Are you looking for legitimate internet companies from which you may earn REAL MONEY?
Or maybe you’re searching for a side business that will enable you to break out of your 9 to 5 and start making money online…
Today, I’m going to talk about 11 different online business models. My goal is to answer all the main questions about these models and tell you how to make money with them.
BUT BEFORE I GET INTO THAT…
To save you some time, I’ll tell you that 9 of these models are neither the fastest nor the most guaranteed path to building wealth at home.
So, if you’re serious about building a passive income with a home-based business…
This is a much better all-around business model.
Still here, huh?
Well, congrats! You made it through 2020!
What a shitty year, right?
Well, at least one good thing has come out of this, and that is you probably know that you can make a good chunk of change starting a profitable online business!
But what kind of businesses can you start? Isn’t everything too saturated already?
There are plenty of options that you can get started on today! And no, not everything is saturated yet; there is more than enough money to be made right now!
You probably know that starting your own internet business is a great idea, but you probably just don’t know where to start. Don’t worry; I’ll get you started on the right path.
If you already have some high-income skills, that’s awesome! But maybe you just don’t know how to turn those skills into a lot of money…
Or maybe you have some knowledge about what kind of online businesses are out there, like dropshipping or affiliate marketing, because some of your friends do it on the side.
Either way, you’re looking to get started now and just need to be pointed down the right path.
I’ve got your back!
I’m going to walk you through a number of online businesses and find out which online business idea is right for you!
11 Online Business Ideas You Can Start Today!
In this post, I will discuss several ideal enterprises for running from the comfort of your own home.
My team has been full-time in this internet entrepreneur stuff since 2008 when the last economic downturn occurred. So you can take heart in the fact you’re getting advice from people who successfully started multiple online businesses.
So not only is this internet stuff a viable business option, but I hope that by the end of reading this, you’ll be well equipped to get started with your very own online business. It’s also possible to do market research before starting an internet company.
Want a little sneak peek of things to come?
Digital Real Estate (My #1 Pick)
From personal experience, I can affirm that this new company concept has the potential to alter people’s lives forever.
I got started in this industry as far back as 2008, when the first worldwide recession hit, and I’m still going strong well into 2022.
I’ve all made money with Amazon FBA, Real Estate, PPE, and even my own brick-and-mortar businesses!
But digital real estate has been the only one that is both lucrative AND stress-free long-term.
In the video above, one of my team members explains why it’s just so damn easy to get mailbox money month after month with this business. Providing results in advance like this is what separates this model from every other form of digital marketing. (especially social media marketing…my #2 pick)
And guess what…
Once you understand the model and master the skillset…
You’ll never have a reason ever to have money problems again.
Despite all the fear-mongering…small businesses aren’t going anywhere.
Neither is the internet.
It’s no secret that from 2020 to 2030, digital marketing (especially organic traffic from the top spots on Google) will be the lifeblood for small business owners going forward.
Unfortunately…they don’t have time for any of it themselves.
Ready for the kicker? There are over 30 million small businesses in the US!
You found my site because I all know what it takes to rank on Google.
Not many people have this type of skill set…
And having valuable skills like these are the types of skills that set you apart and raise the value of your time.
There are over 1,000 elite students in the online education I recommend.
Here are Facebook testimonials of 1,000 students doing Digital Real Estate:
The model has been successful since 2008 and has only steamrolled going into the pandemic. Not only is this model just great for making money…but it’s future-oriented. Think about it, the only way this dies is if the lights go out…and if the lights go out…we all have much bigger problems to deal with.
But hey, if you think you have a better model you’d like to share, drop a comment below. You don’t know how interested I’d be to take a look at it myself!
Now that you know why it’s realistic to operate an online business successfully, let’s look at the top 11 online businesses to start in 2022!
11: App Developer
You probably don’t find it surprising that IT occupations will be among the first to become entirely remote in 2020. This is because they are ideal for those who like to work from home.
Now I know that some of you coders out there really have some amazing skills and have been developing your own apps for a while now.
Some of you have probably even sold a few small projects on the side before.
Did you know that you could actually make a year’s salary by owning your own app development business?
How do you make so much money with it?
People are coming up with other online business ideas every single day. Unfortunately, they just don’t have the knowledge to actually create the program itself.
