25 Best Online Business Ideas for 2026

Starting an online business is a transformative experience. While it can bring new challenges, it also opens the door to opportunities. Remember, every great online business started with an idea.

If you’ve been looking for the right moment to start, the numbers suggest that the time is now. In the U.S. alone, online sales reached $304.2 billion in the second quarter of 2025, a 5% jump from the previous year. 

A good online business idea is one that you’re passionate about, and that meets a real need. Look for ideas with a built-in customer base and growth potential. Think about the problems you can solve or interests you can share.

Ahead, find 25 online business ideas and models, designed for beginners and experienced entrepreneurs alike. See which ideas inspire you, then use them to start your own business online.

Best online business ideas for 2025

1. Start your own clothing line
2. Launch a dropshipping business
3. Sell your art online
4. Become a freelance writer, designer, or developer
5. Teach an online course
6. Flip your thrift store finds
7. Publish your own book
8. Start a blog or a newsletter
9. Become a virtual assistant
10. Become an influencer
11. Build apps and websites
12. Launch a podcast
13. Become an affiliate marketer
14. Curate subscription boxes
15. Develop a niche product
16. Create handmade goods
17. Become a social media manager
18. Sell merchandise on marketplaces
19. Become a translator
20. Start an accounting or bookkeeping firm
21. Become an online fitness trainer
22. Sell music
23. Start an online coaching business
24. Do voice-over work
25. Become an ad consultant

1. Start your own clothing line

If you’re passionate about fashion and willing to navigate supply chains, you can start a clothing company. Uprisers, a female-founded lifestyle brand, shows how you can impact lives through apparel. Founder Michelle K. Hanabusa runs community surveys every year where folks share their praises and areas of improvement with her. 

“We really take that feedback to heart and we really try to evolve with our community internally as a team. We always say, like, at the end of the day, even though we are a clothing brand, we’re also like servants to our community,” Michelle explains on a recent Shopify Masters episode. 

Why start a clothing line?

• As a clothing designer, you create products people use every day.
• As soon as you build your Shopify store, you can start selling instantly with print-on-demand apps.

Find popular print-on-demand services, such as Printful, on the Shopify App Store and focus on your favorite garments, such as t-shirts. Print-on-demand apps can connect you to clothing manufacturers and handle packaging and shipping to customers.

2. Launch a dropshipping business

Think you need a warehouse full of inventory to run your own business? Think again. Dropshipping is a great way to start a business on a budget. Hit the ground running by selling products from a supplier who takes care of storage and shipping.

With Shopify, it’s easy to start a dropshipping business and start selling without the hassle of managing inventory and fulfillment. Dropshipping wholesalers send orders directly to your customers, so you can focus on building your brand. Stores using Shopify Collective to find dropshipping products can see profit margins from 20%. This means that if you sell $100 worth of products, you’ll keep $20. 

“The reason why you’re starting a dropshipping company is because you don’t have the cash upfront. So, you have to learn the things that you need to be able to do instead of hiring people to do it for you,” says Selom Agbitor, co-founder of tattoo balm Mad Rabbit, referring to a previous business venture. 

Why choose dropshipping?

• No need to spend on inventory or store products in a physical location.
• Picking, packaging, and shipping handled by a third-party supplier.
• No warehouse means you can run your business from anywhere.

Find out how one entrepreneur went from watching dropshipping YouTube videos to posting $3 million in revenue.

3. Sell your art online

Whether you’re a painter, photographer, or musician, you can turn your latest masterpiece into a source of revenue with a beautifully designed ecommerce website.

Earnings vary. Data from Starter Story shows that the average revenue for a successful artist is $26,000 per month, with profit margins up to 50% for art businesses. 

You can sell any type of art online, too. Botanica Paper Co. is a stationary brand started by illustrator and designer Oana Befort. Operating out of Council Bluffs, Iowa, (and selling everywhere online) Oana sells greeting cards, journals, calendars, and more. 

If you’re a painter or photographer you can sell your art as prints, canvases, and framed posters, even using a print-on-demand service to ship it directly to customers. This is a fantastic way to turn your art into something tangible that people can take home and integrate into their space. You can also sell your work as digital downloads.

Why sell your art?

• You’ll be part of people’s lives by getting your work into customers’ homes.
• You’ll create a platform for showcasing your work by setting up shop online.
• It’s a chance to turn your passion into income and do what you love for a living.

Looking for inspiration? Learn how artist Sarah Andersen went from viral comics to a creative franchise.

4. Become a freelance writer, designer, or developer

If you’re a writer, graphic designer, or developer, you can leverage your skills to start a low-cost business. As a freelancer, you can hop between different companies, taking on different projects at different scales. 

