ninety nine Business Ideas You Can Start With Little Money in 2020

If you’re one of those people, then you’ll love the business ideas below.

Again, you can start these businesses right from home. The only difference is that these businesses mainly involve working outside of the home.

Kështu që, if you want a business idea that gets you out of the house, then give these ideas a try!

41. Caterer

Like to cook?

mirë, consider starting up your own catering business. You can make money catering to private parties and events, like weddings, anniversary parties, and birthday parties.

You can advertise your services locally and start booking gigs.

42. Interior designer

If you have an eye for design, give interior design work a try.

The main thing with this line of work is being able to meet the needs of your clients.

Por, a degree or certification is usually required too.

If you’re looking for a new career, then it’s definitely worth studying to become a designer.

Now, there are a few free or low-cost online courses you can do that can be a good starting point.

These can give you a good idea of what interior design entails. Here are a few courses to consider:

43. Cleaning

You could start your own cleaning business. Since there are always people who want someone to clean their home, this can be a good way to make money.

You could offer your cleaning services on Facebook or Craigslist.

Or you can find people looking for cleaners on Housekeeper.com.

44. Computer repairs

Here’s a classics computer based business idea. Most people have a PC, and PCs often break. Kështu që, consider starting your own computer repair company. You could also consider building computers for people. Or you could refurbish and resell computers or laptops.

Udemy has some courses on computer repair, which you can take a look at here.

45. Selling crafts

You could make and sell crafts at local craft shows, and to people nearby.

Now, this is a gig that’s great if you’re looking for a creative business idea.

This is a good venture if you work fulltime since lots of craft shows are held at the weekend.

Kështu që, you can easily fit this in next to your full-time job.

46. Pet-sitter

Do you like pets?

You might want to offer pet-sitting services.

You can advertise on Facebook or Craigslist. Or you can look on sites like PetSitter.com and Rover.com for pet-sitting jobs.

47. Dog walker

If you like animals, another side business to consider is dog walking. Lots of people are busy with work and family, so they need a dog walker to walk their pets. You could make money with this after work and during the weekends. Get enough work, and you could turn your side gig into your fulltime business.

48. Personal trainer

Lots of people want to get fit, but they don’t just want to go to the gym. They want a personal trainer to help them to reach their fitness goals. You could become a personal trainer, and start your own business.

You could take a course as a personal trainer if you don’t have much experience.

Learn more about what type of education you need to become a personal trainer here.

Now, always make sure you keep the safety of your students in mind with personal training.

49. Babysitting

When it comes to business ideas for kids and teens, babysitting is a no brainer. But you don’t have to be a kid to make money as a babysitter.

You can make money babysitting kids locally.

Parents post babysitting gigs online, so you can find work on places like:

Now, you could also consider advertising your services on places like Facebook, and Nextdoor.

This is a good side business you could do alongside your regular job.

Babysitters earn from $7 to $15 an hour, with the average income being $10 an hour.

50. Nanny

Working as a nanny is a good business idea if you love spending time with children. Unlike babysitters, nannies give more of a long-term commitment to families, and may also have to teach the children they look after.

This can become a good fulltime business.

While a degree isn’t required to become a nanny, an associate degree and/or specialized certifications in early childcare development can help you to advance your career.

CPR and first aid certification are commonly required though.

51. Bicycle repair

Since there are lots of health-conscious people out there who cycle for fitness or people who cycle to work as a more cost-effective method of transportation, there’s a demand for bicycle repair services.

Kështu që, you could set up your own bicycle repair service.

You could make a good side income or even a fulltime income from repairing people’s bikes.

52. Taxi service

If you don’t mind chatting to strangers while giving them a lift, consider offering a taxi service. You could advertise your services on Craigslist.

Or you could drive for a ridesharing company, like Uber.

You get paid for giving people lifts in your own vehicle. What’s great about this is that you can give as many or as few lifts as you want to.

Here are a few ridesharing companies that’ll pay you:

Browse gigs on the app, and then when you have the time, you can make money giving people rides.

Whether you advertise on Craigslist or work with a company like Uber, this is a good side business to do if you’re already working fulltime.

You could make anywhere from $5 to $32 an hour. Uber drivers say they make $15 an hour. Lyft drivers say they make $18 an hour.

53. Appliance repair

If you’re skilled with appliance repair, consider offering your services to individuals and businesses nearby.

You could start your own appliance repair business, and make money repairing home appliances or appliances for businesses.

