Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2021. Its comments on Google showing its own results, Facebook and Instagram advertising, and executives who lost their jobs “in the crisis” reflect that time, and the remarks on home daycare and selling home-made food refer to Spanish rules of the time.
If you are looking for business ideas you can start from home without having to rent or buy commercial premises, I hope these small businesses help you get going. As we always say, even if some of these ideas look more like ways to earn some extra money, everything depends on your creativity, your ingenuity and other advice we have been sharing on this blog over the years.
So, to the question of what business you can start from home that needs no investment and no premises and is also profitable, we hope to give at least some kind of answer.
That said, let me remind you that you need to be very clear on whether the laws of your country allow you to carry out certain activities in your own home, or whether your neighbours’ association (in Spain, the comunidad de vecinos) will object to some of them. This can vary from Spain to other countries and vice versa.
For example, in many countries it is feasible to set up a small daycare in your own home, but in Spain, at least, they won’t make it very easy for you. In the same way, the classic idea of making sweets or home-made food in your own kitchen may be fine at some point as a way to earn extra money, but as soon as it becomes a more successful business, you could run into problems.
See also: Tips for starting a business from home
Home business ideas to make money with no investment and no premises
1. Niche websites and blogs
When people talk about creating a business with no investment from the comfort of your own home, it is practically compulsory to mention blogs and websites. In this case we are talking about niche blogs, and we will explain their advantages.
When it comes to SEO (something you will have to learn if you want to make money with this), the more concrete and specific a niche is, the better, because Google now separates niches more than ever. So if you create a niche site about, say, men’s accessories, it will always be harder to rank than a niche site about “men’s leather belts”.
Of course, a niche can also be about a subject you know inside out, whether it is cars, psychology or anything else. But some niches are more saturated than others, and some niche blogs are more profitable than others because advertising pays much better there. Without a doubt, an excellent idea for a home business with no need for premises.
How can a niche blog make money?
The two most common ways to make money with niche blogs are advertising and affiliate links. When you create a blog you can use Google AdSense to place ads on it. You can also sign up for the affiliate programmes of different platforms, Amazon among them.
Are blogs still profitable?
I can tell you from experience that although CPC (cost per click) has gone up, it now takes more work to get visitors. Competition is fiercer and Google now shows its own results in the search engine, but of course you can still make money with blogs.
And when it comes to niche blogs, some entrepreneurs run more than 200 of them, so however little traffic each gets, however little each sells and however little each earns daily from advertising, a little from a lot of sites can add up to more than a lot from a few.
2. Start an online service business
An internet company based on services can be the perfect business to run from home. The overhead is roughly €0. All you need is an internet connection, whatever software you will be using and your talent.
The good thing about this kind of business is that you need no investment and no product inventory.
Which entrepreneurs do best in this business?
The truth is that the best-run home businesses tend to be led by creative professionals. For example, if you are a professional copywriter, you can effectively become part of the marketing department of a small company that decides to outsource some of its advertising.
- Graphic design.
- Ad creation.
- Video editing for advertising campaigns.
- Content creation for company blogs or independent professionals.
- Scripts for YouTube channels.
- Copywriting.
- And a thousand other things.
Small businesses are asking for all of these services today, and they are things you can do from home.
See also: This woman earns $950 an hour writing from her sofa
With this idea you can focus on being a freelancer earning money from home, or you can think big (as others have already done) and start a company that offers all the services listed above. To do it that way, at first you can rely on hiring freelancers.
It is a matter of running the numbers and studying the feasibility of this business idea.
See also: 22 business ideas for women who want to start a business
3. Buy wholesale and sell retail
When we talk about home businesses, we can’t ignore this way of making money either. And with this business idea we are not necessarily talking about selling online, although that is a very real possibility.
The idea is to buy wholesale from suppliers and sell the products individually at a profit.
Some entrepreneurs have specialised in this kind of business for years and are true experts. In fact, they buy lots of items before or after the season at a big discount, and when the season arrives they can even afford to sell for less than the official sellers while still making a considerable margin.
When I mention buying wholesale, AliExpress has probably come to mind. And yes, you can sometimes find bargains among its bulk products to sell locally, even to your neighbours. But there are many other ways to buy different kinds of products in bulk and sell them by the piece.
4. Make money with your voice
If your voice has something distinctive about it, or if you have ever been told you have the voice of a radio presenter or a dubbing actor, the truth is that today you can offer your voice to meet the high demand for voice-overs on the internet, whether for company adverts or for Facebook ads by people selling their products or courses.
