30+ Easy Businesses to Start: Online Businesses Ideas You Can Launch in a Day
Starting an ecommerce business is easier than ever. With platforms like Shopify (Shopify Review) or WooCommerce, pretty much anyone can set up an online store and start selling within a matter of hours. But, the million-dollar question is, “What should I sell?” If you’re new to entrepreneurship, we recommend starting with products that are easy to sell. This article covers 30+ easy businesses to start so you can launch a product quickly and get your business started as soon as possible.
Ready? Let’s dive in!
30+ Easy Businesses to Start Online
Beanbags
Beanbags are perfect for both adult and youth demographics alike. Although beanbags might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of chairs or seating arrangements, they’re a fun option and they’re experiencing an uptick in popularity at the moment.
You can market beanbags to a variety of audiences, including students, gamers, teens, young adults, or families with children. Plus, depending on the beanbag supplier you source your products from, you could sell beanbags in multiple different sizes or ones in fun shapes or prints!
Throw Pillows
Throw pillows are a great way to liven up any space—especially living rooms, offices, and bedrooms. Both amateur and professional interior designers love throw pillows for adding texture and visual interest to otherwise simple and sleek-looking sofas, chairs, benches, or beds.
Throw pillows lend themselves exceptionally well to printed designs, so if you have patterns or design ideas in mind, work with a print-on-demand company to bring your throw pillow products to life! If you’re already selling cozy items or home accessories, custom throw pillowcases could be a natural fit for your ecommerce store.
Backpacks
Backpacks are so versatile that you could probably run a whole store dedicated to selling them alone. They’re both practical and fashionable, and they’re also used by people in all different types of demographics making them a great product to sell online.
Whether you’re marketing to parents of first-time school-goers, or older students, professionals, travelers, or fashionistas, backpacks are an easy business to start! It requires very little convincing on your part to get consumers to purchase as they already know the functions of the product.
Laptop Cases
Laptop cases are an easy business idea to sell online because they’re simple to make, inexpensive to ship, they can be sourced through dropshippers, wholesalers, or manufacturers, and so many consumers need and use them! Plus, you can be creative with the designs you print on them or the fabrics that you make the cases out of.
Socks
When you think of fashion statements, you might not automatically think of socks. But you might be surprised! Novelty socks are a fun way to liven up any outfit, and they’re a coveted fashion accessory for professionals and creatives alike.
Take a look at the Google Trends data for novelty socks from the past 5 years and you’ll see consistent peaks of demand during North American winter seasons, proving that consumer interest is still high.
Ultimately, socks are an easy ecommerce business idea because they’re small, which makes them easy to ship and it usually means that consumers will purchase more than one stock-keeping unit (SKU) at a time. Plus, there’s a lot of flexibility with this product idea: You can create new designs often, you can release limited edition pairs, and you can opt for different fabrics to provide different performance options.
Facemasks
We don’t have to tell you why facemasks have been a popular product lately, and it’s no surprise that fashion-savvy individuals have found ways to make their masks a complementary part of their outfits.
They’re an easy business idea to sell online because you can add them to an existing product line and they’ll fit right in, or you can start an online store selling them alone. No matter who your audience is, there’s a good chance you can design and sell a facemask that appeals to them.
Touch-Tools
Like facemasks, we can attribute the global pandemic to the rise of touch-tools.
These nifty items enable users to limit contact with commonly-touched surfaces and handles, acting as an extension of our hands to perform everyday tasks—like using keypads and opening doors.
Best of all, touch tools don’t have to be boring—you can add custom engravings to give them a unique twist. So, if you’re looking for ways to make your customer’s lives a little easier and safer, touch tools are a great product idea.
Phone Cases
Phone cases remain one of the most popular tech accessories, which isn’t surprising when you consider that smartphone use is so common and phone cases have become a form of self-expression.
So, if you’re a merchant looking for an easy product idea to sell online, starting a phone case business and printing your own art or designs onto phone cases is a great way to sell branded products that are functional.
Stickers
Collecting stickers and displaying them on laptops, in day planners, or in scrapbooks is very much in-demand again. Stickers are an easy product to sell online because they’re usually inexpensive to produce, and they can be sold alone or as part of a larger inventory of products.
