Every small business owner dreams of turning a profit, a feat that can sometimes be elusive, especially during the initial stages. Despite limited resources, success is within your grasp if you explore low-cost business ideas with high profit potential.
Indeed, starting a profitable small business doesn’t always require significant capital.
You can create a profitable small business if you choose the right idea that resonates with your skills and market needs, a model that’s lean on expenditure yet robust in revenue generation.
So, even if funds are tight, remember that the opportunity to create a profitable venture is still very much attainable.
Selecting the Top Low Cost Business Ideas With High Profit: Our Methodology
When evaluating low-cost business ideas with high profit potential, it’s important to focus on criteria that emphasize minimal initial investment and high revenue potential. Here’s an assessment of key factors, each rated on their importance:
- Low Startup Costs
- Importance: Essential (10/10)
The business idea should require minimal initial investment, particularly in terms of capital expenditure.
- Importance: Essential (10/10)
- High Profit Margins
- Importance: Essential (10/10)
The idea should offer high profit margins, ensuring that a significant portion of revenue translates into profit.
- Importance: Essential (10/10)
- Scalability Potential
- Importance: High (9/10)
The business should have the potential to scale up easily without incurring substantial additional costs.
- Importance: High (9/10)
- Market Demand and Target Audience
- Importance: High (9/10)
A clear understanding of market demand and a well-defined target audience are crucial for ensuring steady revenue.
- Importance: High (9/10)
- Ease of Operation and Management
- Importance: High (9/10)
The business should be easy to operate, ideally with the ability to manage remotely or with minimal staff.
- Importance: High (9/10)
- Revenue Model Clarity
- Importance: High (9/10)
A clear and straightforward revenue model is essential for predicting and maximizing profits.
- Importance: High (9/10)
- Online Presence and Digital Marketing
- Importance: High (9/10)
Leveraging online platforms for marketing and sales can significantly reduce costs and increase reach.
- Importance: High (9/10)
- Flexibility and Adaptability
- Importance: Moderate (7/10)
The ability to adapt to market changes and trends can sustain the business’s profitability over time.
- Importance: Moderate (7/10)
- Minimal Regulatory Hurdles
- Importance: High (9/10)
Choosing a business with fewer regulatory barriers can reduce startup time and complexity.
- Importance: High (9/10)
- Environmental and Social Responsibility
- Importance: Moderate (6/10)
Engaging in environmentally and socially responsible practices can enhance brand appeal and customer loyalty.
- Importance: Moderate (6/10)
Low Cost Business Ideas with High Profit Potential
Here are some low cost business ideas with high profit potential to get you started.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketers simply earn a small portion of each sale that they send to a brand. So you don’t really need anything to get started. Here are some key features and benefits of affiliate marketing:
- Minimal startup requirements: Unlike other businesses, affiliate marketing doesn’t require a physical storefront, inventory, or significant initial investment.
- Profit potential: Though it might take time to build up an audience that will help you earn, once you get going, it should be mostly profit.
- Flexibility and scalability: As an affiliate marketer, you have the ability to choose the products or services you promote, and you can scale your business to any size.
Virtual Assistant Service
Virtual assistants help businesses with everything from inbox management to social media posting. Here’s what makes this a profitable business:
- Low startup costs: All you really need is a computer and an internet connection.
- Wide range of services: Depending on your skills, you can offer various services like email management, scheduling, data entry, graphic design, social media management, and more.
- High earning potential: If you possess specialized skills, such as SEO or graphic design, you can charge higher rates for your services.
Online Influencer Service
Influencers partner with brands to share their thoughts on products and services with their audience. If you have a sizeable following on social media or a blog, this can be an easy way to bring in some extra money.
Social Media Marketing
You could offer your services as a social media marketing professional. This involves more than just posting; it’s about crafting brand narratives and engagement strategies.
You would be developing and scheduling content, interacting with followers, and driving brand awareness. This low-cost business idea is in demand and could provide high profits if handled adeptly.
Digital Marketing
Consider offering a broader range of digital marketing solutions. This extends to search engine optimization, content marketing, email marketing, and more.
Your role? Drive online visibility, convert website traffic into sales, and improve brand presence. With an internet connection and expertise, this business idea offers substantial profit potential with minimal costs.
Business Consulting
Business Consulting is a venture where you use your existing business knowledge to help other brands.
