Starting a small business can be an extremely rewarding endeavor. As a small business owner, you have the opportunity to turn your passion and experience into a profitable venture.
However, the first step to becoming your own boss is deciding what kind of business you want to start. While it seems like this would be the easy part, it is actually one of the most difficult decisions to make. There are so many small business ideas, and choosing one to focus on can pose a major mental barrier.
So, we have put together a list of 80 small business ideas that you can start in 2024. Let's get started!
Low-Cost Small Business Ideasđź’°
Here are a few small business ideas that you can start without having to spend a whole lot of money.
1. Personal Trainer
If staying fit is a passion of yours, then why not monetize on this by starting your own personal training business? You would need to start by gaining a relevant qualification, but once that is done you can start your business straight away!
As a personal trainer, you can design your business to suit your needs. If you want to work with clients in a gym, you can either offer your services within a gym on a profit-split basis or instead pay a set amount of rent to use the space. Alternatively, you could set up a gym in your home, or even offer outdoor workout sessions.
You don't have to stop there either. Although the aim is to work face-to-face with clients, you could also offer personalized training plans for a fee to attract an online customer base.
2. Pet Sitter
They say dogs are man's best friend - so people pay good money to ensure that their pet is getting the treatment they deserve. Pet owners hate leaving their loved ones alone when they are at work or on vacation. So why not start a pet sitting business?
Again, this is a low-cost small business idea that can be tailored to your lifestyle. You could offer pet sitting from your home, or care for the pet in their own home. Not only this, but you can choose to offer short stays (like a doggy daycare service), long stays (vacation bookings), or even just a one-hour dog walking service. With a whole range of booking options, you can attract a wide range of clients.
3. Personal Assistant
If there is one thing that business owners struggle with, it's time (specifically the lack of it). One idea is to create your business around helping others. From everyday tasks like ensuring bills are paid or filing paperwork, to helping out with grocery shopping, booking medical appointments, and even fetching coffee, personal assistants are there to relieve busy people of the small tasks that they don't have time for.
These small tasks take time, and time is money, so overstretched individuals will pay to have someone relieve some of their stress. A good personal assistant is certainly worth the investment.
4. Cleaner
Cleaning is an arduous task, and one that is commonly outsourced, so consider setting up a small cleaning business to tap into the market. You could choose to clean residential homes, with either regular weekly cleaning or specialized deep cleaning service. To advertise, simply up a website or social media page for your services, and make sure to join community groups where locals advertise for cleaners in their area.
As soon as you have one contract, it will be easier to get others as your reputation grows.
5. Community Maintenence
If you have a set of practical skills like painting fences, attaching fittings, and assembling furniture, then you could start a business as a maintenance worker/handyman. Many of these small skills have been forgotten, so you can capitalize on that and provide your services for a fee.
You could begin by advertising your services on community social media pages and physical noticeboards. You can also advertise your services for homeowner associations, schools, government departments, retirement villages, etc. When you have the know-how and resources to do this kind of work and advertise well, your side hustle could quickly become a lucrative business.
6. Professional Organizer
Clutter can become overwhelming, and sometimes you need to outsource the organization to someone else. As a professional organizer, you would go into homes or workplaces to order the disordered. While the business seems simple, there are actually several avenues that you could take as a professional organizer. One idea is to offer your services to new parents, getting their homes set up before the baby arrives.
Another way to attract clients is to offer pantry organization services, removing messy jars and packages and replacing them with aesthetically pleasing and space-saving glass jars and containers. You could even offer home organization training, teaching others how to streamline the excess in their homes.
7. Car Wash
It's an age-old profession and one that you could begin as a small business today. With a bucket, cleaning cloths, and some cleaning products, you can start a car washing business today. The tricky part is finding clients. Advertise on local community boards, ask other small businesses to put up your flyer, and post your business offering all over social media. Why not offer interior detailing services too?
8. Car Detailer
Car detailing is simply taking the car wash up a notch. Your business will be responsible for more in-depth cleaning of the interior and exterior while also offering maintenance, fixing minor defects and scratches, and adding enhancements to protect the car from future defects.
In terms of advertising, your approach should be the same as that of car washing. SEO, social media, and local community boards will be your bread and butter. Plus, you can scale this a lot, as you can start out by working on cars yourself and then lead a team of car detailing specialists.
9. Personal Shopper
Personal shoppers choose a niche- be it clothing, furniture, jewelry, or homewares, and then help their clients find these items. People may turn to personal shoppers for inspiration on how to style themselves or their homes, while others work with personal shoppers to help source and secure rare or valuable items. To get started as a personal shopper set up an aesthetically pleasing website to show off your style and expertise.
