Looking for the best business ideas to start that actually make legit money?

Whether this is to supplement your income, pursue your passion, or replace your job, a creative business idea is just what you need.

All across the world in 2024, people are starting businesses for cheap (or for free) and making enough money to live life on their terms.

The question is, are you willing to be one of them?

I hope so. As someone who’s made the decision to start their own online business, I cannot tell you how rewarding it is.

So, now I will explain what types of business ideas you will find in this post:

• Fresh online business ideas that work for 2024 & beyond
• Businesses that you can start with little to no money
• Side businesses to supplement your main income
• Creative businesses to share your creative products and services with others
• Small businesses that you can get up and running today

Now, some business ideas in this post fall into more than one of these categories. For example, an online business that works for 2024 and has little to no startup cost.

Anyway.

Let’s move on to great business ideas for you to start now!

Some links in this post are affiliate links that help keep this information free for you. Please read the terms of use for more info.

Best online business ideas in 2024 & beyond

Create slogans for businesses and influencers

I’m sure you’re familiar with slogans that businesses use for their marketing, or quotes that influencers post on social media.

Did you know that you can make passive income by creating these short pieces of text?

It’s true.

Companies and influencers will pay for short copy such as slogans, quotes, etc. because it helps bolster their top-of-mind brand identity, leading to more sales and revenue for them.

I absolutely love this business idea.

This is because, for us creatives, it’s easy to come up with short text such as slogans, quotes, etc.

And, you can keep getting paid for it, either via royalties for the rights to use your text, or a one-time flat fee for the ownership of the text. 

So, how do you get started with this awesome business idea?

I want to recommend SloganSeller. It’s an awesome course and resource that I leverage myself.

SloganSeller was created by Ben Olson, who has, for years, made a ton of passive income as a sloganpreneur! He breaks down exactly what you need to do to make money selling slogans and other short copy.

For a one-time investment of $37, the SloganSeller platform makes the slogan creation process extremely simple. You also get access to the following:

• Cash-prize opportunities
• Video tutorials
• Step-by-step guides
• User-friendly graphic design tools
• On-demand support
• Lifetime membership
• And more!

They also have a downright confident 60-day, for any reason, money-back guarantee.

Ready to launch your slogan-creating online business the right way?

Click here to take SloganSeller’s awesome course on making money creating slogans

Make informational YouTube videos with AI

I’m going to tell you about a legit business idea you can start now on YouTube without using your voice or showing your face?

Creating informational videos.

Yes, this is not new.

But, what is new, is using the power of artificial intelligence to make them at lightning speed and done professionally.

I’m talking about the new Pictory Ai.

Pictory uses artificial intelligence to pair your written content with the perfect stock footage to create beautiful, professional-grade, captioned videos for YouTube and elsewhere.

Pretty cool right?

You wouldn’t believe how accurate and fast they make these videos too.

They have a 30-day free trial that lets you make 3 videos up to 10 minutes long for free. After you try it, you’ll see how useful it is in making videos!

Click here to try out Pictory and start making real money on YouTube

Some of the best types of educational niche videos to pair with Pictory are:

• Health
• Self-improvement
• Finance
• Cryptocurrency, Web3, & Blockchain
• Fitness
• Business & Marketing
• Education

So where do you get the information you need for your videos?

This is niche-specific. In general, you can use Wikipedia as a starting point. Look up topics in your niche and then look at the sources they use and go from there.

Looking at others in your niche or topic of interest and seeing what topics they cover is good for inspiration for your own content.

You can also leverage your own knowledge with any given topic(s) or niche(s) you choose.

Ready to start making professional videos for your YouTube channel business automatically?

Tap here to try Pictory.AI and give yourself an edge on YouTube

Sell handmade & custom goods on Etsy

Do you love to make handmade goods or custom designs that you could print-on-demand?

I highly recommend you create an Etsy store.

It’s free to create one, takes under an hour or so to get everything set up, and you can start selling your first item(s) today.

However, it does cost $0.20 to post a listing for 4 months. They also take a reasonable 6.5% commission for each sale you make.

But.

If you create an Etsy store through my referral link here, we both get 40 free listings for our stores! 

Also, here’s an overlooked perk and another reason why Etsy is one of the cheapest business ideas to start:

Etsy collects sales tax and VAT tax. Most online marketplaces don’t do this, and it saves business owners a lot of time, headache, and cost on accountants (or tax software). 

For this reason, and the fact that it’s free to use Etsy, I’m more than happy to pay a small commission on any product sales.

