Many times, we tend to make starting a business a lot harder than it needs to be. Join Jay on today’s Black Entrepreneur Blueprint podcast episode # 376 as he gives you three profitable and simple businesses you can start immediately for under $250. Visit www.BEBConnect.com
BLACK ENTREPRENEUR BLUEPRINT SHOW NOTES – EPISODE # 376
Today I’m going to give you three profitable and simple businesses you can start today for under $250. I’m going to explain the benefits of the business and give you the blueprint to easily start this type of business along with some real-life examples.
- Amazon arbitrage:
Finding underpriced products and then reselling them on Amazon or eBay. Amazon makes this very simple by using the Amazon Seller app on your phone to scan products and it’s free if you’re already a registered seller on Amazon, you can start using it right away. If not, you’ll have to sign up for a seller account first. After you’ve downloaded the app you can start scanning products ASAP and you’ll get the following info if the product is sold on Amazon:
The app will give you – Product price, FBA fees, Approximate profits, Bestsellers rank, Total number of sellers, Official Amazon category
Pro’s
- Easy business to start because you already shop anyway. You can scan products in any store you shop in and if you’re serious; you can start looking for discounted items at flea markets, salvation army, discount stores, and discount bins
- Low startup cost – $39 per month for an Amazon seller account and money for inventory
- No or low advertising cost because the products you buy in the stores already have brand recognition like (McCormick garlic salt)
- You don’t have to create a product listing because it already exists
- You can start slow and scale your business by rolling over your profits
Con’s
- It takes physical work to search for the products
- It’s hard to scale because you always have to find products
Cost to start
- $39 per month for an Amazon Seller account and your cost of inventory https://sellercentral.amazon.com/
Tools
- Amazon Seller App which is free (go to the App Store and download it)
- Other App Options:
- Profit Banded in the Apple Store for $9.99 per month
- Scan Power is $49 per month https://www.scanpower.com/:
How to start
- Sign up for an Amazon seller account, download the app, and start scanning products to see what’s profitable to buy, upload them to Amazon, and ship your product into the Amazon warehouse.
Example
- My brother-in-law loves to go to flea markets, and he uses that time to scan. He does over 50K a year in profits from this business as a side-hustle.
- Service Business General Contracting Business Model
This is a simple business model where you create a service business (like professional resume writing) by finding clients, charging them a specific fee, and then subcontract out the work to others for lesser money and keep the spread. Your job is to find customers and manage the project and be the intermediary between them and the sub-contractor.
Pro’s
- A simple concept that you can adapt to your area(s) of expertise or passion (resume writing, website design, article writing, bookkeeping, graphic design, etc.)
- Low startup cost which will mostly consist of advertising or sending out social media posts about your service
- Scalable – if you can source quality sub-contractors.
Con’s
- It May take time to get your first client if you’re not in a space you have contacts in
Cost to start
- Less than $150.
- Domain name $30 for first year Godaddy 30% OFF PROMO https://www.godaddy.com/offers/generic/30off?isc=cjc1off30
- Simple website or landing page (free if you know how to use WordPress) or $49 month for Dropfunnels at https://dropfunnels.me/15145/102067
- email autoresponder or email service at Convertkit for $9 per month. Go to https://convertkit.com?lmref=EyyQ4Q
Tools
- Domain name
- Website or landing page
- email account
- social media account(s)
How to start
- Start by sending out emails or making social media posts to your network to drive business without spending money on ads. If that doesn’t work, try advertising with your most popular social media platform that you’re on. Also, offer referral fees to people that send you business.
Example
- A family friend of mine is good at creating winning resumes for young professionals so she started doing them herself until her business got too big. Then she hired some subcontractors to help create the resumes and kept the spread.
- Another example is a friend that builds websites. He got so much business that he now outsources the website work to others, and he just manages the different projects.
3. Making handcrafted products and selling them to your network for the holiday
This is a simple business based on your hobby or your passion. It entails making handcrafted products and selling them to your network for the holiday or all year. If you like to bake, you can sell cakes or cupcakes, if you like to make bath salts or scrubs you can sell that, if you like to sew, you can make scarves or pillows, etc.
Pro’s
- You are creating something that you enjoy creating or doing something that is a hobby.
- The startup cost is determined by you – start as low or as high as you want
- You can work at your own leisure and stop when you want to (limited editions)
Con’s
- It may be time-consuming depending on your product
- May have more demand than you can handle
Cost to start
- $50 to $200
- This is going to vary based on your product and how you plan to market your products. For baking goods, it could as little as $50. For sewing, it may be more.
- Domain name $30 for first year Godaddy 30% OFF PROMO https://www.godaddy.com/offers/generic/30off?isc=cjc1off30
- Simple website or landing page (free if you know how to use WordPress) or $49 month for Dropfunnels at https://dropfunnels.me/15145/102067
- email autoresponder or email service at Convertkit for $9 per month. Go to https://convertkit.com?lmref=EyyQ4Q
Tools
This also depends on your product. If it’s baking or cooking, you probably already have an oven or stove, If it’s sewing you may have to buy fabric and a sewing machine, if it’s scrubs and salts you can probably start for less than $200.
- For baked products, you may need cookie tins
- For scrubs and salts, you may need jars and bottles https://packagingoptionsdirect.com/ or https://www.bulkapothecary.com/ (which has raw ingredients, packaging, private label and more), for boxes and supplies go to Uline.com
- Domain name
- Website or landing page
- email account
- social media account(s)
How to start
- Start by determining your product and then reach out to your network via email and social media letting them know what product you’re selling and see if you can get some traction without spending money on advertising. If you need more customers, try advertising on your most popular social media platform and asking people for referrals or pay them for referrals and create a little affiliate network.
- Another way is to create a sales sheet and distribute it at your place of work, church, or other organizations and market it as handcrafted gifts.
Example
- My wife used to sew custom raggedy Anne-like dolls with matching skin tone and hair color. When she was a teacher, she would bring some samples to school and the other teachers would order them for the holidays. She would make 3K to 5K each holiday season alone.
- My cousin makes body scrubs and started selling them at her job and at church and makes several thousand dollars a month without a website or landing page.
