Have ever researched the World’s Richest People? I am willing to bet you will not find anyone on that list working for someone else, in a 9 to 5, paycheck to paycheck, job (or what I like to call “Cycle of Insanity”).

Many dream of owning their own business. Deep down inside they know it can change their lives and the quality of life for their family.

If you have already thought about it, (and you probably wouldn’t be reading this if you hadn’t 😉 ) then you my friend, have the Spirit of an Entrepreneur, whether you realize it or not.

And No, running a successful business is not easy! You must put the time, effort and dedication into it to get the returns you wish for. But one key ingredient to success is “Passion”. If you are not truly passionate about what you are trying to create, life will put you to the test…. and it is your Passion that will help you over come (Major Key ALERT 😉 ) !

For some, the problem holding them back is not so much the effort involved, but more overthinking it. Nowadays, especially with the availability of the internet, there is not idea too small or too great that can not be put into action with just a laptop, decent internet access, and a giant pot of coffee… to get the ball rolling!

Most people do not realize how easy it is to Start Your Own Business, or even where to start. And the hardest step in anything you do in life is always the 1st Step!

This article will help you get started with 9 easy ideas to start a business with little to no investment… in the financial sense. Because the truth is, anything you choose to do in life to get something in return will always require an “Investment”, whether it be Money or Time!

Anyone with a desire to make something of themselves in this life, can start their own business using these easy to implement ideas, and you don’t have to be an expert to start them.

Some of you may not even realize how good you are at them because you’ve never thought about monetizing a skill or talent that may come natural to you and is in high demand.

So, if you are excited about unleashing your skills to the world…. then check out the list below and Let’s Get Started Today!

1: Affiliate Marketing

For those of you that don’t know… Affiliate Marketing is simply the act of promoting a product or service that someone else has created. You are then paid a commission when you successfully sell that product or service.

These days there are many affiliate offers out there. You should do your homework in carefully choosing what you will want to promote.

My advice would be: If you have not or would not purchase a particular product yourself, then why would you promote it and expect someone else to buy it from you! Common sense right???? Promote what you have found useful and valuable to you. (another MAJOR KEY ALERT 😉 )

Here is one I would recommend:  (Especially if you are starting out and have no clue how to start promoting online) It is called the SUPER AFFILIATE NETWORK! 

I recommend it because: Yes, I purchased it, continue to use it, and have receive an incredible amount of valuable education from them while I’m also earning commissions promoting it…(It is a WIN – WIN).

Not only do they offer great commissions, but you will go through what is call the “SUPER AFFILIATE BOOTCAMP” that teaches you exactly, step-by-step how to set up shop and start earning commissions!!! And if that wasn’t enough… you can get started for only $1. Yup that’s right…it’s not a type-o. You Can Get Started For Only ONE DOLLAR!!! (How much have you spent this week at Starbucks alone? Has your investment in coffee paid you back?)

Perhaps the most valuable aspect about this product is the education you will take with you moving forward, not only in learning how to promote other people’s products, but how to promote your own product or service and really start making some six figure money!!!

2: Become A Graphic Designer

Do you find yourself doodling on the corner of papers at times for no apparent reason? Then maybe there is an artist in there somewhere trying to pop-out that you are not aware of.

Or perhaps you are aware of this hidden talent but just don’t think it is able to make you money.

If you are more of the artistic type. Then let me tell you, there are numerous ways in which you can make a decent living, especially online, by tapping into your natural talents and becoming a Graphics Designer.

Just to name a few ideas: You can make money by creating and designing business cards, business logos, advertising and marketing banners.

And selling your services has never been easier. You can offer your services and “Become A Seller” on Fiverr.com.

Another idea is creating simple “How-To” videos and start building a name for yourself (create your own brand). Grow your following on social media and promote your services!

Roberto Blake is a great example and can help you get your creative juices flowing, if this hits home with you. In one of his videos on YouTube he explains a bit more “How to Become a Graphic Designer“.

Happy Doodling.. 😉

3: Become A Blogger

Some people are comfortable being on camera and making videos (YouTube), while others prefer to speak (Podcasts), but some… (myself included) feel much more agreeable in our pj’s and going to town on our keyboards.

If you are like me, and many others who happen to be making thousands of dollars by Blogging in the comforts of their own (a.k.a. “home offices”), then Blogging is perfect for you!

Now, if you don’t believe me that this one works… well my friend, you just happen to be my living proof that it does! 😉

In my opinion, Blogging is one of the best options and most diverse ways for anyone who is looking to make money online. I’m sure you have experienced every time you go to your favorite sites, somehow you are surrounded by all kinds “familiar” ads. There is huge potential in the amount of money you can start making once your Blog is up and running.

And No… you will not make tons of money at first. It will take some time for you to find your writing groove. But once you find a niche that you are passionate about, writing about topics that you like will become second nature!

