61 Best Small Business Ideas You Can Start In 2022
We’ll start with what we think are the very best small business ideas, then explore both online and offline business ideas, arty business ideas for creative souls, business ideas for drivers, and business ideas for kids and teens.
1. Open an ecommerce store
All you have to do is choose some products to sell, find a wholesale supplier, create your website, and start selling! Your profits will depend on your margins, sales volumes, and overheads, but if you get it right, you could be making six- or even seven figures in yearly revenues.
You’ll need to research the market to find a profitable niche and identify products you think will sell well. Then, you’ll need to figure out your profit margins, put together a marketing strategy, etc.
After you’ve got your business plan, you’ll need to build your ecommerce storefront. We’d recommend using BigCommerce for this, but you can also check out our roundup of the best ecommerce platforms to explore other options.
2. Sell digital products online
Another excellent small business idea: if you don’t fancy selling real products through your ecommerce store, why not sell digital products instead? I’m talking about things like ebooks, online courses, music, and other digital downloads.
The great thing about selling digital products is that your profit margins are much higher. You don’t need to keep any stock or worry about things like logistics and shipping. And the higher profit margins mean you’ll have more money to spend on marketing and driving sales.
You can sign up for Sellfy to get started. It’s a beginner-friendly ecommerce platform geared towards businesses that sell digital products. It makes it super easy to build your website and start selling. You can also use it to sell physical and print on demand products.
3. Grow and monetize a blog
Blogging is still a great way to make money—but it’s getting harder. There are over 6 million blog posts published every day, so you’ll need to be smart if you want to cut through the noise and make a profit.
From there, you can use a keyword research tool to uncover traffic-generating topics and start writing articles around those keywords. You’ll need to spend a lot of time on SEO to make sure your blog posts rank.
4. Sell social media management services
Pretty much every brand has a social media presence these days. In fact, over 69% use social media to build brand awareness. And many of those brands outsource the day-to-day management of their social media channels to third-party companies.
Now’s the perfect time to cash in on this demand by opening your own social media management business. You could start out as a freelance social media manager and as you grow your client base, scale up and expand your services to become a full-fledged social media marketing agency.
You’ll also need a website to sell your services through and a solid marketing strategy to find clients. You could try running Google Ads or bidding for jobs on freelance marketplaces like Upwork.
5. Start a graphic design business
Graphic design businesses sell custom design services to clients and produce things like business logos, branding elements, book covers, merchandise designs, etc. You could go at it solo or hire a small team to help.
After that, you can throw up a website, build some high-converting landing pages, and then launch a marketing campaign to drive traffic to those pages and turn that traffic into leads and clients.
6. Sell content writing services
84% of businesses have a content marketing strategy in place—and all of those businesses need writers to help them produce that content. As such, the demand for content writers has never been higher.
If you think you’ve got what it takes, you could cash in on that demand by opening your own small business selling content writing services. As a content writer, you’ll be producing blog posts, articles, landing pages, and more for all kinds of businesses.
7. Become a freelance photographer
If you have a passion for photography, you could start your own photography business and make a career out of your hobby. As a freelance photographer, you can offer all sorts of services, including:
Each of these photography business ideas are simple to set up. You’ll need to build a website to advertise and sell your photography services. We’d recommend using WordPress and choosing one of these WordPress photography themes.
From there, you can start driving traffic to your website to generate sales. One way to get traffic is to start a photography blog, but you could also run ads, launch a social media marketing campaign, etc.
Online business ideas
11. Start a YouTube channel (and monetize it)
There are tons of independent creators and businesses out there making a tidy profit through YouTube. In fact, the number of YouTube channels earning six figures a year has grown 40% YOY. If you want to be one of them, there’s no time like the present to get started.
First, you’ll need to make your YouTube channel. After that, start creating video content you think people will enjoy. Choose something that you’re passionate about, whether that’s vlogging, making gaming videos, starting a cooking channel, etc.
12. Become a Twitch streamer
Got a passion for gaming? Enjoy chatting with others? If so, consider Twitch streaming. Successful streamers on Twitch make a lot of money. In fact, the live streaming industry was predicted to be worth a whopping 70.05 billion last year.
First, sign up for Twitch and create your live streaming channel. Then, start streaming consistently at set times, and focus on creating great content. You can network with other streamers to promote your channel and grow your audience. Then, monetize that audience through donations and other sources.
13. Start a podcast
First, you’ll need to do your research to find your perfect niche. You should choose a theme and format for your podcast that there’s demand out there for and that you enjoy. For example, themes like true crime investigations tend to be super popular.
14. Start a business offering virtual assistant services
Virtual assistants (VAs) are professionals who carry out admin tasks for clients remotely. There’s a lot of demand for VAs these days, so it could be worth starting your own small business offering VA services.
If you want to start out freelance, it’s worth searching on job boards like Upwork for roles. When you’re ready to scale up, open your own VA business website and run ads to find clients, then outsource VA tasks to your employees.
15. Become an online life coach
Life coaches help others to reach their full potential and become the best version of themselves. If you think you can do that, set up your own life coaching business and start selling your services!
You might want to start by getting certified. There are various study programs out there you can use to get qualified. From there, choose a niche, price your services, create your business website, and start selling!
16. Set up a dropshipping business
Dropshipping is a specific type of retail business in which businesses sell products without having to keep stock. Instead, you accept orders and push them to your supplier, who handles the fulfillment for you. Because you don’t hold stock, you don’t need a warehouse or any other physical premises, which makes it the perfect online small business idea.
