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TL;DR: To go live on TikTok, you need 1,000 followers and must be at least 18, though the threshold can vary by region. In the app, tap the + button, select LIVE, add a title, and tap Go LIVE. To stream from a computer, use TikTok LIVE Studio or connect third-party encoding software with your TikTok stream key. There's no official way around the follower requirement, so growing your account is the reliable path. Once you're set up, course creators can use LIVE for Q&As, demos, and pre-launch sessions that send viewers straight to a course or coaching offer.

If you’re a content creator looking for new ways to engage with your audience and learn how to go live on TikTok, this guide covers what you need before you start, the exact steps in the app and on a PC, and how to make your first LIVE worth the time.

TikTok's Live feature lets you connect with your audience in real time and show the authentic, unscripted side they’ve never seen before.

So, let’s take a closer look at the Live feature, how to access it, and the best tips and ideas to help you get started.

What are TikTok Lives?

TikTok Lives are live videos streamed on the TikTok LIVE section of the app. This live stream-specific section gives certain TikTok content creators a chance to interact with their followers directly and instantaneously.

Use TikTok Lives correctly, and you can respond to users who are participating in a live stream in lots of fun, creative ways. For example, you can answer questions or comments, sell products, promote businesses, receive gifts, and much more.

Think of TikTok Lives as the live-streamed video equivalents of Facebook Live videos and Instagram Live videos. Only some creators qualify for TikTok LIVE creation, but you could see several major benefits if you qualify. TikTok Lives can become a highly effective way to make money or to promote a product, for instance, but only if you know how to get a live stream going in the first place.

What are the benefits of going live on TikTok?

There are a few reasons why you might want to go live on TikTok:

Great way to connect with your audience: live streams are perfect for answering questions and interacting with your audience in real time, which helps build trust and deepen the connection.
Get discovered: LIVE videos can appear in viewers' For You and Following feeds, in search results and on the LIVE tab. This can help you get discovered by new people and grow faster.
Make money on TikTok: if you’re 18+ years old, your viewers can send you virtual Gifts during a live stream, which you can later exchange for cash.

How many followers do you need to go live on TikTok?

You need 1,000 followers to go live on TikTok, and you must be at least 18 years old. TikTok's help center notes that the follower requirement may vary across regions, so the LIVE option can appear earlier for some accounts.

To access the Live feature on the TikTok app, you must have at least 1,000 followers. To access some of TikTok’s features, like adding a link to your profile bio, you can find workarounds like switching to a Business account. However, with the Live feature, the minimum of followers applies to Creator and Business accounts.

How to go live on TikTok

The process of going live on TikTok is fairly straightforward:

Step 1: Open the TikTok app and tap the Add post + button at the bottom.

Step 2: Tap LIVE at the bottom. You may need to scroll across the options to find it. (screenshot)
Step 3: Add a title, then set up any LIVE tools or settings you want, such as moderation. When you’re ready to go live, press the big red live button “GO LIVE.”
Step 4: When you’re ready to end your live video, tap the End LIVE button at the top, then tap End now.

During your live, you’ll get access to various live video features like camera filters, effects, an option to flip the camera and add filters to comments. You can also change LIVE tools and safety settings mid-stream by tapping More at the bottom, then Settings. Use a TikTok camera to add effects to make your live videos more visually appealing.

How to go live on TikTok without 1,000 followers

People without 1,000 followers on TikTok don’t have the live option.

There is no official way to unlock LIVE below the follower threshold for your region. TikTok does say the threshold may vary across regions, so check whether LIVE appears when you tap the + button before assuming you are locked out.

If you meet the requirements and still can't see LIVE, report it in the app: go to your profile, tap the menu in the top right, then Settings and privacy, Report a problem and LIVE. Use this only when you already meet the requirements, not as a workaround.

If you stream on another platform already, TikTok LIVE Studio has an Apply for LIVE access form for streamers with a channel elsewhere. Review can take days. Otherwise, the reliable route is growing to 1,000 followers with consistent short videos. Our guide to building a TikTok following covers that.

How to go live on TikTok on a PC

Going live on TikTok on your PC is quick and simple. You need LIVE access first, so most creators unlock LIVE on mobile before streaming from a computer. You can do so in one of two ways:

Use third-party streaming software
Use the proprietary TikTok LIVE Studio

Want to use third-party streaming software for your TikTok livestream? Once you’ve chosen the right encoding software, follow these steps:

Open your TikTok app, then select the plus sign at the bottom of the screen, then tap LIVE
Choose the title and filter effects you want to use
Click Cast to PC
Once your TikTok stream begins, you’ll see a stream key and server URL. Write both down
Open the encoding software you want to use, then look for a place to edit streaming destinations
Pick a destination with a “Custom RTMP” name or similar
Paste your TikTok stream key and the server URL to the right fields and save your changes

These steps will let you start your live stream from your chosen encoding software. It’ll then be broadcast straight to your TikTok channel.

Alternatively, if you want to use the TikTok LIVE Studio software:

Download the software from TikTok’s website. LIVE Studio runs on Windows and macOS. Install it on your computer
When installation has finished, check the checkbox next to Run TikTok LIVE Studio and click Finish
TikTok LIVE Studio will open. Log in with your TikTok profile credentials
Check your LIVE access status in the top right corner. If you don't have access yet, click Your LIVE access to apply.
You’ll need to set up the software, such as making sure your camera and microphone are working. Fiddle with the settings as needed
Then you can begin streaming whenever you are ready by tapping the Create icon

If you’re not sure how to get LIVE access, see above.

TikTok LIVE requirements

Apart from the minimum 1,000 followers, there are three more requirements you need to meet to access all the live features available on the app:

You must be 18 years or older to go live on your account.
You must be 18 years and older (19 in South Korea) to receive gifts from your audience during the live. Gifts are virtual offerings that you can redeem into cash later on.
You must follow TikTok's Community Guidelines and Terms of Service. A recent LIVE suspension can block your access.

How to go live with someone on TikTok

What’s cool with TikTok Live is that it allows you to go live with someone else or join a live of other content creators.

How to join a live on TikTok

If you want to join a live of another content creator or a friend, the process is very simple:

Step 1: Open the app and tap LIVE at the top to see creators who are live now.

Step 2: Browse the lives and select the live you want to join. Then, find the multi-guest button at the bottom to request to join the live:

Tips for going live on TikTok

When you’re ready to go live, here are some tips to help you make the best out of your live stream:

Pick the right time

When you go live, you want to pick the best time to do so when most of your audience is online and ready to engage with you.

Influencer Marketing Hub has found that the best times to post on TikTok are:

On Mondays: 6 AM, 10 AM, 10 PM EST
On Tuesdays: 2 AM, 4 AM, 9 AM EST
On Wednesdays: 7 AM, 8 AM, 11 PM EST
On Thursdays: 9 AM, 12 AM, 7 PM EST
On Fridays: 5 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM EST
On Saturdays: 11 AM, 7 PM, 8 PM EST
On Sundays: 7 AM, 8 AM, 4 PM EST

However, these times are just a general guideline, and you’ll get the best results by looking at your individual analytics. You can access them by going to Creator Tools > Analytics > Followers > Follower Activity.

