Planning and preparation is essential to start your own business. Even if you think of a good business idea, it will take some time before becoming profitable so be patient and plan ahead!
Starting a small business is a great way to generate passive income and take control of your finances. If planned properly and worked hard at it, it could one day be very profitable. With the right determination and tools, even the smallest company can become a profitable small business.
Maybe you already have an idea of the type of business you want to start. But even though you might feel ready and passionate about your idea, it can still be hard to know where to go next.
To become a successful entrepreneur, you should start by finding a business idea that fits your skills, interests and expertise. Luckily for you, and this article will give as many ideas as possible to explore your interests. There are dozens of business ideas that can be scaled up or incorporated with other skills. Let’s get started!
Read more: How to Create a Website in 7 Steps from Scratch
What makes a good small business idea?
Not all business ideas are equal: Some need a lot of hard work and money, some can be started with what you already have. A while ago I read a blog post that said: A small business owner needs to be cheap. As true today as it was then.
There are several factors that can make a small business idea good:
Factors
- Solves a problem or meets a need: A good small business idea should aim to solve a problem or meet a need in the market. This could be a product or service that addresses a specific pain point or fulfills a demand that is not being met by existing businesses.
- Has a clear target market: A small business idea should have a clear target market, which is the group of people most likely to buy your product or service. This helps you tailor your marketing efforts and ensure that your business is meeting the needs of a specific group of consumers.
- Has a unique value proposition: A unique value proposition is a statement that clearly communicates the benefits of your product or service and how it is different from your competitors. A good small business idea should have a unique value proposition that sets it apart from other businesses in the market.
- Is scalable: A good small business idea should have the potential to grow and expand over time. This means that it should be able to handle an increase in demand as the business grows, and should have the potential to reach a wider market.
- Is financially viable: A good small business idea should be financially viable, meaning it should be able to generate enough revenue to cover its costs and provide a profit. This involves conducting market research to determine the potential demand for your product or service, and creating a financial plan that takes into account all of the costs associated with starting and running a business.
Try our Free Grammar Checker
What is a business idea?
A business idea is a concept for a product or service that can be turned into a successful business. It is the starting point for starting a business, and it should be based on an identified need or opportunity in the market. A good business idea should be something that is in demand and has the potential to be profitable. It should also be feasible to implement and should align with the skills and resources of the entrepreneur.
To come up with a business idea, it can be helpful to consider your strengths, interests, and passions, as well as the problems or needs that exist in your community or industry. It can also be helpful to conduct market research to identify potential opportunities and to validate the demand for your product or service. Once you have identified a potential business idea, it is important to thoroughly research and evaluate it to determine its feasibility and potential for success.
Best Business Ideas
Here is a list of the 100+ best small business ideas to start in 2023.
1. Start a Profitable Blog.
When you start an online business, you’re presumably selling one of three things:
- Your time (consulting or coaching).
- Your own products (SaaS or Ecommerce).
- Someone else’s products (ads or affiliate marketing).
With a blog, you can sell all of these simply from one website and make the most money of any online business idea out there.
There are Many Ways to Make Money Blogging
One of the substantial misconceptions that I see bloggers having about monetising blogs is that they have to do it in one of a handful of ways. The reality is that there are many ways to make money blogging.
Read More: Why Blogging Is Important for Businesses and Marketing
Here is a list of the list of all the ways how bloggers making money from their blogs. Check this money map. (Source : ProBlogger).
If you’re interested in learning how to start a blog check out my ultimate guide.
Some of the steps I cover in my blogging guide include:
- Choosing your niche based on four primary business factors, not your passions.
- How to choose your domain name and set up web hosting provider, like SiteGround or Hostinger.
- How to install a simple WordPress theme along with all of the relevant plugins a real bloggers need.
- Getting to know SEO tools and performing individual keyword research to generate traffic to your blog.
- Becoming skillful in search engine optimization (SEO) writing to help your content rank.
- Scaling your guest blogging and link building strategies to build Domain Authority.
- Monetizing your blog with the right strategy at the right stage of your blog’s growth.
If you’re ready to get started now, I recommend you sign-up with SiteGround or Hostinger.
Blogging is high-reward business idea, the ultimate low-risk, and my top pick.
With high profits and a low barrier-to-entry, it’s a great idea, even while working full-time.
2. Coaching and Online Courses.
It has become easier to share your expertise or knowledge via online course platforms.
If you are passionate about something, or a subject matter expert, then you can convert it into a substantial income.
Offer coaching classes to students, build a community to help while building your online coaching business.
You can set up a Facebook page or a podcast where you can reach out to people looking for online coaching classes.
There are also online course platforms, including Thinkific and Teachable, to help you get started quickly. You can register on these platforms and start online coaching right away.
3. Start an Ecommerce Business.
With COVID-19 accelerating ecommerce 4-6 years, retailers are moving online faster than ever.
With ecommerce, there are multiple ways you can go – dropshipping, Amazon FBA, or full-fledged manufacturing your own products and selling them on your own website.
Dropshipping is a good option for beginners to ecommerce since you don’t have to fulfill orders or ship them yourself.
Dropshipping business is a process where online retailers post products from wholesalers, but the dropshipping suppliers manage all of the shipping.
The retailer only just has to generate online orders and send the shipping information to the wholesaler.
Here’s a breakdown of how dropshipping works:
For dropshipping business ideas, first you gonna need to do some market research and identify products in high demand.
You can also check top-selling products on sites like Google and Amazon Shopping to get more dropshipping business ideas.
You can learn more about dropshipping business in my ultimate guide to dropshipping.
If you want to build a website to do dropshipping, there are a few routes you can take. If you’re starting an dropshipping business from scratch, I recommend you get started by creating a Wix website.
