Editor’s note: This article was first published in October 2021, and was later updated; its intro refers to ideas still practically untapped in 2023. The warning that hard times are coming for finding a job reflects that period.
For entrepreneurs looking for business ideas, this time we’re going to list some businesses you could start, with the added advantage that they were still practically untapped in 2023. They can be as innovative as they are simple (some more than others). It all depends on the approach the entrepreneur in question wants to take.
The concept behind some of these businesses can be imported from other parts of the world; in other cases, we’re drawing on ideas that have, in a way, appeared in TV series or films.
11 business ideas that could be very profitable
1. The gossip queen (neighbourhood gossip)
Inspired by the popular series Gossip Girl, a local blog or newspaper covering neighbourhood gossip might not be such a bad business idea. Not what the big papers report, but the gossip among neighbours.
The news would come from the neighbours themselves, who would send you the local gossip. The way to make money with this small business idea would be advertising, and not just Google AdSense: if the “gossip blog” gets plenty of attention, even local shopkeepers could use it to publish their offers.
There’s no harm in trying, although it might be wise to keep the identity of the blog’s or paper’s creator secret. Especially if you publish juicy local scoops along the lines of “Mr López from the shoe shop has been seen with the woman from the fifth floor”.
And speaking of businesses you can start in a small town, you can also take a look at our article 17 business ideas for villages.
2. A website where you can invest or speculate (bet) on other kinds of data assets
Betting sites and trading platforms are all the rage right now. What if we built a website that works like the stock market? A place where you could bet on the number of visits a website or blog will get, or on which book will see its sales grow this year.
The idea is to speculate on analytics data for other kinds of assets. If people buy a JPG image thanks to the NFT boom, I think that with the right narrative you could build a big trading platform where investors bet on the growth of something more tangible, albeit on a smaller scale than the stock market.
This business idea could also take the form of a stock exchange where blogs, websites or YouTube channels are listed, and people would invest according to how those sites grow. It would certainly be very innovative, since nobody has exploited this business.
3. A highly exclusive speed-dating site or app where users vote on every new applicant
You could say this business idea is taken from the film Deception (released in Spain as La lista), with Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman.
Imagine a highly exclusive speed-dating app (for people who don’t have much free time). An app where you have to pay a high monthly fee to get in. How high? High enough that not just anyone can afford it.
It would be the first truly exclusive dating app, where every new member, in order to join, would need the approval of at least 51% of the users already inside.
Every user would have to sign a contract with a confidentiality agreement. That’s the business idea in the raw. Each entrepreneur would then need to polish it to make it more attractive and successful.
As far as we know, nothing like it exists anywhere in the world. It would be a completely innovative idea.
2 business ideas using disruptive models
Disruptive businesses? There’s nothing better than taking a business model that was disruptive in its day and transferring it to another kind of venture.
4. The Netflix of parking
Could Netflix’s subscription business model be transferred to the world of car parks? Possibly, although it won’t be an easy business to create. Imagine someone being able to use a network of car parks in any province across the country for a modest monthly fee. With no time limit.
The idea sounds attractive. How could it be executed, and how could it be set up? No idea, but if you’re interested, start mulling it over, because here comes another, similar business idea.
5. The Uber of services
If you need an Uber, you open your app, pay and the car is on its way. Can you imagine having an app that gives you access, 24 hours a day, to a whole network of professionals such as plumbers, electricians, locksmiths and so on?
This is one of those business ideas that, for some reason, nobody has tried to exploit using the Uber model. There are websites where you can call any kind of professional, but that’s not the same as what we’re proposing.
Building a network of professionals shouldn’t be difficult. The advantage of this business idea for the professionals is that, as with Uber, payment is made in advance. The advantage for customers is that they can see these professionals’ ratings before hiring them.
More original business ideas
6. A consultancy that helps you tell stories for your business
We’ve said before that you sell more with stories than with data.
The price of the same pen can vary by a couple of million euros. It can be a simple ballpoint, or it can be the pen Thomas Jefferson used to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Telling stories without lying is something you have to learn in business, and many companies have a good product but don’t know how to craft its story. So a company with experts who help you build the story of your product could be very profitable, and much needed.
7. A lip-reading school
We have thousands of schools teaching all kinds of languages, even sign language, but there are hardly any schools that teach you to read lips. Something innovative? Without a doubt.
Will this business be profitable because lots of people want to learn to lip-read? I have no idea, but there’s the business proposition. It’s a matter of doing the corresponding market research.
See also: 41 ways to earn extra money from home and online
8. A job interview practice company
There’s plenty of advice online about the most common job interview questions and how to answer them, but how many companies are there that, at a highly professional level, run mock job interviews with you until you’ve perfected your skills? I don’t know, but this business idea could be profitable if we manage to open up a market and make ourselves known.
While you’re at it, you can add extra value, such as teaching people how to write a CV properly, what to put in it and what to leave out, whether to send a thank-you letter after the interview, what to include in a cover letter, and so on.
Hard times are coming for finding a job, so the job market will become increasingly competitive, and the best-prepared candidate will end up getting the job.
