Would you believe me if I told you there are several small business ideas you should consider, and that all of them will cost you less than $100 and don't involve a lemonade stand or a do-it-yourself car wash? You know, some of the best small businesses out there have started off with small business ideas that kept expanding and profiting! Consider using a website to advertise your skills in web design, writing or even online promotion. You can set yourself up with a .com, .net or .org domain for less than $10, and find hosting for that or less (or, ask a friend to host you - for free!). Consultants, house sitters, babysitters, pet sitters and organizers are all capital small business ideas that don't cost much, yet have the potential to earn a lot.
So, you've decided you want to start a small business, and some of the small business ideas mentioned in the previous paragraph don't appeal to you. That's fine! You should use your imagination and tools and opportunities in your environment to come up with a workable solution for a small business that you'll enjoy and profit from. Many successful small businesses are started on just a wish and a dime (or few). In addition, there are many small businesses that come about from small business ideas that look to a hobby, interest or even a desire of the business owner. Think of a dog groomer, for example. You would have to really like dogs or have a lot of experience with grooming one in order to take on the job of juggling a small business devoted entirely to them!
I'd imagine that it's pretty safe to say that the hardest part of getting a small business up and running is to come up with the working business idea from all of the small business ideas that may have been brainstormed! Whether it's a small business with one owner and ten employees, or a larger small business with two owners and eighty-five employees, both start out the same way: with an idea that has been decided upon. Honestly, you're going to need to grab some pen and paper, and perhaps some books that cover various job ideas in your particular field. Small business books, websites and message boards are also great inspiration for finding small business ideas.
If you have narrowed down your desired small business ideas to one or two, or even three or four, you may want to do a test run on those small business ideas, without spending a lot of money or time. A lot of small businesses test the waters on their general small business ideas by looking to ebay, amazon or other auction and selling marketplaces. If you find that you are selling a lot of products on these websites, you can safely bet that you'll do just as well if you were selling under your own small business name, and begin taking the necessary steps to getting your small business up and running.