Starting a business is one thing, but it’s something else to successfully turn a low-cost venture into a high-profit business. Give yourself an advantage by choosing an industry or business type that has high revenue and growth potential to yield good returns over time.
Check out our suggestions for low-cost business ideas with high profit below. You can also get a more in-depth guide on starting your own business by downloading our full guide:
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Quick Tip:
As you’re starting your business, it’s wise to register it as a legal entity, like an LLC. Doing this will protect your personal assets if a lawsuit were to occur against the business. You can register your business as an LLC through an online legal service.
IncFile is an online service that handles and files the paperwork so your business can become an LLC quickly.
Start your business today with IncFile for as little as $0 plus state fees with no contracts and no hidden fees.
1. Business Consulting
Business consulting is a general term that can refer to providing advice for many different business functions: marketing and sales, project management, strategic planning, and more.
There are no official or required qualifications to become a consultant per se—though depending on the field you wish to consult in, you may need to hold a certification for that. You can also choose to become a consultant for more informal fields that won’t require you to hold a professional certification, such as business writing, marketing, career guidance, communications, or public relations.
While you may not need additional qualifications to be a business consultant, you’ll need to stay abreast of any developments, trends, and changes in your consultancy field. Your reputation (and thus future business opportunities) will rely on the results you get for your present clients, so you’ll need to stay updated.
Business startup cost: $2,600+
Average annual revenue: $101,438
Expected growth rate: 4.9% from 2023-2028
2. Voice Acting
As with many other business ideas on this list, voice acting has a low barrier to entry—so you would do well to find (or carve out) a specific niche you can serve before you put yourself out there. Do you have a particularly low or high voice? Can you do humorous impressions? Do you prefer something more along the lines of reading audiobooks out loud?
While you may have to deal with lots of competition initially, you’ll also be able to slowly raise your prices as your skills and reputation grow. Evaluate your own skills, observe the competition, and negotiate with clients to make as much profit as possible.
Business startup cost: $70–$200+ for voice training
Average annual revenue: $100,198
Expected growth rate: 19.2% from 2023 to 2032
3. Personal Chef
If you enjoy cooking and preparing food but prefer not to work in a restaurant, you can always opt to become a personal chef. This often takes the form of preparing customized meals as requested by clients, and figuring out how to deliver the food to them.
Little formal training is required for this type of work—it’s all about how good you are in the kitchen, as well as your ability to stay on top of administrative tasks like building your customer base, recording their preferences and allergies, and figuring out delivery methods. Though, of course, formal training and experience will only help you land clients.
With enough time and effort, you’ll likely be able to build up to a steady monthly income without putting out too much of an initial investment.
Business startup cost: $650+ (Advertising and networking)
Average annual revenue: $90,386
Expected growth rate: 4.2% from 2023 to 2033 (Personal chef)
4. Web Development and Design
Web development (software engineering) and web design (creating a website for a business to use) are potentially lucrative fields that all companies find necessary at some point. More than formal qualifications or certificates, what you’ll need to succeed is solid experience and a good portfolio of completed work.
If you are skilled and experienced in website design, and can showcase this to potential clients, you’ll find yourself in demand for many businesses and industries.
Startup costs can be a little high, as you’ll need to invest in good equipment and software to generate the best possible results for your clients. You’ll also need good communication and marketing skills to connect with clients, understand their needs, and deliver a result that keeps them coming back for more.
Business startup cost: $1,500+ (Website setup and hosting, coding and programming training, software and hardware costs)
Average annual revenue: $80,730 in 2022
Expected growth rate: 8.03% from 2021 to 2027
5. Content Writing
Content writing is a broad field that can include copywriting, blog articles, social media posts, research and report writing, and more. A great number of business industries require some form of content writing: travel and tourism, education, marketing agencies, finance, and small businesses in general, to name just a few. In many cases, the highest-paying content writing gigs can be found in the tech, SaaS, and B2B industries.
