Full time jobs can be such a drag. You’ve got to follow policies, deal with demanding managers, and it can feel very quickly like your time isn’t yours anymore.
You might’ve also heard the rhyme that begins, “Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime…”
Catchy as it is, the rhyme isn’t even close to accurate: in the 1950s, CEOs made a dollar for every nickel their workers did.
Today? CEOs are making several hundred, even a couple of thousand times the amount that their workers do all across the US.
So, what’s the answer?
Simple: be your own boss instead.
The first step to starting your own business? Finding the right idea for you.
Best one-person business ideas
1. Clipping business
Hang on a minute — what even is clipping?
Glad you asked. Quite simply, you’re just going to share clips from content that’s already out there, spreading awareness and interest in the original content.
One big benefit right off the bat is that this content is tried and tested — you’re only even clipping it because it’s good stuff. And, you’re going to be clipping up the highlights.
This means that you’ve got every chance of getting views, which is how you get paid. On the Whop Content Rewards page, creators are offering a reward rate per 1000 views, so content that performs can really bring in the bucks. They pay clippers as clips bring new, fresh traction to their existing content.
It’s a brilliant side hustle, since it doesn’t take much work and you can get started immediately. And you can scale it into a business fast if you’re able to up your volume, and once you hit a formula that works, it won’t take long to start printing.
How to get started: Join the Whop Clips community for free and learn how to start clipping from the free course and clipping community
How much you need to invest: $0 unless you want to invest in premium editing software. There’s not really any reason to, however, since the best options like CapCut are free
How much you can make: A single video can pull in thousands if you do things right, so there’s serious potential for revenue if you can succeed at scale
Recommended reading: Read our full guide to making money with Clipping
2. Creating UGC content
User-generated content, or UGC, makes a lot of content creators a whole lot of dough. Anyone with a camera and an experience to share online can be a UGC creator.
Amazon reviews? Those are UGC — they’re content created (read: generated) by users of the platform. Makes sense, right?
Product reviews, unboxing videos, blog posts, heck, just taking a selfie of yourself enjoying your day at a well-known coffee shop or fried chicken franchise? Also UGC.
The brands used in the UGC are happy to pay creators like you for authentic, relatable content that shows off their products in everyday life.
Most UGC creators tend to start off by creating content in exchange for keeping the products they show off, but there’s plenty of money to be made from day 1 if you do it right.
Just ask AJ Banks. He went from working at Walmart to buying his own Tesla in just 40 days by creating UGC in response to brand opportunities posted on Whop.
Much like with clipping, Whop’s Content Rewards section offers you the very best opportunities you’re likely to find anywhere, and it’s very possible to scale UGC as a business by creating your own winning formula.
How to get started: Visit the Whop Content Rewards page to scan all of the brand-offered UGC opportunities and get creating right away.
How much you need to invest: $0 unless you want to grab some recording hardware such as a quality microphone setup and camera
How much you can make: On Whop, it’s possible to make up to a few thousand dollars per video you create
Recommended reading: The best platforms to start your UGC content business
3. Starting a YouTube channel
If you follow any YouTube channels or creators with at least a five-figure subscriber count, guess what? That channel is a business with great revenue potential.
Let’s start with the basics.
To start making money natively on YouTube, you’ll need to hit 1000 subscribers. At this point, you can join the YouTube Partner Program and start taking a cut of the ad revenue that YouTube picks up.
How much cash you can make from YouTube this way depends on a couple of things. Most importantly, where your audience predominantly is, and what sort of content you make.
If your channel does finance content and caters to countries like the US, Canada, and UK? We’re talking revenue of as much as $20 per thousand views. On the other hand, if you’re doing gaming content and pulling views mostly from, say, India, you may get closer to $1 or $2 per thousand views.
But, YouTube ad revenue is just the tip of the iceberg if you want to make your YouTube channel a proper business.
