12 small business ideas for freelancers in 2023

As 2023 rolls to an end, it’s still not too late to start that business you have always wanted to begin. According to an ancient Chinese proverb, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second-best time is now! However, the big question is, what’s a good business to start in 2023? Which business would give you the financial benefits you desire before the end of 2023?

Several businesses have hit great successes in 2023 and have been promoted by many business experts to be among the best small business ideas you can begin this year. We will be reviewing some of these businesses in this article. I guess you’re ready? Let’s begin!

12 small business ideas for freelancers

Here is a list of 12 business ideas to increase your income in 2023 and beyond.

1. Online teaching

What type of business should teachers start?

It’s no longer news that we are currently in a knowledge economy, where knowledge is a major driver of the economy. This has naturally increased the demand for knowledge, especially specialized knowledge. Don’t take our word for it; according to the data from Devlinpeck, 63% of students in the US engage in online activities daily. Thrivemyway reports that 77% of US corporations used online education in 2017; by 2020, 98% incorporated it into their learning system. Guru99 predicts that 2025, the global e-learning market will be worth $325 billion!

The above data unanimously predict a bright future for the e-learning market. Suppose you are a teacher, love to teach, or are passionate about educating people on a skill you have built. In that case, you can tap into this opportunity and begin your online teaching business. The best part is that it is not very expensive to start. 

How do we test this business idea?

• Build a small course content prototype.

• Run it by others for review.

• Implement corrections.

• Create a marketing plan and test it.

• Make adjustments to your marketing plan, and you are all set.

How to start?

You can read this story of Tim Gascoigne, founder of OnlineTeacherDude, to inspire you to begin your journey of creating a successful online teaching business. What’s more, Workee offers you the opportunity to build your online teaching business website for free with our easy-to-use drag-and-drop tools.

On your teaching website, you can create your schedule, get student bookings for your services, receive payments easily, and manage other administrative aspects of your business. Workee automates the administrative aspect of your business and gives you more time to pay attention to create great lessons for your students. Moreover, you can use Workee today for free and upgrade anytime. Click here to begin your journey to creating an amazing online teaching with Workee!

2. Online music and voice lessons

According to BusinessWire, the online music education market was worth $130 million in 2020 and is projected to hit $421 million by 2027. No doubt, this is a thriving niche, as there are thousands of parents searching for a good music tutor for their kids, as well as adults who wish to learn a musical instrument or train their voice. 

If you are a musician or passionate about teaching music, this is a good small business idea you can take advantage of. All you need is to create effective course content, create your business website on Workee, and manage your online music lessons business from there.

How do we test this business idea?

• Build a sample course content.

• Run it by successful music lesson tutors for review.

• Implement corrections received.

• Design a marketing plan and test it.

• Make necessary adjustments from the feedback obtained from your experiment.

How to begin?

• Create excellent music course content from the insights gained from the idea-testing phase.

• Build your music lesson website on Workee to help you manage the administrative aspects of your business.

• Implement a well-tested marketing strategy to drive clients to your website for registration.

3. Digital marketing

As the name suggests, digital marketing promotes goods and services via the Internet and other digital platforms. Demandsage reports that global digital marketing spending will hit $602 billion in 2023. The best part is that digital marketing has several types, so you can pick the one more suited to you and build your digital marketing business.

The branches of digital marketing include Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Mobile Marketing, and Influencer Marketing. Each of these are easy small business ideas that you can begin. 

We have put together an effective resource to guide you in launching your digital marketing business from scratch. We encourage you to review it and learn more about the opportunities in digital marketing.

4. Bookkeeping service

You can take advantage of this business if you are an accountant or have good bookkeeping skills. Several small businesses around the US have no professional Accountants managing their books and will be glad to have a skilled bookkeeper for a reasonable price. You do not need to be an Accountant or certified professional to start this business. All you need is to understand the job, and you are all set.

You may also need to form an LLC to protect yourself from some of the liabilities of this business.

