According to research, over 80% of small businesses fail within the first 18 months of their launch. Starting a business from scratch can be very tough, and yet very rewarding as the success turns into income for you.
You Don’t Need a Killer Great Business Idea!
Few people ever have one anyway, and yet many people succeed without one. Great business ideas are not necessary in order to start and grow a successful business. You just have to be better than those who are already doing what you want to do. But wait, don’t let me be misinterpreted. A great idea combined with a great management team is bound to be a winner if everyone is serious and focused on making the business successful.
How do you really know that your idea is so great, however? How do you know that you are not entering a saturated marketplace? One that is so competitive, that without something proprietary that breaks through an existing impediment in the product or service, you will likely struggle to make a mark no matter what you do.
I have a suggestion for you right now. Armed with what you believe to be that “great and breakthrough idea,” I would urge you to put together a strong executive summary that will prove your point.
Avoid “Ready-Fire-Aim” Strategies at All Costs!
I’m a big fan of knowing what you are doing before you do it. I have lived through too many businesses that have started based on the “ready-fire-aim” philosophy and by the time they learn that they did something wrong, it was too late to reverse directions. Back to that 80% failure statistic. Does this philosophy have anything to do with it at all? Charging full steam ahead before you know where you are heading will rarely work.
You must do some amount of business planning early in the development of your idea for your small business. You want to make sure that you are positioning your business to be in the path of customers and demand! You do not want to be looking at all of the business from the end of the line.
We’ve created this detailed guide to teach you about some of best business ideas with the least amount of capital requirements that you might consider. If you are like most entrepreneurs that I’ve represented and coached over the years, the most common thread running through all of them is the lack of capital, not the lack of good ideas. Great business ideas depend upon a great team and great planning or you risk joining the 80% club.
What Are the Best Startup Ideas anyway, in my opinion?
Before we cover some great business ideas, you must know what type of business you want, and what type of lifestyle you want to live. This isn’t about whether you want to create a tech-startup or become a virtual assistant, instead, it’s more about knowing if you want to have a brick-and-mortar business or be fully remote. Creating a business that aligns with your desired lifestyle will help to set you up for success. Do you want to have a physical store? Would you rather operate from home and make appointments to meet your customers at a coffee shop or their office? Do you want your weekends free?
Brick and Mortar Business Benefits
Owning a physical, brick-and-mortar business may seem like it lacks freedom, but it also has some distinct advantages. Branding is much easier with a physical store. You can create your image by adjusting the interior and exterior of your store. You can also choose your location that will give your customers a clear message about what you and your store stand for. With a store, you are much more able to sell goods that require trying on, depend on touch, sound or smell for an understanding of the product, and people know who and where you are. With a basement, you can stock up on inexpensive off-price goods to enhance your profits. And, you don’t have to choose between online and bricks and mortar. You can have them both simultaneously! One can enhance the other.
Imagine that you want to sell a perishable food item that you have developed in an online store. Think of the issues of shipping time, keeping the product fresh and continually cooled, and how much this all costs. With a physical store, you have a faster turnaround which allows for more product flexibility. It is much easier to establish credibility when you have a physical store, as your customers deal with you in person, and they can see your business.
Remote Business Benefits
According to Upwork’s “Future of Workforce Pulse Report”, one in four Americans will be working remotely in 2021.
This means that, due to the pandemic, most remote businesses will excel in the coming years. Owning a remote business includes numerous perks such as:
- Less overhead, such as no office space, no office insurance, and no office utilities.
- You can pay subcontractors instead of employees.
- Less (or no) commuting time.
- You can work from nearly anywhere in the world with nothing more than your computer and a cell phone.
- You and your employees/contractors have full freedom.
- You can reach customers from around the world instead of being limited to your immediate area.
One of the main reasons for starting a business is to have more financial freedom, so starting a remote business means more freedom and flexibility in all aspects of your life. The lack of a physical location requires that you spend money to let people know that you are in business, however. Remember the old question about what are the three most important things in real estate? Location; location; location. The higher priced your real estate is, the less you should have to spend on promoting your business as this should be the biggest benefit of higher rent: a busier location than a less expensive location. Regardless, however, it takes time and persistence to build all successful businesses regardless of location.