To find companies that need your skills, try freelancing marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr. On Upwork, for example, software developers charge between $20 and $150 per hour, with experienced developers earning more. 

To run your own freelance operation, set up a website using apps like BTA: Appointment Booking App and Events Calendar, so your customers can schedule appointments. You can also create a portfolio website on Shopify with the Basic plan, which starts at $29 per month billed annually. 

Why freelance?

• When you freelance, you choose which projects you want to work on and set your own schedule and workplace.
• Getting paid to do something you’re good at is a rewarding feeling, whether you’re starting a new career or a side hustle.
• If you’re new to writing, designing, or developing, freelancing can help you build your portfolio and gain experience in a wide range of industries. You might discover you have skills or passion for something you never expected.

If freelancing sounds like a good online business idea for your lifestyle, here are some articles that can help you make the most of your time:

• 21 Ways to Work from Home (+ 9 Productivity Tips)
• What Is a Lifestyle Business and How to Start One
• The 24 Best Productivity Apps

5. Teach an online course

Although it requires effort upfront, teaching a popular high-value video tutorial series is an online business idea that can generate passive income as people continue to enroll in your course. AI prompt engineering courses are particularly popular—up 195% in 2025, according to Coursera, but you can teach any subject you know well. 

To create your first online course, start by brainstorming a topic you know well enough to teach from scratch. This can be anything—music production, social media marketing, web development, you name it.

Earnings vary by course type, market demand, and platform. Here are some popular course-hosting platforms for 

• Teachable. Starter plans cost $29 per month for an annual subscription. There’s also a 7.5% transaction fee on every sale. 
• Thinkific. Basic plans start at $36 per month, paid annually. 
• Kajabi. Plans start at $71 per month paid annually and include a suite of marketing and sales tools.
• Udemy. This educational marketplace operates on a revenue sharing model. Course designers receive 37% of on-platform sales, and 97% for direct sales generated through instructor referral links or coupons.

Why teach an online course?

• Your initial efforts will go a long way. Once you’ve created your online course, you can monetize it for years, drawing in new students and passive income.
• You already have the knowledge, you just need to share it. Focus on teaching something you’re already an expert at and the rest will come naturally, whether it’s building iOS apps, creating monthly budgets, or running Facebook ad campaigns.
• Teaching someone a new skill is its own reward. Yes, there’s money to be made, but helping other people can be satisfying in itself.

6. Flip your thrift store finds

If you love hitting up thrift stores and hunting down great deals, then selling your second-hand treasures online could be a great online business idea for you. 

Your potential customers want to buy cool stuff, but they don’t want to dig through old soccer jerseys and braided belts to get their hands on it. Take advantage of this by positioning yourself as a trustworthy curator who can go out and uncover those great vintage pieces for others.

You can sell these items on popular marketplaces like Etsy and eBay, or you can build your own online store and sell them directly, with no third party taking a cut of sales. Beyond Retro is an online thrift and vintage seller, with thousands of brands. The brand has brick-and-mortar stores, but sells to shoppers online through its ecommerce store, where it also offers auctions of rare and valuable items.

Why sell your thrift store finds?

• If you’re combing through thrift store racks anyway, you might as well make some money while you do it.
• The margins are huge. That $2 ball cap you found? With the right buyer, you might turn it into a $40 vintage hat.
• You’re selling something unique. Your exact catalog of vintage treasures can’t be matched by any other seller.

Make sure your offerings appear as alluring as possible. Take a look at these guides to making your products look great in photos:

• Perfect Product Photography: Craft a Perfect Setup
• How To Take Clothing Photography for Your Online Store

7. Publish your own book

If you’ve thought about publishing your own book someday, you’re not alone. And thanks to the advent of online publishers, achieving that goal is more accessible than ever before.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a science-fiction novel, a marketing guide, or a children’s picture book, there are now plenty of options for successfully self-publishing your work. These include releasing your writing as an ebook with the Digital Downloads app or using on-demand printing services.

And the money can be good, too. Publishing services company Reedsy estimates that the average self-published book can cost between $2,940 and $5,560. The Alliance of Independent Authors polled over 2,000 self-published authors and found the average author earned $82,607 per year. 

To sell ebooks through your online store, install the Digital Downloads app and you’ll instantly be able to stock digital files as products. Once purchased, your ebooks will be sent to your customers via email or as a direct download link.

If you choose to sell physical copies of your book, you’ll just need to place an order whenever your work is purchased. They’ll custom print your book and handle the storage and fulfillment process.

