In this post, you will discover top 10 small business ideas for beginners as well as people with experience in entrepreneurship. For almost each list, I provide some special tips to help you succeed in your career. Kindly, keep reading.
Before we go further into the list of the business ideas, allow me to ask you a question. Why it is now so important to have your own business?
As we are advancing in technology, regular brick and mortar jobs are disappearing. Entrepreneurship shouldn’t be a dream anymore but a necessity for anyone who’s looking to have financial freedom.
Here is what you need to remember to succeed in entrepreneurship: Once you are able to locate a problem and then sell a service or product to solve it, you will know success as an entrepreneur.
To point you in the right direction, here are 10 best business ideas to make money online as well as offline.
- ATM Business
There are more than 425,000 ATMs in the United States; less than 50% are owned by banks. That is, more than 200,000 people like you are making money in the ATM business.
The ATM business is extremely profitable and easy to get into it, but most people ignore that. This post is not enough to guide you step by step but here are simple steps to open a successful small ATM business:
- Locate good retail locations to place the machine: gas stations, convenience stores, bars, malls, nightclubs.
- Determine what types of ATM Machines you will use: New or used? Which make and model is best for your location?
- Negotiate an agreement with the owner to provide an ATM. Some business owners may welcome the idea while some will not.
- Once you have the approval of a store owner, the next step is to buy a ATM. Some companies offer free machines.
- ATMs work on internet line, phone line, or cell system; you may therefore need to pay a professional to do the installation.
- Load cash in the machines. Every time a customer withdraws cash, you collect a surcharge fee, which is $3.00 nationally.
- Do marketing is the last but not the least important. Share leads in your area to let residents know about the new ATM.
- Laundromat or Laundry at Home
You can open a laundromat or start a home laundry service using your own washer and dryer. It is a very 
profitable business with a very low risk of failure. According to a recent study “laundromats have an extremely high rate of success – approximately 95% of laundromats succeed over a five-year period.”
If you want to start small, just register on a couple marketplaces as a service provider and they will send you leads. Some may perform a background check on you before you start working. But to succeed, you need to have repeated clients, and to do so, you need to be Trustworthy, Honest, Experienced, And being a Clean person who pays close attention to little details.
The ideal is to open a laundromat. It is a self-service laundry facility with coin-operated washing machines, dryers, open to the public for washing clothing and household cloth items.
- Plan your Business by writing it down and assess potential costs and earning.
- Register your business to turn it into a legal entity. Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC provide some legal protections and advantages.
- Get your EIN. Before you can open a business bank account and register for taxes you need an EIN. It’s easy and free to obtain. You may apply for an EIN online if your principal business is located in the United States or U.S. Territories. Just visit irs.gov and type EIN application in the search bar.
- Open a business bank account with your local or favorite bank. Some may have some bonus promotions to new customers.
- Get all the necessary permits and licenses. As your business is expanding, you will cover new territories. Not all counties have the same regulations when it comes to open a new business. Some may require new form of documentations.
- Get Your Business Insurance if necessary. Business insurance protects your business from financial damages that can result from accidents, property damage, professional errors, workers compensation claims and other situations.
- Establish your Web Presence by launching your business website online and market it to the public. You may need to buy the domain name before you even register it to prevent other people buying the domain name.
- Vending Machine
Now it is easier than ever to start a Vending Business. Some companies offer High quality machines with no upfront cost, no Franchise Fees, plus free training to help new entrepreneurs get started. A successful vending machine can earn hundreds of dollars per day. This is one of the most lucrative business ideas.
You have the options of buying an existing vending machine business or start from crash. Buying an established business will cause the start-up costs to be higher than when buying a few machines and start a new franchise. However, an existing machine will come with established locations and a good understanding of existing cash flow.
Here are 11 Best Locations to invest in Vending Machines:
- Restaurants
- Apartment Complexes
- Boys and Girls Clubs
- Hotels and Motels
- Gyms
- Bus Terminal
- Offices
- Supermarkets and Retail Stores
- Laundromats
- Schools, Community Colleges and Universities
- Shopping Centers and Malls.
- Cleaning Service
Cleaning our homes and workplaces is a necessity. But most people do not have time to clean their homes themselves, they opt for cleaning services.
With a few staff, cleaning supplies and transportation, you can offer cleaning services to homes and commercial properties. It’s a straightforward business that requires simple planning, dedication, commitment, and marketing. Cleaning services charge as much as $30-$40 per hour.
Some big commercial cleaning companies started very modestly before they become big today. You can start with one or 2 members of your family or close friends.
To stand out, you’ll have to do or offer something other cleaners don’t provide. You could offer premium services that will distinguish you from the rest.
- Freelance Copyrighting
With a bit of marketing knowledge and the ability to play with words, you can set up a freelance copywriting service. You could write blogs, web content or press releases for companies and individuals who are ready to pay for your services.Most freelance copywriters charge between $40 and $50 per hour, expert writers charge even more. The average Freelance Copywriter salary in the United States is $51,207 as of April 27, 2020, but the salary range typically falls between $46,253 and $57,641.
Freelance copywriting writing is quite stress-free as you can work from the comfort of your home, whenever you want, as long as you have a good internet connection. With a large enough network, it could become a full-time job and sometimes you may need to employ other writers.
