More people than ever before have gotten a taste of working from home the last few years — and many workers don’t foresee themselves heading back to the office anytime soon, finding that work-from-home life helps them balance work and life without a tedious commute.
Working from home is one excellent way to achieve even more control over your work-life balance as well as gain total control over your workflow.
Working from home is one excellent way to achieve even more control over your work-life balance as well as gain total control over your workflow. Nowadays you need little more than a winning idea, a computer, some start-up capital, and a relevant skillset to launch your own small business.
What type of business you decide to start depends on your goals and background, but here are some smart ideas worth considering.
About one-fifth of all retail sales in 2020 occurred online, according to Digital Commerce 360. Ecommerce soared by nearly one-third (32.4 percent) for the same year. This just goes to show the promising growth trajectory of the online sales industry over time, especially as more people become accustomed to its convenience and accessibility.
One appealing aspect of ecommerce is the choice between traditional inventory management and drop shipping. Both involve running an online storefront, but drop shipping entails outsourcing the storage, packing, and shipping to the manufacturer or wholesaler.
Are you a relative expert in something? You may be able to use your skills to advise other individuals or organizations on how to optimize their performance in the area of your expertise. Gaining customers’ trust and soliciting new business will require building up a track record of successful projects and partnerships.
Freelancing is one of the most flexible small business ideas out there, particularly because it can be a part-time or full-time endeavor depending on your needs. As Verizon Small Business outlines, graphic design and content writing are two of the most prevalent freelance markets. Other ideas include — but are not limited to — photography, web development, social media marketing, and research.
Do you have a unique story to tell? Or do you want to dish out your expertise in the form of a web publication for all the world to read? Picking up a side hustle as a blogger or an eBook writer could be the way to go, as there are more self-publishing avenues out there than ever before.
Online businesses are free from the usual limitations of geography, meaning people can connect from all around the world. Many people need assistance managing their affairs and are willing to look remotely for the right person — which could be you.
As a virtual assistant, you could carry out tasks such as:
This is just a sampling of what an online assistant might handle on any given day. Just make sure you’ve developed a system to stay organized.
From behind your home command center, with a good marketing dashboard at your fingertips, you have the power to analyze revenue streams, campaign performance, click-through-rates, and customer journeys galore. You can also pursue certifications, like those offered for Google Ads, to stay on top of strategies for modern marketing — and show proof of your skillset to potential customers, too. Of course, how you market your own online business will also show customers what you can do, so prioritize your website and portfolio for best results.
These clever ideas for online businesses just scratch the surface of what’s possible with an internet connection and some gumption these days. If you know you want to work for yourself while maximizing your opportunities, consider what you can offer to customers online.
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