That’s when they turn to people like you who know how to code.
Payment options vary, and it really depends on the project’s scope of work.
Some projects could be a quick little $500 program or as large as 15% recurring in the application itself if it’s used for certain transactions.
However, if you don’t already know coding, it can be pretty difficult to learn and not be the right fit for you. Luckily Khan Academy offers some really good coding courses. It might be worth a look if you’re determined!
Pros:
- Can make yearly salaries in one month
- Perfect for working from
- Most likely already have experience
Cons:
- Difficult to learn coding later in life
- Requires business experience
- Requires outsourcing as more projects come in
10: Affiliate Marketing Business
Even though affiliate marketing might be quite difficult to succeed in, it is possible!
A big draw for many is that there is no inventory or shipping to worry about your own products, making this business model appealing to many individuals.
You can make a decent amount of money doing affiliate marketing the free way, but to make some of the big bucks, you gotta spend the big bucks…
Anyone who knows affiliate marketing knows that the lion’s share of conversion traffic is generated by blogs that are riddled with affiliate links.
The thing is though, these sites have to get massive traffic, and that’s hard to do.
You see, PPC has never really worked well when driving traffic to blogs; to then hope people click on your affiliate links in the post.
No, the blogs that rake in a lot of money are ranked organically on page one of Google for several different keywords.
You don’t make a killing by randomly throwing your links out on the web. People honestly hate that.
Barrier Of Entry
Entering the world of affiliate marketing is a piece of cake. If you’re looking to get started in this field, this is a wonderful option.
I’m talking about maybe paying $25 to get an affiliate link to start placing around the web.
Unfortunately, these are links to products or programs people really aren’t all that interested in, which is why the commissions are so small.
But there are literally hundreds of thousands of affiliate marketers out there, and it’s hard to compete with that, which is the next thing I’ll be talking about.
Competition
Insanely fierce competition is the norm. This trade has a bad reputation due to the many persons involved.
Why?
Everyone has started just placing their affiliate links everywhere unsolicited. Platforms like Reddit even ban users who drop an unsolicited affiliate link.
People hate seeing spam everywhere which is what affiliate marketing has really turned into.
Have you been in any groups on Facebook where people just dump their links everywhere?
Pretty annoying, huh?
I agree.
Okay, but you’re not a spammer, and you have products to promote…how do you make money as an affiliate marketer?
The way would be through a blog, which I’ll talk more about later.
You would need to put out consistent content that actually brings value to people and helps them find what they are are looking for.
This takes a lot of money, however. You will likely need to invest heavily into outsourcing SEO while you’re busy with the creative aspect of things.
And depending on how much content you need to be pushing out…you might need to hire more writers, and good writers are expensive!
Payouts
When it comes to affiliate marketing, you’ll discover that the companies you promote are notoriously tight-fisted regarding payments.
What I mean by that is you really have to read the fine print of their terms. If they can get away with taking your traffic, making a sale, and not paying you… they will do it.
It usually costs quite a bit to get into a great affiliate program that makes their payout process really easy.
However, the caveat to that is that those really good affiliate programs are just as competitive, and they deal with people with much higher budgets who use all sorts of SEO tactics to dominate a lot of the traffic.
But hey, you’ve got 10,000 to invest, right? From everything I’ve mentioned so far, this might be the one opportunity your money might go the furthest.
Pros:
- One of the cheapest ways to get started making money online.
- You can get started in just a few hours.
- Won’t be placed in any credit card debt.
Cons:
- So much competition.
- Companies make it extremely difficult to get your commission into your checking account.
- You need to know SEO at a high level.
9: eCommerce Business
For many, opening an online store is an excellent idea. And they’d be correct in thinking so.
Millions of transactions occur every single day online.
You could definitely jump in and start earning some of your piece of the pie if you do it right!
So is this online business idea worth it?
Let’s take a look at some of the factors you’ll have to deal with if you want to make sure you’ll make six figures with this online business.
Startup Costs
This model really makes you put startup costs into perspective.
It’s not hard to imagine why most people can’t hang long in eCommerce; they don’t have the capital to keep it going.
It takes a lot of money to keep up with some of these wholesalers and big e-commerce retailers.
That brings up the next issue, competition.