Some of the Best Start-Up Businesses Include the Following:
1. Digital Marketing
The world of marketing is not what it used to be in the days of radio, TV and newspaper advertising. If these didn’t do the trick, you had few alternatives. Look at the literal explosion of promotional alternatives available with the advent of digital outreach. The demand for knowledgeable individuals who know the ins and outs of digital marketing is seemingly endless. The marketplace is very crowded. If you can cut through the new platforms, new trendy websites, new audio and video trends daily, and get to the basics of generating revenue for your clients, you will win a big prize: customer loyalty and high income for yourself.
Starting a digital marketing business is extremely profitable and always in demand, as many large and small business owners would rather outsource their marketing than do it themselves or hire someone in-house to do it. And one of the most important reasons for this is that unless you grew up with a computer in your hands, knowing how to develop an effective marketing strategy is beyond the skill set of most people.
Digital marketing involves social media optimization, search engine optimization, website development, email marketing, content marketing, paid advertisements on Facebook and Google, and more. Digital marketing also involves online customer service and management, as many customers demand immediate responses from businesses. This is also why the development of message bots came into place, for better customer service.
For the right individual, or right team, If you have an ability and an interest in marketing, then creating an online business just might be a great business idea for you!
2. Virtual Assistant
Starting an online virtual assistant business is another way to take advantage of the fast-growing online world. You could start out being a personal assistant yourself, with the goal of starting an online agency that involves more people. Being a virtual assistant means that you can do everything remotely without having to be there in person. Imagine the freedom and flexibility this will allow you? You may help with tasks such as online research, booking flight tickets, dealing with customers, data entry, processing information, note-taking, ordering, and organizing. Every day and every client will be different. What a great business for someone who loves to help people and has little startup capital!
The upside is limitless. Ultimately, you may be able to start a digital virtual assistants’ agency that offers services around the world to 10’s of thousands of businesses! As you hire other virtual assistants to help you grow, your business will multiply. Soon, you will need your own business consultant and virtual assistant to keep track of your own administrative machine.
3. Real Estate Agent
Becoming a real estate agent can be a very lucrative business. It can also be very fulfilling as you are helping clients find happiness in the form of the home of their dreams. To get started, all you have to do is to take a course and pass an exam. From there, the doors open up to you.
In this industry, you must have a trusted business lawyer working with you just in case something goes wrong. The laws of all states plays such an integral part of the business that the investment in great legal assistance will pay off over and over again. Beyond that, with people skills and a good understanding of the marketplace around you, you are ready to launch. This business will cost just a bit to start as the course is offered by private schools in your location. The fees for a good real estate school are really a bargain when you think that the sale of only one home will make this fee seem like pocket change ultimately. This business is one of my personal favorites.
4. Graphic Designer
Since most businesses are going remote, they require a strong online presence. This means that they need to have an enticing image and memorable and appropriate branding that captures the eyes of their potential clients and customers. Logos and company names also become associated with the “brand value” of the company over time. The work is very important to small businesses and especially to startup businesses.
Graphic designers help businesses establish their online presence with eye-catching logos, graphics, colors, and images to help them grow their brand. One of the best perks about being a graphic designer is that you can work with clients all over the world, and not be limited to brands that are in your area. You do, however, have the ability to work with customers in your area who need help with creating catchy designs for flyers, posters, bulletin boards, business cards, and office signage.
And this business requires very little in the way of funding which makes it ideal for those who want to try it without investing a significant amount of money into equipment and software yet. All you need to do is to spend some time reading everything you can about branding, image building, and demographics, pricing and sales channels to become familiar with your customers needs.
5. Pet Sitter
If you have a passion and love for animals, yet don’t want to have too many of your own, then perhaps you should start a pet sitting company. Over 67% of American households have a pet, and 95% of those households consider their pets to be a part of their family.