54. Jewelry-maker

Start your own jewelry-making business. You can create custom jewelry and sell it to people through Facebook or at local craft fairs, markets and events.

55. Yoga instructor

Since yoga is so popular, cash in on the trend as a yoga instructor. You could rent a space if you have the money and teach classes, or teach groups in a workplace setting.

56. Marine mechanic

If you live in or close to an area with lots of waterfront properties, then consider offering your services as a marine mechanic. You can provide services like marine engine repairs or fix and rebuild boat motors.

57. Dance instructor

You could make money teaching people how to dance. Many people want to learn to dance, whether that’s Salsa or ballroom dancing. If you have the money to invest, rent out a small space, and teach dance classes! Or maybe you already have the space to teach a class – whatever the case, you could make money as a dance instructor. Kështu që, give this business idea a try.

58. Martial arts instructor

Whether it’s karate or Tae Kwon Do, if you know a martial art, consider teaching it to people.

You could start your own business as a martial arts instructor. It’s a good way to make money from something your skilled at and knowledgeable about.

59. Small engine repairs

Did you know that you could make money repairing things like riding lawnmowers, landscaping equipment, and farming equipment?

Offering small engine repairs can be a good side business. You can advertise your services in the paper, online, or by word of mouth.

60. Boxing instructor

If you know how to box, teach a boxing class. All you need is a small space to teach your classes, and students to teach. You could advertise your services locally on Facebook, Craigslist, or in the classifieds.

61. Selling antiques

Make money selling antiques. You can find great finds and resell them!

62. Furniture refurbishing

You could repair or refurbish furniture and sell it for a profit.

At garage sales and online resale sites, you can often find furniture at low prices. Often, all it needs is some TLC and its good as new, and that can reflect in the price tag when you sell it!

A lot of people like refurbished and vintage items, so this can be a good business to get into.

63. Selling produce

Sell your own produce at the farmer’s market or local fair. Growing and selling your own vegetables and fruits is a good side business.

64. Dog washing

Consider setting up your own dog washing business. If you like animals, then offering a dog washing service to pet owners near you is a great idea.

65. Delivery service

Consider working as a courier.

The following companies will pay you to deliver packages:

With these companies, you could make anywhere from $8 to $71 an hour.

Or, you could start your own delivery business.

Whether it’s groceries, dry cleaning, or alcohol, you could set up your own courier service and deliver stuff to people.

You could offer this service to people nearby.

Also, if you live in a bustling area, it’s likely that there are local businesses that could use a local courier service.

Unlike big-name services, you could offer more flexible and convenient pick-up and drop-off times, which many small business owners will appreciate!

You could earn thousands a year doing this!

66. Bicycle courier

If you live in or near a big city, consider working as a bicycle courier or messenger.

67. House-sitting

House-sitting is another business to consider. Some homeowners like someone to take care of their property for them while they’re away. Your tasks could include things like watering the plants, bringing in the mail, or picking up flyers in the door. Some homeowners have pets and would like you to look after their pets, as well as their home.

68. Carpet cleaning

Consider starting your own carpet cleaning business. You can pick up portable steam cleaners for a pretty reasonable price, which can help you with cleaning. Kështu që, offer your carpet cleaning services to people locally.

69. Hairdressing

You could start your own hairdressing business. You could do people’s hair for special events as well, like weddings and proms. If you’re a good color technician as well, you could earn even more money.

70. T-shirt printing

Consider printing your own t-shirts at home. You can purchase screen-printing equipment at a reasonable price on Amazon. You could turn this into a fulltime business.

To learn more, read this article from Shopify on how to start an online t-shirt business.

71. Dressmaking

If you love to sew and create clothing, you might want to start your own dressmaking business.

You could make dresses for lots of different occasions, like weddings, and proms, and costumes for things like historical reenactment events, and other themed events.

72. Computer data recovery

Consider offering computer data recovery services. Hard drives sometimes fail, and not everyone backs their files up as they should. Kështu që, they need someone to recover their files for them. You can get software to help you, like data recovery tools from Linux.

And, you can also take courses in computer data recovery at places like Udemy.

73. Golf instructor

Consider offering your services as a golf instructor. This is a good business to offer on the side of your regular job since many people will want lessons at the weekend.

Kështu që, make money offering private golf lessons to people nearby.

74. Disk Jockey

DJs are always in demand. Kështu që, you could offer your DJ services for private parties, business parties, and weddings, or at local bars and clubs.