Competition And Margins
The eCommerce industry is very competitive in today’s world. Shopify and other eCommerce platforms are home to tens of thousands of businesses and eCommerce retailers.
Do you know how hard it will be to get on page one with all the free traffic when there are thousands of other guys out there with huge budgets and very elite knowledge of SEO?
Pretty freaking hard!
That’s why many people who start eCommerce businesses with $10,000 never get out of the paid traffic arena. They have no time to learn SEO.
And what about margins?
Thanks to Chinese wholesalers now entering the eCommerce game, it is becoming extremely difficult for other businesses to make arbitrage happen successfully.
That’s because they come in and sell for exactly what they sell to us for. In a sense, it’s cutting the middle man out.
Think I’m exaggerating the issue?
Just for a second, try to remember the last time you saw any of these major eCom gurus promote their courses on Facebook or YouTube.
It’s hard to put your finger on it, isn’t it?
This is a trend my team has begun to notice with any e-commerce-related online course…their “fearless” leaders are backpedaling on getting sales of the course and are transitioning to other industries altogether.
One has to ask themselves: why?
Simply put, this pandemic has crushed certain types of industries. To an extent, I believe that online commerce is one of them.
I’m not saying that online commerce is going away, but merely that the average joe who wants to run a profitable online business like this is going to have a harder time because he can’t live with the fractionalized profits.
If anything, this pandemic has made it easier for the bigger retailers and even more difficult for the smaller ones.
So Can You Make It As An eCommerce Business Owner?
As long as you’ve got your heart set on starting an online business in the eCommerce market, there’s no reason why you can’t make a fortune.
One of my team’s writers actually has an aunt raking over six figures a year in profit with her e-commerce store.
However, it took her a solid two years to build up to that point, and she had to spend a lot of money on SEO.
Simply put, if you are determined to make money with this business model, you will. As long as you put in all the time, money, and effort needed.
Pros:
- People are increasingly buying products online.
- Several people have made 6-figures a year from their eCommerce business.
- No investment experience required.
Cons:
- Margins are continuously shrinking
- You need a hefty minimum investment
- You need to stick it out for at least six months to see any results.
8: Amazon FBA
Stupid Rules
Amazon used to be an absolute gold mine.
There weren’t too many rules, and most people would have a really high yield if they started a store.
Unfortunately, when rules start increasing, the opportunities for a certain investment plan like this will begin to dwindle.
At this point, Amazon has so many rules for their sellers it’s really hard to keep track, especially when it seems like they are coming out with new rules every day!
Now just think about how bad that sucks for a moment…
You take your start-up capital and build up a really profitable Amazon business.
And let’s say you have a few different products that dominate each of the markets they are geared towards.
Literally out of nowhere, Amazon can come in and shut you down for seemingly no rhyme or reason.
A great way to describe this is sort of like an illusion. Amazon gives you the illusion of owning and controlling your own website and business, all while also profiting off of you too, yet they can come in at any moment and take you out.
But hey, maybe you’ll get lucky and make just as much as these small business owners who threw a $10,000 investment into an Amazon store.
Competition
If all the regulations and regular commission reductions weren’t enough to make you rethink your $10,000 investment strategy, then maybe this will do the trick.
It’s not difficult to set up your Amazon store. In fact, most online courses will show you how to set one up in just a few hours!
Unfortunately, because of how easy it is, there is a lot of competition. There are thousands of people on Amazon who are trying to sell the exact same products you are and get that 6 figure rate of return.
These people dumped their whole savings accounts into their stores to get a hope of profitability.
It takes a lot to run an Amazon business, and it’s really hard to rank a product organically in search. You can thank some of the new rules thanks to that.
Can You Have A Successful Online Business With Amazon?
If you’re prepared to put in a lot of money and effort, you can succeed in this industry.
Lots of people earn money with Amazon consistently. You’ll just have to accept that you won’t ever “own” this business because Amazon reserves the right to shut you down whenever they deem it necessary.
Pros:
- You can make 6-figures per year with Amazon with a $10,000 investment.
- Setting up a store on Amazon does not take long.
- Amazon’s platform is a great way to enter eCommerce because they have the most sales.
- No credit score is required.
Cons:
- Amazon is cash-intensive.
