9 Unique Business Ideas
Finding a niche market and starting a successful business can be a challenge. Many people have an entrepreneurial spirit, but find themselves struggling to find an opportunity that stands out against other businesses. In order to succeed in the business industry, it is imperative to come up with fresh and new ideas that enable consumers to have no choice but notice and support your brand.
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If you have an entrepreneurial spirit but are having difficulty generating unique business ideas, you are not in this alone. GOBankingRates compiled a list of our favorite business ideas from Business News Daily and small-business owners themselves. Here are some of our favorite unique business ideas to kick off your venture.
1. Consulting
While this career title may not be specific, that's where you come in. If there is any unique area where you have skills or knowledge, you could create a business around that. Consulting is a popular business venture, as it requires very little capital to get started. Some popular consulting areas are social media, business, communication writing, web design and finances. If you are interested in starting a consulting business, make sure you have skills and experience in the area, and have a portfolio and clients who can attest to your qualifications.
2. Teaching Courses Online
A very accessible business venture for those with expertise to share is online teaching. "People are becoming more comfortable studying online and receptive to new learning techniques," said Lattice Hudson, owner of Lattice & Co., a small business that helps people become online coaches. "There are several types of online courses, ranging from those in which students pay for a one-time download that they do at their leisure to others that combine a staged online syllabus with regularly scheduled video sessions to monitor progress." There are also endless opportunities for the types of online courses you can teach, from public speaking to gardening, cooking or living more positively.
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3. Custom Apparel Prints
Another up-and-coming successful business venture is screen printing. This is a great opportunity for those looking to launch a T-shirt or clothing business, as it can be done on-demand and from your home. "The advantage of print-on-demand is that you can send the orders to the printing shop only when you receive an order, requiring no capital or expenses," said Mike Nemeroff, the CEO, and co-founder of Rush Order Tees, a custom apparel brand. "It can be easily done at home by setting up a Shopify store, a store on Etsy, Amazon or even building a website with one of the templates already available and advertise on social media."
Additionally, this career requires very little capital upfront -- all you need is screen printing equipment. "Offering a personalization and customized business idea will be ideal, and consumers really appreciate the uniqueness of personalized items and love sending them as gifts," Nemeroff said.
4. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is quickly growing as a popular business concept. A dropshipping company buys items from a third-party vendor that ships the item to the consumer directly. This eliminates you (the owner) from having to deal with the merchandise after it is shipped to the consumer. In this model, the dropshipper does not carry merchandise, but orders the merchandise from a warehouse or directly. This is a great opportunity for new entrepreneurs, as there are low overhead costs and it is simple to start, according to Gerrid Smith, the chief marketing officer for JoyOrganics.
5. Lawn Care Services
If you enjoy working outside and beautifying a landscape, starting a lawn care business might be the perfect business for you. As many find working in their yard to be exhausting or they lack the time for the job, it provides a lucrative business opportunity. While the job does require limited lawn equipment upfront, you could start out simple and as you build clients, venture into more landscaping services to become a full-service landscaping business.
6. Dog Walking/Pet Sitting
If you're great with people and love pets, starting a dog walking or pet sitting business could be the perfect entrepreneurial venture for you. An important factor to consider before entering this business is that you need to be able to build relationships with clients and showcase excellent customer service in order to be recommended to new clients and build your business. For those who love furry animals and building client relationships, starting a pet care company is a great way to appeal to a niche market.
7. Social Media Influencing for Companies
One of the newest career ventures anyone can work toward from home is creating an influential social media presence. Influencer marketing is growing in popularity as people who have a significant following on social media partner with brands to promote their products on their social media. "When influencers partner with brands, audiences tend to take those brands seriously because of the influencers' standing with their audience," said Josh Pelletier, chief marketing officer at Bar Bend. "The advantage of becoming an influencer is that the following you're cultivating is your own, allowing you to generate new revenue streams by selling your own items."
8. Transcription Services
If you don't mind typing, being a transcriber might be a great career for you. Medical transcription services are currently branching out into using more voice recognition technology and pay 6 to14 cents per line of transcription. This money adds up fast and the job is very flexible as you can work from home and as many hours as you want.
9. Online Reselling
If you enjoy shopping on Facebook Marketplace and finding bargains at thrift stores, you may want to consider starting an online reselling business. This is a great venture to start as a side hustle, and as it builds, make it your full-time job. This career might require some extra time and cash in the beginning, but by taking professional photos of products and marketing to consumers in an appealing way, you can make a sizable profit in a unique way.
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