1. Local Tour Consultant
If you have a love for local history and lore, becoming a local tour consultant might be your perfect business idea. You can start off by simply offering walking tours of your city or specific history regions within your city. You’ll need to contact your local city offices to make sure there are no laws or regulations that would interfere. However, if you’re good to go, the only thing you need to get started is a website with your tour information and some local word of mouth to start your first tours.
2. Organization Consultant
Are all your socks in matching pairs and neatly organized in their drawer? If so, a business as an organization consultant might be right up your alley. Not everyone has the ability to control the chaos. Luckily, organization consultants can help in a number of areas from personal organization to business organization.
3. Internet Security Consultant
With privacy and security concerns at an all-time high, now is the perfect time to consider a business as an internet security consultant. You can help educate people on setting up their home networks and securing their personal information. You can also work with companies by helping them secure their websites and their business/customer data.
4. Crafts Seller
Do you love making things? Use your talents to generate a profit with an online craft business. With sites like Etsy, selling your homemade goods has never been easier. It’s especially helpful if you focus on a specific trend or niche that fits into a specific category. This will help you get discovered and will help people share your products on sites like Pinterest easier, as well.
5. Sell Plants Online
Have a green thumb? Now you can make some extra green selling your plants online. This is a newer growing niche, but with concerns over seed origins growing, this could be a lucrative business venture. This business will be somewhat seasonal, but you can offer garden design and landscaping plans during the off season to help provide some additional revenue.
6. Picture Framing
If you’re willing to do some research and learn how to frame and cut glass, picture framing may be a great business opportunity for you. Once you have the skills, the benefits to this business are pretty obvious. You can work from home and determine your own hours and clients. There are huge markups in the framing business, which means you can earn more while working less — every business owner’s dream.
7. Computer Skills Tutor
In today’s connected world, people can often feel out of the loop when it comes to new technologies, and the constant stream of new products means it’s only going to get worse. If you have the patience and the teaching ability, it could be a great idea to start a business getting the “technologically inept” up to par with the current software.
8. Computer Repair
For many people, a computer problem that could be a simple fix winds up being a drawn out warranty nightmare. While we may know how to breeze our way through apps, many of us are not as comfortable with the hardware that powers our machines. Computer repair is a great low-cost business startup, especially if you offer mobile computer repair.
9. Personal Trainer
Health is a high priority for many, and losing weight and getting fit are top concerns in this area. If you have a track record for helping people with their fitness in a specific area, you could have a very profitable business. Focusing on niche or target areas can help you stand out as an expert in a growing industry.
10. Personal Chef
While people may not need someone to cook in their home for them, they may need some extra help during their busy day with lunch or even breakfast. One of the benefits of being a personal chef is that you don’t necessarily have to cook at a person’s home. You can also offer foods that are already prepared that just need to be reheated.
11. Freelance Photography
If you have a love for taking pictures, consider making it your new business venture. This is an area where having a speciality will help you stand out. You can focus on typical portraits or consider other areas of photography such as travel, nature, food, corporate portraits, or corporate photography.
12. eBay Seller
Selling your stuff on eBay can seem like a great way to earn a few bucks on the side, but for many people it’s too much of a hassle to research prices, take pictures, put together a good post, and keep track of payments, shipping, etc. The idea of selling something online is appealing, but when it comes down to doing all the work, many would just rather donate the items in question or let someone else sell it for them. For this business idea, you would just need to reach out to friends and family and see if they have anything they’d like to sell.
13. App Developer
The phrase “there’s an app for that” has never been more true than it is today, but there’s always room for a new idea or a better implementation of something that’s already out there. From developing an app for a company to creating something for yourself. All you need is a great idea and the technical know-how to actually build it.
14. Translator
More and more companies are venturing into other countries and want to reach more demographics. This means the need for translation services are growing. Website translation is an especially growing area because there’s a global reach. If you know a few languages, you might consider offering your services as a new business opportunity.
15. Virtual Assistant
The best part about being a virtual assistant is that you can do it from home. Most of the tasks for a virtual assistant are computer related, so as long as you have a computer, internet access, and a phone, you’re set. With this business, you’ll want to make sure you have a few clients at a time to ensure you can work the hours needed. Since the benefit of a virtual assistant is that a person can hire them for as much or as little as needed, you’ll need to account for peaks and lows in weekly hours.
16. Catering
If you love cooking up a feast for special events, consider starting a catering business. You’ll need to check with local laws and regulations before starting. However, many in this field find it an extremely rewarding experience. They key to success with this business idea is to find a speciality that is unique in your area.
