26 Great Small Business Ideas : Starting a business requires a solid idea that fills a need in the market. This comprehensive guide provides 26 great business ideas to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs. Each idea is accompanied by a detailed description to help you understand its potential and feasibility.
26 Great Small Business Ideas in 2024 You Can Do Easily
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Online Reselling
If you’re interested in clothing and sales, you might consider starting an online reseller business. Although it takes time, dedication, and an eye for fashion, you can start your business as a side hustle and turn it into a full-time resale business. You could start by using online store websites like Poshmark and Mercari to sell your unwanted clothing and items, then expand to your own resale website.
Online reselling is a lucrative business idea that involves selling items through online platforms like Poshmark and Mercari. It requires dedication and an eye for fashion, but it can be started as a side hustle and grown into a full-time business.
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Pet Sitting
About 70% of U.S. families have a pet. When these families go away for extended periods, your pet-sitting small business can give them peace of mind. As a pet sitter, you’ll watch over your clients’ dogs, cats, or other pets at their house. As part of the job, you’ll need to feed them, give them water, play with them, and (with dogs) walk them as needed. To help keep clients satisfied, you’ll need to regularly update them on how their pets are doing.
Pet sitting is a rewarding business idea where you watch over clients’ pets in their homes. It requires basic pet care skills and the ability to communicate effectively with clients.
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T-shirt Printing
If you have a sense of fashion (or humor), you might enjoy launching a T-shirt printing business. You can also license someone else’s designs and screenprint them onto a blank tee. Either way, if you have space for a T-shirt printing setup, you can easily acquire the necessary tools to get started.
T-shirt printing is a creative business idea that involves designing and printing T-shirts with unique designs. It requires basic printing equipment and a creative eye for design.
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Cleaning Service
If you like to clean, you can easily turn that into a business. With a few staff members, a host of cleaning supplies, and transportation, you can offer cleaning services to homeowners, apartment complexes, and commercial properties. Most cleaning services charge $25 to $50 per hour. Cleaning services are straightforward businesses that require relatively little overhead; you simply need planning, dedication, and marketing to attract customers.
A cleaning service is a straightforward business idea that involves offering cleaning services to homeowners, apartment complexes, and commercial properties. It requires basic cleaning supplies, transportation, and marketing efforts to attract clients.
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Online Teaching
The demand for online education has opened up possibilities for entrepreneurs. Since this is an online venture, you can choose any subject you know about and teach a course regardless of location. If you don’t have advanced knowledge in any particular subject, consider teaching English as a foreign language online to students overseas.
Online teaching is a flexible business idea that involves teaching courses online. It offers the opportunity to share your expertise with students around the world and can be started with minimal upfront costs.
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Online Bookkeeping
As with education, technology allows many bookkeeping services to be performed online. If you are an accountant or bookkeeper who wants the freedom and autonomy of running your own business, take advantage of modern technology to start your own online bookkeeping service.
Online bookkeeping is a service-based business idea that involves offering bookkeeping services to clients online. It requires accounting skills and knowledge of bookkeeping software to effectively manage clients’ finances.
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Consulting
If you are knowledgeable and passionate about a specific topic (like business, social media, marketing, human resources, leadership, or communication), consulting can be a lucrative option. You can start a consulting business on your own, then grow your business and hire other consultants over time.
Consulting is a specialized business idea that involves offering expert advice and guidance to clients in a particular industry or field. It requires expertise in a specific area and the ability to effectively communicate and solve clients’ problems.
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Medical Courier Service
If you have a reliable vehicle and good time management skills, consider creating your own courier service – more specifically, a medical courier service. As a driver, you would be responsible for transporting medical items like lab specimens, prescription drugs, and equipment. You could start your courier business on your own or hire other drivers to work for you.
A medical courier service is a specialized business idea that involves transporting medical items between healthcare facilities. It requires a reliable vehicle, good time management skills, and knowledge of medical transportation regulations.
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App Development
If you are knowledgeable and experienced in technology, you may want to consider a career in app development. Smartphones are an everyday accessory for many Americans that has increased the demand for mobile apps. Similarly, virtual reality software has become popular in recent years, so there is also a demand for VR app development.
App development is a technology-based business idea that involves designing and developing mobile applications. It requires expertise in programming languages and knowledge of mobile app development tools and platforms.
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Transcription Service
If you have a good ear and can type quickly, a transcription service would allow you to work from home with a flexible schedule. Medical transcription services are especially needed as voice recognition technology proliferates for healthcare provider dictation.
A transcription service is a home-based business idea that involves converting audio or video recordings into written text. It requires excellent listening and typing skills, as well as knowledge of transcription software and industry-specific terminology.
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Professional Organizing
Looking for a small business idea that can really spark joy? Professional organizers, like Marie Kondo, help people declutter and minimize for a living. In an age of materialism, many people are desperate to downsize and take control over their possessions. Minimalism is becoming extremely popular, but people often find it hard to part with things they’ve owned for a long time. Part of being a professional organizer is helping clients develop a system for downsizing.
Professional organizing is a service-based business idea that involves helping clients declutter and organize their homes or workspaces. It requires excellent organizational skills and the ability to motivate and support clients in making decisions about their belongings.
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Freelance Copywriting or Content Writing
If you’re a natural wordsmith with a bit of marketing knowledge, you can establish yourself as a freelance copywriter or content writer. Whether you write blogs, web content, or press releases, plenty of companies will pay for your services. Increase your value by using SEO knowledge to help clients craft a strategy around specific keywords that their target audience is already using in their online searches.
