If you are thinking of quitting your 9 to 5 job and doing something innovative and relaxing instead, then you should consider starting a lifestyle business. It is possible to earn enough money from this business to support your living expenses. This business lets you work from anywhere and at any time. Unlike a startup or small business, the cost of starting a lifestyle business is low and you can start earning profit quickly.
What Is A Lifestyle Business?
A lifestyle business helps you to adjust to a certain lifestyle. Here you can sell goods or services online and operate remotely on an E-Commerce platform. For example, you can sell online logos, provide virtual consulting, sell digital courses on various topics, E-Commerce Dropshipping Businesses, and others. To start this business you won’t require any outside fund as the cost is low. You can turn your hobby into a profitable business. For example, if you are good at photography, you can start a photography course or sell your photos online. The business is location-independent, so you can sell your product or service to anyone in the world from anywhere. Lifestyle business allows diversification; that is your income need not come from one source. You can earn from freelance writing, virtual consulting, and selling home-made products at the same time.
Profitable Models Of Lifestyle Business
You can develop a lifestyle business in many ways. Here I’ll talk about a few profitable models that you can try. Remember that it is wise to do business in a category that you like and feel comfortable with. That way you will have the passion to stick to the business and make it grow.
Information Marketing
Information marketing is also called internet marketing or digital marketing. It is all about providing information through digital products that can solve a problem. For example, selling online courses, templates, ebooks, and others. So, you can be an educator who sells online courses; an author who sells ebooks; an affiliate marketer who recommends various products of different brands to the audiences; or an influencer who creates ads or endorses brands.
Service-Based Business
In this business, you offer services online. For example, graphic design, web development, accounting, digital marketing, ghostwriting, podcast production, virtual assistance services, and more. Freelancing, running a digital marketing agency or SAAS business, and coaching are all part of the service-based business model of a lifestyle business.
An E-Commerce Business
E-Commerce business means selling products online through Amazon or your website. Due to the availability of web development platforms like Shopify and Magento, it is now possible to create an E-Commerce site without having any coding knowledge. With the various plugins and features, you can develop a unique E-Commerce site for your business.
Examples Of Lifestyle Business
You can choose from a wide range of lifestyle businesses. Each type of business is profitable if you have the right skills. You can do training on various topics to gain knowledge on the area you want to do business in. Here are some popular lifestyle businesses that you should know about.
Blogging
You can start your blog and earn money. It’s a flexible work option and you may not need any external help. You can earn revenue from affiliate partnerships and ads. Blogging is a great passive source of income. Starting a blogging business may be difficult and time-consuming; however, once you have fully established your business you can enjoy the great results. To start this business you need to get web hosting and choose a domain name. You should choose your niche and the theme of the blog. You can use WordPress to create the blog. Start writing great content and build up audiences. Then monetize your blog. You can get good traffic by ranking your blog for different keywords. Then you can develop a team of content writers and social media creators so that they do most of the work and you take the seat of an autopilot. Blogs act as a third party between consumers and brands. Blogs can give good insights about brands that help in consumer decision-making. You can earn money blogging through affiliate marketing when any purchase is made through the blog’s referral link.
E-Commerce
The E-Commerce business is booming. You can either sell your products or resell someone else’ products. There are lots of opportunities in this sector like dropshipping in which you should find products at a competitive price and sell them on your E-Commerce store with a good profit margin. You can use Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and other platforms for developing E-Commerce sites.
Affiliate Marketing
You can earn commission by promoting others’ products using product codes or tracked links. You will develop ads on your website or social media accounts having the tracked link. You may join the Amazon affiliate program and earn a commission when a person buys a product through your affiliate links. Different affiliate networks are available for promoting relevant products in your blog. PPC affiliates, content affiliates, coupon affiliates, and comparison-shopping sites are all parts of affiliate marketing.
Online Courses
Do you have any specific skills that you would like to share with others? Then you can start making online courses. You can promote your courses on your social media platforms or use a marketplace like Udemy to sell these courses.
Photography
If you are good at photography then you can teach photography through live or recorded classes to others. You can also sell your photos on Shutterstock, iStock Photo, or other similar platforms or through your website.
Freelance Services
You can help others with different freelance services like Search Engine Optimization, writing articles, link building, social media marketing, web development, graphic design, virtual assistance, and others. You can work for any client anywhere and earn a good amount of money every month.
Starting Podcast
You may start a podcast containing good audio and visual content. Choose a niche topic and start engaging in conversation with the target audiences. For example, you can talk about college life, challenges in starting an E-Commerce business, and other diverse range of topics. Platforms like Anchor can help you to upload your content and then you can use your link to promote your podcast across different channels.
Social Media Marketing
If you are good at social media marketing then you can support small businesses and individual clients with your skills. You must be aware of social media trends and craft your marketing strategies accordingly. You can use the various social media tools available to post relevant content.
Selling eBook
Writing ebooks is also a popular form of lifestyle business. You can write ebooks on any topic and sell them to potential customers all over the world. It is a passive income source and you can earn a lot of money eventually. You can write children’s books, mystery, thriller, science fiction, fantasy, or even self-help books.
Start YouTube Channel
You can start a lifestyle-based YouTube channel and earn from Ad revenue, sponsorship, or affiliate marketing. As the number of viewers in your channel increases, your revenue will also increase. You need to be creative and edit your videos well to make them attractive. Vlogging, live streaming, and unboxing are some examples of this type of business.
Sell Food
If you are passionate about cooking then you can turn your passion into a profitable business. You can set up a business page on your social network or create an E-Commerce site to promote and sell your food. You must make sure that you have the proper food permits and licenses before starting the business.
