After the COVID pandemic pulled the rug out from under our feet and “online” became a synonym for “viable,” many people started to reconsider ways to earn money. Those seeking to future-proof their incomes began to look toward online as an ultimate business model to survive.
Online means the future.
It’s true even more so today, in the golden age of smartphones, ecommerce, and everything digital. There have never been more exciting online business opportunities and potential for growing your financial freedom than now.
Whether you look for a side hustle or dream of quitting your 9-to-5 job, starting your own business and embracing financial freedom, you are in the right place. We scoured the web to give you the 10 best online business ideas and some tips to help you not get lost in the treacherous online currents.
What Is Online Business?
Think of millions of people storming Google, YouTube, Facebook, or whatever with their needs every day. Recipes, merchandise, advice, local services, quality knowledge, you name it. Top online business opportunities originate in these search inquiries.
With decent communication skills, some tech know-how, and a desire to help people with needs, you can cook up a good online business and succeed. So online business is a venture built using digital means around a product or a service that meets a specific need.
Today, more and more businesses strive to build their online presence, but they face fierce competition. Also, this competition means a huge need for quality digital services. Because as the number of websites grows, there must be somebody tech-savvy enough to take care of them, as well as social media, ad campaigns, and other digital things.
Unlike brick-and-mortar businesses, online business opportunities are less risky, require minimum startup investment and overhead costs, and give you access to an enormous online audience of potential customers. Another considerable advantage of a profitable online business is that you can work from home or virtually anywhere.
How, Among the Newest Online Business Opportunities, to Find the One That Works for You?
There are thousands of ways to start “the best online business.” However, what does “the best” mean in this context?
- The most profitable? You’re cold. Money is just a means for getting other values in life like freedom, time, comfort, etc. You can’t earn them all, anyway.
- The easiest to start? Getting warmer… Some online business opportunities are easier to start in terms of skills and budget required. However, if you really want to grow, you won’t avoid the pains of learning.
- The one you are knowledgeable and passionate about? You’re hot! Running any business has its ups and downs. It will be easier to get through the downs if you know you’re doing something you really love. So your unique personality, skills, and experience must be your reference point as you browse through the newest online business opportunities.
Easy Ideas to Start a Website-Based Business
Not every business needs a website. Some are better off without it (think small local service-focused business).
However, since we talk about online business opportunities, a website becomes a cornerstone. Whether you need it to sell your goods (or your skills) or want to earn money by servicing websites for others, the inevitable reality behind every online business is: It’s all about websites.
Starting your online business using a website builder allows you to test different business models for free and get your first clients without the headache of full-fledged website development.
Here are a few website business ideas on how you can use the Boxmode free website builder to jumpstart your online business:
- As a retailer, you can create an online store and monetize it using Boxmode’s online marketing tools.
- As a web designer or web developer, you can easily create free websites for your clients and benefit from Boxmode’s fully customizable templates.
- As a marketer, you can use Boxmode to quickly set up landing pages and check ideas and hypotheses. And you don’t have to wait for months for designs and development.
- As a blogger and influencer, you can create a personal website or a blog and leverage Boxmode’s SEO and marketing tools to grow your following.
![CTA button: [Create website]](https://blog.boxmode.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/1-2.png)
Below is our list of top online business opportunities where you can have a headstart with a free Boxmode website builder.
10 Ideas for the Best Online Business to Start in 2022
1) Web design
If you live and breathe colors, fonts, and all things design, you’ll find tons of work online as a web designer. Whether you’re a beginner or you already have some experience with web design, you will have to learn a lot, as the state of the art changes rapidly in this field. However, if you really like making things beautiful, have a keen eye for detail, and care about user experience, web design can be a profitable online business for you.
For a start, consider looking for small web design gigs on freelance platforms such as Upwork or, if a friend of yours has a website, offer a free web design makeover. Then, as your experience grows, think about creating a web designer portfolio website (it’s free with Boxmode) to show your skills and get more clients.
2) Web development (website creation)
Selling websites is a great way to earn good money for those into coding. If you are new to the niche, the Boxmode website builder can be a good playground for you to learn the basics of website creation and customization and a ladder to more complex approaches.
Boxmode has fully customizable, professionally designed themes for all kinds of business niches and necessary ecommerce tools, making it a perfect platform for newbies. And advanced users can enrich their sites with the help of the HTML iFrame widget. Create a website for a friend’s business or a local organization for free to polish your website creation skills, and off to a real job hunt on freelance platforms.
Your collaboration with clients doesn’t have to end once you deliver a website. You can always follow up by offering other digital marketing services such as social media marketing or SEO.
Web development is a scalable business model that gives you plenty of room for growth. After you master languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and with some expert-level training, you can aim at a full-stack web development career.
3) Blogging
The wild spread of social media slightly devalued blogging as a business model (let’s agree, every cat and dog seems to be blogging now). Still, we believe that, if done right, blogging is one of the most profitable online business opportunities. The only two mandatory conditions are:
- To love writing. Because if you don’t, you won’t satiate your audience’s appetite for regular quality information. In blogging, consistency is key to success.
- To deliver value. You have to possess substantial expertise in the area you are going to write about and a passion for constant development in this field. Otherwise, followers won’t stick to you, and you won’t monetize your following through sponsored posts, ad space, or your own products (courses, ebooks, etc.).
There’s the third condition as well — to have an attractive, well-designed, and fully optimized website — and it’s where Boxmode website builder has you covered.