Why publish a book?

• Self-publishing is the quickest way to get your book into the hands of potential readers. You won’t have to navigate the slow process of selling your manuscript to a publishing house.
• Printing, storage, and delivery are taken care of thanks to services like Blurb.
• You can list your book on a marketplace like Amazon and take advantage of a built-in customer base of eager readers.

8. Start a blog or a newsletter

Blogging has come a long way since its inception. What was once a virtual journal has now turned into a marketing and monetization tool. Writers can now host a blog on their personal website, or they can create email newsletters via platforms like Substack. 

The price can range anywhere up to $300 in the first year, depending on the platform and tools you choose. Hosting your own blog is a bit different. For example, a domain name often costs about $15 annually, while your theme can cost a one-time fee of roughly $50 if you want a premium one. 

Any plug-ins or tools will have their own monthly fees. Ideally, when you’re just starting out, you’ll be writing your blog content, so you won’t need to pay for content creation. 

Whether you make money from subscriptions, sponsored posts, hosting third-party ads, or selling your products, a blog is an online business idea you can operate from home. Conversations on Reddit show that bloggers can earn $1,000 to $3,000 per month on average in the early days.

The key to starting a successful blog is to focus on building an engaged, loyal audience. When you start with an audience-centric approach, you’ll cultivate a community that trusts you. And when you can earn trust, you can start to drive revenue.

That’s how Mr. Money Mustache started his popular personal finance blog. What began as a movement turned into a successful business that’s earned national media coverage.

Why start a blog?

• Blogs have immense growth potential. You can expand into affiliate marketing, ecommerce, courses, and essentially any other online business venture. You can send email newsletters on a paid subscription model to drive revenue.
• A blog is a long-term play. While you’re unlikely to see overnight results, you may be able to cultivate a loyal readership base.
• It lets you practice your writing—an essential skill to have in business and communication. Use tools like Grammarly or Hemingway to improve your writing.

For more information on getting started, check out these articles:

• 15 Blog Examples To Help Kickstart Your Own Successful Blog
• 4 Ecommerce Blog Post Templates To Build Traffic for Your Store

9. Become a virtual assistant

Are you super organized and love working behind the scenes? If so, you might be the perfect candidate to start a virtual assistant (VA) business.

A VA works remotely, using the phone and internet to help entrepreneurs, businesses, and executives organize their personal and professional lives. And while traditional assistants come into an office, a VA works remotely, often from the comfort of their own home.

How much you’ll earn as a VA depends on your setup, but it’s all relatively inexpensive. For example, you could set up an Upwork account for free and bid for projects there. If you choose to create your own website, you’ll have to pay for a professional email account (Google Workspace costs around $10 per month on the Starter Plan) and web hosting costs (between $2 and $10 per month for a shared hosting plan). Say you charge $20 per hour, which is in range of most VA salary estimates, you’d only need to work roughly two billable hours to break a monthly profit before any payment processing fees.

Why become a VA?

• Work with your ideal client. Even if you don’t know at the start, over time you’ll find out who you love working with and what tasks you love doing for them. You can evolve your business to cater to those preferences.
• Interact with people from all over the world. All you need is an internet connection to do your work and you can have the chance to work with international clients and professionals.
• Grow your business into a network of VAs. If you become too busy or have growth goals, you can hire and train VAs to work under you and increase profits.

10. Become an influencer

Influencer marketing is a $22 billion industry, according to Statista, with plenty of business opportunities to be had.

You may associate influencing with celebrities, but there’s a robust market for micro-influencers—those with smaller but nonetheless engaged followings. This means you don’t need millions of followers to earn money on Instagram and TikTok.

It takes no money to open or operate an influencer account. For example, TikTok Shop affiliate is free to join for creators who meet the eligibility requirements. With as much as 1,000 followers, you can start selling products through short-form videos and earn commissions. 

Typical earning power varies but a recent report from Collabstr found that the average price per creator collaboration is about $200 across platforms, with YouTube leading the charge at $418. Depending on the number of collaborations you do per month, you could possibly earn $2,000 per month with a 10,000-follower account through a mix of affiliate sales and brand partnerships. 

Why be an influencer?

• It’s an opportunity to get an introduction to marketing—particularly valuable if you’re interested in pursuing it as a career or additional business venture.
• You’ll learn about new and interesting brands. You might discover products and companies you love that you never would have found had they not solicited your services. In many cases, you’ll receive products that you can keep for free after profiling them.
• You can grow your own brand as an influencer. Perhaps you weren’t particularly famous before you debuted as a micro-influencer. If you’re a natural on camera and actively engage with your audience, you may find fame for profiling products online.