You can create your own sticker designs or hire creatives (check out freelance marketplaces like the ones we list in our 200+ Graphic Design Resources article) to design sticker art for you! In terms of sales strategies, you can create a core line of best-selling stickers, add limited-edition sticker designs for holidays and seasons, and you can even bundle sticker sheets and single stickers together to boost your store’s average order value!
Blankets
Blankets are a versatile product idea to sell online! There are so many different styles of blankets to sell (like fashionable throws, cozy blankets, baby blankets, etc.) and if you work with a dropshipper like Printful, you can easily print your own designs on blanket products.
Plus, blankets can be paired with plenty of other homeware and accessory products so you can build up a varied range of practical yet stylish items in your store’s inventory.
Ideally, blankets are a particularly great product to sell to customers who live in cold climates, but if you want to sell to customers in warm climates too and make your store less susceptible to seasonality swings, then consider also including beach blankets in your product line.
Mugs
It’s no secret that mugs with funny slogans or personalized images are immensely popular. They make great gifts for family, friends, and colleagues, and they’re both a home and office staple!
With the help of a reliable print-on-demand company, it’s easy to print custom designs onto your mugs. Whether you want to let your sense of humor shine, offer branded merch, or design intricate patterns—the mug world is your oyster!
Art & Photography
If you’re a creative who wants to start your own ecommerce business, then selling art or photography prints might already be at the forefront of your mind. Selling prints of photos, paintings, or illustrations is one of the easiest ways for artists to transform their work into physical products to be sold.
The good news is that you can start your own art or photography print business by printing your work onto canvases or posters! This is an easy business to start because you can outsource the printing process to a supplier, and they can do the work for you. All you have to do is take photos or create art to print and then drive traffic to your site!
Towels
Towels are another small piece of homeware that are easy to sell online!
You can sell towel products in all types of different sizes, colorways, patterns, and fabrics or you could even sell beach towels, bath towels, baby towels, or pet towels. The options are endless!
Postcards
If you’re a photographer, artist, or creative, why not sell your designs on postcards? Not only can consumers mail them to their friends or family, but they could also frame them or gift them, too.
Postcards are a super easy product idea to sell online, and they can be added to other stationery or art-related product lines, too.
Hats
Hats are a fashion staple that transcends age, gender, activity, and genre of style—so there are limitless possibilities if you sell hat products.
Whether you want to sell ball caps, dad hats, trucker hats, or even beanies—you can do so. Or, why not offer a combination of different hat styles? Plus, you can embroider your own designs or logos onto hats to make them exclusive to your brand.
Baby Clothes
Another easy business idea is to design your own fashion range for little ones! When it comes to baby clothes, you can get creative with bright colors and striking patterns which makes the design process all the more fun.
Create funny slogans, cute illustrations, or eye-catching designs to make your baby clothing stand out from the crowd! You can also focus on fabrics, whether you want your pieces to be 100% cotton, super snuggly for winter seasons, light as linen for the warmer months, or even other call-outs like fair-trade or organic.
Swimwear
The swimwear market is a big market, and you can carve out a piece of it by selling your own designs on swimsuits! Whether you have ideas for funny slogans, or you have patterns, art, illustrations, or other designs to print on swimsuits, you can easily source custom-printed swimwear products for your online business.
Bath Mats
One way to spruce up the bathroom area of any home is with a slogan bath mat! These are a great homeware accessory to sell online because they’re easy to create, small to ship, and customers can switch them up frequently if they want to.
Coasters
Coasters are an excellent way to add style and personality to any coffee table. So, why not sell custom coasters? You can print virtually any photo, illustration, or design onto a coaster, so you can let your creativity run wild!
Duvet Covers
Often made with vibrant patterns or unique designs, duvet covers can be the centerpiece of any bedroom. They’re a practical item that many consumers switch up often to accessorize their room according to the seasons as they’re a great way to add a bit of interest to any bedroom without changing anything permanently.
Curtains
Curtains are a practical essential for any home. Besides their functionality, they can also add a splash of style, color, or texture to a room. They’re an easy product to sell online because their designs don’t have to be complicated, and you can sell them in standard sizes to keep your SKUs minimal.