This means that there are endless pet sitting opportunities available, you just need to create the business! As you develop your business plan, make sure you have a good marketing plan that targets pet owners that love to take vacations. This is an especially great business if you also work online, so you can complete both at once.
You must be good with all types of pets including dogs, cats, fish, rodents, rabbits, snakes, birds, and others, otherwise, this is not a good startup plan for you. I love the fact that this business too, requires very little in the way of funding in order to commence business.
6. Website Designer
Considering that there are over 56.5 billion webpages indexed through Google, it is a no-brainer that becoming a web designer is a profitable business. Even if a business already has a website, they are constantly needing to be re-designed and updated.
If you learn the language of coding, you are going to be in high demand by many online businesses to help them scale and create their custom website. If you do not know how to code, you can still become a website designer by using WordPress, which only involves a very minor amount of coding.
This is a business which I believe only continues to grow and grow. As people desire multiple websites and more and more people start their own businesses, the demand for effective websites will only increase.
7. Business Consultant
If you have been around the block with starting businesses in your life, then perhaps you need to take advantage of your skillsets and become a business consultant. This way, you can help others with great business ideas and become their growth mentors at the same time to help them build their business.
To get started, begin by marketing yourself as a business consultant and offer your knowledge to other small business owners. Then as your consulting agency grows, you can charge more, and possibly hire other business coaches and consultants to work for you. This is a business model that grows by leaps and bounds with word-of-mouth referrals. It is a rare day that I don’t talk to someone who is looking to develop a new website or landing page.
8. Video Production
If you have always been passionate about photography and videography, then why not create a business out of it? According to research, brands that have a video representation are 64-85% more likely to sell their products or services. How can you not get excited about this statistic?
More and more businesses are catching on to the fact that customers feel more trusting with businesses who show their face or humanness with video footage. This means that there is currently a very high demand for video creators and producers.
Your footage can be used on their social media, websites, and other promotional material. You can also become a videographer for weddings and other large events. If you know how to work a camera but lack editing skills, numerous online courses will teach you how to edit a perfect video.
9. IT Consultant
If you have knowledge and skills with computers and technology, then a great business idea for you is to start an IT consulting agency. Many businesses do not have the skills or resources to keep up with the fast-growing IT world, which has made IT consultants a very in-demand career.
Not many people can speak the language of computers, so if you know how to speak this language, this is a very lucrative startup business for you. You can help update, manage, install, and troubleshoot their technology such as in-house software and more.
10. Open a Clothing Boutique
If you have a love for fashion, whether you design clothing or love putting outfits together, you could open a clothing boutique business. You may feel intimidated by other large clothing companies, but the secret is to start with an in-demand niche such as Boho women’s fashion, or well designed board shorts for men.
You can ramp up your sales by not only having a brick-and-mortar store, but you can also create an online boutique to sell your items to those who cannot visit your store. There are a lot of legalities around the fashion industry, so you may want to stay on the safe side by hiring a lawyer that specializes in fashion law.
What is the Easiest Business to Start?
If you already have a career or job and are considering a new business startup, it will be very demanding for your time. Any business that does not require too much time in the initial phase will be the best choice for you.
If you have more free time, then starting a business that you are passionate about will make the process easy and enjoyable.
What are the Most Successful Small Businesses?
Any business that is in high demand, such as website design, graphic design, and real estate tends to bring in the most profit. To become successful, you must choose a business idea that you love, and that also is a profitable market. Remember that no business lasts too long if it’s not profitable.
What is a Good Business to Start in 2020?
Since the pandemic, many physical businesses have unfortunately shut their doors, and some have been forced to declare bankruptcy. Some business owners have been able to pivot their businesses online, which saved their company and their bank accounts.
If you are ready to start a business in 2021, create an online business. This way, you are not affected by any changes to local businesses. Learn More Great Business Ideas Like These Now that you have the list of great business ideas, it is time to get started on your startup!
To learn more about how to start an online business, and get started with the necessary legal advice, feel free to contact us at any time.
