The most common question I receive from college students and working professionals is how to generate an additional side income. For some, this also extends to wanting to earn during their college years or contemplating leaving their current job. We are often unsure of what steps to take. In today’s digital world, earning online has become more accessible, though success typically requires gradual progress rather than immediate results.

In this article, I will discuss how to initiate an online business in 2024 and share five business ideas. Notably, four of these ideas do not require any coding skills or software engineering knowledge. Whether you are a commerce graduate or a humanities student with no coding experience, you can still pursue these ventures.

Launching and maintaining these businesses will require significant effort. You will need to possess a deep understanding of pricing and conduct thorough market research, tasks I’m confident you’ll undertake diligently. Reflecting on my own experience launching my first website, I recall the necessity of learning coding. Setting up the website, purchasing a server, uploading and designing the theme, optimizing for SEO, hosting, and managing expenses—all of these required time and effort.

While I consider myself somewhat tech-savvy, I understand that not everyone shares the same level of proficiency. This is where Hostinger comes in. With our AI-powered solution, you can specify your website requirements, and I will provide tailored guidance on how to proceed. However, out of the initial five ideas,

E-commerce store:

the first idea is an e-commerce store D2S direct to. Consumers are everywhere, whether it is Mama Earth, whether it is Licious, whether it is Bakko, whether it is Country Delight, Sugar Cosmetics, Plum or DTU. What this means is that we will not send it through shops, we will not send it through distributors. We will go directly to the consumer, the consumer will come to our website and buy from us and we will ship to them directly and earn maximum margin. Now this is e-commerce and digital wave. What do you need for amps?

Product:

The first consideration is, what product do you desire? You can opt to sell a variety of items like belts, pens, markers, stationery, basic jewelry, or spices. It’s not necessary to manufacture these items yourself; you can source them, add a margin, package them effectively, and market them to consumers. Many successful brands have followed this path. Consider the story of Aman Gupta, which has become widely known. Boat initially operated as a sourcing company, and although more of their products are now manufactured in India, its journey began by sourcing boats elsewhere, adding a marketing label, and delivering high-quality products to consumers. Subsequently, as the brand expanded, they began their production, marking a later but notably successful phase of their journey. So, what do you need to embark on this path?

An ecommerce website:

A website that can list products properly. You can see their prices. You can see different prices in different countries. A payment gateway integration. Shipping addresses are collected so that they can inform people whether your package has been delivered or not. All of that is something that you will need. Now, Hettinger solves this. Hettinger will update your website in just a few moments through these four steps of AI. It doesn’t matter what you’re selling. You can upload images, videos, testimonials, reviews, and, of course, pricing to get started with your e-commerce business in just a few clicks.

Blogging:

Blogging is an intriguing pursuit. If you enjoy writing, then write. Even if writing isn’t your forte, I’ll guide you through blogging. What’s the essence of blogging? It’s quite straightforward. You create documents about a subject and compose articles. If writing isn’t your strength, you can curate content. This doesn’t mean copying; it means incorporating existing content and adding your unique style. Chat GPT can also assist you in this process. Selecting the right topic is crucial in blogging. Covering every topic doesn’t constitute blogging; people prefer specific subjects they care about. For instance, if you’re passionate about photography, you might discuss lenses or DSLR photography. Alternatively, if you enjoy watercolor painting, you could share techniques and tips. Whether you’re a new parent, a fitness enthusiast, a dietitian, a football fan, a sneaker aficionado, a technology enthusiast, or a movie buff, blogging is your platform for self-expression. Now, how do you monetize your blog? There are several ways:

• Advertising: Google will display ads related to your well-written topic on your website. When visitors click on these ads, you earn revenue.
• Affiliate Marketing: Incorporate affiliate links into your website. When visitors make purchases through these links, you earn commissions.
• Brand Collaborations: Advertisers recognize your ability to attract the right audience and are willing to pay for exposure. Blogging offers a promising avenue to establish an online business in 2024.

Affiliate marketing:

Number three, and I had mentioned this in blogging, which is affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing can be very interesting and can potentially become a significant business. You can earn a substantial amount through affiliate income.