Here are our inspiring tips and stories to get you started as an influencer:

• How To Make Money on TikTok: 13 Effective Strategies
• How to Make Money on YouTube: 9 Top Strategies

11. Build apps and websites

If you’re tech-savvy, acquire some coding skills and start building. Whether it’s mobile apps, Shopify apps, or websites, you can create digital products for purchase or as a service provider.

These “micro-SaaS” businesses, or a small software brand you can run on your own, are becoming more popular. It’s focused on making tools for a specific group of people. 

For example, you can create a custom Shopify store theme and sell it to merchants looking for an affordable DIY approach to designing their website. You can also work with clients directly to build websites and apps tailored to their specific needs.

Getting a SaaS off the ground has varied startup costs. It really depends on what you plan to do and how much programming knowledge you have. Many app stores are offering amazing deals. For developers who meet certain eligibility requirements, Shopify lets you keep 100% of revenue on your first $1 million in app store sales. Once you find the right customers, these small tools can bring in five figures each month. There are solo founders out there right now with small apps making $4,000, $10,000, and even $40,000 a month.

Why build apps and websites?

• As more people embrace ecommerce and online entertainment, there will be expanding demand for the technical skills necessary to build apps and websites.
• Site building and coding can be quite lucrative. A skilled freelance web designer can work for an hourly rate ranging from about $50 to more than $100. Depending on the scope of the project, you can expect to earn a few thousand dollars for a completed website.

12. Launch a podcast

Every day, millions of listeners tune into podcasts using platforms like Spotify, Apple, Pocket Casts, and Stitcher. They are a great home business idea with multiple monetization options, similar to starting a blog.

Here’s what you need to start your podcast:

• A high-quality microphone
• Audio recording software
• Call recording software

Different sources put the average cost of starting a podcast anywhere between free to thousands. The biggest cost here, and one to not skip out on, is your podcast mic. A good mic like the ATR2100x-USB ($79) or the Shure MV7 (around $269) can improve the listening experience, which helps you earn more money. 

You can monetize your podcast with ads, brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and even merch sales. According to Libsyn Ads, podcast sponsorships go for between $12 and $40 per 1,000 listeners. Descript cites merch sales earning a net margin of 9%, and affiliates usually earn between 5% and 30% commissions.

But where to sell your merch? Through your own podcast website, of course, just like popular podcasts like Crime Junkie do on Shopify. 

To promote your podcast, consider collaborating with prominent figures as guests on your show. Encourage listeners to leave reviews and share your podcast with their friends and family.

Why start a podcast?

• Podcasts continue to grow in popularity. Recent survey data shows that 55% of US adults have listened to a podcast in the last month. 
• A successful podcast can lead to endless possibilities. Turn your episodes into a blog, gain sponsors and advertisers, and immerse yourself in a community you feel passionate about.
• Many podcasters simulcast on YouTube. You can film yourself taping episodes and post the content on YouTube. This opens up another revenue stream and a broader audience for your work.

Get some inspiration for your own podcast with these best business podcasts for entrepreneurs.

13. Become an affiliate marketer

Affiliate marketing is when you recommend a product or service by sharing it on your blog, social media, email list, website, or other channel. You earn a commission each time someone converts through your unique referral link or code.

Find an affiliate program that suits your interests, personal brand, and target audience. Amazon has its own affiliate program, and you can also check out the Shopify Affiliate Program. Most affiliate marketing programs are free to join, and the average affiliate earns between $58,9000 and $107,000 per year.

Once you’ve signed up, start sharing. Create social media posts, blog articles, emails, and other content about how great the product or service you’re promoting is. Don’t oversaturate your audience with ads, otherwise you risk coming across as spammy or inauthentic.

Why do affiliate marketing?

• You’re tapping into a natural instinct to help people. You probably already tell your friends about products and services you use. Now you can get paid for it!
• Affiliate marketing is a great source of passive income. You continue to make money when your affiliate links lead to sales, even if it’s long after you posted those links.

14. Curate subscription boxes

Subscription boxes are themed packages of various products. There are subscription boxes in pretty much every industry, from meal-prep kits and craft snacks to fitness products and makeup. You can curate subscription boxes around virtually any theme of your choice. 

Based on data reported by real businesses, Starter Story found that the average subscription box business makes $1.17 million in revenue per year. Costs vary, and can be anywhere from $500 to $5,000 for a lean launch with your initial product, packaging, and tools. Use Cratejoy’s subscription box pricing calculator to figure out your pricing and costs. 

