Not all businesses need the financial backing of a conglomerate or the expertise of an industry pundit. You can find unique entrepreneurial ventures that require minimal initial capital and skills that can be learned on the go. If you are looking for unique businesses that you can start with your own hands, here are five examples to consider:
Dropshipping Store
While you may not have the resources of a giant, like Amazon, it is completely possible to run your own online eCommerce store. Dropshipping is still relatively nascent as a business. But considering the fact that retail eCommerce is a $220 billion market and continues to grow by the day, there is definitely enough space for aspiring drop shippers. This business idea is perfect for anyone who does not have the capital to buy and store their own inventory. A partnering supplier and distributor will be shouldering these two capital-intensive parts of a traditional retail business. All you’ll have to do is set up the eCommerce store and build your customer base.
Clothing Store
If you have a flair for fashion design, running a clothing store is a lucrative and well-suited business idea that you can start slow and steady. Turn your drafts into actual styles and collections, and start selling samples to close friends and family. Before you start a clothing business, zero in on a niche that you want to specialize in. For instance, you could open up a boho boutique, that specializes in fresh and innovative designs for women’s clothing.
If you are opening up a clothing store, you will want to make sure you follow proper cleaning procedures as well (in order to keep you, your customers, and your employees safe and healthy)! You can look into purchasing cleaning supplies in bulk as well as bulk hand sanitizer.
Website Fixer-Uppers
Think of traditional home fixer-uppers but instead of distressed properties, you’re fixing and selling websites for a profit. Website flipping is a unique business idea that can suit work-from-home professionals and the younger generation of entrepreneurs. That said, anyone who has an eye for quality websites that can be bought cheap and then sold higher after a few design touch-ups can make a killing in this line of business. There are a few legitimate marketplaces where you can find websites that are currently for sale. This includes Shopify’s Exchange marketplace and Flippa. Rather than just buying random cheap websites, make sure to have criteria in place to help you filter which websites you’d like to specialize in. For instance, you might have better success in flipping clothing-related eCommerce stores due to your background as a fashion designer.
Social Media Influencer
Influencers are people on social media who have a high follower base, often in the millions. They use their influence to endorse certain brands, who in turn pay them for every lead that the influencer sends their way. Most influencers are paid per post. Influencers who are starting out are often paid in freebies, wherein a business sends them a product, i.e. a smartphone protector or a manga-inspired phone charger, which they then review for their followers. It may take some time to build a following and for businesses to actually start paying you to endorse their product, but the great thing about the business is that it requires little to no capital to get started.
App Development Firm
Mobile app development is another relatively new business idea that is both non-capital-intensive and flexible for professionals working full-time or part-time. Building your own app development company, however, requires technical expertise in various technology stacks, from mobile-friendly programming languages to servers and databases. You can look for clients through freelance websites or contact businesses that you think could use your services directly. Retail stores, for instance, can expand the reach of their marketing campaigns tenfold by having their own website and mobile app. There is also an opportunity to create a passive income business by writing and launching apps for consumers to download. That said, your success will be based on your monetization and marketing strategies.
These are only a few of the many unique businesses that you can start today. You may notice that most of the examples are tech- or internet-related. These businesses fit the current demographic and the new customer behaviors that drive the modern economy. Nowadays, customers want it fast and easy. Thus, centralizing your business around technology, particularly the web, can help you run an efficient business and provide a convenient customer shopping experience.
