30 profitable small business ideas (part 1)

Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2018. Its closing line linking to a second part to start in 2019 was added later. Idea 30 and the remarks on Fiverr and Facebook-era marketing reflect 2018.

When it comes to looking for business ideas, we need to be clear about what works and what doesn’t. As I always say, the business ideas published here have been checked, and at least one entrepreneur has succeeded in turning each idea into a profitable company.

This time, so there’s no doubt at all, we’re going to use a list of businesses written some time ago by Bob Adams, who started dozens of companies, including small businesses that helped him raise enough capital to launch another, bigger idea.

Adams learned what works and what doesn’t. He learned which businesses are good and which aren’t very profitable. And he certainly learned that you don’t need much money or a lot of experience to start the vast majority of businesses.

Let’s say it applies what we already explained in our article on how to start a business with no money.

Really fun business ideas

1. Antiques dealer

You can start this business in your garage with a single item. Start part-time and build the business carefully, Adams advises. Only buy items you’re confident you can sell fairly quickly at a good profit margin. Avoid getting stuck with stock that moves too slowly.

To succeed in this business, build deep expertise in one speciality and create a loyal customer base.

2. Art gallery

We could split this business idea into two routes:

Focus on well-established artists with a following, whose work you feel comfortable selling.
Take on lesser-known artists, which means you don’t actually buy the painting or artwork from the artist until the day you sell it.

There’s business in both, but in this one in particular you need to be meticulous, keep overheads manageable and keep an eye on trends, because what people loved yesterday they might not like at all today. There is broad agreement that well-run art galleries are very profitable businesses.

3. Boat rides and tours

And don’t worry. You don’t need to buy a boat. This was one of the businesses Bob Adams started successfully. Once you have enough customers to fill the route schedules, you can charter the boat, market the tours and build a business without the overheads.

In Adams’s case, he eventually also bought several speedboats to take his customers around the local harbour.

4. Clothing boutique

With online shops and big shopping centres packed with clothes shops, could a boutique succeed? The truth is, yes. If you’re original, have good taste and put the boutique somewhere with heavy footfall, of course it can work.

It’s a matter of having original, distinctive products and accessories that don’t need to compete with what’s already out there.

5. Your own clothing line

Ralph Lauren started out selling a few ties and ended up building a multibillion-dollar empire. You can start your own clothing line with just a few items at first and gradually expand the range. If your business grows, you should bring down manufacturing costs by outsourcing production.

Focus on developing striking designs and talking to potential resellers. Of course, you can also launch your own online shop and sell them yourself.

6. Clown service

Depending on how you approach this business, it could be just for children’s birthday parties or something more elaborate for all kinds of events, including in shopping centres. This kind of service is concentrated mostly at weekends, so you can start it without giving up your day job.

The price of this service tends to vary depending on the entrepreneur’s approach. There are budget clowns, and there are clowns who charge more than €100 an hour.

7. Coin or stamp dealer

These days some dealers and collectors who buy and sell stamps still have retail premises, although the vast majority now work mainly online. This is a good business to start part-time, and it could become a full-time business over time.

You can treat it as a hobby that brings in some extra income or as a business with a lot of potential to make serious money. It mainly depends on the approach you take.

8. Coffee shop

When we talk about opening a coffee shop, we think small. But really, have you never wondered why you take it for granted that you couldn’t build a company that might resemble Starbucks?

Clearly these chains have set the bar very high, but creating a new image that is more than a coffee shop, attracting a certain type of customer and choosing a good location could mean success. This kind of business does require more investment.

9. Craft beer pub

When an entrepreneur looks for an innovative idea in the pub business, they usually think of opening an Irish pub, and those work. They work so well that there are already a great many of them. But the entrepreneurs who have opened pubs specialising in craft beers have done much better. If you combine that with good food or tapas, success could be guaranteed. Of course, we’d no longer be talking about a small business.

10. Creative arts day camp

You can approach this line of business as a seasonal camp or one that runs all summer. Given the risk involved in this business, it’s advisable to run a survey to find out which children’s age groups and which art activities would be most appealing.

11. Gift basket design

Putting together a gift basket overflowing with carefully selected items can be a very profitable small business that will delight your customers. And boost your sales, of course.

12. Gourmet candy stand

Adams says one of his friends built a large retail business selling small gifts, with several locations inside shopping centres. He started out making the candy in his own kitchen and filled out the bags he sold with other products he bought wholesale. With this idea, at certain times of year he made thousands of dollars in net profit in a week’s work.

13. Import/export business

A good excuse to travel and make money from it. There are handcrafted items you can find all over the world at low prices. It may take you time to get going, but this idea can be highly profitable. Many entrepreneurs have built successful import/export businesses. Some of them started while they were at university.

14. Jewellery design

If you’re creative and imaginative, you can come up with good jewellery designs. The question then is how to turn that into a business.

You can sell your own jewellery designs on your own website or in local jewellers, and even sell your own brand on Amazon or place them on certain websites that specialise in jewellery. You can start small, although it has a lot of potential to grow if people like the designs and the quality is decent.

15. Logo design

The truth is you can find thousands of logo designers who will charge very little. On Fiverr you can even find people who will design your logo for a few euros. But good designers, those who have made a name for themselves in the industry through their ingenuity, creativity and understanding of consumer psychology, still have work and demand, and charge a high price for it.

16. Mobile DJ

You need decent equipment. This business involves different levels of investment depending on the audience. You can play at big events, birthday parties and even private parties at certain venues. This kind of small business already exists in Spain, and while it won’t make you rich, once you become known you can make more than a regular salary each month.