WIX eCommerce it is the easiest-to-use ecommerce platform and come with all the marketing tools you need.
To Start Selling products online is a simple process:
- Choose your ecommerce platform.
- Upload or add product information to your online store.
- Choose a ecommerce theme and design your web pages.
- Set up settings for shipping and taxes.
- Test your shopping cart page functionality and do final QA checks.
- Launch your ecommerce website.
While it’s easy to launch an ecommerce business site, the challenge becomes how to get website traffic.
I wrote a full guide to ecommerce marketing which includes the top best eight strategies to drive traffic and sales.
If plan to have a storefront or you’re a brick and mortar retailer, your best option is to go with Square Online.
Square Online are the best ecommerce platforms for small businesses looking to move online.
They syncs with its popular Square POS system and offers a lot of features for small businesses, like the ability to book online appointments, online food ordering for restaurant websites, and tools for in-person retail.
You can start with Square Online for free, and only pay transaction fees. Upgrading to a Square paid plan will give you your own custom domain.
4. Start a Podcast.
Podcasting is witnessing a spectacular rise. Back in 2006, only just 22% of adults in the U.S. listened to podcasts. Now that number is over 75%.
You can make nice money too. Just take Joe Rogan as an example, who was paid $100 million to move his podcast exclusively to Spotify.
So how do you get started?
The first step is to plan your new podcast episodes and get your software and equipment.
Next, you gonna need to sign up for podcast hosting. A podcast host is a service that stores your audio files and distributes them to the major podcast networks like Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, iTunes and more.
You can read about all of the equipment you need to get started and the best podcast hosting services in my guide to podcast hosting.
5. Sell Custom Printed Products.
Another option for ecommerce is to create a brand and sell custom products like bags, T-shirts, stickers, mugs, etc.
There are lots of websites that take care of the logistics for you.
As an example, here’s how the process goes with a company like Printify:
- Start by Pick one of over 200 products you’d like to sell.
- Use a mockup generator to apply designs to your products based on graphics and images.
- Order samples just to make sure your products have the quality and feel that you’re looking for.
- Publish your new products and sync them automatically with an ecommerce platform like Shopify.
- When you make a sale, your product is put into production and you don’t have to manage any shipping or manufacturing.
To succeed with a custom digital printable business, you need a strong brand, excellent designs, and good marketing skills to generate sales.
6. Graphic Design.
Companies are always on a lookout for graphic designers to help them with their unique brand image.
From designing marketing collateral like posters, banners, and logos to designing websites and landing pages, the opportunities are vast.
You can pitch your design skills to individuals or small business owners to start your own business. Graphic designers can join freelance websites like Flexjobs to find relevant work.
If you have prior knowledge in grafic design, getting new clients should be relatively easy.
However, learning the basics of graphic design from scratch it is simple, with a lot of tutorials available and online courses.
First, you leverage graphic design software like Photoshop or Adobe InDesign to learn the foundation of graphic design.
Alternatively, you can also use other user-friendly online tools like Visme to tune up your graphic design skills further.
Here are some graphic design courses that will give you a great head start in this career:
- Fundamentals of Graphic Design (Coursera)
- Graphic Design Fundamentals: Getting Started (Creative Live)
I recommend you get started with Adobe Photoshop as part of Creative Cloud.
7. Web Development.
There are more then 4 billion internet users in the world and 6 out of 10 small businesses have them own website. Front-end web development it is a very valuable skill to cater to the surging demand for launching new websites.
You can start by developing websites for your family and friends to polish your skills.
While there are a ton of website builders that can help small businesses create their websites, developers are needed for more individual custom jobs (and new businesses are always looking for efficient coders at cost-effective prices).
You can kick-start your career by offering competitive prices for your services and then slowly transform it into a more lucrative business plan by solidifying your portofolio.
Every web developer must have basic coding skills in computer languages like JavaScript, CSS and HTML.
There are several cheap or free online courses including Web Developer Bootcamp on Udemy, Treehouse, and Codecademy that can help you learn to code and get started with web development.
8. Instagram Influencer.
With the rise of social media channels like Instagram, the users are increasingly turning to niche influencers to get any product advice.
The truth is, most Instagram influencers have trouble actually influencing purchase decisions.
Sure, we like to look at their photos, but will we actually gonna buy a product that they’re recommending? Most often, no.
That’s why you should cater to a small and engaged community. It’s not all just about follower counts, but even engagement.
First, you have to pick your niche.
It can be anything from marketing and tech gadgets to fitness or beauty. Make sure to chooset a niche you’re passionate about and can create a lot of content for.
Next, you have to build a substantial Instagram following by posting interesting content and discuss helpful things that are relevant to your target audience.
There are a lot of social media marketing tools to help you schedule posts in advance so that you’re not always struggling to come up with new posts.
Once you build a strong following, you can get paid to promote products via sponsored content.
It requires a lot of hustle and not everyone can make it as an Instagram influencer.
But some people with the right marketing skills, know-how, (and thousands of Instagram followers) can earn anything from $500-$6,000 per post. And if it can publish several sponsored posts a week, it can be a profitable business.
You can also check out my full guide to making money on Instagram for more tips.
9. Phone Case Business.
There are over 2.5 billion smartphone users in the world, and the number is increasing every single day.
Since quite everyone has a smartphone, smartphone cases are one of the top-selling mobile phone accessories.
As a result, few mobile case sellers can rake in 6 or 7-figure incomes by selling a high volume of cases.
The competition is quite fierce, but you can get started by testing out your phone case ideas with Amazon FBA before creating your own website.
When start designing your cases, go for unique designs that cater to a specific audience.
