7 Freelance Business Ideas (That You Can Do from Home)

If you crave the freedom of working from home, there are many freelance business ideas that can help make that dream a reality.

It doesn’t have to be hard to get started as a freelancer. In our blog post How to Become a Freelancer: A Guide for Beginners, we explain how to take the first steps. In this post, we’ll focus specifically on freelance business ideas that you can do from home. While there are many options available, we will showcase seven different ideas to inspire you to freelance success.

7 Freelance Business Ideas

If it seems like there are too many freelance business ideas for you to choose from, we’ll narrow down your options for you. We’re going to focus on seven ideas that can be done from the comfort of your own home.

What might appeal to you will depend on your interests, skills, and experience.

1. Affiliate Sales and Marketing

People love to shop online. Affiliate marketing allows you to earn money selling or promoting other people’s products online. This will typically involve including affiliate links on your website, which track when one of your users makes a purchase. Every time they do, you’ll make a small commission from the company you are promoting.

This is an especially good option for people who already have a website or blog that has a lot of traffic. You can use your existing popularity so more people will see the products, and, in turn, you could earn more money. If you don’t have a website or blog already, there are lots of platforms that are great for beginners.

To be successful, you should be creative (you’ll need to generate persuasive, engaging content), have strong communication skills (to work with clients effectively), and have a good grasp on marketing fundamentals like brand identity and search engine optimization.

2. Voice Narration

A lot of people have products to sell or ideas to share, but if they’re not confident talking about them, they may not be successful. If you are a confident speaker, voice narration could be a great freelance business idea.

Audio books, video creators, and virtual receptionists are just a few of the services that require someone with an engaging voice. All you need is a quiet place and a good microphone to get started.

3. Tutor

If you have proficient knowledge in any given subject, you could consider becoming an online tutor.

Tutors for various languages are in high demand across the globe. Many countries are looking for ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers. It isn’t hard to find online teaching jobs.

All you need is to be fluent in the language you are going to teach and have a computer with a camera and microphone.

4. Video and Film Editor

Video and film editors work closely with directors and producers to edit footage into the desired, final product. There are many steps in this process, including:

• Sorting raw footage into a logical sequence
• Trimming excess footage
• Editing footage to the desired length
• Improving audio quality
• Adding color grading and special effects

Due to the technical nature of this role, video editors need to have experience with video-editing platforms and software. There are many online courses that can help you get to grips with popular tools like Adobe Premiere Pro.

This type of work also requires good communication skills. Editors need to communicate regularly with their clients – to establish their needs, answer questions, and share updates throughout a project.

Other essential skills for video and film editors include project management and, of course, creativity.

5. Photographer

When you think of photographers, you may not think of them as people who can successfully work from home, but this is not the case. If you enjoy taking pictures, selling your photos as stock images can be a great freelance business idea.

You can work closely with clients to get the images they desire, or you can sell your photos to websites like Getty Images or Shutterstock.

There are other ways you can sell your photos online as well. If you don’t already have your own website, you can create a photography website to sell high-quality digital and print copies of your work.

Another option is to start your own print-on-demand business, where you can arrange to have your photos printed onto products like mugs, calendars, clothing, etc. When someone orders something from you, the company that makes the actual product can print your photo on it and arrange for shipping to your customer.

Advances in digital photography have made this type of work easier than ever before. All you need is a decent camera, a good eye, and a little inspiration.

6. Proofreader/Editor

Proofreading and editing are two great freelance business ideas. One of the best parts of these jobs is that you are constantly reading, so you have the opportunity to learn about a variety of different topics. If you already have passion or experience in a certain area, you can choose to specialize and focus on proofreading or editing in that specific niche.

All you need is a keen eye for detail, word processing software, and a thorough knowledge of language and grammar. There are always people looking to have their work checked over by a knowledgeable second set of eyes.

One of the best aspects of this freelance business idea is that you don’t need particular qualifications or previous experience to get started.

If you find yourself lacking the skills for this type of work, they are not hard to acquire. There are a lot of online courses available to help you feel more comfortable. If you really want to build an amazing resume, CPD (Continuing Professional Development) accreditation can really help your freelance business stand out, especially if you don’t have much experience.

Read on to learn about exciting opportunities to help you get started as a freelance proofreader or editor.

7. Content Writer

There is no end to things you can get paid to write about. That is what makes freelance writing an excellent business idea that you can do from home.

Freelance writers work with clients to turn their brief into a finished piece of writing. This writing can promote products and services, connect with a target audience, provide instructional information, and so much more.

Technical, creative, and copywriting are a few popular writing jobs available. One of the best parts of being a freelance writer is that you have the freedom to pick a niche if you have specific knowledge or interests.

For those of you who are creative and have a way with words, good communication skills, and a computer with word processing software, all you need to do is connect to some of the many freelance writer sites and start finding jobs.

One of the most important steps in becoming a successful writer is to build a portfolio.

Keep reading if you want to find an easy way to become a freelance content writer.

Becoming a Freelancer

If you desire the freedom and flexibility that comes with starting a business that you can do from home, becoming a freelancer has never been simpler. We can offer you help in pursuing some of the freelance business ideas mentioned above.

Our Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor courses can help you learn everything you need to be a success in those fields. If you pass our courses with a grade of 80% or higher, there’s even a guaranteed-work opportunity.

If Becoming A Freelance Writer sounds better to you, we can help with that, as well. You could gain three professionally edited pieces of work to add to your portfolio upon completion of our course.

Start your free trial today and see for yourself!