Keep it short and sweet

Plan a length that fits your goal. A 30-minute LIVE gives you enough time to accomplish your goals, engage with your audience, answer questions and end your live before people get bored or distracted.

Go in prepared

While the beauty of a live stream is that it’s unscripted and informal, you still want to go in with a plan in mind. When you’re in front of a live audience, you might get nervous, and if you have prepared in advance, you’ll be more likely to keep your audience engaged at all times.

So, set the goal for your live stream, plan your content, and what you want to say during your live. If you want to share books, articles, or other resources, have all the links and names on hand so you can easily give them to your audience when it’s the right time.

Good lighting is key

Good quality video ensures that people are engaged and interested. And good lighting helps you ensure that the quality of your video is great.

So, make sure you’re live streaming in front of a window where you get plenty of natural daylight. Or consider turning on the filming lights or using a ring light.

Minimize background noise and movement

You want your audience to hear you when you stream, right? So, find a quiet space for your live stream where there is no noise or minimal background noise.

Also, streaming from one location is better than streaming on the move. It ensures that your viewers don’t get motion sickness, and it’s easier for them to concentrate on what point you’re making when you are stationary and in focus on their screens.

Engage with your audience

When you’re live, spend time interacting with your viewers. Greet anyone new who joins in, thank them for the gifts and donations, and answer any questions people might have in the comment section.

This will show your audience that you care about them, and it’s also an easy way to generate topics for conversation when you run out of things to say.

TikTok LIVE ideas for content creators

Ready to go live but not sure where to start? Here are a few ideas for a fun and interactive live:

Host an interview

A 30-minute-long TikTok Live is a perfect opportunity to do an interview with an expert or someone your audience would find inspiring. TikTok allows anyone to join a live stream, so you can interview people from another side of the world without hassle.

Host a how-to demo

Do a live stream dedicated to explaining something your audience is curious about. For example, if you have an online baking course, do a baking live where you share your favorite quick sweet recipe.

Behind the scenes

Chances are your audience is curious to see what the scenes of running your business look like. Let them in by dedicating a live stream to showing around your studio or showing how you edit videos for your online course.

Live Q&A session

Instead of answering questions in a video or a blog post, do a quick live stream and answer your audience’s questions live.

How to use TikTok LIVE to sell an online course

A LIVE works best as the top of a funnel, not the whole sale. Viewers who watch you teach for 30 minutes have already sampled your course, so the next step is to give them somewhere to buy it.

Pre-sell before you build. Run a LIVE on the problem your course solves, then point viewers to a pre-sale page. Our guide on how to pre-sell a course walks through it.
Teach one lesson live. A short demo from your curriculum shows the quality of the full course. If you haven't built it yet, start with our guide on how to create an online course, then host it on our online course platform.
Turn live questions into coaching. Viewers who want more help than a course gives are natural coaching clients.
Move viewers to your email list. TikTok LIVE ends when you stop streaming, but your email list stays yours. Offer a free resource in the LIVE and collect emails through it.

A TikTok LIVE builds the audience and proves people want what you're teaching, but it's not where you deliver a full course. If you want to expand your curriculum and deliver it in a structured way, we can help. Start a 7-day free trial and build your first course before committing to a plan.

FAQs

What is TikTok LIVE?

A TikTok Live is a real-time broadcast that happens on a TikTok app. It’s a great way to interact with your audience in real-time, build trust, and increase engagement. You might even go live with other TikTok users to try and get exposed to their audiences and grow your audience as well. Unlike TikTok videos, lives tend to be longer, not scripted, and informal, which is the main appeal to many people as they get to see their favorite people and brands in a new light.

Why can’t I go live on TikTok?

You usually can't go live because your account doesn't meet the requirements yet: 1,000 followers (may vary by region) and age 18 or older. There are a few other reasons why you might not be able to go live on TikTok. Before getting too concerned, check to see if there is any kind of outage happening for TikTok.

Can anyone go live on TikTok?

Not everyone. You need to meet TikTok's minimum age and follower requirements and follow the Community Guidelines.

Can you go live on TikTok with 500 followers?

Usually not. The standard requirement is 1,000 followers, but TikTok says it may vary across regions, so tap the + button and check whether LIVE appears for your account.

Do you need to be 18 to go live on TikTok?

Yes. TikTok's help center says you must be at least 18 to go LIVE, and 18 (19 in South Korea) to send or receive Gifts.

Key terms

LIVE: TikTok's real-time streaming feature that lets you broadcast to your followers and interact with them as you go.

LIVE Studio: TikTok's free desktop app for streaming to TikTok LIVE from a computer, available for Windows and macOS.

LIVE access: Eligibility to use LIVE, which requires meeting TikTok's follower and age requirements for your region.

Gifts: Virtual items viewers send during a LIVE that hosts can exchange for cash, available to users 18 and older (19 in South Korea).

Stream key: A private code TikTok generates so third-party encoding software can broadcast to your TikTok LIVE instead of the official LIVE Studio app.

How to sell on Instagram and what sells the most

7 types of learning styles and how to teach them

TL;DR: To sell on Instagram, switch to a business account and set up a shop and catalog in Meta's Commerce Manager, then tag products in your posts, Reels and Stories. Since September 2025, shops on Facebook and Instagram use website checkout, so buyers browse on Instagram and pay on your website. Visual products like clothes, accessories, makeup, skincare, workout gear, art, food and furniture tend to sell best. Meta's Commerce Policies don't allow shops to list downloadable digital content or digital subscriptions, so courses and downloads sell through your bio link, Stories links and DMs instead.

If you’re looking to grow your business and add additional revenue streams, look no further than the popular photo-sharing social media platform Instagram. With Instagram’s shopping tools and 3 billion monthly users, you can show products to buyers where they already spend time, then send them to your own website to pay.

Throughout this article, learn more about the benefits of selling on Instagram, how to get started, and 10 ideas of what sells the most on Instagram.

Benefits of selling on Instagram

Not sure why you should bother with Instagram? Trust us, there are quite a few benefits. Here are the top three you need to consider.

Reach your target audience

Instagram has 3 billion monthly active users, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in September 2025. With a user base that large, you can bet your target audience is likely there.

If you have product photos or mockups, Instagram is the perfect platform to share those on. Due to its visual nature, product photos and videos fit right in, and sharing them can be a great way to reach an even wider audience of potential customers.

Create another revenue stream for your business

Because you can create an entire shop with Instagram, you’re able to turn the social platform into an entirely new revenue stream for your business. Buyers can browse your shop, collections and product pages inside the app. When they're ready to buy, Instagram sends them to your website to complete the purchase.

People are using Instagram to research products

Many people browse Instagram to discover products, read comments and watch Reels before they buy. That means your audience might be shopping around for a product like yours while they scroll.

Instagram shop requirements: What you need to sell on Instagram

If you’re interested in selling physical products through an Instagram shop, there are just a few eligibility requirements to keep in mind.

