A crisis such as the current Coronavirus epidemic is incredibly traumatic for everyone. The lockdown situation has forced many businesses to implement a seachange in operations – hotdesking and zoom calls replacing the traditional office environment. What this also makes clear us that, regardless of social distancing or virus tests, the online world can not only function perfectly well, it can flourish. So if you’re planning on setting up an online business, a crisis doesn’t have to get in your way. Here are the top five ideas for businesses to start online.
Virtual tutoring
Do you have any particular skills that you could share with others? This could cover a variety of topics, from academic subjects to more practical ones. The present situation has led to people exploring the possibilities of DIY or perhaps looking into a spot of car maintenance. You could translate your knowledge into video courses and post these online, allowing others to tap into your knowledge. How is this a viable business? Check out YouTube, which is crammed full of virtual instructions on myriad subjects. All you have to do is set up some kind of voluntary donation scheme for the tuition you provide.
Online dating
Setting up a dating site like affairdating.com isn’t too daunting a task, and if you can identify a niche that isn’t too well represented at the moment you could make a considerable income. Decide the type of matchmaking you’d like to organize – interracial, cougar, fetish, Beatles fans, the possibilities are endless! Invest in streamlined web design, employing someone who understands SEO optimization and can build a competent financial platform. Organize quality HD images of attractive ‘site users.’ Now start building a customer base via social media, or word-of-mouth. Offer a free sign up, then decide at what point you’ll start charging your members.
Affiliate marketing
Signing up to an affiliate program is one of the simplest online business models, involving selling goods on behalf of someone else, and getting a slice of commission for doing so. While there are all sorts of programs being run by larger organizations, such as Amazon, it’s also a lot of fun identifying subjects you could specialize in. Perhaps you already blog about something. For example, let’s say you like to review movies. You could find a program involving DVDs or wide-screen TVs. Put together a page on your website with these products, inserting the code you’ll receive from the affiliate. Now do some serious plugging via social media. The beauty of this model is you aren’t involved in stock control, only retailing.
Book publishing
The advent of eBooks means that today’s book readers are often just as likely to pull an e-reader out of their rucksack as a paperback – especially when they’re going on holiday and want to pack several titles. You can take advantage of this market by writing books intended to be published online, rather than going through the lengthy process of submitting manuscripts to publishers. There’s so much more flexibility, with many online companies encouraging the self-publishing angle and allowing you to design your covers if that’s your preference – Amazon, Kobo, Lulu, and many more.
Open an online shop
Have you ever tried offloading unwanted clothes/records/(insert subject of your choice) via an online shopping platform such as eBay? There are tons of online retailing outlets out there, from generic shops to more specialized ones. They’ll also take varying levels of commission for your trouble. But selling via the Internet instantly plugs you into a global market of site users that could run into the millions.