Initial costs can be as simple as obtaining a laptop from which you can begin writing. You can pay for training classes and online courses to help improve your writing, but it’s also possible to level up your skills by researching best practices, connecting with experienced writers and other colleagues, and just writing a lot over time.
Business startup cost: Less than $1,000 for a laptop
Average annual revenue: $64,940 (Blogger)
Expected growth rate: 5.50% from 2023 to 2030
6. Language Translation
As businesses expand overseas, they will inevitably need some kind of language translation service or training to break communication barriers with new markets and business partners. Whether you offer your services as a freelance translator or build a small agency and find clients, you’ll find that multilingual skills are always in demand and monetizable.
Though some clients may opt to use machine translation, human translators still provide value; only a person can perceive and interpret language phenomena such as catchphrases and slang.
Business startup cost: $2,500+ (Hardware and equipment, website setup, software licenses, marketing, travel expenses)
Average annual revenue: $61,730
Expected growth rate: 2.7% from 2022 to 2032
7. Print on Demand Services
Print on demand businesses use a business model similar to dropshipping: instead of maintaining a steady inventory, they manufacture or deliver printed products (clothing, decor, etc.) only when a customer makes an order. This translates into simpler business operations as well as eliminating the need to keep up a large inventory count.
Print-on-demand isn’t the cheapest type of business to start; your main expense in the early stages will be obtaining high-quality printing equipment, for which you should expect to spend a few thousand dollars. You’ll also need to consider other details such as your target market, product range, and supplier management.
Business startup cost: $2,000+ (Printing equipment)
Average annual revenue: $55,675
Expected growth rate: 24.4% from 2023 to 2030
8. Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant helps a client (often a busy high-level executive or business owner) with tasks such as creating and analyzing reports, coordinating with customers and suppliers, managing a schedule, monitoring emails and other communications, creating presentations, and various other administrative tasks.
Working as a virtual assistant can give you experience with various tasks and does not usually require any certifications or formal training. Plus, you can often work remotely, such as from coworking spaces or your home.
While you may not necessarily need formal training for a virtual assistant role, you’ll perform much better (and get much more attention from employers) if you can show experience in fulfilling the admin tasks required of you. Clients are often very busy and demanding, so expect a constant stream of work that you’ll need to stay on top of. If you perform well, you can expect good pay as well as referrals to other potential clients.
Business startup cost: Less than $1,000 for a laptop + training costs for your chosen field
Average annual revenue: $50,749
Expected growth rate: 25.1% from 2022 to 2030
9. Cleaning Business
Cleaning businesses are flexible, as they can be scaled up or down to include anything from entire office buildings to small houses. You can offer basic janitorial or tidying services, to more niche or large-scale tasks such as damage restoration or removal of waste and hazardous materials.
Your startup costs will depend on the choices you make in terms of scale and service offerings, but prepare to spend at least several hundred dollars for cleaning equipment.
Business startup cost: $750+ (Basic cleaning and janitorial supplies)
Average annual revenue: Up to $50,000
Expected growth rate: 8.7% from 2022 to 2030
Learn more in our complete guide to starting a cleaning business.
10. Ghostwriting
Ghostwriting refers to writing something—from novels to speeches—for which another person will be credited as the author. Authors, political figures, and business leaders often hire ghostwriters to produce content that they themselves are too busy to create.
Ghostwriting won’t require much more equipment than a laptop to begin with, and you can often perform the work from anywhere.
As with content writing, your initial costs will be little more than a laptop from which you can write. However, you’ll also need to establish your credibility as a writer over time. Prepare, maintain, and update a portfolio of your writing work so that you can showcase your growing skills to potential employers. One way to do this is to create a small business website that displays your previous writing projects and promotes your niche skills.