You must have an Instagram business account (not a personal account) and a Commerce Manager account.
Your account must comply with Instagram’s Terms of Use and Community Guidelines.
You must only share listings of products that are listed on your actual website.
You may need to verify that you own your website's domain.
Third party listings from sites like Amazon aren’t applicable for Instagram shopping.
You must be located in one of the countries where Instagram shops are supported.
You must “demonstrate trustworthiness.” Essentially, you must have an active, authentic, established presence on the platform.
You must share accurate information about your products, pricing, etc.
Refund/return policies must be clear and transparent.
Your products must follow Meta's Commerce Policies, which don't allow listings for downloadable digital content, digital subscriptions or digital accounts.

If you meet these criteria, you can go ahead and start setting up your Instagram shop. Note that you’ll need to create a catalog in Commerce Manager before you can start linking products to your Instagram shop.

How to sell on Instagram

Want to start generating even more sales for your business? Let’s walk through the steps of getting your Instagram shop set up and how to let customers know you’re open for business.

1. Set up your Instagram shop

Step one is actually setting up your Instagram shop. As mentioned, to do this, you’ll need to have an Instagram business account and a Commerce Manager account.

Once you’ve gotten that taken care of, follow these steps:

Set up your catalog with Meta’s Commerce Manager. This means that if you so choose, you can also sell via your Facebook page and not just only on your Instagram.
Upload your inventory. You’ll need to add images, descriptions, links, pricing info, and a SKU number if applicable for each product. If you have a Shopify shop, Meta can automatically sync your products to your Instagram catalog, so you don't have to add each one by hand.
Set up your checkout URL. Since September 2025, every shop on Facebook and Instagram sends buyers to your website to pay, so make sure each product link opens the right product page.
Create collections to organize your products and make your Instagram shop look more like a real online store.
Submit your shop for review. Instagram checks your account and shop against its commerce eligibility requirements before your shop goes live.

Once you’ve taken these steps, you can start promoting and selling your products on Instagram.

2. Tag products in your Instagram content

Now that your shop is set up, it’s time to start tagging products from your Instagram shop in your posts, stories, and reels. This way, when someone sees a photo of a product they love, all they have to do is tap it to view the product and head to your website to buy it.

Here’s an example of what this could look like on your Instagram posts:

Tag just a single product or tag several, depending on what’s pictured. It’s easy to do. When you’re creating a new post, the “Tag products” option will appear on the screen when you’re adding your caption and other final details before you publish. In Stories, use the product sticker instead.

3. Create a wide variety of content

You can feature and tag products in your regular Instagram posts, your reels, and your stories, so make sure you’re creating a wide variety of content and taking advantage of this feature.

Meet your audience where they are. Some go through stories of the accounts they follow, others scroll through reels, and others simply scroll through their feed or the explore page. Make sure you’re creating different types of content that features your products to give your audience an even bigger chance of discovering them.

4. Partner with influencers

Work with influencers in your industry to further promote your products and your brand. You can even give the specific accounts you work with permission to tag your products in their posts, creating a simple process for those introduced to your business via influencers to easily purchase your products.

5. Share user-generated content

If you’re lucky enough to have existing customers take photos and videos of your products, ask them if you can repurpose them onto your own feed. User-generated content (or UGC) helps create an authentic vibe that doesn’t feel like marketing content. Integrate as much UGC as you can into your strategy, and of course, don’t forget to tag your products in each one.

6. Run Instagram ads

Finally, consider allocating some of your marketing budget towards Instagram ads. You can still tag products in these ads, but you can also create a call-to-action to your full Instagram shop, enabling ad viewers to start shopping around.

There are a number of different types of ads with various objectives. Play around with different ad types until you discover the ones that get you the best results.

What sells the most on Instagram: 10 ideas

The products that tend to sell best on Instagram are visual ones that look good in a photo or a Reel, such as clothes, accessories, makeup, skincare and workout gear. Digital products like courses and downloads sell too, but through a link to your own checkout rather than a shop.

You might already have an established business with products to sell. But if not, you may be looking for inspiration to get started. Here are 10 ideas of things you can sell with Instagram’s shopping tools and your own website.

1. Clothes

Clothes and apparel are a common product sold on Instagram. Tons of online boutiques take advantage of Instagram shopping to increase sales and reach a wider audience of customers.

Here’s an example of boutique Dress Up and its Instagram shop. The store is even offering a 20% discount on select products through Instagram and has categorized products to make it easier to shop on the app.

2. Accessories

Accessories, jewelry, sunglasses, shoes, etc., is another great product to sell on Instagram. You can sell handmade jewelry. There are many polymer clay and metal working brands selling handmade jewelry on Instagram.

Or, you can go a more traditional route, like Ring Concierge below. The brand creates fine jewelry and sells it on their website, while also creating a shop on Instagram. This makes it easy for them to tag products directly in their content, increasing sales.

3. Makeup

Instagram is a common place for people to look for makeup inspiration, learn more about how to better apply makeup, and, of course, purchase makeup products. This means selling your makeup products on Instagram can help bring in more sales, whether you have an established brand or want to create your own products.

Here’s an example of what your shop could look like from Tarte Cosmetics:

4. Skincare

Skincare products cover a wide range of options: face masks, face washes, creams, moisturizers, and more. You can even include hair care products here if you’d like.

Here’s an example of a shop on Instagram selling skincare products:

5. Workout gear

Workout gear, yoga mats, fitness clothes, fitness products, protein powder, etc., are all great products to sell on Instagram. Many users love to peruse the app for workout ideas and motivation, so putting your products in front of that audience can help build a larger customer base.

Here’s an example of fitness company Bala’s Instagram shop:

Instagram business account: workout gear

6. Art

Are you an artist? While many artists have one-off drops, others have consistent products available. If you’re one of the latter, consider offering your regular products via Instagram’s shop.

Here’s an example of what this could look like from artist Ashley Longshore:

7. Online courses

While the past few examples we’ve covered have all been physical products, you can sell digital products on Instagram, too! Instagram shops don't allow downloadable digital content or digital subscriptions, so you promote courses in your content and send followers to your course sales page. Put the link in your bio, add link stickers to Stories, and answer questions in DMs. Our guide to building an Instagram sales funnel walks through each step, and you can host the course itself on an online course platform.

8. Digital downloads

Another digital product to sell is various types of digital downloads. Checklists, guides, workbooks, templates, etc. These are very popular products, and you can easily sell more of them by promoting them on Instagram and linking to a digital downloads checkout on your own site. For more ideas, see our list of digital products to sell.

9. Food

Food can be a tricky product to sell online, but many bakeries and other companies have figured it out. Maybe you’re selling hot sauce, cereal, baked goods, or something else that can easily package and travel well. Consider offering your products via Instagram!

Take a look at this Instagram shop, The Marshmallow Co. The brand has listed a number of types of marshmallows for sale that its customers can easily buy after finding them on Instagram.

10. Furniture

And last, but certainly not least, is furniture! While bulky, if you have a website that you use to sell furniture, you can easily translate that to an Instagram shop.

