4 Up-to-the-Minute Online Business Ideas for 2018

In today’s post, I’m going to share with you the top 4 online business ideas you could start in 2018. Of all of the dozens of ideas you’ll find for starting an online business, these 4 are the most timely and promising.

However, if you think you want more ideas than these 4, check these posts for more ideas: here and here.

First one?

Idea #1: Dropshipping

This online business idea became quite popular last year. And it’s getting even easier now, with all of the tools available at the beginning of 2018.

Dropshipping is a method of being a retail seller without having to buy inventory in advance. All you need to do is to collect the information from the buyer and facilitate the purchase. Then you send the order information to the manufacturer and they send the products directly to the buyer.

Here is an image to quickly illustrate this model.

With dropshipping you can start selling without having a big budget in advance. You can test the product and scale up or back without having to deal with the complications of manufacturing and logistics.

The most critical piece of dropshipping is finding the right products. To begin, create a store on a platform like Shopify and load your first products. Then, start testing with ads to find out if each product you’ve chosen is a hero or a zero. If you find you have a winner, scale it up. If it’s a dud, stop selling it and look for a better one.

Continue in this fashion until your store is everything you envisioned it to be.

Idea #2: Content Curation

I was intrigued with this online business idea at the beginning of the year when Brian Clark started his newsletter, Further. Basically, he curates quality content in health, wealth, wisdom, and travel to help you live your best life.

People have been going nuts over it.

No one has the time to check all the blogs out there for the best, most beneficial content. But what if someone else took the time to find all the best information and then handed it to us on a silver platter?

Here is a quick image from Ross Simmonds that describes this model aptly.

Becoming a content curator will enable you to build your audience fast. Then you could monetize your site by way of affiliate marketing, selling ads, selling products, and so on.

Idea #3: Sell Online Courses

This is an old business model that has taken on new life in recent years. These days, it’s more profitable than ever.

To get started with this online business idea, you want to build trust with people by sharing content with them in whatever format and on whatever platform feels right to you. That is, you can do this on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or your own blog. The latter is my personal preference.

After you demonstrate your expertise and build your audience, you can then sell your own products. The idea is to teach your audience how to solve a problem you know they’re facing.

You can also create a membership site and collect monthly payments from members. This will give you a recurring income.

If you don’t know where to begin with setup, look to platforms like Kajabi. Platforms such as this one take the stress out of setup and ease the management of your entire membership site.

In order to make this model work, you’ll need to differentiate yourself, be likable, and establish your authority by demonstrating it, time and time again. Eventually, people will beg you to sell them your knowledge.

Idea #4: Yoga Instructor

There was a big trend last year in selling yoga classes online.

Examples of successful yoga sites are Reflexion Yoga or Yogaia. However, many other people can also create live yoga training sessions and sell them online.

This model provides would-be yogis with fresh yoga classes every day or every other day for a small recurring fee. And for instructors, it is a great way to get paid monthly by people all over the world, people who want to do yoga classes with you.

If you’re not into yoga, you could also benefit from this idea by teaming up with a local yoga instructor. Let the instructor teach the class, and you handle everything else from building the site, bringing the audience, and managing the business.

Before you start, make sure to come to a mutual agreement as to whether you’re going to pay them a monthly fee for their expertise or share with them a percentage of the business’s earnings. I prefer the latter because it makes them more invested in the success of the site.

Start Your Business Today

So what are you waiting for? Get going! The new year has started and the days are already passing us by.

First, decide which idea you’re going to start with, focus on it, and get into action. Before you know it, you’ll have your own online business.