A Step-by-Step Guide to Start a Successful Online Business from Home [with Examples]

I have started many online ventures and failed. These unsuccessful attempts have given me enlightening experiences and have helped me become successful. Know that your first venture may not be successful, but use it as a learning experience. So, what you should not do is invest more than you can afford and you should not quit your job the first day you think of your new business idea!

Being self-dependent and having your own business is a dream for most people out there. Startups can be very profitable once they become successful. However, not all businesses reach great heights, even though every business requires a lot of initial investment. A startup needs a lot of money all through its life, even though the return is very unpredictable. 

In this time of the coronavirus pandemic, most physical businesses have shut down and are in loss. The people are now dependent fully on online services, which provides all the products and services. Now is a great opportunity for all the online businesses to prosper and earn a lot of profit. New individuals can also pitch in ideas and start an online business soon. Even if you don’t have a mind that can help you run a profitable business, you can collaborate with others and get paid for your intelligence and skills. Your passion can help you earn money in the online world and establish a great online business for yourself. Many opportunities are waiting for you out there.

What is an online business?

Online business is no different than a brick and mortar one, but in an online business, as the name suggests, everything takes place on an online platform. There is no physical interaction between the provider and the consumer. We have a lot of online business giants among us like Amazon, Flipkart, and AliBaba. All these are online sites that provide the facility to the consumer to make purchases online. At the current time, these businesses have a great profit chart. There are various ways in which a person can carry out an online business, and the online world is full of ways to earn money by using your skills and talents. Any business done using the internet or the world wide web is deemed to be an online business. 

These businesses do not compulsorily have a physical existence. They also may not have a huge working force. An online business’s advantage is that it does not require a huge investment, and even just one person can also run it.

Can an online business be started with little or no cost?

If you are a little low on money, don’t lose hope of owning a business. Sites like WordPress help you to blog and earn in return. So, blogging can be a way to earn money. You can blog about your new business and make people aware of the products and services you have to offer. Once you have your site up and running, make sure to optimize your sales funnel to help boost your bottom line.

You can work as a third party for other businesses like Amazon and get paid. These businesses provide you a platform to showcase your products and services to the general public. You can surely get a good number of consumers through these sites as the consumers hold these services with great trust. You can also use your talent to make a career in writing, web designing, graphic designing, consultancy, teaching, photography, and earning money, and establishing a successful online business.

Most of the online businesses do not need a big investment; you can even start with no investment. In this growing world, everything coming online opens a new door to start a business with no investment and get paid highly for an individual’s talent and skills.

What do you need to start an online business?

Every great step begins with an idea and a feeling of determination. Starting a business is no different. To start a business, you need an idea that would be the basis of the products and services you will offer. You also need determination as a business requires constant attention. You will also need to spend a lot of time on your online business during the initial stages.

A website will also be required to promote your business and take the orders regularly. To create a large customer base, you must have a user-friendly website and enough methods to promote that website on many social media platforms and reach as many people as possible. You do need to have social skills and enough talent to collaborate with those who want to pay for this talent.

The online world is full of companies that hire people to work online, even from their homes, and they even pay a substantial amount of money for the same. You need to keep your eyes open to grasp these business opportunities that will help a lot in career growth. 

Where can you start an online business?

To be honest, you can start your online business right from the luxury of your sofa. You don’t have to go anywhere to own a business; all you need is a laptop or just a phone. This will save you from the rents and costs of office furniture and even gas going to and from your office. An online business cuts off a lot of costs and helps you gain more customers than a physical shop.

You don’t even need a big workforce to maintain an online business since you can do it yourself. Even though it is not as easy as it sounds, a single person can handle online business. During this pandemic, it is a great opportunity to earn money, and with an awesome idea, your online business can weather the storm. 

What kind of business can you have? Same as a physical store: An online business can be done in many areas; it may be an online business that deals with physical goods. In this condition, you will get orders for the delivery of physical goods from a customer, and you have to deliver the goods on time. Timely delivery and good quality of products are sure to bring in loyal customers. This is almost the same as a physical shop, but here, the customers place orders online, making it very important to keep up to the customers’ standards and earn their trust. This business can be very profitable in the long run. 

