Editor’s note: This article was first published in October 2022, as a list of business ideas for 2023. It refers to 2022 in places, such as the closing paragraph, which says this 2022.
In our search for business ideas to start in 2023, we review ventures that are still very profitable and simple to run. It will all depend on your creativity and marketing to make them grow bigger and better.
Other articles of interest with business ideas:
- 30 profitable small business ideas
- 18 business ideas with no investment
- 20 business ideas you can start from home
11 business ideas to start in 2023
1. Men’s grooming and beauty
It’s common knowledge that men today need more pampering than Cinderella. That’s why one of the most profitable business ideas emerging strongly is beauty salons aimed at men. In 2018, a company called War Paint opened what would be the first centre in London specialising in make-up for men, a service that was profitable enough on its own.
But this shop didn’t just offer that service. Much of its revenue came from selling cosmetics for men and other men’s beauty services (manicures, pedicures, eyebrows, waxing, and so on). If we add a barber and hairdressing service, bearing in mind that many men get a haircut once a week, we would have a highly profitable business that doesn’t require much investment.
2. A low-content book business
Unfortunately, with self-publishing on Amazon, many newcomers now write books purely to make money, regardless of whether the book helps the reader. But there’s another type of book that anyone can make: low-content books.
These books, which have become an excellent way for many people to earn extra money, are nothing more than books with blank pages: a journal or a lined notebook, or even a colouring book. Once you’ve understood the basics of layout, all you have to do is upload them to Amazon for free (the more the better). With a bit of luck, and sometimes some advertising, these notebooks or journals can rank well in Amazon searches.
With this business idea you can make anything from a few dozen euros a month to thousands of euros. The good thing about starting a business like this is that you can do it with no investment at all. The only thing you have to invest is time.
3. Sell a service. Any service
There’s no better business than helping others with their business. Today, offering any kind of service is one of the best ways to start your own business, and as with the previous idea, the investment is practically zero.
Content creators as well as small and medium-sized businesses constantly need writers, graphic designers, virtual assistants, SEO professionals, cleaning services, and so on.
You can either specialise in one of these tasks or go for the big business idea, which would be setting up your own large services company: bringing several professionals together and advertising in such a way that a company finds what it needs in your business, so that you can meet any request it makes.
4. Create your own online fashion boutique
There are several ways to carry out this business idea. You could consider launching your own fashion line if you already have experience in fashion design, or you could simply choose items from other suppliers for your own online shop. In the latter case, you also have several options. The first would be to use the dropshipping model, selling a manufacturer’s products and letting them handle shipping, so you don’t need to hold your own stock. Or you can use suppliers or platforms that offer an affiliate model, so you earn a commission from the platform on every purchase a customer makes.
The other way to run this business would be to talk directly to manufacturers or suppliers to get their garments and sell them in your own online shop.
The good thing about this profitable business idea is that you can start with an affiliate model, gradually add items from other suppliers, and later your own designs, until you end up creating your own brand of all kinds of items: dresses, shoes, swimwear, accessories and so on.
We recently told the step-by-step story of a woman who built her own online shoe shop from scratch, with her difficulties and eventual successes.
See also: This entrepreneur built her shoe business from scratch, and these are her lessons
5. Selling handmade and homemade products
Incredible as it may seem, this type of small business is still very profitable. Every day, more people turn to making homemade soap, candles, pottery, handmade scarves, woollen hats and gloves, and so on. These are products that cost very little to start with and can have a large profit margin. Once again, the biggest investment will be time.
Of course, the only difficulty with this simple business idea would be shipping the products and managing inventory if demand grows. Eventually you’ll need to create your own website and do some advertising on social media, although you also have the option of selling your products on sites such as Milanuncios or Wallapop (Spanish classified-ad and second-hand marketplaces).
6. Virtual event planning
Until recently, one of the business ideas included in almost every list was planning events of all kinds. It’s still a good business, but virtual events are growing at a dizzying pace.
As a virtual event planner, you’ll be responsible for creating large virtual conferences and making sure the event has a big turnout, because there’s nothing more frustrating for a company than creating a virtual event that only a handful of people log into.
In the very near future, if the metaverse ends up taking off, event planning would undoubtedly be a great business idea, because it would work more or less the same as in the offline world. It may well become one of the professions within the industries of the future.
7. Selling phone accessories
One business that is doing well is mobile phone repair, because a shop of this kind can also sell accessories such as cases, and even phones.
But there is a very profitable market in its own right, and we can build this kind of business in many ways by selling certain accessories, such as:
- Car mounts.
- Tripods.
- Headphones.
- Bluetooth speakers.
- Portable chargers.
- And so on.
And you can source these accessories through print on demand, making them by hand, dropshipping, and so on.
Creating a shop specialising solely in this market niche can help you rank ahead of other competitors. Even so, it’s not such a small niche, as it moves billions around the world. You also have the option of selling these products on Amazon under your own brand name. Either way, selling phone accessories is a very profitable business.
8. Selling subscription boxes
Once again, this business idea can be approached in several ways. We can create our own homemade and handmade products, or, if we don’t want to make our own products, we can simply select them.
The subscription business model is proving very profitable, and it can be applied to all kinds of niches: from companies whose customers, for a monthly fee, receive shirts, ties and accessories at home every month, to others that offer a monthly box of toiletries. The possibilities of this business idea are endless. It’s simply a matter of finding products that you think will catch people’s attention and that meet a need for them, to the point that they’re willing to pay a monthly fee to receive them at home every month.
Many of the entrepreneurs who sell subscription boxes include a surprise product each month, a gift added to the box, which customers see as added value in their subscription.
9. A vending machine business
The vending business has evolved. Gone are the simple machines selling bags of crisps, sweets and soft drinks. When we looked at the most original vending machines, we saw that today there are machines of every kind, from ones selling used underwear and adult products to ones that now sell you pizza or burgers.
In fact, franchises have even appeared that will install an entire supermarket of products for you, with no need for staff.
Getting premises for vending machines open to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in a key location, can make this business idea profitable from the first few months. A strategic approach is essential, so carrying out a good market study before making this investment is vitally important. We also need to be clear about what kind of machines we’ll install, depending on the types of shops around the area.
10. Home meal delivery service
Opening a restaurant can be very expensive and daunting, but given the boom in takeaway and home delivery orders, entrepreneurs are already appearing who “produce” their own specialities at home and deliver them to customers’ doors.
All of it, of course, backed by good marketing. The truth is that when we order takeaway food, the luxury or decor of the premises doesn’t influence us much. So the business idea is simple: you prepare tasty, quality meals at home and then deliver them to the people who ordered them by phone or through an app.
With this concept, don’t forget the health regulations in each country, since you may need, at least in Spain, a permit to prepare food at home and possibly insurance for home delivery.
11. Property management
If you already have some experience in real estate (although it isn’t essential) or you’re good at managing things in general, you may have a good, profitable business opportunity as a property manager. Many landlords have several rented properties spread around the city and need someone they can trust to collect the rent and solve certain problems their tenants may have.
Other services, such as renovations and cleaning, can be added to this business idea. Once again, the possibilities are endless.
And these are the most profitable, simple, easy-to-run business ideas that don’t require much investment, which you can start this 2022, as they are ventures that keep growing.
See also: 37 small business ideas with high profits and low investment
Featured image: Garry Knight, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
