20 Solopreneur Business Ideas for E-Commerce
We live in an age where any talent, even a hobby, can easily be turned into a source of income — or, if you put your mind to it, a full-fledged solopreneur business. The main question is what products and services to sell. To get inspired, see 20 ideas you can use to start an e-business.
1. Home Decor and Accessories
If you're crafty and can redesign, dye or create stylish home decor and accessories from scratch, you can develop a brand and go to market with pillows, pots, vases, rugs and decorative pieces.
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2. Handmade Jewelry
Create a base of custom jewelry for clients with a unique taste. You can specialize in traditional metals and gemstones — or experiment with natural textures such as epoxy coated wood, stone and fruit pieces.
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3. Gift Boxes
Offer a range of personalized gift boxes for special occasions. You can create a preset selection of boxes filled with treats from around the world, themed spa kits and fun clothes — or let your customers order a custom box just for them.
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4. DIY Craft Kits
Curate and sell DIY craft kits and supplies for customers interested in crafting and working with their hands. Offer kits for activities such as knitting, painting, jigsaw puzzles, jewelry making, scrapbooking or candle making.
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5. Custom Office Supplies
Artists can create and sell personalized home office and desk supplies such as custom notebooks, planners, desk organizers, and mouse pads. Offer stylish, bespoke items to help your clients stay organized.
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6. Online Workshops
If you're good at crafting, painting, sculpting, linocutting, or any other type of art that can be done at home — organize online classes or a course to teach others that skill while earning money.
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7. Vintage Boutique from Home
If your home is filled with clothes and knick-knacks from previous generations, put them to use: make them presentable and turn them into a collection of vintage and retro clothing and accessories for customers who are tired of the mass market.
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8. Fitness Courses
If you've been hitting the gym or the yoga mat at home for years and know the ins and outs of building a fitness journey, maybe it's time to monetize that knowledge. With a license, you can start your own online fitness programs or coaching services.
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9. Home Pastry
Take a course in bread baking, cake baking and decorating, or a pastry course to open your own licensed pastry shop and treat your customers to gourmet chocolates, special occasion cakes, or nutritious baked goods.
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10. Crocheting
You can turn crocheting into a revenue stream: sell cute, low-cost toys, pillows, blankets, kitchen décor, coasters, bags, baby clothes, and many other in-demand items for your customers who will love choosing the shapes and yarn colors for their orders.
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11. Hobby Club
Gather several people who are ready to practice a language, discuss a movie or a book — and one such meeting a day with different groups of people can become a steady source of income for you.
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12. Language Tutoring
If you're fluent in a foreign language, you can turn your skills into private or group tutoring, where you decide what age group you'd like to work with, what topics you'd like to discuss, and how much you'd like to charge.
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13. Specialty Pet Products
Handy pet lovers can combine their two areas of interest to create and sell specialty pet products such as handmade pet accessories and grooming tools, personalized toys, and pet beds.
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14. Handcrafted Scented Items
Create and sell handcrafted home fragrance items such as scented candles, sachets or fun, realistic soaps. Add unique scents and packaging to attract customers looking to enhance their living spaces.
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15. Pottery
Pottery is tricky to start, but if you're experienced and have the equipment, your craftsmanship and unique designs can make a business out of selling ceramic tea sets, vases and cutlery.
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16. Wellness Retreats
Organize online wellness retreats such as meditation classes and yoga workshops for clients who need to recharge and improve their well-being. Selling essential oils or gratitude journals can become a nice addition to such classes.
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17. Designer Phone Cases
Offer tech-savvy customers stylish cases for smartphones and tablets that can be hand-painted, decorated with themed stickers, or even include real flowers in epoxy resin.
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18. Custom Artwork
Artists can turn their art style into a personal brand and accept commissions to create custom artwork: portraits of people and pets, illustrations, posters, comic books, or website design.
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19. Content Writing
For people whose passion is writing, a perfect choice is to start a copywriting, editing or translation business and work with companies and bloggers as a B2B service.
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20. Photo and Video Editing
What you need to start a solopreneur editing business is a powerful computer, editing skills and a sellable personal brand. Offer your services to edit YouTube videos, influencer content, photo sets and podcasts.
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21. Home Thrift Store
Whether it is old stuff that is lying around your house or rare undervalued items from thrift stores, you can sell them at a higher price after a little clean up or a makeover that will increase the item's price.
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22. Tie Dye
Offer fans of colorful clothing your handmade tie-dyed T-shirts, tote bags, bedding, scarves and other fabric accessories. Tie-dye has a low cost of goods, but can sell at higher prices because of the craftsmanship that goes into the prints.
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No matter what e-commerce idea you choose to monetize, it's your positioning, your business brand, communication with customers and appealing packaging that will move the needle. Try turning what you do best into a solopreneur business — and see that it's possible to make good money while working for yourself.
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