Online service providers:

An online business can be done for services too where a customer can order a service online, and you have to deliver the service at their home. It is similar to delivering products, although the service provider has to go door-to-door to each customer and provide the required services. It may be salon services, plumbing, painting, and much more. This business will require less investment than a physical store and is a great way to earn money by providing services that you enjoy and are skilled in.

Put your writing talent to work:

E-publishing is also a growing online business sector that requires very little investment. You can write novels, short stories, or poems and self-publish them on various sites and earn money when a customer buys each of your books. It does require a lot of time to write, but nowadays people like to read their books on their devices or listen to them. Physically self-publishing your book can cost a large sum of money. In this situation, it is best to self-publish a book online and then market it on various social media platforms to gain more customers. 

Regular blogging:

Blogging is also a way to make a decent amount of money without any investment. All it requires is a passion to write on various topics. The topics can be about literally anything. When you start getting more views, eventually you start earning too. This is a great way to use your writing talents and earn money for the same, without any initial investment. 

Marketing through other giants:

You can also do business with other shipping giants to grow your customer base. For example, you can work with Amazon and deliver your products through them. It will increase your customers and the users of Amazon to trust the products shown on their app or website. It will also help your products to reach a larger audience spread all across the country and even the globe. The other name of this business is affiliate marketing.

A career on YouTube:

Another online business or a way to earn online is to start uploading videos on YouTube, something that the viewers will enjoy. Everyone commonly uses YouTube; it is a good platform to earn money and gets you sponsors. When you start getting more and more viewers, YouTube starts giving you money for each video and this sum is not small. YouTube has created a career for many people and most of them have a luxurious life. However, to become a famous YouTuber, you have to do things differently than others and make attractive videos that will be liked by the viewers. 

Digital marketing agency owner:

Another opportunity to earn instant money is to make people aware of other businesses’ products through digital marketing services. You can start an online business where you market your clients’ products and services on social media. This is a quick and easy way to establish a profitable online business. It also requires no initial investment and all you have to do is to write reviews and target your audience and encourage them to try and buy a specific product for some listed benefits. You can also market your clients’ products or services online; this is a growing career opportunity that has amazing potential in the long run. Running a digital marketing agency does require a lot of skill, time, and effort but this career offers a lot of money and learning opportunities. 

Online teaching through courses:

You can also create an online course for a target audience and sell it online. It may be about learning English, Korean, or some other languages, logical reasoning, and/or related to the course of some specific classes. People generally like to educate themselves during their free time, and an interesting course can attract a fine number of customers. This will require none or a very little initial investment; however, after taking a specific course, you will have to market it to get more and more customers.

Development of apps:

Creating an app requires a lot of skills; however, if the app becomes successful, there is great potential to earn more and more money. Even if you don’t know a lot about coding, but have a great idea, you can collaborate with app developers and work in partnership with them. As people today spend a lot of time on their phones, an app is a great way of earning money.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a basic necessity of all the websites out there, and most of the businesses are on a lookout for individuals who can help them optimize their websites. So, if you know much about SEO, it is a great business opportunity. It also needs no investment at all. All you have to do is to optimize your client’s website and do as they say. As a growing concept, there is a huge scope to earn money in SEO.

A career in online marketing:

Online marketing has recently come into the online world. Many businesses use social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. to market their products. Facebook has a specific feature for businesses to post ads regularly. However, these businesses do not know how to use these features and want to hire somebody who does. An individual knowledgeable with Facebook ads can easily set up a business to help others market their products using Facebook. This online business requires little or no investment and is a great opportunity to earn money and establish a reliable business. 

Earn money through podcasts:

Many people nowadays like to listen to podcasts regularly. A podcast is the audio of a person talking about topics or conducting interviews. Making a podcast requires very less investment on the part of the provider. Once your podcast reaches many ears, it opens up the door to earn money regularly. It should be kept in mind that podcasts should not hurt anyone’s sentiments because that causes you to have legal troubles. It should be informational, entertaining, funny, sentimental, and emotional as well.

Web development:

In this growing world, everything is online, including traditional businesses as well. These businesses do not have personal employees who can design a user-friendly website. Not everyone knows the website from top to bottom and knows how to use all its features. The businesses pay a good sum of money to individuals that can take care of their websites, which makes it a good online business opportunity.