Here’s an example of popular furniture brand West Elm’s Instagram shop:

How to sell digital products on Instagram

Courses and downloads can't be listed in an Instagram shop, but Instagram is still a good place to find buyers for them. Here's how creators sell digital products from Instagram:

Host the product on your own site. Build your course, coaching offer or download on a platform with its own checkout, so every sale lands in your account.
Make your bio link do the selling. Point it at your sales page, or at a simple link page if you sell more than one thing. See how to use Instagram's 5 links in bio.
Teach in your content. Short tips in Reels and carousels show followers what your course covers, then a Story link sticker sends them to the sales page.
Offer paid extras to your followers. Instagram Subscriptions let followers pay monthly for exclusive content, which can lead into a full course.
For more tactics, see our Instagram marketing tips to increase course sales.

If you're ready to turn Instagram followers into paying customers, you need somewhere to host and sell the course, download or coaching offer you're promoting. Start a 7-day trial and build your first course before committing to a plan.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell directly through Instagram?

Partly. You can list products in an Instagram shop and tag them in posts, Reels and Stories, but since September 2025 buyers complete the purchase on your website, not inside Instagram.

Can you sell digital products on Instagram?

Yes, but not through an Instagram shop. Meta's Commerce Policies don't allow listings for downloadable digital content or digital subscriptions, so you promote courses and downloads in your content and link to your own checkout.

Key terms

Instagram shop: A storefront built inside your Instagram business profile where you list products for people to browse and tag in your content.

Commerce Manager: Meta's tool for setting up and managing the product catalog that powers your Instagram and Facebook shops.

Product tagging: Adding clickable tags to products in posts, Reels and Stories so viewers can tap through to a product page.

Website checkout: The purchase flow Instagram now uses for every shop, where buyers complete payment on your own site rather than inside the app.

Bio link: A link in your Instagram bio that points followers to your own sales page, useful for selling products like courses and downloads that can't be listed in a shop.

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Teaching & Learning

TL;DR: There are 7 commonly cited types of learners: visual, auditory, reading and writing, kinesthetic, verbal, social and solitary. The first four make up Neil Fleming's VARK model, the most widely used framework, which treats them as preferences rather than fixed labels. Research has not found that matching lessons to one preferred style improves learning, so treat these categories as a checklist for variety, not for sorting students. The practical takeaway for course creators: build each lesson in more than one format, such as video, a written summary and a hands-on task, and ask students how they like to learn.

We all absorb and retain information in different ways. Some people learn faster and more efficiently when content includes visuals like charts, photos, or videos. Others prefer to read and write to retain information. Course creators that know the different types of learning styles can use them to improve student experiences and outcomes. If you know your students and the ways they learn, you can adapt your teaching styles to suit them better.

Creating courses with learning and teaching styles in mind will set you and your students up for success. We’ll go over each learning method and how to identify them. Plus, we’ll provide examples and tips on how to create courses, coaching, and other educational products for each learning style.

What are learning styles?

Learning styles are the preferred methods that people use to understand and remember information. By identifying your students’ learning styles, you can create course materials that suit their preferences.

There is some debate over how many types of learning exist. Common models list between four and eight learning styles. We’ll go over each in detail below.

One person can have multiple styles. These are known as multimodal learners. They retain information and may thrive using more than one learning style.

What the research says about learning styles

Most people do have preferences for how they take in information. But a 2017 review in Frontiers in Psychology found that the idea that teaching to a student's preferred style improves learning "has been repeatedly tested and there is currently no evidence to support it" (Newton and Miah, 2017).

That doesn't make learning styles useless for course creators. Treat them as a checklist for variety, not a rule for sorting students. A lesson that combines a short video, a written summary and a hands-on task works for more people than a lesson built for one style.

The 7 types of learning styles

New Zealand educator Neil Fleming developed the VARK model in 1987. It’s one of the most common methods to identify learning styles. Fleming proposed four primary learning preferences: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. The first letter of each spells out the acronym (VARK).

We’ll go over the VARK learning styles and three others that researchers and educators have identified below.

1. Visual learning

When you create a course curriculum, consider how many and what type of visuals to include. Visual learners prefer to see information laid out, so diagrams and video often do more for them than long blocks of text.

To learn best, visual learners need graphs, illustrations, diagrams, videos, and other visuals. You can also teach visual learners better by incorporating these into your lessons.

Images
Charts
Maps
Infographics
Illustrations
Photographs
Flashcards with images
Animations
Virtual whiteboards

Using all of these visuals at once will overwhelm your students. Instead, identify opportunities to display information as a visual and choose the best method for it.

Video courses are a natural way to help visual learners. If you’re new to recording videos, you can take a course or watch a tutorial on making high-quality videos for your courses. You can also design and voiceover slideshows.

Visual learners also read and write like other students but may add images to notes, highlight sentences, or draw graphs. It can be helpful to provide them with downloadable versions of course materials so that they can take notes. On our platform, you can add digital downloads to your website and courses.

One of our creators, Lauren Hom, combines visual and other types of learning styles in her lettering course. Course lessons include videos, live drawing practice, and printable workbooks.

2. Auditory learning

Auditory learners like to listen to absorb information. Auditory learners may listen to lectures, podcasts, music, and videos.

They also tend to read their notes aloud to help them understand and retain information or listen to music to study.

You can cater to auditory learners by:

Using music and songs to remember information
Providing audio versions of notes
Encouraging discussions of learning materials

In addition to adjusting your teaching methods to different types of learners, you should also consider the subject.

For example, if you teach guitar online, it will naturally have an audio element. However, you may combine the sounds of different guitar strings with images and videos of them. When you combine different teaching methods, you can cater to multiple learning styles.

3. Reading and writing

Learners who prefer reading and writing thrive with traditional textbooks, handouts, and written assignments. Reading and writing learners are similar to visual learners because they like to see the information on a page.

To teach reading and writing learners, try to present information in one of these forms:

Books
Articles
Blogs
Essays
Written instructions
Workbooks
Quizzes
Written assignments

You could also consider creating an ebook to supplement your course material. So if you have a video course, add transcripts to your lessons so students can read along and take notes.

4. Kinesthetic

The kinesthetic learning style is learning by doing. And people who are kinesthetic learners learn better when they’re physically moving and getting hands-on experience.

Kinesthetic learners prefer playing games or doing puzzles as part of the learning process. They tend to enjoy problem-solving and trying new activities to build skills.

Many people associate kinesthetic learning with physical activities and in-person learning environments. However, you can still cater to kinesthetic learners when you create an online course.

For example, many developer courses include coding challenges, hackathons, and other activities where students learn by doing.

Here are some ideas to help you teach kinesthetic learners:

Schedule short breaks for live courses longer than 30 minutes.
Add real-life assignments. For example, a course about plants may add a practical element where students transplant and care for a houseplant.
Create project briefs based on real-life scenarios, so students can practice.
Add physical activity. Some online courses, such as meditation, yoga, and fitness, will naturally be more interactive.

If you want to add a more physical element, you can also include printables and supplies. Another option is to send materials to students in the mail.