- Provide valuable insights and advice based on your expertise
- Business consulting is more about selling expertise than investing money
- High demand as businesses often seek outside perspectives to improve their performance
Recruiting
In the recruiting business, you assist companies in finding suitable candidates for specific jobs.
- The process is mostly online, making it a low-cost startup option
- High-level candidate placements often attract premium payments
- Businesses often need help finding the right candidates, leading to a consistent demand
Ebook Sales
Selling Ebooks online is a profitable venture for those who enjoy writing.
- Cost-effective as it involves writing an eBook and publishing it online, usually at a low cost
- Revenue generated from the sales is predominantly profit
- Enables you to share your knowledge or storytelling abilities with a wide audience
Blogging
Starting a blog mainly requires purchasing a domain and hosting. Then once you build a following, you can earn money by offering sponsored content to brands, sidebar ads or affiliate links.
Podcasting
Podcasting offers a similar business model, but just in an audio format. You might have to purchase some audio equipment. But overall it shouldn’t cost much.
YouTube Video Creation
YouTube lets video creators earn a portion of the ad revenue that their content brings in. With just some simple video equipment and time, you can build up enough of a following to earn profit on that platform.
Membership Website Development
If you want to start a website but don’t want to offer all of your content for free in blog form, you can start a membership site where people pay a recurring monthly fee to access your content.
Copywriting
Writers, you can work with brands on a contract basis to offer copywriting for websites, product pages or even advertisements.
Resume Service
If you have experience helping people get jobs, there are plenty of job seekers who would gladly pay for you to create resumes and cover letters for them.
Online Course Sales
For those with expertise in any given area, you can create an online course and charge a flat fee for people to access the course and take it at their own pace.
Digital Product Sales
There are also plenty of other digital products, from workbooks to design printables, that you can create without a ton of money and then sell online.
Web Design
For creative individuals with a flair for aesthetics and understanding of user experience, offering web design services can be a lucrative venture.
As a web designer, you’re tasked with crafting a website’s look and feel, ensuring it’s not only visually appealing but also user-friendly and responsive.
This service can be offered on a per-project basis to various brands and individuals who understand the power of an impressive online presence.
With just a computer, design software, and your creativity, you can launch this low-cost business idea with high-profit potential and start creating compelling digital landscapes.
App Development
Mobile application development is also very in-demand right now. If you have the ability to develop apps, you can either create your own or offer your services to third party companies.
IT Support
Tech savvy individuals can also offer general IT support to customers. You can even offer this service online or over the phone so you don’t need to pay for a location.
Ecommerce Reselling
If you want to start an ecommerce business, there are plenty of products you can purchase fairly inexpensively and then resell them at a profit.
Product Licensing
For those who have a product idea, offer the licensing rights to other companies so you don’t have to pay as much for development and manufacturing.
Real Estate Brokering
If you possess negotiation skills and a keen eye for property valuation, you can choose the right idea and become a real estate broker. With each successful sale, you earn commission and as your reputation grows, you can bring in extra agents to increase your reach and profits.
Remember, success here is contingent on solid networking and keeping a finger on the pulse of the local property market.
Bookkeeping
If you have a knack for managing finances and an eye for detail, why not offer bookkeeping services? All you need is a computer, bookkeeping software, and your financial acumen.
Your tasks would include maintaining financial records, preparing bills, and making budget plans for multiple business clients.
With businesses always in need of efficient bookkeepers, this low cost business idea with high profit potential can turn out to be a lucrative career choice.
Tax Prep
Tax season can be a stressful time for individuals and businesses alike, offering a perfect window for your expertise. If you have an understanding of the tax code, forms, and deadlines, you can provide your services for tax preparation.
Not only will you aid clients in avoiding tax penalties, but you’ll also be able to generate high profits within a short period annually. Just ensure you stay updated with the ever-changing tax regulations.
Translating
If you know multiple languages, you can offer translating services for authors, businesses and governmental organizations.
Stock Photo Sales
Photographers, sell your photos on stock photo sites to earn some passive income. All you need is a camera and a computer with internet connection.
Event Photography
You can also offer your services photographing special events. People are often willing to pay a premium for things like wedding photography.
Meal Planning
Lots of consumers are very health conscious and willing to pay for professional expertise on things like meal plans. You can charge even more if you’re registered as a dietician.