17. Homemade Natural Soaps/Beauty Products
Similar to making your own gourmets foods, you can also create your own natural soaps or beauty products. The trend for going natural in all areas of our lives is growing, and this is an area with some real potential. If you’re not up for actually making the products, you could refer to the previous ideas in this article and either set up a dropshipping relationship with vendors you trust or create a blog related to this topic.
18. Homemade Gourmet Foods
There are a lot of laws restricting what food products you can and can’t sell out of your home, but as long as you’re following them, there’s always a great market for delicious homemade treats. If you’re at home in the kitchen, this may be the perfect business idea for you. With the growth of different diets, you have a great opportunity to carve out a niche for yourself in a specialized area such as low-carb, gluten-free, vegetarian, paleo, etc. You can start out small and test your recipes with local food stores.
19. Logo Design Services
If you’re a graphic designer, but don’t want to be attached to huge projects, you might want to consider becoming a logo designer. The projects are typically simple and straightforward and you probably already have everything you need to do the work. To get started building your portfolio, contact local businesses, nonprofit organizations or government agencies for work. You can also expand your services by providing logos and other branding images for use on social media profiles as well.
20. Business Plan Service
Make your business helping other people start their businesses! Business plans are needed to help secure loans and investments and to make sure you keep your business running on target. If you have a keen knack for creating business plans, considering helping out one of the fastest-growing employment areas: the self-employed!
21. Write Books
Amazon and Apple have made book publishing a field just about anyone can enter. If you have a wealth of knowledge in a particular subject, creating and publishing your own books might just be your ideal business. The key here is to enter this business with the goal of creating multiple books related to your subject matter.
22. Life Coach/Mentor Service
While we may be able to see exactly what someone else needs in a particular situation, figuring it out your own life isn’t always as easy. That’s where a life coach or mentor can be of help, especially if you specialize in a specific area. This particular business idea is lucrative because it’s inexpensive to get started and the fields of specialty are endless. You can coach or mentor in any area from sports to weight loss, organization to personal happiness.
23. Trading
There’s so much flexibility with day trading that some people have given up their 9-to-5 careers to start day trading, whereas some trade one to three hours a day and make amazing returns. It’s important to have a trading regime that fits you and your lifestyle. You can invest in stocks and shares, and even crypto currency. There’s so much extra money to be made from day trading, or it can be a full-time business.
24. Blogging
If you love to write, but don’t want to freelance, you may find starting your own blog more appealing. There are many revenue opportunities from blogging, including affiliate partnerships, sponsorship, product sales, and advertising. Not to mention, blogging in a topic you’re passionate about can be deeply rewarding and fulfilling.
25. Consultant
Do you have specialized knowledge in a specific area? You might want to consider starting a consulting business. You’ll find consultants in just about every field. Their job is to help other people do their jobs easier and more efficiently.
26. Event or Party Planner
If you love throwing parties and are hyper organized, party planning may just be your dream business. To help you stand out in the crowd, you might want to consider focusing on a specific niche such as weddings, corporate events, or conventions.
27. Freelance Design
Design is certainly a skill that lends itself to self-employment. No matter what type of design you do, there are going to be companies that need your services. The key is to work on your portfolio and get a few referrals under your belt. Use the web to search for freelance job opportunities and establish a client base. If you don’t want to work with actual clients, you may want to instead consider using your design skills to create products such as business cards, website templates, and stock illustrations that you can sell on sites such as Etsy.
28. Tutoring/Teaching
Not everyone “gets” the subject they are currently studying. In fact, people who need some extra coaching may not even be taking classes. There are many areas of our lives where we could use a little bit of help with improving, including art, computer skills, organization, cooking, etc. If you’re skilled in a specific area that other people have trouble with and love to teach, those skills tutoring or teaching may be your calling.
29. Project Management Services
Often projects go off the rails due to poor management, ending up costing companies extra time and revenue. However, not all companies can afford a full-time project manager. They may only need one for a specific project. This is where a project management service comes in. As a project manager, you can work with all types of businesses and industries. Your job is to help the company get their project completed on time and on budget.
30. Senior Home Companion
There’s something rewarding about taking care of someone else, especially in the later years of their life. With 77 million baby boomers entering into their retirement years, the senior business sector is a growing industry. In many cases, as they grow older, seniors are looking for a way to stay social and get out and about. If you have a passion for helping the elderly, a home companion business may be the perfect idea for you.