You can even use Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.

Unwanted items aren’t limited to previously used clothing. Food waste is an unwanted item that also presents a viable home-based business opportunity.

13. Play video games

While many may think video games are a waste of time, it’s a hobby that can actually turn a profit. And there’s nothing more home-based than sitting on your couch in front of your TV.

Esports and video game streaming platforms like Twitch have opened the door for gamers to gain notoriety—and eventually money—from their talents. The esports industry alone is worth more than $1.5 billion, and a Twitch streamer can get up to 100,000 viewers at a time.

So how do you monetize this? Sponsorships is one of the best ways to start a home-based competitive gaming business. Companies will pay you to play their games and stream it to your audience.

Video gaming is even known to be a great résumé-booster. Note, though, that all of the above requires some level of gaming skill.

Here’s a unique spin: Twitch isn’t limited to just gaming anymore, and Maxx Burman and Banks Boutté used the platform to launch an online festival where they featured 12 top video game art directors. They repurposed this content for other digital channels like Instagram and YouTube. After building a loyal audience, the two launched KitBash3d, where they sell 3D assets for video games and movies.

Find a home business idea that works best for you

The best home business really depends on your goals. Do you want a strong work-life balance as a stay-at-home mom, or do you want to hustle to achieve success quickly? How much capital do you have to start up? What skills are already in your arsenal that you can tap into?

A home-based business in today’s world is simply a remote-friendly business where technology can close the gap between you, your suppliers, your employees, and your customers. Altogether, this is a home business opportunity to start small, grow nimbly, and invest conservatively—especially when you can cut out the costs of renting an office.

As you would when starting any type of business, think carefully about your goals, what motivates you, and what you enjoy working on in order to create a home business that works for you.

Illustration by Till Lauer

Frequently Asked Questions about home business ideas

What is the best home business to start?

There are a number of businesses you can start to earn money from home. Some popular ones are starting an online store, selling homemade goods, selling online courses, freelance writing services, becoming a virtual assistant, starting a dropshipping store, offering hourly services (marketing, designing, etc.,), selling custom printed products, starting a print on demand business and more.

What are the best businesses for stay at home moms?

Stay at home moms have a lot to handle, but they can still follow their passion and start an online business. Here are some ideas to consider: go freelance with your professional services (marketing, designing, development, etc) on an hourly basis, start an online store to sell custom print products, sell handmade goods, start a dropshipping store of products you’re passionate about curating, offer online consultation in your area of expertise.

What can I make and sell from home?

There are a number of things that you can make at home and sell online, such as: Bath bombs and soaps, T-shirts and printed merchandise, jewelry, curated gift and subscription boxes, candles, sweets, art and prints, and more.

How to start working from home?

When you start working from home, it takes time to get used to your new schedule. Try following the steps listed here: Have a dedicated workspace, plan your day, limit the number of times you check email, your phone, and social media, brush up on your computer and communication skills, set office hours for yourself.

Shopify Tutorial

Side Hustle Ideas: How to Find Yours and Make an Extra $1,000 A Month (And More)

May 7, 2021 , by 露露

This article is from Shopify, and was republished and shared through Elksourcing with the permission of Shopify.

Original link：https://www.shopify.com/blog/side-hustleA good side hustle is about building a business for yourself. And today, the best side hustle ideas are those that have potential to earn endless income—something beyond just $1,000 a month. 

The calling card of a side hustler is a scrappy, experimental mentality that views resource constraints as a thrilling challenge, not as a sign to give up. Side hustlers come from diverse backgrounds and sell wide-ranging products. There is, however, one similarity they frequently share: while building their venture in the early morning or twilight hours, they do the best they can with the time they have.

Thousands are joining their ranks as people rediscover that saving money and having a full-time job only go so far—there’s a hard floor, while the ceiling for making more money is almost limitless. But that doesn’t make it easy. So, what goes into the emerging art of starting and sustaining a good side hustle to make money?

What is a side hustle?

In its most broadly used sense, “side hustle” means any activity outside of your day job that helps you make more money. Technically, this is a part-time job or work done for side hustle apps like Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, Rover, or TaskRabbit.