Bokksu, for example, curates Japanese snacks and sends them to customers each month.

When you curate subscription boxes, you work with brands and artisans to purchase and resell their products in a bundled offering. Typically, consumers expect to be surprised by what’s in the box, though there are some (like meal prep kits) where the customer chooses what they receive.

Why curate subscription boxes?

• It’s a viable seasonal business. Subscription boxes are often purchased as gifts. So if you’re only interested in running your online business for part of the year, this could be a model worth checking out.
• It’s a growing industry. Subscription ecommerce sales will total more than $2.7 trillion billion globally in 2025.
• You don’t need to create your own products. Instead, you can use proven, successful products and simply put them together in a nice package.

15. Develop a niche product

If you recognize an opportunity in a certain niche, you can create a bespoke product to fill a market need. Niche products cater to a unique audience—one that may not be served by mass-market offerings.

A product niche could be based on industry, demographic, price point, geography, values, product attributes, and more. For example, BlendJet tapped into a niche based on product attributes and audience needs. The company’s founder, Ryan Pamplin, recovering from an injury, found traditional blenders bulky and a hassle for his daily health shakes. 

He developed the BlendJet portable blender, a bespoke product for health-conscious consumers who value convenience and portability over the power of a mass-market kitchen blender—and it was a huge hit. 

“By the end of 2018, we had over 100,000 customers in 100 countries,” says Ryan. “By the end of 2019, we had over a million. By the end of 2020 millions, and at the peak of 2022, we were selling one item on BlendJet.com or through major retail stores every one and a half seconds”

Pet owners are another example of a broad niche. You can tap into a subset of pet owners by targeting uncommon pets like chinchillas or bearded dragons.

Your costs will depend on how you develop the product:

• With print-on-demand (POD), most POD platforms are free and you pay per unit when ordered. So, that costs zero dollars upfront.
• Starting a business with a private label product can cost between $4,650 and $115,500. The range is because more complicated products like skin care may require more complex equipment and working capital. 

A good gross margin for direct-to-consumer (DTC) products ranges between 40% and 60%, according to 2025 benchmarks from TrueProfit. High profit products can earn anywhere from 45% to 200% profit margins.

Why develop a niche product?

• Niche products are unique and potentially buzzworthy. Early success can be all you need to drive press coverage with zero budget.
• Choosing a specific target customer makes it easier to create marketing and messaging that resonates. Rather than trying to speak to a broad, diverse group, you’re talking to a group of individuals with lots of shared characteristics.

16. Create handmade goods

If you’re particularly crafty, selling handmade products might be a great online business idea. Whether you make jewelry, picture frames, or furniture, you can monetize your craft skills by selling these products online. Selling handmade goods can even be an achievable business idea for kids.

Startup costs for a handmade goods business vary. 

On the lower end, your main expenses might be materials and a few listing fees. On the higher end, you would be budgeting for items such as custom jewelry or woodworking projects, which require expensive raw materials, specialized tools, and an initial inventory. 

Staghead Designs, for example, is a jeweler that handcrafts customer engagement rings and wedding bands with materials like antler, wood, whiskey-barrel oak and alternative metals. Customers can buy ready-to-ship pieces or collaborate on custom designs through the site. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the median pay for craft and fine artists is $56,260, but that can vary depending on what and how much you sell. While you can use platforms like Craigslist or Etsy to sell your wares, operating your own online store will give you more control and make it easier to track and fulfill orders.

Why sell handmade goods?

• Devote as much or as little time as you want. It’s your choice how big you want to grow.
• Create on your schedule. Make your handmade goods when you have spare time or even on your lunch break from your primary job.
• Turn your passion into income. You may already be making handmade goods in your spare time. Turning your hobby into an entrepreneurial endeavor can yield a combination of pleasure and profit.

Ready to find new homes for your handcrafts? Get started here:

• Moving From Etsy to Shopify: An Ecommerce Migration Story
• The Business of DIY: 23 Things to Make and Sell

17. Become a social media manager

Effectively managing and growing social media accounts is a skill. If you have the chops, consider becoming a social media manager or a consultant for brands.

You’ll be responsible for maintaining a company’s social presence online, developing its social marketing strategy, and managing campaigns and related tasks, like sending emails. It’s a solid online business idea with plenty of demand, with jobs in social media expected to grow by 6% through 2034, reflecting steady demand as brands prioritize digital presence.

You can become a social media manager for $100 or less, as your main expenses are just basic organizational tools, like a free Calendly account and a Google Workspace. This extremely low startup cost is beautiful when you consider the average US salary for this role is about $62,460 annually.