You gonna need to be creative and innovative to create a collection of smartphone cases that your audience would purchase.
One very popular Etsy store managed to sell handmade cases worth $60,000 in its first year.
The idea is to find your individual own unique niche.
You can easily list your collection of new smartphone cases on ecommerce giants like Amazon and eBay.
Once you start making money, you should then look into launching your ecommerce website on a platform like Shopify to improve your profit margins.
10. Affiliate Marketing.
Affiliate marketing it’s been a buzz-word in the marketing arena for quite some time now.
When someone gonna asks how to make passive money online, plenty of people automatically envision affiliate marketing.
Brands that want to sell products online create new affiliate programs and allow affiliates (bloggers and publishers) to promote their products and earn commissions.
According to one blog income report study, bloggers making online between $7,500 — $25k/month make 38% of their income from affiliate marketing.
In simple terms, affiliate marketing is a business where influencers and bloggers recommend products or services they like or find useful and earn a percentage of profit for each sale that follows.
Affiliate marketing, it is a great form of passive income and the perfect business model for bloggers.
Here’s a rundown of how affiliate marketing works:
To get started, register with networks like Awin, ShareASale, Rakuten, Clickbank or Skimlinks to start making money from the type of content being published on the blog or website.
The income will gradually grow along with the growth of your blog or website – Sky’s the limit here.
To get more related insights, check out this blog post of mine about the 100+ best affiliate programs to join this year.
11. Virtual Assistant.
You can use your great organizational skills to create an extra stream of income as a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants (VAs) are in very high demand by freelancers, corporations, and every kind of business.
It is a great opportunity to know successful and influential people from different fields of work to build your professional network and learn from experts.
In the meantime, it also provides you the opportunity to work from anywhere in the world while developing your professional skills.
While it’s usually a lower-paying online job, it can sharpen your digital skills and be the first step in starting a more lucrative freelance career.
People are consistently looking for virtual assistants on freelance job websites like Flexjobs.
12. Social Media Manager.
More like never people are on social media – it’s natural that there are businesses and jobs to be sprung from Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
If you have great experience with social media marketing and know-how the ad network operates, you can start a consulting business on social media.
Everyone from large corporations to small businesses need help getting their message out there on social media.
There are a lot of different responsiblities as a social media manager:
- Create content for brands.
- Create custom ad campaigns and track ROI.
- Integrate unique content with other email marketing and PPC strategies.
- Analyze results, A/B test, and tweak campaigns.
You have to stay ahead of trends in this steadily – changing landscape too.
As an example, TikTok is now a vast opportunity for major brands, and many don’t even have an account or post regularly.
If you’re search for a job to gain social media experience, Fiverr, CareerBuilder, and Flexjobs offer a lot of opportunities related to social media management.
Once you have the essential skillset, you can start your consulting business and charge either a performance fee or monthly retainer for your work.
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links, which provide me a small commission at no cost to you. These are simply good business tools to use in tandem with these home business ideas. You can read StartUpAm affiliate disclosure in my privacy policy in the footer.
13. Travel Business Consultant.
While it doesn’t seem like there may be a lot of jobs in travel, it’s still a great lucrative industry.
While travel agents are almost gone, people are now looking for help managing their Airbnb listings and increasing their rental income from vacation properties.
It takes a ton of marketing skills to help property owners increase their booking rates. VRBO and Airbnb bookings aren’t just going to happen without professional photography, visibility, and helpful customer service.
Create a website and build pages on platforms like Instagram and Facebook to promote your travel business consultant and connect with people who want to increase their rental income.
When you develop a decent customer base, you can also collaborate with travel agencies to cut exclusive deals for your customers.
To make it a full-time job, you can also consider earning a certification in travel consulting.
14. Interior Designer.
During the years, people have become more tasteful about how every detail of their home’s design. There is always the need for interior designers who can create functional living spaces and visually-pleasing.
Also, people that hire interior designers are usually on the upper end of the income bracket.
There are a lot of opportunities to get into corporate interior design, where large businesses pay you to design corporate offices, hotel lobbies, resorts, and more.
To begin, check out few ideas on Pinterest, which offers plenty of interior design ideas to take inspiration from. Then use your personal and professional network to build a business around your design skills.
A portfolio is cosmic here, so you may consider too by taking free work and working with realtors and home developers to stage homes before making the leap into full-time entrepreneurship.
Find here the list of free interior design courses you can opt for to get a formal education.
15. Wedding Photographer.
The real price of wedding photography has increased over the years. A great professional wedding photographer can charge anywhere from $2,500 to $10,000+ for each photoshoot.
First, you can build your own clientele by searching online and registering on aggregators, including MyWed, to gain clients. You can create business accounts and reach out to potential clients through Instagram and Facebook.
To sharpen your skills, you can either learn by reading this detailed guide ore take online wedding photography classes. Find here the list of wedding photography gear you gonna need to start your wedding photography business.
This business idea also requires a decent portfolio. So choose a website theme for photographers and start to work on building your inbound traffic and word of mouth marketing.
16. WordPress Website Consultant.
WordPress is the go-to platform for bloggers and small businesses to start a website of their own. If you are skilled in setting up WordPress websites, use this skill to build a business.
Aside from WordPress consulting, you can also offer digital marketing services to your new clients to diversify your revenue streams.
If you build a successful and profitable business as a WordPress website consultant, you can even transform your business into a digital marketing agency.
You can start to learn more about building websites on WordPress through courses on Skillshare.
17. Drive an Lyft or Uber.
Driving an Uber or Lyft can help you earn a decent amount of side money. Apart from driving, you need a clean vehicle, comfortable, and also the ability to deal with a lot of different personalities.
You can check all the requirements on Uber’s website to know if this business idea is right for you.
