You always hear me talking about online this and online that. It is the times we are living where things are becoming more and more digital. People now spend more time online. More and more people now work partially or wholly online. Even communication has become predominantly virtual or online. More people actively online means more business prospects online. Thus it makes sense to start exploring ways to make money online. With that said, let us explore 4 online business ideas for first-timers in 2022.
Consultancy Services
I have done articles on this type of business before. I often say that almost anyone can become a successful consultant in virtually any field. Let us suppose you have worked in a particular field before for quite some time e.g. engineering. If that is you then know that you can become a consultant. You can have proven skills or expertise in a particular domain e.g. interior décor. Again if that describes you then consultancy can be for you. There is no limit to which field or area it is, you can become a consultant.
Even better, you can successfully provide your consultancy services online. It is possible at the very least to start this type of business with just a WhatsApp number and social media accounts. Interestingly, there are many Zimbabweans who fit into all that I just described. They even to some extent operate as consultants would but they are limited because they do it anyhow. Start approaching it differently, regard and publicize yourself as a consultant and see a world of possibilities opening up for you. Give it a shot in 2022.
Ecommerce
Do you have anything that you are selling or are planning to sell? Chances are high that it is something you can sell online. There are so many levels on which you can operate this type of business. Level one, here you will just be using your WhatsApp number for people to interact with your business. I usually encourage you to use WhatsApp Business – it carries more business-related features.
Level two, you go past WhatsApp to include social media platforms. Here in Zimbabwe, it is Facebook or Instagram mostly – Facebook seems most strategic. Level Three, this level brings in another tool which is a website; preferably an online store or eCommerce site. It is best for it to not just be generic. So you can start on level one and then scale gradually. Not many players in this segment in Zimbabwe are doing things the right way. Leverage on that to come in and be disruptive.
Freelancing
Freelancing comes in many forms and approaches. For example, you can mainly focus on the use of online freelancing platforms. Some common examples are Fiverr and Upwork. Some common roles that are usually active in freelancing are writing, virtual assistance, web development, and graphic design, amongst others. The whole idea is do you have a skill set that you can provide for clients looking to outsource your services?
If yes then you can use pre-existing platforms like the ones I mentioned. Alternatively, you can set up your website or just social media accounts and provide them. The great thing about freelancing is that you are flexible and experiment. It is crucially important that you niche which means you must have a core focus. Essentially when looking at online business ideas, freelancing is the easiest one to start.
Digital Products Or Services
There are many variations when it comes to this segment. You can think of things like mobile apps, software, tutorials, online courses, e-books, and the like. Digital products or services are things that have to be bought online and can only be accessed online. From the examples, I gave I would highly recommend tutorials and online courses. In Zimbabwe, you can make good money from this 2022 even if it is your first time. You can focus on exam classes i.e. for the tutorials.
Then for online courses, you can focus on trending learning areas these days. Examples are digital marketing, graphic design, web development, data analytics, social media management, and programming, just to mention a few. If you have what it takes to teach or train people and certify them (meaning you will need to be accredited), you can make money through this. So many people are looking for online tutorials or online courses in Zimbabwe.
In 2022 it is forecasted that global online retail sales will reach US$5.7 trillion. This clearly shows how settling for any of these online business ideas is highly lucrative. In 2021 we did witness a marked increase in online businesses. Especially in eCommerce, I did see lots of activity there but so much more can still be done. Online businesses come with several upsides e.g. flexibility, lower costs, and wider market reach, just to mention a few. Zimbabwe is getting more accustomed to online businesses so 2022 is a great year to start one.
