The Best Online Businesses to Start in 2022

In this article we will show you the top online business models in 2022. These business models can be used for starting a new business, adding revenue streams to an existing one, or even starting a side hustle from your own home. This article will help you decide which business model is best for your goals by going through the pros and cons of each model.

The best online businesses to start in 2022:

1. Freelancing
2. Agency Business
3. Coaching and Consulting
4. Blogging
5. YouTube Vlogging
6. Membership Site
7. Influencer Business
8. Online Course Publishing as an Expert
9. Online Course Publishing as a Producer
10. Ebook Publishing
11. Selling Stock Photos and Videos
12. Selling Stock Designs
13. Software Development Business
14. Plug-in Development Business
15. Ecommerce
16. Dropshipping
17. Print on Demand
18. Affiliate Marketing
19. CPA Marketing

Each of these business models is discussed in greater detail below.

Access the full article that goes more in-depth on the best online business models in 2022 and the tools you need to get started on our website by heading over here.

1. Provide Services as a Freelancer

What is Freelancing?

Freelancing means working for yourself, rather for a company. Freelance workers are essentially self-employed. However, they may be contracted by an organization. You can find freelance jobs in almost any career.? Freelance jobs range from short-term one-off projects to long-term full-time projects.

Freelance work is a great way to earn money while doing what you love. You can choose your own schedule and location, and you get to keep all the profits. There are many different types of freelance work available, including writing, graphic design, web development, marketing, accounting, customer service, consulting, translation, editing, photography, and videography.

Pros of Starting a Freelancing Career

As a freelancer, you can:

• Set your own schedule and working times
• Choose the clients you work with?
• Control your workload
• Set your own pay rate
• Work from anywhere.

Cons of Starting a Freelancing Career

To be successful at freelancing, you may need to:?

• Have expert knowledge of your field to get higher paid jobs and consistent orders,?
• Maintain a high-quality publicly available portfolio with client testimonials to establish trust with prospective clients
• Self-discipline to keep up with deadlines and avoid losing clients

2. Provide Services as an Agency

What is an Agency?

An agency is an organization that offers services to other businesses. Agencies can provide their services in any industry. Depending on the type of project, agency work can range from short-term, single-project assignments to long-term full-time assignments that last for months or years.

Pros of Starting an Agency

You're able to:?

• Outsource or delegate tasks in which you lack experience
• Set your own pay rates
• Provide services remotely

Cons of Starting an Agency

A successful agency business requires:?

• The ability to effectively delegate tasks and manage the work of in-house or outsourced staff
• A high-quality publicly available portfolio with client testimonials to establish trust and convert leads into clients
• More clients and projects than a freelancer would need to offset the increased cost of hiring in-house staff
• A good understanding of the industry you’re in

3. Provide Coaching and Consulting Services

What is Coaching?

Coaching is providing professional guidance and support to clients in order to help them achieve their life, career, or business goals.

There are several popular types of coaching: life coaching, career coaching, business coaching, executive coaching, wellness coaching, performance coaching, skills coaching, financial coaching, spiritual coaching, etc.

What is Consulting?

A consultant provides expert advice to an organization or individual working in a particular field.

Consulting and coaching services can be provided in almost any field where people or organizations need help solving problems or achieving goals. You can offer coaching and consulting services as an individual or as a consulting firm through either hiring or partnering with experts in your field. Depending on your industry and your clients, you can offer both one-on-one and group coaching and consulting services.

Pros of Starting a Coaching & Consulting Business

As an online consultant, you have the ability to:?

• Create a coaching or consulting business at home with minimal investment
• Offer remote coaching and consulting services
• Engage in rewarding work with a direct impact on client outcomes
• Set your own pay rates

Cons of Starting Coaching & Consulting Business

• Depending on your industry and the level at which you want to operate, you may need to get the appropriate credentials, certifications, and training.
• You need great people skills and strong communication skills. This business requires constant communication with your clients. The better a coach is at communicating, the more effective the coaching sessions are likely to be.
• It takes time to establish yourself as an expert

4. Start a Blog

What is a Blog?

A blog is an informational online publication that regularly posts new content. It is a knowledge sharing platform where authors can post articles on different topics. You can write articles on almost any subject. Apart from writing your own content, a blogging platform can be used to curate relevant content from other sources

There are several ways for bloggers to earn money from their blogs, including: publishing sponsored posts, placing ads, promoting affiliate offers, and selling online courses.

Pros of Starting a Blog

• Relatively low startup and overhead costs
• Ability to work from anywhere and set your own schedule
• Ability to establish yourself as an expert in the field

Cons of Starting a Blog

To be successful at blogging, you need to:?

