10 Home Businesses To Start On a Tight Budget Right Now

You want to start a home business on tight budget. With everything that has been happening, working outside the home is not very appealing to a lot of people. COVID-19 has made a lot of people long for change of careers or jobs. It seems like everyone around you is starting a business and you’re wanting to start your own business endeavor but just can’t afford it. That’s okay. I’ve been right where you are. But I was still able to start several businesses with little money. In this post, I’m going to give you 10 businesses you can start right now on a tight budget.

What Is a Home Business to Start On a Tight Budget?

A home business, for those of you who do not know, is a business that you can start right from the comfort of your home.

This business can also be ran from your home.

Even though the business is from home, you can still have much success.

The only difference between a home business and a regular business is that you’re working from home rather than in an office building.

A home business is a good idea if you prefer to stay at home and make money without leaving your house.

When running a business from home you have to be very self-disciplined. There is no room for procrastination in this line of work. This article gives some good tips about self-discipline that you may want to read before stating a home business.

1. Freelance Writer

Freelance writing can be a very lucrative career. You can get setup fairly quickly.

Becoming a freelance writer and starting your own freelancing business is not hard.

And it doesn’t cost a lot of money.

Your biggest expenses as a freelance writer will be website hosting and a domain.

You can get really cheap hosting for your website here.

I always say that it is good to invest in your education. You may want to buy some freelance writing courses that are inexpensive. However, this is completely optional.

Freelance writing is a career with so many possibilities. You can write blog posts, white papers or web copy.

Also, you can write in different niches or industries such as finance, cryptocurrency, parenting, and beauty.

I will be writing a post all about freelance writing soon and I will link it here.

2. Virtual Assistant

Another home business to start on a tight budget is virtual assistant services. More and more people are in need of a virtual assistant .

As a virtual assistant, you would do administrative work and writing tasks to help business owners better manage their business.

You obviously would need a website where you can direct potential clients. This website should give information about your services and the results you can get for your clients.

There are also different areas you could specialize in as a virtual assistant. For example, you could be a Pinterest Virtual Assistant/Specialist.

What a Pinterest Specialist does is manage a client’s Pinterest to help their business really grow and reach new heights.

They may be responsible for creating new pins for blog posts, finding related boards and requesting to join them.

You can set your own prices and generate a 1,000 – 2,000+ a month running someone else’s Pinterest. You could also make a decent income as any other virtual assistant.

3. Transcriptionist

The next home business to start on a tight budget is transcription. There are quite a bit of businesses looking for transcription help.

You can apply to these jobs and it will look more impressive if you have your own business.

As with any other home business, I always recommend a website.

A website is going to be the way you promote yourself.

It’s the one thing that is going to help you stand out from others.

With transcription, you type what you hear and follow the guidelines of the business.

If you have experience with transcribing files that is a plus.

Or you may be new to transcription and that’s okay too. You can still find entry-level work as a transcriptionist.

What’s more important is that all of your transcription work can be done from home or anywhere that you have an internet connection.

To be a transcriptionist you need to have good listening skills, be detail-oriented, and fast typing skills.

4. Coaching

When I say coaching I’m not talking about a physical coach such as a P.E. or football coach but I’m talking about life, health, or business coach.

I’m going to tell you that this is the best business to start on a budget only if you already know or have an idea what to do.

If you need professional training, this will not be the cheapest option.

Most life coach, health coach and any similar coaching programs are expensive. And if you’re on a tight budget, you may not be able to afford those fees.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t become a life coach but you may have to go about it a different way.

What I recommend is using the skills you already have to start your coaching business. If you have been through anything in life such as losing weight, reversing diabetes, raising 4 children, anything then you probably could help others in this area.

Take the knowledge you already have and expound on it by doing some research on the internet. Everything you read should be taken with a grain of salt because not everything on the internet is true.

But there is some good information that can help you get started on the right track. You will need a nice coaching website. You’ll need to purchase website hosting and a domain.

You may need to buy a theme or you can use a free one.