But not all side hustles are created equal. A part-time job may be good seasonally, but in slower months, limited hours can mean limited funds. Gig apps like Uber might work for making a couple of extra bucks in a pinch, but these options tend to have payment structures designed to minimize the payout to people providing the service.

If you want a good side hustle, look past the part-time jobs and side hustle apps. Instead, look at a side hustle as a path to entrepreneurship, space for professional growth, and a way to earn income in your spare time.

Questions to ask when considering a side hustle to make money

Side hustles are a great way to earn extra income but, like all new ventures, they require a bit of legwork up front in order to get traction. If you don’t choose an idea that fits your current lifestyle, it’s easy for this extra work to sink to the bottom of your to-do list and, eventually, fall by the wayside. For this reason, unique side hustles often feel less like a chore and more like a creative outlet that places craft and commerce on equal footing. 

Although side hustles don’t always become full-time jobs, it’s common for side hustlers to gravitate toward this option once their venture becomes profitable enough. If you want a side hustle that could eventually become your career, here are some things to consider.

1. Does the idea fit your current schedule?

You’re going to be dedicating a meaningful amount of time to this side hustle, so it helps if that time fits into your schedule. A side hustle should be something you can do outside of your 9-to-5 job, but that won’t interfere with or keep you from that job.

Things will come up at your full-time job. Some days, you may have to pick up an extra shift or work overtime to finish up a project, or you may have obligations like meetings and team-building events. If you want to make sure you put time into your side hustle, it helps to pick something that’s easy to re-schedule. Side gigs like dog walking, real estate, or babysitting might seem appealing, but they could be more difficult to arrange around your regular job. 

2. Does the idea align with your passions and interests?

Working 40 hours a week is enough to zap most people’s creative energy by the time the day winds down. And after time well spent with family, friends, and personal responsibilities, it’s easy to see just how hard it can be to carve out additional headspace to work on a side project. But it’s these hours tucked away in life’s margins that tend to be the best time to do the focused work needed to get something off the ground. The workday is done, the weekend is still a couple of days away, and since you’ve already watched all the true-crime documentaries on Netflix, your schedule is wide open. 

But, try as you might, sometimes you just won’t want to work. That’s why it’s ideal if your side hustle closely pairs with what you’re passionate about, even if it’s not the end-product itself. That might mean you enjoy some aspect of running things behind the scenes, immersing yourself in a new topic or field of interest, or a desire to do something to help people. Whatever the appeal, a good litmus test is that you’re drawn to the work when you’re procrastinating on something else—that little bit of enthusiasm can go a long way.

3. Is the idea financially viable?

Although not every hobby should be burdened by the need for profitability, most of us have student loans and bills to pay. By our definition of a good side hustle, we are looking to create some kind of return on time invested. That means your side hustle needs to be financially viable and, over the long term, relatively stable—not just a part-time side job. 

Most side hustles aren’t profitable right away, since your primary focus is tweaking your product or service and finding how best to reach your first clients or customers. You want to keep costs low in the early stages and work exclusively on “ringing the cash register” or proving out your idea with a sale so you can see what the numbers look like.

What does that mean exactly? Since the start of any project is completely lopsided in terms of time put in and revenue that comes back out, you don’t need to be as concerned with tracking your sweat equity. But as you make progress and start earning money, it’s important to understand how much it costs you, in time or dollars, to get a client, customer, or sale and ultimately turn your effort into profit. If your resulting margins or hourly wages put you in the red, your side hustle may not be sustainable. 

10 best side hustles you can start right now to make extra money

If the idea of side hustling sounds good to you, here are some ways you can start building a profitable business in your spare time today.

  • Create and sell your own handmade goods
  • Create your own designs for a print-on-demand business
  • Start a dropshipping business
  • Start a zine and sell digital subscriptions
  • Join the gig economy
  • Teach an online course
  • Start a blog
  • Start a YouTube channel
  • Become an influencer
  • Start a podcast

1. Create and sell your own handmade goods

There’s something satisfying about hobbies that make money. It’s no surprise that many Shopify merchants start successful small businesses out of a hobby they did in their spare time. If you enjoy doing the work, it doesn’t feel like work. Think of something you enjoy doing, even when no one’s paying you. Whether it’s carpentry, knitting, painting, or crafting—these hobbies can serve as the foundation for many unique side hustles. 

