Setting up a business is among the common aspirations of many individuals. The opportunity to determine the type of work you wish to do, set your own working hours and earn your income as you desire is a dream many small would be entrepreneurs believe is worth chasing. For many however, knowing exactly what business to start and being able to acquire the funds to cater for the startup costs can prove to be very difficult at times. Luckily, there is a plethora of low cost business ideas available out there for those that can put in some extra effort to search them out. If you are in need of a little stimulus or motivation to get you started on your journey to becoming self-employed, below are Top 10 low cost business ideas for you to choose from.
1. Personal Chef
Although not many people require someone to cook for them at home; they may however need some extra help during their busy days with preparing dinner, lunch or even breakfast. One of the remarkable things about this low cost business idea is that you do not necessarily have to prepare the meals at your client home. For an agreed fee, you can also assist with reheating food that has already been prepared by your clients. With this low cost business idea, you can offer your services to a larger number of people without being tied to only one customer or client.
2. Menu Planning Service
If you fancy the idea of working with food without necessarily being involved in the process of preparing it, then setting up a meal planning may just be the perfect business idea for you. With a meal planning service, you can assist your clients with planning what to wish prepare and eat each week or month. With the growth of different diets, you may want to focus on specific dietary requirements of your clients such as planning gluten-free, paleo or vegetarian menus.
Related: Top 10 Business Ideas You Can Start for Less Than $100
3. Local Grocery delivery service
With many major grocery stores trying hard to win customers by offering online shopping and delivery, however not all grocery stores are covered with this service. You can set up your own grocery delivery service by creating a partnership with local grocery stores in your locality. The simplest way to way to set this low cost business idea in motion is to contact stores in your vicinity and work out a deal to deliver groceries to customers for an agreed fee.
4. Stationery Supplier
Stationery materials are in constant demand all year round in many, offices, schools and colleges. As an aspiring entrepreneur, this is also another low cost business idea that can be turned into a success story. With the right outlook and enthusiasm to work, supplying stationery materials could be a very attractive business idea. There’s no shortage in the demand of notebooks, pens, pencils, writing pads, etc in schools and offices. Hence, this could be a meaningful business worth venturing into.
5. Wedding Photography Service
Since weddings ceremonies can never really go out of fashion, it’s safe to say that a wedding photography service will also remain in demand as long as people get married every other week. Whether it involves taking pictures on the wedding day, the related functions or just creating an exclusive portfolio shoot of the bride and groom together, wedding photography service has indeed become a high value service in recent times. One amazing thing about this low cost business idea is that all you need to set up this service is a camera and some creativity.
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6. Errand Service
Amidst their regular 9 to 5 jobs and carting the kids off to one event or activity to another, most working parents end up having very little time left to take care of their personal errands such as mailing packages, grocery shopping or making returns at the mall. Taking care of all these time-consuming errands for your clients for a fee is a wonderful business idea worth looking into. Make sure you also take into account your transportation or travel expenses when determining your rates. You can also charge by the hour or by the task if you so desire.
7. Local Tour Guide
If you have a passion for local history and tradition, then becoming a local tour guide may just be another perfect low cost business idea for you as an entrepreneur. The remarkable thing about this business idea is that it requires little or no capital to set in motion. You can begin by simply providing walking tours of your city. You may also need to set up an official website to load a couple of attractive information about your tour services and also put out some word of mouth in your locality to start your first tours
8. Project Management Service
Many times, company projects go off the rails as a result of poor management which ends up costing the companies much more on time and revenue. Nonetheless, not all companies can afford a full time project manager to oversee the essential aspects of the project. They may only need one for a specific project. Offering these companies your service as a project manager is another lucrative low cost business idea for any aspiring entrepreneur. As a project manager, you get to work with all types of industries and businesses. Your key focus would be to assist companies with getting their project finished on time and on budget.
9. Translation service
Another low cost business idea worth looking into is the translation service. If you are fluent in a speaking and translating a second language, you can set up a business that involves converting written and spoken words from one language to another. With broadening international ties and increasing number of non-English speakers in the United States, you can turn this business idea into a lucrative venture by starting your own independent translation service and selling your skill to hospitals, businesses, schools, courtrooms and conference centers.
Related: 10 Tips for Making your Home Based Business a Success
10. Cleaning Out Foreclosed Homes
Almost everyone knows the untidy state in which foreclosed homes are. They definitely leaves something to be desired. However, for would be entrepreneur with a keen eye for business, getting them cleaned up and ready for sale is another low cost business idea that should be looked into. All you have to do is to search out the foreclosed homes in your community and contact the foreclosure agents to see if you can provide cleaning services for the homes prior to sale.
