Screw sitting at a desk and taking orders from some guy in a suit! You want to be your own boss, calling the shots, and counting that money. So, what’s stopping you? You don’t have any startup money? Hell, Mark Zuckerberg is the fifth richest guy in the world and he started his business with nothing but a computer!
Today, in 2021, there are plenty of businesses out there that you can start without a dollar in the bank. They might not all make you Facebook-level money, but they can definitely line your pockets and maybe even get you a nice car.
So, if you’ve got that entrepreneurial spirit but you don’t’ have any money, listen up because I’m about to tell you about 6 businesses that you can start for a whole $0.00!
Influencer – Internet Clout Cash
This first business is one you’ve definitely heard of unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of years and it takes a lot of different forms, from painters to bikini models to personal finance gurus. I’m talking about influencers! Everyone pretty much knows what an influencer is, except maybe your grandpa who read about them in the newspaper and asked you about it last Christmas dinner.
Influencers are in the business of being a brand themselves and selling their personality through social media. According to Statista.com, the total Instagram influencer industry was worth a total of $2.3 billion at the end of 2020 and the YouTube influencer industry was worth a whopping $19.7 billion.
What does that mean for you? Well, it means there’s a whole lot of money out there to be made as an influencer! And you don’t even have to be the best-looking or funniest person out there! Sure, a lot of influencers on Instagram are good-looking models or comedic geniuses, but there are plenty of other ways to become an influencer.
All you have to do is find something that you’re knowledgeable and passionate about and start creating engaging content that people are going to want to look at! Do your research. Find out what kind of content people like in your niche.
If you want to start a painting YouTube channel, find out what style of painting your audience responds best to. If you want to be a fitness influencer, see what kind of workouts get the most engagement. Then, just start creating content every day and the views will start rolling in. After that, you’ll start raking in money from Instagram or YouTube.
And you can find other sources of revenue too, like sponsorships or merchandising. As I said before, there’s a lot of money to be made as an influencer and all you really need to do it is your phone and a bit of creativity.
Maybe you don’t like being in front of a camera, though, but you’re still a wizard with social media. Well, instead of becoming an influencer, you can get paid to run other people’s social media accounts!
Social Media Consultant – Followers For Your Friends
Social media is a vital aspect of every kind of business these days and a lot of those businesses either don’t know how to run their own social media accounts or just don’t have the time. That’s where you come in. If you can demonstrate a good understanding of social media and how to appeal to an online audience, you can get hired as a social media consultant and get paid to run Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter accounts for other people and businesses.
Now, that may seem like a bore, but do you think that The Weeknd or Billie Eilish run their own social accounts? That’s right. If you can get your social media consulting business really going, you might even be able to hang out with famous people and get paid big bucks to post pictures and videos of them!
To get started in this business, you need to get a bunch of followers on one of your personal accounts to show that you understand how the game works. Then, start reaching out to businesses or individuals and start offering your services. There are a ton of opportunities out there for social media consultants out there and all it takes is some hard work and a set of fast-working Twitter fingers.
Now, while the social media industry definitely got a boost during the pandemic, the restaurant industry definitely took a big hit. Luckily, there’s still a zero-money-down business out there for anyone with some culinary training.
Personal Chef – Bone Apple Teeth
So, you love to cook. Cooking dinner is the best part of your day, every day. Why not make it your business and get paid to cook for others? Sure, you could try to get a job in a stuffy commercial kitchen at the Hilton Hotel or something. Or you could start your own business, make your own hours, and get paid a whole lot more. I’m talking about becoming a personal chef.
In this business, you’ll be responsible for catering small events like anniversaries, birthday parties, or graduations, or, if you’re lucky, someone might hire you to cook for them every night of the week.
To be a personal chef, you’ll need to have some good interpersonal skills because no one wants to have someone in their home who they can’t talk to. You’ll also need to have a strong social media presence with some mouth-watering pictures of your food. And then, of course, you’ll need to know how to cook in a lot of different styles.
I don’t care how good your spaghetti and meatballs are, no one wants to eat Italian every night. Mix in some Japanese, Indian, Mexican, and Mediterranean cooking, and have a rotating menu that keeps your clients on the edge of their seats. A free bottle of champagne for a special occasion will help you keep your clients happy too.
Maybe your cooking game isn’t all that great, though, but you’re a different kind of artist. Well, have you ever heard of Etsy?
Etsy Shop – Handmade Gains
For all you painters, sculptors, crafters, and weavers out there: how would you like your artistic hobby to become a business where you can sell your work all over the world and make a living while you’re at it? If you haven’t heard of Etsy, it’s basically the biggest online marketplace for people to sell their handmade works and there are some people out there who are making some serious money on Etsy from their art.
Setting up a shop is entirely free; however, they do take a cut of your sales. But, if you start selling enough, you’re not even going to notice. Maybe you make some amazing jewelry with exotic crystals. Well, ditch the local art fair and get your stuff up on Etsy. You’re going to need to have a strong social media presence, just like any other business, where you promote your works and create a demand for them. But, once you do, you can start directing all your followers to your Etsy shop and watch the money pour in.
The best part about it is that you can make a living doing what you love and spreading your artistic style all over the world! But, if you’re not so artistic and more of the romantic type, this next business is the one for you.
Online Dating Consultant – The Love Doctor
Believe it or not, not everyone is as smooth and romantic as you are. And a lot of people out there have trouble navigating the world of online dating. So, it’s time to put your romantic abilities to the test and become an online dating consultant!
In this business, you find people who need your help writing their online profiles, answering messages from their prospective love interests, and updating them about potential matches. The truth of the matter is that some people just don’t have the time to commit to all that goes into online dating. And some people just don’t have the romantic know-how to do it.
So, by becoming an online dating consultant, you’ll be doing a great service to people and helping them find their one true love. If you want to get your start in this business, you should build yourself a website, which you can do through Squarespace or WordPress, and then you should market your services on sites like Fiverr or UpWork or Craigslist.
While you may not think that this would be a big industry, you’d be surprised by how many people out there are willing to hire professionals to help them with online dating. So, get your services out there on the internet and start making money by playing matchmaker!
Like being an online dating consultant, this next business requires that you predict what people want to hear. But, instead of just one or a few people, you’re dealing with the masses.
Domain Name Buyer – Internet Wave Rider
Have you ever been on a website and thought, Wow, that’s a really clever domain name? Well, some people actually make a living by predicting what domains are going to become popular and buying them up before they actually get used. As a domain name buyer, you spend your days identifying trends on the internet and then buying up all the domain names that relate to that trend.
Then, when someone wants to use one of the domain names you bought, they have to buy it from you and you can charge them a whole lot more than what you paid for it. Let’s say everyone on the internet is suddenly talking about Dogecoin and you buy up a domain called DogecoinDays.com or something. Then, you list that domain name on a marketplace like Afternic, and the bids will start falling in to buy that domain, meaning you just flipped a profit. Easy.
Now, if you want to make serious money doing this, you’re going to have to buy domains in bulk. And a lot of them may never get sold, so it’s important to buy domains that people are more likely to want and more likely to pay a lot for.
Now, full disclosure, this business isn’t completely free to start, but you can easily get it rolling with just a couple of bucks and an eye for internet trends.
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