10. Voice Acting
Voiceovers and voice actors are becoming somewhat of a necessity with all the online business going on nowadays. The great thing is that you only require a good mic to start, and you can then scale to having a small studio to better your services. You’ll also need a good voice, but you can take some voice acting classes to improve that.
As a voice actor, you can start by reaching out to clients wanting voiceover work for their podcasts or YouTube videos. You can also do some voice acting work for audiobooks or even video games to get your foot in the door.
11. Custom Engraved Gifts
Instead of simply selling jewelry and other gifts, as we’ll see below, you can offer customized products to your potential customers. Engravings are a big market, and the tools you’ll need won’t cost you too much, make this an excellent low-cost small business idea.
You can really go ham with these or niche down to specific types of jewelry, drinkware, or any other gifts. It’s best to start with a wider range of products and then move on to the one that sticks and that you like to work on.
12. Mobile Pet Grooming
We already mentioned being a pet sitter, but if you’ve got the skills, why not offer mobile pet grooming services as well? Pet grooming has always been big, but it’s certainly become more popular through social media, with many mobile pet grooming stations uploading short-form content and getting millions of views.
The costs will be a little higher for this, as you’ll need to account for fuel and maintenance expenses, but it’s still a nice little business to start. You can start by grooming the pets of your friends or colleagues, creating videos while you do so, and then traveling around the country offering your services.
13. Woodworker
Another online trend is woodworking, with many people posting their creations on social media and selling them for a rather high price. If you’re already into working, why not turn this into a small business? You probably already have all the tools you need, so you can create some home goods or furniture on demand.
If you don’t want to sell locally, you can open a shop on Etsy or even Whop and start selling your items there. Either way, try to capitalize on the trends and start posting your work on social media ASAP.
Physical Small-Business Ideas🏢
The following small business ideas require more physical inventory to get started in the form of a property or vehicle of sorts.
14. Food Truck
Food trucks are an exciting business to run, as they are essentially a restaurant on wheels - but without the costs associated with running a restaurant. Once you have a vehicle and equipment, you're pretty much set! No need to source tableware, quality silverware, fittings, or the like. Plus, if you don't want to invest in a truck outright, you can always lease one.
If you want to become a food truck owner then carefully consider your niche. The most successful food trucks have a whole brand identity that they become known for, whether that be Thai food, lobster rolls, wings, or anything else you can cook in a truck!
15. House Flipping
House flipping is no easy feat, but it is something that you can do alongside other employment (if you wish). If you have the cash to invest in a property in need of overhaul, then use your skills and style to turn a rundown residence into a beautiful home. This can be exhausting and labor intensive, but if you have the passion for it, it can be a great way to earn an income. Plus, you can capitalize on your hustle by documenting your flipping journey online and growing a loyal audience of fans who could one day become paid subscribers to your tips and tricks.
16. Air BnB Host
Do you have a second home? Or even a spare room? If you do, then why not become an Air BnB host? You don't need hotel-style property in order to make money as an Air BnB host. All you need is a property that is clean and safe. Of course, styling does go a long way, and customers will pay a lot more for a private property with luxe furniture and plush fittings, but there are also many travelers simply seeking a low-cost place to lay their head.
Invest in some attractive room furniture, decor and bedding (this doesn't have to be costly, it just has to look aesthetically pleasing), take some good photos, and decide on an appropriate rate for your property. This is an easy way to gain some extra cash on an unused room or second home.
17. Coffee Shop
This small business idea does demand a significant investment of time, money, and effort - but coffee is a multi-billion dollar industry. As such, there is a large market and plenty of opportunities. There are a few different ways in which you could start a coffee business, like opening a coffee cart that operates only on weekends, establishing a hole-in-the-wall coffee stop in the city, or opening a full-service cafe with coffee, food, and events.
The route you choose is up to you, but starting small and scaling up is always a good idea.
18. Moving Company
Moving is one of the most stressful parts of a person's life. The need to pack up all of your worldly belongings and then transport them to a new residence is exhausting and overwhelming.
With the right equipment, manpower, permits, and insurance, you can start your own moving company. You don't need a whole fleet to get started - just start with yourself and a small van and scale as your business grows.
19. Vending Machines
Vending machines cost around $3,000 to $5,000; you can make between $300 and $400 monthly. Although this business won't make you rich anytime soon, the profits are regular and steady. Plus, this business is not intensive except for regularly checking machines to replenish stocks.