Almost everyone has a hobby or creative outlet that they’re passionate about. You’re in an especially good position if yours involves making something with your hands. Although creating handmade products requires plenty of time spent learning a craft, it’s one of the best ways to stand out in a sea of commodity products. You can also sell handmade items on Etsy alongside your Shopify store to connect with more potential customers.

On top of this, sourcing raw materials puts you in a unique position to ensure your manufacturing process aligns with your brand values. In fact, many business owners are using their values, such as creating products containing recyclable materials, as part of their sales pitch. Take Dick Moby, a retailer that makes sunglasses using only oil-free acetate, an eco-friendly plastic substitute.

From bags made of old car seats to broken radios refashioned as Bluetooth speakers, using recyclable materials can be a great way to maintain your product’s environmental sustainability while keeping costs low. If you love taking old materials and turning them into something new, this may be the side hustle for you.

2. Create your own designs for a print-on-demand business

Print-on-demand businesses are fun, low-risk ventures if you’ve got a passion for design and are looking to dip your feet into the entrepreneurial waters. Shopify apps such as Printful and Printify allow you to easily upload custom designs to items like t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, canvas bags, pillows, and more, so you can directly import new products into your Shopify store.

When customers make a purchase, items are printed and shipped directly to them from your manufacturer. Print on demand offers one key advantage over manufacturing products in bulk: your supply of products can match and scale with demand without having to make large inventory purchases upfront. And you can still add your own flair and branding to products through your custom visual designs.

On top of this, since the grunt work of manufacturing and shipping are outsourced to a third party, you’ll have more time to work on designing and marketing your business.

3. Start a dropshipping business

If you like the automated aspects of print-on-demand but are more interested in marketing and operations over creating custom designs, consider starting a dropshipping business. Dropshipping is another online business model where a third party manufactures and ships existing products for you. All you have to do is set up your store, price your products, and market the business.

Dropshipping is also a low-risk opportunity because, again, products are only being shipped when they’re purchased, which leaves plenty of room for profit so long as your marketing expenses are reasonable. With a third party in charge of manufacturing and shipping, dropshipping also frees up a lot of time. You can also dropship on marketplaces like Amazon and eBay to reach more customers. 

The time you save dropshipping can be spent finding a niche to sell to, marketing your products, reaching new buyers, or helping your customers. With product development and design being noticeably absent from this equation, dropshipping is definitely a side hustle for those who want to flex their marketing muscles.

4. Start a zine and sell digital subscriptions

Ever think about having your own magazine startup? A “zine” is typically a smaller circulation work. The term “zine” is used to describe any magazine focused on a niche audience, but the primary difference from a magazine is the hand-crafted, independent element that draws on ideas and values not covered by the mainstream media. 

For artists, graphic designers, and writers, a zine can be a great online side hustle to showcase and sell your work. For activists, it can be an important way to mobilize people. Zines have a rich tradition of showcasing alternative, underappreciated works of art and literature. The internet has given the next generation of zine editors a platform for sharing new ideas through the form of digital subscriptions. And if you’re good at proofreading, all the better—you don’t have to hire anyone to edit your zine.

With Shopify’s digital downloads app, it’s relatively easy to sell digital files securely, while the Lulu xPress app can help with self-publishing physical copies of your zine. 

Apps like these help reduce the hurdles and time costs of running your store, time that can be poured back into your writing, art, photography, or whatever content you choose to base your zine around.

5. Join the gig economy

Got a skill set you can make money online with legitimately? Consider becoming a part of the gig economy. The gig economy is a free market system where companies work with independent contractors or freelancers rather than hire full-time staff. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2017 that 55 million people in the United States were “gig workers,” making up 34% of the economy. That number is expected to breach 43% by the end of 2020.

Freelancing has become one of the best side hustle ideas for millennials because of efficiency—it’s now easier than ever for experienced (and up-and-coming) writers, programmers, designers, and other specialists to connect with clients and provide their services from anywhere in the world. You can start by finding jobs on Fiverr, Craigslist, or Upwork and building your skills and portfolio there.