- PPC is difficult and can be a headache to track constantly.
- It can take well over six months to rank an Amazon product organically
My opinion?
This business model is for people well versed in the online business game and those who can afford to live off small profit margins. If HUGE profit margins is something you’re after…
You really should check out my #1 Recommendation!
7: Ebook Publishing
Do people have a book inside of them, as the cliché goes?
Even though the saying is true, traditional publishers don’t really feel that way. Especially in 2022, as they are making sure only certain people get to publish books now…
However, thanks to the internet of things and increasing digitalization…people are able to bypass the traditional publishing companies altogether.
Amazon is one of the companies that you can thank for that. Thanks to the kindle, digital books/ebooks have started to become normalized, and the ability to publish has been made much easier.
So what do the startup costs look like?
Just ask Barnes & Noble; they’ve crunched all the numbers for us.
COSTS AND POTENTIAL OF PUBLISHING BOOKS ONLINE
- Startup costs: Pretty much zero. Ideally, you’d want to invest at least $100 for a solid book cover, $100 for a decent editor, and $100 for some marketing. You’re looking at $300ish total with the possibility of making 10-20 times that back!
- Income potential: Part of what makes this great is the income potential. The average book could make anywhere from $100-$500 per month. If you have 10 of these books, that’s some nice passive income.
- Success story: One successful publisher I can look to is Dave Chesson. He has sold many different books and consistently blogs about tips for self-publishing books. He also has created a course of sorts that helps you find a great book idea!
Pros:
- Cheap to start
- Recurring monthly income
Cons:
- Marketing can be difficult
6: Flipping Websites
You may have the capital for an enterprise, but you’re not interested in Amazon FBA or eCommerce. What do you do?
You could make some quick cash by buying and flipping websites!
Like brick and mortar businesses, several different online business owners want to sell their digital properties.
But some people like the idea of buying a site cheap, fixing it up, and selling it. Just like people do with physical real estate.
Odds are you’ll be able to find a site in which the owner is just missing out on a few key SEO tactics that are keeping them.
So for the sake of an example, you could buy a site for about $5,000, put $1,000-$2,000 of high-quality SEO into it, and turn around and sell the site for $10,000-$15,000
That means you could profit $4,000-$9,000 with virtually no grunt work on your end.
Running an internet business like this can be extremely easy because few people are familiar with the digital real estate flipping game.
Pros:
- Easy to jump into if you have a couple of grand and little time
- Can easily outsource SEO and flip to profit
Cons:
- Some sites might not be worth investing in
- Not too feasible without capital
5: SEO Business
Starting a search engine optimization business can be very, very profitable.
The simple fact of the matter is that all advertising is moving online. Contractors can say that they’re doing fine with word-of-mouth advertising all they want, but the simple fact is that people are choosing who does all their service work based on what the search engines recommend.
A professional in the SEO business is easily raking in over six figures a year, and some are even close to 7 figures.
Why?
For one, there are high-profit margins. Most SEO businesses operate on 50-60% margins because there is a lot of value in what they’re doing.
On top of that, they can easily do most of the work themselves without spending too much time in their day.
SEO is about consistency, and if you pick the right local market and small business to do SEO for, all you might have to do is ad 2-3 backlinks a day to get them ranked.
If you had ten clients all paying you $2,500 a month, all you have to do is place 20-30 backlinks a day which doesn’t take long at all.
This is another reason why so many people are starting an online business; your time just gets freed up that much more!
The only issue with the SEO business model is that it is fairly common for clients to want to stop paying you once you’ve ranked their site.
That can really suck, especially if they were one of those $5,000-$10,000 a month clients.
Another option with skills like these is running an SEO consulting business. As an SEO consultant, you can block out an hour or two a week with a client and go over exactly what they need to do to rank their site!
However, there is a much better way to capitalize on your SEO skills with this business model…you should check it out!
Pros:
- Easy to rank websites locally
- High-profit margins
- Valuable service to small businesses
Cons:
- Clients often leave after you rank them
- It can be hard to acquire clients as a newbie
4: Flipping Shoes
Are you a professional hustler?
No, not one of those New York street hustlers…one of those good ol’ fashioned nose to the grindstone kind of hustlers.
Or maybe you’re a college student looking to earn money pretty quick…
This online business might just be for you!
