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Starting a business can be a great way to supplement your income or launch your career as an entrepreneur, but how can you get your ideas off the ground? Choosing a business idea which requires a lot of investment can be risky, and you may not want to leverage your home, your car and your savings straight away.

However, there are plenty of great businesses ideas which don’t require a huge amount of resources. If you’re eager to start a business on a budget, check out some of these ideas now…

1. Event planning

Being an event planner doesn’t require significant financial investment to get your business started. Paying for a professional website to be created can be advantageous, and online marketing could help too. However, you won’t need to spend much more in order to get your business up and running.

In general, event planners liaise with owners, venues, suppliers, and clients; bridging the link between what the client wants and the people who can provide it. As you build up contacts within the industry, you’ll find it easier to meet your client’s requirements, but you won’t need to stump up any of your own cash. For highly organized people who want to start a business on a budget, event planning is ideal. 

2. Professional reviewer

Companies always need people to test, trial and review their products, particularly now that most people shop online. With online reviews having an impact on future sales, companies are willing to pay a reasonable amount for trustworthy individuals to trial their products and write a review. You’ll either be paid by the hour or per review, and it’s a great way to generate an income stream. With nothing to layout, you can get started right away, providing you have access to a computer, tablet or laptop, and the internet. As well as being able to start your business on a budget, being a professional reviewer means you’ll have the opportunity to try new products and services, as well as getting to go on days out, eating at restaurants and visiting new exhibitions and venues. 

3. Carpet cleaning

Offering a professional service, such as carpet cleaning, is a great way to build your business empire. Relevant to both individuals and commercial clients, you can offer professional carpet cleaning services to businesses and homeowners in any location. Although you will need to make a small investment in professional carpet cleaning materials, such as Steamaster equipment, this can be done relatively cheaply. In fact, your initial investment in equipment could be paid off with your first few cleaning jobs!

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4. Online tutoring

If you have professional or academic experience in a particular area, offering online tutoring is a good way to put your knowledge to use as an entrepreneur. Even individuals who have no formal training but a passion for a certain subject can make a significant amount by offering tutoring and online courses. Put the effort into making e-books, instructional videos, and useful content, and establish the client’s needs before you get started. ​It’s easy to conduct virtual lessons with online tutors over Skype or alternative software, and these services can be accessed very cheaply or for no cost at all. Instead of having to make any financial investment in your business start-up, you’ll only need to invest your time in preparing the materials.

5. Virtual assistant

Flexible working has increased in recent years, and remote workers are more in demand than ever before. If you already have a laptop and access to the internet, you can establish yourself as a virtual assistant for almost no cost at all. There are a number of agencies which connect potential clients to reputable virtual assistants. Indeed, many of these don’t have costly subscriptions fees or sign up charges, so you won’t have to pay anything to get started. Whilst you may be required to pay a percentage of your earnings to the agency, this will come out of your earnings, as opposed to being a start-up cost. 

6. Concierge services

People who have a lot of demands on their time are often willing to pay for a little extra help. Offering errand or concierge services enables you to tap into an underserved market, without having to deal with expensive start-up costs. Find individuals or small businesses who require ad hoc assistance with shopping, filing, mailing packages or returning items, and take the pressure off them by offering your services as a concierge or assistant.

What will you do?