Starting a business offers independence, flexibility, creative freedom, and opportunities for personal growth. It also adds autonomy to various aspects of your life — you can control your work schedule, make investment choices, and experiment with different business models.

Like most ventures, starting a business has unique challenges, with startup costs being a major stumbling block. The Small Business Administration (SBA) notes most home-based businesses require $2,000 to $5,000 to start, averaging about $3000.

While different businesses have unique financing needs, figuring out the exact amount you’ll need can be difficult. Plus, the dynamic and unpredictable nature of business makes spending and budgeting often difficult to predict.

However, you shouldn’t despair — there are businesses with low startup costs that don’t require you to put lots of money on the line. Whether you want to sell products online or offer professional services, you can start a business with as little as $500.

Technology is redefining the process and making it simpler. The SaaS industry offers no-code solutions that reduce or eliminate the traditional overhead costs of starting a business. You just need a business idea and a no-code tool for cost-effective development for your business.

In this post, we share a list of low-cost business ideas you can start with the help of no-code solutions.

1. Event Planning

Events involve many moving pieces, whether a birthday or a wedding. You must plan for food, guests, venue, decorations, and drinks to ensure a memorable experience. This demands attention to detail and proper organization, a difficult undertaking for most people.

If you’re detail-oriented, you can help others host exciting parties and events. Event planners help with birthday parties, graduation parties, weddings, etc., and charge about $15 to $75 hourly. You can use no-code solutions to develop a database of clients and vendors.

For instance, a custom event registration and RSVP system can make things easier for you and your clients. You can track upcoming events and client data for effortless planning. The system also centralizes your operations for better insights into your projects.

2. Graphic Design

Brands and organizations always need logos, display ads, flyers, hero images, and brochures for marketing campaigns. These creations require a creative and artistic mind to deliver pieces that represent the client’s vision and appeal to their targeted audiences.

If you have a knack for graphic design, you can get paid $15 to $175 per hour to help brands with their graphics needs. Start with a tool like Canva, available for as little as $6 monthly. Invest in a good laptop if you want to use software like Adobe Illustrator and Affinity Designer.

With no-code solutions, you can build a website for your portfolio or a marketplace for templates and ready-made designs. It’s critical to showcase your best work to potential clients and make it easy for customers to find your completed work online.

3. Ad Management

Businesses spend about 10% of their budgets on marketing, with 2% going into advertising. Social media, paid search, and display ads are among the popular options they use. However, not many people are well-versed with the nuances of online ads.

This offers an opportunity for ad specialists to start a low-cost business in ad management. It entails developing strategies, setting budgets, setting objectives, and determining the target market. In most cases, ad managers specialize in either paid search or social media ads.

Regardless of your specialty, you can simplify your work with a no-code app to manage different campaigns at once. A custom app can also help with ad budgeting, tracking, and reporting. You can also use it to automate client notifications and alerts.

4. Virtual Assistance

Most businesses, especially startups, aim to maintain lean teams to reduce operational costs. One way is working with virtual assistants (VAs), who handle administrative tasks like calendar management, internal/external communication, appointment setting, and scheduling.

As a VA, you have the flexibility and freedom to work with multiple clients. You can even take on more tasks like bookkeeping, project management, billing, blogging, digital marketing, and website management. This business is inexpensive to start as you only need a computer.

For efficiency and profitability, consider deploying a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to manage client relationships and leads. You can use no-code technology to build the CRM for faster deployment in your business.

5. Online Tutoring

Online tutoring market size is predicted to hit $19.47 billion by 2030, offering a lucrative opportunity for subject matter experts. This low-cost business idea lets you tutor kids, college students, entrepreneurs, and those interested in gaining knowledge in a particular field.

You can market your business directly to your target audience, and use tools like Zoom and YouTube to connect with your students. Alternatively, you can join platforms like Edx, Udemy, Tutor.com, Udacity, Chegg, TutorMe, and Skillshare to sell courses and conduct online lessons.

Additionally, you can use no-code to develop an easy-to-use learning management system (LMS) for organizing classes, assignments, and communication. The LMS can be customized to ensure students can take quizzes, provide feedback, book appointments, etc.

6. Virtual Bookkeeping

Tracking and reporting financials can be complex and time-consuming for some businesses, particularly SMBs and startups. So, they turn to virtual bookkeepers to keep their books up to date and generate monthly financial reports.

As a virtual bookkeeper, you’ll need to have or understand different tools for credit card account management, bill pay automation, document management, and invoice automation. Cloud-based and no-code tools can make the process easier for you and your clients.

For instance, no-code solutions can help build custom accounting software for financial data, invoices, receipts, etc. The software can automate everyday business workflows like expense tracking, task management, and reporting.