- Home Care Service
Home care service is in very high demand and is only going to grow with time. The National Union of aging stated that the population of the 85-and-over is projected to increase by 351% globally, and those over the age of 100 will increase tenfold. They’ll need care and assistance, most times in their homes.
It’s quite easy to get into Adult Home Care Business even if you are not a health care professional; it covers a wide range of non-medical care and support services.
You don’t need a healthcare background to start and grow a successful business as a home care service provider. Although having a healthcare background is a plus. You can hire a home care assistance to do the types of tasks you cannot perform.
To stand out, offer extra services such as senior assistance, companion and personal care, nursing services for seniors and disabled people, etc.
- Virtual Assistant Agency
Now is the best time ever to start a virtual assistant business. More and more businesses are closing their doors to operate online mainly or make their online presence more user-friendly, including customer service. They need virtual assistants (VAs).
If you are planning to turn VA into a real business, to start, it is extremely important that you provide the best service possible. The beginning is the most fragile time; a few negative reviews can severely impact your business reputation. So, be extra careful at the beginning. As your business is rooting you can turn the business into a virtual assistant agency by hiring other VAs to work for you. This is when you will start making millions.
Many people work as virtual assistants as a side business to get out of debt. To find clients, they subscribe to Flexjobs, Indeed, Upwork, and others. You can do the same. In addition, Meeting entrepreneurs having experience in the field can be very rewarding. At every step, develop in-demand new skills: creating GIFs and VR videos, Learning to Communicate More Effectively, Acquiring Basic Accounting Knowledge, and others.
Being a virtual assistant can be a particularly great side hustle for you to make money if you are looking to leave your 9 to 5 job while earning money online as a digital nomad and travelling the world.
- Car Rental Business
Car renting is another good entrepreneur idea. It’s a business you can start with low to medium scale investment. In fact, some people start with their own vehicle. Its profit margin is also very high.
If you have been thinking about starting a car rental business, this can be a good idea. It is one of the most profitable startup business compared to other transport service business.
But before investing…
Endeavor to check the demand for car rentals and the competition around the location you want to open the business before you start investing. In some locations, competition can be tense. There is fierce competition in the car rental market but only because the business idea is that good.
- Graphic Design Services
Graphic designers combine art and technology to develop graphics for product illustrations, logos, and websites.
Employment of graphic designers is projected to grow 5 percent from 2016 to 2026. This is about as fast as the average for all occupations. The work of graphic designers will continue to be important in the marketing of products throughout the economy.
This is another small business idea you can run from the comfort of your home. You don’t need capital to start this business. With good internet connection, a computer and good graphic skills, you can start making money online working as a graphic designer.
As the business expands you might want to rent an office space and hire other staff to assist you.
Here are 8 Skills Successful Designers Have:
Creativity: this is the most important skill in graphic design. You cannot be a good designer if you are unable to come up with new ideas and innovative designs.
Good in Communication: it is important that you listen what your client has to tell you. And then, process feedback, and explain design elements without getting technical
Typography: an effective graphic designer understands how fonts are made and utilized.
Adobe Skills: It is now a basic requirement for a designer to know how to use Adobe’s creative Apps: Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, and others.
Interactive media: being able to create products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user’s actions by presenting content such as text, moving image, animation, video, audio, and video games.
Coding / HTML: The idea here is not for you to be an expert at coding, but you need some basic understanding of HTML and fundamentals of Java and C++.
Branding Your Client’s Brand: by understanding your client’s brand you will also understand his needs, thus easier it will be for you to translate his ideas into graphic and please him.
Delivering presentation: having the ability to take complex data and deliver it to your client in a clear, digestible way will stand you apart from the rest.
- Translation Services
The translation services industry is growing rapidly. This has created an avenue for multilingual speakers to make money. These services include translation of documents and website information into languages that suit other markets. This is one of the very few business ideas you can start without investing money. This is a in high demand and well-paid job.
Thanks to the high number of online jobs available and the market’s growth, translation services are in high demand. If you are polyglot working as interpreter or translator can be one of the best jobs for you to have.
The average Translator salary in the United States is $48,245 as of May 26, 2020, but the range typically falls between $42,555 and $54,641. Generally, payment depends on how skilled you are and what languages you know.
Here are 7 Steps to succeed in Translating Business
- Diligently study the grammar and rules of the languages you work on.
- Get specialized training from a mentor or in books, if necessary.
- Get certified by the American Translators Association (ATA)
- Target a specific industry and learn its idioms, specific terms, processional expressions,
- Get more computer skills if necessary, advanced knowledge of Microsoft word is a must.
- Get some experience and references by taking every opportunity to provide the best translation service possible.
- To further grow your career, learn more languages.
- Digital Marketing
As the internet and its impact grow every passing day, it is much harder for businesses to cut through the saturated market and get their brand noticed. This has made digital marketing services to be in high demand. Many businesses, both small and big-time companies outsource these services to digital marketers. It also allows for the comfort of working from home. If you enjoy strategizing and implementing plans for brands, digital marketing is a favorable business for you.
These business ideas can help you kick start your career in business even with little or no capital. Study your environment, its demand and your skills to become a great entrepreneur from today.
If you are an entrepreneur or viewer and have other business ideas, kindly comment below to share them with our readers.