Freelance copywriting or content writing is a writing-based business idea that involves creating written content for clients. It requires strong writing skills, knowledge of SEO principles, and the ability to research and write about a wide range of topics.
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Home Care Service
A background in care and hospitality can go a long way to support housebound seniors who require in-home care. It’s also a service for which demand is only going to grow. According to the Population Reference Bureau, between 2020 and 2060, the 85-and-over population is projected to triple from 6.7 million to 19 million. The global number of centenarians (those over age 100) has already reached nearly 600,000. Many will need care and assistance, often in their own homes.
A home care service is a caregiving business idea that involves providing assistance and support to seniors in their own homes. It requires compassion, patience, and the ability to assist with daily tasks such as bathing, dressing, and meal preparation.
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Translation Service
According to research from IBISWorld, the translation services industry saw a decline in 2020, as did many industries; however, IBISWorld forecasts a “major uptick” for the industry over the next five years. That projected growth isn’t surprising, as the internet has opened up entrepreneurs in other countries to English-speaking markets, and vice versa.
A translation service is a language-based business idea that involves translating written or spoken content from one language to another. It requires fluency in multiple languages and knowledge of cultural nuances and idiomatic expressions.
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Digital Marketing
The importance of the internet grows with every passing day, but it also becomes harder for businesses to cut through the online clutter and properly market themselves. Digital marketing services are always in demand. Yet, many small and midsize companies would rather outsource them than establish a costly in-house team. If you have chops in SEO, content marketing, pay-per-click advertising, web development, or social media management, you could seize a business opportunity that allows you the freedom to work from home.
Digital marketing is a marketing-based business idea that involves promoting businesses and brands through online channels. It requires expertise in various digital marketing strategies and platforms, including SEO, social media, and email marketing.
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Owning a Food Truck
Food trucks come in all shapes and sizes, serving up a wide range of snacks and cuisines. Take your favorite style of food on the road, and sell your culinary passions directly to hungry customers.
Owning a food truck is a mobile food business idea that involves selling food from a truck or trailer. It requires culinary skills, creativity in menu development, and the ability to attract customers at different locations.
17. Lawn Care Service
If you grew up with a lawn, chances are your parents made you maintain it. For many, lawn care is bothersome, but for some it offers a sense of peace and serenity. Working outdoors with your hands to tame and beautify the natural landscape can be a rewarding experience, but since so many people find the work tedious, it can also be profitable.
Description: A lawn care service is a landscaping business idea that involves maintaining and beautifying lawns for residential and commercial clients. It requires knowledge of lawn care techniques, equipment operation, and customer service skills.
18. Rideshare Driving
If starting your own business seems daunting or too much of a risk, you can always use your car to become a rideshare driver. The overhead and responsibility of running the company fall on the rideshare service, giving you the freedom to work as much or as little as you want.
Description: Rideshare driving is a transportation-based business idea that involves providing rides to passengers using a rideshare platform like Uber or Lyft. It requires a reliable vehicle, a valid driver’s license, and good communication skills.
19. Real Estate
For many people, navigating the housing market is overwhelming. As a real estate agent, you can help people find their dream home at a price that fits their budget.
Description: Real estate is a property-based business idea that involves buying, selling, or renting residential or commercial properties. It requires knowledge of the real estate market, negotiation skills, and customer service abilities.
20. Graphic Design
Corporations, small businesses, and sole proprietors all need eye-catching promotional materials, but not everybody has an eye for what looks good. If you have an artistic streak and know how to organize content into a visually pleasing format, start a graphic design business to provide flyers, digital ads, posters, and other engaging visual materials.
Graphic design is a design-based business idea that involves creating visual content for clients, such as logos, branding materials, and marketing collateral. It requires creativity, technical skills in design software, and an understanding of design principles.
21. Dropshipping
Not all companies that sell goods store them on-site. In drop-shipping, people who run e-commerce sites go to a third party to fulfill all orders.
Dropshipping is an e-commerce business idea that involves selling products online without holding inventory. Instead, the products are shipped directly from the supplier to the customer. It requires setting up an online store, finding reliable suppliers, and marketing products effectively.
22. Personal Training
If the gym is like your second home, you might want to share some of your expertise and help others reach their fitness goals.
Personal training is a fitness-based business idea that involves providing one-on-one fitness instruction and coaching to clients. It requires expertise in exercise physiology, nutrition, and motivational coaching.
23. Resume Writing
People are always applying for jobs, whether they want to make a career shift, increase their pay, or switch work environments. As a resume writer, you can help job applicants’ resumes stand out from their competition.
Resume writing is a writing-based business idea that involves creating professional resumes, cover letters, and job application materials for clients. It requires strong writing skills, attention to detail, and knowledge of industry-specific resume formats.
24. Host a Podcast
Podcasts have become extremely popular, with more than 100 million active podcast listeners in the U.S. alone.
Hosting a podcast is a content creation business idea that involves producing and hosting audio episodes on a particular topic or niche. It requires audio recording equipment, editing software, and the ability to engage and entertain listeners.
25. Launch a Newsletter
If podcasts aren’t your thing but you like the idea behind building a robust list of subscribers and then selling space to advertisers and partners, consider creating an email newsletter.
Launching a newsletter is a content creation business idea that involves creating and distributing regular email newsletters to subscribers. It requires email marketing software, content creation skills, and the ability to build and engage an email list.
26. Event Catering
Do you have a passion for the culinary arts? If so, event catering may be a great business idea for you.
Description: Event catering is a food-based business idea that involves providing catering services for events such as parties, weddings, and corporate functions. It requires culinary skills, menu planning expertise, and the ability to manage catering logistics.