10 Best things to sell on Etsy for 2024:

• Sustainable & eco-friendly handmade clothes
• Digital resources such as vectors, svgs, paper, clip art etc. for commercial use
• Aesthetic items
• Printable wall art
• Stickers
• Customization options for the phone (presets, iPhone icons, etc.)
• Wedding items (cards, neon or wooden signs, and invites)
• Handmade jewelry
• Vintage
• Handmade & custom beauty products like soaps

Ready to start selling your unique items?

Click here to open an Etsy store and get 40 free listings

Start a hobby podcast and make a business out of it

In 2024, podcasting is more than just something to listen to when you’re commuting or working out. It’s a legit online business idea.

Most people (including myself for a time) are too busy listening to them to realize this!

If you have a hobby that you’re passionate about discussing, and especially discussing with others, leverage your hobby(s) into a podcast business.

Here are 32 unique podcast ideas to inspire you

• Sports
• Books
• Travel experiences & recommendations
• History, facts, and real-life lore
• Myths, legends and folklore
• Movie reviews & recommendations
• Product reviews
• Current events
• Spirituality
• Interviewing key and interesting people within a space or community
• Gaming
• Personal finance
• Technology
• Survival & outdoors
• Short stories
• Alternative living & lifestyle
• Interesting personal stories
• Unsolved crimes
• Paranormal
• Mysteries
• Self-help
• Day-in-the-life
• Rare & fringe history 
• Poetry, stories, and other literary readings
• Guests share their favorite thing(s) in a particular subject
• Remember when (nostalgia topics)
• Shooting the breeze conversations
• Barbershop-style conversations
• Celebrity & influencer interviews
• Behind-the-scenes for something or someone popular now or in the past
• Local events, news, and happenings
• Fashion trends

These ideas are just the iceberg’s tip. You can also do several hobbies or subjects that make sense together. 

So, how do you start a hobby podcast business?

First. You will need to launch your podcast. I recommend Buzzsprout to do this. They have a forever-free plan that lets you do up to two hours per month, and they provide a simplified user experience.

Plus, they’ll give you a $20 Amazon gift card when you upgrade to one of their affordable premium plans.

Second. Create short and long-term goals that focus on personal fulfillment, milestones in revenue, audience, and overall growth.

Third. Build a brand that your audience and people in your niche(s) can trust and look at as an authority.

Fourth. Be diligent about who you have on your podcast and ask questions you know your current and future audience wants to hear.

Fifth. Monetize your podcast by seeking out sponsorships and offering info products that your audience is interested in.

Success won’t happen overnight. But, with focus on your goals, patience, consistent execution, and leveraging opportunities and connections that come your way, you will make it.

Ready to give hobby podcasting a real try?

Click here to create your podcast on Buzzsprout and get a $20 Amazon gift card when you get a paid plan

Teach your creative passion with an online course

One of the best business ideas there is to make passive income is online course creation.

When you create an online course, you can share your expertise with people who could benefit from it!

Also, consider this.

You don’t have to actually be a teacher, professor, or certified professional to teach. You can also be a student yourself and still teach!

Think about when you were in high school, college, or going through a program. Haven’t you seen students getting tutored or taught by other students?

Or maybe you are or were that student like I was!

Anyway…

Here are some ideas you can teach through your online course:

• Graphic design
• Photo editing (including styles of photo editing like aesthetic editing)
• Photography (including presets)
• Fashion (design or education)
• Crafts
• Story creation and storytelling
• Blogging
• Social media (TikTok, Pinterest, Instagram and more)
• Your college major and related subjects

You’d be surprised just how many people are out there ready to learn about so many different subjects! Hopefully, these topics gave you some inspiration for what is possible.

So, how do you create your first online course?

Easy. Just sign up for an online course platform. I know just the one, and it’s called Teachable.

On Teachable, you can create beautiful online courses easily, fast, and for free.

With their free plan, you can host unlimited courses, coaching services, clients, receive instant payouts, and get access to a useful toolset for easily creating courses from scratch without technical experience.

And, their user experience is amazing!

Proofread books or articles and hire others to do it with you

Not only can you get paid to read as a proofreader, but you can also turn this into a business.

This is done by becoming an online proofreader on a freelance basis or hiring proofreaders who proofread for you and then getting a cut from their services.

I could go on, but I’d rather let the go-to expert, Caitlin Pyle, shed more light on it.

She turned her part-time proofreading hobby into a proofreading business that has made her millions in a few short years. What better person to learn from when it comes to creating a successful online proofreading business?

