You might think that starting a business requires thousands and thousands of dollars up front. Your notion is not wrong by any means; many businesses do require tons of capital to start. For example, starting a dog park franchise will run you upwards of $500,000. Still, this doesn’t mean there aren’t small businesses that take much less to start up, and people have made money off of a few hundred dollars before. Some even turn that few hundred dollars into a few hundred thousand dollars. Here’s a couple of ideas for you.
Turn a Hobby into a Business
You might have a passion for a hobby you wish to develop, but you never thought you could really make any money off of it. Luckily for you, you can turn what you love into something much bigger and better. Organize spices, repair appliances, walk dogs – what do you like to do? Consider doing it part time on the side to see if it works as a full-fledged business. Maybe you love decorating or party planning – these jobs pay a lot when they are done professionally.
Consult
Selling inventory requires a retail space and a ton of storage space that you probably don’t have and can’t afford. However, if you have extensive knowledge about something, it requires neither a space to sell or a space to store it. You can, in fact, make money off of what you know (and many successful people do just that). If you have a highly desirable field of expertise, you just need a channel in which to sell your knowledge to others. Try websites like oDesk and SCORE.com.
