Are you sick and tired of your 9-5 office job?
You are not alone.There are countless people who were in the same situation as you are in now and who managed to escape it. How did they do it?
They built their own online businesses that eventually allowed them to quit their jobs and have the freedom they always wanted. You can do it, too!
“But I don’t know what to do!” you might say. No worries. Here are four profitable online business ideas that will help you get started…
#1 Blogging
The easiest way to get started in the world of online business is to launch a blog. Everyone has some insights that can be valuable to others. So why not share yours and get paid for it?
- Create valuable content. Decide who you are writing for, take time to understand their problems, and then do your best to help solve those problems.
- Build an audience. Focus on gaining the trust of your readers and maintain that trust at all costs.
- Monetize. Pay attention to the feedback you are getting and create products that will help your readers.
Don’t expect overnight success, though. It usually takes 12-18 months for a blog to take off. Be patient!
#2 Self-publishing
It’s probably safe to say that most people want to write and publish a book eventually.
However, the sad reality is that majority of manuscripts submitted to publishing houses are rejected, so the odds of getting a book deal are very low.
Fortunately, with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and CreateSpace services, you can now publish your book yourself. All you need is a text file with the manuscript and image files with the cover. There are no upfront costs involved!
Of course, if you want to make money with self-publishing, you will have to approach it as a business. Make sure that there is an audience for your book and that your book meets the expectations of your readers!
#3 Print-on-demand t-shirts
Do you have an artistic talent? Can you come up with original t-shirt concepts? Can you sketch them out yourself? Then you might want to consider starting a print-on-demand t-shirt business.
- Decide who your target audience is. Trying to appeal to everyone usually leads to appealing to no one. So know who your customers are. Only then you’ll be able to create t-shirts that really resonate with people.
- Create winning t-shirt concepts. Now that you know who your customers are, you can create t-shirts that really appeal to them. Don’t try to come up with something “cool”, try to come up with something that your customers would like.
- Sell your t-shirts! Go where your customers hang out online and advertise your t-shirts. See what sells and what doesn’t.
What about producing the t-shirts? You can use one of the many print on demand companies like this one. All you have to do is take orders and your t-shirt fulfillment company will take care of the rest!
#4 Software-as-a-Service
Do you know how to code? Then you can become an indie hacker and create your own software business. And yes, you can bootstrap all the way, there’s no need to take the VC money.
- Pick a problem to solve. Your first impulse might be to try to come up with some grand idea. That’s a mistake. Forget grand ideas. Look for problems that can be solved with software.
- Build a minimum viable product (MVP). You don’t want to spend 6-12 months on something that you are not sure that people want. Give yourself one month to create a minimal but functional product. You can always add more features later.
- Launch your product. Once you have an MVP, launch your product on ProductHunt, HackerNews and Reddit.
Keep in mind that most products fail, therefore you will probably have to rinse and repeat until something takes off.
Want to learn more about building and selling software products? Check out Pieter Levels’ book Make.
Conclusion :
Can you write, draw, or code? Then you can try out at least one of these ideas. And you don’t have to be perfect at it. You will improve with practice.
It won’t be easy, though. When you have a full-time job, all you want to do after work is to relax, not do more work. However, when you feel like you don’t have the willpower to work on your side business, ask yourself how badly do you want freedom?
Because freedom is what it’s all about. Yes, it’s going to be hard for a year, two years, or even five years. But if you keep at it, you will eventually succeed. And then you’ll have the freedom that you always wanted. It’s all going to be worth it in the end!
