Stuck at Home? Here are 5 Online Businesses You Can Start Today

Posted at April 21, 2020 at 2:12 pm by Manoj Kumar

As governments across the world continue to issue “stay-at-home” orders to their people every day, there’s no denying that 2020 is off to an…unorthodox start. People everywhere are finding themselves sheltering in place and self-quarantining for weeks, resulting in a loss of work — and income — for many. But what are you to do with all this excess time suddenly thrown in your lap? Spend hours binging on Netflix and Hulu? Login to play your 1,000th run-through of your favorite video game? Instead, try something productive!

If you’re getting tired of the same daily routine during your quarantine period, here are 5 online businesses you can start today without leaving your house (pajamas optional). So channel your inner entrepreneur and learn how to turn your self-isolation into a productive, money-making staycation.

Start a Blog (and Capitalize on It)

Yes, this one’s been said a thousand times before, but that’s for good reason. It works. If there’s a topic you’re interested in and know a lot about, then why not share it with the world? Blogs are all about personality and uniqueness. That’s why it doesn’t matter how many are already out there because (until now) there’s never been one by you.

With how simple it is to get started today, there’s never been an easier time to get your thoughts, opinions, and personal musings online and in front of others. Additionally, they’re great for monetization. You can run sponsored posts, collect reader information with opt-in pages to start email marketing, run advertisements on the site and so much more. Getting paid to write about something you love from the comfort of your living room couch? Doesn’t sound like it gets much better than that.

Self-Publish an Ebook(s)

Looking to write something a little more substantial than a blog post? Try writing and self-publishing your own ebook. Like blogging, there’s never been a more accessible time to get your writing out into the world. Now, thanks to Amazon’s publishing program, you can get your ebook in people’s hands in no time.

Unlike the old days when you had to send countless pitches to publishing houses and get rejected (again and again), you can go straight to market now. All you have to worry about is the writing. After that, your ebook can be available for purchase on Amazon in no time. The best part is that your ebook can keep making you money even when you’re sleeping.

Create a YouTube Channel

If writing’s not really your thing, then it might be time to try YouTube. Similar to starting a blog, a YouTube channel gives you the opportunity to focus on topics that interest you most and monetize it along the way. And not only that, but the traffic is already on the site, you just need to direct it to you.

Did you know that every single day people consume more than 1 billion hours of YouTube videos? That’s a lot of eyeballs. Fortunately, there are limitless possibilities when creating a channel. Want to play video games? Go for it. Are beauty and hair more up your alley? Go for that too. Or maybe you just like fishing? Well, there’s a massive YouTube community for that as well. Once you’ve got a following on the platform, you can start running ads on your videos, take individual sponsorships, and even sell your own merch!

Freelancing

Do you have a valuable skill that you haven’t been putting to work now that you’re stuck at home? If so, you should consider offering your services to companies and people online. With the advent of remote work, freelancing has become more popular than ever — and incredibly lucrative. Freelancing isn’t the same as typical “gig economy” work, though. You won’t be delivering food or picking up strangers from the airport.

Instead, you’ll be starting a small service-based business of your own. You can check out sites like Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, and plenty of others to put your skills out there and start making money from home. Whether you’re a web developer, writer, software developer, voice actor, or anything in between, there’s likely a company that could use your talents. So why not get paid for them without ever leaving the house?

Start an Ecommerce Shop

Lastly, but certainly not least, is the option to create an ecommerce store. Like the name implies, an ecommerce shop is just like a regular store, only your storefront is online rather than downtown. This is a broad category that you can take in a couple different directions. If you’re the creative and artsy type, then you can start selling your hand-made creations online. You can take advantage of platforms like Etsy and eBay, or go your own way and use a service like Shopify to create your very own website.

Alternatively, for those feeling entrepreneurial but lacking the crafty inclination, you can start dropshipping. Dropshipping alone can be an entirely different post, but the concept itself is pretty simple:

You open an online storefront utilizing a service like Shopify or Woocommerce, find products to put up for sale from a supplier like Alibaba or a domestic alternative (there are hundreds to choose from), then allow customers to purchase through your site. After customers have placed an order and paid, you tell the supplier to ship the product directly to the customer. Once you’ve paid the wholesale price for the product and shipping, anything leftover is pure profit (retail price – wholesale price and shipping = your profit). What you end up with is an online store that sells 24/7, and you never pay for inventory!

The Takeaway

Though it may seem like quarantining at home is putting a damper on your ability to earn, the reality is much different. For those stuck at home, this is one of the greatest opportunities to sit down, focus without distractions, and get started on an online business of their own. Whether you love writing, vlogging, gaming, working on websites, selling online or all of the above, there’s something you can start putting your heart and time into during this unique global situation. That leaves only one question: What are you doing with your spare time?

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