• Have the ability to consistently generate organic traffic from search engines
• Continuously publish new content or update existing content. Search engines provide users the most relevant search results for their queries. If your content is out of date, it may cause your blog to lose its search engine ranking, which could result in less traffic.
• Maintaining a high level of content value and quality. It takes a lot of time and effort to write good content.
• It takes a long period of time to generate a significant volume of organic search traffic

5. Create a Vlog on YouTube

What is a Vlog?

A vlog is a type of blog where the majority of the content is published as a video. You can start a vlog by creating a channel on social media platforms such as YouTube. You can use YouTube to create a personal channel or a business channel. A business channel on Youtube can have multiple owners or managers.

There are several ways to make money with your vlogs on YouTube, including: creating sponsored content, placing ads, promoting affiliate offers, selling products, and selling online courses.

Pros of Starting a YouTube Channel

• Low startup and maintenance costs
• No need for a website to get started
• Ability to work from anywhere and set your own schedule
• Ability to establish yourself as a thought leader in the industry

Cons of Starting a YouTube Channel

• Creating valuable content and professional videos requires a number of different skills, including competitive research, copywriting, video production, audio recording, video editing, and graphic design.
• The need for SEO skills to consistently generate organic views for your videos
• The need to consistently publish new content
• Keeping a high level of content quality and value. It takes a lot of effort and practice to create good content.

6. Create a Membership Website

What is a Membership Website?

A membership website is a website with restricted content where users sign up for a membership and pay a fee to gain access to that content. Member access can be provided on the basis of a one-time fee or an ongoing subscription.?

Content subscription sites can offer different kinds of member-only content: industry reports, newsletters, courses, live webinars, guides and ebooks, access to members, special offers for members, and exclusive event invitations.

Pros of Starting a Membership Website

Membership websites enable site owners to:?

• Generate recurring revenues (i.e. every week, month, or year)
• Create a community with shared interests
• Become a thought leader in their industry
• Automate business processes such as membership signups, onboarding, payment processing and content delivery

Cons of Starting a Membership Website

• With an increasing number of members, there will be higher costs associated with offering customer support.
• Keeping a high level of content value and quality. To get people to join your website, the content has to be valuable. It's important to maintain a high level of content quality and value over time to keep members from canceling their subscriptions.
• There's a high level of competition, including in the form of free content available online. To convert people into paying members, the content you offer must be unique and more valuable compared to what is already available online.

7. Establish Yourself as an Influencer on Social Media

What is an Influencer?

Influencers are people who have specialized knowledge, authority, or insight into a specific topic that also have a large audience. Social media platforms are used by influencers to publish their content and interact with their audience. Influencers who establish a high level of trust among their followers are able to influence the purchase decisions of their audience. Influencer marketing is when an influencer collaborates with a brand in order to promote their products or services.

Influencers can earn money by creating sponsored content, placing ads, becoming an ambassador for brands, raising funds through crowdfunding sites, promoting affiliate offers, or selling their merchandise and courses.?

Pros of Starting an Influencer Business

• Relatively low startup and overhead expenses
• There’s no need for a website to start out
• Ability to build a strong community of people who share common interests
• Flexibility to work from anywhere and be able to set your own schedule
• Establishing yourself as a thought leader in the field

Cons of Starting an Influencer Business

• As an influencer, you may need to constantly communicate with your audience to maintain their engagement.
• The need to constantly generate new content ideas and regularly publish new content
• There is a lot of competition because there are few barriers to entry
• It takes a relatively lengthy period of time to build a loyal follower base

8. Publish Online Courses as an Expert

What is an Online Course?

An online course is an educational program that is taught over the internet. It could be a live class, a recorded class, or a combination of both. Online courses have revolutionized formal education and provided an inexpensive way of acquiring new knowledge and skills for students around the world. Online courses could be offered to both individuals and companies. Individuals may buy online courses for the purpose of getting promoted within their company or transitioning into a different job. Companies may purchase online courses with the aim of increasing sales and improving employee performance.

Pros of Starting an Online Course Business

• Online courses enable you teach people around the world
• Ability to create a community of people who share common interests
• Flexibility to work from anywhere and set your own schedule
• Building up your reputation as an expert in the field
• Ability to build a career in a field that you are passionate about
• Courses that remain relevant for long periods of time have a high potential to generate significant amounts of passive income

Cons of Starting an Online Course Business

• Depending on your industry, you may need to get the appropriate credentials, certifications, and training
• The need to subscribe to or develop your own online course platform
• Increasing costs of customer service due to the increase in student enrollment

9. Sell Online Courses as a Producer

What is an Online Course Producer?