However, before making your final decision about this business idea, make sure to factor in the costs of gas, wear and tear, maintenance and toll charges to identify actual profits per month.
You can use this useful calculator to calculate your earning potential.
18. Develop an App.
There is an app for everything and anything and it may seem like a saturated market to get into.
Anyway, there are still a lot of ways to create ideas for new apps.
One benefit is that you don’t need a very super-advanced coding skills to build certain types of apps. You can start by check out this course on Creative Live to learn more about how you can build apps with little or no coding skills.
A substantially market research needs to be done in order to have an app that is actually seen in the app store.
Research the successful apps in your niche, look into their marketing strategies and every other detail – their cover art, description, reviews, etc. You may be able to find a unique app business idea that the market is striving for.
19. Buy and Sell Domain Names.
Trading domains business idea is a tactics almost as old as the Internet itself. The domain name Insure.com was bought for $16 million in 2009.
Still though old, valuable domains are mainly taken, if you gonna get lucky and jump on a trending domain name, then you can flip it for extra money.
The key is to identify unique interesting blog names that have the potential to sell later. First, buy them with cheap hosting plans and place them in an auction.
Anyway, the long term viability of this business idea is debatable. Therefore, it is better not to go full time with this business idea. Find here the Investopedia article for more details about domain trading.
20. Freelance Content Writing.
Unique Content writers are in huge demand. If you have the talent for crafting engaging writing articles and stories, then you can turn your skills into a lucrative freelance writing business.
From website copy and sales pages to email newsletters and blog posts, you can write unique content for a variety of purposes. Experienced freelancers earn anywhere between $1,000 – $5,000/week.
You can also take up editing and proofreading work and use the latest grammar tools to help clients publish and upload error-free work content.
Freelance copywriting bussines idea gives you the opportunity to earn money from any location. Check out my article on freelance writing jobs to glaze your skills further.
If you are starting out, you can find freelance content writing jobs on websites like FlexJobs.
Once you build your own portfolio, you can even launch your website and generate inbound leads. Apart from this, you can connect with potential clients on social media platforms like LinkedIn and offer anything from SEO writing to content writing.
21. Data Analysis.
Online businesses need to be data driven to make more informed unique decisions. Skilled data analysts, who can make sense of big data and develop actionable insights, are in very high demand.
If you’re good at crunching numbers and have a decent digital marketing knowledge, then this business idea is for you.
Get comfortable with analytics tools like data visualization tools like Tableau and Google Analytics to improve your resume.
The data analyst industry offers great pay for full-time jobs as well. An average more or less data analyst earns around $60,000 per year.
You can learn more about data analysis by taking online courses from Coursera and edX.
Once you build your data analytics expertise, you can find data analysis jobs on platforms like Flexjobs. Develop your skills and you can then build a successful and profitable data consulting business.
22. Airbnb Host.
You can make the most out of your unused living space by listing your property on Airbnb.
It has become a great lucrative business idea for millions of homeowners who want to earn some extra side income by renting out their living space.
Aside from renting out your apartment or room, it also provides an great opportunity to meet different people from all over the world.
However, you might gonna need to stay available on call to help out your guests with local requirements. You should check if there are any rent control measures in your local area to be aware of.
You also have the option to enhance this business idea by offering food, personalized experiences like transport on a chargeable basis and city tours.
This article from Fundera talks in-depth about how to calculate your earning potential from Airbnb.
23. Personal Trainer or Wellness Coach.
Personal fitness trainers are always in very high demand. If you’re into fitness and know the technicalities of diet plans and workouts, then you can make some extra money by helping people become physically fit.
Once you gonna find the right clients and build a great reputation, the job is both physically and financially beneficial.
With lots of temporary gym closures and social distancing in place, it may be beneficial to start an at-home fitness business idea, where you travel to the client’s locations or workout outside.
There’s also the option of starting your fitness blog to share your fitness tips with a wider audience and position yourself as an authority in your individual niche.
Strive to learn even more about fitness training and earn certifications to add more credibility to your profession.
You can also opt to become a mental health coach or wellness land offer continuing education credits like Core Wellness.
24. Create a YouTube Channel.
With the rise of video-on-demand and live streaming, YouTube has matured from a video platform to a content-on-demand powerhouse.
While the market has become very saturated, there are still a lot of opportunities to make money on YouTube.
First, pick a niche you’re passionate about to create unique and engaging videos. And of course, the more entertaining unique content you post, the more subscribers and views you’ll gain over time.
Many popular YouTubers earn millions by posting videos. However, an average YouTuber more or less earns around $3 to $5 per 1,000 views.
Before starting your own YouTube channel, learn about YouTube guidelines so that you can monetize your content. Also, invest in a good microphone and camera to make quality videos for greater earning potential.
25. Translator.
Your skillful knowledge of another language can help you earn some money. Translators are always in demand, but high-quality translators are very rare to find.
You can land unique lucrative jobs if you know by combining your solid language skills with the best grammar checkers to ensure your written content is of the highest standard.
26. Tour Guide.
If you are living in a tourist hotspot and you love interacting with people, then you can easily become a tour guide. However, you also gonna need to have a considerable knowledge of your surroundings along with its culture and history.
You can launch your tour guide company to help tourists get the best experience during their travel.
Furthermore, you can offer something extra by arranging vintage vehicles or unique local food for the travelers to stand apart from other travel agencies.
Tour guides can also earn nice tips if they delight their clients with their services. Read this article to find out more about the qualities you need in a tour guide business idea.
27. Stock Photographers.
From banners and websites to marketing and social media, stock images are used everywhere.
If you have a DSLR and great photoshop skills, then you can easily sell your images to stock photo websites including Unsplash, Pexels, and Shutterstock, among others.
