In the ever-evolving landscape of entrepreneurship, the attraction of starting a home-based business has become increasingly enticing, offering individuals the freedom to forge their own path while embracing the comforts of home.
In the vast expanse of opportunities, Canada emerges as a fertile ground for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking affordable yet promising business ventures. From bustling cities to the serene countryside, this great northern land presents countless opportunities for those eager to start their entrepreneurial journey.
In this article, we unveil a carefully curated list of 20 affordable and profitable home business ideas that you can do in Canada.
Let us dive into the realm of innovation, inspiration, and ingenuity as we explore the remarkable possibilities that await those who dare to dream and venture into the world of home-based entrepreneurship.
What are the pros and cons for starting a business at home?
Before we take a look at our list of home based business ideas, let us first examine the pros and cons of home-based businesses in Canada.
Pros:
1. Positive impact on mental health and stress reduction
2. Saves money and time on commute
3. Flexible schedule, hence better work-life balance
4. Tax benefits for having your own business
Cons:
1. Isolation
2. Communication with co-workers and employees is more challenging
As we can see there are many pros that, in our opinion, outweigh the cons. Though, it still comes down to your preferences and personality to decide if a home-based business is for you.
Coming up with your home-based business idea
The first steps to launching home businesses include developing unique ideas and giving yourself an advantage over your competition. Here is our carefully compiled list of 20 home-based business ideas!
Home-Based Business ideas in Canada
1. Niche Blog
2. Creating Online Courses
3. Home-based daycare
4. Dog Walking
5. Affiliate Marketing
6. Tutoring
7. Catering Service Business
8. Freelance Writing Business
9. Photography business
10. Selling Handmade Products
11. Dropshipping Business
12. Buying Products In Bulk And Selling Them Online
13. Virtual Assistant
14. Virtual Event Planning Business
15. Digital Marketing Business
16. YouTuber
17. Teaching English Online
18. Bookkeeping
19. Landscaping Business
20. Leasing Your Space
1. Niche Blog
Starting a blog to share your thoughts, experiences, and expertise is a great way to earn money. Some Canadians make millions from blogging. Blogging offers numerous monetization opportunities. If you have a successful blog with decent traffic, you will also be able to earn more income by recommending products (see #5 below for more details), posting ads on your articles, and building email lists.
The possibilities for generating income through blogging are endless, and it only requires a reliable internet connection and a very little startup cost for hosting. Therefore, we believe blogging is one of the most profitable businesses.
2. Creating Online Courses
According to industry analysts, online learning is expected to reach anywhere from $600 Billion to $850 Billion by 2030 due to an increasing interest in reducing educational costs. Online learning is becoming increasingly prevalent in nearly every country in the world, and Canada is no exception.
Online courses are designed in areas where there is high demand. Do some market research and find out if you possess some expertise in any of those areas. Once you pick your topic, start crafting a course around it.
After your course is complete and ready for the market, you can either sell it through your own blog/website, or reach out to other content creators and work out a commission based deal for them to market your course. You could also work with a course provider such as Udemy, which will also require a certain amount of commission from each sale. Once your course gets approved, you will start earning money from each sale, and you will likely need to interact with your students from time to time.
3. Home-based daycare
It is never possible for a reliable daycare to fail. If you love kids or pets, think about starting up a home daycare businesses. The daycare industry currently has a huge market value and is expected to grow over the next years.
The start-up costs can be hefty, even if you start your own daycare business online. There are many tools and equipments to be purchased, alongside with permits and paperwork. Although, if you can start a cost effective alternative to daycares in your area, parents and pet parents can prove an excellent source of income.
In addition, if you start a pet daycare, you could also provide grooming services or dog walking services to make extra money from pet visits. The average income of a daycare business in Canada is approximately $80k, which makes it a considerable business idea.
4. Dog Walking Business
Dog walking is an essential service that many Canadians need on a daily basis. While this does not exactly fit the home business category, it can be done in your neighbourhood. You can post ads or ask your neighbours to see if anyone is in need of dog walking services in your area, and start making money fairly quickly.