A course producer is responsible for finding relevant experts and producing online courses through partnerships with them. You don’t need to be an expert yourself to start an online learning business. Online course producers negotiate partnerships with experts, organize the production process, generate student interest for published courses, and offer customer service to enrolled students.?

Pros of Starting an Online Course Production Business

• As an online course producer, you can produce courses on many subjects by working with experts from different fields
• Courses that remain relevant for long periods of time have a high potential to generate significant amounts of passive income
• Ability to work with and learn from leading experts in various fields

Cons of Starting an Online Course Production Business

• You don’t need to be an expert to start an online course business. You can team up with experts who know their field.
• As a producer, it is your responsibility to cover all costs related to course production, course promotion, and customer support
• You need good management, communication, and interpersonal skills to manage expert relationships, student relationships, and professional video shoots

10. Self-Publish an Ebook

What is an Ebook?

An ebook is a book published in digital form. Ebooks can be downloaded and read on desktop, mobile, tablet, and ereader devices. Publishing a book in digital format allows you to bypass the printing process entirely. Unlike traditional books, ebooks can include multimedia content such as videos, audio, and hyperlinks. You can write an ebook by yourself, work with other authors, or pay someone else to write for you.

Pros of Starting an Ebook Publishing Business

• Startup and overhead costs are relatively low because there is no need for inventory and you don't go through the printing process
• You don't need to be an expert author to publish helpful or entertaining ebooks
• Flexibility to work from anywhere and set your own schedule
• Establishing yourself as a thought leader in the field
• Ability to create a community of people who share common interests
• Potential for generating passive income from ebooks that remain relevant for a long period
• Ebooks can be used as the basis for other types of content: audio books, articles, podcasts, videos, social media posts

Cons of Starting an Ebook Publishing Business

• Advanced writing skills are required for writing a good ebook
• You may need SEO skills to effectively promote your book on marketplaces
• It may be expensive to hire writers, designers, editors, and ebook formatters may be expensive
• There is a lot of competition because there are few barriers to entry
• It is easy for people who pirate ebooks to copy and distribute them illegally

11. Sell Your Photos or Videos

What is Stock Photography?

Stock photos are images that have been licensed by companies or individuals for use in their marketing materials. You can sell your photography worldwide through stock photo marketplaces. Stock photographers earn money whenever someone licenses one of their photos.?

What is Stock Video?

Stock video refers to pre-recorded footage, motion graphics, templates, and animations which are used as part of a larger video project. Stock videos are licensed by companies and individuals and used in creative and commercial projects. If you're a videographer or animator, you can sell your videos or animations worldwide through stock video marketplaces. Stock videographers and animators earn money whenever someone licenses one of their videos.?

Pros of Selling Photos and Videos Online

• With organizations needing to constantly produce new content, they will need more stock photos and videos
• By posting your photos or videos to online stock marketplaces, you could attract higher paying clients and get more prestigious jobs
• Flexibility to work from anywhere and set your own schedule
• You can choose whether to sell the same images and videos on multiple platforms or make more money by selling them exclusively on one platform

Cons of Selling Photos and Videos Online

• Unless you already own a camera and editing software, it may be relatively costly to start a stock photography or videography business
• There is a lot of competition because of global accessibility and an increase in the number of assets being published
• It may take a while before you start earning a significant income from stock photography or video

12. Sell Your Designs

What is Stock Design?

Stock design refers to pre-designed templates that are licensed for use by companies and individuals for creative or commercial purposes. You can sell your designs worldwide through stock design marketplaces. Stock designers earn money whenever someone buys a license for one of their designs.

There are several types of design assets that can be sold online, including graphics, vectors, illustrations, 3D models, logos, print design templates, web design templates, UI/ UX design kits, and more.

Pros of Selling Your Designs Online

• With the growing need for organizations to produce new content, the demand for stock assets is rising
• Flexibility to work from anywhere and set your own schedule
• You can set your own prices for your work
• You can decide whether to sell the same designs on different marketplaces or make a higher profit by selling them exclusively on one marketplace

Cons of Selling Your Designs Online

• Startup and overhead costs are relatively low
• Your designs may have to meet high standards set by marketplace platforms
• Due to its global accessibility and the increasing number of assets being posted online, there is a high level of competition
• It may take a while before you start making a significant income from selling your stock designs
• Web design templates may need frequent updates and the provision of customer support

13. Create Your Own Software

What is Application Software?

Applications are programs designed to help end-users accomplish specific tasks. Applications can help individuals and organizations communicate, improve productivity, and facilitate creativity. As a software company owner, you can create various applications to help users solve their problems or achieve their goals. You can provide access to your software in exchange for a one-time fee or a monthly fee.

