People often ask me about Part Time business ideas with low investment needed, so I thought I'd create a list of what I consider to be the top choices.

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but to get onto my list of Part Time business ideas, they had to satisfy 3 criteria:

1.  Business could be built in 1-2 hours per day maximum
2.  Potential for long-term growth 
3.  Low barrier to entry (low or no initial investment)

Before I reveal my list of 6 Part Time business ideas with low investment, I want to be set your expectations:

• These are businesses, not jobs. You won't get paid by the hours you put in.  You ultimately get paid by the value you provide.  Sometimes it could take months before you see money coming in.
• Skills (possibly new to you) will need to be learned and mastered.  This could involve a small initial investment (in the hundreds, not thousands).
• You will feel like giving up and quitting at some point.  Only when you keep going despite that feeling will you break through to new levels in your business.

Now that I've set your expectations (and if you're still reading), here are…

6 Part Time Business Ideas with Low Investment

1– Network Marketing (Multi-level Marketing)

Network Marketing (MLM) is an ideal part time business idea because it has a very low barrier to entry and, because you partner with an established company, you don't need to worry about creating products, order fulfillment, customer service or business overhead.  

MLM companies have admittedly gotten a bad reputation for “getting people” who ultimately get no results, but I believe this is due more to unrealistic expectations than outright scams.

For me, the best way to choose a Network Marketing company is to first use the products and get desired results (examples – weight loss, travel experiences, credit repair, etc). 

Once you develop a solid belief in the company products, it's much easier to recommend them to others and you can then start building an organization of others who would like to do the same.

You can build your MLM business as quickly or slowly as time allows and over time there is definitely a potential for life changing results.

As with of these part time business ideas, it depends on you.

2–  Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is similar to MLM in that you are recommending products and services to others, minus the mult-level component.  

Generally, you get paid a commission when someone purchases something you recommend (usually through your specific link).

If you choose to do this online (which you should if you're Part Time), you'll need to learn some basic sales and marketing skills, and how to get your offer in front of the right people.

3– Start a Video Channel

YouTube is an amazing platform on which to grow an audience and monetize a business, if you know what you're doing.   

Here are the important points when creating successful YouTube videos:

• Understand your niche and what problems they need to solve.
• Create videos of high value that offer solutions to these problems.
• Watch most-watched videos in your niche and create similar content.
• Be consistent — creating occassional videos won't cut it
• Create videos that talk about affiliate products you want to sell
• Create hyper-responsive leads using simple videos on social media
• When you gain enough subscribers and monthly views, become a YouTube Partner to further monetize your channel.

Resource:  How To Create a YouTube Channel:  Everything You Need to Know

4– Online Consultant or Coach

Creating a Part Time Consulting or Coaching Business is a very popular side business because it has very low investment and can commonly be started with no additional skills needed. 

Typically, people take the skills and expertise they learned at their job and turn that into a consulting or coaching business. 

This is the fastest way to profitability.

Examples of consultant businesses include advertising and marketing, business development, efficiency expert,  and financial/retirement. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Really, you can create a consultant business around any skill or expertise where there is a demand for help.  

Tip:  Start your consultant/coaching business BEFORE you leave your job (if it's not against company standards), so that you have income coming in immediately after you go out on your own.

5– Services Related To Hobbies

Most hobbies can be turned into side gigs if you're creative enough.  Here are a few examples:

• Writing (create an ebook and sell it)
• Proof-reading/editing if you're strongpoint is grammar/spelling
• Woodworking and sell your creations
• Photography – sell stock photos or photograph special events 
• Buy/sell used furniture after restoration
• Teach English to foreign students

All of these offer low cost investments to start and allow you to turn something you enjoy doing anyway into an income stream.

6-  Etsy Selling

Etsy stands for Easy To Sell Yourself and it's become a very popular way to sell your creations.  It's free to join and create an Etsy Shop and, while there are small fees involved in listing your products, there is generally a low investment to start your Etsy business.

What can you sell on Etsy?  Basically anything you design and create yourself, including jewelry, toys, clothing, etc. 

In general, you are not allowed to sell manufactured products on Etsy (some exceptions apply).

Etsy allows you to take your creative outlets and create a part time business, with very low investment.

As I said, this is a partial list of some of the more common Part Time business ideas that people are using to create additional income streams outside of the job or other obligations.

Understand that there are success stories and stories of failures for each.  Your level of success will be determined by your commitment, perserverence, and ability to keep going when others would give up.

For You

To help set you up for success, I've created a simple BLUEPRINT for new business owners which outlines the 4 crucial steps to success for any Part Time business.   It's Free for you just for reading this post.