Depending on your cash flow, you can build your business quickly or over time. Either way, the experience will teach you whether to continue with this business or use the cash flow to start something else.
20. Yoga Studio
Opening your own yoga studio can be a daunting idea, but it comes with the benefit of being a recurring revenue business model. As a studio owner, you can choose to make your income in one of two ways. The first is that yoga students will pay you on a membership basis for access to your services, and you give a percentage of this income to the instructor. The second is that the students pay the instructor and the instructor pays you a flat fee for use of the space.
Whichever option you choose, opening a yoga studio is a small business idea with the potential to thrive. Yoga classes require minimal equipment, can be offered in many styles, and are a great way to earn recurring revenue.
21. Home Gym
If you’re really into fitness and have space in your garage, a small shed, or even a spare room at home, you can create a home gym and sell memberships. The only upfront costs will be the equipment itself, which you’d otherwise buy for yourself. You don’t need to start big; a few dumbbells, a treadmill, and a pull-up bar will be enough to bring in some customers.
Again, you can start reaching out to friends and creating a small gym community. If that’s going well, tell your friends to bring their friends or reach out to your local community. As you get some revenue going, start adding some more equipment or turn your home gym into a full-blown one.
22. Custom Jewelry
Custom handmade jewelry is always going to be a great gift, which is why it’s a great opportunity for a small business. You’ll usually start selling these from home, but the real money is when you also have a physical store.
To stand out, you’ll have to create unique designs or offer very specific jewelry that is otherwise hard to find outside of dropshipping stores (ie. men’s minimalistic jewelry). You can easily sell these at a premium, especially if they’re handmade, as they’ll be customized to each customer.
23. Pop-Up Shop
Instead of spending so much money on running a shop, you should consider running pop-up shops around the country. For one, your expenses won’t be as high. But, you’ll also create this sense of exclusivity, as you’ll only be in one place for a few days.
As for what product you want to sell, that’s totally up to you. Jewelry, Print-on-Demand, and everything in between is all free game. Ideally, create and sell different designs in each place you open up the pop-up to really create that sense of exclusivity.
24. 3D Printing Seller
3D printing got really big in the past few years, so it’s a great time to capitalize on that trend. You can either open up shop and sell any designs you like, or do these on demand, based on what your customers want.
Finding customers might be a little bit difficult at first. So, you should reach out to local communities and friends who might want something unique to put in their house. You’ll also have to pick a niche, like phone cases or household items like a flower pot.
25. Tour Guide
Going into a more service-based business, if you really have knowledge of a part of your city, you should become a tour guide. This, for one, is a great way to get deep into one of your passions. Scott’s Pizza Tours, for example, brought Scott really close with pizzeria owners in NYC.
Becoming a tour guide might be simple, but you really need to provide value to your customers. Focus on the history of whatever your tour is about, be that your city or a specific part of its culture. And, remember, social media is your friend here. The more presence you have on there, the more people will want to be part of your tours.
26. Private-Label Products
If you don’t want to try out dropshipping, you should consider selling private-label products. Yes, you will need to manage stocks with these, which will be somewhat of a risk. But you’ll essentially be the only business selling that exact product, compared to dropshipping, where you can find a bunch of competitors with the same products you sell.
Here, it’s all about finding the right products to sell, depending on your target audience. Try to find a gap in the market and focus on your local market first, expanding to a wider one once the money starts coming in.
Home Small-Business Ideas🏡
These small business ideas are opportunities that you can explore from your own home.
27. Sneaker Reselling
One of the best small business ideas you can start from home is reselling. And there’s really no better item to resell than sneakers. The market is huge, and once you have the right connections, you can have a large profit margin.
In terms of operations, you’ll have to keep up-to-date with new hot releases, find a way to source this as close to retail price as possible, and generally have a good eye for potential moneymakers. Then, you can use platforms like StockX to resell these at a premium and easily make a couple of grand a month.
28. Watch Reselling
If you’ve got a larger budget, you should consider reselling watches. You don’t have to start with the Rolex Daytonas or the Patek Philippes, either. MoonSwatches were selling for double or triple the price right after launch; limited numbered editions are also pretty good moneymakers, due to their exclusivity.
Like sneakers, you’ll have to be up-to-date with all new releases and have a good idea of where the market is heading to find the best moneymakers. Then, to actually sell these, simply post them on Chrono24 or any other similar marketplace.
29. Trading Card Reselling
Trading cards are an equally great item to resell. Again, the real moneymakers here are based on their exclusivity. Numbered editions, autographs, all of that will get you the big bucks. But sourcing these cards is a whole different beast.