4) SEO consulting
Paid ads didn’t kill SEO; the reality is, they actually made it more in-demand, and hence, more lucrative. To appear organically at Google’s SERPs has never been so desired for businesses and their online marketers. If you know how to help a business to appear at the top, you’ve got the keys to heaven.
SEO is another digital niche that is developing at a galloping pace. To be in the know of cutting-edge Google’s algorithms, as well as Google Analytics, you have to learn constantly.
It’s not only digital marketers who need solid SEO skills. If you have a business, you need them for it, in the first place. If you have a story of success (and your website’s positioning is the best proof), you can create and sell SEO-optimized websites to other businesses and expand. Or you can start a highly profitable SEO consulting business.
5) Ad creation
With such a crazy expansion of paid ads across Google and Facebook, many small businesses still remain on the margins. The reason? Paid advertising can be very confusing with all its custom audiences, re-targeting, sales funnels, measuring, and other complicated tech stuff. In addition, most businesses don’t have the time and required skills to plan and execute ad campaigns on, let’s say, Facebook. As a result, there’s a huge demand for experienced ad specialists — digital wizards of paid traffic and conversions.
Given that the wild growth of paid advertising isn’t going to die out any time soon, Facebook and Google advertising may become lucrative online business opportunities. The prerequisites are tech skills and a desire to learn. If you want to master the intricacies of Facebook or Google paid advertising, an option is to check out free marketing materials on these platforms, as well as other online digital marketing courses available.
6) Affiliate marketing
Established businesses are always looking for influencers to promote their products because word-of-mouth is a powerful advertising technique. So if you have a substantial following on your personal website or social media, think about taking part in affiliate programs that can become a solid source of passive income for you.
The point of affiliate programs is that a business gives you its unique referral link, and then you use it when recommending its product to your audience. Every time your follower clicks on the affiliate link and buys a product, you get a commission from the business.
In some cases, you will have to promote a product you never used personally, and you have to rely on your persuasion and copywriting talent to seamlessly incorporate the link. But of course, affiliate marketing shines at its best if your audience resonates with the product and you recommend it based on your personal, positive experience.
7) Retail shop
The rapid development of mobile banking and the smartphone market made people technologically equipped and willing to buy on the go. Today, a niche and mobile-friendly online store is one of the best business opportunities online.
Bootstrapping your retail business to the top may seem like a crazy idea in a world ruled by giants Amazon and AliExpress. However, if you choose a proper unique niche and build solid credibility with your customers, you have a good chance to channel the money flow to your pocket.
So how do you choose the niche? Monitor social media to find out what products your friends are looking for and analyze your own customer preferences. A good tip is to focus your shop around something you’d buy for yourself.
Once you choose your niche and product, you need to get your online store up and running. Boxmode has a beautifully designed online shop template with all necessary ecommerce tools integrated, so you can build your first online shop in minutes and maybe even have your first sale today.
8) Dropshipping
Running an online store is usually associated with storing issues. You not only waste your resources on maintaining and managing your inventory but also bear losses if some of your stored products don’t sell, expire, or become unmarketable. Not to mention that you may not have the capacity to store goods at all. So does it mean retail isn’t for you? Far from it!
Dropshipping is an alternative retail model where you only have to take your customer’s order using your online store and pass it over to a third-party retailer who will take care of the fulfillment. This way, you can sell other retailers’ goods without ever seeing them or holding them in your hands. As long as your price is higher than the retailer’s, you win.
The biggest benefit of dropshipping online business opportunities is that you are not limited with what you physically have. You are free to experiment with your inventory, testing new trends and sticking to merchandise that sells best.
9) Selling digital courses
The online business opportunities we mentioned above focus on becoming an expert in some fields and selling your professional services to others. As your expertise grows and you accumulate quality knowledge, why not share it with others and make some cash along the way? Selling courses online can become a source of substantial passive income for professionals with a passion for teaching.
All you need for a start is some free time to sit down and systematize your knowledge in the form of lessons (what to sell and what to give away for free). Think about the media you may need to present information in the most engaging way (videos, graphics, etc.) and the platform for hosting your lessons.
For example, you can build a personal website with Boxmode, using its online shop template, and sell your courses as products. Or, if you decide to share your knowledge in the form of webinars, you can create a landing page with Boxmode to introduce the course or webinar, convince your students to buy it (or participate) and grow your subscription list. Read more on this topic in “How to Create a Webinar.”
10) Startup consulting
Entrepreneurs who have launched successful businesses have a treasure they don’t often realize. Their path to success, the knowledge they have in corporate finance, marketing, project management, advertising, software, logistics, or whatever, can be monetized and turned into a powerful revenue stream.
Think about those rookie entrepreneurs looking up to you and wishing they knew all you know today. By advising startups on everything they need to succeed, you not only establish your reputation as an industry leader but also create a source of passive income that grows with your expertise.
Consider creating a microsite instead of offering startup consulting services directly from your company website and puzzling your clients. A free microsite is the best place to engage with your entrepreneurial audience in a relaxed style using success stories, motivational messages, and, of course, some solid business advice.
Unlock Your Financial Freedom With Online Home Business Opportunities
Financial freedom is what we all dream about. However, before trying any of the business opportunities online, you should do some research. Read articles on authoritative resources, weigh all pros and cons, and look for advice from people who have been there and succeeded. Find real stories, not fake testimonials.
Don’t forget to do market research to see the current demand for this type of skill and service. And, of course, get insight into the laws that regulate online business. You aren’t going to mess with anything that’s not legit, are you?