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20 Online Businesses you can start today in Nigeria

These 20 online businesses are currently being done by a lot of Nigerians and so many people have been successful in these businesses. 

The businesses I will be mentioning in this article are very lucrative, mostly easy to start and set up and can become a full time income or a passive income. 

I will start listing them from the easiest to start for beginners to the hardest. 

List of 20 online Businesses you can start making money from

  1. Become a freelancer 
  2. Start a blog
  3. Sell digital products
  4. Sell your stock photos 
  5. Provide Graphic design services 
  6. Bulk SMS
  7. Sell physical products 
  8. Start Affiliate marketing 
  9. Start a YouTube channel 
  10. Podcasting
  11. Become a social media Influencer
  12. Web development for businesses
  13. Social media management 
  14. Gaming
  15. Online Real Estate Property listing 
  16. Car listing online
  17. Start a digital marketing agency 
  18. Cryptocurrency trading
  19. Forex trading 
  20. Develop a software 

 

1. Become a freelancer

Freelancing is the easiest online business to start on this list because you need zero to very little capital to start. What you really need is to have a skill that people need online and the time and effort to find jobs and deliver jobs to clients. 

Examples of freelancing jobs are graphic design, Copywriting, video editing, web design, language translation, virtual assistant, data entry and so much more. You can offer your services on online freelancing platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, Peopleperhour etc.

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Entry level skills,
  • Computer,
  • Internet access,
  • time and effort.
 Start up cost
  • $0 on free membership plans
  • $15 monthly  on premium membership plans

 

2. Start a blog

Blogging is also very easy to start as an online business. Although blogging takes time to start yielding results therefore you will need to be patient, consistent and committed long term to make it a success. If you can, then the results can be worth the effort. Blogs can generate a lot of online visitors and if you can start monetizing your blog pages then it can keep generating revenue and passive income for years and years to come. 

You can start blogging on any niche or topic, but I recommend you start blogging on something you have enough knowledge and experience or interests in. 

Blog niches like Entertainment blogs, news blogs, sport blogs, mobile phone review blogs are very common in Nigeria because of the high search volume of traffic monthly. 

 

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Domain name
  • Web hosting
  • Web design for the blog
  • SEO for the content
  • Google AdSense for monetization
 Start up cost
  • $0 if you start with blogger.com
  • Varies from $100 and above to start a self hosting blog

 

3. Selling Digital products

Ecommerce has been more popular in the world now since people are now more familiar with shopping and buying things online. Digital products like ebooks, Online courses, and software tools are what a lot of people buy online.

If you can create a digital product of your own, you can sell and keep all the profit. You don’t need to handle things like shipping/delivery or warehousing like when you are selling a physical product. That is why its one of my favorite online business on the list.

You can sell your courses on platforms like Udemy and Coursera or even sell them on your own website. 

 

  Basic Requirements
  • PDF file for an ebook
  • Video recording for courses
  • Free Video editing software
  • PLR License to resell software.
  • join online course platform e.g. Udemy
 Start up cost
  • $0 to setup

4. Selling Stock photos

You can sell photos online and make it another source of income. Stock photos have a high search volume online, which means there is a lot of demand for images for content creation. If you have a good camera you can create stock photos and upload them on stock photo websites.

Websites like Istockgettyimages, dreamstime, 123rfcontributors and shutterstockcontributor are some of the popular platforms you can sign up and upload your images. If you like taking photos then this is an online business you can do as a side hustle.

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Digital camera or mobile phone camera
  • Sufficient Memory storage
  • Stock photo account e.g shutterstock
 Start up cost
  • Varies from $0 to $500+ on initial expenses
  • Almost free to run the business  afterwards

5. Provide Graphic design services

If you have graphic design skills you can offer services to businesses that need logo designs, flyers, handouts, Ad Creatives, business cards, branding etc. You can create a full time income from being a graphic design service company… You can also recruit graphic designers that will work on your projects as you start to get more clients and more projects. 

You will need to establish your presence online and create an impressive portfolio. If you love creating designs then it’s a great online business you can commit to. 

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Graphic design software e.g Abobe photoshop, After Effects
  • Graphic design portfolio website
  • Social media presence (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) to get leads and clients
 Start up cost
  • varies from $0 to $300+ to setup

 

6. Bulk SMS

Many businesses still make use of bulk SMS as a form of digital marketing. Even I still use bulk SMS. Individuals also use it for event announcements and  pass info to many contacts at the same time. Bulk SMS can be a very profitable online business if you can learn how its done and put so time and investment into it. Bulk SMS is a game of numbers business but if you have returning customers for your service you can make it a steady source income which can also be highly profitable.