You’ll either need to buy them from other collectors, join box openings on social media, or manage to source one of the few boxes of new collections and hope that you can hit a banger. Then, you’ll have to find buyers for these cards, which will be easy if you have a very exclusive piece.
30. Meal Prep Service
Many people are realizing the poor quality of food from prominent stores. To counter the preservatives, sugar, and other toxins in store-bought foods, people are searching for healthy alternatives. This market gap is an opportunity to provide locals in your community or workplace the chance to eat healthy food.
You can start your entrepreneurial pursuit by making healthy meals from home. Whether the customer wants to focus on hitting their macros or simply save time, this can be a lucrative market to serve. Get started by sharing your personal weekly meal prep on social media accounts, offering up inspiration to those looking for meal prep ideas. Then, open up a service to take care of meal prep for paying clients.
31. Fashion Ecommerce Store Owner
Lover of fashion? Create your own online fashion store! This small business is more straightforward than it sounds. You do not need to design or create your own clothing, you just need to curate items from other vendors. Whether you want to sell accessories, shoes, swimwear, or anything else, you can do so from home by setting up your own online store.
As an ecommerce store owner, you could choose to dropship your products (more on this later) or keep inventory in your own home.
32. Home Tutor
This small business can be organized around your ordinary working hours. If you have a skill, you can help others to improve their own understanding of it. Be it math, a musical instrument, another language, or a more specialized skill set, you can earn money by teaching others.
Create a designated space in your home for your tutoring services - that way you can book clients to come to you rather than spending time traveling to their homes. Start by advertising in community groups and local schools to build up a client list.
33. Sewing and Alterations
If you're handing with a sewing machine or needle and thread then you can run an alterations business from your own home. You can offer small alterations services, like sewing on a button or fixing a hemline, and more intricate options such as wedding dress alterations. To get started all you need is your own skillset and a good sewing machine. Then, advertise in local online groups and place flyers in supermarkets around your neighborhood.
34. Become a Coach
No, we’re not necessarily talking about becoming a sports coach. You can become a coach in pretty much any discipline you have extensive knowledge of. If you’ve been trading for a while, you can become a trading coach. If you have worked in an industry for 20+ years, coaching less experienced folks will be a great business to start.
Becoming a coach will obviously require some experience and a certificate. After all, you’ll need to offer your clients some hands-on training and advice backed by research or data. But, it can be a pretty good moneymaker, as the market is really big, and coaches don’t come cheap.
35. Dating Consultancy
In similar fashion to coaching, you can also start a dating consultancy. You’ll initially be hands-on with this, helping clients set up online dating profiles, or assisting them in identifying what they want in a partner.
You can really scale this down the line, where you’ll have several consultants in your business helping your clients. In terms of marketing, local is the way to go. Ads and social media will really get your name out there. All of this can be done virtually, through Zoom, or your whop.
36. Online Class Instructor
Instead of having 1-of-1s, as you would in coaching, you can become an online class instructor. Since you’ll be doing this from home, you can host meetings with several students at a time around any topic you like. Yes, you’ll need some experience or expertise in your industry. But hosting virtual classes can be a really great and profitable small business.
Creative Small-Business Ideas🎨
These small business ideas require an aspect of creativity!
37. Personal Chef
Are your friends always raving about your cooking? Make money from this talent by becoming a personal chef! The food services industry is booming, with so many of us turning to services like Uber Eats and DoorDash due to lack of time, energy, or simply interest in cooking.
Start small and scale up your business. You could begin by offering home-cooked meals in your local community and then move into in-home catering as a personal chef for special occasions.
38. Landscaping
If you have an eye for outdoor design then landscaping could be a great option. The scope of your landscaping business is up to you to decide - perhaps you offer lawn care and mowing services, or maybe you could create beautiful feature gardens brimming with flowers, trees, and shrubbery.
Advertise in your community and share photos of your work on social media to showcase the value of your service.
39. Handmade Goods
There is a growing market for handmade goods. With so many mass-manufactured products hitting the physical and digital shelves, consumers are seeing the value in one-off products. Whether that is making luxe candles, hand-built crockery, or hand-knitted sweaters, customers are always looking for thoughtful products to either gift to loved ones or keep for themselves.
As a business owner selling handmade goods the production process is in your hands - literally. No third-party product creation or item procurement. You will have to consider shipping, inventory management, payment processing, and other details, but in terms of the product you create - that's all on you!
