Running an online business definitely has its appeal,
but it's not a get rich quick scheme, and it's definitely
not about, you know, just like one simple life-changing trick.
It's actually a lot of work.
So in order to give you a leg up and to actually help you get
started, we've come up with some low cost business ideas, and
these ideas are, profitable.
And they're very simple so that you can actually keep your
day job while you transition into entrepreneurship.
Flip your thrift store finds.
Okay.
So I had to put this one in first because I think this
is just such a fun idea if you are a fashion enthusiast.
So if you love hitting up thrift stores and you love
styling outfits, then reselling your fines is just going to
be such a fun and creative way to make some side money.
Now, with this, the margins are huge.
You can find a radio shack ball cap, you know, for two bucks
and then flip it for forty.
Your potential customers, they want to buy cool stuff, but they just
don't have the patience to dig for that you know, one amazing find.
So what you can do is you can take advantage of this by positioning
yourself as a trustworthy curator, who has an eye for
unique and sought after pieces.
Go to thrift stores like value village, or you can set up a
relationship with a company that sells vintage clothing in bulk.
So when you do go that route, you're still going to have
to dig through to find those treasures, but it's going to be
even bigger margins that way.
So for example, Blind Vision, they sell super rare vintage
items and they have t-shirts that go for upwards of 700 bucks.
So there's definitely money to be made, but key tip key tip key tip:
you're going to have to get really good at product photography,
because that's how you're going to convey your product's value.
So check out good habits right here.
They do a good job of that.
Now we actually have an entire video on how to
take amazing product photos with just your smartphone.
So if you are interested in getting into the vintage game, then you're
definitely going to watch check this video out right up here.
Create handmade goods.
So, whether you make jewelry or whether you make furniture,
you can monetize your craft and your skills, and you can
sell your products online.
For example, you can make beaded jewelry, you can
make crochet clothing.
Both of those things are super in right now.
And then you can also try your hand at ceramics or digital paintings.
It's pretty much limitless, but the nice thing is, is
that you can devote as much or as little time as you want.
It's really your choice on how big you want to grow.
So, for example, Muse, my Pablo makes really cool items
out of recycled materials.
And these are actually made by hand and they take over a month to make.
And you can just really tell that these are a labor of love.
So when we're talking platforms like how you're actually going
to sell, definitely use platforms like Etsy, but you're also going
to want to make sure that you're setting up your own online store
and that's just going to give you more control and it's just going
to make it easier to track orders.
So I recommend using Shopify to get started.
It's powerful, it's easy to use, and it's just really going to
simplify running your business.
So I will leave a link for you guys in the description
box below in case you do want and claim your free trial,
sell social media services.
Brands and influencers depend on social media since it's a
big part of their business.
So whether it's photo retouching, video editing, copywriting,
content planning, there's so much manpower that goes
into social media presence and you can capitalize on it.
So what you're gonna want to do is you're gonna want to find
your strength, find where you fit into that puzzle and sell
your services as packages.
Build up your client base so that you're only working
on projects that you love and that you have fun doing.
And then you can even put clients on retainer so that
you have a reliable and steady.
So, for example, I just did a quick Instagram search using
the term social media expert.
And Ben Levitt came up and this is just an example, but
you can see that this landing page has options to book
one-on-ones and other services.
So you can use this as an example of how you can start getting
clients booked and ready to go.
Start a consultation business.
Whether you're a therapist or a vocal coach, you can sell your
consultation services online.
Position yourself as an expert and help people
reach their specific goals.
Integrate a calendar onto your website and allow customers to
book timeslots for zoom sessions.
And you can a 100% do this as you work your day job.
You're just going to want to slot your clients into
evenings and weekends.
Now I love this kind of a business because you
can set your own prices.
And since you're only exchanging time for money, you don't
actually have any real overhead.
So after marketing and website costs 100% of that money that you
make is yours for the keeping.
Minus the taxes of course.
Now I found this interior design service called
decorist or decorist.
Not sure how you pronounce that, but I thought this was super cool
because customers can get paired up with an expert and choose from
different packages to refresh their homes, love this concept.
And I think they do a really good job of packaging that consultation
service and giving different options for different price ranges.
Sell digital goods.
Okay.
So with consultation services, we are exchanging time for money.
And as we know, we have a limited amount of time.
We have 24 hours in the day.
So what that means is the amount of money that we can
make is going to be finite.
But if you are the type that wants to scale up and you want to grow
your business to be massive, then exchanging time for money probably
won't be the answer for you.
So in that case, you're going to want to look into
selling digital goods.
That's because with digital goods, you only spend the time
to make that digital good once.
And then that can be sold an infinite amount of time.
So choose a niche and then you're gonna want to play with it.
So are you in the food industry, then you can sell a cookbook.
Are you into music, then you can sell the rights to your work.
So for example, Matty Matheson, he is a Canadian chef.
He has an audio book and this audio book is a cookbook.
Where he shares heartwarming stories.
So that readers really feel like they're cooking
alongside the author.
And I just think this is genius and a really interesting spin on how
to make a digital good, different.
If you want even more inspiration to get started, we actually have
compiled a list of over a hundred in-demand business ideas, and
they're broken down into categories like fitness, apparel, gaming.
So click here to download the big list of business ideas for free.
So once you have your idea set up, whether you're selling
jewelry or audio books, every business is going to go through
a standard set of steps when it comes to getting started.
So here is a simple checklist to help you get
off the ground running.
So first things first is you're going to want
to validate your idea.
So this might sound harsh, but it's true.
That just because you think you have this amazing idea,
it doesn't mean that there's going to be a market for it.