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Website
  • Portal creator/ script License 
  • Bulk SMS units 
  • Online advertising
 Start up cost
  • Varies from anywhere between  $500 to $1,000


7. Sell physical products

Also known as ecommerce is one of the biggest and most profitable online businesses in recent times. 
You can sell almost anything online nowadays and make 6, 7 and even 8 figures in profit. You don’t really need a physical shop to sell your products. All you need is a very good marketing strategy and an effective delivery company to send your products to your customers. Ecommerce is a beginner friendly online business because you can start small but you need to know what you are doing to stay profitable. There are so many guides, courses and tutorials on ecommerce you can get started with before jumping into the business.

 

 

  Basic Requirements
  • High in demand physical products
  • shipping/delivery company,
  • Advertising budget,
  • ecommerce store/ website
 Start up cost
  • anywhere between $100 – $1000+

 

8. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a form of selling other people’s products or services. Each sale that happens because of you referring the customer to purchase the product earns you a commission. This is also a beginner friendly online business. You can promote physical and digital products as well as services and earn a commission when you refer someone to make a purchase. It’s a great way to start an online business without having to create or deliver products and services. 

What you will need to focus on is how to build the right audience and promote relevant products they will need as an affiliate and make money from the commissions. 

 

  Basic Requirements
  • A website to post affiliate products, contents and reviews
  • Social media handle
  • Join Affiliate networks e.g JVzoo, Clickbank, Shareasale etc.
  • Email list
 Start up cost
  • anywhere between $100 – $1,000

9. Start a YouTube channel

YouTube is the place to watch videos on almost any topic you can think of and therefore its one of the biggest online platform where people watch and post videos. Content creators on YouTube have YouTube channels they post videos and grow their channels with getting subscribers and likes and shares. All this eventually helps their videos get a lot of views and when the channel reaches over 1,000 subscribers the videos can be monetized.

This means for every video posted on YouTube they make money when google adverts are shown within the video. In addition to that there are other ways you can monetize your YouTube channel like linking to affiliate offers, ecommerce store to buy products, get sponsorship offers and more.

Credit: istock images

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Video camera
  • Video studio equipment’s
  • YouTube channel
  • Creative video contents
 Start up cost
  • anywhere between $250 – $1,000

10. Podcasting

This is quite similar to YouTube but the difference is audio content instead of videos. Although podcasts have a little bit different type of monetization, like instead of how video adverts are being added in between videos on YouTube podcast channels on the other hand audio adverts are added in between your podcast. In addition to that, podcasts can also be linked to affiliate offers, ecommerce stores to buy products, collect donations from listeners, sell premium audio podcasts to listeners, get sponsorship offers etc.

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Microphone for Podcasting
  • Audio studio setup,
  • Podcast channel
 Start up cost
  • anywhere between $250 – $1000

 

11. Become a social media Influencer

So many people make money using social media daily and being an influencer is one of them. If you a not afraid or shy to show yourself on social media you can easily focus on this type of business model… as a social media Influencer you will need to buildup a large following and loyal fans that follow you daily. With a large audience you can sell anything and your followers will love to buy.

You may be a fitness trainer social media influencer, You can be a cook and build a social following of people that follow you and love how you cook and the content you post on Instagram, You can be a marriage counselor, Motivational coach, Business coach and so on. Anything that you can influence people with on social media. It will help if you are a little skilled or talented in the things you portray on social media in order for people to see you as an authority and trust you more.

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Video camera/phone camera
  • social media page/ handle
  • Daily social media content from you
 Start up cost
  • anywhere between $0 – $500

12. Web development Consultant/Agency

Website development is very essential in recent times for businesses to build their online presence, therefore having the skills of web development is an avenue to make money online. You can create an online service platform or agency and target businesses that want to build, update, fix, maintain their website. 

You can charge fixed and flexible fees depending on the services you offer. Some examples are like SEO services, Page speed optimization, site restoration/ backup, Domain and hosting transfers, bug fixes etc. 

You will need to build a compelling portfolio of projects you have done and also spend time advertising your services  to potential clients online. 

  Basic Requirements
  • portfolio website
  • Advertising on Google, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn etc.
 Start up cost
  • anywhere between $250 – $1,500

13. Social media management

Just like offering web development services social media management is also in high demand by businesses who want to grow their brands or businesses online. You can offer Social media management services that can help small and medium size companies get results like building more engagement, brand awareness and charge a good price.

