15 Low-cost Business Ideas With High Profit
Starting a business is one thing; it is quite another to successfully turn a low-cost venture into a high-profit business. The advantage is simply choosing an industry or business type that has high revenue and growth potential to yield good returns over time.
Check out our low-cost business ideas with high profit suggestions below. You can also get a more in-depth guide on how to start your own business by downloading our full guide:
1. Business Consulting
Business consulting is a general term which can refer to the providing of advice for many different business functions: marketing and sales, project management, strategic planning, more.
There is no official or required qualification in becoming a consultant per se. Though, depending on what field you wish to consult in, you are required to hold a certification for that. You can also become a consultant for more informal fields that will not require holding a professional certification such as business writing, marketing, career guidance, communications, or public relations.
You may not necessarily need some additional qualifications, but you must keep up to date with the latest developments, trends, and changes within your consultancy field. Your reputation-and therefore future business prospects-will depend on your outcome with the clients you currently work with, so you will be required to stay current.
Business startup cost: $2,600+
Average annual revenue: $101,438
Expected growth rate: 4.9% from 2023-2028
2. Voice Acting
Like many of the other business ideas on this list, voice acting has a relatively low barrier to entry—you’d 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 funny impressions? Do you prefer something more along the lines of reading audiobooks out loud?
While you might face numerous competitors in the initial stages, you will also be able to increase your prices gradually with rising skills and reputation. Assess your own skills, watch the competition, and negotiate with clients to make as much profit as possible.
Startup cost of a business: $70-$200+ voice training
Average annual revenue: $100,198
Projected growth rate: 19.2% from 2023 to 2032
3. Personal Chef
If you like cooking and preparing foods but do not want to work in restaurants, you could always become a personal chef. Usually, this means preparing meals that are customized according to the client’s needs; therefore, you would learn how to serve food to them.
Little formal training is needed to work in this type of job-it’s really up to how good you are in the kitchen as well as your ability to keep up with the paper work: that is, building up your customer base, recording their preferences and allergies, and figuring out delivery methods. Of course, though, formal training and experience will merely pave the way to landing 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
The potentially lucrative field – web development, or software engineering, and website design, or creating a website for a business to use. Everyone needs to do it at one point in time, but experience and completion of a good portfolio is more than formal qualifications and certificates.
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 2022
Projected Growth Rate: 8.03% from 2021 to 2027
5. Content Writing
Content writing, in general, is a wide field of copywriting, blog articles, social media posts, research and report writing, and many more. Many business industries rely on some form of content writing: travel and tourism, education, marketing agencies, finance, and small businesses in general, to mention a few. Tech, SaaS, and B2B industries are also known to pay some of the highest prices for content writing.
It may start with something as simple as a laptop to type on, or get even cheaper by preparing in training classes and webinars to hone your craft and improve your skills, but you still can learn the ropes of best practices by reaching out to pro writers and other colleagues to help guide you along, and just plain writing hundreds of words over time.
Business startup cost: Less than $1,000 for a laptop
Average annual revenue: $64,940 (Blogger)
Projected growth rate from 2023 to 2030: 5.50%
6. Language Translation
As the business expands into new foreign markets, it needs something like translation service or training in order to break the barriers of communication with new markets and new partners. Whether you will be offering services as a freelancer translator or building a small agency and finding clients, you will soon realize the fact that being able to speak two or more languages is always in demand and can be converted into money.
Although some customers may prefer to utilize automated translation, human translators are still worth the cost. Only a human can observe and understand linguistic sights such as catchphrases and slang words.
Initial investment for business: $2,500+ (Hardware and equipment, website creation, software licenses, advertising, travel)
Average annual revenue: $61,730
Projected growth: 2.7% between 2022 to 2032
7. Print on Demand Services
Print-on-demand businesses work under similar business models as dropshipping: they don’t maintain a steady inventory. Instead, products-most often t-shirts or home decor, for example-print them or serve them to customers only when there’s an actual order. So it means simpler business operations and no need to track inventory in volume.
Print-on-demand isn’t one of the cheapest businesses to start; most of your money at the beginning will go towards acquiring quality printing machines, which you can expect to spend a few thousands on. You also have other stuff to consider, including your target market, range, and management of suppliers.
