10 Low-Investment Business Startup Ideas with No Inventory Requirements

1. Affiliate Marketing

There are numerous ways to make money sitting behind a computer from the comfort of your own home. First, you need to have a product or items that people want to buy, and then you need to know how to put it in front of the right buyers.

Online Affiliate Marketing is an interesting option, where others will pay you (often generous) commissions to sell their products on your website, or to your audience. Just google “affiliate marketing opportunities” to start exploring.

2. Drop Shipping

Drop-Shipping is an option similar to Affiliate Marketing, except you sell the product, and then immediately buy it from your supplier, who ships directly to the customer. Instead of turning the customer over to your affiliate partner, the customer gets to deal directly with you.

3. eBay

Selling items on eBay is also another easy place to start. You’d be surprised at how much money is laying around in your attic or closet. Just grab some items, take a few pics and post them on eBay to see what can happen.

4. Print-On-Demand T-Shirts

If you are the artsy type and have experience with graphic design, there is a great opportunity for you designing and selling Print-on-Demand T-Shirts and other items. There are many services, but Merch by Amazon is one that will allow you to start for free. They charge the customer for the shirt, print and ship it to the customer, and then pay you a royalty.

With a hot selling design, you can be making good money in little time with zero investment, except for your time.

5. House Painting

If you already have some experience painting, you can probably land a few jobs with just a simple door-to-door flyer. Advertise competitive rates, and then charge half up front (half on completion), and buy the paint and supplies. Your biggest expense will probably be a ladder, and maybe some coveralls, but you could even wait to buy this until you have your first job lined up.

6. Window Cleaning

Window cleaning is a similar gig, except people will be less critical of your credentials, as long as you do the job and leave their windows looking clear and clean. Just make sure you are comfortable with heights and other precarious situations. Window cleaning can sometimes be a bit dangerous.

7. Freelance Services

Services like Photography, Freelance Writing, and Web Developer Services are always in high demand. If you possess any of these skills (or are willing to learn), you will find it fairly easy to land jobs. Check with local businesses, but also be sure to check freelance websites such as Upwork.com. 1000’s of jobs are posted every day for services like these.

8. Social Media Management

You’d be surprised how many businesses are illiterate when it comes to social media marketing. If you are good at getting “likes” and creating content that starts a conversation and gets shared, then you have what it takes to manage social media campaigns for businesses. Start talking to local businesses and share your ideas about how their campaigns can better engage customers and convert to sales.

9. Publish a Book

With the advancement of technology and e-commerce has come to a whole new world of self-publishing. No longer do you need to wait to sign a deal with a big publishing house to get your book out in front of the world.

Now all you need is an idea and the wherewithal to write it, edit it and put it into digital e-book formula (all fairly easy to do). Then you simply upload it to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, Google Play Books, or one of the many self-publishing platforms available and voila, you’re a published author!

10. Digital Products or Courses

Similar to self-publishing a book, selling digital downloads or online courses is easy. If you already have an idea or skill that people are willing to pay money to learn., then all you need to do is record videos, write lessons, or simply write a report outlining how to do something. The nice thing is that all of this can be done with a home computer and a smartphone.

With a little online marketing skill, you can have your idea out in front of potential buyers quickly and start bringing in money. The key to this type of content is continual improvement. Make sure to keep a list of buyers and other interested parties (collect email addresses, social media connections etc…) and stay in contact with them about every update you make. Repeat buyers will keep this business model going for a very long time.

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