7. Video Production

The film and video market size is huge, fueled by platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Many businesses seek videos for their services and products to boost engagement and promote their offerings. This makes a great opportunity for those with video production and editing skills.

Apart from having a great portfolio, you’ll need to set up filming space and invest in quality equipment. A good home studio can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000. Platforms like Brkfst, Upwork, and ProductionHUB are ideal for finding work and clients.

Also, invest in a file management system (FMS) or app to store, organize, manage, and track your client’s videos. With no-code technology, you can customize your app or FMS to include a portfolio for some of your best creations or shoots.

8. Project Management 

If you’re highly experienced, you can leverage your expertise to help other business owners as a project manager or consultant. This can be a marketing, construction, IT, event, healthcare, software, design, or educational project, supporting their efforts in ensuring successful projects.

Depending on the industry and scope of the project, you can make as much as $50k to $1 million per year. In this role, you can help your clients define project goals, set the tasks that must be completed, and assign tasks to the right people. You can also help with quality checks.

Custom project management software (PMS) or an all-in-one workspace can make your work even easier. No-code development lets you build a tool that streamlines and automates tasks, notes, communication, and file sharing for efficient project management.

9. Affiliate Marketing

US businesses spend more than $8 billion yearly on affiliate marketing as part of their campaign to drive sales. You can venture into this niche as an affiliate marketer to market client’s products to potential customers. Every purchase earns you a commission, about 2% to 10% of the sale.

As an affiliate, you must have a specific target audience and a personal brand that allows you to attract the right customers. Running a blog is the most common approach for affiliates. Also, you can use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or X to run your affiliate business.

If you participate in multiple programs, affiliate tracking software can be pretty handy in your business operations. You can build the software using no-code technology, making it easy to track clicks, links, reports, conversions, and commissions.

10. Social Media Management

Social media is advancing, offering businesses access to a larger pool of potential customers to target. But there’s more to social media than just posting, liking, and sharing content. You must understand your audience and data to ensure effective targeting and personalization.

That’s something that most business owners struggle with, offering an opportunity for social media managers. As a manager, you can help businesses by creating a social media strategy, monitoring their brands online, generating leads, and analyzing data.

This business idea involves scheduling, monitoring, reporting, and social media listening. With no-code solutions, you can develop a mobile app or database that aggregates all the tools and apps for social media campaigns. This simplifies your work if you’re managing several accounts.

11. Data Entry Services

Most people start out in data entry working as freelancers for companies like Insight Global, Aston Carter, and Axion Data Services. You can turn this into a lucrative business, raking in up to $40k annually. Most clients pay about $15 to $25 per hour for data entry jobs.

Data entry tasks come in different types, from simple copy & paste tasks to complex data mining and research. You’ll need to master the varied tools and software used in data entry, such as spreadsheets, CMS, forms, etc. No-code tools are also helpful in creating forms.

For instance, if you need a custom form for collecting data, no-code technology provides a quick way to build it. This includes integrating advanced features like electronic signatures, conditional logic, reports, and dashboards.

12. Proofreading Business

Written materials are important in providing users with accurate information and protecting the brand’s image. It’s crucial to proofread them for spelling, punctuation, referencing, grammar, and typographical errors. Materials must also be free of text and formatting inconsistencies.

You can start a proofreading business to help brands check their blog posts, books, reports, and articles. Most of these projects are one-off or short-term, so you must have multiple clients and contacts. A simple no-code tool can organize your clients and ensure consistent workflow.

A good example is client management software that can include a document management system and invoicing feature. It can also support collaborative editing and time tracking to help you organize your proofreading projects in one place.

13. Internet Security Consultancy

Cyberattacks and data breaches are a big scare to business owners and organizations. Over 90% of organizations experience email security incidents. This alarming figure highlights the danger of cyber vulnerabilities and the need for cybersecurity professionals.

You can set up an internet security consultancy service to help businesses ensure cybersecurity best practices. This includes consultancy services on incident response, awareness training, risk assessments, compliance audits, and penetration testing.

Client management software can also be effective for your internet security consultancy business. With no-code solutions, you can get software that helps you manage client interactions, track projects, and maintain secure documentation.

14. Music Lessons

Starting a music teaching business offers varied options for seasoned artists, including guitar, piano, ukulele, or voice lessons. Depending on your skill area, you can offer music lessons to kids, college students, and artists looking to improve or diversify their art.

You can also offer lesson plans to other music educators and in-person classes in your area for students who prefer face-to-face experiences. Use no-code tools to create a lesson library and a platform for sheet music downloads to supplement your lessons and courses.