Regardless, coaching is a career where you can make a lot of money when done the right way. Not only that but it is so fulfilling to help others at tough points in their lives.

5. Blogging

That is what I’m doing in this post, blogging.

Blogging is fun but it can be difficult when you don’t know what you’re doing.

That’s why I say you should first invest in your blogging education before starting a blog.

This way you aren’t going into the situation blindly.

Blogging is a good way to express your feelings and thoughts on a certain topic. It can also show your expertise in an area.

There are numerous ways to monetize a blog such as through digital products, affiliate marketing, and sponsored posts.

The biggest thing that you have to do to be a successful blogger is be consistent.

I’ve learned this the really hard way.

As an owner of several blogs, I realize that consistency is a struggle for me. But I’m getting better.

When you know better, you do better.

You can blog on any niche that you choose. Whatever niche you choose make sure it is something you can see yourself writing about for years to come.

When you blog you can choose to write about parenting, digital marketing, or knitting blankets. You want to be specific.

Another niche that is popular is the lifestyle blogs. These blogs give you the freedom of writing about multiple topics as it relates to your daily life.

I recommend starting out blogging on a few related topics and then niching down as you go. This will help you to see if you can write on this topic for a long time. It will also allow you to decide what angle you want to write from.

6. YouTube

You may or may not have consider this but a lot of people are turning to YouTube to make money.

If you don’t mind recording yourself and being in front of the camera this is for you.

Even if you don’t like being on camera this still may be a good job for you.

It is possible to start a YouTube channel without showing your face.

I started a cooking YouTube where I only showed my hand making the food and the food itself. I’m camera shy but I found a way to make YouTube work for me.

You can do the same.

I think YouTube can overlap with other home businesses to help you promote your other business. For example, you may be a life coach but you use YouTube to reach more people with your coaching.

YouTube is a great platform but it is not a get-rich-quick scheme. You may do YouTube for a couple years or more before you start seeing a decent payout.

It really depends on you, your content, and how much the viewers like your content.

7. Photography

Photography has come a long ways. To get started as a photographer you’re going to need a professional camera, lighting and backdrops. Oh and a website to showcase your skills and even let potential customers know what kind of pictures you take.

You could take senior pictures, family pictures, pet pictures, or even baby pictures. Or you could do a combination of each one. While this business is not 100% from home, you can pretty much run it from home minus having to leave to take actual pictures.

8. Virtual Call Center

You can start a virtual call center from home where you work as a customer service representative.

Taking phone calls for different businesses is great for extroverted people who as some people say, “don’t meet a stranger.”

A virtual call center doesn’t have to be anything that costs a lot. You can buy a desktop computer, headphones, and a dial pad for cheap.

With a virtual call center you would be answering phone calls, doing email support, technical support, or live chat. If you specialize in any of these areas, this may be the right home business for you.

9. Instagram Influencer

Another home business to start is Instagram influencing. You could be an Instagram influencer and make money on Instagram. When you hear Instagram influencer, what comes to mind?

Well, you probably get a picture of the typical “Instagram baddie.” That’s not the only way to make money from Instagram.

As an Instagram Influencer, you can get deals with top brands. They will ask you to promote their products on your Instagram. And guess what, they’ll pay you for it.

10. Dropshipping

The last home business to start is dropshipping. You can start a dropshipping business with little to no money.

A dropshipping store is a store that doesn’t have products on hand. When the customer places an order, the supplier rather than the store itself, packages and ships the order directly to the customer.

Dropshipping saves you money because you aren’t buying a lot of inventory. And you aren’t sitting on inventory when your items don’t sell.

You can sell t-shirts, luxury handbags, and even hair weaves and wigs. There are so many options to choose from.

Final Takeaway

You’re looking for a home business to start and maybe you are having a hard time coming up with good ideas. Hopefully, you will find something that you like out of these 10 home businesses to start and are able to move forward with starting your own business from home.

What is your favorite home business idea from the list above? Let me know in the comments.