There are so many incredible business ideas to try in 2024. Of course, success in business always comes from laser focus. So choose one wisely. That said, there’s potential for success with every opportunity we’ve included on this list. So, let’s start brainstorming some business opportunities together to help you find the perfect fit.
Online business opportunities
Dropshipping
One of the top online business opportunities is dropshipping. Dropshipping is a business model where you sell products created by manufacturers. They handle the production, packaging, and shipping, so you don’t have to manage inventory. You can offer items in a wide range of niches like fashion, beauty, home goods, or pet supplies. It’s also possible to focus on a single product if you prefer. If you’re interested in starting a dropshipping business, our detailed guide has more information to help you get started.
Website flipping
Have you ever visited a website and thought to yourself, “This has so much potential for growth?” Well, you might be able to buy that site, grow it, and then sell it for a profit. That’s called website flipping. You can look for underperforming websites with good potential via manual research or sign up to platforms like Exchange for the purpose. After buying the site, you can improve its earning potential via marketing, SEO, and other tactics. Once the site starts generating more revenue than what it was making when you initially purchased it, you can sell it for a profit. With sites available for as low as $100, this can be a life-changing business opportunity for people with limited capital.
Freelancing
Another online business opportunity to consider is freelancing. In freelancing, you use your skills to undertake work for other businesses. If you prefer a more hands-off approach, you can hire freelancers and delegate projects to them, allowing your business to scale. This is a great way to work from home, as freelancing often involves remote tasks like writing, graphic design, or photography. You get to manage your own schedule and work on your terms.
Online recruiting
Online recruiting involves matching companies with suitable candidates. If you’re good at spotting talent and understanding what employers need, you can create a lucrative service-based business. Many companies without dedicated HR staff hire online recruiters to save time. You can use sites like ZipRecruiter, Indeed, and Glassdoor to connect businesses with the perfect fit for their open positions. Plus, there are various job fairs and networking events you can attend to find top talent and expand your candidate pool.
SEO consultancy
If you know your way around search engine algorithms and can spot trends, you can start an SEO consultancy business. As an SEO consultant, you’ll advise clients on improving their search rankings through keyword optimization, content strategies, and more. Keep in mind that algorithms change often, so you’ll need to stay updated and continuously refine your approach. Additionally, you’ll need to create detailed reports that track performance and guide your clients on necessary adjustments.
Print on demand
With print on demand, you design your products, and a manufacturer prints, packages, and ships products to customers for you on your behalf. The creative freedom and hands-off shipping make it one of the best business opportunities in the ecommerce space. The critical difference between print on demand and dropshipping is that, with print on demand, you’re selling one-of-a-kind products that nobody else is selling. The challenge is that you might not know what will sell well because you have no one to compare to. But the rewards that you’ll be the only seller make it a business opportunity to jump on.
Handmade items
Who says people with a knack for making things can’t be their own boss? If you’re skilled at making handmade items, you can start a successful business online. Check out popular sites like Etsy to see what’s trending, then craft your own versions. Once you’ve got your products ready, take high-quality photographs and create compelling descriptions. You can sell your items directly through your own store as well as partner with influencers or affiliates to reach a wider audience.
Remote business opportunities
Blogging
One of the best small business opportunities is blogging. Blogging is popular because it gives you the opportunity to create many potential sources of income. You could make money from affiliate marketing, ads, information products, physical products, influencer marketing, sponsorships, and gated premium content. It’s even possible to earn passive income by publishing articles upfront and placing ads within the content so that you earn whenever a reader clicks on an advertisement. With so many potential income sources, bloggers focus on creating and marketing their content to build their website traffic. They promote via search engine optimization (SEO) and social media to gain new website visitors
Affiliate marketing
Small business opportunities, like affiliate marketing, are pretty common. You can become an affiliate of many top brands. An affiliate marketer earns a commission on every sale he brings into a brand. Some brands like Amazon pay a small percentage of sales for every product an affiliate brings in. As another example Shopify pays up to $58 for every customer an affiliate brings in. You can build a blog, create posts on social media, or run ads with your affiliate link to generate sales for the brand you’re promoting.
App creation
One of the most popular small business opportunities involves creating apps. You can build entertaining apps, such as addictive games, or apps that are useful, such as a to-do list. You’ll need to know programming skills for either iOS or Android to become successful in this field. Of course, you can always outsource your app creation to a developer through a freelance website, but this can cost you tens of thousands of dollars upfront for a unique app. A better alternative is to take online app development courses and learn how to build a mobile app from scratch. To promote your app, you can do media outreach, blogging, and backlink mentions on popular articles.
Online course creation
Online learning is one of the most significant business opportunities for the coming years. More people are taking to the internet to learn. The e-learning market is expected to grow to $325 billion by 2025. You can create online courses in various niches. Whether you create the online courses yourself, hire people to create the courses for you, or let course creators use your platform, there’s money to be earned. It’s a worthwhile opportunity right now because it’s already popular and is expected to continue growing.
