13 business opportunities you can ethically make money from during the lockdown

How can you tell when someone is likely to be successful? While the world loses its head over a pandemic, they stop and find new opportunities created by the situation. If their ethics are intact, they find ways to meet needs while making money doing so.

If this article interests you, you’re probably one of these people. Your likelihood of making money from the information I’m about to share depends on your capacity to take action. Are you read-and-go, or a read-and-take-massive-action?

I suggest that as you read this article, you do not skim over and assume that these ideas are for someone else. Remember how the title called out to you? (And if it didn’t, my apologies – please join the remaining 99% in full-panic) The fact that you’re reading this at all means that this article resonates with the desire for wealth within you, and this is the first hurdle crossed. You are more than capable of taking one idea from this and making more money than you’ve made since January 2020 with it. Look out for the business opportunity that resonates with you – your skills, your experience and the opportunities around you – and take action immediately. The biggest lesson of Frank Kern’s best-selling book, 10x is how taking massive action is one of the biggest guarantees of success.

The opportunities I will list below directly relate to the unfortunate, recent coronavirus outbreak that is causing devastation around the world. These suggestions are designed to identify needs created by the outbreak, and offer ethical, practical ways to meet these needs – and make money doing so. Here we go:

1. Create a coronavirus testing kit

If you have no scientific background, skip this paragraph. If you do have a scientific/lab testing background, read on. The world is desperate for a portable coronavirus testing kit and you can make money on an unprecedented scale by supplying what the world needs at this time – if you have the skills to do so. The USA – the country with the highest purchasing power in the world is running on a shortage of testing kits. The shortage is so bad, and the need is so great that Bill Gates is heavily invested in funding the development of a coronavirus testing kit. However, this is taking some time. If you in your little scientific bubble have a viable idea on how to get this product ready for the market, this is the time to either develop it or reach out to investors or even the Bill Gates Foundation team.

E-commerce coronavirus opportunities

During a pandemic like this, it is not surprising that the need for self-preservation is at an all-time high. People want to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, above all things and those able to afford it will pay to achieve this.

According to Maslow’s theory, needs lower down in the pyramid must be achieved first before needs higher up. If we’ve learnt anything from this outbreak, it’s that we know less about physiological needs than we previously thought – the human species obviously votes toilet paper as fundamental for survival so let’s not get it twisted.

Now that we know what we deem as important during these trying times, how can we put ourselves in a position to deliver these needs to the maximum number of paying customers in 2020?

E-commerce.

It is far easier to sell items in 2020 than it has ever been in the history of doing business. With a little computer literacy, anyone can set up a fully-functioning store and offer items for sale to anyone on the globe – thanks to software such as Shopify.

My experimental store on Shopify generated over $45,000 (excluding ad spend and expenses) since it started, and I’m probably considered one of the lower earners on the platform.

There are thousands of people out there making millions of dollars each day from their Shopify stores alone.

Setting up a great store is actually easier than you might think – as long as you have the time. If you have the time, Youtube should be your first port of call as there are hundreds of tutorials to guide you. If however, you are time-poor but can invest, you can either pay someone on Fiverr to set up a store for you or purchase an already running through the Shopify Exchange program. The latter is obviously a more expensive option, but this is because you are paying for is the expertise, customer list, and perhaps even social media accounts. You could probably start making money from day 1 by simply sending an e-mail to the existing store customer list.

One crucial thing to remember – possibly more important than the store itself is driving traffic. Learn traffic methods from Facebook ads to SEO for e-commerce. I would strongly suggest taking a Facebook ads course to reduce your rate of failure drastically.

This is probably a no-brainer but if you’re buying a store, ensure that you buy one in the same niche as the products you intend to sell.

Now that we’ve briefly touched on the subject of setting up e-commerce stores, let’s move on to profitable product ideas during the coronavirus epidemic.

2. Sell coronavirus flu supplies

Apart from the essentials that have proven more valuable than otherwise expected, several other key items seem to have disappeared from retail shelves and more and more people are looking for them online. The lack of stock plus the need to quarantine means that anyone selling supplies online will probably be sought after by customers. Is there any better time to enter an industry than when people are seeking you?

