Businesses You Can Start for Under $500 — page 2

People who already have a niche audience or expertise and genuinely enjoy facilitating, teaching, and showing up for members every week

Startup cost

$100 – $3,000

Monthly earnings

$200 – $10,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Genuinely bilingual people with strong writing who can specialize and position themselves above commodity machine translation

Startup cost

$100 – $2,000

Monthly earnings

$0 – $7,000 / mo

First income

2 to 8 weeks

Trustworthy, detail-oriented people who want flexible, low-cost work watching homes while owners travel

Startup cost

$100 – $1,500

Monthly earnings

$400 – $3,500 / mo

First income

1 to 3 weeks

Strong writers who can interview people, understand hiring, and translate a messy career history into a focused, results-driven document

Startup cost

$100 – $1,500

Monthly earnings

$500 – $6,000 / mo

First income

2 to 6 weeks

People comfortable on camera who want flexible creative work without needing a personal following

Startup cost

$100 – $1,500

Monthly earnings

$300 – $6,000 / mo

First income

3 to 8 weeks

Fluent or native speakers who enjoy people, patience, and explaining things clearly

Startup cost

$100 – $1,200

Monthly earnings

$300 – $4,000 / mo

First income

2 to 6 weeks

Dedicated artist-storytellers who can produce consistently for a long time before any meaningful income and treat the early phase as building, not earning

Startup cost

$100 – $3,000

Monthly earnings

$0 – $5,000 / mo

First income

6 to 18 months

Detail-oriented people with solid Photoshop skills who enjoy meticulous, meaningful work and can find clients in genealogy and memorial niches

Startup cost

$100 – $1,500

Monthly earnings

$300 – $4,000 / mo

First income

1 to 4 weeks

Confident public speakers and warm writers who are comfortable being the calm voice at the center of a couple's ceremony

Startup cost

$100 – $1,500

Monthly earnings

$300 – $4,000 / mo

First income

2 to 6 weeks

Organized, reliable people who want a flexible, low-cost mobile side business and are comfortable driving to meet clients

Startup cost

$200 – $1,500

Monthly earnings

$300 – $5,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Reliable, organized people who enjoy helping others and want a near-zero-cost business they can start around a job

Startup cost

$200 – $2,000

Monthly earnings

$800 – $5,500 / mo

First income

1 to 3 weeks

Detail-oriented people who like audio work and client relationships, and want recurring income from producing other people's shows

Startup cost

$200 – $2,500

Monthly earnings

$500 – $8,000 / mo

First income

2 to 8 weeks

Crafty, hands-on people who enjoy product-making and selling, and accept it is a labor-heavy small-margin business at first

Startup cost

$200 – $3,000

Monthly earnings

$200 – $4,000 / mo

First income

2 to 6 weeks

Creative people who enjoy detailed handwork and want a low-cost craft business they can start from home

Startup cost

$200 – $3,000

Monthly earnings

$100 – $4,000 / mo

First income

2 to 6 weeks

People who want an extremely low-cost start, are unbothered by the obvious unpleasant part, and want to build predictable recurring weekly revenue

Startup cost

$200 – $2,000

Monthly earnings

$1,000 – $6,500 / mo

First income

1 to 2 weeks

People who genuinely understand search and can set honest expectations while delivering results that take months to show

Startup cost

$200 – $3,000

Monthly earnings

$500 – $12,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Designers who can think in user flows, not just visuals, and are comfortable defending decisions to non-designer clients

Startup cost

$200 – $3,000

Monthly earnings

$1,500 – $12,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

People who can sell and project-manage but do not want to deliver the work themselves

Startup cost

$200 – $2,500

Monthly earnings

$500 – $9,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

People who genuinely enjoy creating and are willing to publish consistently for a year or more with little or no pay before monetizing

Startup cost

$200 – $3,000

Monthly earnings

$0 – $5,000 / mo

First income

6 to 18 months

Reliable, well-spoken people who are calm on the phone and good at staying organized

Startup cost

$200 – $2,500

Monthly earnings

$800 – $6,000 / mo

First income

2 to 6 weeks

Technically comfortable, reliable people who want predictable monthly recurring revenue from ongoing client relationships rather than one-off projects

Startup cost

$200 – $2,000

Monthly earnings

$500 – $8,000 / mo

First income

1 to 2 months

Patient, detail-oriented hunters who enjoy sourcing, do not mind handling and storing inventory, and want a low-cost side business

Startup cost

$200 – $2,000

Monthly earnings

$300 – $4,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 weeks

Strong researchers and writers who are patient with long sales cycles and want meaningful work with nonprofits and mission-driven organizations

Startup cost

$200 – $2,500

Monthly earnings

$1,000 – $8,000 / mo

First income

2 to 4 months

Sociable, organized people who enjoy making online spaces feel alive and can prove their value to clients

Startup cost

$200 – $2,000

Monthly earnings

$800 – $9,000 / mo

First income

2 to 6 weeks