Do you dream of saying goodbye to going into an office every day? Maybe you want to work from the comfort of your own home. Or run a business from the beaches of Thailand one month, and a cafe in Amsterdam the next.
Well, you can.
Gone are the days where starting a business requires a large capital investment.
It’s entirely possible to start your own company from anywhere today. And many of these options can be started for less than $1,000.
Even if you want to hire employees, your team can work remotely. Most of the work we do today is online. As a matter of fact, this is also true for team members that share an office. A lot of the work is still done, stored, and shared online.
For this reason, starting an online business might be the perfect alternative to a 9-5 job. Each of the businesses here can be managed from anywhere. Selecting the right businesses depends on your skillset, network, and ultimate goals. For tips on how to work from home like a pro, you can read our guide to achieving productivity, focus, and happiness at home.
So, take a look at these 7 businesses you can start and run from anywhere in 2020.
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1. Freelance Graphic Designer
According to IBIS World, the graphic design field has continued to grow over the last five years. It’s expected to continue growing and is considered a high-demand field. Graphic designers make an average of $44,000 to $180,000 per year. Experience, specialty, and location all affect pay rates.
Graphic designers take a company’s message and transform it into compelling visuals. They work on the brand’s visual identity. This includes assets like logos, business cards, brochures, package design, and website imagery.
If you’re creative and passionate about visual design, this path might be right for you. It’s also a great option if you like variety in your work. You can choose to work as a generalist or specialize in logos, presentations, or 3D animation.
What skills do you need?
In order to be a professional graphic designer, you do need an education. This can be in the form of a degree in graphic design or self-study. If you choose the route of self-study, you want to give yourself a well-rounded foundation.
Make sure to study the fundamentals of design as well as current design technology. You should have a solid grasp of Adobe design products including Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and Muse.
How to get started
When starting out as a graphic designer, you’ll need to have a portfolio of your work. One way to build up your portfolio is by specializing in one area first. You can start with logos, business cards, web graphics, or whichever work catches your eye. Create five to ten examples of your work to start your portfolio.
Once you have a portfolio, you need to find clients. You can use freelance websites like Fiverr or 99Designs to browse job boards. Or, you can reach out to your personal/professional network. As you’re getting started, you can check out our guide on How Much to Charge as a Freelancer.
Cost to Start
If you already have experience in graphic design, there are few costs to getting started. You can have a portfolio stored in Google Drive to keep costs down.
But, if you want to invest in a professional portfolio, the best way to do that is with your own website. You’ll need to purchase a domain and domain hosting. We recommend Bluehost where you can get domains for as low as $2.95/month.
2. e-commerce Store Owner
Another business that you can start from anywhere is an online store. In fact, e-commerce purchases account for 14.1% of retail revenue worldwide. And that’s only the beginning. E-commerce is expected to grow and account for 22% of all retail purchases worldwide by 2023.
But, just because there are a lot of people shopping e-commerce stores, doesn’t mean that it’s easy. This is a high-competition field. In order to be successful, your site needs high-quality images and product descriptions.
One thing that has made e-commerce easier is dropshipping. Dropshipping means that you don’t have to invest in and store inventory to get started. Instead, you act as the middleman between the buyer and the manufacturer. This means, you only buy products from the manufacturer once a customer makes a purchase from you.
When done well, e-commerce can become a more passive form of income. E-commerce might be for you if you’re willing to spend time testing Facebook ads and responding to customers.
It’s also a great option for those of you who want to scale your business and hire team members in the future. Altogether, this is one of the business ideas with the highest earning potential since there is virtually no limit on how much you can sell.
What Skills you need
As an e-commerce business owner, you’ll need skills such as product and market research, photoshop, writing product descriptions, and creating Facebook ads. You’ll need to be able to communicate with manufacturers and customers.
Unlike the other businesses here, you can actually lose money. For example, if you spend more on social media ads and shipping then you make in profit. So, it’s important to understand the basics of business and financial accounting.
And finally, if you want to scale this business you’ll need to be able to hire and manage a team of people.