75. Bottle redemption

If you’re looking for a small business idea that you can do alongside a fulltime gig, then consider bottle redemption.

Redeeming bottles for money isn’t exactly a business idea that’s going to make you a fulltime income.

Por, it’s an easy way to put some extra cash in your pocket.

Now, if you do want to make this into a part-time business idea, then make sure that you don’t only redeem the bottles and cans from your household, but also offer to redeem other people’s bottles and cans for them.

You can make money from other people’s trash. We have a full guide on making money with bottle redemption, which you can read here.

That post will give you tips on how to get more bottles and cans you can redeem for cash, and it tells you which states offer money for bottles and cans.

76. Makeup artist

Are you good at applying makeup?

mirë, consider offering your services as a makeup artist.

Since people often want to hire makeup artists to do their makeup for their prom, wedding, and many other occasions, there’s a demand for this type of service.

77. Car rental

If your car often sits in the driveway, then renting it out can be a good side business.

Rent out your car when you’re not using it, and you’ll make money.

Here are a few places where you can make money renting out your car:

You could make $1,000s a year renting out your car. According to Turo, if you rent out a $20,000 market value car for 15 days a month, you could earn $6,500 a year.

78. Food delivery

I mentioned offering a delivery service above, but this idea differs slightly.

With this one, you focus on delivering food from local restaurants, cafes, and stores, and you do it through companies.

Just like driving with Uber or Lyft, you can be a driver for food delivery companies, like:

You pick up food, and deliver it to the customer.

What’s great about these companies is that you basically just use an app to pick up delivery gigs when you want to. This is a good freelance based gig for making money.

For some jobs, you don’t even need a car, as some companies will let you make your deliveries using other vehicles, like a bike, motorcycle, scooter, or van.

You can earn anywhere from $10 to $25 an hour delivering food.

79. Portrait photography

If you like photography, then starting your own freelance portrait photography business is a natural way to turn your skills and passions into a profitable business.

To build up your portfolio, you could start by offering your services for free to friends and family.

You can advertise your services locally, like with business cards, in the paper, and by word of mouth for example, and online by setting up your own website, advertising on social media, and on Craigslist.

There are plenty of courses available in portrait photography, which is good if you’re looking to sharpen your skills.

You could take courses online with places like Udemy and Skillshare.

80. Wedding photographer

If you love photography, another business to consider is one where you offer your services as a wedding photographer.

Since people are always getting married, there’s definitely a demand for wedding photographers.

You can make $1,000s per wedding for this.

Being a wedding photographer can be a fulltime business. Kështu që, if you’re looking to consider transitioning out of your current job, and you have a passion for photography, then wedding photography might be the perfect business for you.

You can always take a course too in wedding photography. Skillshare, for example, has lots of wedding photography courses you can complete online.

81. Refurbish used electronics

You can make money refurbishing used electronics. Many people get rid of their faulty laptops, mobile phones, or cameras without looking into the cause of these faults. This means that if you have the skills to fix them, you could refurbish and resell used electronics. This can be a great way to make money on the side of your regular income.

82. Clothing alteration and tailoring

Clothing alteration and tailoring is a service you could offer.

Many people are looking for tailoring services, as clothes from stores just often don’t fit right.

Now, you could also offer to mend clothes! Advertise your services online and locally.

83. Personal Organizer

Do you love organizing stuff? Are you the type of person who reorganizes their closets for fun?

mirë, then you might want to offer your services as a personal organizer. You can offer your services to busy and disorganized individuals and businesses.

84. Home Staging

Home staging is a great business idea if you love rearranging furniture or improving the look of a home in general.

People who offer home-staging services help sellers to get their homes to look beautiful so that they sell as quickly as possible.

85. Herb Farming

Herb farming is a great business idea.

Since there’s an increase in demand for locally grown and organic foods, herb farmers can easily find a base of customers looking to buy their wares. If you’re in an urban area especially, you’ll have lots of demand.

While you need a little space for growing herbs, the space you need is fairly small, and pretty much any home can be modified slightly to allow for an extensive herb garden.

86. Personal Stylist

Have an eye for fashion? Do you know what looks good and what doesn’t?

mirë, you might want to give personal styling a try. Personal stylists help people to dress better for their body type and improve their wardrobe. Consider turning your passion for fashion into a business as a personal stylist.

87. Wedding planning

Weddings are commonplace, so wedding planners are in high demand. Lots of couples hire wedding planners to organize their big day.