Sponsorships and commercial partnerships are a big part of any good YouTuber’s strategy. Then, there’s taking advantage of your brand by selling courses, webinars, merch and paid fan communities.
Generally, YouTubers mix and match other digital products with the help of platforms like Whop.
How to get started: The advice that most creators would give you is to just create your channel and start uploading. I’ve got my own (monetized) YouTube channel too, and getting that first video online was the biggest step I took
How much you need to invest: As with other types of content, you can get started with just your mobile phone but investing in some hardware is worth considering
How much you can make: The top YouTube channels earn millions, but you can make a sustainable business out of your channel once you get past the 10k sub mark
Recommended reading: Quickstart guide to monetizing your YouTube channel fast
4. Run a TikTok business
A lot of what we just said about YouTube holds true for TikTok as well, but there are some differences that are well worth knowing.
First of all, the requirements for platform revenue on TikTok are a little different. Specifically, you’ll need ten thousand followers, and maintain a minimum of 100,000 views across 30 days to get monetized.
The bigger numbers make sense. TikTok videos are super short, and if someone sees your uploads you should get some playtime even if it’s just a couple of pre-scroll seconds.
TikTok does have longer videos, called TikTok Series. Think of these as a kind of pay-per-view option, where you can sell something like a serial, video courses, or some other episodic content to paying followers.
What truly sets TikTok apart from platforms like YouTube, however, is TikTok Shop.
Not many people have realized this, but TikTok Shop has turned TikTok into an ecommerce juggernaut to rival the best of them — to the tune of $9 billion in sales in 2024.
Whether it's money from TikTok Shop, UGC style content with affiliate commissions, or TikTok native revenue, there’s plenty of cash to be made from TikTok.
How to get started: Figure out whether you’d rather make TikTok videos or open a TikTok Shop, then join a TikTok community to learn exactly how to proceed
How much you need to invest: Creating content on TikTok often doesn’t need anything more than a mobile phone, so investment is typically low to none
How much you can make: Read Liv Carr’s deep dive into how much money you can make on TikTok
Recommended reading: Learn how to make money with a faceless TikTok
5. Start a podcast
Let’s get real for a minute here. Today? People are busy.
On top of work and school and whatever else they’ve got going on, they’re hustling, chasing hobbies, and plenty more.
So, while there’s definitely a place for content-based business ideas like TikTok and YouTube, the window of opportunity can be smaller.
That’s where podcasting comes in.
Can people listen to a podcast while taking care of their chores around the house? Yup. Can they do it while driving from A to B and back again? Also, yes.
I’ve even got a podcast on right now while writing this article. I’m not really taking much in, but it’s giving me a little background noise that helps to drown out other distractions.
Point is, podcasts can be consumed really easily. And you can bet that it’s possible to build a successful one if you put a little thought into it.
Picking a niche is probably going to be the biggest consideration here. You might base your podcast on a hobby, discuss current affairs, take a journalistic slant on a particular industry like gaming or TV — nothing’s really off limits here.
Then there’s podcast monetization. There’s ads, sponsorships, donation models - and several of the other business ideas that follow this one could work really well in tandem with a podcast.
How to get started: First, plan things out - what’s your niche, how long is your show, and what are the talking points? Then, pick a time, grab your gear, and go for it
How much you need to invest: It’s very possible to get started for free but you may want to put a few hundred dollars into quality audio recording gear or think about renting a small studio for your sessions
How much you can make: You should be able to break even at the 1k listener mark and be able to really turn it into a viable business at ten times that figure
Recommended reading: How to start a podcast for free
6. Online courses
Online courses are a huge part of ecommerce today, with the industry valued at upwards of $20 billion back in 2024 and trending sharply upwards.
In fact, corporate and lifelong learning, which includes non-regulated, non-degree courses offered online, is projected to attract $850 in spending by 2030.
That’s a pretty big pie, so why not serve yourself a slice of it?
