By Bronte Price
Ten years down the lane, if a certain middle-class person dreamt of business, he’d have been laughed at. But today, the market is booming and every person is hoping to build something of his/her own. Dreaming something and creating a startup are two different sets of reality though. While all of us are hardcore dreamers generally, not many of us have the will to start. But have you ever wondered why are we not confident enough to start right away?
An answer to the above question will lead you to self-introspection and I’m sure that each one of us will have different reasons to feel less confident. But if ‘investment’ is the first thing that popped in your head, it’s high time that you burst the myth! And to justify, I’ve made a list of 10 startup ideas with smaller investments, that will defy all your cost-related worries:
1. Become a Blogger/Vlogger
Blogging is now one of the top-notch industry of recent times. Each one of us knows at least one blogger who is making chunks of money today. And that too, with an investment as low as it can get. If you decide to be a blogger, you basically need nothing except a rock solid internet connection and a good functioning laptop. For video blogging, you’ll need a camera setup, in addition to these. And of course, the right skills to showcase too! You might have to buy a domain and hosting in some cases, but video platforms are mostly free to use. Not only that, you can earn a lot through affiliate marketing and collaborations. And some platforms like YouTube will pay you for engagement too.
2. Open a bakery
If baking is a passion that you can relate with, take it up the soonest! The biggest investment here is a well-equipped kitchen! If you’re not sure about renting a shop and kitchen, you can bake from home and sell online too. From homemade cakes to customized muffins to tasty cookies, you can prepare them all. With times, the taste of customers and the need for customizations, has only evolved. And if you have the skills to cater to it, then consider this a hit business already!
3. Provide development services
Do you forget eating while you’re debugging a code? Have you been coding for some time now? Well, then it’s time you help others too, but of course, not for free. If you have the skills and labour to take up numerous website and app development projects, the success of your business is not a far off land. You must only have a good computer and backup system, to begin with.
4. Organize events
Whether you are great at planning a gay wedding or a corporate event, invest your money in creating a brand out of it. To begin with, you can start your office from home or even rent a small space. Once you start taking up events, your business is bound to flourish. Mostly because events are no more a luxury but a necessity today.
5. Rent a food truck
Food never goes out of fashion! Of all things on earth, good food is enough to brighten anybody’s day. While opening a café or a restaurant is a great idea, a food truck is a better alternative considering it is cheaper. It, in fact, comes with an advantage of mobility which attracts a greater crowd throughout the day. Not only that, a food truck is preferred since it’s in the trends too.
6. Invest in Social Media Management
If you decide to become a social media manager, you are probably making the wisest decision for today. Much because the whole buzz around social media has increased manifold. The resource for a social media management firm is similar to that of the blogging business. But as a social media manager, you have to create, manage and optimize social media profiles of brands and individuals who need it. And of course, spend all the time that you can!
7. Start a travel agency
Who doesn’t love travelling? With the rampant rise in tourist spots, the travel agency is definitely a profit-making business. If you tie up with a host agency, the investment is very little. And the money earned out of commission is a great number!
8. Capture the world with your lens
In the era of social media, a picture is definitely worth more than a thousand words and videos are even greater! So if you’re a professional photographer, invest your money in buying a great camera setup and start rolling already! And the amount of money you’ll start making will only be unimaginably high.
9. Teach and share knowledge
You can either be a private tutor or can schedule classes online too. Teaching involves the lowest investment of money. It is all about your knowledge instead. It is an evergreen business idea. And these days, you can teach almost anything that you’re good at. You don’t necessarily have to be teaching a mathematical equation that you suck at.
10. Open a design house
Designing, whether a fashion product or a graphic motion, has seen the highest boom in the past few years. Becoming a designer during a time when people want to be different, is the best that you can be. From designing interiors to clothes to websites, the demand is high everywhere. So if you have a knack of any of these, start selling your services already!
And now that you know that smaller or negligible investments can also help you build a startup, aren’t you ready to start a business already?
Bronte Price is Australia’s First Certified Gay Wedding Celebrant in Melbourne. He stands strongly for marriage equality and takes immense pleasure in marrying any couples in love. He has also co-founded The Equality Network to help wedding suppliers create a better wedding experience for LGBTI couples. He is a regular volunteer newsreader at Joy 94.9, and a member of GLOBE (Gay and Lesbian Organization for Business and Enterprise). Beyond this you will find him either in his organic backyard vegetable garden or taking walks with his fiancée Clint and their four legged fur baby – Bingo.
Startup stock photo by Jacob Lund/Shutterstock