As a wedding planner, you work with couples to plan every aspect of their wedding, from the flowers to the food. Now, you can do this on the side of your regular job. In terms of landing gigs, you can advertise your services in your area.

88. Mystery shopping

Do you love shopping?

mirë, then getting paid to shop would be your dream, right?

If so, mystery shopping is the gig for you.

Companies will pay shoppers like you to evaluate things like the cleanliness of the store, or how well the employees treated you.

Here are some places to find mystery shopping jobs:

You could earn anywhere from $8 to $25 an hour (or more in some cases) as a mystery shopper.

89. Errand service

People are busy, and many don’t have the time for errands. That’s where you can come in and make a profit!

You could make money doing errands, like picking up dry cleaning or running to the store to pick something up for people in your area.

A good place to get started is with TaskRabbit. On there, people are looking to pay people to run errands for them.

You could also advertise your services.

90. Party planning

Whether it’s a party at a corporate event or a birthday party, many people need a party planner to help them to organize. You could offer your services as a party planner! This is a fun business idea! You could advertise your services locally and online as well.

91. Digital media conversion

Many people want to convert their old-school media, like CDs into digital files. Por, it’s time-consuming, and technical, so they want to hire someone else to do it. If you have tech skills, you could offer a digital media conversion service to people.

92. Music teacher

If you know how to play a musical instrument, whether that’s the piano or the guitar, you could offer music lessons. Offering your services as a music teacher can be a good side business.

93. Bartending

Freelance bartending is another good side business to consider.

There are lots of free mixology courses online, so you can learn how to make lots of different cocktails, and beverages. Skillshare, for example, offers courses on mixology.

Now, to get hired as a freelance bartender it helps to have experience.

A good starting point is to volunteer to tend bar for charity events. This gives you experience. And you can then market yourself to paying clients. You can contact local businesses for work.

94. Window cleaning

People always need someone to clean their windows, which is why window cleaning can be such a good venture. This is another business you can start for less than $100.

If you want to clean retail stores, rather than people’s homes, then you’ll probably need more than $100 worth of equipment, so start out with cleaning homes and then use the profit you make to get better equipment.

95. Mover

People move all the time, and no one likes having to move all their stuff. That’s why starting your own business as a mover is such a great idea. Whether it’s helping people to move house or dorms, there are lots of opportunities to make money. A good place to start for finding moving jobs is on Bellhops.

96. Handyman services

If you are skilled at basic home repair, then consider offering your services as a handyman. You’d be surprised by the simple things people are willing to pay others to help them with! Advertise your services to people in your neighborhood. You could even post on Facebook and Craigslist.

A Few More Ways to Make Money from Home

Mirë, so above, I’ve given you lots of business ideas, but there are still a few more easy ways to make money from home.

These aren’t business ideas, per se.

Instead, they’re just easy ways to make some extra money.

If you just want a little extra spending money, give one or all of these methods a try.

97. Take surveys

Taking surveys is a good way to make money because anyone can do it.

It requires no special skills and no upfront investment, provided that you’re working with a legit company.

Here are some places where you can get paid to take surveys:

I’d highly recommend that you sign up to multiple survey sites. This is because you won’t qualify for every survey. When you’re signed up for more sites, you’ll have more surveys that you qualify for and therefore more opportunities to make money!

98. Sign up for rewards websites

Rewards websites are great because they give you so many easy ways to make money.

And the best part?

Most of the tasks they pay you for are things you probably do anyway, like shopping online and playing games.

There are lots of awesome rewards websites out there, like:

These sites will give you points for doing tasks, like:

• Browsing the internet.
• Shopping online.
• Playing games.
• Completing offers.
• Watching videos.
• Taking surveys.

You can redeem your points for:

• Money to your PayPal account.
• A check.
• Money through direct bank transfer.
• Gift cards to retailers, like Amazon, Target, and Walmart.

99. Try new apps

Another easy way to make some money is by testing out new apps.

App creators want to increase the visibility of their apps, and what better way to do this than by paying people like you to try them for free!

To get paid to test out new apps, take a look at these apps:

All you need to do is sign up for these apps, and then install new apps.

What’s great about this money-making method is that you don’t even need to keep these new apps installed on your phone.

You’ll get paid just to have the app installed on your phone for a short period!

While you won’t get rich from taking surveys, doings tasks on rewards websites, or trying new apps, these opportunities do give you an easy way to make some money.

