These affordable ventures can be surprisingly profitable. Take social media consultants who can earn over $100,000 annually in many states. Freelance digital marketers pull in close to $88,000 yearly. Online fitness coaches can rake in up to $111,000 a year. These opportunities need minimal startup costs while using your existing skills and resources.
This piece uncovers hidden opportunities in the service economy and digital businesses that need little overhead. You'll discover affordable health and wellness ventures, like starting a telehealth business on a budget. The options range from senior home-care services to subscription boxes in the booming plant-based market. A telemedicine platform could be your next venture. These business ideas come with flexibility, low costs, and the freedom to work from home.
You won’t find these ideas on your TikTok feed. Scroll to get ahead.
Key Takeaways
- Low-cost startups are thriving in 2025, offering paths to profit with minimal capital—some can start with under $1,000.
- The service economy is full of hidden gems, from senior concierge services to niche pet care and meal planning businesses.
- Digital businesses like used book reselling and local guides offer low overhead and high returns using simple online tools.
- Telehealth businesses are booming, and new platforms make them accessible even without a medical or tech background.
- Bask Health lowers startup barriers for first-time telehealth founders with no-code tools, provider networks, and built-in compliance.
- Creative execution matters more than capital, and the most successful ventures are those solving real-world problems in overlooked niches.
Hidden gems in the service economy
The service economy is perfect for low-cost startups that can bring surprisingly high profits. These hidden business ideas need minimal investment and meet growing consumer needs.
Errand and concierge services for seniors
America's senior population is approaching 50 million and will reach 80 million in two decades. This makes running errands for the elderly a golden chance. Many seniors struggle with daily tasks but want to stay independent in their homes instead of moving to care facilities.
A senior concierge's work includes grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions, driving to appointments, and managing households. You just need a car and a cell phone to start this business. The national average rate for these services sits at approximately $30 per hour. This could bring in $1,200 weekly or over $50,000 yearly. Private senior concierge services can even charge between $68 to $110 per hour nationwide. That means you could make $68,000 to $160,000 each year.
Meal planning and prep for special diets
The special diet meal planning market keeps growing as more people need custom nutrition options. This niche serves specific dietary needs like gluten-free, paleo, low-FODMAP, anti-inflammatory, diabetes-friendly, and renal diets.
Starting a meal planning service needs little upfront money while providing great value through custom meal plans, grocery lists, and diet guidance. These services help customers save money by cutting food waste and buying only what they need. You can run the entire business online using subscription models, which keeps costs low.
Pet waste removal and niche pet services
Pet waste removal is one of the most overlooked yet profitable businesses you can start with little money. It might not sound glamorous, but this service brings impressive returns with minimal startup costs of about $5,500.
Most pet waste removal businesses charge around $50 per visit. One person can serve 30-50 customers daily. You could make between $50,000 to $500,000 yearly with 20% profit margins. William Milliken's story shows what's possible - he started with just $174 and got over 100 clients in his first month. His business now makes over $2 million yearly with 20% net profits.
You'll need some simple equipment to start: shovels, waste containers, disposal bags, and a vehicle. Beyond homes, you can work with dog parks, boarding facilities, daycare centers, and vet clinics to grow your client base.
Creative digital businesses with low overhead
Digital entrepreneurs can start profitable ventures without spending much by targeting untapped niches. These low-cost startups need just a computer, an internet connection, and specialized knowledge.
Selling used books with a niche focus
You can make good money selling used books online if you focus on specific categories. Market data shows that sellers who target niches face less competition and connect better with buyers who have specific interests. College textbooks bring the highest profits, sometimes up to $100 per book. Rare collectibles, first editions, and non-fiction titles also sell well.
BookScouter helps you compare buyback prices from over 30 vendors at once. This helps you find the best time and place to sell each book. Used books typically sell for 20-50% of their original price based on their condition. Amazon and eBay let you reach buyers worldwide, while specialty sites like AbeBooks connect you with collectors who'll pay top dollar for rare items.
Creating local guides and monetizing them
Local digital travel guides focused on specific niches are another business you can start with little money. Saltete—a platform for niche digital travel guides—lets writers "make and sell a guide directly to travelers" with full "editorial and financial control". Travelers love the interactive "Near Me" feature that shows nearby recommendations quickly.
People want expert-curated, individual-specific experiences more than ever. The founder of Saltete puts it well: "The future of travel guides is niche and interactive".
Starting a podcast for underserved topics
Starting a podcast costs very little—about $100 gets you going. A good microphone like the Samson Q2U runs around $70, and you can use free editing software like OpenShot. Spotify for Podcasters (formerly Anchor) lets you upload your content to major podcast platforms at no cost.
Success comes from picking underserved topics where you can build expertise. Your chances of finding loyal listeners go up when you focus on narrow niches. Once your podcast grows, you can make money through sponsorships, ads, premium memberships, and affiliate marketing.
Low-cost health and wellness ventures
The healthcare sector offers exceptionally low-cost startup opportunities as telehealth continues to grow. Traditional medical ventures need large capital investments. But telehealth businesses can launch with minimal funds while meeting growing patient needs.
