Profitable Small Business Ideas for Remote or Online Workers

There are many reasons why you might be thinking about starting a small business, whether you’re hoping to replace your full-time income or you’re just looking for a side hustle you can fit around current commitments. 

One thing’s certain — online is going to feature somehow. After all, you’ll need a website even if your main operation is face-to-face in the physical world.

When you’d like to make technology the centre of your business there is plenty of opportunity to build a profitable enterprise, whatever your passions, skills or personality type

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is a versatile and in-demand profession that allows you to work with a variety of clients across different industries. If words and language interest you, if you’re fascinated by the psychology and power of written (or spoken) communication, this is an idea worth pursuing.

• Market Demand is almost never-ending and once you start to research the ways people make a living through writing you’ll discover all kinds of openings, including social media and marketing messages.

• Start-up costs are pretty low – if you have a computer and a good internet connection, you’re ready to go.

• Basic skills needed? Good writing skills, knowledge of (or willingness to learn) a bit about how SEO works, communication skills to understand your brief, and the ability to meet deadlines.

Virtual Assistance

Virtual assistants provide remote administrative, technical, or creative assistance to clients. Depending on the kind of assistance you’re providing, this type of role may not give total flexibility in working hours but you can definitely choose when and how much you’re available.

You might find yourself managing email, scheduling appointments, managing social media accounts, offering customer service, or maybe such things as bookkeeping and daily accounting.

You’ll work with small business owners, entrepreneurs and busy professionals who need help to stay on top of the more mundane daily business tasks.

The specific skills needed will depend on the roles you take on, but generally, you’ll need to be organised, reliable, trustworthy and discreet.

E-Commerce Store

Starting an online store means you can sell products without the need for a physical location. There are various platforms that make starting an online retail business fairly easy, such as Shopify, Etsy, Amazon and a host of others.

There are also various ways to source products and different types of products you could offer, both physical and digital. One consideration with physical products is the need to have somewhere to store your stock – unless you’re dropshipping but that’s a whole other kind of enterprise.

Assuming you’re going to sell physical items, one solution to the storage space dilemma is self storage for business, where you can choose exactly the right size of space for your needs, and then up or downsize as needed.

Basic promotional skills include market research to determine the level of demand for your product, but also SEO to help raise awareness of your online presence, along with social media and possibly email marketing.

Online Tutoring and Courses

If you have in-depth knowledge about a particular subject, running online courses, either face-to-face or on-demand, could be a profitable way to benefit from your prior learning and development. The range of online courses is vast, including academic tutoring, teaching languages, and professional skills or helping people progress their hobby or craft passions.

Platforms such as SkillShare, Udemy, Coursera and Teachable (among others) make it relatively easy to set up and find your students. Online teaching is also scalable since pre-recorded, on-demand lessons can produce a passive income over time.

Social Media Management

If you love social media, managing accounts for individuals or companies might be your ideal business model. 

It would involve responsibilities such as creating content, scheduling the posts, and engaging with and responding to followers. But there will also be content strategy for marketing and promotion to think about, along with analysing performance metrics.

Tools that help you keep track of and schedule posts for various different clients include Hootsuite, Buffer and Canva. You’ll need to be organised, creative and imaginative or inventive, patient, diplomatic, and discreet.

Video Content Creation

Opportunities on YouTube or TikTok are open to anyone with the necessary technical skills, computer equipment and something to say. If you can create engaging videos, you can build and monetise your channel through ads, sponsorships, merchandise or affiliate marketing, plus fan support through Patreon.

You can offer both pre-recorded content and do live streams to engage directly with your audience. Many YouTubers use the platform as a way to promote their main business which might be providing a service or selling both physical or digital products.

Whichever niche or sector you choose, the type of business you run will determine the premises or equipment needed to make it a success. 

Professional, regular-hours businesses could benefit from equally professional surroundings, in which case investigate flexible offices that give you more control over contract lengths and terms. If you’re planning a more casual enterprise, a spare room at home may be all you need to get off the ground.

With so much potential, there are ways for everyone to maximise their skills and build a profitable and enjoyable business from scratch.

This is a collaborative post.