Once you’ve worked out what sort of content your courses are based on, it’s time to structure them — and we’re using the plural there because you could get multiple courses out of a single topic quite easily.
Actually building the courses comes down to finding an online course platform with a solid course builder. The better the tool on offer, the easier it is to put your multimedia course together.
Courses are the perfect product for your online business, because once your course is ready to go, all you need to do is market them.
You can also add an ebook to your portfolio, create a community around your course, or start a podcast based on your course’s success — the possibilities are endless.
How to get started: Sign up on a good online course platform and use their course builder to get started
How much you need to invest: Generally nothing at all unless you want to put together video course modules with high production value
How much you can make: Once your course is online, it’s about marketing. Each sign-up helps your revenue add up, and evergreen content can bring in money for years
7. Selling community access
Running an online community as a business in and of itself? Isn’t that a little weird?
Not at all, but let me explain.
A community is an incredibly powerful tool, and one that serves as the engine that drives the revenue of many businesses under the hood.
Take, for example, a traditional business like a golf or tennis club. They offer all sorts of different facilities and benefits, but where does the bulk of their revenue come from?
Why, from paying members, of course.
Many businesses use a membership model to draw in recurring revenue, and several of the business ideas we’ve discussed up to this point fall back on memberships too.
Think about how many YouTubers and Podcasters encourage you to join their different online communities.
They’ll offer you better access to them via things like Q&As and member AMA’s, drop cheaper merch, produce member exclusive content — anything to get people to cough up a few bucks a month.
The trick here is to find a membership platform that lets you manage your online community as well as your digital products all in one place.
There’s nothing worse than having to spread yourself thin across multiple websites and interfaces. Do it all through one single, convenient platform like Whop, and your members will thank you for it.
How to get started: Simply create your own Whop, then add apps based on what digital products you want to offer and which functions you want your online community to have
How much you need to invest: $0 if you choose Whop, alternatives may charge hefty fees
How much you can make: Napkin math time. How many members can you expect, and what do you want to charge per head?
Recommended reading: How to sell memberships online
8. Online coaching
While very much in the same family of digital products as online courses, online coaching is a business that has a few very significant differences.
First off, online courses can be “set-and-forget” in nature since you can upload a course and then sit back. Coaching, on the other hand, is far more hands-on.
You’ll also need to know — or learn — how to manage the needs and egos of your clients. No matter the discipline, coaching is a business that’ll really test your interpersonal skills.
All you really need to start an online coaching business is a working internet connection, and some video and audio gear. It also helps if you’ve got some qualifications or an existing reputation to draw on.
As far as platforms go, you’ll want something that lets you communicate directly with clients — such as Whop’s Video Calls app.
How to get started: Sign up for your own whop and set it up with the different coaching options and apps you want to build your online coaching business out with
How much you need to invest: $0 unless you think you need to spend aggressively on marketing
How much you can make: Depending on your niche and expertise you could charge clients well over $100 per hour
9. Online classes
Okay, what’s the difference between online classes and online coaching?
Well, not much. However, coaching tends to be something that you do in more of a one-on-one environment, dedicating your complete attention to your client for the duration.
Classes, on the other hand, tend to be more educational in nature and in group settings.
If you want to start a online business centered around classes, you’ll need a platform that gives you a way to manage your community of students and communicate with them.
We’ve already mentioned Whop’s Video Calls app, and adding the Chat app to your whop will also help your students talk to you and each other.
The Content app can keep people up to date with what’s going on, the Events app can help you schedule classes, and so on, so forth.
With your whop in place as infrastructure, you can focus on selling access to your classes.
Tutoring for school tends to be a great way to go, but if you’ve got your own trading method or mastery over social media algos, you’ll have eager learners flocking to you just as fast.
