16 Best Side Business Ideas In India For 2023

Are you thinking of beginning a side business and looking for some ideas? Then we have got you covered. Starting a side business is no small step, and if you want to succeed in your endeavour, then you need to pursue the right business idea. You can start a side business with little to no investment, along with the flexibility of working from home. With your hard work, passion, and a little bit of creativity, you can easily stand out from your competition. Your side hustle will be your passive source of income, to be specific.

While starting a business on the side can be tough, there are also various advantages of doing so, like no fixed schedule, independency, and limitless earning potential. In this article, we have written some of the best side business ideas that you can start today!

List of Top 16 Side Business Ideas In India

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing has tremendously gained popularity in India in recent years. But what does it mean? Affiliate marketing means advertising products and services of another company and earning a commission on every sale.

Starting an affiliate business involves little to no capital. You can easily join any affiliate network for free and start sharing deals and offers that your audience might be interested in.

There are various payout models for affiliate marketers. The commonly used payment method is PPS or Pay-Per-Sale, wherein affiliates are paid for each sale they bring in. Other means of compensation include PPC or Pay-per-Click and PPL or Pay-Per-Lead.

2. Blog Writing

If writing is something you like, then you can start making money by writing blogs. With WordPress, you can start a blog for free and write about a topic you have an interest in or you are knowledgeable about. There are various niches you can choose from, like fashion, food, finance, healthcare, gaming, food, etc. Once you gain momentum and start getting enough traffic, you can easily monetize your blog and earn a significant amount of money. On average, a blogger in India can earn up to ₹1.5 lakhs every month. You can earn money with ads, sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, and info products.

3. Social Media Management

With billions of active users, social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc., have become the essence of every business nowadays. From big companies like Netflix to small-scale companies that offer handmade products, everyone needs a strong social media presence.  Therefore, this has led to an increase in part-time social media management jobs.  As a social media manager, you would be required to post content consistently and publish ads and various promotional offers frequently on profile pages, groups, etc.

To be a social media manager, you must have knowledge of social media algorithms. Also, to create good content and grow engagement, you must stay up to date with the current trends.

4. Dropshipping

Another side business that you can start is Dropshipping, which is an order fulfillment process that does not demand you to keep a stock of the items you are selling. Instead, you purchase products from the merchant after the order is placed, and the merchant ships them to the end customer.

Dropshipping can be a lucrative business when done correctly. It does not require much investment to set up and function. However, it can seem challenging at first as you need to establish your store and customer service and find the best merchants until you see a healthy income flow.

5. Online Tutoring

Online teaching is one of the popular businesses you can start as a side hustle. With an ample number of online teaching apps available nowadays, you can register on these apps and start your teaching career. Online tutoring is considered one of the most suitable online business ideas for women and students as it offers the flexibility of working from home and at your own convenience.

To begin, first, you need to find your area of expertise. Few of the popular courses that you can teach online include programming language, marketing, photography, stock trading, blogging & vlogging and foreign language.  

6. Coaching

You can begin a coaching business and offer your services in several facets like business, life, or fitness. You can provide general consulting services to other conglomerates as a business coach. Becoming a life coach can offer life tips and advice with in-depth videos and posts. Whereas, as a fitness coach, you can share videos on different exercises, diet advice, and motivational content.

7. Reselling

Starting a reselling business has become a successful way of earning money. It is also known as the best part-time business idea. A reseller is an individual who purchases products to resell them in order to earn profit. You can register yourself on reselling apps such EarnKaro, Meesho, Glowroad, eBay, Shop101, etc., and list the goods you want to resell. Individuals who are interested in purchasing the products you have listed will connect with you. You can bargain and reach a final price acceptable to you and the buyer.  

8. Graphic designer

You can become a graphic designer if you have a knack for it. Little investment is required in purchasing photo editing software and promoting yourself through paid social media services. However, you can even use free photo editing apps in the beginning. To stand out from the competition, make sure that the graphics you make are eye-catching, unique, and has a long-lasting effect on the user. Once you have established yourself as an expert in your field, you can then offer your services to brands and organizations and earn money.

9. Baking

If you have an interest in baking, then you can start a business around it. This can be done from the comfort of your home and offers the flexibility of work. By joining platforms like Skillshare, you can even offer baking classes and earn money from them.

The demand for freshly baked products like cookies, biscuits and cakes will also be there, so starting a baking business can be lucrative. Always keep in mind to use high-quality ingredients and have a lovely presentation to reach out the potential customers and retain the existing ones.

Starting a baking business would require little investment to buy an oven and other baking equipment.

10. Virtual Event Planner

Good with organizational work? Then why not become a virtual event planner? Virtual event planners are in high demand mainly because they are needed to arrange corporate conferences, work meetings, fundraisers, virtual parties, trade shows, educational conferences, and webinars.

You can join platforms like Hopin and Cvent to start your virtual event planning business. You can also get on to platforms like Instagram to spread the word about the services you offer.

11. Live Streamer

Live streaming is becoming popular among content creators as it is an effective way to engage with the audience seamlessly. Through live streaming, you can deliver content in new and innovative ways as you get to engage with your audience in real time.

As a professional live streamer, you can earn money with live-streaming content such as art, music, gaming, and other things with the help of donations, subscriptions, ads, and sponsorships.

Beginning a live-streaming business requires small capital. To start streaming today, you can sign up on websites like Twitch and commence with your phone and a tripod.

12. Online Gift Shop

TheInternet has made it easy for anyone to explore their creative side and earn money while doing the same. There are different fields like quilling, yarn art, illustrated frames, handicrafts, etc. This business does not require much investment when starting out, making it a beginner-friendly venture. You can create online gift shops by building your website through WordPress/Wix/Squarespace, use WhatsApp Business, Facebook Business or Instagram Storefront and start your business instantly.

13. Become a Soft Skills Educator

Soft Skills are a basic requirement for any job opportunity nowadays. These include communication, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving attitude, decisiveness, and responsibility. You can become a part-time soft skills educator and teach people how to excel in their fields over the internet or in person.

14. Become a Virtual Assistant

People with good organizational skills can monetize them by becoming virtual assistants. Being a virtual assistant requires managing the administrative side of a business remotely, making it one of the best side business ideas. A virtual assistant’s responsibilities include scheduling appointments, arranging travel, managing emails, and receiving phone calls. You can start your business by taking a virtual assistant course and applying for jobs on different portals. The upside will be more than your expenses.

15. Teach a Language

Being a multilingual person will pay off extensive profits for you if you want to start a side business. You can teach any language you are proficient in by creating an online course or starting an offline batch of students. Teaching language is in high demand due to increasingly interconnected markets and international boundaries becoming blurry daily. The most demanded languages include English, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian.

16. Become a Freelancer

Freelancing is one of the best businesses where you can set your hours and earn a hefty commission for providing your services. Photography, video editing, graphic designing, coding, translation, voiceovers, and website design are some of the top freelancing jobs available in the market. Freelancing is a great way to build a solid income stream without disturbing your day job. You can start on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer or even leverage your contacts list to start your business.

Conclusion

With an infinite number of business ideas present in the market, we have listed some of the top business ideas for students, women, and others, which you can start today. Choose the business idea that excites you the most and earns money from it. Starting a side business is no one-day job, but if you are confident about what you are doing, you can definitely succeed.

FAQs

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