40. Travel Planner
The market for physical travel agency boutiques is dying out, but there is still a demand for travel planning. If you have a knack for planning the perfect vacation with the most beautiful hotels, best restaurant recommendations, and incredible experiences, then consider becoming a travel planner.
You could begin by sharing your own travel plans and itineraries on a social media site. It doesn't matter if you have actually been on this trip yourself - simply share your dream destinations, complete with travel tips for anyone looking to visit there, and excited holidaymakers will be drawn to your content. Once you have a big enough following you can start offering up services to sell customized travel itineraries, or even travel booking services.
41. Restoring and Flipping Furniture
Restoring furniture is a creative and rewarding small business idea. The idea is to buy second-hand items, restore them, and sell them at higher prices. Besides the initial outlay and some restoration materials, this business idea will mostly cost you your time. But if you love breathing new life into old furniture, this can be a meaningful hobby, or you can turn it into a larger business venture. You could even offer up a service restoring other people's furniture for them!
42. Interior Design Assistant
Most people can't afford to hire a professional interior designer. So, if you have a creative flair and aspirations of one day becoming a designer, step into this niche market.
Guide homeowners on how to make a difference to their home interiors with small changes. Offer someone a room makeover at a reasonable price and document the before and after images online. As with many other small business ideas, you should advertise your creative services on social media.
If your business grows, you can turn it into a full-time pursuit, sidestep the college pathway, or refine your skills with a college background to boost your talent even more.
43. Music Production
If you’ve got a knack for music, you should give music production a try. You can create music beats and start selling them to licensing companies. This can be a good small business to get some income. Once you make a name for yourself, you become a ghost producer for major players in the industry.
44. Event Planner
If you like the operations side of a business, creating an event planning business is a pretty good small business to start. While you can pick a niche, like weddings, it’s always better to start out as an all-around planner and then go with what niche sticks.
Since event planners will always be in demand, you can start small, with local weddings, for example, and then scale that further, bringing in more planners to your business and taking up more responsibility.
45. Meal Plans
While you can sell meal prep services or become a personal chef, you can also just focus on creating meal plans. Even though some degree or certificate would help, you might also be really into fitness, and so you can sell meal plans that have worked for you.
Start small, by reaching out to friends of yours that want to follow a specific diet and offer them personalized plans. To get the business going, you can then create more general plans based on what goals your clients might have and start selling these on platforms like Whop.
46. Flipping Cars
Flipping cars at a small scale is basically just like reselling, with a bit more paperwork. Your goal is to find cars at a low price without too much maintenance work needed. Of course, you’ll have to take care of any repairs and maintenance on your own at the start, but once the money starts flowing in, you can get a mechanic to help you out.
To find cars to flip, look on car marketplaces or even eBay and try to spot a good deal. Once the car’s in your possession, make any necessary repairs and improvements, and list it back on that marketplace for a higher price.
47. Makeup Artist
One of the most creative small businesses you can start is becoming a makeup artist. There’s a huge demand, as many people can’t do their makeup on their own (or, at least, do it good enough).
Thus, starting a makeup artist business will be very profitable. Social media is king in this case, so showcase your work through before-and-afters. Plus, you can even go for a niche within the industry (for example, corporate makeup).
Online Small-Business Ideasđź’»
The following small business ideas can be run completely online.
48. Resume Writer
When searching for a new job resumes are incredibly important. They form the first impression of any prospective hire, and many people feel overwhelmed when tasked with crafting a compelling resume that makes them stand out in the crowd.
If you have had good success with your resume in the past, then offer up a resume writing service to job seekers. You could offer a variety of services like resume auditing, resume creation, cover letter creation, and even interview preparation.
49. Social Media Manager
Social media is a necessary beast that many entrepreneurs, small business owners, and even larger enterprises struggle to understand. If you have had success in curating and growing social media accounts then why not offer up social media managment services?
Start by thinking about the services that you want to offer. Social media management can include anything from simply uploading content to writing captions, creating images, making reels, working with influencers, developing UGC campaigns, and more.
50. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a business that you can run purely online and one that requires little outlay. If you have a healthy social media following then you can monetize on this by taking part in affiliate marketing programs.
As an affiliate marketer, you will place a link to a product or service on your social media page. The link usually has a discount code for your followers. Each time a follower of yours makes a purchase then you make money from the business!
51. Content Creator
It's a creator's economy and YouTubers, podcasters, bloggers, Instagrammers and TikTokers are turning their online followings into successful businesses.