Join her free workshop and learn about starting your own proofreading business

Now, if you want to become a proofreader or are looking to upgrade your skills, I recommend learning Caitlin Pyle as well.

Caitlin is a complete lifesaver for anyone new to online proofreading as a career.

For a limited time, she is offering a free online workshop that will explain the ins and outs of proofreading and how it can be a great career choice for you.

Click here to watch her free workshop for online proofreading

Share your passions as a lifestyle blogger

Simply put, if you’re a writer, creative, expert in a field, or hobbyist, a lifestyle blog is the kind of online business that will work for you.

Lifestyle bloggers tend to cater to a certain audience and write topics that, that audience loves or needs.

I love lifestyle blogging because you can write about many different topics and build your identity overtime! So, if you don’t know exactly what to commit to, don’t worry you will know with time.

If you know what to write already, that great too! You can get started fast.

My blog, Vowlenu, the one you’re currently reading is a lifestyle blog that makes money. I’ve put together a quick guide to help you start your own lifestyle blogging business!

How to start a lifestyle blogging business

Outline your goals

First, you need to determine what topics you want to write about on your blog and for whom. I recommend starting with two topics, so you don’t get overwhelmed.

Here are 12 popular lifestyle niches:

• Entertainment
• Personal finance
• Diet and weight loss
• Beauty
• Fashion
• Travel
• Spirituality
• Food and cooking
• DIY (Do-It-Yourself)
• Personal development and motivation
• Parenting 
• Travel

Next, choose a name that is easy to remember and on-brand. I recommend keeping your blog name between 6-14 letters long.

Establish the foundation

Your lifestyle blog needs to be hosted on a server, or it won’t show up on the internet. I recommend going with Hostgator. They are the host I use for Vowlenu and my other websites.

Plus, Hostgator is affordable, has fast load times, are highly reviewed, and their customer service is excellent. Click here to get hosting from Hostgator at a 66% off discount. 

Upon choosing a hosting plan, you will need to choose your domain name. The domain name is essentially the string of text people put in to get to your blog (ex: www.vowlenu.com). Your domain name should be the same name as your blog name.

The next thing you need to do is build your blog using the free WordPress platform. Installing WordPress only takes about a minute or two, and it’s easy-to-use. You will find the WordPress installation option in your Hostgator dashboard.

Build it

Now that you have installed WordPress, you need to choose a theme. I recommend choosing a lightweight and fast theme such as Astra for optimal reader experience and SEO. To choose a theme, go to Appearance -> Themes then search for Astra or whichever theme you’d like. Click install, and you’ll be set in under a minute.

Next, let me give you a few best practices for your WordPress settings.

• Go to Settings -> Permalinks and choose “Post Name.”
• Go to Settings -> Media and increase the size of your images as desired.

After installing your theme and optimize your settings, you need to improve the functionality and versatility of your blog with essential plugins. The ones I recommend are: Updraftplus, Yoast SEO, Imagify, Wordfence, Antispam Bee, Google Analytics by MonsterInsights, WP Rocket, and WP Forms.

Begin writing

Now you are all set and can begin writing your first post.  All you have to do is go to the “Posts” section on your WordPress menu to start.

But before you begin writing blog posts, I highly recommend creating Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and About Me pages.

Pin on Pinterest

Yup. You can pin on Pinterest as a legit online business! I speak as someone doing it now. It’s one of my favorite online business ideas to do.

There are a couple of ways to make money on Pinterest from a business perspective:

• Pinterest virtual assistant for one or more established Pinterest accounts on a contractual basis
• Starting a blog and making pins for your monetized blog posts
• Creating an e-commerce store and making pins that link or connect with your products or services
• Become a Pinterest influencer and get paid to make idea pins or receive sponsorships

To make your pins, I highly recommend using Canva. It’s what I use, and it helps me craft successful pins.

You can try it out for free, but you will need Canva Pro if you’re going to do this right.

Canva Pro simply makes pin design so much easier, faster, and more efficient than other design platforms and software (trust me, I’ve tried a bunch). This will make you make more money in both the short and long term.

Plus, you get access to

• 100 million+ premium stock photos
• Design elements, emojis, fonts, and more
• Vector images
• Premium audio files
• 610,000+ Beautiful templates
• Features like: image formats, image resizing, background remover, animation, and more

Simply put, you get everything you need to make successful pins.

It only costs about the same as a large pizza, and you get a 30-day free trial. It’s something you should definitely try out.

Click here to try Canva Pro for free and start designing successful pins