So before investing your time and your energy into starting
your business, you're going to want to research how feasible
it is and whether what you're selling would have any interest.
So you can hire an agency to conduct market research for
you, but if you are balling on a shoestring budget, then
you're definitely gonna want to do a more of a DIY approach.
And we actually have an entire video that's going
to teach you how to find and validate winning products.
I will leave that link for you guys right here, so that you can click
to learn more and watch that after you're done watching this video.
All right.
So next step is to create your product.
So you validated your idea.
Now it's time to turn it into reality.
So whether you're selling a product or whether you're
selling a service, you actually need to go ahead and create it.
So find a manufacturer to bring your product to life or create
packages of your service offerings that you would be selling online.
Now, however you bring your product into this world, just keep in mind,
just remember that it does not have to be perfect at this stage.
You just have to make sure that it's done.
Done is better than perfect.
And you're going to have every opportunity in the world to make
your products better as you go.
So just go easy on yourself at this stage and enjoy the process.
Next you're going to want to get your business finances in order.
So open up a separate bank account so that you can
keep your personal and your business expenses separate.
And it's just going to make things a lot easier.
Come tax time, make sure that you are also registering with
the government as a business.
And then as your business, finances get more complicated.
As you start to grow, consider hiring a professional accountant
or a tax professional.
Both of those things could be options for you in the long run.
So next up, you're going to want to create your website.
So if you want to start an online business, you're going
to need to have a website.
And if you want to make money online, you're going to need
to accept online payments.
So Shopify is the leading e-commerce software for a reason,
but of course, you're gonna want to make sure that you're
choosing the platform that makes sense for you and your business.
So once you're happy with the platform that you choose.
You can make your website yourself.
You definitely don't need to hire a developer unless you want to.
And then after all that, you're going to want to
market your business.
So just because you exist, it doesn't mean that people
are going to know about you.
And I definitely had to find that one out the hard way.
Way back in the day I launched a blog and I did the launch
and I heard crickets and I just assumed that people
would, would come flocking.
But the truth is, is that you need to continually
market your business.
So whether that is influencer partnerships or Facebook ads,
whatever it is, marketing is going to be an ongoing process for you.
And it can be a super fun and rewarding challenge.
So shameless plug here: if you are starting your own business
and you want to learn how to market it successfully, then
you're definitely going to want to subscribe to this channel
because we are constantly dropping new content on how to
grow a successful online business and how to market yourself.
Quick words of wisdom.
You all seem to really like this in a previous video.
So we're doing it again.
So what I want to say is that starting a business, especially
if it is your first time around, it can be very overwhelming.
So remember that if things aren't going according to
plan, no one cares about your success as much as you do.
And what I mean by this is if you fail, the world still continues.
And I think we all picture people like booing in the
stands if we strike out.
But in reality, people are so wrapped up in their own lives
that no one really cares.
And this is kind of a harsh truth, but it's also a liberating
one because it allows us to go for it without inhibition.
Now on the other hand, if you do succeed, then the payoff
is going to be immense.
You can find financial freedom, you can find lifelong friends,
you can adopt a new lifestyle that you've always wanted.
So give it your all.
Don't be afraid of failure.
And of course have fun.
We only get one life.
So make sure that it is one that is full of joy and that you're
spending your time doing the things that you actually love to do.
And I think starting your business can be that key for you.
All that being said.
If you still aren't sure what to sell and you actually need help
finding a product still, then make sure that you're checking
out our free 40 minute webinar.
That's going to teach you how to find winning product
ideas, how to validate those ideas and how to get started.
So just click this link right over here, and that's
going to help you get started with this free training now.
All right.
It is comment time.
So let's go through some of your comments and I
will answer a few of you.
Okay.
But before we get into this, I just want to say, I'm going to
try my very best to pronounce all of your names correctly.
But if I have mispronounced, let me know in the comment section
and yeah, let me know what the actual pronunciation is.
But anyways, here we have Qaisar Abbas and he is asking
if we would recommend any more sites or tools that we could
use to check out products.
So I love this question because he is talking about
another business idea that I did not mention on this list.
So that would be dropshipping.
You can start a dropshipping store.
If you are looking to get started on sourcing your products and
started into the dropshipping game, then here are a couple of
sites that you can check out.
So check out Alibaba, check out Oberlo, CJ Dropshipping
and Supply Me Direct.
These are all directories where you could potentially find
reliable drop shipping partners.
Okay.
Next comment.
Christian Moreno : are you at the top of the Spotify billboards
because you might be the hottest single of the winter.
Love the creativity and love just putting yourself
on blast in the comments.
And then next comment is from DATTA.
So DATTA says: thank you so much for posting this video
for free, besides teaching you motivated as well.
And I think that's always the goal with these videos.
We want to make sure that you feel empowered and that you
also have the tools to succeed.
Half of the battle of being a business owner is that mindset.
And we definitely want to make sure that you are well-equipped
with those positive mindset, with that empowered way of thinking and
also equipped with the education that it takes to build a business.
So that is it for today's video guys.
I hope that this was helpful.
If you have a very specific question, make sure that you
are leaving it in the comments section so that we can get back
to you in a future video, perhaps.
And also if you've got something funny up your sleeve, leave me
a comment with a funny comment.
Yeah.
Just leave me a funny comment.
That's always fun.
But if you are looking for more simple and actionable tips to
grow your online business, make sure that you are subscribed
to learn with Shopify.
This channel right here.
Because we are constantly releasing new videos.
We are releasing a new video every week and that's going to
help you start, run and grow your successul online business.
So make sure that you subscribe, hit that notification bell, and
I will see you in the next one.
I'm your host, Michelle.
And I'll see you next time.
Bye.