While there are so many business ideas out there, execution is the most important factor that can determine your success.
In this article, we shall go over 18 small business ideas that are easy to start, and can genuinely make 10k in a week or a month in California.
18 Easy Ways to Make $10,000 in California
1. Chatbot building
Chatbots are computer programs designed to mimic human communication.
Responding to customer questions can take up a lot of time for companies, resulting in them spending dozens of hours each week on a task that can be automated using a chatbot.
There are many chatbot-building platforms that make it possible to build advanced chatbots without having to code. Some examples include ManyChat and Chatfuel
2. Drone videography
It is now easier than ever to fly a drone over beautiful buildings or landscapes thanks to advancements in drone technology. You don’t need much to get started, just a cheap drone and a GoPro camera.
The more skilled you are, the more in-demand your services will be, particularly from companies in the real estate sector. You can charge thousands of dollars for a single project.
3. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is an e-commerce model whereby you don’t keep an inventory of the products you’re selling online. Whenever you get an order, you then use the money to buy the product from your supplier and have it shipped directly to the customer.
The idea of not keeping an inventory makes it an appealing business idea with minimal risks. A lot of dropshipping stores make more than 10k in a week in California.
4. Create an online course
You can create an online course to teach people almost anything you’re good at, whether that’s music, art, cooking, foreign languages, etc.
It is such a great way to make passive income online since you won’t be spending any time actively teaching. Once your course is recorded and uploaded to sites like Teachable, your only task will be marketing it to get students to enroll.
5. Social media management
Many companies struggle with social media. If you’re experienced with running business accounts on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, then you can start advertising your services to small businesses in your area.
The great thing with this idea is that you can serve multiple clients at once. You can also scale the business by hiring remote workers to help you with the work, as it can get really overwhelming.
6. Become a social media influencer
If you’ve got a large social media following then this is perhaps the easiest way to make $10,000 fast in California. Influencers make money by promoting other companies’ products and services.
It’s also a great way to get free things, if you’re into that. You don’t need millions of followers to be considered an influencer, even as little as 5,000 could do.
7. Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a marketing model where companies pay a commission to people who refer customers to them.
Many software companies have really high-paying affiliate programs, including Hubspot, Shopify, and Bluehost. For instance, Shopify pays up to $2,000 for referrals to its Shopify Plus plan. It’s one of the best ways to make money fast in California.
8. Become an event planner/promoter
Restaurants, clubs, and other venues can often have trouble getting customers through their doors. As a planner or promoter, you can get paid for driving traffic to these places by using your marketing skills.
9. Become a real estate investor
There are many opportunities to make money in real estate. You can take more risks with your assets and make long-term investments in residential or commercial real estate.
You can also invest in crowd-funded real estate projects through platforms such as Fundrise and RealtyMogul. That’s one of the cheapest ways to get into real-estate.
10. Ghostwriting
A lot of published “authors” use ghostwriters to write their content. If you’re really good at writing, you can make lots of money with this idea. You can ghostwrite speeches, songs, books, presentations, and many other things for clients globally.
11. Language translating
Companies with international audiences often need their websites and blogs translated into other languages.
If you’re multilingual, you can set up a website and start charging for translation as a service for documents, presentations, websites and other content. You can make more than $10,000 from just a single project.
12. Website flipping
This is one of the most profitable business ideas for web developers and designers. You can buy cheap websites on sites like Flippa, improve them, and then resell them for a quick profit.
13. Web designing
Many companies want their website to reflect them online, but they don’t have the technical skills to build it themselves.
You don’t need to be an experienced coder to start a web design company. There are many tools out there that make it easy to build entire websites from scratch without having to write a single line of code, including Wix and WordPress.
14. Freelance graphic designing
Graphic design is a service that will always be in demand. If you’re good with tools such as Photoshop or even Canva, you can start charging clients for logos, business cards, brochures, etc. The best place to find graphic design clients is on freelancing websites like Upwork and Fiverr.
15. Advertising consultant
Many businesses rely on paid advertising to generate leads. If you are an expert in the field, you can become an advertising consultant. Your job will be to help them develop strategies and execute campaigns.
To increase your credibility, you can enroll to Google Ads and Facebook Ads certification programs.
16. Start a virtual assistance company
Many company executives don‘t have the energy or time to deal with all the administrative tasks that come with their job. And that is where you would come in.
Virtual assistants help busy individuals with tasks such as scheduling appointments, data entry, responding to emails, managing social media pages, etc. The entire job is fulfilled through the internet, which means you could work from home to save on costs.
If you would like to scale the business, you can hire other VAs to work for you, and then just focus on marketing. Many virtual assistance agencies make more than $10,000 a month in revenue.
17. Become a product reviewer
A product reviewer is someone who reviews other business’ products and services, and then publishes their feedback on a blog, social media, or YouTube.
Although it can take time to build a name for yourself, once you have established some credibility, companies will pay lots of money for your valuable feedback. It’s such a great business idea to make $10,000 in California.
18. Become a life coach
This is one of the most fulfilling jobs in the world since you are essentially helping other people become the best versions of themselves.
It is easy to become a life coach if you’re a great listener and love giving people advice. You can start by identifying aspects of your past experience that you can share with others for inspiration.
