A recession is looming, and during uncertain times like this, it’s helpful to create additional sources of income for yourself. It might seem risky to start a business during a time of financial crisis but we’re here to help you skip common pitfalls and do it the right way.

We’ve taken the time to research these ideas and narrowed them down to the five with a higher success rate. Make sure to read to the end– we’re confident that the last idea is the best one.

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1. Print on Demand

If you’ve never heard of print-on-demand, don’t worry; you aren’t alone in that. You’ve likely purchased print-on-demand products if you frequent Etsy and other small businesses that offer customizable items like phone cases or clothing.

Print-on-demand is a type of e-commerce that allows you to print products after a customer places an order. This process ensures that you don’t have to have all the products on hand and will waste less inventory. You can start a print-on-demand business on platforms like Etsy or build your store via a platform like Squarespace and Shopify.

As for the upfront financial investment, the more popular print-on-demand platforms like Printful or Printify offer a free plan.

If you aren’t a great graphic designer, you can use easy platforms like Canva to start.

2. Sell Your Skills

Chances are you have a skill that someone else would pay to learn. Whether that’s teaching someone else another language, how to do a craft, video editing, or how to cook - there are people out there who would pay you to teach them.

If your hesitation is that other people are already doing that and how could you possibly do better, the reality is that no one can offer the same tutoring/teaching that you can. If you pursue this, make sure you bring your authentic self to separate yourself from the crowd.

You can list your teaching services on a personal website, via Etsy, and similar platforms.

3. Copywriter

What is copywriting?

Copywriting is drafting text for sales, advertising, and other marketing materials. Every company needs a good copywriter, and because of that, it’s easy to get started on platforms like Fiverr and Upwork.

Even if you don’t have experience, you just need to start by doing research. You need to read up on best practices and techniques through books or online content like youtube videos.

All you really need is yourself and your laptop.

4. Reselling Items

Anyone can resell items for a profit, and you can do this with clothing, tech, and even furniture.

Similarly to other ideas, you must pick your niche and create a storefront on eBay or Etsy.

While this idea is accessible to anyone, it does require sizeable time, energy, or start-up cost to be successful. However, if restoring items and thrifting are fun and exciting, it’ll be worth it.

5. Your Dream Business

According to a Harris Poll survey of over 2,000 Americans, 61% have had an idea for starting a business, and 39% of those people never pursue it due to fear of failure.

📌 If you want to be an entrepreneur but haven’t solidified your idea yet, download our Drafting Your Business Idea guide.

Having your ideas and thoughts written down is beneficial in these early stages because it gives you the space to think through what you want to accomplish– motivating you to take the next step toward achieving your goal.

At Skip, we’ve helped over a million individuals and small businesses navigate the early stages of their business and acquire the funding they need to go further.

If you already have a good business or business idea and want help with growing or funding, set up a call with us to get 1-1 help.