Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2013, as a roundup written during the crisis in Spain. Its claims that all these ideas are profitable today, that bike rental is very profitable these days and that the bicycle courier company is doing well for now reflect that moment.
Over time we’ve collected many cases of entrepreneurs with all kinds of ideas, from businesses that stick to the classics to others we could call more innovative. Some require more investment, while others can be started with practically no money, though we could say that today all these ideas are profitable. Let your imagination and creativity run free and see whether you could apply them in your country or city. If you want to know more about any of the ideas, just click on its title.
1. Transformers cars: Several Japanese entrepreneurs gave the word recycling a new meaning: any owner can “immortalize” their vehicle as a giant robot figure. The company’s slogan is: “There’s life after your vehicle dies.”
2. Restaurants specializing in Dukan diet food: Following the success of Dr. Dukan’s diet, with hundreds of thousands of people on it, some businesspeople had the idea of specializing in this kind of food so that followers of the diet could go out to dinner without breaking it. For restaurant owners, focusing on people’s eating habits can be very profitable: vegetarian food, gluten-free food and so on.
3. Military boot camps for weight loss: This business is booming, because shaping our figure or losing weight takes discipline. Discipline is the military’s strong point, so more and more camps of this kind are opening, where, with tough military training and discipline, people get their weight and habits back on track.
4. The gum busters: Removing chewing gum stuck to our sidewalks or shop floors is no easy job, so these companies that specialize in it, which first appeared in Germany, Japan, the UK and elsewhere, have now arrived in Spain, and an entrepreneur from Andalusia has even turned it into a franchise.
5. Startups that encourage saving, not spending: During this crisis, creating a business that offers a service encouraging saving rather than spending undoubtedly improves the prospects of entrepreneurial success. From websites offering accommodation to travelers, to home swaps for vacations, to the latest trend that is spreading: bartering.
6. Candy shaped like medicine: An original idea that makes buying sweets fun.
7. Organic co-op stores: As a solution to the crisis facing farmers across the country, who aren’t paid a reasonable price for their crops, these stores make it possible for customers to pay less for local organic fruit and for small farmers to sell their harvest at a reasonable price.
8. Hospitality businesses: If we break it down by type, we’d find plenty of ideas. For pubs, themed pubs are popular these days, while small venues such as cafés are increasingly being turned into hybrid stores. If you’re looking for ideas for an original restaurant, as we explained in a previous article, what matters now is fun and entertainment rather than the menu. (Read: 5 restaurant ideas built around entertainment.) And of course, take a look at the 9 most original restaurants.
9. Siesta lounges: While taking a siesta is perfectly normal in Spain, abroad, in Argentina, they’ve copied this habit from us and specialized in it, turning it practically into a ritual.
10. Bringing the internet’s “everything free” model to business: So far, the internet has been able to offer free services thanks to advertising. This can also be done offline.
- 11. A company making artistic artificial trees out of steel.
- 12. Mannequin rental.
- 13. A company that uses cows as stress therapy.
For more on these business ideas: 5 one-of-a-kind businesses
14. A local bicycle courier company: At the beginning of the year we wrote about Ignacio Mellado, an entrepreneur who, after losing his job, decided to start this courier service for businesses and individuals. For now, the business is rolling along nicely.
15. Original funerals and cremations: Death can also be a very profitable business, even though your customer never comes back a second time. We showed how some companies have managed to innovate in this area to unimaginable lengths.
16. Second-hand businesses: As we explained before, businesses focused on buying and selling second-hand goods are proving very profitable. They can cover all kinds of items, from wedding dresses and suits to children’s clothes or digital goods, and you can even specialize in one particular sector.
17. The 35 million clothing business: A clothing store where users can design and sell their own garments. One of the biggest successes of recent years.
18. Making food at home: When a woman leaves her career to spend more time with her children, she ends up creating Big Dipper, a large company making organic drinkable food that has won the hearts of many families.
19. 10 tech-based business ideas: We presented different tech-based companies that have managed to get off to a successful start.
20. 10 internet business ideas: These 10 ideas are working in other countries; it’s a matter of finding a way to apply them in yours.
21. 6 innovative new businesses: From a solution to the gun problem to luxury jewelry made from bullet casings. Innovation knows no limits.
22. The gluten-free market: Making all kinds of gluten-free sweets, donuts, pastries and cakes has turned BabyCakes into a benchmark for this style of baking.
23. Educational franchises: With the cuts in education, many teachers won’t get a teaching post, so even a teacher can own their own business, and there’s a wide range of education-focused franchises for them.
Businesses for young entrepreneurs with very little investment:
- 24. A premium errand service.
- 25. Social media for small businesses.
- 26. Internet and social networks for older people.
- 27. Homemade candle making.
You can learn more about these services in 6 business ideas for young entrepreneurs.
Some innovative ideas:
- 28. A Wall Street bar, where drink prices move like stocks.
- 29. A bike rental company (very profitable these days).
- 30. Event management and promotion.
- 31. An ice cream parlor with very original flavors.
To find out more: 5 innovative business ideas gathered from around the world.
Micro-businesses:
- 32. Selling handmade products made at home.
- 33. Custom sneakers and clothing made to order.
- 34. A helpline.
- 35. A flyer distribution company.
For more detail: 11 profitable micro-business ideas for students, homemakers and more
There’s business in controversy:
- 36. Help for people who cheat on their partners.
- 37. A vibrator controlled by a mobile app (it recently raised another $50,000 in a funding round).
- 38. An app for rating and talking about men.
To find out more: 4 controversial business ideas.
39. Clothing rental for special occasions: This kind of business is also booming because, with the crisis, people have been forced to cut back on some of these luxuries, but not to do without them for a one-off day. For your wedding day or an invitation to a gala dinner, you can rent the outfit you need by the day, whether it’s a wedding dress or a tuxedo.
40. Vintage fashion: Innovation looking to the past, as more and more entrepreneurs open clothing stores that bring back the fashion of the 1920s or the 1960s.
As we said before, if we look back over it all, the most profitable businesses would be clothing, food and technology.
Over the next few days we’re preparing some viable business ideas you can run from home or online with little or no investment.
Further reading
- 10 reasons small businesses fail early on
- 15 questions to evaluate a business idea
- The key to success with the Seinfeld strategy
Featured image: Fons Heijnsbroek, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
