Are you wondering what jobs can be done from home and want to switch to this business model? Thanks to the apps created during COVID, starting a business from home is much more common than it's ever been.
Best of all, startup costs for a new home-based business can be relatively low. Often, all you need is a computer, a website and the will to succeed.
With GoDaddy Airo, you can get a domain name, logo, website, social media handles in one go.
If you are not sure what jobs you can do from home, the list below can help you get some ideas and get started.
Low-cost, home based businesses
Read on to learn more about these work from home jobs. While most are digitally focused, there are some that will require you to step away from the screen and meet with clients.
1. E-commerce store owner
E-commerce stores have been growing in popularity in recent years thanks to the rapid evolution of DIY e-commerce tools. If you prefer selling physical products rather than digital services, this option may be perfect for you.
You can either sell products you make yourself or buy products from another country and earn money by selling them.
With the right idea and strategy, you too can achieve success.
Related article: Top 10 trending products to sell online
2. Freelance writing
If you have a passion for writing, you can improve yourself by writing online. Even with little experience, you can quickly build a stable business.
The first step is to find a niche based on your own expertise and interests.
For example, will you write emails for SaaS (software as a service) companies? Will you pen blog articles for tech companies? Or will you focus on copywriting for fitness professionals?
Once you have decided on your niche and have set up a website to promote your services, it’s time to contact companies that need them. If it seems difficult to contact companies directly, you can start by looking at job postings on freelance sites like Upwork or ProBlogger.
3. Virtual assistant
If you love planning and organizing, then virtual assistant work from home may be right up your alley. As a virtual assistant, you can have different tasks to fill your workday.
These could be tasks like bookkeeping, responding to emails, scheduling meetings, posting on social media, or general data entry.
Businesses owners turn to virtual assistants because they do not have time to perform daily tasks.
If this sounds like the right business idea for you, and even better if you speak a foreign language, you can look at job postings on sites like Upwork or Remote.co and learn more about the field.
4. Social media management
Almost all of us are active on social media these days. But did you know that you can start a business around managing and growing other people’s social media accounts?
Brands, in particular, are hiring experts in this field to manage their social media accounts.
If you’ve had success with your own social media accounts, you’re already a step ahead. If not, there are hundreds of educational resources online to help you hone your skills.
5. Start a blog
Blogging can be a great side income source or a full-time job depending on how much time and effort you put in. The internet is full of success stories of bloggers who make good money…
It takes a lot of effort to reach this level as a blogger, but with the right strategy, you can build a solid business.
A blog on its own won’t make you much money, but once you start getting traffic, there are many different ways to monetize your site. For example:
- Make sales/revenue partnerships
- Paid ads
- Selling online courses and e-books
6. Graphic design
If you love designing or spend your free time messing around in Photoshop and Illustrator, you can make a business around your design skills.
With your graphic design skills, you can find work in different niches and markets, such as:
- Book cover design
- Front-end web design
- Logo design
- UX (user experience) design for mobile applications
There are nearly limitless options open to those with the right skills.
7. Web developer
If you have a talent for web design and are interested in creating websites, then you may be able to set up a business that suits you.
Of course, the first step is to learn how to code and develop your skills and build your portfolio. You can use free resources like Codecademy to get started. Once you are confident in your abilities, you can start finding clients.
You can find your customers through platforms like Bionluk or contact businesses directly.
To increase your chances of success, it’s always a good idea to focus your services on a niche. For example, will you be building websites for real estate agents? Will you be focusing on a local market? Or will you be building sites for e-commerce ventures?
Check out sites like Toptal or PeoplePerHour for job listings.
8. Digital marketing
Digital marketing is a pretty broad category of work-from-home jobs and can cover almost any online marketing task.
As we said earlier, identifying a niche can help increase your chances of success.
Here are some of the digital marketing niches you can build a business around:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and and SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
- Content marketing
- Email marketing
- Building websites
- Creating a Google My Business page
You can serve both local customers and businesses from all over the world.
9. Selling online courses
Have you ever considered teaching online courses as a work-from-home job?
Maybe you have a skill or knowledge that you can package and sell as a course.
The online education industry is expected to grow 8.66% each year through 2029. You can start working now to make a name for yourself in this field.
You can package your knowledge and sell it in different ways. You can integrate your course into an existing blog, sell courses through your social media accounts, or even use an online education platforms like Udemy and Skillshare.
10. Publishing your own books
If you dream of making a living as a writer, you may be closer to that dream than you think. As a personal publisher on sites like Amazon, you can earn 35 - 70% royalties on your books.
Want to hear some success stories? Mark Dawson makes six figures a year on Amazon for his crime/thriller novels. Andy Weir self-published The Martian, a sci-fi novel that still sells millions of copies and became a blockbuster movie.
The increasing popularity of self-publishing can help you overcome obstacles to your writing career.
Of course, now that it's easier to publish a book the competition is growing. But you can still make a name for yourself by writing a book that meets reader expectations.
Take your time to decide what genre you want to write in, then do your best. Start building a list of contacts now so you can send promotional emails once you’ve finished your book.
Related: The DIY guide to writing a book
11. Joining a freelance site
There are many places where you can earn money from your freelance skills.
For example, you can join sites like Freelancer.com and FlexJobs. If you know a foreign language, we also recommend looking at platforms like Fiverr, Guru and Upwork . If you have design and artistic skills, try Behance.
Sign up is free on most of these sites.
To run a sustainable business on these platforms, you need to create a niche for yourself. For example, are you:
- An expert in search engine optimisation (SEO) for large websites?
- A graphic designer who creates one-page sites?
- A writer who specializes in small business finance?
Among the jobs that can be done from home, joining well-known and reliable freelance platforms is one of the best ways to start earning income in a short time. As your experience and reputation grow, you can move beyond these platforms and diversify your client base.