What is Software as a Service (SaaS)?

SaaS is a software delivery model that allows you to provide applications over the internet instead of requiring users to download and install them on their own devices. Software as a service (SaaS) applications are hosted on the vendor’s servers, and may be accessed by users from any device with an internet connection.

Pros of Starting a Software Development Business

• The ability to scale user acquisition quickly through marketing
• Flexibility to work from anywhere
• Relatively high profit margins and the ability to set your own pricing

Cons of Starting a Software Development Business

• Advanced computer programming skills are required for developing software
• Customer support costs
• Costs associated with maintaining, upgrading, and keeping the software functional on different devices and operating systems
• You might need to meet high software product quality and customer service standards if you want to sell your software on app marketplaces

14. Create Plug-ins for Existing Software

What is a Software Plug-in?

Plug-ins are computer programs that extend the functionality of existing software applications. Plug-ins allow users to customize applications to their needs without having to hire developers. Mass-produced software products are often developed as customizable platforms and have an open plug-in market where users can add new features to existing programs. You can sell custom plug-in extensions for different software through software platform marketplaces. You may provide access to your plug-ins for a one-time payment or on a subscription basis.

Pros of Selling Your Plug-ins Online

• The ability to scale user acquisition quickly through marketing
• Flexibility to work from anywhere
• Relatively high profit margins and the ability to set your own pricing

Cons of Selling Your Plug-ins Online

• Advanced computer programming skills are required for developing software
• Customer support costs
• Costs associated with maintaining, updating, and keeping the plug-in functional with ongoing software updates
• You might be required to meet high software product and customer service standards if you want to sell your plug-ins through a marketplace
• It may take a while before you start making a significant income from selling plugins, apps and extensions

15. Launch an Ecommerce Business

What is Ecommerce?

Ecommerce is the purchase and sale of goods and services via the Internet. When we talk about Ecommerce, we usually refer to the sale of physical goods. There are several different types of Ecommerce business models: retail, wholesale, crowdfunding, subscription, manufacturing, private labeling, dropshipping, and print on demand. Most of these business models don't require you to invent a product or invest your own funds into manufacturing to start.?

Pros of Starting an Ecommerce Business

• You don't need to invent a new product, or invest your own funds into manufacturing to start selling online
• You can automate product fulfillment using third-party logistics services and fulfillment centers
• You can scale sales quickly through advertising

Cons of Starting an Ecommerce Business

• High startup and overhead costs
• Warehousing and inventory costs
• To generate organic traffic through search engines or online marketplaces, you may need advanced SEO skills
• You might need advertising experience to successfully promote products sold on your own site
• You may need market research experience to forecast product demand and make procurement decisions
• Costs associated with providing customer service and handling product returns and refunds
• You may be required to meet high standards of product fulfillment and customer support to sell on online marketplaces
• When selling physical products, there's usually a lower profit margin than when selling digital products.
• To scale, you need to buy, store, and manage additional inventory and hire more staff members
• You need management skills to effectively organize the work of in-house or outsourced staff
• A high level of competition

16. Start a Dropshipping Business

What is Dropshipping?

Dropshipping is a business model where you don't need to store any inventory. Dropshipping stores are only responsible for promoting and selling products, and providing customer service. Third party organizations handle order fulfillment and manufacturing.

Pros of Starting a Dropshipping Business

• Lower startup and maintenance costs than in traditional Ecommerce
• You don't need to stock up on inventory or buy it in large quantities before you start selling. You only buy inventory when a customer orders from you.
• No need to fulfill orders. Manufacturers and wholesalers handle Order fulfillment.
• You can scale sales quickly through advertising
• You can use third-party software to automate store management, product procurement, order processing, and customer support

Cons of Starting a Dropshipping Business

• To generate organic traffic through search engines or online marketplaces, you may need advanced SEO skills
• You might need advertising experience to successfully promote products sold on your own site
• You may need market research experience to forecast product demand and make product assortment decisions
• Costs associated with providing customer support and processing product returns and refunds
• Costs associated with providing customer service and handling product returns and refunds
• You may be required to meet high standards of product fulfillment and customer support to sell on online marketplaces
• When selling physical products, there's usually a lower profit margin than when selling digital products
• Products ordered from abroad may take a long time to arrive. Long shipping times may lead to customer refunds and may not be acceptable for marketplaces.?
• You need management skills to effectively organize the work of in-house or outsourced staff
• A high level of competition

17. Launch a Print on Demand Business

What is Print on Demand?