Contrary to popular opinion, there is a huge market for selling shoes online, especially special kinds of shoes.
You see, most people have no idea what kind of shoes they have most times and their rarity.
You can make some serious dough by going to a garage sale, picking up some shoes for $20, and selling them online for $100+.
No joke!
In fact, this is what a guy on my team did himself back in his college days. During the summer, fall, and spring, he would go around garage sales to pick up some good deals and turn them around for a profit.
As a college student, he was bringing in about $3,000 a month in profit, and he was just doing it part-time.
Imagine what you could do full time!
After cleaning up the shoes real nice, uploading the listing, and throwing a couple of google ads at it until you show up in the search engine, you could be off to the races!
Pros:
- Easy to find deals for cheap
- Big market for rare clean shoes
Cons:
- Very fast-paced
- Need to move inventory quickly for profit
3: Start A Blog
At this point, you probably understand how profitable an internet business can be and how you can make a lot of money just by showing up first in the search engine…
So how do you make BIG money with it?
Becoming an affiliate marketer or influencer.
You are basically promoting other people’s products that you trust and have vetted yourself.
The only tough part is that, generally speaking, you have to be a pro writer who can crank out several words of content a day.
At least at first, because it’ll be hard to do everything you need to on a shoestring budget, and odds are you might not have enough money to hire a decent writer for this immediately.
Having a blog is one of the greatest digital assets that you can have. Several people who own blogs are raking in more than $50,000 a month from them, more than any online store I’m aware of!
You might have heard of Adam Enfroy; he makes over $80,000 a month with his blog and operates at a 90%+ profit margin each month!
What’s awesome about owning blogs is that after you rank a post and land on the first page of search results, you instantly become an expert in the viewer’s eyes because people view those on the first page as authoritative.
Not to mention that several website themes can make you look like an expert on the information, even if your site is brand new.
So, what’s the catch?
Unfortunately, having a strong content game is not all it takes anymore. Having long-form content and keyword optimization is always key, but you also need a strong backlinking strategy.
Depending on the type of blog you are creating, that could mean thousands of dollars that you’ll need to invest into SEO to start to make money by generating all that traffic.
Also, it takes quite a bit of time for a blog to rank…
Depending on the type of blog or niche you’re targeting, it can take anywhere from 6-12 months to rank for the high search volume keywords you’re going after.
Pros:
- Great online business idea
- It can be found easily if you’re a good writer
- Asset-based with recurring income
- Influencer marketing
Cons:
- You will need to hire a virtual assistant at some point
- Need to promote a product or service that’s trusted
- Hard to find a trusted affiliate business
2: Social Media Agency
You can’t list the best online business ideas and not include social media marketing! One of the easiest ways to start an online business can be through social media ads.
That’s because most courses have ad swipes that can get you started literally today.
If you start a business, you will need advertising and fast. Social media marketing, often through Facebook ads, can be very beneficial.
Some business owners run their advertising entirely off Facebook and have had pretty good results. All they do is point the ad back to their website.
Facebook ads are definitely great when you first start a business too, and you can look like you’ve been around for a while with some fancy ad work.
However, running a social media agency can have its downsides.
Let’s use that Facebook example again…
Mr. Zucc reserves the right to lock down your ad account at any time. Very similar to how Bezos reserves the right to shut down your Amazon account…
Many people have encountered this issue, unfortunately.
And that can really suck!
Especially when you have a winning ad campaign where you’re profiting thousands!
Yep, Facebook can shut you down at any time with no explanation. Even if you reach out to them and ask for an explanation, they are unlikely to respond with anything helpful…if they even respond at all.
Having a Social Media Marketing Agency can be quite a roll of the dice…but you’re an entrepreneur, right? Something tells us you like to gamble a little bit!
Pros:
- Can get started today
- Can profit thousands
Cons:
- Can be shut down at any time
- Competition is everywhere thanks to the same ad swipes
- No support from Facebook
FAQ’S
Now before I get to my #1 Best Online Business To Start In 2022, I want to answer a couple of the most frequently asked questions I receive about starting an online business. I hope these help!
What Kind Of Online Business Is Most Profitable?
Well, it’s certainly not going to be data entry or writing cover letters. No, you’re going to need to provide a highly valuable service and be able to scale that big time.