You will need to be skilled and experienced in social media management as well and you will also need to promote your services to potential clients via online advertising in order to get clients.

  Basic Requirements
  •  Portfolio website
  • Advertising on Google, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. 
 Start up cost
  • anywhere between $300 – $1,000

 

14. Gaming

This is an ever growing industry with lots of avenues to make money online. Playing games online and building a career out of it is very possible by almost anyone today. If you like playing games and you have the basic requirements then you can make it a full time online business or source of income. 

You can stream your videos live on twitch, YouTube, Facebook and get paid everyday etc. You can create a YouTube channel and build the following loyal fans that love your gameplay. Gaming PC or consoles might be a little expensive but if you can afford it or you already have a gaming console and you are passionate about playing games then you don’t need to just play for fun, you can start making serious money while playing too.

  Basic Requirements
  • Gaming PC or Gaming Console e.g (PlayStation, Xbox)
  • Twitch account
  • discord
  • YouTube channel.
  • Fast Internet connection.
 Start up cost
  • anywhere between $2,000 – $5,000
  • mobile gaming may cost way less

15. Online Real Estate Property listing

This will require a lot of data entry and research but if you are into real estate then you can start a real estate listing website. People are always looking for apartments and properties to rent or purchase online and if you have valuable information about apartments and great deals for property renting, leasing and sales then you can run a very profitable online Real Estate website.

  Basic Requirements
  • Listing website
  • consistent updates on Real estate properties.
 Start up cost
  • anywhere between $500 – $1,500
credit: Autobuzz

16. Car listing online

This online business also shares the Same business model with online real estate listing but with cars instead. If you are into car dealerships then you can provide detailed info online with a listing website for people you want to buy or rent cars.

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Listing website
  • consistent updates on car rental and sales.
 Start up cost
  • anywhere between $500 – $1,500

17. Start a digital marketing agency

You will need to have the necessary skills and experience of digital marketing and how to generate results for businesses online before starting a digital marketing agency. But just like the other services I mentioned earlier you will need to promote your agency online through brand awareness and advertising online to get clients. Digital marketing has a lot of moving pieces and you can get paid by companies that need such services. If you want to know more about digital marketing and how it works then check here.

 

  Basic Requirements
  • portfolio website
  • Advertising on Google, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn etc.
 Start up cost
  • anywhere between $1,500 – $2,500
  • Most of your cost will go into Advertising

18. Trading Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies and they are usually traded on the crypto market. So you can actually buy and sell these digital currencies for profit. Digital currencies like bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, XPR etc. are being bought and sold everyday all around the world which makes its value either go up or down.

 

Although there are ways of predicting the crypto market, but never the less it does require you to take a risk with your money, thus I would advise you to learn all the trading strategies and understand the risk involved in trading cryptocurrencies from more experienced and expert crypto traders before taking any risks with trading. A lot of thinking, research and strategies goes into trading but when you know how to invest in cryptocurrencies you can make a lot of money in a short period of time.

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Crypto trading platform e.g. (Binance)
  • Crypto wallet
  • Investment money
 Start up cost
  • Investments can vary anywhere between $100 – $100,000

19. Forex trading

Forex trading is very similar to crypto currency trading but there are more predictions and risks involved with forex trading. It requires a lot of data analysis from the stock markets and a lot of experience to make favorable trading decisions. But still forex trading can make you a lot of money online and can even become a full time income.

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Forex trading broker
  • trading platform
  • Investment money
 Start up cost
  • Investments can vary anywhere between $100 – $100,000

20. Develop a software

The last one on the list is building a software. If you have an idea that can help people/businesses or change people’s lives for the better digitally then you should build a software. You will have to be skilled in programming and software development. It takes a lot to plan, develop and design a software and it might require more than 1 person to successfully complete it. You might also need to partner with or hire other skilled workers to work on developing the software in areas you won’t be able to complete. 

Your software can be published and used by thousands or even millions of people around the world which could then be monetized and change your life for good. Just think about being like the next Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook.

 

  Basic Requirements
  • Programming language Skill
  • Full stack development
  • Software framework
  • Software database
  • UI/UX
  • Advertising
 Start up cost
  • Investments can vary from $1,000  to over $100,000
  • You might need an Investor or partner

Please I strongly recommend you stay focused and committed to any of these online business because it does take time and effort to build them even though its online. You still need to but it the work and be don’t give up until you succeed. I hope this info can help give you an idea of what type of online business you would like to venture into.

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