Start your process by building up followers on your own social media channels. This functions as social proof that will help you win clients. Next, you’ll want to set up a business website and a payment processing system. As you gain more experience, you can start catering to a wider array of social media needs, like profile growth, outreach, or brand sponsorship management.

Why start a social media management business?

• The service-based business has few barriers to entry, and it’s relatively easy to get started.
• You can be your own boss and decide your earning potential. The more experience and results you can show, the higher your service fees can be.
• If you’re a regular social media user, you can turn something you’re already doing into a money-making activity.

Ready to start your own social media management business? Brush up on social media know-how with the following resources:

• How To Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy (+ Template)
• 12 Creative Social Media Campaign Examples

18. Sell merchandise on marketplaces

Seller platforms like eBay, Bonanza, Etsy, or Facebook Marketplace make the process of listing products, capturing contact information, and receiving payments easy.

The best part? These massive seller platforms already come with built-in traffic. As the seller, it’s your job to get strategic with your listing and keep track of what sells and how well so you can optimize your efforts. You can do all of this from the comfort of your home, too.

You can start selling merchandise on marketplaces like eBay or Etsy for almost nothing, since you generally only pay small fees (like Etsy’s 20¢ listing fee) after you sell an item. Like dropshipping, the pay-as-you-go model makes it a super low risk online business idea with an average salary of $69,000 per year for resellers. 

To turn a profit under this business model, sell merchandise at a higher price than what you paid for it. This may mean buying items in bulk and reselling them at a higher per-unit cost.

It could also mean combing through garage sales and secondhand stores to find items with notable resale value. You can also use these marketplaces to offload unused items you have around your home. You won’t turn a profit unless you sell your old items for more than you paid for them. Still, you can make some extra cash while clearing space in your home.

Why sell on marketplaces?

• It’s affordable to start, without a hefty upfront investment.
• You get access to a pool of traffic you might not be able to tap into on other platforms.
• The online selling skills you acquire can translate into adjacent businesses down the road.

19. Become a translator

The translation industry is booming—it doubled in size in the past decade. You can market your services on a translation platform like Gengo, on an all-purpose gig marketplace like UpWork, or on your own website.

For those with the skills, a translation business is free to start, since you can join client platforms for free. It’s a no-cost way to tap into a professional field where the median annual salary in the US is around $59,440.

As a translator, you can apply your skills to translating content, meetings, résumés, books, or even online conferences. As you refine your skills, you can charge by the hour or by the project. No matter which pricing model you use, a translation business can be both flexible and lucrative once you get started with your first few clients.

Why start a translation business?

• Translation can be a low-cost business that doesn’t require ad management or dealing with inventory.
• If you speak a less common language, you can carve out a niche that makes you a go-to translator for a specific set of clients.
• You can use your translation gigs to create a portfolio for higher status projects, like translating entire books.

20. Start an accounting or bookkeeping firm

If you have a background in finance, you can take advantage of the steady market demand for accounting and bookkeeping. Try going freelance, offering your services to clients looking to outsource this part of their business.

Your qualification for this work will depend on your training and experience. A bookkeeper, who routinely keeps track of a company’s business transactions, can be largely self-taught, using software like QuickBooks to keep an accurate ledger. An accountant prepares documents that may be presented to tax collectors and business investors. Most companies will insist on hiring a certified public accountant (CPA) for such work.

Launching your own accounting firm costs less than a nice dinner out each month, with the main expense being a software subscription, like QuickBooks, for $9 to $38 per month, after a one-time LLC filing of about $129, depending on the state you do business in. It’s not a big investment, considering the median pay starts at $50,573 for bookkeepers and can top an average of $96,069 for CPAs.

Assuming you have the requisite training, you can bootstrap an accounting or bookkeeping business with a combination of advertising, word of mouth, and tenacity. You can list your services on platforms like Upwork, run your own website, or do a combination of both. As you begin to gain clients and deliver great work, referral clients start coming your way.

Why start an accounting or bookkeeping business?

• Businesses have a consistent need for reliable, ethical bookkeepers and accountants to help them monitor finances, prepare tax forms, and attract investors.
• While tax prep is largely seasonal (most tax accountants are busiest from January through April), there is steady year-round work to be found in corporate bookkeeping and financial management.
• A service-based business like accounting and bookkeeping thrive on building relationships and returning customers, which may ease your reliance on digital marketing campaigns.

21. Become an online fitness trainer

Like many other service-based industries, fitness training has migrated online. Popular trainers like Kayla Itsines are making a killing online through memberships, fitness apps, and ebooks.