Finally, having a good marketing plan is key here, as you need to target small businesses and convert them into clients. If you get your marketing right, you will have enough businesses in your clientele to keep your business profitable.

How do we test this business?

• Research the number of small businesses you can provide this service to.

• Contact any of the small businesses and offer to provide free services to them as a sample.

• Receive the feedback from the first client and make necessary adjustments.

• Create and test your marketing plan for effectiveness.

How do I start this business?

• Implement a sound marketing plan to attract clients, using testimonials from other clients.

• Take a professional certification in bookkeeping, as it will boost clients' confidence in your skills.

• Offer premium bookkeeping service and top customer service. Premium bookkeeping services will excite clients, while good customer service will make it a pleasure to always do business with you.

5. Amazon Kindle publishing?

If you are a creative writer and would love to have a passive income that keeps coming for several years, you may want to consider publishing a book on Amazon Kindle. This works: write a book and upload it to Amazon Kindle publishing, and it will be reviewed. If it is successful, your book will be published on Amazon Kindle and will be accessible to readers who visit the website to buy books. Whenever your book is purchased, Amazon will keep a small fraction of the sales, and the rest will be transferred to your preferred account. Sounds like a good way to make money, right?

How do we test this business idea?

• Research the hottest-selling books on Amazon Kindle and write such books.

• You may also want to read some best-selling books on Amazon and learn tricks you can apply to increase your chances of success.

How to start?

• Take the time needed to research to write a top-quality book.

• Write a quality book in your area of strength.

• Give your manuscript to critics to review and offer their feedback.

• Implement corrections and submit for publishing.

6. Dropshipping business website

A Dropshipping business website promotes the products it does not keep in stock. When customers place an order on the website, the website receives the payment for the products, and then the order is forwarded to the original product owner and payment. The original stock owner then forwards the product to the customer that ordered the product.

It is a simple, easy start-up business. The major aspect where the Dropshipping business owner has to place priority is advertising. If he can maintain a huge traffic of customers visiting his website and placing orders, he will make good monthly money from the business.

How do we test this business idea?

• Research the most purchased items online.

• Research items that customers love but are not readily available in your locality.

• Randomly sample the opinion of your target market to confirm their interest in whatever products or services you are offering.

• Create an effective marketing plan and test it.

How to start?

• Build your Dropshipping website and promote the products you found hot selling from your research.

• Implement your effective marketing plan.

• Offer great customer service to keep customers returning.

• Continue researching and adding relevant products to your website to keep your customers hooked on your website.

7. Event planning

Did you know that planning events could be a lucrative source of income for you? Organizations and private individuals host different events yearly, and you can make money by helping them plan these events to their taste and execute them. Moreover, you can specialize in informal or formal events depending on your needs. Then, you build your brand on that niche by delivering top-notch events that would make your clients refer you to friends and colleagues. 

How to test your idea?

• The first step must be to check if you genuinely like hosting events because they can be a lot of work for someone who doesn’t love them.

• The next step is to check the kind of events you prefer hosting. Knowing this will significantly increase your chances of success.

• Discuss your idea with a successful event planner and implement their feedback.

• Create and test your marketing plan and implement corrections.

How to start?

• Implement the marketing plan you already designed and connect with your target market.

• Offer excellent event planning to clients. Satisfied clients will refer friends and family to you.

• Constantly stay up-to-date with trends in your industry that you can apply to improve your service delivery to clients.

8. Freelance writing

You can earn from a freelance writing business if you are a skilled writer. Several blogs, websites, etc., need freelance writers to write excellent copies to meet business needs. Additionally, several businesses require freelance writers for projects, reports, proposals, etc. If you are a creative writer and love to write, you can take advantage of this opportunity to begin a freelance writing business.

As a tutor, you may also start blogging about teaching and educating new tutors and parents on how to handle children and help them learn effectively.

How to test your idea?

• Offer your write-ups to critics to review and offer their feedback.

• Implement corrections made, and submit more samples to critics until your errors are insignificant or nonexistent.