How to get started: Set up your whop and start looking for students
How much you need to invest: $0 as long as you have a curriculum prepared and some basic video gear like a webcam ready to go
How much you can make: If you’re able to find a consistent niche like school-leaving exams, there’s no upper limit here
10. Publish newsletters
Newsletters are something that a lot of businesses put out, but what you might not know is that they could be a rock solid business in their own right.
To explain that, let’s look at the basic premise of a premium newsletter.
There are two numbers that really matter. The first is how many people sign up for your paid newsletter. The second is how much you charge each of them per issue or per month.
Let’s say you charge $1 per month for your newsletter, and get 100 subscribers. That’s $100 per month in income. Not bad.
But now, let’s go for $1 for 1000 subscribers, or $10 for 100. That’s $1000 every month. Not bad at all!
The business potential here should now be pretty obvious. Get to a few thousand readers and charge a few bucks per head, and boom, you don’t need a job anymore.
The trick is to find a way to put out content that’s worth paying for.
If you can provide some sort of value (recipes if you’ve got a bit of a rep as a cook, advanced tutorials if you’re a highly skilled pro photographer, designer, etc) and can market that value well, you’re good to go.
Another option, of course, is to rock a free newsletter.
This will be a whole lot easier to get sign-ups for, and that’s the point - you’re looking for names and email addresses.
Once you have them, you can sell people on whatever digital products you have going on. Courses, ebooks, software, you name it — it’ll be a lot easier to sell when you have folks getting, and hopefully reading, your free newsletter.
How to get started: Create a whop and add the forums app, and you’ve got a newsletter right there beside all of the other digital products you want to sell
How much you need to invest: Writing up a newsletter from scratch can take a little effort, but doesn’t need to cost a dime
How much you can make: The math is simple, and a paid newsletter can make tens of thousands a month if you’re able to gain traction while providing consistent value
Recommended reading: Find out how some of the top newsletters monetize
11. Sell software
Selling software is the dream, and SaaS entrepreneurs can do very, very well for themselves if they find a winner.
As rewarding as it can be, though, selling software takes plenty of work.
One way to start your journey is to find a problem out there that needs fixing. A lot of the time, this tends to be an issue that you yourself face and are passionate about.
At this point, we also need to go back to that magic word: SaaS.
What’s the difference between simple software sales and SaaS? It’s how your customers pay.
If you’ve ever bought a video game, you’re doing it the traditional way — pay a flat fee, and the software (or at least, the license to use the software) is yours.
Whereas SaaS is more like the Xbox Game Pass, where you also gain access to software but pay a monthly subscription for as long as you want to keep using said software.
So, how do you want to make money from your software? Smaller chunks every month, or one big fee per purchase?
It’s up to you, but don’t forget to consider your customers’ perspective.
How to get started: Do some market research and try to find a problem worth fixing. Then, put a plan together detailing what resources you’ll need to start building your software
How much you need to invest: This business model may need significant investment, especially if you need to hire developers to help you. However, tools like AI can help, and if you haven’t watched the video earlier, make sure to read how Blake Anderson built a $10m app with just $200
How much you can make: We just spoiled it with Blake’s story, didn’t we? Software can be super profitable, and a successful app can make millions
Recommended reading: How to market your software
12. PLR digital products
PLR means private label rights, and it's a concept that’s actually pretty common even if you don’t recognize it immediately by name.
Very simply, a producer or manufacturer (or in this case, a digital creator) can create something, then sell you the right to apply your branding to that product and sell it onward.
You’ve probably come across this in the different supermarkets in your area — the packaging and branding may change from store to store, but they’re the same chicken wings!
So, it works physically, but we’re talking digital here.
For example, the previous business idea we detailed was software. What if you do the research, and realize there’s a market for it - but you don’t want to reinvent the wheel.
All you need to do is have the software developed for you, then whack your branding on it and take it to market.
The same thing goes for digital art, simple applications, digital coloring books, and whatever else you can think of.
