If working from home or in any location of your choice whilst having the complete freedom to dictate how and where you want to work is an idea that’s quite appealing to you, you might want to consider starting an online career. Thanks to the internet and cloud technology, working online is becoming more and more accessible, and it’s actually quite simple to get started working from home online. Many online business ideas don’t need much, if any, money to get started with and so long as you have a laptop or computer with a good internet connection, you could get started straight away!

1. Virtual Assistant

With an increasing number of companies today operating without a physical location, there are multiple opportunities for virtual assistants to carry out a number of tasks remotely. This could include customer services, taking and making calls, sending and answering emails, and making appointments. If you’re interested in becoming a virtual assistant, or VA, you can start small with just one client and eventually move into an area of expertise, such as customer services, as you gain more experience.

2. Freelance Writer

If you are skilled with words, there are plenty of lucrative opportunities available to you for working online. Almost every type of business today is creating some kind of content, whether it be blog posts, content marketing materials, writing up advertisements, product descriptions, and web page content. With everyone trying to capture attention, the demand for good writers is high.

3. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is basically where you earn money by promoting and advertising somebody else’s products, meaning that there is no start-up capital required and you don’t need to actually buy any physical stock to sell. There is a huge range of different affiliate offers which you could promote, and each will pay for any leads or sales which you generate.

4. Blogging

More and more people are turning blogging about their passions into a career, with hundreds of different beauty blogs, fashion blogs, travel blogs and even family blogs popping up every day to name just a few. If there is a particular subject in your life which you’re extremely passionate about and could write about for hours on end, blogging could be the career for you. Successful bloggers can monetise their blogs with ads or even be paid to review items related to their niche.

5. Graphic Designer

If you have a graphic design qualification or are planning on working towards one, this is one of the most in-demand online jobs out there and there are definitely plenty of opportunities available to you. From designing logos to banner ads or even full websites, graphic designers are sought-after professionals online and the best thing is that as a freelancer, you will get to control your hours and choose when, how and who you work for.

With the internet constantly advancing, it’s bringing with it plenty of new and lucrative opportunities for online careers that won’t require you to spend a penny when you get started.