Startup cost for business: $2,000+ (Printing equipment)
Average annual income: $55,675
Projected growth rate: 24.4% between 2023 and 2030.
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8. Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant supports a client-usually a busy high-level executive or business owner-in preparing and interpreting reports, coordinating with customers and suppliers, managing an agenda, tracking e-mails and other communications, writing presentation materials, and other types of administrative work.
You probably will not need formal training for a virtual assistant position, but the more you can show that you have experience doing the kind of admin tasks that you will be expected to, the better – and the more attractive you will be to employers. As a result of the nature of the work, clients are very demanding and often pressed; therefore, it’s a constant flow of work. It’s a business that works best if you can maintain such a pace.
If you perform well, then you can also expect good pay along with word-of-mouth referrals to other possible clients.
Start-up cost for business: Less than $1,000 in 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 very flexible and can be scaled up or down to include anything from entire office buildings to small houses. You can offer very basic janitorial services or tidying services, or more niche or large-scale tasks such as damage restoration or removal of waste and hazardous materials.
Your startup expenses will depend on your size and offerings, but you’re likely to spend at least a few hundred dollars on cleaning equipment.
Startup cost of a business: $750+ (Janitorial products)
Average annual revenue: Up to $50,000
Growth rate: 8.7% from 2022 to 2030
10. Ghostwriting
Ghostwriting means writing something-from novels to speeches-for which another will receive credit as its author. Typically, authors, politicians, and executives of companies employ ghostwriters to create content on topics they lack the time to author themselves.
Of course, just as with any kind of content writing, your initial costs will be simply a laptop from which you can write, but over time you will also need to develop your reputation as a writer. Keep a portfolio of your writing work current so that you can demonstrate your increasing skills to employers. One way to do this is to create a small business website that displays past projects and speaks about niche skills.
Startup cost for business: Less than $1,000 for a laptop; up to around $35 a 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.
However, what will bring in more clients for you will be the ability to make the first few customers achieve what they have been looking for. Once you are known to deliver high-quality work, you’ll have referrals and additional clients-coming your way.
Although training classes and certifications can give you a head start, knowledge about workout techniques, diet practices, and ability to work together with and communicate with people from all walks of life is crucial.
Startup cost for the business: $130+ (Training and certifications for first aid, CPR, etc.)
Average annual revenue: $45,380 in 2022
Projected growth rate: 4.6% from 2023 to 2033
12. Commercial Photography
Just like podcasting, photography is one of these hobbies you can turn into a high-paying business should you decide to go down the commercial route. Commercial photography is not very restricted to start with; therefore, competition may be keen. You will significantly enhance your opportunities for standing out and earning a decent income by investing in only the best equipment available to you within your budget, discovering a niche market on which to hone your skills, and aggressively promoting yourself and networking.
Much like a fitness training business, you will be sure to attract even more commercial photography jobs if you win the first few clients over with spectacular results.
Business startup cost: $3,900+
Average annual revenue: $42,345
Growth rate: 2.2% from 2022 to 2032
13. Private Tutoring
Private tutoring is an attractive option on the client side as it puts a client’s children an edge in regards to formal education or may even solve a problem like having a deficiency in learning 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
Projected growth from 2022 to 2027: 9.65%
14. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is where you, the retailer, act as a storefront with whom the customers interact and buy from, but instead of holding any inventory your self, you fulfill your orders through third-party manufacturer or wholesaler. In this manner, you can’t get into the risk of carrying any stock of products, and keep your costs as low as possible by not buying or creating any more items you currently need.
Business start-up cost: $100-$500 for the platform fees and marketing
Average Annual Revenue: $40,970
Projected growth rate: 23.4% from 2023-2030
15. Podcasts
Podcasting is usually regarded as a hobby or passion project, but it can also be a serious profit-oriented business model. Podcasters can earn money by selling and marketing affiliate products, subscription for the listeners, and advertising on products. As the podcaster gains more fame, sponsorships are an option later. Since 2023, over 68 million people in the US listened to podcasts, and the count is expected to rise steadily till at least 2028.
This can, of course, vary quite a bit, depending on how professional of a setup you want and how much you intend to make this a for-profit business versus a hobby. On the high end, be prepared 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