Zero or no Investment small business ideas for you

If you want to start a business but don’t have enough money to make big investments immediately, then you should work hard towards initiating a special business plan. So, without wasting any more time, I am going to discuss some unique and profitable small business ideas that do not require a big investment initially. You may need to invest some money later, but that won’t be a big amount which you can’t afford.

These small business ideas will give you multiple options to try as a beginner, in the business or service industry. If you have a few special skills and knowledge on various subjects, it will be easier for you to consider these below-given ideas, and start your own small business.

1. Affiliate marketing 
Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest and profitable small businesses to promote products and services for others, via the internet. The best thing about this business is you don’t require your own product for marketing, or a big set up, equipment to start the business. 

Being an affiliate marketer, you have to do promotional work for a particular website, or a few products & services of other companies, through online platforms. When you start promoting a product or service, think about them from the point of view of the client and the consumer. You’ll be promoting other companies, and for each sale generated through you, you will earn a commission. You might be promoting a website, SEO or content development services, insurance policies, cloth lines, watches, and even debt help solution to the people in debt.

You need a personal computer and internet connection initially. You may also need a fixed phone number for your business to receive calls from your customers. It will be an added benefit if you have a website. You may use it for promoting other websites or products. You may also use social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest, Twitter, etc for affiliate marketing.

​To become a successful affiliate marketer, you may consult with your senior affiliates to teach you skills, or join affiliate marketing related forums, Facebook groups, Skype groups, etc.

2. A personal or virtual assistant
You may start this business at any point in time. You may require a desktop computer or laptop, a smartphone with a few important office apps. 

You will need an internet connection at your home and more than one phone number to receive calls from the clients. As a promising virtual assistant, you might have to provide services to multiple clients at once. 

Being a virtual assistant you may need to perform a few tasks such as:

• Organizing daily appointments and to-do lists
• Email management
• Travel arrangements
• updating schedules by interacting with clients
• Social media promotion
• Receiving calls
• Coordinate with other employees of your client​

This small business is getting popular day by day as it needs minimum investment and you may earn extra money easily.

The biggest benefit of this business is that you can work from your home, which gives you a lot more freedom. If you want to find potential clients, use websites like Upwork.com and you may choose suitable clients, preferable work hours, and your hourly, daily, or monthly pay rate.

---

3. Web developing
There are nearly 4 billion people who use the internet in the world. So you can redirect a great percentage of this massive online population into your existing small business if you have a website. Approximately 6 out of 10 small businesses maintain a website. So, if you do not have an existing small business, it is still very important to learn web development skills to meet the huge demand for building and upgrading business websites.

You may start your business by creating and developing websites for your family and friends and brush up your skills. New business owners always search for great coders to make their websites cool and trendy. They also want their website should load easily and fast to increase the user experience. 
You may start your career by offering competitive prices for your services. Once you get some popularity as a good coder, you may increase your prices. Don’t forget to create a website for yourself and showcase your work over there, it will help you to build a strong profile as a coder.

Being a web developer you should gather basic coding skills in computer languages like CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and Java. For that, you may learn coding and programs from several free or cheap online courses. Check-in your locality or search online for good and cost-effective classes to learn web development.
Improving business will be easier if you also improve your skills. So, you also need to update yourself with different, new techniques of web development and improve yourself.

4. Bookkeeping services
Do you have good knowledge about maths and accounting, and also want to work from home? If yes, you may start providing remote bookkeeping services. As a freelance bookkeeper, you don’t require to be a Certified Public Accountant. But, your skills should be up to the mark to support your customers. You should know about modern accountancy, tax laws, company laws, and other required subjects. Some services you may offer include:

• Preparing the balance sheets
• Providing income statements
• Creating various monthly, quarterly, or annual financial reports

5. Freelance secretarial services
This is somehow a similar concept to virtual assisting. You may provide secretarial services remotely to business executives or companies. You might require some special skills to get the job. Those skills may include:

• Good communication skills
• A high level of autonomy
• Good time management
• Strong organizational skills

Being a freelance secretary your job may include

• Answering phone calls and deal with other business owners
• Replying to emails, and forward important documents
• Organizing calendars and handle schedules
• Booking meetings and appointments
• Putting together presentations

6. Travel consultancy services
If you are passionate about traveling and you are always updating yourself with the information about best locations, best hotels, cheap airline tickets, best deals on tours, then you have a great potential to become a travel consultant.

This business is all about making good connections and gathering info regarding best deals on the best services. So, you have to use the internet, search hotels, call them, and make contacts. You not only have to negotiate with people interested in travel, but also with the hotel owners, cab owners, and lots of other people who will provide the best services to your travelers.

Once you are set with the contacts, make sure you start by helping your family and friends to get the best travel deals. This way you can check all the services and get the most genuine feedback from your relatives and friends. If the arrangement proves good, you will also get popularity without spending a dollar on promotions. In most cases, people who save money for holidays and vacations, trust such service providers through the word from their close ones.

You may opt for certification in travel consulting if you take this business seriously. You may also need to create social profiles for your travel consultancy business on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and share information via your website, or forward great deals on WhatsApp. Once you become a popular name in this business, negotiate with service providers to offer exclusive deals for your customers.

Guest Author Bio: Patricia Sanders is a professional content developer and a regular contributor to debtconsolidationcare. She specializes in the financial niche and is well known for her unique financial tips that can be very effective. She always tries to help people, suffering from financial hardships, through her writing. Her continuous effort has earned her recognition and honor in the financial blogging industry. Besides writing, she loves to travel and gather information on various financial topics. To get in touch with her (or if you have any questions regarding this article) email at sanderspatricia29@gmail.com. Need a personal finance coach? Try It'$ My Money