Every time a client uses your photo, you gonna get paid with a markup amount. You can later build your website to secure better corporate projects.
Before considering the profession, learn about the type of equipment and investment, you would need to start stock photography.
28. Ghostwriter.
Ghostwriters might not get the credit for what they write, but they sure make lots of money.
Jeff Hadden has made millions only just by writing for famous and successful people. He started writing as a side gig and ended up making a very nice lucrative career out of it.
You can secure unique ghostwriting gigs on FlexJobs.
Beginners can expect to earn more or less between $15 to $30/hour depending upon their quality of work. Once you gain a decent experience and develop a portfolio, your remuneration can increase exponentially.
Here you can learn the ethics and rules of ghostwriting before entering the arena.
29. DJ-ing.
If you know and have the art of mixing beats, a taste for music, then you have the ability to become the DJ of your next local gig.
Famous DJs usually earn thousands per month by doing a bunch of gigs.
Anyway, it is not that simple. You need to learn the basics of design, sound mixing, and production of music before cutting to the professional scene. Go through this guide to get a better idea of how to get started with this bussines idea.
I’d suggest you first take an online DJ course to proper understanding the nuances of art to build a successful career as a DJ.
30. Tailoring.
Fashion and style are always a topic of discussion.
Naturally, being a great tailor is a good business opportunity. Your unique expertise to design and make designer-clothes within a limited budget can help you get access to a wide array of customers.
According to Entrepreneur.com, the business of tailoring and alteration requires a minimal investment of $2000. But you always have the option to start small and build your business gradually.
You can take an online fashion designing course from Oxford Home Study to gain more technical expertise in styling and clothing.
31. Baking.
Baking can make you lots of money.
Anyway, you should have the talent to make scrumptious delicacies, then only you will be able to sell them at great premium prices. People always give more value and preference to gourmet and hand-made baked products.
To get started with this bussines idea, you also need to stock up some essential cooking equipment.
You can start by cooking something as simple as your mom’s super recipe for cookies to perfect your skills. Later, you can master a bunch of niche recipes to create your own individual USP and command premium rates on your products.
You can find free baking unique classes on Skillshare to master your baking skills further.
32. Freelance Content Marketing.
Small businesses, startups, and influencers are always looking to scale up their online presence by promoting very high-quality, engaging content.
Your expertise in providing effective content marketing strategies can help you get some high-ticket clients.
Once you gonna start building a portfolio of established clientele, you stand a chance to earn thousands per project.
You can start looking into your actual network to find out about the companies that are seeking content marketers to build their brand.
Content marketing is a effective skill set, and as technology keeps on evolving, you gonna need to be on your toes to stay updated. Keep following particular top content marketing blogs to stay in the groove.
33. Freelance eBook Writing.
Access to cheaper or alike free self-publishing tools has made it easier to write and publish a book. With over 89 million Americans reading e-books, it’s a lucrative opportunity.
Anyway, you should not go full time with this line of work as only established authors earn more than $10,000 a year through e-books.
Rather, start small, keep writing for others to make a name, and then probably attempt into writing your own eBooks.
You can leverage it as your unique boutique side business for extra income until you hit the sweet spot. Meanwhile, keep researching on the right strategies to write an eBook.
34. Invest your Money.
If your money is relaxing unused in banks and earning you just the minimal interest, then you might consider investing in more lucrative schemes.
Warren Buffet is the most outstanding example of being a smart investor who has made a fortune out of his intelligent investing habit.
You can start small with short term trading while learning the process of the stock market. Invest cleverly in value stocks to grow your wealth steadily.
You can as well take online stock market courses to get a better understanding of other financial investment options like blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
I recommend you get started with M1 Finance and begin investing today.
35. Build a Niche Website.
You can always find lots of readers who are willing to read about the subject you are passionate about.
As an example, if you start a blog about solo travel, then you can write unique valuable content about your personal travel experience that readers find useful.
Make it informative and engaging to offer value to your audience.
Anyway, you gonna need to invest time in building your audience. You can also do market research to identify if your niche is feasible in the long run as a money-making gig or not.
Explore through the internet and search for ideas to build a profitable niche blog or website.
I recommend you get started with recommend SiteGround , which is 80% off their regular price.
36. Car Washing and Detailing.
The majority of car owners never get the time to wash their cars and keep them sparkling clean. With the increasing number of car owners, it is a good business idea to start earning handsome income in your free time.
All you need is a car shampoo, sponge, hose, tire black, and some networking skills to get the business.
A mobile car wash service has the potential to generate a revenue of up to $100,000 in a year. So, you might even want to make it your full-time business later on.
Keep researching new car washing techniques to keep yourself updated about this bussines idea.
37. Carpet Cleaning Business.
Every house has at least one carpet, and they are bound to get dirty. People are always in search for a reliable carpet cleaner to get rid of dust, bugs, allergens, and stains.
You gonna need to invest in a good vacuum cleaner, cleaning agents, and carpet brushes to launch this business idea.
Do individual market research on prices to offer the best options. You can start by asking around in your neighborhood for home cleaning service requirements.
Just make sure to keep on learning about new carpet cleaning techniques to upgrade your knowledge of carpet cleaning. Eventual, you can even hire a bunch of carpet cleaners and launch your own carpet cleaning company.
38. Child Care.
Singe parents and nuclear families are always short of time to take care of their own children. Hence, there is always a high demand for compassionate childcare professionals. It is a great lucrative career option if you love being around kids.
But before taking the plunge with this business idea, be sure about the age-group of the kids you are willing to look after. Once you gain experience, you can also open your day-care center to look after the kids and expand your business.