You’ll need to build an ecommerce store with dropshipping functionality. The easiest way to do this is to build your store on Shopify and then integrate it with Spocket, which lets you source dropshipping products from AliExpress, and other suppliers.
17. Start an online tutoring business
There are tons of people out there that need tutoring services. You could set up your own online business offering remote tutoring sessions. Depending on what route you want to go down, you could focus on the ESL industry, or tutoring in specific subjects like Maths, Science, etc.
18. Start a business selling web design services
If you have the required tech skills, you could start your own business selling web design services. Pretty much every business on the planet needs a website, so there’s a huge demand for this right now.
You’ll need some basic web design skills to get started. You should know how to use modern CMS platforms like WordPress and ideally have some coding knowledge. If you already have that, you can set up your own website and start advertising your services.
19. Start a digital marketing agency
Decide on what type of digital marketing services you want to offer. For example, you could offer SEO audits, content writing services, link-building services, etc. Then open a business website and start advertising your services to potential clients.
20. Start a SaaS business
SaaS stands for software-as-a-service. If you run a SaaS business, you sell monthly or annual subscriptions to people that want to use your software. Because there are no physical products involved, you don’t have to factor in manufacturing costs or logistics. As a result, profits are sky-high.
21. Become an online dating consultant
Like most other online businesses, it all starts with a website. Build your website using a platform like WordPress and advertise your services. Make sure you sell yourself and explain why people should come to you for dating advice.
Small Business Ideas to Start This 2022
There’s no reason to waste your time and energy working for someone else when you can be one of the greatest small business owners, establish your own company, and start making money right away.
#1 Start a Digital Marketing Agency
Starting a digital marketing agency is a fantastic method to gain experience and expand your knowledge. However, establishing an agency will definitely take much of your time, effort, and other resources.
It’s all too easy to get caught up in the “who has the best” mentality and overlook possibilities to assist your customers. Thus, it’s better to create a business plan and determine your objectives firsthand.
Do you want to build a brand, increase sales, or do some other type of service? What kind of customers do you hope to attract? What do you think the future holds for you? These are all things to consider when starting an agency, and they can help you avoid typical blunders.
#2 Offer a Lawn Care Service
For the most part, lawn care isn’t a service that most people think of when they consider small business ideas. We get it. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t millions of people who don’t wish to keep their lawns in shape and maintain their gardens.
A lawn is a terrific investment since it stays green and lush all year, but it also requires a lot of maintenance, especially when the snow melts in the winter. If you offer a service for people who want to maintain their lawns, you could have a thriving business.
Begin by requesting references from people in your community and gradually broaden your reach. You can even capitalize on the industry’s seasonal nature by providing services in the fall, spring, summer, and winter and charging extra during these periods.
#3 Experience the Beauty of Dropshipping
Many people are hesitant to begin a dropshipping business because they are unfamiliar with it. But, here’s the thing: you don’t need to be a “drop-shipper” to be successful.
In a sense, you don’t have to master the whole system in order to earn money. In fact, dropshipping is one of the simplest ways to begin selling, and it allows you to make money from the convenience of your own home.
Dropshippers buy their products wholesale and resell them online for a fraction of the price they would pay if they purchased in retail. They don’t have to pay for a storefront or a shipping department, and they may set the price of each good to whatever they like.
The point is you don’t need to be a tech whiz or have a large sum of money to start selling online. All you need to do is to think of a brand name, create a business logo, choose the perfect things to offer, and finally set up a website or store page for promotion.
#4 Create a Digital Course or Product
A digital course or product is designed to help your audience learn something. Out of all of the small business ideas, this is the most creative way to make money online.
Perhaps you’re trying to improve your life or business, or perhaps you’d like to learn a new skill. Now imagine creating a product or course that addresses that problem or desire. Then, create a product or course around that idea.
A digital course allows you to take your audience on a deep dive into a specific topic in digital marketing. You may, for example, be proficient in email marketing or Google Ads management. Then you may build a digital course that teaches folks how to get started with some tips, tactics, and ideas.
#5 Start Selling Various Services
It would be best to keep in mind that many individuals are willing to pay you for your abilities and skills. Whether you’re a writer, graphic designer, virtual assistant, SEO specialist, or another type of business professional, there are many ways to sell your skills and start a business.
For instance, if you’re a freelance designer, you can sell your service by creating a creative agency with an in-house team while accepting individual clients who need a list of good logo designs, graphics, and brand visuals.
But, you need to be realistic when thinking about increasing your income. It’s important to remember that if you’re selling a service, you must be able to provide a high-quality product or service that your potential customers will find worthwhile.
Remember, competition exists. If your business offers a low-quality product or service, charging a high price may not be justified. Suppose your competitor is offering the same quality service at a lower price. In that case, they will be able to make more sales and get more customers.
The best small businesses to start [recap]
At the end of the day, the best small business for you to start depends on your motivation for starting a business. Is it to work from home? Monetize a hobby? Start a nonprofit? Spice up your life? Here are some more great small business ideas to consider.
At-home small business ideas
Always-good small business ideas
Small profitable business ideas
Easy small business ideas
Creative small business ideas
Cool small business ideas
Meet The Author
Mary Lister
Mary is a content writer/strategist at Starry, Inc. and an enthusiast of all things Internet. When she’s not writing words for work, you can find her eating extra-cheesy pizza while planning her next trip.
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Sources:
https://startupbonsai.com/small-business-ideas/
https://www.twine.net/blog/best-small-business-ideas/
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2021/12/06/small-business-ideas