Customer support
Many companies out there require help in assisting their customers. So why not create a business by opening your own customer support firm? You can offer to handle queries on behalf of a company via chat, email, and phone. Using help desk software will allow you to manage customer interactions from one central location. If a lot of companies show interest in your services, you can hire remote chat specialists to expand your resources. As your business scales, it might even be possible to set up a remote-friendly customer support business where your staff members work from their homes.
Virtual event planning
The demand for virtual events is skyrocketing, with the market predicted to hit $366.5 billion by 2027. As a virtual event planner, you can help organize a variety of events like online weddings, digital baby showers, or virtual birthday parties. Your responsibilities might include sending out digital invites, setting up virtual meeting rooms, and planning the event schedule. You could also select digital party favors, arrange for a virtual group photo or video, and help set up online gift registries. If you’re organized and enjoy connecting people, this could be a fun and profitable small business idea to pursue
New business opportunities
Cyber security (ethical hacker)
With most of the world being online, we’ve seen a rise in cybercrime. That makes cybersecurity one of the most important business opportunities to consider. The industry is growing more prominent, and it solves one of the biggest online challenges people have today. There’s also ethical hacking, which is slightly different but can help prevent cyberattacks or major hacks for big brands. Those who invest in starting a cybersecurity business will likely realize it’s a prominent business opportunity.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is one of the new business opportunities that has been making waves for a while now.. Some fear that robots will take over the world. But artificial intelligence will be part of our society in some form or another. And who knows, maybe humans will become half robotic in some way. The businesses that explore artificial intelligence will be part of one of the future’s biggest industries. Some are hard at work already, but we’ve yet to see what will be made of artificial intelligence, making this an exciting business opportunity to explore.
Cryptocurrency investor
While cryptocurrency has already proven to be one of the most popular business opportunities, it’s still not at its peak. We’re unsure of how cryptocurrency will continue to evolve and grow. However, cryptocurrency investors may end up winning big if more companies and banks accept cryptocurrency as payment. Of course, there are always risks involved, and you may lose more than anticipated. But all great business opportunities have risks. Just be sure to do your homework first.
Automation
One of the new business opportunities you can jump on is automation. We’ve seen automation-focused businesses grow substantially. Whether you’re automating retargeting ads or a repetitive task, automation tools can help save you time and money. And that’s why people end up becoming customers. It solves a significant problem. And those are the best business opportunities to go after.
3D printing
3D printing is another exciting technology that is generating business opportunities left and right. You can buy a few 3D printers (new or second hand, depending on your budget) and offer various services to different companies. One popular service is developing prototypes, where you print a product model so that the client can just test the waters with its features. You can attract small businesses by providing such services, since they need to test product quality while keeping costs low. Contrary to popular belief, the price of 3D printers has come down considerably, due to an increase in supply from Chinese manufacturers.
Business opportunities for entrepreneurs
Real estate investing
Real estate can be tricky, as housing prices don’t always go up. We’ve also seen a major real estate market crash happen in our lifetime. However, the money you make from owning several rental properties can be enough to help you live a comfortable life. This business opportunity is too good to pass up. As the properties get paid off by the renters, you can choose to sell the properties if the value goes up. To save on taxes, you can also reinvest the money earned into buying a bigger property, such as a duplex or condo.
Environmental consulting
Got a background in environmental science or management? How about starting your own environmental consulting firm? You can provide services like impact assessments for new projects or develop sustainability strategies. This field also provides opportunities to take on government contracts for public initiatives. These might include water quality improvement or waste management. With your expertise, you can run a successful consulting business and do some good for the planet.
Financial consultant
Another lucrative industry where you can work as a consultant is finance. With many companies needing budget management and individuals seeking help with their personal finances, you won’t have to work hard to attract customers. As a financial consultant, you can charge by the hour or work with clients on a monthly retainer. Get things started by setting up a website and networking with potential clients.
Dog walking business
The pet industry is one of the biggest. With so many people owning dogs, we’ve seen the rise in dog walking businesses in particular. Dog walking is a business opportunity that works well in major cities. You can choose to walk packs of five or fewer dogs of the same size. As dog owners become more informed about the separation anxiety their pets experience, they turn to dog walking services to help their dogs socialize and get some fresh air. This business opportunity has already proven to be popular, so it’s a worthwhile one to start if you’re passionate about dogs. Sites like Rover and BarklyPets are great for landing your first few clients.
Housekeeping business
In major cities, people continuously search for housekeepers and cleaners to keep their home tidy while they’re at work. Housekeeping poses a potential business opportunity for a savvy marketer. If you know how to find potential customers, you can hire cleaners to clean those customers’ homes. You’ll pay the cleaners an hourly fee. However, you can earn a sizable income from the rate you charge your customers. And at scale, the dollars add up.
Tutoring business
Business opportunities are common in the education space. So many people want to learn. That’s why tutoring businesses are popular. If your goal is to create a job for yourself, you can be the tutor. However, if you’re looking to own the business, you can hire teachers to educate younger students. You’ll simply need to find customers for online teaching. The more customers you have, the bigger your business will grow. You can rent out office space for a couple of hours in the evening instead of investing in your own office space to cut costs. This can help you build a sustainable business.