Starting a telehealth business with minimal investment
Telehealth services have become popular because they are convenient and available. These ventures help fill crucial healthcare gaps, especially when you look at rural and underserved communities. New entrepreneurs find telehealth attractive since it reduces financial risk in an expanding market.
Your telehealth business can launch affordably if you focus on these simple elements:
- Pick a specific niche (primary care, mental health, specialized consultations)
- Learn state-specific telehealth regulations
- Choose HIPAA-compliant communication platforms
- Create clear payment models (insurance billing or direct pay)
Telemedicine startup costs and ways to cut them down
Original telemedicine costs range from $10,000 to $250,000 based on your approach. Starting with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) can cut these expenses to around $20,000.
Simple startup expenses cover software platforms ($100-300 monthly per subscription), compliance costs, and basic equipment. Custom telehealth development costs between $50,000-$100,000. White-label solutions are budget-friendly at approximately $15,000.
You can save money by focusing on core features at first. Training expenses stay reasonable at $200-$2,000 per site. This makes telehealth more available compared to traditional healthcare businesses.
Creating a telehealth business plan that delivers results
A winning telehealth business plan needs full research and understanding of community needs. Start by checking if your target population faces specific chronic conditions and feels comfortable with technology.
Next, map out your service offerings—from follow-up appointments to medication management and remote monitoring. Your plan should show detailed financial projections, target customer analysis, and a full marketing strategy.
Stay flexible during implementation and use patient feedback to improve your approach. The best telehealth businesses keep patients at the center while using technology to cut costs and make healthcare more available.
How Bask Health helps new telehealth entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs can start a telehealth business more easily with purpose-built infrastructure. Bask Health serves as the backbone for low-cost startups in the telehealth space and reduces traditional barriers to entry.
Bask Health's role in telehealth startup support
The telehealth industry will grow from USD 83.50 billion in 2022 to USD 791.04 billion by 2032. We built a platform that works like "Shopify for Telehealth" and gives entrepreneurs ready-made infrastructure that removes common startup hurdles. Most telemedicine ventures need USD 70,000 to USD 100,000 to launch, but our ready-made infrastructure cuts these costs by a lot.
Tools and resources provided by Bask Health
Our detailed platform has everything you need to launch quickly:
- Patient intake systems and scheduling tools
- Drag-and-drop builder for creating custom telehealth questionnaires
- End-to-end encryption and multi-factor authentication
- Complete audit trails for HIPAA compliance
- Access to multi-state licensed providers
- White-label customization options
These built-in capabilities let you make use of the same architecture that served hundreds of thousands of patients, processed over a million prescriptions, and powered hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions.
Why Bask Health is ideal for first-time founders
First-time founders face challenges with technical development, compliance, and provider networks. Our platform solves these challenges at once. The no-code builder helps entrepreneurs without technical knowledge create asynchronous telehealth questionnaires. You don't need a medical background—our platform handles complex compliance requirements automatically.
New entrepreneurs find our provider network most valuable. We give immediate access to multi-state licensed providers and handle credentialing requirements automatically, instead of spending months on licensing and credentialing that often slow telemedicine growth. This lets founders focus on marketing, sales, and customer support.
Our detailed approach has helped many healthcare providers start their telehealth experience, making healthcare more available, individual-specific, and effective.
Conclusion
Starting a successful business doesn't need deep pockets anymore. This piece explores many profitable low-cost startups that anyone can begin with minimal investment. Senior concierge services, specialized meal planning, pet waste removal, and niche digital businesses show how creativity matters more than capital.
The digital world provides easy entry points for new entrepreneurs. A computer, an internet connection, and specialized knowledge are enough to start selling specialized used books, create local guides, or launch podcasts for underserved topics.
Telehealth emerges as a promising frontier in this space. The sector's projected growth from $83.50 billion to $791.04 billion by 2032 creates remarkable opportunities for entrepreneurs ready to solve healthcare challenges. Many people believe telehealth needs substantial technical expertise or a medical backgrounds.
Bask Health breaks these barriers with our "Shopify for Telehealth" platform. New founders can launch telehealth businesses without technical knowledge or healthcare experience. Our ready-made infrastructure cuts typical startup costs and handles complex compliance requirements automatically.
Successful entrepreneurship identifies genuine market needs and solves real problems. The most profitable ventures come from spotting overlooked opportunities that add true value. Service-based businesses, digital enterprises, or telehealth solutions prove that limited capital should not block your entrepreneurial dreams.
Your skills and interests should guide your choice among these opportunities. The next profitable low-cost business could be yours. Determination and creativity are key, and platforms like ours can help if telehealth catches your interest. Amazing possibilities await—no massive investment needed.
References
- Shopify. (n.d.). Low-investment business ideas. Retrieved from https://www.shopify.com/blog/low-investment-business-ideas
- Senior Errand Service. (n.d.). Senior Errand Service. Retrieved from https://www.seniorerrandservice.com/
- The Spruce. (n.d.). How to sell used books. Retrieved from https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-sell-used-books-1388970