A career in graphic designing:

Every website generally contains pictures and videos, but not every website catches the viewer’s eye. To make a website more attractive, it is important to get a graphic designer. This designer creates visual graphics that make the website more appealing and attractive. If you know how to design graphics, then this is an opportunity to establish your online business and get an acceptable number of customers. This is terrific as it provides a huge sum of money to the designer; there are very few talented graphic designers. It is a wonderful way to shape your career into something more.

Online consultancy services:

Every business requires advice to increase their customers and their revenue. They pay high amounts to know the solutions to even very basic problems. An online consultant agency is a great way to establish your name in the market without any investment. As an agent, you get paid in huge sums of money in return for solving your client’s day-to-day problems regarding their business. You will require a lot of experience and problem-solving skills to become successful in this field of online business.

Software development:

Software writing is another great business idea that can make you earn money. It does require a lot of skills, but good software can help you in getting many clients and receiving huge fees in return. A software program is used by all businesses out there and is the best way to establish your online business. You can create customized software for a store, hospital, financial agency, and more. 

A career as a content writer:

Other than writing novels and blogs, many companies pay people for content writing. An individual can easily earn money by writing content for its employers or clients. It requires command of the language used and a lot of creativity, and it can also be a little tricky at first. But as you get used to it, it is a great way to earn money in a short time without any investment from you.

Influencers or ambassadors:

Many product companies pay people just to pose in pictures of them wearing the company’s product or using it. These paid people are called influencers. These influencers have a big fan following various social media platforms, so they attract a lot of people. They get paid to market many businesses. It is a clever way to earn money. Many businesses also look for ambassadors that market their products regularly. An ambassador or an influencer is paid very well. 

Steps to Start an Online Business

Step 1: The basic idea

Without any idea, no business can be established or run successfully. The idea is a basic necessity and the start of your journey to becoming an online entrepreneur. It makes your business unique and attractive. You have to find a way that makes you different than others and can be your core feature.

Step 2: Analyze your idea

Gather information about your idea and analyze the implications that your idea can have on a business. This step is important because an idea has to be analyzed properly to turn it into a profitable business opportunity. 

Step 3: Analyze the market and potential competitors

After you analyze your idea, it is crucial to place it in the real online world. You need to gather information about the market and the competitors that you will face once you enter the market. You need to evaluate them so that you can make your idea more original and unique.

Step 4: Target your audience

It is crucial to have a target audience in mind before acting on a particular idea. You have to evaluate all the characteristics of the audience that you want to reach through your online business in the near future.

Step 5: Name your brand

Once you have made sure to continue with this idea and have gathered all the above information, it is time to brand your business. This brand name should be pleasing and, at the same time, should point to the characteristics of your product. You also have to design a logo for your brand, and this logo should be attractive and unique.

Step 6: Acquire a website

Any online business must have an individual website. It is a basic necessity – this is your storefront in the digital world. Registering a domain and getting a website is quite easy, as many online businesses provide the required services. 

Step 7: Optimize your website

You should focus on making your website attractive and, at the same time, user-friendly – focus on conversion rate optimization. You can use SEO techniques to help your website get a higher rank. 

Step 8: Create a marketing plan

After making a website, you should focus on marketing so that you get enough foot traffic. You should create a plan to market your online business and list all the online platforms that can help you in the plan.

Step 9: Start publishing and make an impact on social media

At this stage, you have to start publishing content on your website and social media platforms to carry out the marketing plan created earlier. You should try to reach as many people as you can using social media and attract them to visit your website and buy from your online business.

Step 10: Find ways to interact with the viewers and customers

Once you start getting orders and have good foot traffic on your website, you should find ways to interact with your viewers and customers. The best way to do it is through e-mails. You should construct attractive e-mails to convince your viewers.

Step 11: Get professional help

The online world is full of problems that cannot be solved by an average person. These problems require knowledge and logical reasoning. Professional help can be very beneficial for your online business.

These steps may vary according to the needs of the online business. However, following these steps can be beneficial for all. The year 2020 has brought a lot of online business opportunities to help you establish a profitable business in the online world.