There are many ways to teach kinesthetic learners. One example is the Hands-on Kids Activities Club (HOKA), a membership club for teachers. Every month, teachers get downloadable printables and other resources to create hands-on learning experiences. In one bundle, students learn about an artist and do an art project in that artist’s style.

5. Verbal or linguistic learning

Verbal learners or linguistic learners retain information best by hearing and envisioning words. You may also hear this called verbal-linguistic learning. Similar to an auditory learner, a verbal learner speaks aloud to memorize information better. They tend to be avid readers and may be talented storytellers or poets.

Any of these can help a verbal learner:

Lectures
Podcasts
Presentations
Flashcards with words
Word games and puzzles

This type of learning is also common in language courses. If you teach students how to speak Spanish, English, French, or another language, verbal learning will come in handy. They’ll want to hear how you pronounce words and practice speaking them on their own.

6. Social or interpersonal learning

Some students learn better alone and others learn better while in groups. Social, also called interpersonal, learners thrive in group discussions and group coaching.

They enjoy speaking in front of groups and asking questions. A social learner will like to give and receive feedback from other students and bounce ideas off others.

Interpersonal learners prefer these types of activities:

Group discussions and activities
Public speaking: presenting their work
Working with a partner
Studying flashcards with a partner
Team-building exercises

For online courses, live cohort sessions and group coaching calls give social learners the interaction they look for. See our guide to cohort-based learning.

7. Solitary or intrapersonal learning

Solitary learners prefer to learn on their own rather than with groups of peers. The word intrapersonal is similar to introvert. Solitary learners can feel drained from social activities.

These students don’t enjoy group work and would rather get a list of items to study and work independently. Instead of getting ideas and feedback from other students, solitary learners are more introspective. They can get lost in their work and are more hesitant to ask for feedback or ideas from others.

Here are some ideas to help teach solitary learners:

Ask questions to build trust and learn more about them.
Give them space to work independently.
Explain the why behind projects. Solitary learners focus on the future and outcomes, so they like to know the importance of learning different concepts.

Solitary learners are self-starters, so they usually have the determination to complete a course. Even though they prefer learning independently, learning from others has many benefits too.

Sometimes getting a solitary learner to open up more, ask for feedback, and challenge themselves can improve their learning. You could also offer solitary learners coaching or feedback sessions with you to help them develop their learning in a one-on-one environment.

How to identify student learning styles

Most adults have a sense of their preferred learning style. You can ask students or coaching clients which methods they prefer via an intake form when they sign up for your courses or coaching.

To identify learning styles, you can:

Include an intake form on your sign-up pages
Ask new students about their preferred learning styles directly
Observe your students throughout the course
Use assessments to help students figure out the learning style they like best

You can also use an online quiz like the VARK questionnaire to understand new students better. VARK describes its results as a pattern of preferences rather than a fixed label, so use them as a guide, not a box to put students in. Another option is to create your own assessment and tailor it to your teaching style and course topic. Some sample questions you can use to create a quiz or questionnaire to identify learning styles are:

Do you prefer to work alone or in groups?
Would diagrams and illustrations make it easier to understand a concept?
Is it easier to remember something in words or images?
To understand how a machine works, would you take the machine apart yourself?
Do you remember facts and figures more by hearing them spoken or reading them?

Let students know this is the kind of quiz with no wrong answer. You’ll use the answers to understand what type of learning style they prefer and tailor your teaching to better suit them.

Note that this type of questionnaire works best with coaching or online courses that use cohorts with specific start dates. You can use it to fine-tune your course curriculum for each cohort or personalize coaching sessions.

How to teach different types of learning styles in an online course

As you plan your course, think about how you can accommodate each learning style. For example, auditory learners usually thrive on discussion. On the other hand, learners who prefer to read and write might struggle with group discussions or debates. Discussions can be harder for them because they like to write their thoughts down first before speaking.

To accommodate different types of learning styles, provide several options. In the example above, you could give your students a discussion prompt ahead of time. Reading and writing learners can write talking points down before and auditory learners get the benefits of learning through discussion.

A simple way to build this into every lesson:

Record the core lesson as a short video with on-screen visuals.
Add a transcript or written summary below the video.
Finish with a task students do themselves, such as a worksheet, quiz or small project.
For cohorts or coaching, add a live session for discussion. For more ideas, see our student engagement strategies.

The ui.dev online courses are perfect examples of how to consider different types of learning. Looking at their React coding course, you can see that they provide lessons in two forms: video and text. This way visual, auditory, and reading and writing learners can refer to the materials that they understand best. It also includes kinesthetic learning with practice coding activities and projects where students build real-world applications.

Share your knowledge online

No two students are exactly alike. A learning style that works for some students might not work for others. You can still offer your students or clients a meaningful learning experience.

Identifying how your students learn best helps you teach them in ways that will be the most successful. It also shows them that you care about their learning experience and outcomes. So by considering all the different learning styles, you’ll create an online course that appeals to a larger pool of people.

How students prefer to learn is one half of the picture. The other half is how you teach, which our guide to teaching stylescovers. If your students are adults, our explainer on adult learning theory is a useful next read.

Once you've planned how to support each learning style, you can create a course with us. From there, you can build online courses, coaching services, and even digital downloads. To get started, try our online course platform free for 7 days.

Frequently asked questions

What are the 4 types of learning styles?

The 4 types of learning styles in the VARK model are visual, auditory, reading and writing, and kinesthetic. Many guides add verbal, social and solitary learning to reach 7.

Does teaching to learning styles improve results?

Research has not found that it does. Studies of the matching idea, where each student gets lessons in their preferred style, have not shown better learning. Offering the same lesson in several formats is the more practical approach for online courses.

Can you have more than one learning style?

Yes. People who use more than one learning style are called multimodal learners. Most people have a dominant preference but also pick up information through other styles, so building lessons in multiple formats works for most students, not just the ones who match a single, pure type.

How do I find out my learning style?

Take an assessment like the VARK questionnaire, or ask directly through an intake form when students sign up for a course. Observing how students engage with different materials over time is also a reliable way to figure out what works best for them.

Key terms

Learning style: a person's preferred way of taking in and processing information.

VARK model: Neil Fleming's framework for visual, auditory, reading/writing and kinesthetic learners, treated as preferences rather than fixed labels.

Multimodal learner: someone who learns effectively through more than one learning style rather than relying on a single preference.

Interpersonal learning: the formal term for social learning, where a person learns best through group discussion and collaboration.

Intrapersonal learning: the formal term for solitary learning, where a person learns best working independently.

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46 small business ideas for women, from home or online

TL;DR: The best business ideas for women match skills you already have and need little money to start, such as online courses, coaching, freelance writing, virtual assistance and social media management. Home-based options with low startup costs include online courses, blogging and affiliate marketing. Service businesses like interior design, personal training and wedding planning trade time for income, while courses and digital products keep selling after you create them once. Women now own more than 14 million US businesses and employ over 10.7 million workers, according to the SBA Office of Advocacy, and this guide covers 46 ways to join them.