To increase your chances of finding success with this business idea, you might want to earn formal certification in childcare.
39. Computer Repair.
With over more than 1 billion computers in use right now. No wonder the market for credible computer repair services is endless. According to statistics, the computer repair services earned a total revenue of $19 billion in 2018.
Given the high repair costs at authorized service sites, you have a good opportunity to earn money by offering cost-effective repair services.
If you’re a great handyman, you can start by approaching neighboring homes and small businesses to get computer repair projects. Gradually you can expand this business idea and your team can take bigger orders from medium or larger enterprises.
From learning to replace the crashed hard drive to fix networking issues, opportunities are immense in this field.
40. Modeling.
If you have the attitude and body for the modeling business, then this business idea gig requires is for you. Fashion designers and marketers are always hunting for fresh models to launch their products.
Anyway, it is very important to assess what you are subscribing to. Talk to some people who are already in the industry, find a good mentor who can help at an early stage of your career, and make the right contacts.
This bussines idea may look glamorous, but it demands a lot of commitment and hard work to reach the top.
41. Dog Walking.
Certain dog owners don’t have the time to take their dogs out for a walk. As per AVMA, more than 50% of households have pets. If you are a dog lover, then you can help dog owners while earning a great amount.
You can also get the help of mobile applications such as Wag to connect with dog owners.
Here’s the application process to apply:
Dogwalker is another good website that can help you connect with dog owners to get your business started.
Once you understand how this business idea runs, you can even start your own dog walking agency. Expand it further by offering food, dog bathing, and other related services.
42. Real Estate Broker.
The real estate market is back to flourishing in the USA, and though not quite a boom, it’s picking up in the UK too.
Anyway, people want to avoid the inconvenience and hassles of getting the paperwork done and legal permissions required to acquire their own property so they are looking to a broker or online letting agent to facilitate.
You can broker the real estate deals to help buyers and sellers have smooth transactions. Build a healthy base of clients by assisting them in selling and buying commercial and residential properties.
You can even build a small sales team to approach the customers more efficiently.
Do suitable research on how to become a real estate broker, take required real estate courses, pass the examination with good grades to properly facilitate your real estate career.
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links, which provide me a small commission at no cost to you. These are simply great business tools to use in tandem with these business ideas. You can read StartUpAm affiliate disclosure in my privacy policy in the footer.
43. Custom Furniture Supplier.
Custom-made furniture is in high demand now. If you have an unique eye for creativity and are good at building furniture from scratch, then you can convert your craft into a great bussines idea and money-making opportunity.
People are ready to pay a hefty premium price for a great degree of personalization and customization.
The number of people who want to make their homes look unique and authentic is growing exponentially, and so is the business opportunity.
You can get busy business by contacting local homes and listing your products on platforms like Amazon and eBay.
44. Handmade Jewelry.
Hand-made jewelry is the very new fad. Teenage entrepreneurs including Bella Weems of Origami Owl and M3 Girl Designs’ Maddie Bradshaw have raked in a lot of cash by selling handmade jewelry.
There are extremely large opportunities in the industry, with its growth projected at 5-6% per year. With no big corporate players in the field, the entry to this segment is also much easier.
You can start by selling online to earn a name, and if you end up becoming a household name, you can also open up a brick and mortar storefront.
Take a diploma or opt for online courses to understand proper the nuances of jewelry design and its making.
45. Human Billboard.
If you have any problems with parading around promoting stuff and grabbing eyeballs from strangers, then you can make some grat bucks by becoming a human billboard.
Brands can either rent out your hair or beard to carve their logo. All you gonna need to do is to walk around in the markets and crowded public places to get noticed.
You can earn from $5 per day to $7,000 for a contract of 5 years. Anyway, the business idea is quite radical and might appeal only just to a bunch of people – but it pays.
The average human billboard salary can be more or less around $50,242 per year.
The particular job of a human billboard is most suited for students who want to earn a quick buck to meet their tuition fees and other daily expenses.
46. Purchase a Website.
If you have an great eye for spotting the right business opportunity for investment, then you can look for purchasing an existing website.
Several websites on the internet have potential but need an expert to make it possible. You can buy a website at a great discounted price, build its audience and business to sell at a larger premium later.
Find here the places where you can buy a website:
Website trading is a real thing now, and people make lots of money through it. The prices of a website usually depend on its domain name, traffic, revenue, and potential to scale up.
47. Mobile Laundry Service.
Laundry service is worth over than $40 billion in the USA. People will ever and never stop wearing clothes, and as a result, they would continue to require laundry service.
Several home pickup laundry services have shoot up over the years, but there is still potential to open a mobile laundry service for locals by offering better services at a lower cost.
You can start to do a course in retail laundry and cleaning to understand the proper usage of fabrics and chemicals.
48. Junk Removal Service.
Well, it is not a ordinary business idea that you usually pitch to your peers, but it has got great potential. You have the opportunity to clear the junk and make it accessible to recycling units for a sustainable future.
You can even get a franchise of big companies like JunkLuggers to kickstart your business. To get started, you gonna need proper equipment like a truck, garbage cans, shovels, sledgehammer, and more.
Once you get set up with your junk removal business, go through this detailed guide to get an proper idea on how to make money with your new endeavor.
49. Wedding Planner.
Weddings have become more organized, opulent, and resource-intensive. To manage all the unique aspects of the wedding efficiently, couples these days look for credible wedding planners.
You can start into the wedding planning business right away if you have contacts with professionals like florists, good caterers, travel agents, performers, photographer DJs, and more.
The process is capital intensive and time-intensive but can bring abundant rewards.
An average wedding planner earns more or less around $40 per hour for their services. You can even get a diploma in wedding planning to take your skills to the next level and prove your credibility in the industry.
