5 Online Business Ideas for Female Entrepreneurs: Making the best out of COVID-19 lockdown

Online is changing the way we work. Thanks to the Internet, there are many new forms of work today. This provides more working opportunities for woman around the world such as those in developing nations, stay home mothers who need to take care of family members, those in need of a side job for extra income and millennials seeking freedom through flexible working hours. Particularly with stay home measures and social distancing due to the unexpected global pandemic incident, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), many people are scratching their brains on how to make use of their spare time at home. This period has seen a surge in businesses who has a strong online presence with new preference of customers’ habits such as online shopping and ordering  food delivery. If you belong to one or more of these categories: working mother, tired of climbing up the corporate ladder, thinking of having a side hustle, bored of your corporate job, looking for novelty and new learning experience, a woman who wants to be her own boss, here are some ways to build a business from home:

Top 5 Online Business Ideas 

1. Freelancing

As a freelancer, there are many options you can pick from. Essentially, you complete one-off or short-term assignments for your contractor or employer.

Step 1: Decide on what you like and what you are good at. You may focus on a skill that you are good at. As a freelancer, you could be a photographer, online web designer, copy writer, social media manger, blogger, wedding planner, make-up artists, and the list goes on and on.

Step2: Building up your online profile and selling your skills is essential. It is important to showcase some of your existing works to increase credibility and convince people to hire you. If you are new to freelancing, do up samples or volunteer to help a business for free to build your portfolio. This will allow you to have concrete work to showcase.

Step 3: Put up a job posting! There are plenty of online portals where jobs are posted. Some platforms or channels include Upwork, Guru, Jooble, Fiverr, SimplyHired, Craiglist, 99 Designs, PeoplePerHour and Toptal.

2. Drop Shipping

Drop shipping is slowly getting popular in today’s globalized world. To understand the process, take a look at the diagram below:

The key characteristic of drop shipping is that it does not own any inventory or products and does not store nor delivers them. It is a third-party platform or merchant connecting a wholesaler or manufacturer to the customers. The business model works by profiting from a percentage of sales commission off every product that is sold.

Step1: To start drop shipping, you need to identify and select your product. Choose a product that have a larger margin of profits and avoid seasonal trendy products that could go out of style. Sometimes, you may be surprised by the high demands of a product that you may not think highly of.

Step2: Decide on a suitable wholesaler or manufacturer such as AliExpress, Oberlo, SaleHoo, Spocket, Wholesale2B. The lower the price of the products you are able to source, the more profit you will be able to make out of it.

Step 3: Next, you could start off testing the market by selling some of the products in small quantities. If it proves to be favourable by the market, you could start selling in larger quantities. Some popular drop shipping sites like BlueCrate.com.

3. Sell your own creations/products

If you have a side hobby or talent in making your own creations, there are rising platforms for you to make some money from it. These could include handicraft works from designing jewelleries and clothes to hand drawn cards and painting. Simply set up an account on platforms like Amazon, Etsy or Ebay or even start your own E-commerce store. Each platform has its own advantages and disadvantages. Check out the table below for cross-comparisons.

4. Be an influencer

Influencers are consumers with the knowledge about certain topics or products. They establish personal rapport and trust with their online followers who have a liking for their lifestyles, tastes and the contents that they are posting on their various channels.

Step 1: Determine and define who you are as a person and what are your interests or passions. Influencers are successful highly due to their personal branding.

Step 2: Find a niche. You could be an advocate for travel, lifestyle, fashion, fitness, adventure, or food.

Step 3: Select a channel. Most influencers have multiple channels. It is advisable to write a blog or have a vlog on YouTube. You may also substantiate it with Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or TikTok.

Step 4: Know your audience and post suitable contents.

Step 5: Know and reach out to your brands. Promote your posts in a way that will gain their attention.

5. Online Coaching

Online coaching is perfect for anyone with an in-dept knowledge in a particular subject. Take a chance to be an online teacher or business consultant from sales and leadership to health and life. Some great online coaching platforms are Udemy, Noomi, Coachforce.com, Coaching Spaces, ProReal, Teachables, Learnworlds and Podia. Furthermore, with video conferencing tools like Skype, Zoom and FaceTime, there are alternatives for 1-to-1 coaching. As an online coach, it is important to market yourself as an expert. Most coaches include their profiles on the established platforms. Alternatively, one could build up personal branding through social media sites like LinkedIn or to have their very own websites.