Influencer services
One of the most modern business opportunities involves influencer marketing. If you have a massive social media following, you can partner with other businesses to promote their products to your audience. When starting out, you might partner with affiliate programs to see how well your audience grows. And as your audience scales, more business opportunities come your way. You can focus on building various accounts. Maybe one where you build yourself or a pet as an influencer. Then perhaps another where you build fan pages for a specific topic or niche.
Photography business
Do you enjoy taking candid pictures? Yes? Then a photography business might be a perfect option for you. To succeed in this field, make sure to focus on a niche that has good demand. Wedding photography is popular because many grooms and brides want to capture the events and moments on their big day. But even if you’re not interested in weddings, there’s no shortage of areas to specialize in. Want to gain more attention for your work? You can contribute to the Brust library, a stock image website helping entrepreneurs find images to use for their business.
Video game business
If you love gaming, why not turn it into your own business? You can create your own gaming studio or develop unique game designs. Another idea is to livestream your gameplay on Twitch or create engaging content for a YouTube channel. You might even consider selling game-themed merchandise or offering gaming tutorials. With the gaming industry expected to hit $257 billion by 2025, there’s a huge market to tap into.
Local business opportunities
Uber or Lyft driver
If you’re looking for local business opportunities, you can become an Uber or Lyft driver. Keep in mind that this business opportunity is popular right now. But with the expectation that there will be self-driving cars in the future, this business opportunity may be short-lived. However, if you love capitalizing on business opportunities fast, you can start a driving service using Uber or Lyft to find clients. This is particularly helpful for limo drivers who are looking to earn more income beyond what they can earn from a limousine company.
Food delivery
If you’re continually Googling “business opportunities near me,” you might have noticed that food delivery services are growing quite big. You can choose to drive, bike, or walk for your food delivery business. And you don’t necessarily have to be the person delivering food to capitalize on this business opportunity. You can also own the business by hiring people who’ll deliver the food to customers. If you own a convenience store or restaurant, you can sell the food, snacks, or drink people are ordering. This can be a way to expand your business’ reach.
Rent on Airbnb
Airbnb renting is one of the most attractive business opportunities in the local business niche. It can be challenging to find people to rent your unit or spare bedroom to. So, broadening your audience and renting to travelers is an excellent opportunity to capitalize on. You can charge a price that’s on par or close to the cost of a hotel’s day rate. Thus, if you were booked up for the whole month, you would have made more overall than if you were renting out to a tenant the traditional way, as standards are different.
Open a food truck
Many entrepreneurs are passionate about food. That’s why so many people aspire to open up a restaurant. However, with rent fees being sky-high in popular cities and competition fierce, many restaurants end up failing in only a couple of years. Thus, opening up a food truck is an excellent business opportunity for aspiring restaurant owners. It allows you to serve your own dishes but with a much lower risk.
Start a hair salon
Got a knack for styling hair? Starting a home salon could be perfect for you. You get to offer that personal touch people don’t get at big salons—and to make them look amazing. First, check what permits and licenses your city and state need for home businesses. Then, put together a business plan to help you secure any loans or funds for equipment and supplies. Once you’re set up, spread the word through digital marketing and social media. Your home salon could be a great way to control your schedule and potentially build a full-time career.
Become a personal shopper
If you have good knowledge of fashion or another field, you can offer to become a personal shopper for people in your locality. This is where you shop for people who are too busy or simply unable to buy products from themselves. Knowledge of what’s trendy and what’s outdated can help you stand out from other personal shoppers in your area. You can also go the extra mile by encouraging your clients to experiment with something you think would enhance their look and confidence.
Buy a turnkey business
Here’s a business idea you might love: turnkey businesses. These are ready-to-go ventures where everything is set up for you. You just step in, get the keys, and start managing. Examples of turnkey businesses include laundromats, automated car washes, and storage units. Although turnkey businesses come with an established setup, they may or may not have a solid customer base. If you find the right one, you can hit the ground running, but be prepared to market and build up clientele if necessary.
Ways to find new business ideas
Here’s how to find fresh ideas for starting a business:
- Stay updated on your industry: Keep up with what’s happening by reading trade journals, joining industry groups, and following leaders in your field online.
- Check out the competition: See what your competitors are up to. Analyzing their strategies can show you market gaps or areas for improvement in your own business.
- Listen to customers: Pay close attention to what your customers are saying. Their feedback can reveal frustrations and needs that you can address with better products or services.
- Find a mentor: Look for someone with more experience in your industry. A mentor can offer advice and help you spot new opportunities you might not see on your own.
- Network and team up: Build connections with other businesses and professionals. Networking can give you insights into successful strategies and inspire new ideas.
- Keep an eye out: New business ideas can appear unexpectedly. Be prepared to seize opportunities as they arise.