Have you always dreamed of being an entrepreneur and want to know the best business ideas for women? Or have you experienced a recent layoff and want to explore owning your own business?

Women-owned businesses drive economic growth across America. According to the SBA Office of Advocacy, women now own more than 14 million businesses and employ over 10.7 million workers nationwide. This growth continues steadily, as women-owned businesses have demonstrated nearly twice the growth rate of their male counterparts from 2019 to 2023, with notable gains among businesses owned by women of color.

Now is the time to join successful women entrepreneurs. From e-commerce ventures to creative freelancing and service businesses, this guide will walk you through 46 profitable business ideas that will inspire anyone looking to establish themselves in the digital creator economy.

So, if you are one of them and are looking to leave your full-time job for good or simply want to make extra money from a brick and mortar, or home-based business, we'll cover business ideas in the following categories:

Small business ideas for women
Online business ideas for women
Entrepreneur ideas for women
Side hustles for women
Fun business ideas for women
Home-based business ideas for women

Small business ideas for women

1. Online course

Creating and selling online courses is one of the best online business ideas for women. You can create an online course on a variety of topics, from wellness to business, and make money sharing your knowledge on a topic with other people.

Online course platforms like ours bundle the course builder, checkout and tax handling in one plan, so you can go from signup to a live, purchasable course without code. Plans start at $29/month on annual billing (Starter carries a 7.5% transaction fee, 0% from Builder up), and you have many different tools to help you create landing pages to sell and promote your course. Start a 7-day trial and build your first course before committing to a plan.

2. Interior designer

You can start your own interior design business if you have an eye for design. If you always get compliments when someone visits your home, it’s a sign that you have good taste and skills in decorating. So, utilize them and offer interior design consulting, either in-person or online.

Now is the time to start. According to the American Society of Interior Designers, the total number of interior designers, both employed and self-employed, has reached nearly 128,800 in 2024, increasing 4.1% year-to-year. Women make up about 84.2% of the interior design workforce, according to Data USA, making it one of the most female-dominated professional industries.

School of Design

3. Yoga instructor

The global yoga market was valued at $127.0 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow 9.9% a year from 2026 to 2033, according to Grand View Research Yoga Market Report.

One in six Americans report practicing yoga for a variety of reasons, including stress reduction, improved flexibility, overall fitness, and mental health benefits. According to a 2024 report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, 16.9% of American adults practiced yoga in the past 12 months CDC, with participants citing numerous health benefits. That steady demand makes yoga a viable business for wellness-focused entrepreneurs.

Yoga certification and credentials

Several respected organizations offer online certification programs:

Yoga Alliance RYT-200 certification remains the industry standard, with programs ranging from $1,500-$3,000
International Yoga Federation offers globally recognized certifications
CorePower Yoga provides certification programs with strong business training components

Most foundational certifications can be completed in 3-6 months through flexible online learning formats, making this career transition accessible even while maintaining your current job.

Multiple revenue streams

The most successful yoga entrepreneurs diversify their income through multiple channels:

Studio teaching: Partner with established studios to build your reputation ($25-$50 per class)
Private sessions: Offer personalized instruction ($75-$150 per hour)
Online courses: Create pre-recorded or live-streamed classes
Corporate wellness: Develop corporate yoga programs (average $150-$300 per session)
Retreats and workshops: Host specialized events ($500-$3,000+ per participant)

According to Indeed, the average pay for a yoga instructor is $34.86 per hour, based on 3.7k salaries reported over the past 36 months.

By implementing targeted small business marketing strategies and reliable platform solutions for digital offerings, you can build a sustainable yoga business that provides both personal fulfillment and financial independence.

4. Jewelry brand

Have a passion for jewelry? Always get compliments on pieces you’re wearing and could spend hours shopping for just the right necklace? Then you might consider starting a jewelry brand. You can either take a course and learn to create jewelry yourself. Or you can stick with design alone and outsource the production to professionals.

The global jewelry market is projected to reach $629.4 billion by 2034, growing 5.7% a year from 2026, and handcrafted jewelry is especially popular in North America and Europe.

5. A personal trainer

If you love fitness and the gym, you could get a certification and start working as a personal trainer. It’s fairly easy to get certified in most countries, and you can start by getting clients through friends and family until you build a regular roster of clients.

The personal training industry was worth $39.7 billion globally in 2024, with a growth rate of 6.5% annually through 2031.

Here are three ways a personal trainer could increase their income:

Creating digital products and online courses allows trainers to generate revenue that runs without trading their time through specialized workout programs and nutrition guides. These digital assets continue earning revenue 24/7 without requiring your physical presence.
Small group training sessions let trainers work with multiple clients and increase hourly earnings. Instead of earning $50-100 per one-on-one session, trainers can earn $100-240 per hour with 5-8 participants paying reduced individual rates.
Obtaining specialized certifications in high-demand niches like post-rehabilitation, prenatal fitness, or medical conditions allows trainers to command premium rates. These specializations create unique value propositions and often facilitate healthcare referral partnerships.

6. Nutritionist

Getting a certification for being a nutritionist might take longer, but it’s also a great option if you love food and a healthy lifestyle. You can find clients through friends and family and work with them face-to-face or offer online coaching.

7. Stylist

If you are passionate about fashion, why not start your own styling business? Many people are looking for styling advice, and you can start by offering free consultations until you build a reputation.

8. Personal chef

Personal chefs are becoming more popular in large cities where busy professionals don’t have time to cook but still want something nutritious and delicious. You can find clients through friends and family, working with people locally.

According to Grand View Research, the global personal chef services market was valued at $16.62 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow 6.7% a year from 2025 to 2030. The growth is driven by increasing demand for customized meal plans as consumers become more health-conscious.

9. Esthetician

The beauty industry was worth USD 552.0 billion in 2025, according to IMARC Group, and the demand for various beauty treatments is growing every year. If you love taking care of your skin, you might want to consider getting a certification as an esthetician and opening your own beauty salon.

10. Make-up artists

Another beauty-related business idea is becoming a make-up artist. You can do make-up without a certificate, but you can get one in any beauty school if you want. Start with doing make-up on friends and family and get referrals that way.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global makeup market was valued at $45.95 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow 6.72% a year from 2026 to 2034.

Makeup artist applies eyeshadow to seated woman wearing a gray coat and black boots in a dim room.

Online business ideas for women

11. Freelance illustrator

If you have always loved to draw and create art as a hobby, you might want to consider becoming a freelance illustrator. You can work with ad agencies, create ads, work with authors to create book covers or simply take on commission work with brands.

According to Linearity, the Illustration Agency Service market is expected to grow from $16.5 billion in 2023 to $26.3 billion in 2030, at a CAGR of 9.7%.

12. Freelance graphic designer

As a graphic designer, you can create brand identities and website designs for corporate or private clients and work with ad and marketing agencies to help them design promotional materials.

Bar chart showing arts & design as top US freelance industry, followed by marketing and computers/math.

The largest proportion of freelancers specialize in art and design.