You can earn an income as a content creator or influencer through sponsored partnerships, but the real money comes from paid community groups and online memberships. Monetize your online community and earn an income from the valuable content you put out to your following.
52. Small Business Ad Manager
This small business idea is similar to running social media accounts but focuses purely on managing a business' online advertisements. Social media ads can be incredibly powerful but understanding and using the algorithm is difficult and takes a lot of time. Take this burden off of business owners by running their ad campaigns for them.
53. Trading
Becoming a professional trader is a volatile small business idea that has the potential to become a profitable endeavor. You will need to understand how the markets work, the best trading practices, and it is helpful to have access to trading tools and algorithms. As a professional trader, you could be your own small business, but this avenue does come with a lot of risks, so make sure that you understand these risks before getting started.
54. Dropshipping
Dropshipping allows you to run your own online store without having any physical inventory. This ecommerce small business model works by you partnering with a wholesaler or manufacturer who takse care of storage, picking and packing. You take care of creating your online store so that customers can view and purchase your product, marketing efforts, sales, and customer support. When done well, dropshipping can be an extremely lucrative business.
55. Print on Demand
Print-on-demand is similar to dropshipping in that you don't have to physically handle the product yourself. Instead, you work with a POD service that host your storefront on their website. Then, you upload your artwork. When a customer chooses one of your designs it is printed onto the product, which could be a mug, t-shirt, bag, or something else.
56. Translator
Know more than one language? Use your knowledge to start an online translator service! You can use your expertise to earn money by translating digital documents for a fee. Or, you can offer live translation service for meetings and phonecalls online through video conferencing systems. This avenue can be made even more lucrative if you are a specialist translator working in the medical or government fields.
57. Sell eBooks
Writing and selling a book was once a pipe dream for many as it involved pitching to publishers and signing with agencies. Now anyone can publish their own book thanks to the internet. If you have a compelling fictional story, a gripping memoir, or even useful advice that you want to share, then consider writing and selling an eBook.
Keep in mind that this is a small business so the work doesn't end when the writing has finished. You will need to pay careful attention to your publishing platform, marketing efforts, customer engagement, and much more.
58. Virtual Assistant
Like personal assistants, virtual assistants work with busy entrepreneurs to manage the tasks that they don't have time for. However, whereas personal assistants are, by nature, in person, virtual assistants work online. As a virtual assistant you do not have to be in the same city (or even continent) as your clients.
You could be taking care of anything from social media posts to appointment setting, administration, newsletter writing - whatever you can do virtually. As this is your small business you can decide what services you want to offer.
59. Sell Digital Downloadables
The market for digital downloadables is huge and shows no signs of slowing down. We have already covered eBooks, but there is a whole world of digital downloadables like Notion templates, Chat GPT plugins, artwork, and so much more.
Digital downloadables is a promising small business idea for anyone with creativity and entrepreneurship.
60. Freelance Writer
If you’ve got the writing chops, an online freelance writing business is the best idea for you. You can start small by taking up one-time gigs, like writing a blog post for a company’s blog. Once you’ve built your portfolio, you can either start charging more, offering additional services, or even build your own content agency.
Every company out there is looking for some content, and freelance writing is the backbone of all content. You can write YouTube scripts, blog posts, social media posts, and everything in between. The key is to find a niche in which you already have some experience so you can get the money flowing from early on
61. Freelance Developer
Not everyone can be a good writer. Some folks are just better at coding and web development. If that’s you, monetize your skills by becoming a freelance developer. You can reach out to your network asking who wants a new website, which will help you build a portfolio quickly.
Like a freelance writing business, as a freelance developer, you can either start niching down or create an agency in your discipline (web development, software development, etc). The internet isn’t going away anytime soon, so there will always be some demand for developers.
62. Freelance Graphic Designer
If you’re more of an artsy person, you should become a freelance graphic designer. You’ll be responsible for creating logos, images, graphics, and just about anything visual for companies and brands.
This can be a real moneymaker and won’t require anything more than your skills and graphic design software. Plus, you can always outsource some of your work to other graphic designers and create a small business out of it.
63. Publish a Newsletter
Now, you might think that newsletters aren’t really a business. It’s just a newsletter. Well, in reality, newsletters are becoming very popular, and, in a sense, it’s like creating a small community around a specific niche.
If you’re knowledgeable in a particular industry, you can start publishing weekly newsletters with news (obviously), insights, and general market updates. You can then monetize this through sponsorships.
64. Start a Podcast
Newsletters and podcasts go hand-in-hand. Podcasts are more popular nowadays, so you can give them a try and build your small business around your podcast. You can really talk about anything you want, be it sports, self-development, trading, etc.
