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Online businesses are thriving more than physical units of businesses, as per the latest industry findings. A source has revealed that about 64% of all small businesses have invested in at least one website or a business blog for the generation of awareness, brand recognition, and organic growth.
This can be attributed to a wide variety of reasons, of which perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest. Since the pandemic took over and rendered the world contactless, online businesses have received the biggest break that they needed.
70% of SMBs are actively investing more to boost their digital presence to clutch their hold in the digital landscape. Today, almost all physical businesses have made their presence felt online by servicing customers through eCommerce. Moreover, a study by Forbes has claimed that 24% of retail purchases are expected to happen over interet by 2026.
If you are someone who is looking for ideas to venture into your own online business, we have here the 10 best online business ideas that may help you take off your business venture!
The trend that is online business
E-commerce is the biggest market today and is set to grow at a whooping rate every year on an average basis. Most of the world has now coupled their physical stores with online sales channels by linking eCommerce sites and selling through apps and other means.
Some businesses that have sprung in the last few years have absolutely no physical footprint except for logistics and warehousing. This is the latest trend and has proven to be quite beneficial for business owners.
Buying directly from sellers and selling directly to customers and creating a business model in between these two key stakeholders has become the pinnacle of the eCommerce trend today.
Thanks to this low investment, high ROI model, many small businesses are scaling up and are able to make quite the footprint in the eCommerce industry. So if you are someone who is manifesting the idea of becoming a new age online business owner, we have here for you some of the best ideas that can create a successful and profitable business venture.
10 online business ideas for 2024
Starting a new business is no joke - it is a sophisticated process and requires lots of tiny bits to come together to make the venture take off successfully. Depending on what business you want to dive into, you may have to prepare for a high investment or a low investment finance plan.
In this list, we have a selection of business ideas that may suit all kinds of business opportunists who are looking for something innovative to dive into.
1. Niche subscription box service
If you are new to the idea of subscription boxes - let us put it into perspective. By the year 2021, almost 60% of US residents subscribed to one or more subscription services! Given the mind boggling details, it is no wonder that this is our top recommendation!
Subscription boxes bring together customer favorites delivered straight to their door every single month on a recurring basis without the need for multiple orders or payments. The most common types of subscription boxes in the industry are: Makeup and Skincare, Food and beverages, Pet food and supplements, Toys for children, books etc.
This is one of the niche eCommerce business ideas and helps you scale up quickly by making valuable margins without the need for high investments.
2. Online course platform
The education and continuous learning space has been on a progressive high and thanks to the pandemic, it has skyrocketed ever since 2020. The need for online education portals was realized well before the pandemic but it was not until the Covid era struck that the necessity took form and shape. Today there are so many successful online course platforms and there is demand for more.
If you are into the education space and can put together valuable courses backed by reputed institutes with the best of staff, you have yourself a profitable, medium investment, high ROI business model in 2024.
3. Virtual event planning
Virtual events are becoming quite the topic around the world and for many valid reasons. Not only do they save time and money, they can easily be advertised and promoted online and attract more attendees than physical events, not to mention with lesser cost.
They work really well for professional events such as conferences, industry gatherings and business events but can also include the likes of online event streaming of different kinds of physical business and social events. It is a low investment, mid ROI platform with a scope to scale up high.
Whether you are interested in hosting a hybrid model with physical event streaming on online platforms or a full fledged virtual event with webinars, conferences or symposiums, virtual event planning can be a great way to get started!
4. Digital marketing agency
Digital marketing is the biggest tool to develop businesses today and everyone is keen on a digital imprint to help scale their businesses up. Starting a digital marketing agency in todays’ world is competitive but has amazing returns as it is a high in demand market.
Employing various digital marketing tools such as Content Marketing, Ads or Pay per click, Social media marketing and other new age digital marketing trends can help you attract and retain loyal businesses as customers.
