May 3, 2019 6 min read

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Up-and-coming generations have become increasingly conscious of world issues and they are motivated to make a difference. From being better consumers to having a positive impact on the environment, playing a role to help underdeveloped countries, having their say in politics, lending their services to help others, and even sharing their knowledge to educate those in need, more is being done to make the world a better place.

This, coupled with a drive to own their own businesses and be their own bosses, has led many wanting to find new and innovative ways of making money while having a positive impact on our planet. If you’re one of these people, here are 10 business ideas that could enable you to make money while changing the world.

1. Creating chatbots

While initially dismissed as a marketing fad, chatbots have shown themselves to be incredibly valuable to businesses of all kinds in various capacities:

• Building awareness and empathy
• Polling public sentiment
• Driving civic engagement
• Helping fight pollution
• Distributing accurate public health information
• Encouraging healthy living
• Offering people counseling

There are many chatbot-building platforms that allow you to build bots in a matter of minutes without the need for any coding knowledge.

Related: Top 10 Best Chatbot Platform Tools to Build Chatbots for Your Business

2. Online fundraising consultant

If you have a background in finance and experience in sales, you could put both these skills to good use by starting your own fundraising consultant business for charities. You’ll need to choose the types of charities you want to work with and get networking to create relationships with those you feel most passionate about. From there, all you need to do is prove to them that you can create and implement well-defined and efficient fundraising programs that will help them raise the money they need for their cause.

3. Educational blogging

Do you read blogs to get answers to your questions? Do you have a particular knowledge base that could come in handy to others? Maybe you’re an expert in all things travel, languages, or eco-friendly living? Whatever it is, you can share it with others for free! All you need to do is choose a free blog template and write regular posts. From there, you can read up on the various ways you could make a living writing about something you love. Some ways you could make an income include, but are not limited to:

• Using Google AdSense
• Starting an affiliates program
• Creating webinars
• Offering online courses

4. Teaching online

Similar to blogging, if you have a particular set of skills, then why not teach them to others. You’ll be providing a service to people, helping them better themselves while making a living. You could:

• Tutor college students
• Teach a language
• Teach someone how to do their taxes
• Set up an online course on how to start a small business
• Create a YouTube channel to educate people on healthy living
• Become a sustainability consultant for startups

Related: To Rapidly Enhance Your Business, Stop Selling and Start Teaching

5. Green app developer

People who want to go green often do not know where to start, so why not help them out? If you know how to develop web and mobile applications, you could create one that tells users how they can adopt a greener way of living. You could either make an application that discusses sustainability as a whole or you could focus on niches such as:

• Energy conservation
• Recycling
• Buying and making eco-friendly products
• Green living at home and at work

6. Uber driving

You may not have thought about this, but Uber drivers are saving the world one step at a time! It’s an easy career to start and do. As an Uber driver, you’re encouraging ride shares, and ensuring people in your area are getting to where they need to be, safely. You’d also be delivering food, which would reduce fuel emissions.

7. Social crowdfunding

Similar to microlending platforms, social crowdfunding is where social entrepreneurs find funding for their projects. You could create a social crowdfunding platform that links humanitarian projects to those willing to fund them. Instead of charging high interest rates and fees, they are offered a promise in return for their monetary investment. For example, positive advertisements highlighting them as investors or a lifetime membership to their company projects.

Related: 6 Trends That Are Shaping the Future of Crowdfunding

8. Creating a betterment program

Help those in need better themselves by creating a space whereby they can learn new employment skills that will help them get back on their feet. It could be a restaurant where you train and hire people in need to teach them skills with which they can start a career or even an e-learning course in business, marketing, or web development…the opportunities are endless. The profits of your establishment could go to paying and training them as well as creating new programs.

9. Writing ebooks

Similar to blogging, e-books allow you to teach others new skills through a digital book that will cost readers a fraction of the price of a printed copy while offering them the same level of education. E-books are free to start and can be sold on huge platforms such as Amazon. You could even donate copies to not-for-profit organizations who believe in your cause.

Related: A Simple 4-Step Process for Writing Your First Book in 100 Days

10. Create an educational travel company

More people are saving their money to see as much of the world as they can before it changes. Not only this, travelers have become increasingly interested in visiting countries where they can be involved in a community project. Although these types of matchmaking websites do exist, why not start an online travel company that:

• Educates people about the country in which they will be volunteering
• Tells volunteers what equipment they will need
• Shows travelers where they will be living
• Offers insights into the country in which they’ll be working
• Offers all-inclusive packages (e.g., flights, accommodations, food, transport, volunteering, etc.)

Finally…

People have become more aware of their surroundings. The news allows us to have a better understanding of what is happening around the world and a lot of it isn’t good. Everything we do as human beings has an impact and the business ideas outlined above are not only a good way to make money, but also make a difference.