And, these tasks, like playing games and downloading apps can be done anywhere, so you could make money while waiting in line at the airport, at the doctor’s office, or to give someone a lift.

Having easy ways to make money is always a good thing!

Tips for Starting a Business from Home

Mirë, so now you have lots of business ideas that you can try. In this section, I want to give you a few quick tips for starting a successful business that makes money. These tips will help you with everything from safety to growing your business.

Only invest what you can afford

Fortunately, I’ve included lots of business ideas that require no upfront cost or investment, like freelance writing, and providing a taxi service.

Some businesses, however, do require an investment.

Për shembull, if you want to start a window cleaning business, you’ll need to pay for things like cleaning equipment, and maybe even a ladder, and if you want to teach dance classes, then you might need to rent a studio or renovate a space in your home.

Now, if the business idea you want to try does require an upfront cost, like the aforementioned window-cleaning business, or an on-going cost, like crafting materials if you’re planning to sell stuff on Etsy, then make sure you can afford it in your current budget.

Your new business should help you to improve your financial health, not stress you out!

Kështu që, factor in the costs that will be involved with your business, and see if they work in your current budget and financial situation.

Be safe

Safety should be key whether you’re starting a business that’s home-based or one that gets you out of the house.

There are lots of scams out there.

Let’s take a look at a few examples of how to stay safe:

• Some fields are more prone to scam artists, like mystery shopping, for example. Never pay for an opportunity. A legit company would never ask you to pay to join their mystery shopping platform, for example.
• Also, be careful when advertising your services on CL and sites like that. If you have to meet someone from CL, or Facebook, for example, make sure that you tell people where you’re going, meet in a public place, and provide contact details for the person you plan to meet with.
• If you plan to drive for Uber, make sure you follow safety precautions as well. Read this article from Uber on safety tips for drivers.
• Never give out sensitive information to your clients, like your SSN, credit card details, or driver’s license number.

These are of course, just precautions. For the most part, people aren’t out to scam or harm you. It’s always good to be cautious though.

Don’t ignore the IRS

I hate doing taxes. I really do. But I know they have to be done. You can’t just ignore the IRS.

If you work for yourself, you not only have to deal with whatever work it is you do, but you also have to put your tax preparation hat on when tax season rolls around.

Doing your own taxes is annoying, but once it’s done, you can rest easy knowing that your business is up to code!

You can consult with an accountant to help you.

You can learn everything you need to know about taxes when you’re self-employed at the Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center on the IRS website.

Give your business time to develop

With some business, a lot of businesses actually, they take time to build up before you actually start making any money.

I remember when I first started freelance writing, and for the first year, I barely made anything. As the years went on, I started making more money, and now it’s my fulltime job.

Kështu që, what I’m saying is that it could take a little time for your business to become profitable. Don’t give up though!

Don’t quit your day job, yet!

As much as you may want to, quitting your job to focus on your business is just a bad idea.

Keep up your regular job, and work on your business on the side.

Just because someone online tells you that you can make $10,000 a month in just a few months selling t-shirts, it doesn’t mean that you will.

Again, things take time to build up. You might make nothing in the first few months of starting your business, and even after that your income from your business is likely to be nowhere near your income from your fulltime job.

Eventually, you might make enough money from your business to quit your fulltime job. Por, at the start, you’ll need to work on your business alongside your regular job.

Set yourself working hours and stick to them

When you work for a traditional employer your working hours are set. You start at 9 and you finish at 5 or some variation of that.

When you have your own business though that’s not the case.

It can be so tempting to work around the clock.

In my first couple of years as a freelancer, I used to do that. I’d think, well it’s 6 pm, but I’ll just work on one more thing, or I’ll just check my emails.

You really need to draw that line between life and work.

Just like with any job, give yourself set working hours. When your working hours are done, leave any business-related tasks alone, and relax!

Start Your New Business in 2020

Maybe you decided that 2020 was the year for a career change, or maybe you’ve wanted to start your own business for years but weren’t sure what to do.

Either way, consider the business ideas above. So many of them are businesses you can start with no investment, like:

• Freelance writing.
• Mystery shopping.
• Online tutoring.
• Pet sitting.
• Writing and publishing novels with Amazon KDP.
• Renting out your car.

Kështu që, there’s no reason not to give one of these ideas a try!

We all have something that we’re skilled at, experienced with or passionate about, so leverage that into a business idea!

Are you considering starting a business from home in 2020? If so, which ones on our list piqued your interest? Let us know in the comments section below.