Are you tired of corporate life? Thinking about becoming your own boss?
If you are dipping your toes in the startup waters, we’ve got great news for you.
The statistics say that 96% of self-employed people have no desire to return to their regular jobs, meaning that if you quit your daily job and start your own business, you will most likely never return to being just an employee in the corporate machine. Yes, being your own boss is that fulfilling.
So, if you are seriously thinking about becoming a small business owner, there are two key questions you need to ask yourself.
The first one is what your business idea is.
On the one hand, you can come up with a product or a service that has never been seen or done before and potentially face a lack of demand, as people are not sure whether they need your product or service. On the other hand, you can offer a product or service similar to your competitors’, but that means that you will be competing with big, well-established players, which will ultimately result in you needing help reaching that marketing share. So, there’s that catch-22.
The second question you should ask yourself is whether you even have the initial capital to start your own business.
If you don’t, the good news is that there are small business ideas that don’t require you to invest much upfront.
To help you answer both of these questions and find your own path, in this post, we will share 10 unique small business ideas. All the business ideas on the list require minimal technical knowledge and investment upfront.
Let’s get to it!
1. Freelance writing business
It might sound strange, but to start a freelancing writing business, you don’t have to be a writer per se.
You don’t even have to have a degree in English literature, journalism, or some related field.
All you need to do is be an expert in a particular topic. Here’s what we mean.
So, let’s say that, a decade ago, you studied abroad, in France, and had a chance to work side by side with Paul Bocuse (what an honor that would be!) but in the end chose not to open your restaurant. If this is the case, you can start a business by writing top-rated culinary tips for various prestige magazines and can even make YouTube videos sharing your culinary secrets.
But to position yourself as an expert, you’ll need a convincing online portfolio. We suggest you take a look at our collection of blog templates that can help you share information about yourself and your business. And remember: a website will help you present how well you are familiar with the topic and industry you are in, so you need a good-looking, reliable template to build it on. A good place to start would be the Loqui theme; it has minimal, polished design and is easy to use, so you won’t have any trouble setting the site up. Perfect for turning your small business ideas into a reality!
2. Aerial photography business
If you are unsure of your photography skills but there is something that draws you to taking pictures, it might be a good idea to invest in an aerial photography business. And starting a drone photography business is, undoubtedly, one of the top small business ideas.
Currently, aerial photography is in high demand, as multiple audiences want beautiful shots from above. You can work with real estate developers that want videos of the homes they are selling; music and movie producers that need majestic drone shots, and even brides and grooms that want to remember their special day from above.
To start a drone photography business, you will have to do several things:
- Buy the right equipment
- Learn the basics of using a drone
- Read up on tips and tricks related to drone photography
Once you master drone photography and complete a few aerial photography gigs, you’ll have material to show off, and what better way to do so than by creating your portfolio website?
We highly recommend you invest in a photography website that will present just how skillful and experienced you are. Perhaps our Clarita WordPress theme would do the job? But you can explore more gorgeous WordPress themes here.
3. Property management business
If you are a good communicator and pay attention to details, you might be an excellent Property Manager.
A Property Manager is someone who manages properties, so the original owners don’t have to bother with all the time-consuming, house-related tasks. So, your daily responsibilities include: collecting rent, speaking to or making bad/dirty tenants leave, handling the property after tenants, finding new tenants, doing home repairs, or finding the right people to fix the property, etc. It can be a fulfilling job if you love being on the move and know how to handle difficult situations.
To start, you’ll need to spread the word about your new career to get the first few gigs. Once you start making money, invest in your business’ promotion一build a website, be active on social media, and post ads on various platforms.
4. Virtual assistant business
If your friends refer to you as the Multitasker, you should consider becoming a Virtual Assistant.
A Virtual Assistant is someone who helps entrepreneurs navigate their daily tasks. As you might know, CEOs (and other CxOs) tend to wear many hats and need someone to help them manage all those time-consuming tasks that don’t require much of their input.
As a Virtual Assistant, you will send and reply to emails, answer customer queries, manage booking appointments, etc. And the best part is that you won’t have to be present in a certain company, you can do it in the comfort of your own home. It’s truly one of the unique small business ideas that doesn’t require much startup costs.
But to ensure you get the job, you will need a convincing online portfolio showing your experience and skills. For this purpose, we suggest you choose one of our portfolio WordPress themes. You can pick any theme you like based on your aesthetics and style. We recommend you start with Eris, as you can never go wrong with a minimal, easy on the eyes, and easy-to-use WordPress template.