How to get started
Getting started with e-commerce takes a little bit of time. You’ll want to do product research, find a manufacturer, and set up a good store. You can find manufacturers on AliExpress and set up your store using Shopify.
Shopify allows you to purchase and host a domain as well as create an online store. You can use Shopify for a traditional retail site (where you have inventory) or a dropshipping store.
Cost to start
Costs include your domain and website, social media ads, and the cost of the items themselves. If you choose the dropshipping fulfillment method, you won’t need to spend money on inventory upfront. However, you will likely need to invest in paid social media ads to bring customers to your online store.
3. Online Coaching
The coaching industry in the United States is expected to grow to an impressive $1.34 billion dollars by 2022. According to the International Coach Federation, coaches earn an average of $27,100 to $73,100 per year. But, you can earn six-figures as a coach in certain specialties such as executive coaching.
There are plenty of types of coaching you can do such as
- Fitness
- Career
- Financial
- Personal
- Wellness
- Executive
- Spiritual
- Performance
If you enjoy helping people 1-on-1, then coaching might be the ideal business for you. As a result of the client interaction, this business idea is not the most passive source of income on the list.
Skills Required
The skills and certification requirements depend on the type of coach you want to be. For example, finance and fitness coaches will have more regulated requirements for experience. Conversely, spiritual and personal coaches might have fewer rules.
In general, it’s good to invest in certification if you’re serious about your coaching business. There are several credential paths offered by the International Coaching Federation.
Cost to Start
If you already have the experience, then the startup costs here are minimal. You’ll want to have a website and a virtual meeting software such as Skype or Zoom. As for your website domain and hosting, we recommend Bluehost where you can get domains for as low as $2.95/month.
If you want to get a coaching certification, they start at $100 or $300 with the ICF. You’ll also have to log paid coaching hours to complete the certification.
4. Social Media Manager
Another business idea for those who want the ability to work remotely is a freelance social media manager. As of 2020, more than 3.8 billion people are using social media worldwide—almost half the population.
People are increasingly using social media to discover and research products and services. According to GlobalWebIndex, 43% of people use it to research purchases. Therefore, social media marketing is a top priority for most businesses.
All in all, this has led to a higher demand for social media managers in the United States. The average pay for a freelance social media manager is $19 per hour, but the range goes as high as $50 an hour. One way to earn more in this role is to offer consulting packages.
Skills required
Social media managers need a thorough understanding of social media platforms and SEO/SEM. The most popular platforms at the moment are Facebook, YouTube, and Whatsapp.
As a social media manager, you need excellent written communication skills as well as basic technical foundation. You should understand Google Analytics and graphic design software (like Photoshop or Canva.)
And finally, you’ll need to have the ability to learn and adapt to new trends. Social media and search algorithms are constantly changing. It’s important to know when new trends are arising and be able to use them.
How to get started
It’s good to have some experience under your belt for this role. If you haven’t worked with social media in a job, you may have to take on lower-paying or pro bono projects. For this, there are plenty of opportunities to do this with nonprofit organizations.
As you gain experience, make sure to update your resume and ask for testimonials from clients. It’s also helpful to create an online brand for yourself. You can do this by establishing yourself as an influencer or a thought leader.
Cost to start
There’s no major cost to start as a freelance social media manager. You may want to specialize in a platform or get a certification to make yourself stand out.
5. Marketing Copywriter
In a survey conducted by SEMRush, 62% of businesses plan to increase their content marketing budget in 2020. As a result, the demand for copywriting skills will increase. The average salary range for a freelance copywriter is $46,253 to $57,641.
Unlike social media managers that run campaigns, copywriters create the written copy. This can include social media posts, printed collateral, blog posts, articles, and more.
To increase your income potential as a freelance copywriter, you may want to add branding skills or technical writing to your portfolio.
Skills required
Freelance copywriting could be right for you if you love writing and have excellent communication skills. In addition to written communication skills, you can specialize add specializations. These include skills such as sales, product marketing, or branding. The other main skill you need is the ability to work on deadlines.
Cost to start
There are virtually no startup costs to this business. All you need to be a freelance copywriter is a computer and an internet connection. Since you’re often paid by the hour, by the word, or per project, this is not a business idea that will generate passive income.