Personal Training
Or you could focus on fitness and work one-on-one with people looking to improve their workouts. Find a local gym you can work out of or consider creating workout plans for people you communicate with online.
Event Planning
If you have strong organizational and planning skills, you can start a wedding or event planning business without a physical office space.
Vacation Rentals Business
If you have a bit of extra space in your home or an access to an extra home or apartment, offer your space on vacation rental sites like Airbnb.
Property Management
Even if you don’t have your own space to offer, you could start a property management company where you help property owners in your area manage their tenants.
Home and Office Cleaning
Starting a cleaning service really just requires some basic supplies and transportation. You can work with both homeowners and businesses, and hopefully build some recurring clients.
Car Detailing
Or you could focus on cleaning cars. People are often willing to pay decent prices for full detailing services.
Catering
If you want to start a food business, catering can be fairly inexpensive, since you just need a kitchen but not a dining space. You can also charge a premium for certain types of events.
Food Truck Operation
Food trucks are also relatively inexpensive to get up and running — at least for food businesses. And you can earn a fair amount by targeting special events and high traffic areas.
Home Remodeling
If you have experience as a contractor or handyman, offer your services to homeowners looking to remodel their spaces.
Landscaping
Landscaping can be another profitable venture, since you really just need some basic equipment and transportation.
Handyman Service
Lots of homeowners are willing to pay for small repairs or additions like hanging curtain rods or patching walls. As a handyman, you can stay fairly busy and avoid setting up a physical storefront.
Recycling Service
You don’t need much of anything to start your own recycling service — mainly just a truck or van. You can charge people to pick up electronics or other items that are sometimes difficult to recycle or dispose of.
Electronics Repair Service
For those who are skilled with electronics, start a service where you fix people’s cracked phone screens or malfunctioning laptops.
Refurbished Electronics Sales
Or you could purchase people’s broken electronics at a discounted rate, then refurbish them and sell them at a profit.
In-Home Senior Care
Lots of seniors need help with everyday tasks, from cooking and cleaning to running errands. Start an in-home care service and build up a base of recurring clients.
Pet Sitting
If you love animals, offer to pet sit or walk or groom dogs in exchange for a fee.
Child Care
People also pay a premium for quality child care these days. You can even start a day care business where you care for multiple kids at once.
Test Prep Service
For those who are knowledgeable on a particular school subject, you can charge a decent amount to help high school or college students prepare for specific tests, from SATs to LSATs.
Life Coaching
If you want to provide general help for clients, start a life coaching business where you work with clients one-on-one, either in person or online.
Call Center Operation
Running a call center may require a bit more startup costs than others on the list. But you can run some small customer service operations remotely. And many companies are willing to pay a premium to have their customer service operations located nearby.
Travel Planning Service
Though the travel agency business has gone through some changes in recent years, you can still offer planning and consulting services to companies and large groups without a ton of overhead.
This video serves as a handy guide:
Tour Guide Service
Or if you live in an area that’s popular with tourists, you can offer a tour guide service or even sell guide books geared toward specific activities.
Here’s a quick glance at the top five low-cost business ideas with high profit potential across different sectors for easy comparison:
| Sector | Business Ideas | Initial Cost | Skills Needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Marketing | Affiliate Marketing | Low | Marketing, Audience Building |
| Administrative Services | Virtual Assistant Service | Low | Organizational Skills, Communication |
| Consultancy | Business Consulting | Low | Business Expertise, Analytical Skills |
| Publishing | Ebook Sales | Low | Writing, Creativity |
| Human Resources | Recruiting | Low | Human Resources, Communication |
Related reading: 51 Business Ideas for 2020
Image: Depositphotos.com
Nice list Annie. Add parking lot litter removal. Real estate management companies require this service to be provided at their commercial properties. It’s usually provided on foot, after hours, using simple hand tools. Almost as easy to do as going for a walk! I started doing this in 1981 as a side gig and grew it into a full-time business that I still operate. I share my experience in my book, Cleanlots, as well as offer free support.
It is surprising that there are so many business ideas. It is all about taking the effort to provide the service.
What a great list! Another business you hint at, but don’t outright say is the Dropshipping store! It’s a great way to earn some extra money with little input, as it can be very automated. I do mine through Shopify!
Very insightful information. I need more information Dropshipping Store
Your post is really very helpful. Thank you.
Another ideas I think that works is selling second hand clothes. I’ve seen sevaral people do it and make good money from it.