Print on Demand (POD) is an eCommerce business model that allows you to create custom designs for a variety of products and sell them under a brand while outsourcing the manufacturing, inventory management, and order fulfillment to third party companies. You can use third-party platforms to print custom-designed products in large quantities without having to store or purchase inventory beforehand.

Common print on demand product categories: clothing (t-shirts, hoodies, hats), accessories (jewelry, phone cases, tote bags, backpacks, mugs, water bottles), art (posters, wall art), stickers.

Pros of Starting a Print on Demand Business

• Lower startup and maintenance costs than in traditional Ecommerce
• You don't need to stock up on inventory or buy it in large quantities before you start selling. You only buy inventory when a customer orders from you.
• No need to print or fulfill orders. Print-on-demand service providers handle printing and order fulfillment.
• You can scale sales quickly through advertising
• You can use third-party software to automate store management, product procurement, order processing, and customer support

Cons of Starting a Print on Demand Business

• To generate organic traffic through search engines or online marketplaces, you may need advanced SEO skills
• You might need advertising experience to successfully promote products sold on your own site
• You may need market research experience to forecast product demand and make product design decisions
• There is a constant need to create new designs as demand for older designs decreases
• Costs associated with providing customer service and handling product returns and refunds
• When selling physical products, there's usually a lower profit margin than when selling digital products
• You may be required to meet high standards of product fulfillment and customer support to sell on online marketplaces
• You need management skills to effectively organize the work of in-house or outsourced staff
• A high level of competition

18. Start an Affiliate Marketing Business

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a form of online advertising where companies pay affiliates for promoting their products and bringing in sales. An affiliate is someone who promotes another company's products in exchange for a commission. You can promote affiliate products provided either by affiliate networks or directly by advertisers. An affiliate program is a contract that sets out the terms for a business relationship between the advertiser and an affiliate. An affiliate network is a platform that manages affiliate programs for advertisers and acts as an intermediary between affiliates and advertisers. Affiliate referrals are usually tracked using unique affiliate links that are provided by affiliate networks or merchants. You can get paid for promoting both digital and physical products.

Pros of Starting an Affiliate Marketing Business

• Low startup and maintenance costs
• A large number of affiliate programs and offers in various niches
• You don't need a website to start making money online with this method. You can use advertising and social media to promote affiliate products.
• You don't need to invent or manufacture your own products, manage inventory, fulfill orders, or provide customer service
• You can scale commissions rapidly through advertising or generating multiple revenue streams from different affiliate partnerships
• Flexibility to work from anywhere and set your own schedule

Cons of Starting an Affiliate Marketing Business

• To generate organic traffic through search engines, you may need advanced SEO skills
• It usually takes longer to generate a substantial level of income by attracting organic traffic than it does through paid traffic
• You may need to provide proof of past success as an affiliate or evidence of an existing following before you can join an affiliate network
• You must abide by the affiliate program rules
• There's a lot of competition because there are few barriers to entry

19. Start an CPA Marketing Business

What is CPA Marketing?

Cost Per Action (CPA) marketing is a type of affiliate marketing where affiliates are rewarded for actions taken by consumers as a result of their marketing efforts. Affiliates receive commissions for every desired action they help consumers complete. A specific CPA program might require a user to complete a purchase, register for an account, submit a contact form, download an app, view a video, etc. CPA programs are usually managed by CPA networks which act as an intermediary between advertisers and affiliates.?

Pros of CPA Marketing

• There are a wide range of CPA networks, programs and offers available in different industries
• You don't need a website to start making money online with this method. You can use advertising to promote CPA offers.
• You don't need to invent or manufacture your own products, manage inventory, fulfill orders, or provide customer service
• You can scale commissions rapidly through advertising or generating multiple revenue streams from different CPA partnerships
• Flexibility to work from anywhere and set your own schedule

Cons of CPA Marketing

• CPA programs usually require highly targeted traffic, which can only be acquired by using paid advertising.
• You may need to provide proof of past experience with CPA marketing before you can join a network
• You must adhere to the CPA program rules
• There's a lot of competition because there are few barriers to entry

Conclusion

These business models offer entrepreneurs an opportunity to get into markets with year-over year growth, increase their online earnings, and generate passive income.

We recommended choosing a business model that is aligned with your:

• Skillset
• Passion
• Financial goals
• Flexibility goals
• Time availability
• Budget

Access the full article that goes more in-depth on the best online business models in 2022 and the tools you need to get started on our website by heading over here.

It can be hard to create a successful online business that provides you with financial, time, or location freedom. That’s where we come in. We’re here to help you make your journey easier. Income Inflow is on a mission to help as many people as possible start and grow a successful online business with minimum investment.

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