Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2010 during the economic crisis. Its remark about free websites and hosting provided by Google, and its picture of online business in general, are dated.
A business with no investment can still be a profitable business. In fact, as we explained in our article on how to start a business with no money, it’s sometimes even advisable to start little by little and lay solid foundations. That said, something similar happens as in the world of investing: the most profitable businesses often require bigger investments.
Today there’s a wide range of businesses we can start with little money or with no investment at all. We covered some of those you can start with no investment in a previous article, 10 business ideas with no investment.
We’ve also gathered a few ideas so you can start other kinds of businesses that have been growing in times of crisis.
1. Internet businesses
You can sell all kinds of products, either your own or other people’s in exchange for a commission. You can even start with a free website and free hosting, provided by Google itself.
Of course, the hard part of this business is getting your site known and battling the competition in the same online business as you. But as we always say, with effort and persistence you can do it if you firmly believe in your own abilities. Still, do your research and ask around about which options and companies are currently reliable to work for online, because you could end up wasting your time. There’s a lot of fraud on the internet.
On the other hand, if you’re willing to make a minimal investment online, there are network marketing business systems. Network marketing is multilevel business programs, but run over the internet. Being online has the advantage that you don’t have to visit customers face to face. But if you don’t know much about how the internet works and can’t afford to waste time, I don’t recommend this kind of business, unless you’re willing to learn and put time into it.
2. MLM or multilevel businesses
Multilevel marketing, or pyramid selling, is one of the oldest businesses around, and it must work, because every time a country goes through a crisis it seems to become the way out for thousands of people looking to make money. Not everyone is cut out for it, and not everyone makes it to the end, but there are clearly always people who end up striking gold in multilevel businesses.
It comes down to the same things: drive, constant work, dedication and all the skills and qualities any successful business owner needs.
3. Businesses based on knowledge or ideas
These are definitely my favorites, because they’re usually our passion. They’re the businesses we build from what we know. If you like football, you’d enjoy teaching at a football academy; if you like martial arts, you’ll enjoy teaching them, and so on. Or they can be business ideas we’d love to carry out, where all we need is a little push from someone who tells us it’s possible and that it’ll surely go well.
They can also be ideas we know could be a success but don’t know how to approach. For those cases, we’ve written about how to put your ideas into practice.
Remember what Napoleon Hill said: “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
Further reading
- Why new businesses fail
- Common mistakes Spanish entrepreneurs make
- Business guidelines from a drug cartel
- The entrepreneur’s mindset
Featured image: Nenad Stojković, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