By the way, you could also look at this business model from the creator’s standpoint. If you’ve got a talent for coding, or graphic design? Whip up your stuff, and sell it to bigger brands and let them worry about taking it to market.
How to get started: Read all about PLR digital products to get familiar with them, then strategize and figure out your approach toward this business model
How much you need to invest: This very much depends on the type of PLR digital products you want to get into
How much you can make: You can make plenty as a creator as well as a reseller of PLR digital products, and it’s a great complementary business idea if you already have an established brand and audience
Recommended reading: Here are the best PLR digital products to resell
13. Self-publish and sell ebooks
We’ve already detailed several business ideas you can look into if you’ve got some knowledge, a unique approach, or even a message to share with the world.
Ebooks are yet another extension of that, and getting one out there makes you an author.
That’s a title with some distinction, even though there are fewer hoops to jump. You don’t need a publisher, or printing services. All you need is to put the work in, then select an ebook platform to publish on.
They can be an excellent primary source of revenue for you, but do just as good a job of supplementing another business model.
The aforementioned courses? Well, taking a course from someone who’s written a book on the topic adds legitimacy.
Coaching, and classes? Same thing, really.
Short, simple ebooks are also very commonly used as a hook for newsletter sign-ups, so they can help there. Or, you can do a free community or put out content, and have your most invested followers buy your ebook.
How to get started: Read this quick how-to on selling ebooks and you’ll be ready to roll
How much you need to invest: You may need to pay a graphic designer to come up with a great cover design for you, since that really makes a difference when listing on platforms where users can browse ebooks
How much you can make: You can make tens of thousands per ebook and make it a primary income stream if you’re consistent
Recommended reading: Here’s our complete guide to creating and selling ebooks
14. Masterminds
Mastermind groups can seem mysterious, and there have been some legendary ones over the years.
There have been literary ones like King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, and literature-focused ones like the Inklings, counting J.R.R. Tolkien in their ranks.
Then there’s contemporary examples like Daily Masterminds, which included a certain Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a MrBeast.
Point being, mastermind groups often provide significant benefits to their members, and in many cases have catapulted participants to extraordinary heights.
The group dynamics of masterminds, where everyone is traditionally equal and given a voice, can bring out the best in a community - from fostering the best habits of the collective to developing a supportive, accountable environment.
All of that means that establishing a mastermind group of your own could be good business, since people will pay good money to be part of it.
Starting a virtual mastermind has never been simpler. Just create your own whop, and add the Masterminds app to get started.
How to get started: Read our step-by-step guide to creating a successful mastermind and put what you learn straight into action
How much you need to invest: $0 unless you want to spread word of your mastermind via paid ads or clipping
How much you can make: Once you establish your reputation in your niche, you could charge thousands per seat
Recommended reading: Find out all about mastermind groups in our deep-dive
Start your one-person business with Whop
Starting a business today is easier than ever — and Whop gives you everything you need to launch and grow online.
It’s free to sign up, with no upfront costs, and Whop only takes 0–3% of what you earn from customers. That makes it a top choice whether you’re ready to scale or just testing the waters with a side hustle.
How to choose a one-person business idea
Choosing the right one-person business isn’t always easy — there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. But here’s the thing: it’s your business. So the best idea is one that fits you.
Start by thinking about your skills, interests, and what you already enjoy.
If you’re into social media, you’ve probably got a feel for content and algorithms — which means you could try something like clipping or UGC creation.
Love gardening? Think about landscaping. Obsessed with sports? Maybe you launch a fan community, sell picks, or start a podcast.
The list is long, but the key is finding something in your wheelhouse. Once you’ve got a few ideas, ask yourself: is there a market for this? And if there is, how competitive is it?
Take trading as an example. There are loads of trading courses and communities already — but if you can offer something different, you can stand out. That’s where your unique selling proposition (USP) comes in. Why should people pick you over someone else?
Once you’ve got your idea and your USP locked in, you’re ready to go. Now just create your whop and launch your business.