Before getting into the technical aspect of selling online, you need to have a solid strategy that makes you money. Here’s what I suggest:

• Step 1. Find bulk suppliers for the stock you want to sell. Yes, they are inundated, but there are still suppliers out there who aren’t ranking very highly in Google but who have stock to sell. Be persistent with your research and call companies if you have to ask for their MOQ (minimum order quantity). If they can send directly to your customers (dropshipping), even better – that means you don’t even have to touch the stock or buy inventory!
• Step 2. Once you have secured the stock, get an online presence. You can get an eBay/Amazon account or just go straight and set up your own online store using Shopify for as little as $29.99. They offer a free 14-day trial in which time you could probably figure out whether or not you can make the cost of your subscription. If you don’t want to go down the store creation route, you could create a single product funnel using software like Clickfunnels. Clickfunnels helps you create a standard product page with a “Buy” button and the opportunity to position other products as extras or “upsells”. This costs $97/month, but also comes with a 14-day trial.
• Market your products. Here’s where the work lies – and we’re so lucky to live in a world where social media connects us to millions of people at the touch of a button. Use your button-touching prowess to share your items on social media networks and watch the sales roll in.

What to sell? Here are some products that are hot during this coronavirus epidemic:

3. Sell immunity supplements

If you have ever fancied owning a supplements brand, now is the time to take the leap. More than ever, people are concerned about boosting their natural immunity, and there is no better time to offer people what they want. The great thing is that you don’t even need a degree in chemistry to be able to achieve this because there are a number of professional labs in reputable countries happy to white-label (create your own product under your brand name/logo) whatever supplements you ask them to produce. This is what they specialise in, so you don’t have to think about where to get raw they source and manufacture on your companies behalf – all you have to focus on is your marketing. Some labs will even dropship products to customers on your behalf!

Data shows that high-dose vitamin C and natural immunity boosters such as echinacea might be a great market to get into at the moment.

4. Home-working equipment

Based on the data from Amazon’s Movers & Shakers section, USB headsets with noise-cancelling mics are hot right now. We can only assume that this is because more people are transitioning to working from home. What else are these people buying?

There is a huge opportunity in fulfilling the needs of people who might need to start working from home – and this is a big market, especially when you consider that many homes may not be conducive and people might need to put some effort into making their home working environments conducive for home working. Could you sell home-working furniture, webcams, noise-cancelling equipment etc?

5. Personalised remote fitness services

Generally, gym memberships tend to be a great way for home workers to socialise and keep fit – but in these coronavirus times, gyms might be seen as hotbeds for infection. This means that many homeworkers may turn to personalised fitness programs and fitness videos to help keep their fitness levels up. If you’re a personal trainer or if you have any experience in fitness and nutrition, this is right up your street. There are plenty of opportunities to create an online fitness program specifically for homeworkers, as people are more likely to switch to home-based fitness programs. If you have always been interested in fitness or becoming a fitness instructor, the market is ready. There are self-paced fitness instructor courses that can offer you the certification you need to work as a remote fitness instructor for your home working clients.

There are so many directions you could take this in:

• Sell already-made fitness plans online
• Offer remote fitness coaching to your clients
• Offer nutrition coaching
• Create fitness videos and sell these online. If you don’t have a full-blown website, you can just create a funnel and highlight your strengths.

Make money as an affiliate

With people opting to work from home, there are bound to be a new wave of small companies and freelancers who are new to the concept of teleconferencing and who will be seeking new products and reviews.

This is the opportunity to give them what they seek by way of reviews and product comparisons and earn a commission for every new sale you get.

To do this, start by registering on an affiliate network. I personally find that Shareasale has one of the easiest user interfaces to understand – plus it is quite easy to register on the network.

