Starting an online business from scratch – What options do you have?
Working from home and escaping the 9 to 5 rat race is becoming an increasingly popular concept as more job opportunities for online workers and numerous avenues for entrepreneurs continue to open on the internet.
If you are someone looking at the prospect of adding an additional income to your current salary or if you want to work from home full time, a little hard work and some dedication is all that is needed. You may need to take a slight pay cut after starting while you build up your online rep or business, while in some professions becoming a freelancer pays more in the long run.
Finding gainful employment and hiring employees online
Honestly, there is no definitive answer to this question because your options are almost unlimited. You can become an online teacher, a writer or blogger, digital marketer, web developer, graphic designer, trade stocks and shares, trade or invest in crypto.
There are also plenty of jobs online for online law consultants, fashion designers, IT support personnel, customer service reps, online doctors, fitness instructors, and accountants. You can even become an online vacation rental specialist renting out people’s properties on sites like Airbnb as a ‘Superhost’.
If you haven’t already got the picture here, the list of jobs you can do online is endless. With internet speeds so fast and numerous workflow, time tracking, video conferencing apps, collaboration tools, and chat + video apps, most professionals with office-based skills or computer skills can find work online.
There are always companies out there looking to hire professionals while if you are a business owner, then conversely, you can find a wealth of human capital ready to work for your business. Check out Upwork where there are tens of thousands of job advertised and thousands of companies looking to employ online freelancers.
What are you options for starting an online business?
Working online does not always mean having to work for someone. You can start your own online business if you have the right knowledge and plenty of time on your hands.
The operative word here is ‘plenty of time’ because starting an online business is not an overnight job. You may see plenty of advertisements out there claiming you can make thousands per week by signing up to a course or you can turn a small investment into a goldmine.
Although some of these claims are legit, it often takes years to get to the advertised earning levels and most people give up before they get anywhere near. Meanwhile, the large majority of these ‘get rich quick schemes’ are just con artists looking to scam you out of your money by preying on the fact that you want to work online.
Affiliate marketing businesses
Some of the most popular businesses to start are affiliate marketing websites. You can use your social media, set up an email marketing lists, or/and create a website that advertises products or services sold by another company.
Have a look at this website for online casinos. This site uses accurate content reviews, news, game reviews, and provides educational content about this very confusing industry for newbies. The site helps new players get acquainted with the online casino scene while it also assists experienced players looking for a new casino and bonus deals.
When someone signs up to a casino and plays real money or crypto games, the affiliate website earns an affiliate commission every time the player makes a deposit. As you can imagine, there is a lot of money to be made.
The same affiliate marketing concept applies to Amazon affiliate marketing, selling software, encouraging people to sign up for FX trading sites, credit cards, selling health products, or encouraging people to sign up to a crypto currency exchange.
eCommerce business
eCommerce is a tricky business to succeed in because there are so many websites out there already selling almost every product you can think of.
Starting an eCommerce business takes a lot of hard work and dedication. You will need to become an expert in email marketing, blogging, paid ads, search engine optimisation, web design, and graphic designer or have a budget for these skills.
Some people just have a knack for churning out eCommerce site after eCommerce site and do very well out of it. They corner the market with a good price and a likeable trustworthy brand which usually harnesses power from social media marketing.
Professional online business
Another viable option is to create a website advertising services in your area of expertise. You could be an IT professional and offer remote email and tech support services or an online accountant.
The key to bringing in customers is good marketing and offering great services that encourage positive feedback as well as word of mouth. You can also sign up to freelancer websites like People Per Hour, UpWork, and Freelancer. When people want to know more about the services and when you apply for jobs on these websites, you can direct them to your website.
Recapping your path to starting an online business
It may take time to build up a solid customer base and income which enables you to quit your 9 to 5. Working online and earning a decent income will not happen overnight for 99.99% of people.
As long as you stick to it, read plenty of guides to working online, and set yourself realistic expectations, you can cut out the rush hour traffic jams and queues and even earn more than per year than your current occupation.
You can also check out our blog covering 5 online businesses thriving in 2020 for further reading.