What is affiliate income? It involves sharing the link of another brand, and if people click on that link and make a purchase, you earn a percentage of its revenue. If you have your own website, newsletter, or distribution channel with a substantial audience, you can promote products relevant to your audience’s interests. For instance, if you have a blog catering to photography enthusiasts, sneaker enthusiasts, or football fans, you can recommend products like sneakers, lenses, or football jerseys from various websites. People click on these recommendations and make purchases, resulting in revenue for you. This is known as non-profitable income. To facilitate this, you need a central platform where all your affiliate links are available, typically a website. Many successful businesses have been built around affiliate marketing. A prime example is cashkaro.com, which offers discounts and deals from numerous websites in India. They earn a commission when users make purchases through their platform. Cashkaro.com is just one of many examples. I mention them specifically because I know their founders, Rohan and Swati, and they are doing an excellent job. The company is now valued at around 4000 crores, and its journey is truly inspiring. To embark on a similar path, you need a website where you can provide deals and discounts across various categories, including Amazon’s offerings. This business model presents a significant opportunity in 2024.

Online courses or e-books:

Number four, online courses or e-books. If you enjoy teaching and have knowledge that others can benefit from, I highly recommend launching your own courses or creating e-books. If you don’t want to create courses because you dislike teaching on video or feel self-conscious, you can still create e-books. Whatever your knowledge, you can compile it into a PDF format and sell it. This way, you can leverage the trust people have in you. So, whether it’s e-books or courses, having a website is essential for you.

Software as a Service:

Finally, business idea number five, as I mentioned, is one of those ideas that requires coding. If so, it’s great. That idea is Software as a Service, or the SaaS model. What is Software as a Service? We use software for many purposes, from the smallest to the largest tasks. Zoom, for example, is a software, and so is Excel. Even the clock on your device is software. These are large-scale software, but there are also small-scale ones. For instance, if you have a software to track screen time, that’s also software. Similarly, if you have a software that wakes you up with an alarm, it’s also software. A reminder to drink water or to wish friends on their birthdays, these are all examples of software.

As you can see, software can cater to various use cases, whether big or small. A use case could be any task you want to accomplish using technology. So, if you’re a coder, you can create this small Software as a Service models, where you charge users a small monthly subscription fee for the service you provide. For instance, consider an app like Help Club. What is Help Club? It’s an app where people can seek anonymous help. Sometimes, you might feel hesitant to ask for help openly or to offer help openly. You fear judgment or backlash. Help Club provides a safe space where you can seek or offer help anonymously. Your name and identity will always be kept confidential. Similarly, for such ventures, you need to create a website, just like the website for Help Club, to get started.

These were the five business ideas, but before we conclude, let’s quickly discuss what factors you should always consider when choosing a website.

Domain name: The domain name is very important, friends, because it should be brand-friendly and SEO-friendly. This means consumers should be able to remember it, and Google should understand what the website is about. If it’s bulbulbala.com, then Google won’t know what the website is about, but if it’s themarketise.com, then Google will recognize it as a website for digital marketing.

Hosting provider: The hosting provider is crucial as it determines where the website will be hosted. The main considerations are that your website should never go down, it should be fast, you should receive good service, and there should be 24/7 support available in case you need assistance.

Responsiveness: Responsiveness in a website is critical nowadays. This means that the website should adapt to different screen sizes. Whether it’s a small screen on a mobile device or a large screen on a laptop, the website should adjust accordingly to ensure proper functionality.

SEO & Analytics: When creating a website, Google needs to understand its purpose, the content it contains, and other technical aspects. Analytics help track visitor behavior, such as the number of visitors, which pages they visit, bounce rates, and the amount of time spent on each page. This data enables informed decisions about website performance and potential improvements.

Bringing Traffic: Let’s cover the final aspect: how to bring traffic to your website after creating it. This is a big black box and a significant unsolved mystery because people believe that by blogging or listing products on e-commerce sites or using affiliate links, traffic will automatically come. However, often that’s not the case. So what do you do? One simple and effective solution is paid marketing. Many people are apprehensive about paid marketing, and I don’t know why.

However, paid marketing is extremely effective for three reasons:

• Small scale: You can start paid marketing on a very small scale, even from $1 per day. It’s not necessary to have a large budget to start. Unlike advertising on TV, radio, or newspapers, you can begin your advertising with just $1 per day.
• Measurable: Paid marketing is measurable. If you invest $1, you can instantly track its impact. For example, if you create a DTU website (which is the first business idea) and spend $1 on marketing, you can see how many links were generated, how many people visited your website, and how many sales were made. This makes it easy to assess the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Considering these points, don’t shy away from paid marketing. It’s a cost-effective way to attract traffic to your website. Ensure you have clear end-state measurement, and from day one, you can start generating revenue or income. I hope this helps kickstart your online business this year or even this month.