15+ (simple) online business ideas

Like any business, most online business ideas don’t hit big success overnight. However, many of the following ideas for an online business can be started as a side hustle - and expanded into a main business as your success grows. Find out what makes these ideas stand out and why a good website often tips the scales in your favor.

One of the most apparent ideas for your own online business is, of course, setting up an online store. If you don’t make any products yourself or don’t have the space to store large quan­ti­ties of goods, there is still an option for you. This is where drop­ship­ping comes into play. You present the products in your online store and then when they’re bought, the actual producer - a regional retailer, for example - takes care of the shipping.

The ad­van­tages:

• No need for large in­vest­ments
• No storage space needed
• Often producers even take care of shipping

This method is par­tic­u­lar­ly suitable for those who are not yet quite ready for the big e-commerce business, do not sell their own products online, and first want to see how online stores, sales, and marketing work.

Are you an expert in a par­tic­u­lar field, or have a special skill? Then you’ve already got the best foun­da­tion for the next idea: providing online courses. Once planned, recorded, and made live, you generate an almost passive income - with each new student you earn money without having to do anything extra for it.

The ad­van­tages:

• As an expert, you already bring the knowledge to your course.
• Once produced, you can dis­trib­ute the course over and over again.

Everyone can do something well – online courses are among those business ideas on the Internet that anyone can create!

Virtual as­sis­tants are the sec­re­taries of the digital age. Help customers from a wide range of in­dus­tries with or­ga­ni­za­tion­al tasks, such as managing ap­point­ments, and paperwork. Previous training in this area is not required, but basic knowledge of office software and daily business life are. Anything else you can do (technical, creative, lin­guis­tic) will expand your field of ap­pli­ca­tion and your chances of success.

The ad­van­tages:

• No special prior training required.
• No cost to start.

Just keep in mind that it may not always be the most exciting and chal­leng­ing tasks you are given. You may encounter difficult customers and requests at in­con­ve­nient times.

Do you have a passion for a par­tic­u­lar subject? Whether cooking, traveling, or pho­tog­ra­phy - there are no limits when it comes to ideas for online busi­ness­es. On the contrary, the more unusual, the better. To make money with a blog you ensure you get an ap­pro­pri­ate reach, so that it becomes in­ter­est­ing for ad­ver­tis­ing and co­op­er­a­tion partners to invest. Blogging, by the way, is also good for combining with other online business ideas, such as selling online courses or a podcast.

The ad­van­tages:

• You do what you love - it often feels more like a hobby than work.
• Combines well with other online business ideas.

One drawback with this idea is that there are now un­for­tu­nate­ly very many bloggers on almost all topics. To gain a foothold here and earn money with it is therefore often a matter of luck. Only start with this idea if you’re ok with operating the blog long term only as a hobby.

If you’re more into the personal approach, a podcast might be an even better idea than a blog because people hear your voice. You can talk about what you really care about. The best way to do this is to regularly invite famous figures (or in­flu­encers) from your field to raise your profile and offer variety.

The ad­van­tages:

• Produced rel­a­tive­ly quickly with simple resources.
• Telling (and listening) is easier for many than writing (and reading).

If you’ve always been able to get other people excited about new things when you talk and are on fire for a topic, a podcast may be what you need to start a new business.

This is in a similar vein as blogging or producing a podcast, only it is clearly more public. As an In­flu­encer you present yourself and your passion for a topic on Instagram, for example. The more people who follow you, the more at­trac­tive you become for brands that let you use their products and pay you for postings.

The ad­van­tages:

• No special training required.
• No costs to start in business.
• Very high revenues are possible with ap­pro­pri­ate reach

Ad­mit­ted­ly: Here, too, there is no guarantee of success – becoming a suc­cess­ful in­flu­encer on cue is almost im­pos­si­ble. If you still want to try, you should have no in­hi­bi­tions about publicly sharing private things.

You yourself don’t care for fame, but you know exactly how Instagram works? Then try your hand at being an in­flu­encer manager. You mediate between in­flu­encers and companies that want to do in­flu­encer marketing. With the right can­di­dates on board, you can expect to earn good money.

The ad­van­tages:

• No costs to start your business.
• You profit from the success of others.

If you’re good at or­ga­niz­ing and dealing with a wide variety of people - plus have a great marketing and social media knowledge - in­flu­encer man­age­ment is certainly one of the ideas that could result in a suc­cess­ful online business.

If you’re an artist or craft-maker, sell your homemade products through an online store. Social networks offer artists and crafts­peo­ple lots of options for selling.

The ad­van­tages:

• You turn your hobby into a pro­fes­sion or money.
• Many sales op­por­tu­ni­ties.

You probably won’t get rich with selling homemade products online - if only because scal­a­bil­i­ty is limited and, of course, as demand increases, you’ll have to produce more. However, as a side hustle and if you like to give others a special treat, this idea is def­i­nite­ly suitable.

