Having a business model which will make money online is very beneficial, especially if it is run as a side hassle with a mind of turning it into the main source of income.

Most online businesses can be set up and kept running within a small amount of time and can be run almost anywhere with the right equipment.

There are obviously things that you can do to boost your online business, such as having a social media profile to which you can post blogs and direct your readers towards either your website or one which you are promoting.

All you really need is your cell phone and a laptop or computer. You no doubt already have a cell phone, and if you are worried that your laptop may not be up to the job, then by looking for the best deals on laptops online, you’ll find one perfect for tarting one of these two business ideas .

#1 Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is where you create content which can be anything from blog post to YouTube videos to posts on TikTok then point your followers to certain products or services which you are an affiliate.

Your followers will have to click on a link somewhere within your content as any that go to the site directly and do not choose to click on your link will lose you the commission, and you will not be paid for them. Most companies will only pay when there has been a sale.

This can be a good little earner, as apart from creating free content, you are not actually doing any of the hard sell, nor are you handling any of the goods, so you do not need any space for storing items or the hassle of posting them out.

#2 Selling goods online

There are plenty of places online where you can sell goods, whether they are goods you have created, second-hand goods, or even brand new goods. Places such as Amazon, eBay or Shopify are great to start with though there are others if you decide to have multiple places.

With these, you do have to think about space and how you are going to store the goods while they are waiting to be sold. There is also the space for packing as well as having a designated area for taking photos of the products.

Be aware of little extra costs such as listing fees and postage costs when looking at your profit margins.

If you feel that you do not have enough space to be able to store much, maybe drop-shipping is the way forward for you. This is where the production company keeps hold of the products and sends them directly to the customer.

You are in the middle, putting the product up for sale and taking the money, and passing the order along. This may sound like the perfect business model, but you do have to be aware that the customer will come to you with any complaints, which could be from anything from not actually receiving the product, the product is damaged and poorly wrapped, or the order being totally wrong. It is you who will get the bad feedback and not the company responsible.