Low-Cost Business Ideas

Maybe you have a few hundred dollars to spare, maybe less, and you don't want to bet savings you can't afford to lose. That's a sensible place to start. The cheapest way to begin is to test an idea with real people before buying stock, gear or a fancy website.

The ideas below are chosen because they can start small: services you can offer with a laptop or a phone, products made in small batches from a kitchen table, rentals built from things you already own. Every plan leans on free or cheap tools first and adds costs only once customers show up.

Each idea comes with a ready-made plan that lists rough startup costs for the first 90 days, so you can compare before you spend anything. They're estimates, not promises, but they're a useful start. Or make your own plan from a few emojis in about two minutes.