9. Dispute and conflict mediation
As I mentioned in another article, the first business I started with my business partner was in conflict mediation. We started out working on family conflicts and gradually moved on to mediating negotiations with companies.
See also: 20 business ideas you can start from home, without commercial premises
I won’t say it’s a market without competition, but I can assure you there aren’t many professionals who bring real rigour and methodology to mediation. Maybe that’s why it was so easy for us to break into this market.
Times have changed, and now you might even be able to start a mediation business online. It won’t be the same, but as we always say, it’s up to you to innovate as much as possible with a business idea.
I imagine that, run online, this business would be something like: “You send us a problem and we send you the answer.”
10. Digital billboards: a profitable business that doesn’t look like one at first glance
The classic billboard business may be underrated by entrepreneurs who don’t know the sector, but the truth is that it’s quite a profitable business. And the billboard doesn’t necessarily have to be in the city centre. There are underrated areas with heavy foot traffic.
The business consists of renting or buying a plot of land or a space where you put up a billboard. The advertiser pays a fee to appear on it. You can buy based on an estimate of how many passers-by will see the billboard.
This business has always had a maintenance problem. Some billboards are 15 metres high or more, and it can take two or three people every time the advertiser changes.
A digital billboard solves that cost: thanks to technology, all you need to do is upload the new ad.
You should know that, although they go unnoticed, there are companies that have built empires renting out spaces for billboards. Other companies have built their empires by owning the spaces and using them themselves for their billboards.
In the latter case, the business isn’t just renting out advertising space. It also lies in the land’s appreciation over time. It’s still a kind of real estate investment, with the bonus that advertising revenue pays for it.
11. A company specialising in dealing with copied online content
Damaging a website or blog is as easy as copying and pasting its articles. It seems harmless, but sometimes it’s the website with the original content that ends up being penalised. Copyright is violated every day with articles and images.
Website owners know they have tools to fight this: you can report it to Google, which will very patiently look into the situation, and in more serious cases you can even take legal action in the courts.
The problem is that when dozens or hundreds of pages are harming your website with their copies, fighting it is exhausting.
That’s why a company that handled all of this (tracking down offenders, resolving the copying amicably and, when the time comes, taking the hard line) would be welcomed by many websites and blogs.
See also: 37 small business ideas with high profits and low investment
Extra: American business ideas not yet exploited in Spain and Latin America
In this part, we are going to talk about some business ideas that are already being exploited elsewhere in the world. In this case, they’re imported from the United States.
Café-pub for chatting and dating
This business idea already exists in some US cities.
New technologies are changing the way we communicate, making us ever more social on the internet and less social in real life, so these venues aim for the exact opposite.
The appeal of this business lies in capturing the essence of a chat room or online dating site and recreating it in the real world. In other words, they’re bars or pubs where walking in feels like entering a chat room, but a real one. We’re not hiding behind a computer screen. We’re seeing the person.
That said, these venues have a section with computers for shyer people who haven’t yet made up their minds.
The business can be made profitable either by charging a monthly fee for membership of the club or by charging by the hour or day. Drinks are paid for separately. They often hold special contests, such as round tables, a game in which participants rotate so they get to know each other for 30 seconds or 2 minutes. They also often give special gifts to the couples that form.
Although at first glance this idea might not appeal to people who increasingly seek anonymity, the truth is that these venues are working because users value the personal touch. As we said in a previous article, when innovation disconnects us from the personal, going back to the old or more classic ways ends up gaining more value within innovation itself.
See also: Thinking of opening a café? We answer some common questions
The subscription business model
The subscription business model has turned out to be one of the most profitable business ideas of recent times. Take Hall & Madden, a benchmark company for shirts, a business that isn’t yet present in Spain, Mexico or Argentina (as far as I know).
It works through a website where, for a monthly, six-monthly or annual fee, you receive three high-quality shirts every month.
Mind you, the idea is aimed at executives, so the business isn’t based on low prices but on quality.
The great thing about this business idea is that the number of subscribers tells you exactly how many orders you need to prepare.
The subscription model is already spreading to dozens of industries. In fact, there are already subscription companies not only for clothes but also for cat litter, underwear and more.
It’s so profitable that Amazon itself launched its own subscription model, where they send you the product you chose at regular intervals. Of course, in Amazon’s case it isn’t a subscription model as such, because you don’t pay a fixed monthly fee; you’re charged per order. However, if you opt for this recurring purchase of a product, you get a bigger discount on the platform.
A shop whose product theme keeps changing
This business idea is quite original and comes from the United States (New York). The shop works like a mini trade fair where the theme keeps changing, and any business owner who has products related to that theme, or who simply wants to open up new markets, can set up a display and spend that period explaining everything about the product to customers.
In February the theme was love, so the shop filled up with provocative and very untraditional products. From new luxury shoes to lingerie, all the way to much spicier products.
How do you make money with this business? Either by renting out the spaces or by taking a commission on each vendor’s sales.
Featured image: Tequask, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
