Some business experts say that improper inventory management can sometimes make or break a business. But have you ever thought about owning and running a business that requires little to no inventory management at all? Go ahead and laugh as much as you want, but running a successful business without inventory management is possible these days. Granted, you will still require a successful business idea, pick up your marketing game, and provide excellent service to your customers.
Below, we have created a list of ideas for individuals who want to embark on their business ownership journey without the added headache of managing inventory. Say goodbye to high storage costs, inventory management software, and hiring people specifically for the job.
Give Affiliate Marketing A Try
There are numerous ways to make money without managing inventory at all. One such way is to launch an affiliate marketing firm. You can sit in the comfort of your home and sell products without actually owning a location to run business operations.
The business model entails selling other people’s products without even storing them at your business premises. Other businesses will pay you a handsome amount of money to get their products in front of the right audience.
Let’s face it: who doesn’t want to avoid managing tons of inventory or navigate through traffic to get to your storage space. You can quite literally do all the tedious marketing work yourself if you know the basics, or enroll in an online MBA no gmat if you’re a newbie. But isn’t it absolutely incredible that you don’t need anyone to manage inventory or even deliver products? Pretty AWESOME, we say. Heck, you can even run an affiliate marketing gig straight from the comfort of your bed!
Start A Freelance Writing Business
Freelance writing is another small business idea that requires no inventory management AT ALL – not even pens, pencils, and paper! All you need is a fast internet connection, a good laptop, and excellent writing skills.
The demand for freelance writers these days is also rising as most digital platforms need quality content creators. Websites are always on the lookout for freelance content writers and will pay them up to 500 dollars for every article or blog post they write. The better content you produce, the higher your pay rate per word. Expect to write for media publications, blogs, magazines, and much more while owning a freelance writing business.
You can also hire freelance writers and pay them a particular per word amount while charging your clients more than you pay your writers. If you are an expert writer – or bossy enough to manage (read bully) a team of writers, you’re good to go!
Give Dropshipping A Go
Dropshipping is an excellent low-investment business idea that does not require inventory management at all. There will be no need to handle or store products yourself. All you need to do is package or ship items whenever a customer buys them from your clients. Although you will only ship packages, you will still be responsible for marketing your dropshipping business to other businesses and customers. In the end, marketing is key to running a successful dropshipping business.
You can either design a business website by yourself or hire a professional web developer to do it for you. You can also host your website on various platforms such as Shopify. They have a free version, and the lowest paid one is around 29 dollars per month. There’s just one problem – since you’ll be running other people and business’ deliveries, you technically will not be your own boss! Bummer!
Create Online Courses
Since we’re still stuck in the middle of a pandemic, people are looking toward online platforms to learn new skills. Hence, online course creation is in high demand these days, and everyone wants a slice of the pie.
Suppose you are an expert with a specific subject. In that case, you can create a short ten to fifteen-minute video and share your knowledge with everyone. It can be about anything – engineering, mathematics, marketing, or even the latest tech news. Pick your poison. Just ensure that you have ample experience about the specific course you want to target.
For example, bloggers such as Michelle Gardner, the creator of Making Sense of Cents, earn six-figures from selling online marketing courses. Now isn’t that A LOT OF MONEY! You can take a page out of Michelle’s book and do the same to make some serious dough!
Sell On-Demand, Print Products
Do you have a knack for design? If so, then you might be able to make some serious money selling printed T-shirts, mugs, artwork, and much more online. On-demand printing is similar to dropshipping in a way that it puts order fulfillment, shipping, and inventory management on the shoulders of a third-party supplier, for instance, Amazon Merch. When someone orders a product, amazon deals with handling, production, shipping, packaging, and all other customer-related fulfillments. However, Amazon will firstly approve your designs.
To succeed, you will have to create original, unique designs to show off your creativity. Platforms that allow you to display and sell your printable designs include Zazzle, Redbubble, Bonfire, and Teespring. The main advantage of on-demand sales is that you don’t have to manage inventory yourself – well, at least not a lot of it. You merely get paid for your designs. Fancy, no?
Become A Virtual Assistant
Anybody who owns a computer can become a virtual assistant. Yes, you read that correctly. It is that easy. A VA is someone who provides various assistance services via the internet. Some of these services include marketing, posting on social media, copywriting and editing, email management, and much more.
If you want to become a VA, you will need to create a website to give yourself exposure. Also, consider marketing your services on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram. You can also take up virtual assistant training courses, which are a dime a dozen these days. In the beginning, expect to earn 25 dollars per month. The amount will increase as you gain more experience. However, the most significant advantage of becoming a VA is that you will not have to deal with inventory, any whatsoever! Also, you get to choose who you want to work with. Liberating!
Conclusion
There are tons of other small business ideas out there that you can consider. However, the ones we’ve mentioned will fuel your creativity and give you enough flexibility to work on your terms, even if you’re technically working for someone else. The best part – you won’t even have to step one foot outside your home – unless you choose to work as a drop shipper, of course!