Business startup cost: Less than $1,000 for a laptop; up to around $35 per month for a website content management system
Average annual revenue: $49,572
Expected growth rate: 6.80% from 2023 to 2030
11. Physical Fitness Training
Fitness training (which often goes hand-in-hand with diet and nutrition consulting) is a simple and reliably in-demand industry where you can end up making decent money without much initial investment. Startup costs are minimal, covering basic training courses such as first aid.
What will really get you more clients, though, is being able to help your first few customers get the results they want. As your reputation in the business improves, you can count on referrals and additional clients coming your way.
While training classes and certifications can help you get a leg up in the early stages, it’s just as important to have solid knowledge of exercise techniques and diet practices, and be able to communicate and work with people from all walks of life.
Business startup cost: $130+ (Training and certifications for first aid, CPR, etc.)
Average annual revenue: $45,380 in 2022
Expected growth rate: 4.6% from 2023 to 2033
12. Commercial Photography
As with podcasting, photography is a hobby that can also be turned into a profitable business if you choose to go the commercial route. Commercial photography is a relatively low-barrier field to enter, which means competition may be stiff. You’ll increase your chances of standing out and making a decent profit by investing in the best equipment you can afford, finding a niche demand to specialize in, and marketing and networking hard.
You can turn your photography hobby into a business by investing time and using the best equipment available to you.
Similar to a fitness training business, more commercial photography work will come your way if you manage to impress your first few clients with outstanding results.
Business startup cost: $3,900+
Average annual revenue: $42,345
Expected growth rate: 2.2% from 2022 to 2032
13. Private Tutoring
On the client side, private tutoring is an attractive option because it allows a client’s children to get a leg up in formal education, or address a challenge such as a learning deficiency within a private setting. On the service provider side, you’ll likely appreciate the opportunity to give guidance and learning to children of nearly any age. The ability to provide private tutoring either in person or virtually adds to the flexibility of this business option.
While initial costs will likely not be too high for this type of business, it would be beneficial to possess a degree in the subjects you’ll be teaching; or at the very least, have some previous experience. As with pet-sitting, keep your schedule flexible and be willing to travel if necessary.
Business startup cost: $650+ (Marketing costs, textbooks, and tutoring supplies)
Average annual revenue: $42,053
Expected growth rate: 9.65% from 2022 to 2027
14. Dropshipping
Dropshipping refers to a business model where you (the retailer) acts as a storefront with whom customers interact and buy from; but instead of maintaining any inventory yourself, you fulfill orders using a third-party manufacturer or wholesaler. This gives you the advantage of not having to maintain any product stock, as well as keeping costs low by not buying or creating any more items that you need at the moment.
Business startup cost: $100–$500 for platform fees and marketing
Average annual revenue: $40,970
Expected growth rate: 23.4% from 2023 to 2030
Learn more about how to start a dropshipping business, including developing a concept, researching competitors, and building your website.
15. Podcasts
While podcasting is often thought of as a hobby or passion project, it can also be a legitimate profit-oriented business model. Podcasters can monetize their content with affiliate sales and marketing, subscriptions for listeners, and product advertising. As the podcaster becomes more famous, sponsorships eventually become an option as well. As of 2023, over 68 million people in the US listened to podcasts, with the figure expected to rise steadily until at least 2028.
Podcasting often starts as a hobby, but you can monetize it via methods such as affiliate sales and advertising.
Your startup costs will vary widely, largely depending on how professional of a setup you want and how much you intend it to be a for-profit business rather than a hobby. At the higher end, prepare to spend a few thousand dollars for high-end equipment.
Business startup cost: $500–$5,000 for a professional setup and equipment
Average revenue: $300–$5,000 per 10,000 episode views
Expected growth rate: 48.5% from 2015 to 2023
Bottom Line
Starting a business will never be entirely free of initial costs, and even some of the options on this list will require you to invest a few thousand dollars at the beginning. But if you can use this list to find a business type that interests you, and minimize the startup costs while eventually expanding your market share and reputation, then you stand to make solid profits.
