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- Layoff buzz has intensified as major firms make headlines for laying off staff.
- Some people may be nervous about their income and considering a side hustle to reap ancillary earnings.
- Insider compiled a list of some of the easiest, most popular, and cheapest businesses to start.
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It's not just you, the buzz of layoffs has intensified recently as major companies make headlines for letting go of thousands of employees.
What's more, candidate salary offers are lower now than in previous years, recruiters told Insider.
To be sure, Labor Department data shows that layoffs remain historically low, but these factors might still have some people nervous about their income and considering a side hustle to reap ancillary earnings. Insider compiled a list of some of the easiest, most popular, and cheapest businesses to start right now along with insight from founders in these industries.
Two side hustles hit all categories: virtual assistant and resale. Both can be done online, don't require hefty startup investments, and can be relatively easy to maintain depending on the entrepreneur's ambitions for growth.
Annalisa Abell
Today it's easier than ever to start your own side hustle because most of the tools you need exist online. Additionally, many are free or otherwise affordable.
"If you want to start a business, don't pay attention to the headlines," Cynthia Franklin, the director of entrepreneurship at New York University's WR Berkley Innovation Labs, previously told Insider. "Instead, look around you for opportunity or gaps where the status quo could be better for somebody and then work to fix it. If you do that, it doesn't matter if there's a recession."
Insider compiled a list of the most popular online businesses to start in 2023, based on our previous reporting.
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It's an especially promising time for solopreneurs — business owners who run a company without employees — to capitalize on skills they already have, said Dave Mawhinney, an entrepreneurship professor and executive director of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University.
Insider spoke with economists and entrepreneurs about the best businesses to start in 2023.
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Many side hustles today have zero startup costs and cheap options for scaling up.
"At the early stage, the capital needs are at their lowest ever," Mawhinney previously told Insider. "So if you can bootstrap it yourself, you can do that at any time, in any economy, under any situation."
Here are five side hustles to start with little or no money.