5. Virtual interior designer business
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started, people have been spending more time redecorating and making sure their houses feel like homes. According to Architectural Digest, in a survey of 2,000 Americans, 55% said they started redesigning their homes in 2020, and 71% of examinees mentioned they are committed to such an effort in 2021.
The real interior design magic started happening thanks to augmented reality, in which online shoppers are able to see how the home decor products will look in their homes.
Taking all this into account, perhaps you should take on the role of Virtual Interior Designer.
Now, planning to open such a business may take longer than the previously mentioned businesses. You’ll have to do a lot of administrative work, such as registering your business, getting all the necessary permits and licenses, and insurance. Not only that, you will have to develop a detailed business plan, define your company’s branding, and, ultimately, create a website.
And when it comes to creating a website, you know we can help. Feel free to check out our collection of architecture WordPress themes. These themes are built to help your interior design company get clients. It will show off your work beautifully, and manage to connect you with potential clients quickly.
6. Online course business
Knowing that people are getting more accustomed to learning online (even universities and colleges encourage their students to take online courses), it sounds like a good idea to start teaching remotely. So, if you have any skill you can teach others, you should consider this small business idea and start selling your courses online.
The good news is that you can make a course about anything one might want to learn: from DIY hacks, gardening, cooking, playing guitar, copywriting, coding, etc.
To get started, you don’t need expensive filming gear; your smartphone should do the job just fine. Once you film yourself teaching, you can post the course on platforms such as Udemy or Skillshare. And if you are wondering how you can actually generate revenue streams, you can sell access to the recorded lessons or tickets for your streaming sessions.
And if you really want to reach and impress your audience, we suggest you offer e-books that include tests and textbooks, so your students can learn at their own pace and test their knowledge.
7. Personal shopper business
None of the previously mentioned small business ideas got you going? Well, if you are a bit of a shopaholic and enjoy shopping for others, you should consider becoming a personal shopper.
Being a personal shopper is not a new concept; the job has been around for decades. However, what is unique in the personal shopping business is that you can get booked online; that is, you can find clients and arrange your shopping spree online.
To get started, you actually don’t need anything except to spread the word about your new business adventure; there’s nothing like word-of-mouth marketing. From there, you can start building a website to promote your skills and business.
When it comes to creating your website, we recommend you pick a template that represents your style the best; that is fashionable, but has a serious, business side to it. Something like Obscuri. Thanks to the video placed on the homepage, this WordPress theme allows your potential clients to get to know you a bit better, and there is enough room for you to add case studies that demonstrate how your business has helped people.
8. Online magazine business
If you are passionate about writing and discussing a certain topic, chances are you would be a good web magazine owner (and editor).
One of the most unique and creative small business ideas is starting a small-circulation magazine that’s focused on niche topics. The magazine will probably be more successful if you decide to cover a topic or two that you’re passionate about.
To get started, you’ll need a reliable website that can handle your future readers一hopefully you’ll have hundreds of thousands of visitors per day. Knowing this, we recommend you take a look at our themes developed for magazines. The themes are designed to help your magazine make a great first impression, and each of them has enough room for you to post numerous long-form articles.
To get started, we suggest you have a few articles ready, so you can start selling digital subscriptions right away.
9. Selling travel guides
Travelers love exploring destinations, and taking in all the novelties and the beauty of a new country and city. To help them emerge in a new culture and destination as much as possible, you can create travel guides that will contain information on cinemas, restaurants, events, historical sites, etc.
To get started, you will need to compile your knowledge of your local area and turn it into a travel guide. Additionally, to expand your revenue stream, you could sell books, maps, and even audio walking tours. And the best part about this small business idea is that smaller tourist destinations are great opportunities, as not many tourist resources are available for smaller places.
10. Goat rental business
It might sound strange, but if you own goats, you can consider opening a goat rental business.
If you are not familiar with farmer life, just know that farmers tend to look for a natural way to cut and fertilize the property, and goats are a great way to do so.
Startup costs of developing this small business idea are low if you own the goats. This means that the goats already have enough room for accommodation and that you only need to purchase a trailer to transport the goats to your customers. And when it comes to your revenue, it depends on how many goats you have and how high the demand for goats is. So, before you invest in such a business, research whether there is enough target market for your business.
Are you ready to launch your small business ideas?
Now that you have gone through our list of 10 unique small business ideas, tell us: which idea sounds the most interesting to you? Are you thinking about turning your skills into a profitable business, or are you more inclined to developing new skills and then starting your own business? Let us know in the comments.
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