Some people sell digital products on sites like Shopify, or some sell physical products on an e-commerce site platform like Shopify.
In my opinion, though, one of the best ways to make money is by helping small businesses grow. They are constantly getting stomped on by the big guy, and it’s valuable to help bring them more customers.
Tips On How To Start A Successful Online Business
The most important part of doing business online is serving your customers to the best of your ability and standing out from the competition.
Another tip is not to be afraid to work more than 8 hours a day. When you start an e-commerce site, a blog, or a social media business, you will have to put in a lot of time to be successful.
Thankfully, it doesn’t feel like “work” when you’re working for yourself. Entrepreneurs like Dan Pena and Grant Cardone will be the first ones to tell you that they still work 50-60 hours a week…Elon Musk has even stated he works 100 workweeks.
And yet they still live pretty awesome lifestyles!
So without further ado…
My #1 Recommended Way Of Making Money Online
I’ve personally tried all of the major online business models:
- I’ve sold women’s health supplements via Clickbank affiliate marketing
- I’ve sold fidget spinners through Amazon FBA
- I’ve drop-shipped a toilet bowl putting green on Shopify
And I made money with all of them, so trust me when I say: there is no “perfect” business model.
That being said, my #1 recommendation for making real money online is, hands-down: being a Digital Landlord
Whether you’re a complete newbie or you’ve been around the block before but have never had that “big win” to propel you forward, becoming a Digital Landlord is for you.
Why?
1)Time commitment: If you have an hour or two per day, you can do this. Even if you want to drop everything and commit fully, that works too.
You don’t have to be constantly working to make money. The income you generate is recurring.
Imagine taking off for a month to places like Hawaii, Paris, National Parks, & other spots people only dream about – all while collecting dozens of little $500-$2,000 checks. It’s like a dream come true.
But it’s only possible to do it when you’ve separated your income from your time.
2)You Own & Control EVERYTHING: With affiliate marketing, you don’t really own a single thing – not even the customers you worked so hard to “acquire.”
Don’t believe me? Go read the terms of service for any major affiliate program – they can fire you or change your compensation at the drop of a dime.
As a Digital Landlord, you own everything, so you have ultimate control.
3)It’s Effectively Copy-Paste: Here’s my favorite part: once you have your first Digital Rental Property up, you can literally copy-paste another version of it and find another willing “renter” in a few days. DOUBLING your income doesn’t get much easier than that…
If you wanted to double your income as an affiliate, you would need to sell twice as much inventory or double your profit margins. And I can guarantee you (from my days selling women’s health products as an affiliate), that’s a lot harder than a few clicks & a phone call.
4)Great Margins: Margins on affiliate products can be pretty low unless you’re selling high-ticket products. When you sell high-ticket stuff, you typically have a lot of competition, so driving traffic is expensive.
Being a Digital Landlord, your profit margin is nearly 100%. Watch here to learn how.
These Digital Rental Properties are worth (at a minimum) $500/mo in semi-passive income. And each time you create another one, your income increases, and the effort put into creating the next property decreases.
Best-case scenario, you have properties bringing in over $3,000+/mo on auto-pilot.
5)You’re Helping REAL People: My biggest gripe with affiliate marketing is that you’re selling products that will bring you the biggest commission, not the products that will help people the most.
It’s cool to make a quick buck in the short term, but it eats away at your soul in the long term.
But when you’re a Digital Landlord, you’re helping solve REAL problems that people are ASKING for help with:
Small local businesses around the world need one thing: customers. Without them, their business would fall apart. If you can provide those customers, they’re going to be really happy – and they’re going to pay you for it.
You’re helping a struggling mother or father put food on the table for their families, put their kids through college, or simply live life a little bit more comfortably.
Having this type of impact on the world is what will help you sleep soundly at night.
So, the rest is up to you. You could keep looking at other programs which might make you money 12 months from now.
You could keep researching and researching for the next few months (or few years), never making a concrete decision.
OR, you can look deep inside, think about those dreams, hopes, & desires, and make the decision to ACTUALLY make it happen, just like it has for thousands of other students before you.
Making a fortune while actually helping real people that need it.
If this sounds like you, click here to see how it all works.