If you’re looking for a side gig from home that provides a lot of room for growth and comparatively quick returns, freelancing might be for you. While freelancing does require you to trade time for money directly, the path to revenue is more straightforward than waiting for a product to pick up traction.

Freelancing is an especially great online side hustle for soon-to-be or recent graduates from high school or college who find themselves getting crowded out of full-time jobs by more experienced peers. For some professionals, working on a project-by-project basis allows them to earn extra cash while building a valuable portfolio and strengthening their resumes with a list of satisfied clients.

Some young entrepreneurs even start freelancing while in school. Services like tutoring and exam prep are so popular in universities among student freelancers that the test-prep market is worth $24 billion. Some students even sell their own study material and lecture notes or teach English. 

When you consider that any university sees a guaranteed batch of new customers year after year, it’s not hard to understand why young freelancers have jumped at the opportunity.

Remember that whether you want to get into freelance writing or become a virtual assistant, your network is everything when starting an online side hustle. Get on Twitter to have conversations with people in your industry or get involved in Slack groups and private communities to share tips and tricks. This will help you build a sustainable business from your side gig that you can depend on for income. 

6. Teach an online course

Learning a new trade, skill, or subject is challenging. It requires research, time, and a genuine interest in the subject matter. But chances are there are topics and talents you’re already well-versed in, especially compared to the general public. Why not teach them?

Teaching is one of the most rewarding opportunities, and with online platforms like Udemy and Coursera, it’s become easy for experienced teachers to side hustle across the world and connect with enthusiastic students. 

The beauty of teaching online is that the subject of your course is limited only by your own knowledge and imagination. Are you an expert on the history of the Roman Empire? Teach that! Have experience in graphic design? Share what you know! As long as there are people who want to learn from your experience and are willing to pay to have the information packaged and presented in an accessible way, you can make a course about nearly anything. 

7. Start a blog

Blogging is one of the most popular side hustles because it can be done from just about anywhere. With just a laptop and a WiFi connection, any location can be turned into your personal publishing den.

It may not be profitable right away, but for bloggers looking to build up a personal brand, audience, and portfolio, a blog goes a long way in advancing your career. In fact, one of the most interesting things about blogging is the roundabout way it may benefit your current career—sharing your work can show employers and hiring managers how you think about problems and what projects you’ve worked on. Getting this knowledge down can help you get discovered or stand out from a barrage of resumes if you decide to apply to a new role.

Like teaching, blogging can be about anything so long as some kind of audience is keen to learn, which means there’s a lot of space to take a deep dive into a subject you’re passionate about. One challenge with this side hustle, though, is learning how to start a blog that makes money. 

Page views don’t pay the bills, so you’ll likely need to do some adjacent work, like referring readers to products, offering sponsored posts or advertisements, or even providing a connecting service for blogging to be profitable in the long run. The upside? You’ll have done the hard work of creating an audience already.

8. Start a YouTube channel

YouTube has more than a billion users who watch hours of videos each day. As the popularity of the site has soared, so have the opportunities for creatives looking to craft their own video content. 

You can always learn how to start a YouTube channel and talk about current events, perform sketches or music, offer tutorials, or do just about anything else—but the real money is in creating a channel that works alongside your business. Building an audience big enough to profit from YouTube ads takes a lot of time, which is why it’s better to find a more direct connection to revenue than to wait for ads to become viable. The closer your videos support an existing product, the better, even if that means creating videos before you launch your product. 

Take the mattress company Purple as an example. Purple specializes in creating pillows and cushions out of a proprietary material called hyper-elastic polymer. In the lead-up to the launch of its new mattress, Purple teamed up with content creators The Harmon Brothers to create a series of videos explaining and demonstrating the science behind the product. 

Their raw egg test video went viral and racked up 158 million views on YouTube and Facebook. Since its original ad, it has produced more content using the same offbeat humor and vibrant imagery. Having a YouTube channel that works alongside a product is a viable way to make a new audience aware of your brand. 

But be wary of falling into the trap of over-promoting your product. The key to financial success in this side hustle is creating content that people actually want to watch, and the last thing people want to watch are ads.