Although you do not have to have any business licensing for your dog walking business in Canada, it is best to consult your local municipality to determine what requirements you must meet. Before you get started, prepare a business plan and set up an estimate for your expenses such as poop bags, leashes, water bottles etc. as this will help you determine the pricing for your services. You can use typical dog walking price estimates for your area to set your fees.
You can either charge your customers per walk or create bundles such as an upfront payment for 14 walks (twice a day for a week). The average dog-walker earns about $35k/year, which is a decent salary considering it does not take up your entire day to walk dogs and you could have another job on the side.
5. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate Marketing can be used as a cheap and effective way of generating leads by paying affiliate partners for their services, product promotion, and sales. Affiliates receive a commission for each purchase made by clients.
You can use social media sites for promotion of products. If you already have a blog with decent traffic, it would be the most cost effective way to identify your target audience, drive sales, and make commission from your affiliate links.
On average, Canadian affiliate marketers make approximately $60k/year. This is a great way to earn money as majority of the work is done upfront and once your posts are ready, you can earn passive income.
If you want to find out more about the affiliate marketing business and best affiliate marketing programs, feel free to check out our article on 6 Best Affiliate Marketing Programs in Canada.
6. Tutoring
Do you like teaching? Do you possess an expertise on a certain topic? Then look no further than tutoring! Tutoring can be a great way to earn income. This can be a both professionally and emotionally rewarding business as you get paid to help people succeed in their personal and professional lives.
You could either post ads and become a private freelance tutor, or work with a tutoring company. As a freelancer, it will be harder to find clients but the pay per client will be higher since if you were to work with a company, they will be taking a commission for each student they provide.
Average private tutor income in Canada is $49k/year.
7. Catering Service Business
Catering services industry was worth $3.8 billion in Canada in 2022, and is only expected to increase in value over the years. If you have a well-planned kitchen and a love of cooking/baking, this is the ideal business for you! Bear in mind that local networking is crucial, make sure your company is accessible on local websites.
Another benefit of a catering business is that it is a low-investment business idea whose costs vary according to the type of catering business. Also, you do not need to make any purchases as you will already have all the tools you need in your kitchen, and you could buy the ingredients after you are booked for an event.
You could create a menu adapted to your target customer base and offer packages or customized requests. Have fun while cooking and enjoy making money while doing so!
8. Freelance Writing Business
With more Canadian companies entering online markets, websites will become a mandatory part of conducting business. Thus, demand for writers grow. If you enjoy writing, post ads for freelance writing on freelance websites such as Fiverr and start making money while typing.
9. Photography business
Have you always wished you could make money by taking pictures? Well you can! You can either start your own home studio and welcome customers there, or sell stock photos on various sites such as Canva, where you will be making a commission on each download of your pictures.
Selling products online
In today’s world, starting an ecommerce business is not only very popular, but is also very accessible. Here are three different options for starting your online store.
10.Selling handmade products
Often Canadians seek products made and sold in Canada. If you have a skill for crafting handmade products, you can easily start a business and sell your products on various online marketplaces such as Kijiji or Facebook marketplace. Depending on your product and shipping costs, this could be a very lucrative business.
11. Dropshipping Business
Dropshipping is a low-risk, and potentially a high-reward business. In a nutshell, dropshipping is the act of finding an affordable supplier, creating a website for a product(s), and when purchased on your site, buying the product from the supplier and shipping it directly to the customer. It requires no upfront cost other than a small investment for your website and ads.
12. Buying products in bulk and selling them online
Many companies concentrate on importing and selling goods individually to make profit from this simple concept. Perhaps you have traveled abroad recently and have found unique products not available to you in Canada. Maybe you have identified a particular market niche that you could serve.
There are two ways to approach this business model; you can purchase your inventory and use your home to store all your products, create your website, and ship out the product after each sale, or you could use a service such as Amazon FBA. With the second option, you can directly ship all your products from the supplier to an Amazon warehouse, and they will handle the packaging and shipping of each product after a sale. Each have their own pros and cons such as in the first option, you do majority of the work, but you do not need to pay any fees or commissions to Amazon. Do your research and pick what best fits your preferences.