Plus, podcasts don’t require too much upfront investment, as you’ll essentially just need a good mic. Once you start gaining some followers, you can capitalize on that by monetizing your podcast through sponsorships, merch, affiliate marketing, all that good stuff.
65. Sell Sports Picks
Now, let’s get into some digital products you can sell through your small business. One of the best ones is sports picks, especially if you’re a sports fan. You’ll need to do a lot of daily research to find the best picks, build a community, and share these with them.
Many of the creators on Whop are selling sports picks and making some pretty good money. When your community gets larger, you can bring in more sports cappers (experts who give out sports picks), and just run the operations of this small business.
66. Sell Gaming Tips
Gaming tips are also a great way to make some money online, and you can create a business out of it. Some of our creators on Whop are sharing PC gaming optimization tips and ways to make money through EAFC tokens. You’ll need to build a community and share your tips through your whop. To make money from this, you just place your community behind a paywall.
67. Fitness Courses
If you’re into fitness and have seen some progress in yourself, you can create a course where you share tips and your workout routine with folks who are just getting into fitness. This will be a great small side business to create, as you’re essentially selling your knowledge and experience.
Instead of offering a simple course, you can also create a community for all your students, where you can offer personalized advice and let them help each other out.
68. Cooking Classes
Not everyone’s into fitness, but many folks are into cooking. So, why not host some cooking classes? You don’t have to be Gordon Ramsay to do this, and it can make you some great money to build a business around it.
All you’ll have to do is bring some members in and host regular classes where you’ll teach them how to cook certain dishes through virtual meetings. To market your classes, start uploading some of your cooking on social media.
69. Start an Online Community
We’ve already mentioned that it’s best to start an online community whenever you sell a digital product or service. But you can honestly build a small business around an online community. You just need to start one.
Essentially, you start a community around a common interest, and once you’ve gained a significant following, you can start selling them different products or services. You can also use sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and even merch to make money from your community. If you’re ready to do this, there’s no better place than Whop.
70. Start a Blog
Blogging isn’t as big as it used to be, but it can be a great way to get your business going. You can start a blog about an industry you know or an interest you want to talk about. You’ll have to consistently upload posts, until you start getting some traffic.
Once you have a few thousand people on your blog every week, you can then monetize it through many ways, from sponsored posts to affiliate marketing. You can also funnel your blog readers to a community, newsletter, podcasts, or any other business idea you want to try out.
71. Online ESL Tutor
Online ESL tutors are still going strong, and you can definitely build a small business around tutoring. Your main market will be Asian students who want to learn English. One caveat is that you’ll need a TESOL certificate and, preferably, a bachelor’s degree.
While you can start out on ESL platforms, it’s best you do this freelance since you’ll be able to set your rates and keep all the money you make. You can then either charge a high fee, bring other tutors on board and create a small team, or do both to make the most profit.
Small Business Ideas for Students and Young Adults🎓
If you’re a student or young adult, these small business ideas are for you. They’re pretty low-cost (if not zero-cost), and you’ll take advantage of your digital literacy and ambition to build a great business.
72. Become an Editor
Be that video or audio editor, your main market will be YouTubers and podcasters who want to improve their work. You have to start small here, as the competition is pretty fierce. But, besides a few tools and the know-how of editing, you won’t need anything else apart from time.
Once you’ve edited a few videos or podcasts, you can start reaching out to big creators and see if they need any editing help. At that point, you can either niche down to make the most out of the industry or get a team of editors and start selling premium packages to very large creators or media networks.
73. Domain Flipping
If you have some money to spare, you can give domain flipping a try. Domain flipping takes 2 forms: you either buy an already-existing website, improve its SEO, fill it with content, and flip it for a higher price. Or you buy domains that you think will increase in value down the line, park them, and resell them to the right buyer tenfold.
74. Social Media Influencing
Most of Gen Z wants to become some form of influencer, and, to be fair, the current market makes this fairly easy for newcomers. You’ll first need to build a good following on social media. It doesn’t have to be too much; many influencers make good money with just 10k followers.
The key is to treat this as a business. Funnel your audience into different business ideas, like newsletters, blogs, podcasts, or your YouTube channel. Or, find the right sponsors and create sponsored posts, which will be your bread and butter when you start out.
75. Start a YouTube Channel
Speaking of YouTube channels, starting one is pretty much like starting a small business. To have a successful YT channel, you’ll need an editor, a scriptwriter, someone to record the videos, that sort of stuff. So, essentially, a small team. Or, you can even do it all on your own and be your own boss.