50. Personal Chef.
Becoming a personal chef can help you earn great money for your exemplary cooking skills.
The majority of people currently are too busy with their profession and get little time for themselves. You can help such professionals out by cooking delicious food of their choice.
The personal chef job market is anticipated to grow by 5.2% between 2016 and 2026. The demand for personal chefs capable of cooking healthy and delicious meals is only increasing with time.
You can learn how to make new unique dishes on YouTube or take a certification in personal cooking to make yourself more employable.
This can also lead to you opening up your own brewery, bar, restaurant or coffee shop where your culinary skills are put on display to the public.
51. Contract Customer Service (CSR).
Many organizations actually cut down their costs by outsourcing customer service to freelancers.
If you are good at communicating and have decent management skills, then you can easily take customer service jobs.
Freelancing websites, including Fiverr and UpWork, offer lots of contract-based customer service.
If you already have the proper experience, then you can even build a virtual team and start your own customer service agency.
52. Pet Grooming.
Pet grooming has become a flourishing business idea in areas where affluent pet owners reside. From a spa and foot massage to massage therapists and haircut, people are spoiling their pets with no end in sight.
To start a pet grooming business, you gonna need around $2,000 and can earn an average of $48,000 per year. Find clients in your neighborhood or look for them on WhatsApp and Facebook groups.
You can even enroll in a dog grooming course to get a better insight into the job.
If grooming isn’t your real thing, you can start by setting up a pet sitting business too, which requires some startup costs.
53. T-Shirt Printing Business.
T-shirts with flashy graphics and funky logos are in high demand. T-shirt retailing business is worth millions and relies on efficient t-shirt printers to meet the supply.
Several suppliers are already in the business, but there is still room for new players too. You can take the orders from local businesses or multinational brands or even launch your own line.
additionally, this industry allows you to work on your terms, i.e., you can even choose to work from a small room or start off with a big factory-based production.
Take a print production course from LinkedIn Learning to understand proper the dynamics of printing technology and dyes.
More Business Ideas.
Food
- 54. Ice Cream Shop.
- 55. Craft Beer Pub.
- 56. Wine Bar.
- 57. Homemade Popcorn Business.
- 58. Home Bakery.
- 59. Meal Prep Service.
- 60. Home Chef.
Craft Businesses
- 61. Art Lessons
- 62. Knitting Club
- 63. Custom Embroidery Business.
- 64. Soap and Lotion Making.
- 65. Flea Market Vendor.
- 66. Scrapbooking Services.
- 67. Antique Refurbishment.
- 68. Furniture Making.
Home Services
- 69. Basement Remodeling.
- 70. Baby-Proofing Home Business.
- 71. Home Landscaping.
- 72. Garden Consultant.
- 73. Gutter Cleaner.
- 74. Aquarium Maintenance.
- 75. Painting and Wallpaper Services.
- 76. Irrigation Services.
- 77. Apartment Preparation Service.
- 78. Stair Lift Installation.
Outdoor and Sports
- 79. Bicycle Repair.
- 80. Adventure Planning.
- 81. Fishing and Charter Boat Tours.
- 82. Buy and Sell Used Boats.
- 83. Fitness Rental Equipment.
- 84. Health Club.
Business Services
- 85. HR Consultant.
- 86. Business Plan Writer.
- 87. Financial Planning.
- 88. Bookkeeping.
- 89. Local Marketing Services.
- 90. Contract Writer.
- 91. Resume Writer.
Steady Income Businesses
- 92. Coin-Operated Laundry.
- 93. Pest Control.
- 94. Mobile Office Cleaning.
- 95. Property Management Company.
- 96. Pool Maintenance.
- 97. Vending Machine Owner.
- 98. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)
Seasonal Businesses
- 99. Lawn Care and Landscaping Service.
- 100. Snow Plowing Service.
- 101. Start a Food Truck.
- 102. Outdoor Adventure Business.
- 103. Chimney Sweep.
- 104. Fireworks Seller.
- 105. Halloween Retailer.
- 106. Canoe and Kayak Rental Business.
- 107. Miniature Golf Course.
With the rise of the digital economy, it is much easier than ever to start an online business and work from home.
Find here some good options:
- 1. Freelance writing.
- 2. Graphic designer.
- 3. Web developer.
- 4. Photographer.
- 5. Social media specialist.
- 6. Home tutoring.
- 7. Speaking and coaching.
- 8. Podcaster.
- 9. Airbnb host.
- 10. Virtual assistant.
Small Business Ideas: Conclusion…
Now it’s your turn.
All of the small business ideas mentioned in this article can help you earn a decent income even with a low startup cost.
Conclusively, I recommend you start an online business something like a blog, ecommerce, or consulting firm, as these are less susceptible to market shifters like Covid-19.
When you pick a decent bussines idea and you’re ready to get started, the first step is to register your business with GovDocFiling.
They make it much easier to get started:
- You choose your own business entity.
- Fill out your personal online application.
- GovDocFiling takes care of the rest. They’ll file all essential documents with your state and get you up and running faster.
Did you miss any of your selections of the best business ideas? Let me know in the comment section below.
Further reading on StartUpAm.com: To dive even deeper into some of the small business ideas, check out my free guides on Affiliate Marketer 101 and How to Start a Blog .
Business Ideas FAQ.
What business can I start with no money?
- 1. Start a blog and make money with ads, affiliate programs, digital products and online courses.
- 2. Become a freelance writer.
- 3. Join a platform like UpWork or Fiverr and offer graphic design services.
- 4. If you have decent coding skills, start a business and develop websites and apps.
- 5. Become an online business coach and sell unique 1:1 coaching.
- 6. Join a high-end freelancing platform like Upwork and become a social media marketing consultant.