A no-code library centralizes all your lessons and materials for easy access, especially when you want to create a paywall or subscription service. It’s also an efficient way to get organized and ensure seamless running of your business.

15. Software Training

Software has become integral to today’s business operations. From data collection to project management, software boosts productivity, drives efficiency, and fosters innovation. However, some solutions like QuickBooks and Final Cut Pro are too complex for the average user.

If you’re proficient in specific software solutions, start a software training business to upskill employees, students, and other professionals. You can offer online workshops for teams or private lessons to simplify technical manuals. You can charge by the hour or per session.

A learning management system (LMS) will make a great addition to your business. No-code technology lets you build one quickly, offering a user-friendly platform for comprehensive training programs for teams or individuals.

16. Online Shop

The global ecommerce is still huge and projected to hit $47.73 trillion by 2030. You can start an online shop to sell things like candles, drinkware, mobile phone accessories, art, wine, beauty products, etc. Take the time to research and determine the ideal product line for your shop.

When setting up the shop, use platforms like Wix, Shopify, Squarespace, Square Online, and BigCommerce. Alternatively, you can create your shop on Esty, Amazon, or eBay for a ready market. These sites mostly charge transaction, listing, ad, and payment processing fees.

You can also create your own shop from scratch; no-code technology makes this effortless. It also offers unlimited customization to suit the type of shop you want to open, including payment options, templates, customer-oriented designs, etc.

17. Digital Marketing Consultancy

Digital marketing has achieved substantial growth for different brands. As a rule of thumb, most brands aim to gain $5 for every $1 spent on marketing campaigns. If you’re an expert in digital marketing, you can help them attain these numbers.

There are different types of digital marketing that you can help brands with, including affiliate marketing, mobile marketing, pay-per-click (PPC), social media marketing, SEO, and email marketing. You can specialize in any of these or several to grow your portfolio and revenues.

More importantly, leverage technology to make your consultancy business profitable. For instance, use no-code solutions to build a client management and CRM tool to manage client information and organize project details.

18. Dropshipping Business

Dropshipping is an alternative to starting an online shop. In this case, you don’t need to stock or purchase inventory, making it a low-cost startup idea with zero overhead. You can open a dropshipping business for as little as $100 with a simple website.

When starting, you can target a specific niche or sell a full range of products. Some popular categories include electronics, beauty products, apparel, pet supplies, etc. Source products from reputable marketplaces like AliExpress, SaleHoo, Doa, and Megawoods.

Make things even easier with inventory and order management software to track and fulfill your dropshipping orders. No-code solutions can simplify the process of building the software and incorporating other features like integrations with platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.

19. Web Development

As a web developer, you can charge clients between $25 to $200 per hour, depending on the size and type of the project. You can also focus on a specific role i.e. front-end, back-end, or full-stack developer. Regardless, a web development business can earn up to $100k yearly.

You’ll need less than $3000 to start this business with a notable amount going into buying a good laptop. There are tools you’ll need like Adobe Dreamweaver for web development and Browserstack for code testing.

You can also invest in no-code tools to automate some tasks and improve collaboration with your clients. In this case, project management software can streamline your work and ensure successful projects from inception to completion.

20. Fitness Coaching

Up to 40% of adults engage in some sort of physical activity to stay fit, lose weight, or address a medical condition. This highlights the huge potential of the fitness industry. If you’re a fitness expert, you can start a coaching business to help clients attain their health and fitness goals.

Most online coaches charge a monthly subscription of up to $200. The fee usually covers several aspects, including fitness assessment, consultations, support, and exercise programs. You can also offer home personal training sessions, which can be $100 to $200 per session.

Make your business even more efficient with a fitness app, which you can easily build using no-code solutions. The app makes it easier to organize your client’s sessions and provide member-only content like programs, webinars, diet plans, etc.

Get Started with These Businesses with Low Startup Costs

Many people forgo their business dreams and plans due to the significant and unpredictable costs of starting a business. This doesn’t need to be the case today given technology has hugely redefined the approach to starting a business.

You don’t need to apply for a loan or save religiously to start your dream business. A budget of less than $1000 is enough to start an online business like blogging and dropshipping. You can then use no-code tools to save costs and time on making your dream a reality.

At Belighted, we believe SaaS technology is an efficient enabler for businesses. It eliminates the obstacles to building your custom software or website for faster time-to-market (TTM). Regardless of your business idea, we can help you through all the development stages.

We have a complete product studio to design, build, and market-test your idea. Whether it’s an app or software, you can rely on our expertise, experience, and professionalism to help bring your idea to life with minimal business startup costs.

‍

Schedule a call today and discover how we can make your business dream come true.

‍