13. Ghostwriter

If you have always wanted to be a published author and write a book but want to remain anonymous, you could start a ghostwriting business. You can ghostwrite blog posts, articles, books, and everything in between from the comfort of your own home.

14. Video editor

If you love filming and editing videos, then starting a video editing business is a good way to go. Video editing skills are in demand, so you’ll be able to find a ton of work, commercial and private (working with Youtube creators or other small entrepreneurs).

15. Podcast producer

Podcasting is also on the rise, and all podcast shows need audio editors and producers. If you have the skills or want to take an online course and learn the skill, then you might consider starting a podcast production company.

16. Freelance web developer

Building websites is a lucrative business idea for you if you have a passion for IT and coding. Every business needs an online presence, and with the technologies always changing, they will always need someone to help them build the perfect website.

best business to start from home for women

Entrepreneur ideas for women

17. PR agency

If you work in public relations or are passionate about working with people, then starting your PR agency might be a good business idea. You can work with individual influencers or brands, helping them craft their identities and grow their businesses.

18. Membership site

A membership site charges members a monthly or yearly fee for ongoing content, such as new lessons, templates or live Q&As. It turns one-off sales into recurring revenue, and it pairs well with a course you already sell. See our guide to creating a membership site, or set one up with our memberships.

19. Travel agency

If you love to travel, you might want to consider starting a travel agency. Travel agents scour the world for the best holiday destinations and deals, put together holiday packages for different occasions and work with people to ensure they have the best vacation experience.

You will have to connect hotels and local tour guides with tourists, so it might be beneficial to be familiar with the country or even speak the language to ensure you can get the most authentic offers and experiences for your clients.

20. Coach

If you enjoy communicating with people and helping them find purpose and a path in life, you might consider becoming a life coach. Life coaches work with people, helping them navigate certain areas of their life. You can be focused on productivity, time management, confidence, dating, relationships, body confidence, and more. You can sell coaching sessions alongside a course with our coaching tools.

21. Freelance photographer

Freelance photography is a highly sought-after business skill. If you have photography skills or have always wanted to learn photography, you can easily find work taking photos for brands worldwide.

22. Content creator

If you have always dreamed of creating and sharing content on social media, then content creation might be the right business idea for you. Content creators can work with brands directly, creating content for their platforms, like BuzzFeed.

Or, you can go solo and grow your social media following by posting online and building your audience. Content creators have many different ways to monetize their business, from affiliate marketing to brand sponsorships, and the sky is the limit when it comes to how much you can make as a content creator.

One downside to this business is how often the social media landscape changes. As a content creator, you’ll always have to be ready to adapt and learn new platforms and how to utilize them for your business.

23. Online store

Ecommerce is a popular women-owned business idea. You can start an online store in a few steps with Shopify and sell anything, from clothing, and jewelry, to kitchen appliances. And social media is one of the easiest places to promote your online store and get more eyes on your products.

24. Wedding planning

Wedding planning is a lucrative business idea. As a wedding planner, you’ll work with clients to help them prepare for their weddings, helping them find the best venue and catering, send out invitations and make sure that the program for the event goes smoothly.

You can organize weddings locally where you live. Or, you might opt for starting a destination wedding planning business, planning celebrations abroad.

Side hustles for women

25. Open an Amazon store

Selling products on Amazon is a very lucrative business idea. You can pick out products from wholesalers, create a store on Amazon, and sell them for a profit.

26. Transcription

You can find transcription work from home. If you’re a fast typer and don’t mind repetitive admin work, then this side hustle is perfect for you. You can find companies hiring and applying without any prior experience or certification needed.

27. Teach English

If you love language and teaching people, then you might want to consider teaching people English online. There are companies that allow you to register with them and find people, or you might put up an ad on Facebook or Craigslist and find clients yourself.

28. Tutor

If you have a love for math, science, or another subject, you might start a tutoring side hustle, either in person or online. You can tutor small kids or teenagers, depending on your knowledge levels.

29. Dog walking

Dog walking can be a great side hustle for animal lovers. You can start by asking your neighbors or putting up local ads to let people know about your services.

30. Consulting

If you work in business, finance, IT, or any other sector but want an extra way to make money, you might consider doing consulting on the side. A lot of firms hire outside consultants and pay top dollar for their services.

31. Sell art

All the artists have the opportunity to sell their art online, either through social media or places like Etsy. If you’re passionate about painting, put up your art for sale to make extra money.

32. Customer service

Remote customer service work lets you answer emails, chats and calls for companies from home. Many companies hire part-time support agents, and experience in retail or hospitality carries over well.

Fun business ideas for women

33. Candlemaking

Candles are extremely popular everywhere. You can create themed candles for every season, book-related candles for book lovers, or massage oil candles for couples and sell them on Etsy.

34. Organization expert

If your home is always organized and your favorite time to pass the time by organizing your home, you might want to consider starting a professional home organization business. You can have fun helping other people organize their lives and homes.

35. Podcast

Podcasting can be a great business idea if you have a passion for media. The demand for audio content is growing, brands are always looking for new podcasts to advertise on. And some podcasts are even able to build large enough audiences that they’re legitimate multi-million dollar businesses.

36. Start a Youtube channel

YouTuber is one of the most popular career choices for the younger generation. And not without reason. Top YouTube creators report earning millions from turning their channels into businesses.

You are free to choose whatever topic you’d want your channel to revolve around, and as it grows, you can monetize it in various ways like affiliate marketing, AdSense, brand deals, and more.

37. Vintage reseller

Reselling clothing and vintage furniture on eBay or Facebook Marketplace can turn into a profitable business. One of the best examples is the clothing store Nasty Gal, which started out as an eBay store selling second-hand vintage clothing.

You can find stock to sell in your local second-hand and charity shops and find the best deal on furniture. You might want to look for local yard sales.

38. Voice actress

Narrating audiobooks is a great business idea for those with a pleasant voice. The demand for audiobooks is growing amongst book lovers each year. You can start with companies like ACX or start your own company offering voice-acting services for authors.

Home-based business ideas for women

39. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the most lucrative online business models. It’s a form of marketing when you make money by earning a commission for recommending products and people using your affiliate link to purchase the products.

Most companies have an affiliate marketing program available that you can sign up for direct and start earning a commission. Alternatively, you can join an affiliate network.

40. Blogging

Blogging is a perfect home-based business idea for stay-at-home moms or anyone looking for freedom at work. You can blog about anything you want, there is a niche for most topics, and you can always monetize your blog, even with a smaller audience.

41. Proofreader

Proofreaders work with publishing houses, independent authors, and corporate clients to help them make sure their written content is free from grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and formatting errors. If you have attention to detail, then proofreading might be a good business idea.

42. A virtual assistant

If you’re looking for a business idea where you would have an opportunity of working from home, then starting out a virtual assistant business might be for you. Virtual assistants do a variety of tasks like invoices, emails, agenda management, social media management, and more.

43. Freelance editor

If you have a good grasp of the English language and have attention to detail, you can start a freelance editing business. Freelance editors work with bloggers, corporate clients, and authors to make sure that written content is grammatically correct or help develop structure and plot and ensure its quality.