9. Become an influencer

Andy Warhol predicted that, in the future, everyone would be famous for 15 minutes. From fashion models on Instagram to comedians on Twitter, it’s now true that the average person has access to an audience so large that it’s incomparable to anything Warhol would have seen in his time—but not everyone takes advantage in the same way.

This access has provided space for a wave of micro-influencers, especially those on Instagram, who may not be household names but can provide brands with access to very niche audiences. And if the term “influencer” doesn’t conjure the greatest image in your head, remember that two important jobs of marketing are reach and influence, or getting the right message to persuade the right people. All that means is that influencers are just another audience-driven approach to building a side hustle or business.

While this is not an easy side hustle to kick off, there’s no shortage of creative ways to make money with it. Even if a monetization model doesn’t stick out right away, focusing on audience building isn’t a bad thing. Many Instagram creators had to take time building an audience before their account was able to become profitable and earn passive income.

Take Loki the Wolfdog, for example. What started as an account dedicated to adventurous photos of Loki developed over time to become a whole line of products. It didn’t happen overnight, but by consistently posting content that people wanted to see, the creators were able to amass a following of diehard Loki fans. 

There are many different types of influencers on Instagram, so this is a side hustle with a lot of room for creative expression. You could specialize in creating content for a specific niche, promote your own freelance services, build your acting portfolio, or just provide witty commentary paired with thumb-stopping photos. 

Once you build a following on the platform, you can get into affiliate marketing. Becoming an affiliate marketer means referring products or services by sharing them on your social media channels. If a follower buys through a unique link you provide, you earn a commission every time. Done well, this can be one of your more passive side hustles that earns extra income while you sleep.

10. Start a podcast

Listenership for podcasts has been growing steadily every year. A podcast used to be a must-have for comedians. Then it became a must-have for writers and journalists. Now, podcasting has morphed into a must-have for almost anyone looking to build an online audience for their brand and turn a side gig from home into a profitable business. 

There have been concerns that an oversaturation of podcasts could kill podcasting, but data shows the appetite for podcasts hasn’t slowed down. Podcasting, like social media and blogging, has become a staple of the broader world of online content.

Podcasting is comparatively cheap, too. A decent USB microphone (many of which are sold specifically for podcasting) can be purchased for less than $100 , and recording platforms like Audacity are free and easy to use. When you want to upgrade your tools to an XLR microphone, mixer, or other accessories to improve quality, you can still produce professional-sounding audio for a few hundred dollars.

Finding the best side hustles for you

An underappreciated benefit of side hustles is that they can act as a sandbox where you learn how to make money from home legitimately. Making money is a distinct skill, and since most of us rely on traditional careers to pay the bills, it doesn’t always feel intuitive. Side hustles offer you a way to test business ideas and practice in public.

And side hustles aren’t just a tool for making side income. Starting a side hustle is a way to teach yourself valuable skills and help yourself grow as a professional and as an entrepreneur. For writers, actors, painters, musicians, and artists of all types, a side hustle can provide artistic independence, professional growth and, eventually, a profitable way to turn your passion into your career. 

Illustration by Eugenia Mello

FAQ: Starting a side hustle FAQ

How do I make an extra $1,000 a month?

  • Join focus groups
  • Take online surveys
  • Become a dog walker
  • Sell services to local businesses
  • Do deliveries for food delivery apps like Uber Eats and Postmates
  • Rent out your vehicle on Turo
  • Teach English
  • Start a bookkeeping business

How do you start a side hustle?

  • Write a list of things you are passionate about.
  • Figure out if you’ll invest money in your side hustle right away. 
  • Make time in your schedule to work on your side hustle.
  • Create a plan for how to make money with your side hustle.
  • Execute on your plan!

How do you find a side hustle?

  • Read a side hustle book to get inspiration and ideas
  • Choose a side hustle idea based on your interests
  • Do market research to see if your idea is profitable
  • Decide if you want to do it full-time or part-time
  • Start building your side hustle

What are the most profitable side hustles?

  • A dropshipping business
  • Selling your own handcrafted products
  • Creating and selling your own designs
  • Selling services as a freelancer
  • Teaching an online course
  • Selling digital information products 
  • Starting an affiliate marketing business