50 Online Business Ideas

These days, one of the main tools you need to start a business is an internet connection. There are so many different opportunities out there to start businesses online. And in some cases, you don’t even need much more than that connection in order to get your business going.

Online Business

Online business continues to grow at double-digit rates. According to eMarketer, there was a 24.8% increase in 2017 over the previous year. The global worldwide sales reached $2.304 trillion, with mobile accounting for 58.9% of those sales.

As online business continues to take a bigger chunk of the traditional retail market around the world, this is a good time to get your online business ideas up and running.

This is because 47.3% of the world population is expected to buy online in 20. And as more people use eCommerce, customers will be looking for new and innovative online business ideas to make the experience even better.

While the technology and price point will achieve parity in which there will be little differentiation, customer experience will play an important role in an online business.

Online businesses where customer experience becomes the priority will see more people clicking on their eCommerce stores.

This includes providing customer reviews, social media engagement, a site optimized for mobile, mobile apps, chatbots and more.

The goal is to implement the latest online business ideas so your online business continues to grow.

Online Business Ideas

Here are 50 online business ideas you can start right away.

Blogger

Blogging is a viable business opportunity that allows you to choose a niche that really suits you. And you can make money through advertising, affiliate links, infoproducts or any number of other avenues.

Virtual Assistant

Businesses and professionals can often use the help of an assistant to manage tasks like email and social media. And you can offer your services to those clients online as a virtual assistant.

Social Media Manager

If you’re social media savvy, you can offer your services to brands that want help managing their social media accounts on a daily basis.

Social Media Consultant

Alternatively, you can simply offer your social media expertise to clients online instead of actually managing the accounts for them.

Social Media Influencer

Or you can instead focus on growing your own social media accounts. And if you garner enough influence within your network, you can build a business as an influencer that works with brands to promote products and services on your account.

eBook Author

If you have a book idea in mind, you can write your own ebook and get it published on online platforms like Amazon.

Online Course Creator

You can also share your knowledge with people online by creating your own courses and selling them on your website or email list.

Business Coach

If you have a fair amount of business expertise, you can offer consulting or coaching services to clients and communicate with them via email or video chat apps like Skype.

SEO Consultant

You can also offer a more specialized type of service like SEO for businesses that want to improve the chances of their websites showing up in search results.

Affiliate Marketer

Affiliate programs give you the opportunity to earn money online by posting links to various products and services and then earning a share of each sale that you refer.

YouTube Personality

For those entrepreneurs who are comfortable in front of the camera, you can start your own YouTube channel and earn revenue through ad shares.

Podcaster

You can also start your own podcast and sell advertisements or sponsorships to build a business around your content.

eBay Seller

If you want to sell actual products, you can really easily set up an online store on platforms like eBay and sell a variety of different products.

Handmade Business Owner

Or you could opt to make your own products and set up your own handmade ecommerce store or set up a shop on a platform like Etsy.

Web Designer

If you have some design savvy and knowledge about websites, you can offer your services to clients as a web designer.

Website Developer

You can also build a business by helping out on the back end of the website building process. This requires a bit more technical knowledge but not as much design savvy.

Graphic Designer

Or you can offer some less technical design services but still communicate with and attract clients online as a graphic designer.

App Developer

If you have a lot of technical knowledge about mobile apps, you can build a business as an app developer for clients or you can even build your own app to sell.

Domain Reseller

Everyone who wants to start their own website first needs a domain. That means they need to buy that domain from somewhere. So you can build a business by purchasing domains and selling them.

Freelance Writer

For those who want to start a writing business without starting your own blog, you can offer your writing services to outside clients as a freelancer.

T-shirt Designer

Online platforms like Redbubble and CafePress make it incredibly easy for entrepreneurs to add designs to t-shirts and similar products and then sell them to online customers.

Remote Tutor

You don’t have to meet with people in person in order to be an effective tutor. You can set up online meetings with clients to help them with a variety of different subjects.

Online Advertising Specialist

If you’ve got some knowledge about online advertising options, you can offer your services to businesses that want to use online ads to promote their offerings.

Travel Consultant

Travel agents aren’t as popular as they once were. But you can still build a business as an online travel consultant to help customers and groups find the best possible deals on travel options.

Proofreader

You can build a business as a proofreader or editor for various businesses, authors and other clients who want to send you their work online.

Stock Photographer

If you want to build a photography business that’s mainly online, you can take photos and then sell them on stock photo websites.

Website Copywriter

Another potential writing business opportunity, copywriters help businesses create the copy for their websites.

Virtual Tech Support

If you have a fair amount of tech knowledge, you can set up a service that provides remote tech support to clients who contact you online.

Contract Customer Service

You can also offer services to businesses that want to outsource their customer service communications.

Software Developer

For those who are familiar with the ins and outs of creating software, you can offer your services on a freelance basis to businesses, or even create your own software programs to sell.

Marketing Consultant

If you’re an experienced marketer, you can also offer services to businesses that want help creating and carrying out their online marketing plans.

WordPress Theme Developer

WordPress is a popular platform for blogs and websites. So you can build a business by creating pre-made themes for people who want an easy way to put together their own websites on WordPress.

Researcher

There are plenty of opportunities out there for researchers to offer services to writers, businesses and other clients online.

Membership Site Operator

If you have an idea for a niche website, you can offer paid memberships for people who are interested in being a part of the community or accessing any other benefits offered by your site.

Blog Network Creator

You can also set up a network that’s specific to bloggers and have members pay a fee or earn money through ads or infoproducts.

Advertising Network Creator

Alternatively, you can set up a network aimed at bloggers, site owners and other online businesses that want to find sponsors or advertisers and vice versa.

Online Public Relations

Public relations is certainly a viable business opportunity. And you can build a business that mainly communicates with clients and publications online.

Website Maintenance Service

For those who want to work with businesses that already have websites, but could use some help maintaining or managing them, you can offer your services as a website manager or maintenance provider.

Website Critique Service

You can also specialize in critiquing websites for businesses that feel like they might need to make some changes or improvements to their online visitor experience.

Online Recruiting

For those who want to help business clients find the best team members, you can start a recruiting service that finds and contacts candidates mainly online.

Resume Writing Service

You can also work with clients that are looking for jobs by starting a service that helps them put together resumes and cover letters.

Life Coach

If you want to help clients with a variety of different issues, you can start a business as a life coach and communicate with clients mainly online.

Meal Plan Service

Or if you want to get more specific and help clients plan out their meals and nutrition, you can offer a meal planning service where you consult with clients online and then send them a plan based on your consultation.

Custom Illustrator

If you’re a skilled artist, you can offer custom illustration services to clients who reach out to you via your website or other online channels.

Video Ad Creator

You can also specialize in working with clients that need help creating video ads to appear on YouTube or other online platforms.

Direct Sales Marketer

For those who are skilled with sales, you can build a business by offering your services to business clients and then reaching out to potential customers online.

Financial Consultant

If you’ve got a fair amount of financial knowledge, you can build a business as a financial consultant and work with clients who reach out to you online.

Bookkeeping Service

Or you could offer bookkeeping services to various businesses and just set up an online communication system to make things easy.

Online Newsletter Service

Setting up an online newsletter is fairly straightforward. And if you build up a sizeable network, you can use your list to sell products, services or earn revenue by working with other businesses.

Lead Generation Service

You can also provide a service to business clients that need help generating leads online.