How do you start this business from home?
There are two ways:
The first is to find a way to make yourself known for this, or to approach directly the people and companies you see recording adverts or making videos with a voice-over.
The second is to sign up for one of the platforms that already exist for this purpose. At the moment, in Spain, there are Bancodevoces.es, vozalia.com, vocesdecine.com and many more.
Obviously these platforms will also take a commission, but they will probably charge the client a higher price.
If you also speak another language, you can reach a bigger market with your service.
5. Removing personal data or false information about people online
There are already companies devoted to this. With the freedom of the internet, anyone can discredit another person in bad faith and on purpose.
In the same way, some people want to remove personal data indexed by search engines, and that is where a professional in this field comes in. That said, most companies now have a section where anyone can request that information be removed.
The truth is that many business owners don’t know how to do it or don’t have time to do it, so they would be willing to pay someone to clean up the company’s image, just as some families might turn to these services because of a problem involving their child or themselves.
Not to mention that many companies hire people to leave positive comments about the company on forums or websites, to leave negative comments about competitors, or to get negative comments about their company removed from forums.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is what the online world is like. Plenty of information just a click away, but most of that information, like most of the comments, is as phoney as a wooden nickel. Still, problems create opportunities, and if you are looking for a home business this could be one of them, or at least a way to earn some extra money.
6. Advertising for local businesses
Small businesses in your town make one mistake: they think the internet isn’t for them because they live off customers from the neighbourhood.
That may be true for some small businesses, but does a neighbourhood florist know that a good social media campaign around key dates could double its sales or more? Does a beautician with a quiet diary know that a small ad campaign could fill every day with clients?
And of course, any business can increase not only its number of customers but also the range of products it sells.
You don’t need to take a “traffic manager” course or anything fancy like that. Learning what you need to run advertising campaigns on Facebook is genuinely simple. Even I learned it without really meaning to.
If you decide to start one of these home businesses, you will probably have the chance not only to create ad campaigns but also, as mentioned earlier, to add services such as editing promotional videos and even writing ad copy. It all starts with getting started.
7. Sell your own handicrafts
We already gave the example of this young mother who started out with an idea to earn some extra money from home and ended up with a profitable business that now ships orders all over Spain.
Her business consists of handcrafting wooden figures with the name of a customer’s child or partner. Today her product range has grown, and she can offer to decorate practically an entire bedroom with her handmade products.
All she needed to start this business was a little Facebook advertising and a few satisfied customers. The rest came on its own; in fact, she had to hire other people to keep up with demand. The business is BUBU Decoración Infantil.
8. Express clothing alterations
Since the big clothing stores stopped offering custom alterations (most of them, at least), there is a business opportunity for people who know how to sew. Where I’m from, if I buy a suit on a Saturday afternoon, I know where to go to have it ready in two hours or first thing on Sunday.
What’s more, I can even take it in on a Sunday. When I’m away from home, I don’t know where to find this service, because searching online you rarely see an ad from someone offering a quick weekend service like this. You won’t get rich with this business, but it will give you some extra income, and who knows, if demand grows, we should never rule out the possibility of ending up with a proper company run from our own home.
More profitable home businesses you can start with no money
9. Selling gift baskets is an excellent business
Be creative. To start this business you need to buy or make the products that will go into the basket. And baskets can vary from Christmas to Valentine’s Day.
Think of a basket of bath products where you make the candles and the soap yourself, shaping them however you like and adding bath salts. For other times of the year you can put together a basket of all kinds of home-made sweets.
The good thing about this business is that if the basket looks eye-catching and original, your first customers can be your own friends and neighbours. Thinking a bit bigger, the business can move out of your home and rent a space in a shopping centre on key dates.
You can even sell your gift baskets to local shops in your area. If you organise it well, this can be an excellent and very profitable business idea.
10. The relaxing power of feathers: a massage that stands out
One of the businesses you can start from home is massage, but masseurs stopped standing out from one another a long time ago. I once tried an anti-stress therapy that consisted of a massage done with feathers.
I promise I had never felt such relaxation and pleasure. Where I’m from there is no centre offering this kind of therapy, and it is the kind of therapy that people come back for once they have tried it. And when you tell people about it, they ask where they can get it. In other words, it is a business with demand.
It is one of the simplest home businesses to put into practice.