3D printers are now also available for non-com­mer­cial use at af­ford­able prices. Not only can you implement creative ideas, but you can actually enter an exciting growing industry: the low-cost pro­duc­tion of spare parts, tools, etc.

The ad­van­tages:

• No special previous knowledge necessary.
• Exciting industry with a lot of potential.

Above all, people with an affinity for tech­nol­o­gy who have a creative streak will get their money’s worth here.

Unleash your cre­ativ­i­ty: whether you are a trained graphic designer who earns money with com­mis­sioned work in the ad­ver­tis­ing industry, or an artist. It doesn’t have to be on the level of a Van Gogh or Banksy - if you like painting, pho­tog­ra­phy, or designing other things, you can sell your art for example online via photo portals or online stores for prints.

The ad­van­tages:

• Low cost to get started.
• You earn money with your passion.

Since art is a matter of taste and the com­pe­ti­tion is hot, success is not guar­an­teed. Es­pe­cial­ly on photo platforms, you’ll generate a small side income in the best case.

Become a copy­writer or even write your own book. There is a dif­fer­ence between the actual pro­fes­sion of “copy­writer” and life as an author. The latter are much freer and can now self-publish their work via self-pub­lish­ing. Again, of course, success is hard to predict. Copy­writ­ers usually find their clients online via ad­ver­tise­ments or special platforms.

The ad­van­tages:

• Low cost to get started.
• You earn money with your passion.

Have you always been good with words or dream of a life as a writer, locking yourself in a house on the beach for weeks at a time to write? Then by all means, give the writing life a try. However, writing regularly can quickly become a tough job - dis­ci­pline is paramount.

Are you fluent in speaking and writing several languages? Then trans­la­tor might be perfect as an Internet business idea. The good thing: your own cre­ativ­i­ty is not so much required, because you translate already existing texts.

The ad­van­tages:

• No costs to start.
• You already bring the most important pre­req­ui­site with your language talent.

If you are looking for a regular side or main income and are lucky enough to speak several languages, you will always be needed as a trans­la­tor - even though trans­la­tion software like Google Translate is getting better and better, it never replaces human insight and our sense for language.

There is hardly a job that is as in demand as that of a pro­gram­mer. Whether websites or apps, prefer­ably both - if you know one or more pro­gram­ming languages, many doors will open for you, es­pe­cial­ly at startups. If you didn’t learn pro­gram­ming as a pro­fes­sion, there are plenty of online tutorials and crash courses to get you started.

The ad­van­tages:

• No cost to start.
• Extremely in-demand skill with high earning potential.

You should have a certain affinity for tech­nol­o­gy if you want to start your own business as a pro­gram­mer. Since tech­nol­o­gy is also de­vel­op­ing at breakneck speed, having an interest in new things is helpful, and always con­tin­u­ing to educate yourself is needed.

You can do a little bit of every­thing in digital life (and or know the right people)? Perfect, then offer the all-round carefree package. Set up online stores or websites, for example with website builders like IONOS MyWebsite, and take care of graphics, text, SEO, and marketing. Good target groups here are small and medium-sized busi­ness­es that can’t afford or don’t want a full-blown agency.

The ad­van­tages:

• No cost to start.
• Diverse ac­tiv­i­ties and in­dus­tries.

Do you love variety and enjoy learning about new topics all the time? Then this idea def­i­nite­ly belongs to the at­trac­tive ideas for your online business. Thanks to website builders, tutorials, and possibly partners, a basic un­der­stand­ing is often enough. You do not need detailed expert knowledge.

Last but not least, here’s a little idea if you are already es­tab­lished with one or more online set ups. Sign up for affiliate programs and implement the ap­pro­pri­ate links to products or services on your website or blog. Depending on the com­pen­sa­tion model, you’ll get paid on a click-by-click basis for each click or purchase.

Ad­van­tages:

• Very easy to implement.
• No special knowledge required.

To make any money at all with affiliate marketing, owning one or more websites is essential. Don’t un­der­es­ti­mate the potential here though. Es­pe­cial­ly if your sites are about niche topics, the in­te­gra­tion of affiliate links can be worth­while.

You have chosen one of our online business ideas and want to get started? Then here are the most important tips to begin:

• Write a business plan. A business plan is important to put your own idea to the test and to convince potential investors of your idea. Whether the business plan is for an online store or for a job as a pro­gram­mer or designer is ir­rel­e­vant - even though there may be special re­quire­ments for services and online retail in each case.
• Take care of the necessary bu­reau­crat­ic steps, such as reg­is­tra­tions with offices, insurance companies, and as­so­ci­a­tions.
• Think about a con­vinc­ing website idea. For some of the online business ideas described above, an online store or website is in­dis­pens­able, but if you are a copy­writer or designer, an online presence is your digital business card. If you lack the cre­ativ­i­ty for it yourself, you can also have your website created by a Website Design Service.