If you invest the time, (about a good 3-4 months of your time) you will benefit from it! You can start earning thousand of dollars monthly from your Blog. There are so many avenues you can make money from through your Blog I could not possibly list them all, and is why I love this option.

All you need is a little bit of hard work, dedication, and creativity!

You can begin your own Blog by using Blogger or WordPress for free, which is great for a beginner with no money.

But if you can afford to, I would suggest creating a Blog with your own domain and hosting service. These days, it is not expensive at all, and some hosting services provide the domain to you for free.

I use BLUEHOST for my hosting service, because for:

1 = Its cheap ($3.95 per month) and…

2 = It will give you a free domain address so you are not forced to purchase it separately from some other domain service provider!

4: Become A Freelance Writer

I believe it was Aristotle that once said “Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, there lies your Vocation!“

Are you naturally gifted at and enjoy writing? If you are, then getting paid as a Freelance Writer should be a no-brainer for you.

If you decide to become a Blogger, you will soon come to find that it does take some time to continually create quality posts. And after you start making decent money from blogging you don’t want to become a slave to your own job…even though the money is rolling in. It kind of defeats the purpose!

So the solution is, (Can you feel the MAJOY KEY coming… 😉 ) hiring or outsourcing the writing to Freelancers!!!

A good Freelance Writer can make $200- $500 per article. Starting out, you will have to make a name for yourself and the quality of your writing. But even as a beginner, you can still average about $30-$50 per article and that’s not bad to start out with if you ask me.

How much are you earning per hour now? You could be making more money, on your own time doing something you enjoy!

5: Design Websites

This is similar to the becoming a Graphic Designer, but maybe you are more “Techy” and less “Artsy”. There is a huge demand for skilled website and application developers and programmers.

If you are good at developing even the most basic of websites, businesses will pay for your services. And the better your skills become the more you can charge!

And here is why:

1. Business owners do not have the time to try and do it themselves, they are too busy trying to run a business.

2. They don’t know how to do it.

The demand for businesses to stay ahead of the times is always there. Most business is conducted online these days and needing a great website is in high demand and works in your favor!

And again… you can easily post your services and skills for hire on sites like Fiverr.com and Upwork.

6: Create Online Courses

Now this one is probably the best to start and has the highest earning potential. There is no limit to how far it can take you.

All you need is a unique idea or solution to an every day problem, a cell phone (your Video Creating tool ;-)), a little bit of personality.. and you are all set!

Ladies, you can strike gold by creating simple “How-To” videos on pretty much anything from how to use cosmetics, to easy to do hairstyles while on the run, to creative fashion ideas… The ideas are endless!

If you have a unique way of doing something that can help others or just simply make them feel better about the way they look…. (Major Key Alert 😉 ) You have just struck gold!

Fellas, the same goes for you. We all have our own little methods to doing every day tasks. Maybe you are a “Handyman Superhero”… working miracles with duct tape (slight exaggeration, but just trying to drive my point). You may think everybody else knows how to do something you can do in your sleep… but trust me, you will be surprised how many simple “How-To” videos are out there… And are cashing in!

The possibilities are endless here. I’m just giving a few examples to show that you do not have to overthink this. All you have to do is get started! Find your unique talent/skill and share it with the world.

There are different types of media you can use to create online courses whether in video or document form.

These days, most people prefer video. I don’t know it its due to the lack of attentions span we have, or just the need for instant gratification.

You can promote and sell you courses using your own website, or use the services of companies online that are already set up to help sell your courses.

Course Craft and Udemy are probably two of the most popular, but there are a few others out there.

I like Course Craft because you can get started for FREE. They even offers you free quick video courses to help you get started!

7: Start A YouTube Channel

This one goes hand-in-hand with the previous idea of creating “How-To” courses. If you are not much of a writer, then probably Blogging will not work best for you.

But if you are comfortable behind a camera, and enjoy creating videos… then YouTube is a great FREE media resource for you.

YouTube is perhaps the most popular search engine, especially for people who are in need of quick “How-To” solution video. There are many niches which you can tap into when creating your own videos.

But remember: It’s about being able to stand out from the rest by being Unique, Authentic and providing Value!!!

You are not going to make money from YouTube right away. You will have to build a following, which will take some time.

You do this by creating your own YouTube Channel, and providing consistent, valuable and unique video content! This will help build your number of viewers and subscribers.

The more consistent you are creating value-driven content, the sooner you will start making money on YouTube. (Not only by monetizing your videos through promoting products, but also by sharing YouTube advertising profits… just to name a couple of ideas 😉 )

It usually takes about a good 6 months of consistent video content to get traction on building the number of views and subscribers. It is not difficult to make $100-$300/day once you get a steady count of Views and Subscribers (A minimum of 10k subscribers should be your starting goal).

