The problem with some business ideas is their cost. To manufacture and market a product you have invented could cost you millions of dollars. The investment in machinery, buildings, inventory and other expenditures could bankrupt you before your first sale ever occurred.
For this reason, many prefer to run a paper business. Paper businesses do not require large investments of capital for expensive equipment, inventory, and buildings. Many paper businesses can be run from your own home.
A paper business is a business that can be operated mainly using pieces of paper, such as contracts, invoices, shipping documents, et cetera.
Here are some excellent paper businesses that you can operate.
1. Consulting
Consultants charge large fees for their knowledge, expertise, skills, connections, experience, and other assets. This business can be operated from home with little more than standard office equipment and supplies.
Consulting is a paper business because your product is an intangible service. Your results are often summarized in a written, paper report and you use written contracts to protect your interests.
2. Finding
A professional finder finds something needed by a business or individual for a finder’s fee. The finder doesn’t invest in product inventory because he’s not selling it. He simply collects a fee for arranging to introduce a buyer to a seller. The finder conducts his business using contracts and other written documentation.
3. Drop Shipping
Another business (or method of business) where you don’t invest in product inventory or retail space is drop shipping. When your customer buys from you, perhaps through the mail, by phone, or on the Internet, you simply contact your supplier, who then ships it to your customer. Your paper business involves taking the order, billing and collecting from your customer as well as ordering, giving shipping instructions, and paying your supplier.
4. Affiliate Programs
With affiliate and associate programs, you collect commissions from the sale of other peoples’ products. Again, you have no investment in product inventory or expensive facilities.
5. Webmastering
Another knowledge-based paper business is webmastering. Whether you design websites, perform internet marketing, or render other needed services, your business is again mainly intangible services backed up by paper records and contracts.
6. International Trade
Many times import and export transactions can be conducted on a commission basis. It is also possible to buy, sell and ship merchandise without ever having even seen it. Letters of credit, bills of lading, and other agreements are needed in this paper business.
7. Licensing
Instead of trying to finance the manufacturing and marketing of your invention, why not license it to a company with the expertise and capability required? You will then receive royalties in return for your idea.
As well, you could become a licensing agent, arranging licensing deals on behalf of other companies and individuals, taking a percentage of sales as compensation.
There are many other paper businesses that you could consider, including mortgage brokering, commission sales, equipment leasing, real estate, and franchising. This is by no means an exhaustive list. With some thoughtful consideration, you, too, could make your fortune from a paper business.