How to scale a one-person business
One of the biggest questions on your mind at this point might be:
“Just how far can I take a business all by myself?”
Well, a one-person business can actually go a long, long way without needing to make big moves like hiring full-time employees — and of course, all of the admin that goes with steps like that.
Rather than go into exhaustive details, here’s the TL;DR of things that’ll help you scale your new one-person business:
- Outsourcing: Hiring employees to perform certain functions could make sense at some point, but you should be thinking about freelancers well before that.
For example, if you’ve got a YouTube channel? You’ll want to focus on strategy and content, and take on a freelancer for your editing as soon as possible — and they’ll likely be happy to keep freelancing for you in the long run.
Make sure to identify roles like these in your business that are best outsourced, and do it as soon as it makes financial sense. - Passive income: Grafting for every single dollar of revenue is something you’ll want to avoid, if at all possible.
Passive income streams are super valuable, especially if they can keep earning you money for months and months. Digital products like courses fit the bill really well, since you can upload them and then move on to other things while the revenue they earn keeps coming in. - Automation: Every business has tasks that repeat themselves, and at some point, you’ll want to automate.
If you’re keeping an Excel document or Google Sheet for whatever reason, this is applicable to you — find the right services, integrations, or platforms to take this busywork off your hands.
Look no further than how TJR Trades 20x’ed their revenue by switching to Whop, automating member management and payment tracking. - The right platform: Picking a platform like Whop doesn’t just give you automation, it can take care of payment processing, marketing, compliance, and even customer service.
The latter can be a huge pain and time-sink for businesses, so why not give entire functions like that over into good hands?
Launch your solo online business with Whop
Launching an online business on your own is a big move — but with Whop, you’re not going it alone.
Whop is your all-in-one platform partner, handling everything from payments and analytics to customer support and member management. You can sell digital products, run a community, and grow your income all in one place.
No more juggling tools or switching platforms just to keep up. Whop makes it easy to run and scale your business, all while keeping your audience close.
Ready to get started? Head to Whop and launch your one-person business today.
FAQs
What are the best business ideas for one person?
The best business ideas for one person tend to depend on that person’s skills, expertise, and interests, but here’s a quick selection of ten great business ideas anyone can do:
- Clipping
- UGC
- Online courses
- Coaching
- Newsletters
- Online communities
- Podcasting
- YouTube
- Software
- Online classes
What is a solopreneur?
A solopreneur is an entrepreneur who takes the lone wolf approach to their business, launching and running their business all on their own.
They’ll take care of every aspect of their business themselves and hire no employees, but that doesn’t rule out outsourcing time-intensive aspects of the business to freelancers or specialist agencies.
How to start a one-person business?
Most one-person businesses start with either an idea or market research, then take care of the other one of the two in order to either narrow down on an idea or validate a chosen one.
Then, it’s a matter of finding a platform like Whop that enables you to launch the business you want with a minimum initial investment.
How to market a one-person business?
When you sign up with Whop, you’ll have your own landing page to play with. Make sure to color this in with your branding, and add SEO descriptions for all of the available fields, especially your product descriptions.
This’ll help you get found online. After that, it’s up to you to pick the right marketing strategy, such as UGC, to get your name out there.
How to price services or products?
When you launch your business, you’ll hopefully have done a little bit of market research. That should include a competitor analysis section, which would give you an idea of what other similar businesses are charging their customers.
This, factored in with your USP and any introductory pricing strategies you want to use, should give you a very good idea of where to go with pricing.
How to scale a one-person business?
When you’re scaling your one-person business, you should try to outsource as many functions as you can to skilled freelancers or specialists — whether that’s accounting and taxation or community moderation, there’s plenty of functions to outsource or delegate. Also try and focus on products that will pay you consistently over time, and if you’re creating content, it’s worth having a mix of evergreen to go alongside the viral stuff.