Dish Towels
Dish towels are a kitchen staple that’s frequently replaced, and as such, there’s always a demand for these affordable items. Any home decor store should stock tea towels with their brand’s most popular patterns and designs. Of course, like so many of the other products above, dish towels also make practical gifts and can be elevated with witty slogans, images, or sayings.
Duffle Bags
Duffle bags are a lightweight and durable must-have for sports lovers, gym-goers, travelers, and outdoorsy types alike. With a dropshipping supplier like Gooten, you can create custom duffle bags with your own designs or branding on them to kit your customers out with unique products that suit their interests.
Greeting Cards
People are always purchasing greeting cards—there are so many different occasions throughout the year! Many consumers find online selections more varied and individual than generic ones in-store, so there’s definitely a market to sell to online. To really capture consumers’ attention, create super niche greeting cards that customers wouldn’t be able to find in-store! Make greeting cards with funny slogans, unique copyrighting, witty jokes, and you’ll be able to stand out more in the market.
Cutting Boards
Cutting boards are an often overlooked kitchen accessory that adds a splash of color and style to the cooking process. Adding these products to your inventory is a no-brainer if you’re already selling other kitchen accessories or if you’re looking to start monetizing a cooking blog.
You can sell all types of cutting boards—like glass ones, wood ones, or plastic ones—so depending on the niche you want to target or the market you want to serve, it’s worth researching into the different types so you can understand their advantages and use cases.
Outdoor Mats
Not only are outdoor mats practical, but they can also show the personality of whoever’s home they sit in front of! They’re a great product to sell online because you can get creative with their designs and slogans and you can create new ones for each season!
Magnets
Magnets are a super easy product idea—they’re small, light, functional, used by a wide range of different consumers, and you can print pretty much any kind of saying or design onto them.
Ties
Ties are an essential accessory and although they can be plain and simple, they can also be fun, colorful, and loud! Whatever kind of ties you want to sell online, you can likely find a market of consumers to purchase them.
Gooten’s ties are made out of white poly-satin with an elegant sheen and you can get them printed with any design or photo you like! Click the link below to learn more.
Ottomans
Ottomans aren’t normally a product we’d recommend selling online if you’re looking for an easy product to sell. Ottomans (and furniture in general) are usually a pretty challenging product to sell because they can be big, bulky, and heavy which can make for a longer and more expensive shipping process.
That being said, Gooten offers an ottoman product you can print with your own designs and they’ll handle the printing, packaging, and shipping process for you, so you don’t have to! This makes selling these products easy—and you’ll likely have less competition than you would if you sold other commonly-dropshipped products.
Puzzles
Puzzles have been a trending product recently due to lockdowns and restrictions worldwide, and you can jump onto the trend by selling your own puzzle products!
Gooten’s puzzles are made up of 252 pieces, and you can customize them with any design you like. Just think about what your audience might like to see on a jigsaw, and go from there.
Yoga Mats
If you’re unsure if yoga is still a lucrative market or not, here are a couple of statistics:
- Over 55 million people were predicted to practice yoga by the end of 2020
- The average yogi spends around $90 a month on yoga-related products
So obviously, yoga products are still very much in-demand—and that includes yoga mats.
In light of that, custom printed yoga mats could be a popular product worth selling if you’re looking to break into the wellness, sport, or lifestyle niches.
Journals & Notebooks
Journals and notebooks are great products to sell—virtually everyone uses one in some capacity! Whether it’s daily diaries, work logs, school notebooks, or day planners, there are so many use cases for journals and notebooks.
So, if you haven’t launched an online store yet, why not kick things off by selling notebooks or journals with a niche audience in mind?
Jewelry
If you’re looking for a timeless product to start selling, consider selling jewelry.
Not all jewelry pieces may be easy products to sell online, but if you source products from the right suppliers then they can be! Check out the link below to see the custom jewelry pieces that Printful can engrave and see if they might be products you want to sell online!
Conclusion
We hope you liked this curated list of over 30 easy businesses to start online! When it comes to starting an online business quickly, easily, or with as little upfront investment as possible, these are all great options. It comes down to sourcing the products from reputable dropshipping suppliers like Printful or Gooten and then printing the products with your own designs, photos, or branding.
Remember, your brand and personality are what sets your online store and your customized products apart. So, spend some time creating designs or images that will make your products extra special.
