When it comes to the idea of a “business,” the words “laziness” and “entrepreneur” may seem like they aren’t a good match.
And while that statement is true, it still doesn’t mean there aren’t fantastic business ideas for the lazy entrepreneur.
You see, every business needs an entrepreneur to tend to it.
Whether you operate from home or have a physical location, you are your own boss and must ensure that everything essential for running your business is completed.
If you want to start a business and don’t want to push yourself to get up early each morning to run the day-to-day operations, try creating a company that can work for you.
You may enjoy the benefits of being self-employed without dealing with all the hassle. With that said, here are five online business ideas for the lazy entrepreneur!
1. Consulting
Consulting is a great business idea for the lazy entrepreneur. You can be an expert in something and make money helping others with the same problem.
It allows you to work from home and set your own hours, making it one of the most flexible types of business.
Consulting can be done on a part-time basis or full-time if you want to really make some money.
When starting out, it’s best to choose just one or two types of consulting so that you can focus on those areas initially.
Once you’ve gained some experience and expertise in those areas, you can also expand into other types of consulting.
The key to success with consulting is developing relationships with clients and communicating clearly about your services.
To do this effectively, you need to have good communication skills and knowledge in your field.
2. Service-Based Businesses or Freelancing
One of the most popular types of businesses for the lazy entrepreneur is a service-based one.
This is because it’s easy to set up, and all you need is some basic knowledge or skills to start making money.
You’ll still have to market yourself and promote your services, but you won’t have to spend hours doing things like managing your inventory or taking care of legal and tax issues.
You just have to be able to do what you say you can do — no more, no less. Once you get going, you can even scale by starting an agency and hiring freelancers to work with you.
One of the best places to start a freelancing journey is in Upwork – a business that “connects businesses with independent professionals and agencies around the globe”.
3. Self-Publishing
If you’re the type who loves to write, self-publishing may be a great business idea for you.
If you’re unsure if you have a book, try writing some sample chapters or an outline. Once you’ve got something down on paper, consider approaching a publisher about publishing your book.
If you’re more of a doer than a writer and would instead concentrate on other aspects of the business, the next step is to find services that can help with the actual writing part of self-publishing.
Plenty of companies will allow you to hire their writers and editors at an affordable rate.
The best part about self-publishing is that once your book is written and published online (or printed), it will be available anytime and anywhere to anyone who wants to buy it.
If one thing doesn’t work out (like getting it into mainstream bookstores), there’s still another way for your book to sell.
4. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make money online. You become an independent business owner with affiliate marketing and can sell any product or service.
You don’t have to deal with the hassle of finding a product yourself, hosting products, or building your own website.
Instead, you’ll promote products and services on someone else’s platform.
That’s why affiliate marketing is excellent for lazy entrepreneurs because it allows you to work from home and promote products you love while earning money!
5. Amazon FBA
Source: Predatorsoft.com
Amazon FBA is one of the best options if you’re looking for a business idea requiring minimal effort.
Amazon FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon, allowing you to list your products on Amazon’s website and ship them to customers when they place an order. In other words, you don’t have to store your inventory in a warehouse or purchase shipping labels.
The process is simple: You find a product that sells well on Amazon, create listings for it using their API (application programming interface), then ship your inventory to an Amazon fulfillment center once it sells.
When customers place an order on Amazon, they pay for shipping and any taxes or import fees (which vary by country).
You only pay for storage fees — typically less than $1 per cubic foot each month — and whatever handling fees are associated with receiving shipments from suppliers.
You can start a business without too much effort
Being a lazy entrepreneur doesn’t mean you don’t have to work hard or have to deal with paperwork and legalities, but it isn’t all that bad.
Some of the best business ideas are low maintenance, not requiring a lot of initial money to get going, and not needing to be handled full time.