But, besides that, all the upfront expenses are a good mic, video editing software, and maybe a camera. You can really scale your YT channel and become a full-on content creator, as we already mentioned above.
76. Launch a Marketplace
Another low-cost small business idea you can try out as a student is launching a marketplace. This can be around any topic you’re knowledgeable in, and while it may require some time and coding skills, the costs are minimal, and the potential is huge.
You’ll have to start by defining your market, business model, and how the platform will function. Once that’s done, build and test the marketplace, and then it’s ready to go live.
77. Create a Mobile App
If you’re not a fan of marketplaces, you can also create a mobile app. This can be a great business, regardless of whether your app is free or not, as it’ll only require some programming skills and some of your time.
Try to find a gap in the market, especially around your interests. For example, you can create a quiz app to play with friends but focus on updating it consistently with new questions. You’ll earn some great income from this through ads or in-app purchases.
78. Sell a SaaS (Software as a Service)
On a more general note, you can always try out selling a SaaS. The SaaS business is pretty much booming. Truth be told, SaaS is a business model for selling software, yet it’s so popular that it’s become a whole part of the market. Think of any software you’d like to sell, and once you create it, put it behind a monthly or annual membership.
79. Become an Author
If you want to combine your writing chops with creativity, you can always become an author. You don’t necessarily have to sell eBooks; you can write books, novels, online stories, or anything that gets your creativity going.
And, the great part is that it requires nothing more than your time. You can then self-publish these on your website, your whop, or through Amazon.
80. Create an AI Product
You’ve probably heard about the AI craze, so why not capitalize on it? If you’ve got the coding skills, you can create some form of AI product to help your target audience. This can be a chatbot, some tool for writers and graphic designers, or even some software to make the jobs of finance and cybersecurity folks easier.
Since AI is so new, it’s all about positioning your AI as the best in its respective space, and most people will buy into it. And you can even reach out to investors and get some funding for your small business!
How to Start a Small Business in 2024
To start a small business in 2024 you will need to work through a series of steps to take your idea from dream to reality. Here are the steps that you can take to start your small business:
Determine your business idea
Before you begin you need to solidify your business idea. Read through the above list of 80+ small business ideas and find one that you love and is viable. For example, you may love the idea of opening a coffee shop, but if you don't have the funds or experience needed to succeed in this industry then it is best to consider other options. Think about what you love and are good at when choosing the type of small business you want to start.
Research the market
Once you have chosen a business, the next step is to look at the market. It may seem like a great idea to start a pet-sitting business, but if there are already multiple pet-sitters in your area, how likely is it that you will bring in business? Undertake some research to uncover how much need there is for your business idea, and, if you do decide to go ahead with that idea, create a profile of your ideal customer base. If at this point you realize that your idea is not viable, go back to step one and choose a new business concept.
Create a business plan
A business plan serves as the roadmap for setting up your business. A plan helps you to understand what you need to achieve and by when, whilst also outlining any potential roadblocks that may hinder the journey to launching your business. The document also is essential for requesting any outside funding.
Choose a business structure
There are different business structures, including Sole Trader, Partnerships, Company, and Trust. Carefully research the pros and cons of each to decide what you want to use as your business structure.
File for relevant licenses and permits
The next steps is to gain your licenses and permits. These will depend on the type of business you are launching, so carefully research what you need to have in place to legally run your business.
Set up your business finances
One big mistake that small business owners make is not getting their finances in order from the start. If you begin by using your personal bank account you are simply setting yourself up for a difficult period of trying to manage and keep track of the business expenses. So, set up a business bank account before you launch.
Get your business tools
Make a list of what you need to run your business. Do you need accounting software? Does your business need any physical items? Do you need a payment processing system? Prepare yourself now so that you are not scrambling after launch.
Market your business
Start marketing your business before you launch! Prepare your website, content, and make your advertisements. Make sure that people know about what you offer before you even open.
Launch your small business!
That's it - you're ready to launch! After this, it's all about scaling through hiring, marketing, and product development.
Launch Your Business Today with Whop
It is now easier than ever to launch your small business - thanks to Whop. With Whop you can sell all kinds of digital products, from eBooks, to software, to private community access. With digital products, you can easily build a successful business without having to source and manage inventory, rent a physical space, or even have to leave your own home.
The demand for digital products is growing every day, so why not choose eBooks, software, education, or any other digital offering as your small business idea? Your online store could be live in just 10 minutes with Whop. Launch your business today with Whop.