I know this may seem like a huge number of Subscribers to aim for, but with consistency, value-driven content and authenticity (and knowing how to use keywords/seo tactics to your advantage 😉 ) you will get there!

8: Become A Virtual Assistant

There are only 24 hours we can squeeze out of any given day, regardless of whether you are a multi-millionaire or flipping burgers. For an Entrepreneur who is trying to build a business on their own, there is even less time.

When starting a small online business from home, maybe you can get away with it. But trying to handle all the different tasks that go into running a growing business daily, on your own, is virtually (no pun intended 😉 ) IMPOSSIBLE!!!

An Entrepreneur or Business Owner is not looking to become a slave to their own business. Again…That defeats the entire purpose of embarking on this journey in the first place! They are always looking ahead to what’s next on the horizon and focus on managing the “Big Picture”.

They don’t have time to manage the tedious day-to-day operations. And some, if not most of these tasks can and do get outsourced to assistants.

That is where Virtual Assistants come into play. These tasks can get accomplished in the comforts of your own home. All that needs to be negotiated is determining a work schedule and salary that will satisfy the business owner and you, the Virtual Assistant!

Some of these tasks in demand consist of managing accounts, customer service, managing websites (ie. Blogging, Content Creation) online marketing and promotions, sending and responding to emails…etc.

I have found great Virtual Assistants by using Upwork. On the site, all you need to do is post your skills, availability and preferred salary. Then if someone is interested in what you are offering you will get hired!

Most job interviews can get done on Skype…. but maybe not a good idea to appear on screen wearing your pj’s 😉

9: Write & Sell eBooks

This is how I got started making money online. At the time, I did not have a physical product to sell of my own but I did know a thing or two about Business Credit. Its how I was able to raise money to begin buying and selling Real Estate.

So I began researching how to publish my very own book and started selling it online… and now I have yet another Stream of Income (Major Key Alert 😉 )

In my opinion, the quickest and simplest way to creating your own product is, The Solution = Writing a Book!

A simple and informative topic is all you need to get started! For example: How to cook healthy food, or How to wax your car, or How to paint and decorate your house.

It doesn’t have to be anything over the top. It should be though, something you are: Passionate about, Love doing (Hobby) and Can help/serve/inform others! ( Yes, Major Key Alert ;-))

Don’t worry about how long it should be, how you’re going to sell it, or how ‘rusty’ you may be at writing. If you are passionate about the topic, then the book will write itself. You will be amazed on how it will come to life once you get your fingers hitting the keyboard!

So grab your favorite cup of coffee, sit in your cozy spot and think about
what you love doing the most. Whatever makes you feel alive and happy every time you are doing it… that is what you should write a book about!

And don’t worry about marketing and salesmanship. It is the ‘invisible secret sauce’ that makes you successful, not the shinny object! If you are genuinely passionate about what you are marketing, selling, or creating, then my friend, that is what is going to sell and make you successful, not the shinny object itself!

Now, have you ever heard of Amazon.com? (If you haven’t, what planet are you from and do you come in peace? 😉 ) Millions of people buy books, daily, from Amazon. And that is where and who will be doing the selling of your book for you!

All you have to do is create the book and have Amazon publish it for you. And, because they will do all the publishing work for you, every time a version of your book (digital and physical copy) is sold, you will receive a “Royalty Check” directly to your bank account, monthly! (Cha-Ching!!!)

If you need a step-by-step educational course on:

• How to set up your book to meet Amazon’s requirements to submit for publishing.
• Interior and cover templates and layouts to use for writing your book.
• Graphics and tools to create your promotional materials to market your book (Because you don’t want to just depend on Amazon to sell you book. You should be marketing it all over social media as well!)
• How-to videos to teach you everything you need to know about creating your book from scratch, promoting your book and selling your book!

Then the “Author Academy” course is just for you! It does cost money, but you can still get a bunch of free stuff on Adazing.com to help you get going.This amazing course will even provide you with marketing tips, on “how to use keywords & categories on Amazon to maximize your book’s reach,” so you can get a better idea on what your book’s topic should be to make it more attractive, marketable, and most importantly, profitable!

It is the very exact course I took and stand by it 100%. When I started out, I had no clue on how it all works or how I was going to compete with all these “Best Selling” authors. But then I realized the most important piece of wisdom which I shared with you earlier in this chapter… It is not the shiny object that sells, it is the Passion behind the object that attracts!

The more passionate about the subject you are, the more attractive the subject will come across… hence, the better at selling it you will be, ‘The Invisible Secret Sauce’ ( OK, now that is your last Major Key Alert for now 😉 )

Everything else is just putting the pieces of the puzzle together, one piece at a time!

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As always, wishing you blessing along your path to success!