3 Sustainable Online Business Ideas You Can Start Today
Have you ever wanted to start a sustainable online business? Owning an online business in an eco-friendly manner may seem like a dream. However, it can be a reality if you are willing to put in the work and provide value to your customers.
Here are three sustainable online business ideas along with resources and tips to help get you started.
1. Sell Items Online
This is the first idea that comes to mind when starting an online business.
In the past, selling items online presented unknowns around logistics product selection, inventory, shipping and payments. Fortunately, today’s technology offers multiple platforms that make it possible for anyone to sell items online – even if you don’t have any experience!
Sustainability Score: 7/10
Businesses that sell items online don't require a physical location. As a result, they often have lower fixed costs and smaller carbon footprints than traditional businesses.
Sustainable Business Practices:
Online business owners often take additional steps to make their businesses as green as possible.
For example, they use environmentally friendly packaging to ship their products and they use green web hosts to reduce their website’s carbon footprint.
Potential Platforms to Sell Items Online
Resources – How to Get Started
Online Business Books:
If you are completely new to entrepreneurship then we suggest reading a few books about the topic before diving in. It is best to read books written by authors that have had success in online business themselves. This allows you to learn from their experiences and avoid making the same mistakes they did. Both authors of the books below started successful online businesses and offer blueprints to teach you to do the same.
1. Highly Rated Ecommerce Book: Launch - An Internet Millionaire's Secret Formula to Sell Almost Anything Online
2. Best Book About Building Wealth Through Businesses: Millionaire Fastlane
Although, if you are ready to jump in with a sustainable online business then the courses below can help you get started quickly.
Online Business Courses:
- How to Quicky Find a Product to Sell - Bestselling Course
- The Complete Shopify Course - Highest Selling Course with Over 64,000 people enrolled
- Work From Home Amazon MasterPlan - Over 77,000 people enrolled
2. Create an Online Course
Do you have something to teach the world? It could be something related to your career or perhaps a hobby that you are passionate about. Millions of people use online courses to learn at their own pace. With the resources available today, anyone can think of an idea, create a course and start selling it online!
Sustainability Score: 8/10
Offering an online course via a platform such as Udemy or Skillshare is a great sustainable business option. You have access to millions of users and you can create your course from the comfort of your home without worrying about physical products. Spread knowledge and make money in a sustainable way!
Potential Platforms to Sell Courses Online
- Udemy - Over 50 million users
- Skillshare - Over 8 million users
Resources – How to Get Started
Again, if you are brand new and are interested in selling courses online then we suggest reading a book to get started.
For instance, the author of this book has spent the past two years making over $5000 passive income per month by selling online video courses. He outlines his formula here!
However, if you are ready to jump in then this bestseller that outlines every step might be helpful. Over 79,000 people have used this to get started!
3. Upcycle or Flip Items
Do you have items in your home that aren’t used anymore? You could potentially turn those unused items into cash! Lots of people start businesses by flipping household items or by buying items and selling them online for a profit.
Sustainability Score: 9/10
Selling used items is a classic sustainable business strategy. Lots of entrepreneurs improve items and sell them. Others simply sell the same items in a different marketplace with better demand (often referred to as “arbitrage”). Both are viable business options.
Potential Platforms to Sell Courses Online
Resources – How to Get Started
If you are new to re-selling items online then the arbitrage business model might be the best place to start.
Arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a price difference between two or more markets. This book outlines the Arbitrage business model and is a great place to start for anyone interested in buying and selling items online for a profit. The author of this book has been profiting from this technique for over 10 years!
The book also pairs with a course to teach you how to apply the Arbitrage model to Fulfillment by Amazon.
If you are ready to jump in and be more involved in the process of upcycling and flipping items then these books and courses might be helpful.
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