Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2018, and its snapshot of startups and markets reflects that time, including claims about which subscription services had not yet reached Spain, Mexico or Argentina and the shipping terms of the companies profiled; the businesses and offers described may have changed.
These are new business ideas we have gathered from different parts of the world, although most of them come from the US. The first part of the article covers five businesses that work in other parts of the world but are not being exploited in many countries, such as Spain. The second part lists 15 ideas that have yet to become reality and that we will probably end up seeing.
See also: The businesses of the future and Which businesses are profitable today? 41 ideas
These are the business ideas
1. Chat-and-dating restaurants, cafés and pubs
Until now, new technologies have been changing the way we communicate, making us ever more sociable on the internet and less sociable in real life. In some places, venues have appeared with exactly the opposite idea: capturing the essence of a chat room or an online dating site and recreating it in the real world. In other words, they are bars or restaurants where walking in feels like entering a chat room, but a real one. We are not hiding behind a computer screen. We are looking at the person.
That said, these venues have a corner with computers for shyer people who have not yet made up their minds. The business is profitable because it charges its customers a monthly fee. Drinks and food are paid for separately. They often run special contests, round tables and so on, and they usually give special gifts to the couples who get together there.
Although at first glance this idea might not appeal to people who increasingly look for anonymity, the truth is that these venues are working, because users appreciate people who don’t mind showing their face, which takes more courage than a simple chat.
See also: Business ideas related to love
2. A store whose product theme keeps changing
This business idea is quite original. It comes from New York. The store works like a mini trade fair whose theme keeps changing: any entrepreneur who has original or innovative products the public doesn’t know about, or who simply wants to open up new markets, can set up an exhibition and spend that period explaining everything about the product to customers.
In February the theme was love, so the store filled up with provocative and very untraditional products, from new luxury shoes and lingerie all the way to much spicier items. I don’t know exactly how this entrepreneur makes money, as it could be by renting out the space or by taking a commission on each sale. Still, the idea sounds very interesting.
See also: 5 profitable business ideas from around the world
3. A hybrid business: clothing and tattoos
In a previous article we mentioned some hybrid businesses, such as combining a tea room with tarot readings or a hair salon with a suit shop. In this case, given that tattoos are one of the booming businesses (you only have to look around you), Brightside Boutique & Tattoo started by opening a tattoo parlour and then added cutting-edge clothing, shoes and accessories.
That way, many customers who come in to get a tattoo end up buying clothes, and those who come in to buy clothes can become potential “tattooees”. Since they started selling online, these entrepreneurs’ business has been going from strength to strength.
4. Clothing by subscription
Hall & Madden is a benchmark in shirt sales, and as far as I know this business has not yet reached Spain, Mexico or Argentina. It works through a website where, for a monthly, six-monthly or annual fee, you receive three high-quality shirts every month.
Mind you, this idea is aimed at executives, so the business is not built on being cheap but on quality. Even so, because the subscription model guarantees them a steady flow of orders, customers get the shirts at good prices. This kind of idea really is profitable for both the customer and the entrepreneur.
5. Customers design their own shoes
Shoes of Prey offers a distinctive service that solves a problem for a very particular customer: women. Have you ever bought a pair of gorgeous shoes, only to find that by the next day your cousin, your neighbour and even the old lady on the fourth floor had bought the same ones? This company, which already sells worldwide with free shipping, lets you design your own shoe in just a few minutes: the style, colour, fabric, heel height, colour combination and so on. That way, your shoes will be completely original and unique. The company was founded by three Australian entrepreneurs and was extremely well received within just a few months.
We finish with 15 business ideas that have yet to be exploited
In 1998, a secondary school teacher gave his students an assignment. He asked them to spend 90 minutes writing about what they thought humanity should invent to make people’s lives easier.
The students came up with 105 business ideas, of which 15 are still not being exploited as businesses, although some of them have been put into practice in a few places. We already have smart climate control, Braille computers, hearing aids and so on.
The ideas from these delightful kids that, in my view, can still be exploited are:
- Underwater restaurants
- Restaurants for pets
- Shops selling all kinds of made-to-measure clothing at low prices
- An electronic translator built into the ear that translates instantly
- Software for visually impaired people
- An online shop where you can customise your own clothing designs and have them shipped to you
- A new cola soft-drink brand
- Triangular and circular house designs
- Rotating houses, so they get sunlight for longer
- Underwear with pockets
- A watch and MP3 player with a built-in television
- A (hands-free) phone, television and radio in the shower
- All kinds of reversible clothing and accessories
- Products for left-handed people
- GPS for the guide dogs of visually impaired people
Will you be the next entrepreneur or inventor to build a business around one of these products or services? The motivating fact is that, of the 105 business ideas these children put forward, 90 are already businesses.
Further reading
- 11 profitable micro-business ideas for students, homemakers and the unemployed
- 9 business ideas you can run from home
- 6 business ideas that need no investment
Featured image: PattayaPatrol, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