12. Data entry
Data entry may not seem like an exciting job, but the fact that you can work from home or a beachside café can make it an attractive business idea.
Plus, the skills you need to get started are minimal to none.
All you have to do is learn how to enter data into the software program your clients use.
Data entry may not be as lucrative as some of the other jobs you can do from home, but it doesn’t require as much focus. So you can listen to your favorite podcast or watch Netflix while you work.
13. Selling products you make/own
Are you skilled at handcrafted items but don’t know how to make money from them? Or have you cleaned out your closets and found yourself with a lot of items you want to get rid of?
Whether it’s your own crafts or products you already own, you can find interested buyers online. If you’re not ready to set up your own e-commerce site yet, you can sign up for online marketplaces where you can sell second-hand and handcrafted items.
Related: How to sell on Amazon - 5 essential steps
14. Selling stock photos/videos
If you have a passion for photography or video, you can turn it into a business. All you have to do is produce content that is in demand for visuals.
You can sign up to the most well-known stock photo sites iStock and Shutterstock and see what kind of images are in demand. Don't forget to read the photo policies of these sites.
If you prefer to go the video route, you can upload your work to sites like Pond5, StoryBlocks or VideoHive.
For your business to last long-term, carving out a niche based on your style or the topics you capture can help you stand out.
15. Photography
We continue with another one of the jobs that can be done from home, aimed at camera lovers. There are many photography-based businesses that you can set up at home.
For example, you can specialize in:
- Baby photography
- Portraits
- Product photography for e-commerce
- Studio photography
- Drone photography
- Events
- Real estate photography
Of course, you’ll need to leave your home for most of these, but it’s also important to remember that a big part of photography is editing at your desk after the shoot is over.
Plus, if you’re good at Photoshop, you can create a revenue stream just by editing.
16. Pet sitting
If you love animals, you can't find a better job to do from home. You can spend time with pets and take them for walks during the day when their owners are away.
Since most pet owners treat their pets like their own children, attention to detail and reliability are essential qualities here.
Usually the animals you will be looking after will be cats or dogs, but from time to time you may also encounter other animals such as fish, birds or rabbits.
Additionally, if you have experience, you can also provide services such as dog grooming and nail cutting.
17. Fitness trainer
If fitness is your passion, you can start a business to share it with others.
There are many paths to success as a fitness instructor. You can:
- Go out to private homes
- Create small-group fitness events
- Teach classes at a gym
- Have clients come to you if you have the space and equipment at home
Whichever way you choose, social media marketing tools like Instagram can help you build your brand.
Related: The new digital gym
18. Music teaching
Nowadays, many parents enroll their children in music lessons from a young age.
If you can play an instrument like the piano, violin, or guitar, you can pass on your love of music to future generations.
If you have the necessary equipment, you can give private lessons right from your home.
Otherwise, you could teach classes or offer musical performance training in preschools and elementary schools.
19. Event planning
The stress of event planning isn’t for everyone, but it’s true that some people do better under pressure. If you enjoy planning and coordinating events, finding caterers, hiring musicians, managing staff and more, this could be the right business for you.
As an event planner, you can focus on a specific type of event, such as weddings or conventions. Or you can be regional and focus on events in your hometown, for example.
Event planning businesses thrive mostly on word-of-mouth referrals, but with a quality online presence, you can increase your chances of success.
20. Electronics repair
Do you like to fix your own electronics? If so, electronics repair could be a good fit for you. Since most modern electronics are quite fragile, people need help with issues like cracked screens, dead batteries, and more.
Your business can focus on a specific product, such as new iPhones, or you can serve your local community with electronics in general.
21. Personal chef/caterer
As a personal chef, you can have a pretty broad client base: anyone who has the budget to spend on your services and enjoys food.
To be successful, you need to be a master in the kitchen as well as up to date on the latest food handling and health regulations.
You may:
- Prepare all meals for a single client
- Serve a number of different families
- Offer a one-time dinner service for large groups
Or you may prepare meals in a specific style — for example, gluten-free, vegan, Mexican, ketogenic, etc.
It is important to be able to adapt to a variety of kitchen setups here, or you may invest in your own portable kitchen equipment.
If you want to expand your catering business even further, you can provide services for events such as office meetings and New Year's parties.
You may need to rent a kitchen and hire additional staff for this.
However, you can increase the fee you charge per event accordingly.
22. Sell your baked goods
We’ve come to the last item on our list of jobs you can do from home. If you love baking, you can sell your baked goods to local businesses.
Many cafés don’t make the products they offer on their menus but outsource them to people with the right skills.
You can focus on a specific type of baking, such as gluten-free, vegan, fit products, or choose to bake all types of pastries.
Tips to help you achieve success with work from home
Starting a home-based business can help you achieve success more quickly by reducing your overhead costs.
After reviewing the list of business ideas above, be sure to choose a business that you are truly passionate about and want to do, not just for its potential profitability.
Starting and running a business takes a lot of effort, so choose something you truly love.
This can motivate you to keep going even when times are tough. Additionally, establishing an online presence is crucial for your home-based business, here's how you can create a Facebook business page to reach and engage with your audience effectively.
Get tips on creating the ideal home office in this post (8-minute read).
Final thoughts on jobs that can be done from home
We hope that the home business ideas we mentioned in this article have helped and inspired you to take steps towards realizing your own business dreams.
Take some time to evaluate what skills you have and what kind of work you would like to do.
Use the ideas in this article as a starting point and do more research to find out what interests you.
And remember, since we live in a digital age, you’ll also need a strong online presence to increase your business’s chances of success. GoDaddy offers all the help and tools you need to start and grow your new venture. Good luck!