Do some research on different types of lifestyle businesses and find out what the competitors are doing. You need to be different from your competitors. So, learn about the various tools used to run these businesses properly. You can join support groups to help you whenever you face any challenge.
How To Start A Lifestyle Business
Lifestyle business is a bit different from the traditional business. That’s why people are often scared to start a business. The truth is that many people today are earning a lot of money running a lifestyle business. So, by knowing the right steps you can also earn a good living by starting a lifestyle business. Here are the steps you should follow.
Define Your Business And Life Goals
Most people want to start a lifestyle business because they want to make their lives better. So, you should decide on your business and life goals. Find a business idea that you are passionate about and will enjoy doing. It is easy to choose from your hobbies; for example, if you are a photographer then you can choose a photography business. Your business should align with your life goals which can be spending more time with family, having a flexible work schedule, spending more time on hobbies, not working on weekends, and others. You should be clear on what you want to achieve. For example, you may want to earn enough money so that you can travel around the world or buy a luxury house. You should write down how you are going to achieve your goals. You should know where you want to see yourself in the next 5 years.
Write Down A Business Plan
Choose a business model and then write down your business plan. Define the tasks and job roles of each member of your team. You should write down how to get from one part of your journey to the next. There should be an estimation of the expenses and time for establishing the business. You should have a rough idea of how much it will cost you to set up your lifestyle business. A well-written business plan can unleash new opportunities and prepare you for potential risks. You will know how and where to allocate your resources and develop an operational timeline.
Train Yourself If Needed
If you choose a business area that you don’t know much about, then you should consider doing relevant training to upgrade your knowledge. You can attend conferences and seminars that are relevant to the business. The better you understand the business, the more profit you can earn.
Decide On The Niche And Target Audiences
You should decide what type of business model you want to follow; for example, whether you want to be an educator, author, affiliate marketer, freelancer, influencer, or E-Commerce business owner. If you want you can choose multiple niches too. If you love teaching then you should be an educator or if you are good at promoting then you can consider being an affiliate marketer. You should then choose the target audience for example, decide whether your business course is for males above 40 or women who are homemakers. To find the target audience, you need to understand the buyer’s psychology, and demographic information such as age and occupation, persona values, and others.
Develop The Legal Business Entity
When it comes to developing a legal business entity, you can go for a sole proprietorship, corporate organization, or LLC. You should know that corporate organizations will include shareholders and LLCs will give your business extra protection as they limit your liability exposure. You should then register your business. In any case, you can always call a lawyer for help.
Source Your Funding
Though lifestyle business doesn’t need much money upfront like startups or small businesses, it’s still a good idea to decide about funding. If you have any savings then you can use that money for the business. Next, ask your family and friends to lend you some money. You can also take a bank loan.
Open A Business Bank Account
You need to keep your earnings in a safe place. So, it is vital to open a business bank account before you start operating your business. Make sure that the type of account you choose meets your business needs. You must compare the features and fees of different business accounts before opening a bank account.
Deal With Accounting And Taxes
You must be accountable for all your expenses and revenues. Therefore, you need a proper accounting system that can manage all the finances of your business. That way you can easily track your revenues, expenses, taxes, and other things. Make sure your tax files are in order every year. Various accounting software is available which will help you to do the accounting on your own. If needed, you should hire an accountant.
Get Licenses And Business Permits
You must get proper permits and licenses for your business; otherwise, you may get into serious trouble later on and face penalties and other legal actions. The permits and licenses differ according to the type of business, location, and other factors. So, it is recommended that you visit the local business licensing office to get information about the license and permits. Once you obtain these you can start operating your business.
Set Up Your Business
You should start your lifestyle business by utilizing different tools available. For example, if you want to set up an E-Commerce business then you must get a domain name, decide on the hosting plan, and develop a website using Shopify or other platforms. You can hire a professional web developer as well.
Create Brand Image
You should think of your brand name, logo, colors, and message. The brand is all about how people recognize your business. First, think of answers to the following questions:
✡ Why are you starting this business?
✡ What values do you want to provide to your customers?
✡ How can your business improve the lives of your customers?
✡ What emotions do you want people to feel about your brand?
✡ Why will people want to try your products and services?
These questions will help you to create the right image of your brand. You should implement all the brand elements in your digital platforms such as the website and social media pages. People will recognize you even if there is competition. They will recall your brand whenever they need products or services similar to what you offer.
Promote Your Brand
You should promote your brand using a mix of marketing strategies. You must use the social media platform as most people now search for products or services on these platforms. You can go for SEO marketing, email marketing, paid ads, content marketing, influencer marketing, and other options too. It is better to experiment with a few of these and find out which one is the right channel for you.
Diversify Your Business
You may be the sole player in your business when you start. But as your business will grow or diversify, you will need to build a team. You can hire a virtual assistant who will help you assign tasks to the team members. You should diversify your business to other sectors. For example, if you started your business as a freelancer, then consider tutoring and developing online courses.
Join Communities And Focus On Networking
As many lifestyle business owners work alone, they need to belong to several communities so that they don’t feel lonely. Joining communities also allows learning about competitors, the latest industry trends, and more. Being around like-minded professionals can help solve business problems. You should also attend conferences and workshops to learn more about the business and develop your network.
People are now earning a lot of money by running a successful lifestyle business. Nothing can be better than being your boss. You can spend the rest of your life doing the things you like most and work from anywhere. This business allows you the freedom you have always dreamt of. So, think of a business idea and work your way up to transforming it into an established lifestyle business.
