Starting a business is tough, it’s a long hard slog, and statistically, you’re destined to fail. But getting a business off the ground is only a problem you’ll face if you can come up with a business idea to begin with. I ran my own company for about two years, but it took us three weeks and a lot of ‘meetings’ at pubs to eventually come up with something we wanted to do.Mail
Starting a business is tough, it’s a long hard slog, and statistically, you’re destined to fail. But getting a business off the ground is only a problem you’ll face if you can come up with a business idea to begin with. I ran my own company for about two years, but it took us three weeks and a lot of ‘meetings’ at pubs to eventually come up with something we wanted to do.
Whether you want to make some money on the side, run something when the kids are at school or create the next Facebook, here’s a humongous list of business ideas. To make things a little easier on the eye, I’ve broken the list down by industry/area, feel free to scroll through the lot or skip as you please.
Domestic & household service business ideas
Domestic service businesses are great, they’re easy to setup, cost practically no money, and you get out what you put in.
1. Cleaning company
Probably widely regarded as the most straightforward business to make money from. Get Microsoft Publisher, print off some flyers and put them up in local shop windows and drop them in letterboxes nearby. The costs are minimal, just your cleaning supplies and the ink for your printer. Easy to scale too. Check out our recent interview with the founders of Homejoy, a multimillion dollar cleaning company. (Update: Homejoy unfortunately went out of business between funding rounds and was acquired in a small deal.)
2. Laundry service
Go to big apartment blocks and flyer them. A lot of flats in built up areas don’t have washing machines. You can also partner with laundrettes to offer their existing customer base a ‘delivery option’, simple!
3. Carpet cleaning
Same as above, although a little more expensive as decent carpet cleaning equipment can be pricey, but with that comes a higher barrier to entry so you can charge more.
4. Window cleaning
You get the gist now, print flyers and target your local community. Everybody has windows unless they’re in prison.
5. Pool cleaning
Only do this is you know what you’re doing, you don’t want to be responsible for a swimming pool turning green. Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t have to be 21 and well-built to do this job.
6. House sitting
Pretty awesome job if you ask me, get paid to hang out in a mansion while the owners are on holiday… a fully stocked fridge and a king-size bed, happy days! Now, back in the real world… there’s also a decent market for waiting for deliveries when people are at work. As for how to go about marketing a local business, see all the above.
7. Catering company
If you love cooking and can handle catering for the masses, a catering company could be an excellent idea. You can work from home and start small catering for buffets with sandwiches and the such, then scale up to hog roasts. Be careful with this one and make sure you have all the required licenses like a food hygiene certificate.
8. Personal chef
Basically catering without the masses. The wealthy people that live among us are partial to a personal chef, somebody that’s just on hand to cook for them morning noon and night. Think catering + house sitting, same rules apply for licenses.
9. Childcare
The perfect business for stay at home parents. If you really love looking after children, then look after other people’s kids while yours are at school. You can become a registered childminder, or even open a day care centre.
10. Painter/Decorator
Take everything I said for a cleaning company, change the designs, job done. You may also need some form of business insurance.
11. Gardening company
I worked for a small gardening company when I was younger, it’s great to work outdoors (yes, even in England with all the rain). The great thing about gardening is the results speak for themselves, start working for a neighbour and work your way up to an empire.
12. House staging
For those of you with an eye for killer interior design. House staging is setting up a house to maximise its appeal to potential buyers. It’s quite the science but if you’re good at it, you can make a fortune in commission.
Animal related business ideas
Let’s face it – who doesn’t love animals? As the saying goes, if you do something you love you’ll never work a day in your life.
13. Pet sitting
Basically childminding (see above) but with less paperwork. Get paid to walk, cuddle, feed and play with puppies all day – other animals are available. Market your services through social media, local advertising (flyers, letterbox drops, etc.) and partnerships with other animal companies.
14. Dog walking
Advertise on sites like Gumtree or register as a provider on new website BorrowMyDoggy(yes, it’s real).
15. Pet grooming
My other half has three dogs and every month or so they go off to get a haircut and a freshen up. So, certain dogs need haircuts just like humans do, but they’re more complicated so you can charge more. as for how to market, see the pet sitting advise.
16. Aquarium cleaning
Advertise on services like Gumtree and approach local pet shops and partner with them – offer them a fee for each successful referral. Local partnerships will work with independents; I wouldn’t waste your time with the national stores unless you get massive.
17. Dog training
Everybody loves the dancing dog that won Britain’s Got Talent a couple of years ago. If you’re a bit of a dog whisperer this could be the perfect idea for you.
18. Make and sell stuff
If there’s one thing pet owners love doing, it’s buying their animals presents. From squeezy dog toys to cat scratch poles, there’s a lot of money to be made from making a product. Create your own store on Shopify and market through social media.
19. Poop scoop
Believe it or not, people run businesses based around picking up dog poop. Most owners just let their pets do the business in the back yard and somebody has to clean it up. It’ll cost you about £5 to set-up and you can market it just like pet sitting.
Business ideas for professional services
If you’re an academic, be it a chartered accountant or a seasoned proof-reader, there’s a bunch of businesses you can get off the ground just by networking and emailing prospective clients.
20. Accountant
Everybody that does pretty much any of these 100 companies will need an accountant. From filing payroll to submitting annual tax returns through accounting software, your skills are very much in demand. Sponsor an organisation that works with SME’s, such as a startup accelerator.
21. Financial adviser
Very similar to an accountant but a little broader. Market through a blog and talk about things like best practices, money management, etc.
22. Architect
A lot of architecture firms use freelancers/contractors to work on specific projects, it’s a networking game, so your marketing costs are pretty low.
23. Business consultant
Advise and support businesses in all aspects of their business. This is a very broad idea and covers SEO consultants to management consultants. Your experience will speak for you and your network will help you gain clients.
24. Lawyer
Pretty much the same as the above, if you’re a licensed lawyer then your services are in demand. Why not do some freelance work on the side, or even set up your own law practice.
25. Tutor
Some people just love teaching, they really enjoy helping others learn. If that’s you, then you should be making money out of it! The tutoring industry is massive and there are apps like Tutorme can help you monetise your skills on a one-off basis.