• Sample the opinion of successful freelance writers on the steps to becoming a successful freelance writer.

• Create a successful marketing plan on how you would land good clients for your business.

How to start?

• Create excellent writing samples and send them to prospective clients to convince them to try you. This is an idea for this business you should pay attention to.

• When you land your first job, ensure to deliver premium content. 

• Also, ensure prompt delivery of all jobs, as meeting deadlines is very important in freelance writing.

9. Home cleaning service

You can now convert your cleaning hobby into a business. According to Gitnux, the residential cleaning industry accounted for $943 million in the US GDP for 2021! This does not come as a surprise as most people are busy with their jobs or hobbies and would rather outsource their cleaning to someone and channel that time to rest or pursue a hobby.

Here are a few things to consider as you begin your home cleaning service.

How to test your idea?

• Understudy home cleaning service businesses to learn how the business works. This will help you know whether you can work in the industry.

• Create an effective marketing plan and test it. 

• Adjust the plan as necessary, and try again until it’s perfect.

How to start?

• Purchase the necessary tools for the job, such as Vacuum cleaners, Mop sticks, cleaning towels, etc.

• Implement your marketing plan to reach your target market.

• Offer excellent services to satisfy clients and turn them into returning customers.

10. Online personal training coach

You may consider becoming a fitness trainer if you are a fitness buff. A personal trainer plays a crucial role in assisting individuals in achieving their fitness objectives. This profession combines expertise in exercise routines with motivational skills to guide clients on their fitness journeys. Personal trainers are responsible for crafting customized workout regimens tailored to the client's specific goals, including weight loss, muscle gain, or other fitness targets. 

How to test your idea?

• You can gather opinions from your local gym to tailor your personal training plan.

• Develop a personalized training regimen for your clients and seek feedback from critics for evaluation.

• Revise your training plans and go for more feedback until you get the desired results.

• Start using your marketing plan.

How to start?

• You need to create a website to showcase and implement your effective marketing plan.

• Offer premium training services, satisfy clients, and refer friends to you.

• Stay in tune with trends and best practices in fitness to keep your clients engaged.

• Use a business management tool to help you schedule sessions and manage payments, taxes, etc.

11. Virtual Assistant (VA)

An increasing number of business executives are opting for the assistance of virtual assistants (VAs) to support them in specific business-related activities. This practice proves cost-effective For businesses as it eliminates the necessity of hiring additional full-time employees with associated benefits while ensuring essential tasks are completed. As a virtual assistant, you will execute various assignments, including overseeing social media accounts, coordinating travel arrangements, and maintaining an organized calendar.

How do we test this idea?

• If you have never played this role previously, you may need to study the responsibilities of a VA to confirm if it’s something you can do.

• Take up volunteer positions that would expose you to the job and prepare you for bigger roles.

• Prepare your Resume and send it to critics to review. Implement any corrections received to improve the chances of success for any application you make.

How to start?

• Check online job boards for VA vacancies.

• Send applications to any VA vacancy you feel qualified for.

• Offer satisfactory service to clients happy.

12. Offer childcare services

Post covid, several parents now prefer to keep their children indoors than take them to daycare centers, no thanks to Covid-19. With fewer persons offering child care services and more parents willing to get home care services for their children, this presents a good opportunity for you to begin the business. Two key things you would require to start this business are love for kids and the relevant licenses that apply in your location. Lacking any of these would spell doom for the business.

How to test your idea?

• Study the childcare industry and identify gaps that you could fill.

• Build your business around the identified gaps and discuss with parents to test your idea.

• Develop an effective marketing plan to reach your target market and test it.

How to start?

• Build your services around what has been proven to work, and parents can relate.

• Implement effective marketing to reach your target market.

• Offer premium services that would keep parents and their kids happy.

Bottomline

All the businesses discussed in this article have been profitable, and you can start in 2023 and beyond. The key to success here is to follow the guidelines listed for each and conduct independent research on your chosen business. This will increase your chances of success in whatever business you choose.

Best of luck as you begin!