11 Most Profitable Computer-Based Businesses to Start

In the day and age of modern computers and internet technology, the best business decisions include getting into any of the 11 most profitable computer-based businesses to start.

Internet technology has, without a doubt, opened a lot of doors for creative, entrepreneurial minds to bring their business dreams to reality. A simple PC or laptop can now be a command center for a booming enterprise benefitting everyone from simple stay-at-home parents, college students, and the nomadic millennials. It is not surprising that a lot of the businesses listed here also made it to our list of the most profitable businesses to start from home.

There is a treasure trove of computer-based businesses to start that it was pretty easy to come up with a list. We have taken the most recommended businesses suggested by Home Business Magazine, Entrepreneur, Retire at 21, and All Business among others that we have used as a source for this article.

So, what are the 11 most profitable computer-based businesses to start? Read on to know which business is the right fit for you!

11. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular and most profitable computer-based businesses to start. It works well as a side business or as a main source of online earnings though it may take a while and some mastery in the art of online selling to succeed at it. What makes affiliate marketing a good ‘starter’ business, of sorts, is the fact that you don’t need to develop your own brand, goods, or services to earn. You simply earn from referrals and commissions for connecting a seller to a potential buyer, kind of like an in-between sales guy. If you have little money to start your own business and you have a knack for selling things, then this is one of your most profitable business options.

10. Translation Services

Google Translate has been one of the most useful applications that the internet giant has come up with but it can only be so helpful. When you have entire webpages and documents to translate, Google’s little lingo app proves to be inefficient. That is why multilingual individuals have a growing niche market online with their translation services. The biggest markets for the online translation businesses include website owners as well as ebook publishers.

9. Writing Services

While the writing services business that we have included in our list of the 11 most profitable computer-based businesses to start do not necessarily include the dreamy world of paperback writing that most young writers moon for, there is a lot of profit to be had in internet writing. Businesses need writing services for anything from blogging to website content to product descriptions to newsletters. If you are more daring and you have the investment to form a creative team, you can create an online publishing company similar to Mashable or Cracked, curating viral-worthy stories and news items and writing stories about them.

8. Online Marketing Services

It’s one thing for a business owner to know that his/her business should be put up online to thrive in the growing virtual marketplace. It’s another to know how to do it – and succeed at it. This is why online marketing services have become one of the most profitable computer-based businesses to start. This is also one of the most popularly outsourced services today. Online marketing is exactly what it sounds like – marketing a product, service, or brand in the internet market. This can include anything from affiliate marketing, click ads, social media ads, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) among others. If you know how internet marketing works, and how to excel at it, you can easily start your own agency in job markets like Upwork.

7. Website Design and Development Services

There is always a business somewhere in need of a new website. This steady stream of demand makes website development and design services one of the most profitable computer-based businesses to start. It is not uncommon for business owners to have started an all-in-one kind of company, offering a full range of services from website creation to SEO and SMM campaigns.

6. Domain Auction

With the global dominance of the internet over everyone’s lives, domain names have become more valuable than ever. Regular human beings do not easily realize it but domain names are worth a ton of money and are a crucial factor in any business’ online presence. Case in point: ‘Beer.Com’ selling for $7 million. That is why domain auctioning is easily one of the most profitable computer-based businesses to start. Imagine buying a $12 domain name off GoDaddy or some other domain market, and getting to sell it for $200 to another business. With almost zero logistical efforts and generally low overhead, it could easily be on the top of the list for the most profitable computer-based businesses to start. The only reason it’s not up there is the fact that the business is pretty risky and there is not a way to guarantee a fixed sale.

5. Business Consultant

Business consultancy is an old industry, and it has earned a new face thanks to the internet. Business consultants can now conduct business and earn online making it a whole lot more accessible, convenient, and cost-efficient for all parties involved. What makes this one of the most profitable computer-based businesses to start is the potential for higher earnings based on the range of services you offer and/or your own portfolio and experience in the field you are offering your consultancy for.

4. Website Selling

Unlike domain auctions that go are, in a lot of ways, less tedious, website selling is a lot of work. We are not talking about website brokerage but about creating websites, developing and growing their value, and then selling them to buyers who are mostly business owners who do not want to start from scratch with their websites. The crucial part of earning from website selling is adding value to the website from creating good content to creating a following. Website sellers can sell directly through their own selling site, through website brokers, and even through bidding sites like EBay.

3. App Creation

‘There’s an app for that’ may seem close to being overused, but as long as there are things that do not have an existing app form yet, there will always be a market for app creators. It is one of the priciest businesses to start but because of the market potential of apps, it is also one of the most profitable computer-based businesses to start.

2. Business Coaching

With the growing number of people who wish to get into a small business, business coaches are experiencing a surge in their market more than ever and the internet is making it even easier for business coaches to reach an even larger number of potential business owners. Business coaches have a web of potential earning machinery – from paid webinars to private consultancies to ebooks.

1. Online Retail

And what business topped our list of the 11 most profitable computer-based businesses to start? The answer online retail! Online shopping has expanded from used cars and clothes. If you can think it, there is a 99.9% chance that there is a store for it – including contraband and bizarre items.