There are many kinds of digital marketing agencies and you choose to do specific types of marketing including Omnichannel marketing, Multi channel or single channel marketing. Even within these categories you can specialize your services with different tactics such as SEO, inbound and outbound digital marketing, Ad agency etc.
5. Online fitness and wellness coaching
The online fitness industry is seeing the biggest boom of the century and it is hardly surprising. Gyms and fitness centers suffered one of the worst hits at the time of the pandemic and from this terrible hit rose something creative and amazing - the online fitness and coaching business.
Today, many people take up online coaching and personal training at gym platforms via websites or directly from coaches on their own website, app or via youtube.
For those who are into the fitness industry, creating a business model around online classes can also include retail of merchandise and various equipment to come full circle.
6. Sustainable and ethical e-Commerce
Sustainability and ethical sourcing are two hot topics around the world and a recent census has revealed that consumers prefer their sellers to have sustainable, eco-friendly and planet conscious options that align with their own principles.
There are many different kinds of sustainable businesses today and an eCommerce platform that gathers such like minded companies to come together to sell their ideas can be a huge success.
Some examples for ethical practices and for sustainable eComm platforms are: Eco-friendly home decor and furnishing, sustainable and eco-friendly garments, businesses that grow sustainable and chemical free produce etc. These are some of the hottest trends in the markets and in great demand today.
7. Influencer marketing agency
Many different kinds of agencies have come into the picture today and unlike digital marketing agencies, you can create a unique one that helps gather social media influencers and become a platform for various businesses to shop for the right influencer for their brands.
Not only does a platform like this benefit with high ROI and low investment, you can easily scale up by providing a wide variety of services using the social media influencers over a large variety of social media platforms. Social media is a major tool for all businesses today, making it a viable business in the turn of the new century.
If you are someone with good knowledge of social media marketing and have connections with influencers, you can easily create a platform for B2B social media influencer marketing.
8. Virtual assistant services
Virtual assistant is an up and coming trend but has become extremely popular around the last few years.
Many countries such as the US, UK, China and other business centric companies are employing VA or Virtual assistant to cut down on costs but be able to cater to various requirements of an assistant for most managerial positions on a remote basis.
An agency can recruit assistants based on the criterias provided by other businesses and provide remote services such as appointment scheduling, travel planning, work scheduling, internet research and simple data entry, file keeping etc.
Virtual assistants are usually managed by companies that have staff services and if you have a setup and resources to manage staff, this can be a highly sought after service for B2B needs.
9. Online custom product store
Customized products are all the hype today and for good reasons - not only do they encourage small time unique products that are crafted or handmade, they also set your business apart from mass scale produced goods.
There is a large section of people who want to try and experiment new products in the market that have a story or products that are open to customization (gifting purposes for instance). If you are someone who knows the right markets to tap into to provide a unique and custom appeal to clients when it comes to products, you can easily venture into a niche market by setting up an online store that is unique in itself.
Some examples of online custom products are corporate gifting solutions, custom handcrafts, handmade gifts, personalized gifting stores etc.
10. Online language learning platform
Thanks to the boom in travel and cross country education, this unique business model has come into the picture. Although it is not as popular as the rest of the businesses on the list, you could easily become one of the OG businesses to begin this venture.
Language learning was always restricted to audio tapes, books and translators but this model can be revamped by employing a full fledged learning platform like the education portals complete with tutors, learning exercises, online content courses and many such innovative concepts.
If you are someone who can put together language tutors and learning courses, then this can be a simple, low investment-high ROI business that can easily scale up.
Conclusion
Given that eCommerce is set to scale up higher and grow every single year, you cannot go wrong by setting up an online business as long as you keep up with the market trends and find ways to attract more and more customers. Experimenting with new and updated market innovations like machine learning, Artificial intelligence, Virtual Reality and Social media marketing can all help in increasing your customer base while a robust and sensitive customer relationship approach can ensure that your customers are loyal for life.
With these 10 best online business ideas, you can establish a formidable business venture and scale up easily using innovative and creative eCommerce trends!
