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If you have an entrepreneurial mindset, you might find yourself thinking about starting your own business one day. To do this, you need two things: a solid business idea and thorough testing. Both of these things can be difficult to achieve without prior experience, but don’t worry. Whether you’re looking to delve into e-commerce, develop a digital service, or create content online, there are countless opportunities waiting to be explored.
Read further to discover five ideas for an online business and a step-by-step instruction on idea validation.
business man images by Depositphotos
5 ideas for a small online business
These days, six out of ten shopping journeys start online. So, if you want to start your own business, going online is the most appealing choice. Also, it is often the easiest one, as online entrepreneurship allows you to reach out to people in your city or country and across the globe.
Here are five online business ideas to consider.
Online reselling
If you like shopping and know where to find unique and cool goods, online reselling can be a great business option. For instance, you can purchase thrifted items, customize, and sell them.
You can also resell products from overseas stores like Alibaba—they are pretty cheap there, but not all customers want to explore the Chinese market and figure out the delivery services. Therefore, offering purchased items through your online store on platforms like eBay, Etsy, or your website could work well.
Selling printed products
If you are a content creator, illustrator, or graphic designer, you can try selling your designs on print-on-demand services like Redbubble or Society6. One of the biggest perks of such services is that they handle lots of details for you: print your creations on a chosen item and deliver them worldwide, while you receive money for the prints (minus the store’s fee). If you don’t want to pay such a fee, you can create and sell items yourself—for instance, on Etsy or your online store.
Tutoring
If you have the relevant qualifications, certification, and knowledge, you can try teaching people online. This could include academic tutoring, language tutoring, and professional coaching or psychotherapy.
You can start by creating an account on special tutoring platforms like Buki or Preply—this is one of the quickest ways to find clients. If you want to work with people who share your values and like your personality, you can also try building and growing a personal brand online before you start offering your tutoring services.
Digital marketing agency
Ad spending in the Digital Advertising market is forecasted to reach $298.4 billion in 2024. This means that this market is stable and thriving, and if you want to jump on that train, now is the time to do that.
You can start a one-person digital marketing agency if you have enough skills—for instance, a background in social media management, copywriting, and design. Or, if you lack specific skills, you can partner with people who have them.
Personal training
While personal training seems like a profession reserved for the offline world, these days, that’s not the case. If you are skilled in yoga, fitness, or nutrition and have the necessary certification, you can create and sell online courses.
You can also come up with free lessons to help people try out your services and decide if they want your full support. Consider marketing your services through social media, fitness forums, and local community events.
FAQ: How can you generate business ideas?
You can identify problems or needs in your community or industry. Then, brainstorm solutions or innovative approaches you can develop to address them.
FAQ: How do you choose the best business idea?
Focus on your interests, skills, and market demand. Look for opportunities where your product or service will differ from competitors and offer something unique to customers.
Testing business ideas before launch
Coming up with business names and ideas is just part of the process. The next part is testing whether these ideas would pay off. Here is how you can do that.
1. Research the market
Start by conducting thorough market research. It will help you better understand your target audience, their needs, preferences, and pain points. Then, move on to other types of research—analyze existing products or services in the market, identify competitors, and assess their strengths and weaknesses. Gathering information on pricing strategies, market trends, and potential gaps or opportunities would also be beneficial at this stage.
2. Create an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
MVP is a simplified version of your product or service that has all its core features and is created to address the key needs of your target audience. Releasing and testing your MVP helps understand if there’s a demand for your product or service among consumers and investors.
To minimize the resources and time spent on development, keep your MVP lean and cost-effective. Focus on those functions that clearly demonstrate the value proposition of your idea.
3. Test your MVP
To test your MVP, you need to demonstrate it to a small, targeted group of users or customers who represent your ideal audience. Then, collect their feedback—you can do this with the help of surveys, interviews, or user testing sessions. Try to understand customer experiences and pain points, and keep their suggestions for improvement in mind.
Things like user engagement, retention rates, and overall customer satisfaction also matter. Pay attention to them to increase the effectiveness of your MVP.
4. Use feedback to improve your idea
The next step of the testing process would be implementing the feedback you received to create future versions of your MVP. However, you still need to keep collecting feedback even with the next versions to make future iterations and refinements more user-oriented.
5. Create a marketing plan
When you are more or less satisfied with your MVP, it’s time to move to the development of your marketing plan. A plan like this can help promote your idea to a wider audience to gain their interest and increase demand for your product or service.
You can start by identifying key marketing channels that fit your needs—social media, email marketing, content marketing, or influencer partnerships. Focus on those platforms that interest your target audience and allow you to communicate with them effectively. Come up with compelling messaging, tone of voice, and value propositions, and consider launching targeted marketing campaigns to drive awareness, engagement, and conversions.
FAQ: How do I start a good idea for an online business?
You can do this by developing a business plan that includes your vision, strategy, budget, deadlines, and opportunities for scaling. The next step would be looking for funding—you can reach out to investors, take a loan, or invest your own money.
FAQ: How do you come up with business ideas for a personal brand?
Think about your passions, expertise, and unique experiences. Consider how you can use your strengths to help your audience and create a brand that resonates with them.
To sum up
Starting an online business these days is actually easier than it seems.
All you need is a computer or smartphone, internet access, a website or platform to sell your products or services, and a solid business plan. Moreover, considering the business ideas listed in this article and testing them will help you kickstart an online product or service and become an entrepreneur.