If you’ve ever dreamed of starting your own business and being your own boss, you’re not alone—more than 40% of Americans have at least entertained the idea. If your very next thought is that you can’t afford to start a business, you’re not entirely wrong; on average, new businesses spend upwards of $40,000 in their first year of business. Even small businesses often come with associated costs, like filing paperwork for licenses, buying insurance, or setting up a limited liability corporation.
But if you have exactly zero dollars to invest in a new business, that doesn’t mean you can’t start one. There are businesses you can set up with zero start-up costs. While having some startup money might make things easier for you (by paying for helpful software, advertising, or other non-essential aspects of the business), and paying for things like insurance might be a good idea even if it’s not required, if you’re absolutely strapped for cash here are six businesses you can launch for zero dollars.
There are a lot of freelance businesses you can get started for free, but freelance writing is one of the simplest. Literally all you need is an ability to write, a word processor, and internet access (and even that isn’t necessary if you have local contacts you can hit up for business). There are other things that might be useful—a website, or invoicing software—but they’re not absolutely necessary. You don’t necessarily need Microsoft Office—Libre Office is totally free and does everything you need it to. Finding clients involves looking at job boards or cold pitching businesses, both of which are free, and you can operate this business as a sole proprietor with almost zero overhead while making an average of $22 per hour.
If you’re organized, know your way around office software, and have some experience doing administrative or assistant work in an office, you can launch a business offering virtual assistant services without spending a dime. The easiest way to do this is to set up a free profile on job platforms like FlexJobs, but you can also find VA jobs on listing sites like Indeed—you can even find these jobs listed on places like Craigslist. VAs earn about $27 an hour these days.
If you have professional experience as an educator and/or expertise in a particular academic subject, you can launch a tutoring business today without spending a dollar. Before you do anything you’ll need to determine which grade level you’re comfortable working with, whether you want to tutor within a broad subject or help people prep for specific tests or courses, and whether you want to tutor online, in-person, or both.
If you have access to a community that can supply clients, you can jump in simply by negotiating your hourly fee. The average online tutor makes about $15 per hour (this varies by region), but this depends on the credentials you bring to the table, the complexity of the subjects you’re tutoring, and whether you can tutor in groups to maximize those fees. You can join online platforms like Wyzant or Tutor.com at zero cost, instantly gaining access to clients and leaving the promotion and paperwork to someone else.
Dropshipping means selling products that you don’t physically have on hand—you buy them at a discount from a partner who handles fulfillment. You set up a website listing the products with a reasonable markup, and when someone buys one your supplier ships it out and you make a profit.
To start this sort of business with $0 up-front, you need two things:
A supplier that doesn’t charge any fees. For example, AliExpress allows you to sign up for free and add products to an online store for free. When someone buys an item from you, you simply buy it from AliExpress and have it shipped to them, keeping the difference as profit.
An e-commerce platform with a free trial. You’ll need an online storefront for your dropshipping business. Shopify has a one month free trial, so you can set up your store there for no startup costs.
After that free trial, you’ll need to generate at least $29 per month to keep your Shopify store open—everything else could be profit.
If you’ve been working in an industry for some time, you’ve gained something valuable: experience. You have industry-specific knowledge that other people will pay for. And you can launch a consulting business without spending a penny.
The key to launching a consulting business is leveraging your existing network—all those Linkedin connections, traded business cards, and other contacts you’ve accrued during the course of your career. All of those folks represent leads to potential business. They know the experience and knowledge that you bring, and can connect you with people in their organization who can make the decision to hire you.
You can also join online consulting platforms like Consultport or Catalant, which can connect you with clients in need of your specific expertise.
If you have a knack for planning parties and activities, you can start an event planning business with zero startup costs. You can join an online platform like EventWork to gain access to listings from people and companies that need professional planning services, or you can try a more localized and organic approach by pitching friends, family, and local businesses that might have upcoming events that need managing in real life or virtually.
If you have some past experience planning events, that’s helpful, of course—but if you lack specific experience you can offer to help people plan their upcoming events (weddings, parties, online gatherings). Then document them on social media and ask for endorsements and references you can use to pitch paying clients in the future.
