7 Business Ideas That Can Put Money in Your Pocket Today 

OUTLINE:

1. Introduction
2. 7 Business Ideas That Make Money

• Consulting
• Selling on Amazon
• Dropshipping
• Software Development
• Social Media Marketing/Management
• Web Design and Management
• Virtual Reality

3. Conclusion

 

Looking for business ideas that can put money in your pocket today, tomorrow or sometime soon? Thing is, there’re tons of business ideas out there that choosing begins to feel like a losing game for many.

This dilemma has left many should-be entrepreneurs in dire straits, paralyzed by over analysis and unable to make the move to becoming entrepreneurs.

Good news is, there are millions of other regular people who have braved it and started their own businesses. Reports say there are over 28 million SMBs in the US alone and over 20 million SMEs in Nigeria. Yours could be next.

Whether you’re broke, out of work, unemployed, retired, seeking a side gig, a student, single parent; name it, this article will highlight 7 business opportunities you can tap into to turn your fortunes around.

 

Here are:

7 Business Ideas That Make Money

1. Consulting

 

Have people repeatedly come to you for answers on any subject matter, sports, fitness, weight loss, politics, relationship, finances, religion…?

Do they always leave smiling and satisfied?

Do they refer other seekers to you, who also leave smiling and referring others your way?

If yes (to any/all) then you’re the go-to guy/girl. In other words, you’re a consultant, unpaid consultant that is. You’ve been offering your services pro bono, not a bad thing if you ask me.

But if you ask me for a business idea I’d tell you you already have one, formalize it.

• Register your business or company name,
• Get an office (you can start from home),
• Print business cards,
• Set up a simple website
• Blog and market your business, etc

 

If you’re an expert, knowledgeable person or certified professional, you are one step from being a (well) paid consultant. Neil Patel for instance, reportedly charges up thousands of dollars per hour for consultations.

2. Selling on Amazon

 

With a CEO like Jeff Bezos, over 310 million active customers worldwide, hundreds of millions of products to sell and counting, Amazon is simply amazing.

What started out as an online bookshop now reads like a Silicon Valley story. Available in nearly every region and selling anything imaginable, Amazon has disrupted (online) retail as we know it.

Amazon now allows third-party sellers register with them and list products in their marketplace, whose orders can be Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA). Thanks to efficient management and organization, same day fulfillment is also now a thing.

Becoming an Amazon seller is easy, you’ll need a few of the items you want to sell at hand and restock before you run out of stock, you don’t need a big warehouse either,but they’d take a percentage of sales as commission.

 

3. Dropshipping

In dropshipping, you need not own any stock. You simply market and showcase suppliers or manufacturers product photos on your retail website (or dropshipping store) at your chosen markup.

When shoppers place orders with you, you take out your profit and send the cost price plus customer order details to your supplier or manufacturer, who picks, packs and ships item(s) to your customer(s) anywhere in the world.

Popular categories include apparel and clothing accessories like sunglasses, custom tees, hats, wrist watches, etc. Some dropshippers also sell gadgets, automotive parts, and so on. There are many dropshopping business ideas you can try.

With 1.66 billion online shoppers contributing over $2.3 trillion to global retail revenue last year alone, which is expected to top $4.88 tr by 2021, online retail including dropshipping is something to watch.

You can open a dropshipping store on Shopify and join over 500,000 other ecommerce merchants. This way you have more control and branding options plus you can customize your store to your taste with apps like Oberlo which helped Irwin Dominguez go from $0-$1m in dropshipping sales in just 8 months.

 

4. Software Development

 

Software developers create applications for both mobile and PC. There are software and apps for all sorts, to-do lists, shopping lists, diet calendar, budgeting, planning, software as a service (SaaS), and much more that help us run and manage our day to day activities more efficiently.

Someone or people have to develop these applications, update and maintain them regularly. That’s the job of the software developer/engineer.

Big names such as Google, Apple, Dropbox, Instagram, etc employ skillful software programmers. Fin-Tech companies also require their services as well as businesses that cut across several industries.

If you know how to code or develop software/apps you can also set up your own company or offer freelance services at a good fee.

5. Social Media Marketing/Management

 

Billions of people spend billions of hours on social networks like Facebook and Instagram on daily basis. Smart businesses are taking advantage of this immense market to promote their goods and services.

Companies hire social media marketers to maintain their social media accounts, and market their products or services to new prospective buyers and clients.

There have been user concerns about the blurring lines between social and commerce which has seen the likes of Facebook adjust their algorithms (social first) to favor social feeds over business content.

This is where skillful social media marketers/managers are needed to drive engagement, traffic and conversions. You can build an agency offering social media marketing/management services.

 

6. Web Design and Development

Forward thinking business aren’t just thinking of building a business website, they’re paying more attention to their online presence. Online or digital visibility being key for business growth in this era.

Ecommerce businesses like dropshipping run entirely online. There are many such businesses plus others whose life cycle involves online transactions at some point.

Web designers are paid good money to design websites. There are currently over 1.5 billion websites out there, both active and inactive. With increasing Internet penetration we should witness a rise in number of websites worldwide.

Web designers and developers build websites either by coding, drag and drop or using WordPress, etc. There are many freelance web designers out there putting their knowledge and skills to good use.

 

7. Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) is now virtually reality. Years back it was in the back burner but has enjoyed front row prominence in recent times even at the cinemas.

Currently there are two major ways people profit from VR technology. One, by selling VR headsets. Two, VR as a service (VRaaS), such as virtually touring famous historic sites.

VR holds a lot of potential. Think VR sports games, medical therapy, virtual travelling/touring, communication, indoor games, physical exercise, etc.

You can start a VR blog, sell VR gear or build a freelance business or consultancy around it.

Conclusion

These business ideas are only a tip of the iceberg, there are many other great business ideas out there. Anyone on this list excite you? Share with us.

 

Author Bio:

 

Amos Onwukwe is an AWAI trained Business/Ecommerce B2B/B2C Copywriter, featured in Huffington Post, Dumb Little Man, Ecommerce Nation, eCommerce Insights, Understanding Ecommerce, Result First, Floship, SmallBusinessBonfire, SmallBizClub, Successful Startup 101, Business Partner Magazine, RabidOfficeMonkey, and Imany others.

 

He’s available for hire.

Twitter: @amos_onwukwe