44. Freelance writer

As a freelance writer, you’ll work with a range of different clients in writing blog content, product descriptions, website copy, ebooks, white papers, magazine articles, SEO writing, and much more. Freelance writers can earn anything between $10 to $1,000+ per piece of content, depending on their skill set, the industry they’re in, and experience.

45. Sell on Etsy

Etsy is a popular marketplace for small businesses. You can open an online store and sell various things without the fuss of managing an online store. Anything from vintage clothing to handcrafted bowls and digital downloads can be sold on Etsy, so you have many options to choose from.

46. Social media management

Social media management is the type of business that gives you flexibility and allows you to choose how you want to run it. You can work with individual brands or creators to help them manage their social media accounts. Or you can create an agency where you employ social media managers who manage various social media accounts for different clients.

Whichever idea fits your skills and schedule, turning what you know into a course or coaching program can turn a one-off side hustle into income that keeps coming in. Start a 7-day trial and build your first course before committing to a plan.

FAQs

What is the best business for a woman to start?

The best business for a woman to start is the one that she is passionate about and has expertise in. One of these two things is key to building a successful, profitable business and ensuring its longevity. Building a business from the ground up can be lonely and stressful. It might take a while to see any profit, and depending on the idea, it might require a lot of investment, money, or time-wise. So, if you want to start a business, make sure that you are ready to commit to the idea long-term and be patient with it before you see any results.

Which business is good for beginners?

Any business that doesn’t require a large monetary investment or the investment is small enough that you won’t have to take on debt just to get started. Most businesses that fit this criterion are online businesses like selling digital templates, online courses, and affiliate marketing.

Alternatively, you might start a business by utilizing your skills like writing, or editing, because they don’t require any upfront cost. Also, starting a YouTube channel or becoming a social media influencer as you can do most filming and editing with your phone without needing to invest in professional equipment. For more options, see our list of low-cost, high-profit business ideas.

Which business is best for women from home?

The best home-based businesses need little startup money and use skills you already have. Online courses, coaching, freelance writing, virtual assistance, social media management and digital downloads can all run from home with a laptop and an internet connection.

What is the easiest home-based business to start?

Service businesses built on a skill you already have are usually the easiest to start, because there is nothing to build first. Freelance writing, proofreading, virtual assistance and tutoring can start with one client. Courses and digital downloads take more setup, but they can keep selling after you create them.

Key terms

Side hustle: A small, flexible business or gig you run alongside a full-time job or other income, often part-time and low-risk to start.

Freelance: Working for multiple clients on a project basis rather than being employed by one company, common in writing, design, editing and photography.

Affiliate marketing: Earning a commission by recommending another company's product or service through a unique link, without having to create or ship anything yourself.

Home-based business: Any business you can run from home with minimal equipment, such as a laptop and an internet connection, instead of a physical storefront or office.

Membership site: A website that charges members a recurring monthly or yearly fee for ongoing access to content or services.

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Your Black Friday starts here: 4 steps to take before you build your offer

October 13, 2026

Black Friday is eight weeks away, and if you're like most creators, you're thinking about your offer. But the creators who have their best Black Friday don't start there. They start with their buyers: who has already bought from them, what those people bought, and where in the world they live.

Here's what to do before you build anything, and how each step should shape your offer.

Step 1: Look at who's already bought from you

Your best Black Friday audience are the people who have already trusted you with their money. Pull your sales from the last 12 months in Teachable and look for three things:

What they bought most. Your bestsellers are your strongest anchor for a Black Friday bundle or headline offer.
What they bought together. If students who buy Course A often come back for Course B, that pairing is a ready-made bundle.
Who bought once and never came back. These are your repurchase opportunities: people who already like your work and might just need the right offer to buy again.

These insights are where your offer should come from. Bundles, early access for past buyers, or a "complete the set" deal for students who already own one course give people a reason to buy beyond a discount, and that's exactly what top-performing Teachable creators lean on.

Step 2: Find out where your audience actually lives

Teachable Payments checkout block with globe background showing international countries for selling

Now look at the same buyers, plus your site traffic, email list, and social followers, by country. Many creators are surprised by what they find: a meaningful share of their audience is outside their home country, often people who have followed for years but never bought.

It’s not for lack of interest, either. If you ask creators why they don't actively sell internationally, many will mention a conversation with an accountant or advisor who warned them that selling abroad could trigger tax registration or filing obligations. That warning has some merit. Many countries require sellers of digital products to collect and remit tax on sales to their residents, and in places like the EU and the UK, that can start with the very first sale. So international buyers quietly get left out of the plan, whether or not anyone decided they should be.

During Black Friday, that decision becomes more costly than any other time of the year. It's when your entire audience, wherever they live, is looking for a reason to buy. If a slice of your list is international and your plan ignores them, your biggest sales weekend is capped before it sta

"Teachable was easy and intuitive from the start. I could upload my digital products without having to build a website, set up payments, or figure out currency conversion for my international audience."

— Anjali Viramgama, Tech & AI creator

‍Step 3: Build your plan for every buyer, not just local ones

Once you know who your buyers are and where they are, plan for them deliberately:

Time your emails to their evening. Last year on Teachable, evening hours drove the largest share of Black Friday sales. If a big share of your list is in Europe or Australia, a 10 PM send in your time zone could hit them at breakfast. Consider a second send, or segment by region, for a more accurate message.
Write deadlines in a time zone they'll understand. "Ends Monday at midnight ET" is clear. "Ends Monday" is not, to someone eight hours ahead.
Set expectations about tax at checkout. International buyers sometimes see taxes added at checkout and message you asking why they paid more. A single line on your sales page, such as "Prices shown before applicable local taxes, which are calculated at checkout," answers that before it lands in your inbox mid-sale.

Step 4: Make sure your checkout is ready for them

Teachable Payments graphic showing mobile checkout interface, as well as sales notifications, affiliate payouts, tax handling, and global selling capabilities.

The last step takes 10 minutes and protects everything you already planned. Before Black Friday, check that:

You're selling through Teachable Payments. It calculates and remits sales tax and VAT in 45+ countries for you, so the part your accountant warned you about is handled without separate registrations or per-country filings.
Your checkout offers the ways people prefer to pay. Options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, buy now pay later (BNPL), and local payment methods help keep buyers from dropping off when traffic is at its highest.
Your order bumps and upsells are set up. If Step 1 showed you which products sell well together, an order bump at checkout or an upsell right after is the easiest way to turn one Black Friday sale into two.

“Before Teachable, handling payments manually through PayPal was not working for me. Now everything is integrated and easy to use, so I can focus on creating the curriculum and finding new ways to serve my students.”

— Wendy Ramirez, Founder & CEO of Spanish Sin Pena

Your to-do list for this week

Log in to Teachable and pull your last 12 months of sales. Note your top products, your most common pairings, and where your buyers are. That's your Black Friday map, and it should take less than an hour. Once you have it, you’ll know what to offer and who to offer it to.

I’ve Built 368 Digital Products. Here Are the 5 Reasons I Kill One.