If you have fitness training experience, offering such services online might be a no-brainer. Your main hurdle to becoming an online fitness trainer is getting certified, which is a one-time investment that can run from $599 for just the exam up to $2,999 for a full CPT course. Most salary websites cite earnings of around $60,000 per year, but trainers in Reddit threads discuss earning six figures through online training.

Much of online fitness training involves video lessons—either live or pre-recorded. Other elements of a digital fitness business include workout guides, recipe books, and forums where class members can connect and share tips. All of these can live on your fitness training website.

As you get started, don’t forget to leverage social media—fitness is a visual industry. Being present on platforms like Instagram and TikTok can be a great way to build an audience and win clients.

Why start an online fitness trainer business?

• There is steady demand for fitness training. It’s estimated that Americans spent more than $45 billion at gyms and health clubs in 2025.
• The public is open to online training. Video workouts have been around for decades, as fans of Richard Simmons and Sally Struthers know. The internet allows for a more interactive form of video training, and many customers are happy to embrace that model.
• You can create evergreen content like courses, cookbooks, or fitness plans that can continue to bring in passive income long after you’ve finished making them.

22. Sell music

If you’re able to write and produce music at home, you can sell it via licensing websites that connect composers to clients in search of musical cues.

Just take a look at The Drum Broker, the largest online drum sample business in the world. Other online music marketplaces include PremiumBeat and Epidemic Sound. 

The cost to start a music business is free if you already have the instruments and tools, you’ll just have to pay for distribution tools like DistroKid, which costs as low as $24.99 per year. The average musician makes around $81,600 per year, but can range higher depending on your streaming numbers and direct sales. 

Why create and sell music?

• Commercial clients actively seek musical compositions to place in their ads.
• Unlike other sectors of the music industry, you don’t need personal connections to break into selling music online.
• Selling tracks online can bolster your résumé and make you a stronger candidate for more lucrative work, like scoring an entire movie.

23. Start an online coaching business

Life coaches help steer their clients through important events involving work, relationships, and life cycle milestones. To succeed as an online coach, it helps to carve out a niche. Clearly communicate what specialties you offer and what results clients can expect from your coaching sessions.

Many coaches start basically for free. Run marketing campaigns through LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, all tools you don’t have to pay for, unless you upgrade to LinkedIn Premium. Zoom and Google Meet also have free tiers to run calls on. You’ll just likely want to pay for a Google Workspace account to obtain a professional email address and organization tools for $7 per month. 

On average, online coaches earn about $65,000 per year, but as with most businesses, you can earn more through selling one-to-many workshops, digital products, and working with more expensive clients like enterprise organizations. 

One way to break into coaching is to market yourself on social media. Online coaches like Simone Seol use Instagram to reach potential clients. As you build up your client base, you can get more work from word-of-mouth referrals—both from patients and fellow coaches.

Why start an online coaching business?

• Online coaching has high income potential if you have solid interpersonal skills and can help clients achieve their goals.
• You don’t need a license or a degree to work as a coach. You can start coaching in any subject you’re knowledgeable enough in to charge for.
• Happy clients can stay loyal to you and give you valuable word-of-mouth referrals.

24. Do voice-over work

Many voice-over artists make professional recordings from the comfort of their own home. You can join their ranks by learning the basics of recording software and investing in equipment like a condenser microphone, a digital audio interface, a computer, and the software itself.

You’ll also need a soundproof space in your home—closets do an excellent job of absorbing outside noise, and you can invest in soundproof panels to hang from walls. Maybe you’d invest in a Voices Premium membership to book jobs and get a high-quality mic. Voice actors then go on to earn about $100,000 per year in the US, on average. 

Voice-over artists record audiobooks, commercials, webinars, course guides, and acting roles, among other work. To start booking voice-over work, consider recording a demo reel, setting up a website, and social media presence that will attract customers to you. You can also keep track of voice-over audition calls in trade forums like Backstage.

Why start a voice-over business?

• Starting a voice-over business can turn your voice into a revenue generator.
• Voice-over work can present many fun job opportunities, from narrating books to acting.

25. Become an ad consultant

Ads are everywhere, and behind many of them are consultants who help businesses optimize their outreach. Much of this work can now be done online, as successful ad consultants like Monica Louie can attest.

To get started, pick the types of ads you want to specialize in—whether that’s PPC ads on Google, Instagram ads, Facebook ads, TikTok ads, or even display ads—and then start marketing your services with a professional website. You can also advertise your services on professional networking sites like LinkedIn.

