Top small business ideas that are profitable

What are the top small business ideas that are profitable?

The best small business ideas that are profitable are service based businesses that you’re passionate about. Examples include owning a food truck, bakery, freelancing service, photography, coffee shop, etc.

Imagine, owning a business that you’re excited to show up to every single day. Your business is successful, and you’re able to serve the members of your community.

It all starts with your small business idea.

Luckily for you, I’ve got a list of profitable small business ideas to peak your interest. Find something you’re interested in and just get started! You’ll figure out the details as you go along.

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Small business ideas

The best business ideas are usually service oriented because you’re able to get paid immediately. Ideally, you can start a low-cost small business that you’re passionate about. Money is often a byproduct of doing passionate work.

Examples include running a food truck, baking, blogging, photography, event planning, and more. 

What are you passionate about? There is usually a way to monetize your passion. Let’s take a look at the best small business ideas.

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Food truck owner

Food truck ownership is perfect for people who love to cook good food. Owning a food truck doesn’t require the hassle of starting and operating a full restaurant. However, a well-known food truck can provide you with a lot of cash flow.

According to Cardconnect, the average food truck costs between $28,000 and $114,000 to start. However, the average food truck earns $300,000 per year!

Baker

Maybe owning a bakery would be your ideal small business. As a baker, you would create tasty treats for customers and events. Starting a bakery isn’t easy, but taking a proactive approach to get customers can help.

The average bakery costs around $10,000 to $50,000 to start. However, zip recruiter says the average bakery owner makes $64,000 per year. Top bakery owners can make up to $135,000!

Blogger

Bloggers create website content, such as the article you’re reading right now. As a website owner, you get paid through ads, selling products, sponsorships, and more. Blogging isn’t an overnight success type-business, but you can build a website up to a full-time income.

Most bloggers don’t earn anything from their website. However, bloggers who chase blogging as a business can earn a full-time income in about two years.

Blogging does have a steep learning curve, but your income potential is unlimited. Articles you wrote four years ago can continue to earn you money for years to come.

Photographer

Photography is another side hustle for talented photographers. Bola was able to earn $70k in one year from her wedding photography side hustle. The cost of starting a photography business is low at an estimated $10,000 for initial equipment.

Event planner

Event planning is the perfect business for people who like to get paid for their results. Your earnings are based on the number of events planned, rather than a set salary. 

Depending on your efforts, you should expect to earn between $30,000 and $70,000 per year. Event location, number and type of events will impact your earnings.

The best part about event planning is the flexibility. You can start small and keep expenses low or aim big and use credit. You could work with the public or create your own private events for the community. You’re always planning something new, so your job never gets old.

Coffee shop

Coffee is one of the best products to sell, because it sells itself. People want coffee and most people are willing to try out a new coffee shop. Should customers like your coffee, you can create a brand which brings them back for more.

The average coffee shop owner brings in between $60,000 and $160,000.

YouTube

Just like blogging, you can start a small business using YouTube. YouTubers make money through ad revenue, selling products, and sponsorships. Consistently producing videos can result in unlimited income potential.

Yard care

Starting your own lawn care business is another good way to make money. The national average cost of lawn care is $45 per visit. Therefore, you could make $450 per day in gross revenue by mowing 10 lawns.

However, you can increase your lawn care earnings by offering additional services. For example, you can offer weed and feed, aeration, and sprinkler blowouts.

Digital course creator

Creating digital courses is a small business idea with a huge upside. You create courses that help people solve a problem and sell them online for profit. The right course can earn you a full-time income in a matter of months.

For example, maybe you’re a personal trainer who can help people lose weight. You package up your knowledge and sell your course for $50.

To promote your product, you reach out to bloggers and YouTubers. They promote your product for a 50% commission as an affiliate marketer. Should you find enough good affiliates, 100 sales per month would earn you $2,500.

House cleaner

The secret to a profitable house cleaning business is being able to clean houses quickly. On average, house cleaning services range between $90-$150 per home. The average house cleaner owner earns around $56k per year, but top earners earn $110k.

Moving company

You don’t need much to start a moving company, just movers and a truck. On average, moving customers locally costs around $1,250. However, the amount you can charge depends on multiple factors like distance, packing services, packing supplies, etc.

Landscaper

Landscaping is the perfect business for individuals who like to work outside. Small business landscape owners can make about $60k per year.

Salon and Spa

Salon and Spa’s are good businesses to own. Customers will always need haircuts and feel the need to pamper themselves. Salons are also good businesses for selling different and high-end products.

It is estimated that salon owners can earn between $70,000 and $175,000 per year.

Consultant

Consulting is a good business if you’re an expert in any area that can enhance people’s lives. For example, you could be a weight loss or personal finance coach. You just need to possess a knowledge that most individuals don’t have.

The best part about consulting is setting your own rates. Most consultants are able to charge top dollar for their specialties.

Should you decide to be a consultant, you’ll need to learn constantly. The best consultants know everything in their area of expertise. People are paying you to avoid common mistakes and streamline results.

Freelance writer

Freelance writing is the perfect side business for anyone looking to work at will. Clients are usually flexible, allowing you to work as much or as little as you want. A new freelance writer should be able to charge between $0.05 to $0.10 per word.

Therefore, you could write a 2,000 word blog article and get paid $200. Most freelance writers could write a 2,000 word article in 1-2 hours.

Website building and maintenance

Websites can be a good source of passive income. As a business owner, you get paid for the amount of work you put into your website. The hardest part about website ownership is figuring out how to grow the website.

You should be able to make $1,000 for every 30,000 pageviews. Most experienced bloggers can grow a blog into a full-time income in about 24 months.

Alternatively, you can get paid for the maintenance side of websites. You can offer website owners services like website backups, fixing broken websites, and solving tech issues.

Personal trainer

Are you big into fitness and can help others get the results they want? You could start a personal trainer business helping people lose weight or build muscle. Alternatively, you could start your own gym which would bring in more income, but cost more to start.

Paddle boarding instructor

A local in my city started her own paddle boarding business. She teaches small classes of students how to paddle board and holds paddle boarding events. One of her best events is paddle boarding down the river to a bar where everyone gets a drink.

What I like best about this business is the owner took her passion and turned it into a business. There weren’t any other paddle boarding businesses around, which gives her an advantage.

What type of business should you start?

You should start a business that you are passionate about that also has paying customers. Without passion, you will easily burn out and lose interest. Without paying customers, you won’t make any money. Therefore, the best  balance is having a business you’re passionate about and has demand.

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Summary: Top small business ideas that are profitable?

As you can see, the best small business ideas that are profitable have paying customers. What are you passionate about that you could get others to spend money on? Maybe you’ve always wanted to start a food truck or be a knowledgeable blogger.

You also have to figure out how much money you’re going to sink into your business venture. Make sure you have a well thought out business plan. All businesses take time to succeed.

John is the founder of TightFist Finance and an expert in the field of personal finance. John has studied personal finance for over 10 years and has used his knowledge to pay down debt, grow his investment portfolio, and launch a financial based business. He is committed to sharing content related to personal finance based on his experience in his career, investing, and path towards reaching financial independence.