However, you may choose to create a portfolio website or join a subscription freelance site like Flexjobs. In that case, you’ll incur some minimal costs.
6. Blogging
More than 77% of internet users read blog posts, and by 2020 the number of bloggers in the United States is expected to reach 31.7 million people.
Blogging is another great business idea for those who want to work remotely. Bloggers create income through ads, sponsored content, affiliate marketing, and selling their own products. Like e-commerce, there is potential for high-income as a blogger. Top bloggers report making more than $20,000 per month blogging. However, for every blogger making thousands of dollars a month, there are many making less than $1000 per month.
Skills required
Blogging full-time requires excellent written communication skills, basic CSS and HTML knowledge as well as networking and marketing skills. Most high-income bloggers create their own products. These include physical products, ebooks, and virtual courses/training.
Startup costs
Starting a blog doesn’t require a lot of money. All you need is a website domain and a hosting service.
We recommend Bluehost for your domain hosting because it works seamlessly with WordPress. And over 34% of all blogs are hosted on WordPress. WordPress does have a higher learning curve than Squarespace and Wix, but it gives you the most growth potential. All in all, WordPress is the way to go if you want to blog full-time.
As you grow, you may invest in paid themes, social media schedulers, or even a web designer.
6. Web Design/Web Development
A shocking 94% of a brand’s first impression comes from its website. Additionally, the website drives 75% of credibility. Consequently, all businesses need to invest in web design and development. But, there are many businesses that don’t need to 
have a web development team on staff. So, they turn to freelancers and contractors.
As a freelance developer, you can start charging around $150/hour and work your way up to over $1,000 per hour. Of course, this depends on experience and specialization. For example, skills such as app development and bitcoin can increase your rates.
Skills required
The work of web designers and web developers are related, but the roles have key differences. A web designer creates the visual design of a website. He or she is concerned with how a user interacts with it. They may also be called UX Designers (or user experience designers).
Web developers, on the other hand, take a website design and make it real.
There are two types of website developers: front-end and back-end. Front-end developers work on the customer-facing side of the site. This role usually requires knowledge of CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.
Back-end developers create build functionality and connect the front-end to a database. This role usually requires a formal Computer Science degree or certification.
If you have both visual design and front-end coding skills, you can be a web designer and developer.
Cost to start
Aside from education, there are virtually no startup costs for these businesses. All you need is a computer and an internet connection. In addition to using freelance sites to find jobs, developers often work with staffing agencies.
7. Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistant jobs are often outsourced to other countries, but there are plenty of opportunities in the United States. In the United States, virtual assistants make roughly $4,000 per month on average, but only 59% of them work full-time.
Unlike traditional assistants, virtual assistants manage tasks that can be done digitally. As a virtual assistant, you may help with or manage the following:
- Managing calendars/appointments
- Data entry
- Managing social media presence
- Booking travel
- Customer service
- Writing and publishing content
- Manage events
- Prepare reports
Virtual assistants often work for businesses or individual entrepreneurs. If you have a knack for organization and planning, this could be the right business for you.
Skills required
To work as a virtual assistant in the United States, you need to be proficient in the English language. You need to have excellent communication and organization skills. You’ll have to be able to use various software such as Microsoft Office or Google Suite.
Although, most importantly you need to be trustworthy. You may work with sensitive or personal information, therefore, your employer needs to know you can be trusted not to abuse this access.
Cost to start
Once again, there is no cost to get started as a virtual assistant. You can do this job with a computer and a phone. We recommend leveraging your personal and professional network to find VA jobs. However, you can also use freelance websites.
In Conclusion
The internet has given us many more options in terms of work lifestyle. Starting your own business takes less time and money than ever before.
Starting your own business allows you to work for yourself, increase your income potential, and choose projects that you’re passionate about. The best part of owning your business is choosing one that supports your goals and lifestyle.
If you’re interested in freelancing, learn more about creating a professional website for your business here.
So, if you’re done with the office lifestyle, or interested in working remotely, there’s no excuse.
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