The best part? Becoming an ad consultant is super low-cost. You can get free certifications from Google Ads and take Meta Blueprint courses for free. You might just want to build a website and some ads of your own to promote your business and show clients you know what you’re doing. Ad consultants today bring in roughly $80,000 per year, but can reach as high as $118,000 and beyond. 

To succeed in ad consulting, it helps to have a background in the field with test cases you can present to interested clients. If you’re brand new to ad strategy, it can be helpful to work under a seasoned ad consultant until you gain expertise. Later, you can hang a shingle for an ad consulting business of your own.

Why start an ad consulting business?

• Ad consultants will have work as long as there is advertising—which is to say, forever.
• It’s a great online business idea if you’re savvy with people and understand the basics of advertising strategy.
• You can work with multiple clients simultaneously, building out your network as you do.

How to start an online business in 6 steps

1. Validate your idea with research
2. Develop your product or service
3. Set up your business finances
4. Find vendors and suppliers
5. Build your business website
6. Market your new small business

Once you’ve decided on an online business idea, you’ll want to do your due diligence and, eventually, give it life. Here’s how to start a business online, step by step:

1. Validate your idea with research

It might sound harsh, but it’s true: Just because you think you have a great idea doesn’t mean there’s a market for it.

Before investing your time and energy into starting your business, research how feasible it is and whether there’s any potential buyer interest. You can hire an agency to conduct market research for you, but if you’re on a shoestring budget, you can also take the DIY approach. These resources will help get you started:

• What is Market Demand and How to Calculate It
• How to Use Niche Marketing to Build Your Business From the Ground Up

After conducting market research, write a business plan to clarify your ideas. Having a business plan will help you stay organized and focused as you go through the ups and downs of starting a new business.

2. Develop your product or service

You’ve validated your idea, now it’s time to turn it into a reality. Whether you’re selling a product or service, you need to create it. Find a manufacturer to bring your product to life, create packages of your service offerings, or write your book and identify a self-publishing option to bring it to fruition.

If you go the dropshipping route, the product has already been developed for you. It’s up to you to choose the products you’re passionate about or that you’ve identified are trending.

3. Set up your business finances

“How do I open a business bank account?” is a common question for many new entrepreneurs. After you’ve officially registered your business with your local government, you should have the tax identification numbers and other information required to open a business bank account.

As you grow, you might need funding for future endeavors, be it a new product launch or marketing and advertising spend. Having business bank accounts makes it easier for you to manage that capital, as well as track your revenue and expenses.

Having a bank account is also helpful when it comes to tax preparation, since your business-related transactions will be in a single place. As your business finances get more complicated, hiring a professional accountant or tax professional could be a viable option.

Want to simplify your business finances? Shopify Balance is a free financial account that lets you manage your business’s money from your Shopify admin. Pay no monthly fees, get payouts up to four days earlier, and earn cashback on eligible purchases.

4. Find partners, vendors and suppliers

Product-based online businesses, in particular, may require lots of business relationships, for example: a manufacturer, a dropshipper, or a third-party logistics coordinator. When identifying which partnerships you want to move forward with, it’s best to shop around and compare your options to make sure you’re getting the best solution for your needs.

Other online business ideas may require different relationships or contractors. If you’re writing a book, for example, you may want to hire a professional editor and book designer.

5. Build your business website

If you want to start an online business, you need to have a website. And to make money online, you’ll need to incorporate payment processing functionality.

First, come up with a business name. You can use a business name generator to help you if you’re stuck. You’ll need one to start building your website.

Then choose a domain name and verify that it’s available. You can purchase a domain name for less than $20 a year in some cases. From there, you can build your own store on a platform like Shopify and start accepting payments from customers right away.

Here are a few other resources to help you get started with your ecommerce site:

• Shopify’s domain name generator
• Ecommerce Website Design: Examples and Tips (2025)

6. Market your new small business

Getting your first paying customer is a huge milestone for a new small business owner. Now that you’ve got your store set up, you’ll want to start getting your business out there. But finding new customers and creating convincing promotions takes time and energy.

There are so many channels to choose from—email marketing, mobile marketing, etc.—it’s hard to know the best way to grow your online business. It’s easy to get caught up in the wrong tactics and invest your time and money in the wrong places.

Here are some resources to help you market your business:

• How To Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy (+ Template)
• How To Market a Product: 12 Proven Strategies for 2025

Start your online business today

If you’ve been thinking about starting an online business, it’s time to get out there and embark on your new web startups ideas in your spare time. You don’t have to go all in. Start small with a part-time side hustle and scale from there. Or, keep things small. The beauty of learning how to start a business online is that you can take whatever path you choose.

From first-time sellers to global retailers, Shopify works for everyone. See plans and pricing.