- 7. Offer other digital services like SEO writing, SEO consulting, content marketing services or PPC management.
What are the best startup business ideas?
If you’re looking to create a startup bussines this year, there are plenty of options out there.
Find here some of the best startup ideas:
- 1. Start a dropshipping business to sell dropship products online.
- 2. Create a great SaaS application and build monthly recurring customers.
- 3. Invest in co-working spaces and real estate.
- 4. Start a blog and make money with, affiliate programs, ads and online courses.
- 5. Start a podcast and make money by selling ad slots after building up a decent audience.
- 6. Start a digital agency and sell anything from site management and web development to social media and SEO consulting.
- 7. Start a food truck business and find a good location to generate sales.
What are the most successful small businesses?
The most successful small businesses have strong revenue and great profit margins.
Find here some of the types of small businesses that are successful:
- 1. Legal services.
- 2. Bookkeeping, accounting, taxes, and payroll services.
- 3. Sales and real estate leasing.
- 4. Dental offices.
- 5. Outpatient care businesses.
- 6. Custom design services.
- 7. Warehouse and storage companies.
- 8. Mining and mineral quarrying.
- 9. Medical laboratories.
- 10. Education and Secondary schools.
What business can I do from home?
With the rise of the digital economy, it is much easier than ever to start an online business and work from home.
Find here some good options:
- 1. Freelance writing.
- 2. Graphic designer.
- 3. Web developer.
- 4. Photographer.
- 5. Social media specialist.
- 6. Home tutoring.
- 7. Speaking and coaching.
- 8. Podcaster.
- 9. Airbnb host.
- 10. Virtual assistant.
How can I be my own boss?
If you want to be your own boss, follow these easy steps:
- 1. Determine which business ideas are best for you and what you want to do.
- 2. Evaluate the competition and market.
- 3. Make sure you have enough money to start your new journey and set aside capital.
- 4. Create a business and a decent marketing plan.
- 5. Choose your business name and create your unique brand identity.
- 6. Officially start your business by forming an S Corp or LLC.
- 7.Get your finances in order by using small business accounting software or hiring a bookkeeper.
- 8. Set up a business bank account.
- 9. Start marketing your business online by building a website and creating a decent social media presence.
How can I earn money fast?
If you need to make money fast and don’t have time to wait for profits, there are lots of options.
Find here some of your best options:
- 1. Refinance your own debt to get a lump sum of cash.
- 2. Sign up for an online survey website like Survey Junkie to make money filling out surveys.
- 3. Use investment apps to that pay you back on monthly basis.
- 4. Utilize an ecommerce platform to sell products online and get traffic quickly by using Facebook and Google ads.
- 5. Sign up for a gig app like Fiverr and sell digital services online.
- 6. Create an account with an app like Spinlister or Turo to rent out your stuff.
- 7. Write and publish your own eBook to make money on Amazon.
- 8. Call your personal bank and see what kind of account bonuses you can get.
- 9. Build an online course and sell and share your knowledge to students.
- 10. Become a freelance writer.
- 11. Host a podcast and make money selling ad slots.
Want to Learn More?
- – Websites Related –
- Compare The Best Domain Registrars
- Compare The Best Web Hosting Providers
- Compare The Best Cheap Web Hosting Services
- The 7 Best Types Of Web Hosting To Consider
- – Small Business Trends –
- How to Make Money Online: 25 Realistic Ways to Earn Money Online
- Why Marketing Is Important to Your Business
- 13 Best CRM Software for Small Business
- Work at Home Business Ideas for Women
- Top 10 Business Tips for Starting a Business that Will Succeed
- How to Start an E-Commerce Business: A Step-by-Step Guide
- 15+ Mobile Business Ideas to Get Your StartUp on Wheels Rolling
16 thoughts on “+100 Small Business Ideas with Low Startup Costs”
These are in fact great ideas in regarding blogging. You have touched some nice factors here.
Any way keep up wrinting.
Wonderful, what a website it is! This web site gives
valuable information to us, keep it up.
I have been browsing online more than 3 hours lately, yet I by
no means found any fascinating article like yours.
It is lovely worth sufficient for me. In my opinion, if all
web owners and bloggers made good content as you did,
the net might be a lot more useful than ever before.
Aw, this was an exceptionally nice post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to produce a top notch article… but what can I say… I hesitate a lot
and never seem to get anything done.
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..extra wait ..
…
Admiring the commitment you put into your website and detailed information you offer.
It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same
outdated rehashed information. Fantastic read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.
Good way of telling, and good post to obtain data concerning
my presentation focus, which i am going to convey in academy.
Wow! After all I got a weblog from where I know how to genuinely get useful facts concerning my study and
knowledge.
If you wish for to obtain a good deal from this piece of writing then you have to apply such techniques to your won weblog.
I am extremely inspired along with your writing abilities as well as with the format in your weblog.
Is this a paid topic or did you modify it your self? Anyway stay up the nice high
quality writing, it is rare to look a nice weblog like this one today..
Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely well written article.
I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful info.
Thanks for the post. I’ll certainly comeback.
I go to see each day a few websites and websites to read posts,
however this weblog gives quality based writing.
It’s an remarkable paragraph for all the internet visitors; they will
take advantage from it I am sure.
Simply desire to say your article is as astonishing.
The clarity in your post is simply cool and i can assume you are
an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your feed to
keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a
million and please carry on the enjoyable work.
Can I just say what a relief to uncover somebody that genuinely understands what they are talking
about on the internet. You definitely realize how to bring
a problem to light and make it important. More people need to
read this and understand this side of your story. It’s surprising you’re not more popular given that
you definitely have the gift.
Thank you!