Find a video conferencing affiliate program and you can review or blog about it

Apply to programs featuring tools or software you are interested in. Some ways you can make money as an affiliate include:

6. Affiliate for online collaboration tools

The general advice in most affected areas is to self-quarantine if you notice flu-like symptoms. This means that more people forced to work from home under self-quarantine are likely to seek online collaboration tools to help them with their work. Shareasale features a few tools in this category – write some helpful reviews and comparisons for these products, and watch the money roll in.

7. Affiliate for travel insurance 

Imagine you already had a flight booked to a destination attractive enough to make you want to risk it – what would you do? Many people in this situation would seek travel insurance cover as the risk of flight cancellations are at an all-time high. And where is this insurance sought? Online.  So what does a savvy internet marketer do in this case? Easy – position yourself to fulfil the needs of the customer and sign up as an affiliate for travel insurance products. Ideas to sell this could include best travel insurance offers for travelling to select destinations, travel insurance comparisons etc.

8. Affiliate for private doctors appointments and consultations

There’s no doubt that health systems are bound to be overwhelmed with not just a high volume of cases, but also a high number of critical cases which will need to be prioritised. The effect of this is that many routine health ailments might be considered by the hospital as lower priority.

People who can afford private healthcare might have to start shopping around for private healthcare options and you could probably help them make better decisions through recommendations that you make.

Offer your expertise

You know what they say: someone knows what you need and someone needs what you know. Well, this is the time to figure out how you can use what you know to make money while helping others during the coronavirus outbreak. As a result of this epidemic, people with lives and routines will have to temporarily transition their lifestyles and routines. Workers might need to work from home, children might need to be homeschooled and more purchases will be made online. The question is – where can your skills help with this transition?

To be able to offer your expertise in a way that is beneficial in these uncertain times, it is first important to identify what skills you have that might be of value to people affected by the coronavirus epidemic. Here are ways you can use your skills to earn extra income during the coronavirus outbreak:

9. Teach antenatal classes online

If you’re the organised sort of person who is capable of preparing adequately for the arrival of your offspring, your services are likely to be urgently needed. With travel bans left right and centre, new parents – especially first-time parents – depending on extended family to help them out might lose out on the extra help. Some might have had parenting classes cancelled, as a result of restrictions on gatherings of people. This might be the opportunity you need. If you have the experience and capability of coaching new parents you could set up a virtual weekly parent preparation class where you can stream your classes online and interact with your students.

The thought might be very daunting if you aren’t a technical person, but there is software available that can help you create online classes, collect payment and stream an interactive class to audiences. If this is new to you, check the curriculum of current classes and build out your curriculum from them. Figure out ways to modify yours in a way that can be easily delivered online.

10. Create homeschooling plans

Calling all teachers and educators. School closures are a great opportunity to use your magical lesson-planning skills in these times of parental distress. Parents who might be new to the world of home-working with small kids might benefit from daily or weekly lesson plans which allow parents pace activities throughout the working day. If you’re extra good with planning and organisation, you could even create a customised plan for parents as well.

11. Meditation courses

In disaster situations like these with so many uncertainties, it is expected that people will reach new levels of despair. This might lead to a more open approach towards finding some calm, even if it comes from ideas not previously considered. At this point, people might be more open to trying out meditation, yoga or any alternative therapies likely to promote a sense of calm. Sites such as The Guided Meditation Site offer a number of excellent resources on how to create your own meditations.

12. Offer businesses coaching on adaptability

Do you have a business consulting background, or have you ever seen an organisation through a period of change? This epidemic might offer you an opportunity to offer businesses consulting services to small businesses that might need to re-strategise during this time.

13. Create content and activities for kids

If you have any teaching experience and/or have ever wanted to get into education, there’s no better time to launch this side-hustle! For kids spending more time at home during the coronavirus epidemic, there’s only so much of the regular homeschooling content that they can take, and if there’s anything we know about kids, it is that kids need constant stimulation. This means that there will be a HUGE market for kids video content – courses, Youtube videos etc as well as activity packs that aim to complete the learning experience. Things like activity packs, science experiment, puzzles etc are all likely to take off. If you can niche down and create these in European languages, even better as you could very quickly start fishing in the blue ocean.