In the face of ever-rising business start-up costs, more people are looking for sell from home opportunities in South Africa to boost their incomes at the least possible cost.
Fortunately, there are several options you could consider if you’re thinking of going this route. This article suggests seven potential opportunities you could venture into.
Sell from home opportunities in South Africa
1 Direct selling
Direct selling is one of those sell from home opportunities in South Africa that could potentially become lucrative for driven, entrepreneurial and resourceful individuals.
According to the Direct Selling Association of SA (DSASA), direct sellers are “entrepreneurs who market and sell products and services, typically away from a fixed retail establishment, through one-to-one selling, online sales, sales through social media platforms, group product demonstrations/presentations or a combination and with online support.”
This means you can easily sell products obtained from your direct selling company from home at a profit as long as you establish an online presence. You can also market/advertise them in your neighbourhood. What can I sell to make money from home, you may ask. Popular products range from phones and accessories to fashion, baby, health and beauty products.
You can visit Business Owl here for a list of popular direct selling companies in South Africa and explore this opportunity further with those companies.
2 Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is the practice of promoting a retailer’s products or services at a commission. The most common way of doing this is by starting an affiliate marketing website.
On this website, you will publish content related to the products/services you’re marketing along with links to the retailer/advertiser’s website where the sale will take place. You will then earn a commission each time someone originating from your website buys that product or service.
Affiliate partners can easily work from home and only need a device that connects to the internet, such as a smartphone, laptop or PC, and time to produce content on their website. You can explore a list of South African affiliate marketing programmes here.
3 Photography
If you like nature and the outdoors and list photography as a hobby, you could turn this profitable by selling your photos online. News organisations, bloggers, advertisers and medium/small businesses around the world buy stock photos for their websites regularly.
In particular, there is proven demand for pictures of people in work or business settings as well as travel/holiday, nature and cityscape pictures. The first step would be starting a photography website where you showcase and sell your photos from the comfort of your home.
Additionally, you can submit your images to popular stock photos websites such as Adobe Stock, Alamy, Shutterstock, Fotomoto and Crestock where buyers from around the world can buy them.
4 Freelancing
Freelancing is another one of those popular sell from home opportunities in South Africa, but in this case, you will be selling your services such as writing, proofreading, editing and designing websites or business logos.
The best way to start would be to set up profiles on online freelance platforms such as Freelancer, Upwork and People Per Hour along with samples showcasing your work and experience. These platforms connect you to potential clients around the world and are linked to secure payment channels such as PayPal.
5 Sell on Etsy
There are many South Africans who have a talent for creating handmade artefacts which may include jewellery, arts and crafts, gifts and cloths. If you’re one of them, you may consider selling these items on e-commerce website Etsy right from the comfort of your home.
It is straightforward to register on Etsy, which will connect you to a global market of online buyers. Make sure to brush up on your marketing and business skills to beat the competition because the platform may charge listing and transaction fees. Another major consideration is shipping costs (which you should of course add to your selling prices) and logistics because your clients could be overseas.
6 E-commerce
E-commerce websites such as e-Bay and Amazon can be potentially lucrative for business-savvy South Africans looking to make money online from home.
These platforms also sell a wide range of products to the South African market. The first step is to sign up and research the bestselling rating (BSR) for various products. From these, choose the ones you wish to sell and select wholesalers who match your budget.
Finally, place an order for a defined number of items and market them on the platforms. With correct research and pricing, you could make decent mark-up profits as an e-commerce seller.
7 Monetise your website
If you have a writing hobby, you could take it online and make it profitable right from home by putting it all on a monetised website. Produce family-friendly and engaging content that wins you a stable audience online, often with help from a Facebook or Twitter page you can start simultaneously.
Once you’ve built a growing audience on your website, you can sign up with publishing partners such as Google AdSense to monetise your website. If you’re accepted on the platform, Google will place advertisements on your website and you will earn a share of the advertising revenue when readers click on these adverts.
Research and more research
Whichever option you choose, it is always advisable to conduct further research on it to make sure it’s the right fit for you. Good luck!