13. Virtual Assistant
Many companies and corporations work in a fast-paced environment, which results in the need of virtual assistants for their administrative tasks. All you will need for this job is a good computer and an internet connection. The average yearly salary for virtual assistants in Canada in 2024 is approximately $50k, and is expected to grow over the next years.
14. Virtual Event Planning Business
Do you enjoy planning meetings and events? Then virtual event planning could be the job for you!
In the world of digital connections, a virtual event planner thrives by creating engaging online experiences. Using the latest technology, they bring people together for conferences, product launches, and more. It is all about connecting people and making memorable moments in the virtual realm.
As of 2024, the average yearly salary of a virtual event planner in Canada is $51k.
15. Digital/ Social Media Marketing Business
Marketing is a crucial element in establishing a successful business. Therefore, over the past years the demand for social media management and marketing increased drastically.
As a digital media marketer you can offer your customers social media management or you could start a marketing consulting business where you discuss several marketing strategies and search engine optimization tactics with your clients and determine the optimal methods to increase their traffic and sales.
On average, a social media manager in Canada makes around $60k per annum, which includes base salary plus bonuses.
16. YouTuber
YouTube’s growing presence in Canada has been demonstrated in a recent report that the creators earn more than $100,000 yearly from the platform. YouTubers can earn money by uploading videos, affiliate marketing, sales merchandise.
Becoming a YouTuber is a fairly simple process. If you own a smartphone, you could start recording and posting your videos as early as you would like. Though, it is important to remember that you will not start making money immediately through this method, but after building an audience there is no limit to the yearly income you can generate.
17. Teaching English Online
You can become an online English tutor by completing TESL/TEFL trainings. After you acquire the necessary certifications, all you will need is an internet connection, and a computer with a webcam and a microphone.
You could make anywhere from $32k to $70k a year by teaching English, which qualifies it as a profitable home-based business on our list.
18. Bookkeeping Business
Bookkeeping is an ideal home-based venture in Canada, offering valuable bookkeeping services to individuals and small businesses in need of financial organization and management. With the rise of remote work and digital tools, as a bookkeeper, you would efficiently handle clients’ financial records, transactions, and reports from the comfort of your own home office.
By establishing trust, maintaining accuracy, and leveraging their expertise, bookkeepers play a vital role in helping businesses thrive while enjoying the flexibility and convenience of operating from anywhere.
19. Landscaping Business
Once again, this is not exactly a business you can conduct from home but can in your neighbourhood. Landscaping is a good way to gain extra cash by cutting grass during the summer and shovelling during the winter. Choose which landscape services you want to provide, and identify your customer base.
Before registering your business, make sure that you have the necessary licenses based on your province. In addition, make sure to prepare a business plan to determine your costs (are you hiring employees or renting any equipment) and prices.
While the average salary for a landscaping business is currently $52k, with correct marketing you could reach up to $80k/year within your first 2 years.
20. Leasing your space
Leasing your space as a business opens up opportunities for generating income by offering your property to tenants. Whether it is a spare room, a commercial storefront, or a vacation rental, leasing provides a way to make the most of your space. By connecting with individuals or businesses in need of temporary or long-term accommodations, you can establish a steady stream of rental revenue while maximizing the utility of your property.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What business can I start with $100?
Majority of the businesses listed above that do not require you to purchase equipment or inventory can easily become a profitable business opportunity for less than $100. Becoming a freelance writer is a good example for sub $100 business ideas.
What is the most profitable business to start with $1,000 dollars?
Majority of the business ideas from the list above are easily executable with a budget of $1,000. Our recommendation would be to start an online store as with thousand dollars you will have enough money for both purchasing inventory and advertising.
Do I need a Business Insurance or a Business Bank Account?
It is always advised to purchase insurance to protect your business from unexpected risks and unforeseen events.
A separate bank account for your business might not be necessary at the beginning as your business will be relatively small. Though, for tax purposes, it can be beneficial to have a separate bank account from the start.
Conclusion
In the realm of home-based entrepreneurship, the possibilities are endless for those seeking a business venture in Canada. With this carefully curated list of businesses you can start from home, the foundations of success are within reach. As you begin this journey, remember that your business grows not only through dedication and hard work, but also through the boundless opportunities that await in the ever-evolving landscape of home-based enterprises!