17. Nightlife event promoter

Organise parties for people you know and charge for it. To start with, you need to build a big following on social media and create very eye-catching events. The rest comes down to your skill at high-level public relations, promoting venues and filling them. That’s something bar and nightclub managers will certainly pay you good money for.

I’ve seen promoters start out with this business idea, promoting parties and events at nightclubs, to the point where big venues asked for their services exclusively, and in the end they even used the money they earned to open their own venue. If you have the knack of drawing people in, you already have everything you need for this business.

18. Outdoor adventures

Choose a type of adventure very carefully, one that people will readily pay good money for. Do some market research beforehand (it doesn’t need to be very professional) on a suggested adventure before investing time and money in marketing it. If people like the idea, get ready to make money from day one.

Try to exceed people’s expectations so you build a great experience and a great reputation.

19. Vintage toy business

While most companies try to innovate with new, original products, plenty of people would like their children to be able to play with the classic toys of old, even handmade vintage toys. But bearing in mind that making handcrafted toys can take time, make sure you find out beforehand which toys would succeed. In other words, which toys the market would be willing to pay for, and how much.

The best ideas for home-based businesses

In case you have any doubts, here’s a set of tips to follow with the steps for starting a business from home.

20. Carpet and upholstery cleaning

There was once a king of carpet cleaners. His name was Don Dwyer, and he made millions of dollars from this business. He started out cleaning carpets in his basement and ended up creating a carpet-cleaning franchise system.

This kind of business isn’t very glamorous, since you sometimes have to remove traces of animal excrement and urine from carpets, but it’s an excellent opportunity to make money. If we combine it with a business that is very profitable today, upholstery, we’d have a fully fledged company. Starting small.

21. Basement remodeller

Basements can be turned into very cosy, productive spaces, but not everyone has the know-how or the time to do it. If you’re good at this, remodel your own basement. Make it spotless, make it ooze creativity and make people like it. Put together a website offering your services as a basement remodeller and use photos of your own basement.

Depending on what you charge for this service, you probably won’t need many customers for the business to be profitable.

22. Craft classes

One advantage of going to a craft class is that you don’t just learn how to make something, you also take home something tangible that you created yourself. People are often willing to attend this kind of class. In many cases they go because someone recommended it for stress. In others, because it was recommended to them to develop their creativity.

So find a way to market these classes and focus on promoting them so that people are excited and eager to attend. And as you can see, you can start this business in a space in your home.

23. Dance classes

Many people won’t believe it, but in the United States most of the big dance academies started their business in their own homes before renting larger premises to give their company more glamour. So if you’re good at any kind of dance, or you know someone you could team up with, you can start this business in your spare time or at weekends.

24. Personal trainer and health care

This is another small business you can start without money and in your own home, and we’ve talked about it so many times that we won’t go into more detail. We’ll just say that people still claim this profession is badly paid and unprofitable in many countries outside the US, but that isn’t entirely true. Personal training is booming more and more, as are nutritionists and specialists in weight loss and natural health.

25. Freelance writer

There are many ways to make money if you’re good at writing. Let’s not forget the case of this woman who earned $950 an hour working as a writer from home. In the end, the most profitable and rewarding thing for you as a person and a professional may be making a name for yourself by publishing your own book, but you can also start a freelance writing business. You can make money writing for media outlets looking for specialist columnists or writers on certain subjects.

You can also write creative copy and slogans for companies. If writing is your thing, today of all times you shouldn’t have any trouble making this profession your main business.

26. Garden consultant

I don’t know if you noticed, but I didn’t say gardener. A gardener is fine, but a garden consultant sounds much better. And because it sounds much better, they can charge more than a gardener. That’s how psychology works when it comes to pricing your work.

You can specialise in flower gardens, vegetable gardens or even something more exotic. You’ll need solid experience, but given that there are lots of gardeners and very few garden consultants, you’ll see that you find customers willing to pay you more for it.

27. Home research and analysis business

This is one of the businesses that haven’t yet been exploited in Spain. What can you offer customers that an estate agency doesn’t already? Simple. I’m sure you’ve heard of someone who bought a flat and, after moving in, regretted buying it because several neighbours were a real pain or there were other problems in the building.

That’s where you come in, with your professionalism and reputation in home inspection and analysis. You can offer other services as well, although your main job will be finding out what’s going on around the home your clients want to buy and writing them a report on the problems you’ve found. Does that sound like an original business idea?

28. Cleaning services company

Remember the case of the cleaning company that reached millions in turnover in less than 3 years? Although we could say this market is already oversaturated, it’s a type of business that requires practically no capital to start with your first customers. Later, as customer demand grows, you could take on more staff.

You can aim this business at private homes, small businesses or large corporations. And remember that when a market is saturated, the only way to stand out is to innovate or create a service with high added value.

29. Interior decoration

Starting this small business can be easy and rewarding, but it’s also true that it’s very competitive. Interior design is getting more and more sophisticated, although there are also clients looking for a low price who want to imitate a luxury look. As in any business, try to set yourself apart from the competition, because in this industry there are loads of them.

30. Digital marketing agency for small local businesses

Local businesses tend to lag behind in the digital world, so if you do a good sales job and offer them your services so they can take advantage of what the internet can do for their sales, you could build up a good client portfolio in a short time.

The second part is now available, with more profitable small business ideas to start in 2019.

Featured image: Donegal Town Harbour – Tour Boat – Waterbus by Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.