11. Yoga instructor
This is one of the home business ideas that entrepreneurs with knowledge of this discipline are making the most of. The number of people interested in this Eastern discipline keeps growing. Many people don’t hold back from treating themselves a few days a week to this kind of practice, which helps them keep their physical and mental balance. You can run this business from your own home by setting up a space or a room for it, and some people even use their garden to practise outdoors.
You can also offer home visits for more personalised sessions, or create groups to practise in some quiet spot outside the city.
12. Personal trainer: a classic among home business ideas
We talked about the personal trainer business a while ago, perhaps with more of a focus on the luxury market. But with growing supply and demand, the hourly rate of a personal trainer is starting to come down, and if the trainer also has some knowledge of sports nutrition, that can add extra value.
It used to be said that in Spain personal training wasn’t a profitable business because there was no demand. Believe me when I say that today more and more personal trainers make a living from this profession.
13. Computer repair for businesses and individuals
Clearly, if you are good with computers, electronics or fixing household appliances, you can set aside a space in your home to earn extra money with this service, and if it works, who knows, it could even turn into a profitable company. Advertising yourself for this is easy these days, since you have classified ads, social networks and so on.
14. Online tutoring and private lessons
There is not much to say about this way of making money, which has been around for a long time. If your experience allows you to give support classes to university students and prepare them for exams in the subjects they tend to get stuck on, go for it. However, there is no reason to focus only on students.
Why not give some classes on how to write a good CV to find a job, or on any other subject you happen to be good at?
These days it is easier than ever to find clients anywhere on the planet thanks to the internet.
See also: 37 small businesses with low investment and high returns
15. Personal and/or business coaching
Coaching is reaching more and more areas of our daily lives. You can find sports coaches, personal coaches, management coaches and so on. Many people need to steer their lives properly and to be taught how to handle certain situations.
The real effectiveness of coaches has often been questioned, but the truth is that many people say they have discovered the secret to putting their lives on the right track.
Likewise, executives who lost their jobs because of the crisis can always offer their experience and training to guide a company’s staff and bring some value to its leaders.
16. Personal finance coach
One thing I have learned after all this time writing this blog is that some people lack the most basic knowledge of finance and investing. We are not talking about acting as an investment intermediary, but about helping people understand how money works, the types of investment vehicles and financial markets, how to make a first investment in equities, and so on.
That is basically what I have been doing for some time in my articles on investing and financial education, but many people would pay for the chance to have someone come to their home who can adapt to a beginner’s level in finance and investing and answer every single question that comes up.
17. Wedding planning
Once again, this business idea is very popular in the United States, while in Spain it may be aimed more at the luxury market. Perhaps, though, the approach could be changed here to offer a little help to two people who want to get married.
For work reasons, some people don’t have much time to prepare every detail of the wedding, so a little help from someone who picks up the dress, chooses the church, the decoration and so on never goes amiss. Or that person can prepare a dream wedding.
That would be the basic version, because if you think you can turn this way of making money into a big business specialising in wedding preparation, go for it. It is worth saying that, as with other professions, the figure of the wedding planner is becoming more and more important in Spain.
18. Photography is one of the businesses you can start from home
We can agree that photography is a very saturated profession, but I must tell you that good taste is in very short supply. If you are a good photographer, creative and with good taste, you should have no trouble making money with this profession, which you can start without commercial premises at first.
A photography lover can advertise to cover weddings, first communions and christenings.
19. Childcare and/or pet care services
Both sectors can have demand. The classic babysitting business, which is really more a way to earn extra money, can now be pitched at couples’ sex lives. Did you know that some sexologists recommend that couples set aside a moment of intimacy every week to do whatever they need to do? There you have the slogan for your next babysitting ad 🙂
When children arrive, especially when they are very young, that moment of intimacy is lost and the couple has no time for themselves. That is why, right now, instead of the babysitter going to the family’s home to look after the child, the child goes to the babysitter’s home so that the parents have the playing field all to themselves 🙂
Something similar happens with pet care. We know there are kennels where a family can take their animal if they have to leave town or go on holiday. That costs money, and some families don’t want their animal to spend a few days without human warmth, so many would rather leave it in a home with someone they trust who likes animals.
And these are the home business ideas with which I hope to show that, whatever your skills and/or knowledge, you can make the most of them and turn them into a business or a way to make money. We all have a gift, a talent or an area where we have something to offer. Find it and monetise it.
See also: 38 ideas to make extra money from home with no investment
Featured image: Tim Wilson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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