12 In-Home Business Opportunities You Can Start From Your Laptop

Think you need a lot of complicated equipment to start a business from your home? Think again. There are actually plenty of opportunities out there for entrepreneurs to start businesses with just a laptop and maybe a couple of other simple items.

If you want to start a business from your home, but you only have a laptop to work with, here are some work from home ideas for businesses you can start right away.

Work From Home Ideas You Can Start on Your Laptop

Virtual Assistant

A huge variety of business owners and professionals need help organizing and managing their day-to-day tasks. That's why they hire virtual assistants. You can start a virtual assistant business just by setting up a website and outlining your services and prices to potential clients. Then you can help them manage things like scheduling, email, social media and more communicating with your clients via chat, Skype, email or other means.

Social Media Manager

If you want to get more specific, you can start an online business just to help various businesses start and manage their social media accounts. You can work remotely and communicate with clients about their social media activity. And you can enact specialized social media campaigns and promotions to help them grow their networks on those sites.

Copywriter

Skilled writers, you can offer your services to clients as a freelance copywriter. You can provide a variety of different writing services, from blog posts and product descriptions to short ad copy.

Blogger

Or you can start your own blog about business or a variety of other topics. Then you can earn revenue through PPC advertising, sponsored content, affiliate promotions or even selling informational products related to your topic.

Website Manager

Web developers and tech savvy business owners can also offer services as a website manager. In this capacity, you'd be responsible for maintaining websites for different businesses and clients. You might also be able to help businesses set up and develop different features of their websites.  You can do all the work yourself or outsource some of the day-to-day operations with services like Go Daddy Pro.

eBay or Etsy Seller

If you have physical or even digital products to sell, you can set up an eCommerce store on a number of different platforms from your laptop. eBay is one of the most popular platforms for home businesses. But you could also sign up for an account with Etsy, Amazon, or a number of other options.

Translator

Things like books, transcripts and reports all need to be translated into different languages from time to time. If you are fluent in multiple languages, you can offer your services as a translator to make content available in languages other than the one in which it was originally created.

Proofreader

Offering your services as an editor or proofreader is another option for a home-based business. You can have clients send you pieces of writing that you can check for errors. You can even provide suggestions for overall content improvement.

Ebook Author

Writers who have a more long-form story or subject in mind could opt for book authorship rather than short blogs or articles. And you can even become an author from your home with just a laptop thanks to the growing popularity of ebooks. Platforms like Amazon offer the opportunity for writers to upload entire books and offer them for sale to an eager community of online readers.

Logo Designer

Designers who create complicated pieces may require desktop computers or complicated equipment. But you can offer some simple branding packages like logo design to clients right from your laptop. You'll need to create a website and outline your services. Then work with clients to develop designs for their brands.

Marketing Consultant

If you have some expertise in any area of marketing, you can offer your skills to businesses as a consultant. You can choose a specific niche or just work with businesses in a variety of different areas of marketing. Then communicate with your clients through email, phone calls or other online communications.

Online Teacher

Or you can share your knowledge with online consumers in another format. Whether your expertise is in business, marketing or another discipline entirely - like French, history or creative writing - you can create online courses within your niche and then sell them on your website or other online platforms. This option allows you to share your knowledge with more people in a shorter amount of time than if you were to just work with clients one on one.

Laptop User Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "12 In-Home Business Opportunities You Can Start From Your Laptop" was first published on Small Business Trends