Updated: May 31, 2024, 2:41pm
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Are you thinking of starting your own business, but do you feel perplexed and directionless about where to start?
Deciding to start your own company can seem daunting if you’ve never done it before. But if you have a business idea that you are eager to pursue, then you are on the right track of your entrepreneurial journey.
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Forbes Advisor India researched more than 150 ideas and selected the 25 most successful small business ideas that can help you find success.
SEO consultants offer search engine optimization services. It is one of the most trending businesses that can indeed be started on a small scale. In today’s world, there is a rat race among all the companies and prominent personalities who wish to be visible online more often than others. Here, SEO experts come into the picture. They know how to bring more organic traffic to your website with the most up-to-date tools and strategies.
SEO businesses are generally quite profitable, as search engines are ever-evolving, and thus, there is a lot of demand for SEO consultants. So, if you are an SEO expert, you can easily set up your own business rather than working for a company or agency. All you need to do is invest in marketing, education, and business organization in order to reap profits from the business.
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A cryptocurrency consultant advises clients on making successful and compliant cryptocurrency transactions and practices across accounting and tax functions. As crypto experts, they safeguard their clients from illegal and unethical crypto practices.
The crypto consulting business is gaining immense demand worldwide as only a few people know about this newly emerged market so well. On the demand side, there are giant corporations, HNIs, and celebrities who not only want to invest in digital currency and make healthy profits but also want to create their own blockchains and non-fungible tokens. That’s why there is a massive demand for crypto consultants who are well-equipped with excellent knowledge of Bitcoin, blockchain, crypto market practices, etc.
To become a self-employed cryptocurrency consultant, one needs a background in finance or technology, hands-on experience working under experts, and 8-10 years of experience in the crypto consulting business, along with a cryptocurrency certification.
One can start a tiny business and build a venture capital firm. You can start as an angel investor or partner with someone who is starting a venture capital firm. A venture capitalist, popularly known as a VC, is an investor who helps and advises a new company in expanding or provides the capital needed for a startup venture. Many paths can lead you to become an independent venture capitalist. You have good investment banking experience or have been a highly- skilled financial advisor or equity research analyst.
As a self-employed venture capitalist, you can either invest a large part of your funds into your new business or partner with someone with the same expertise. First, the latest venture capitalists should stick to investing in companies operating in familiar industries. Also, if you become successful and build a reputation, make your decisions based on deep-dive research gradually, which, in turn, will lead to lucrative and higher-profile deals.
Independent boutique wealth and asset management firms are gaining an edge over large ones because of their flexibility and agility. You can definitely start a smaller firm if you have a great finance background and a strong network. As a small firm, you can outsource other administrative tasks such as IT, human resources, legal/compliance, and accounting and focus more time on your clients and building relationships.
Wealth and asset management is an investment advisory service that includes other financial services to cater to the needs of high-net-worth and affluent clients. An independent and self-employed wealth management advisor has the financial expertise to holistically handle a wealthy client’s wealth for one set fee.
Everyone earns money, but only a few know how to manage it. Suppose you have personal finance expertise, including investing, insurance, and retirement. In that case, you can surely start your own YouTube channel and make videos geared towards investors or beginners looking to learn the basics of investing and personal finance skills, which will help build wealth. You need to follow these steps while launching your channel, such as:
The online teaching and edtech industries are booming, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. If you plan to kickstart your online teaching academy, do not hesitate. It is the right time to start, as the online learner base is growing exponentially. Here are some tips that will surely help you to launch your online academy:
With an increasing working population, preschools and daycare facilities have become a mushrooming business in India. Preschools have a record of minting a high-yielding income; thus, they are considered one of the most lucrative businesses to invest in. You only need a proper and robust business plan, registration, and licenses.
If you are a woman and want to invest in a preschool, several banks and institutions provide loans at discounted rates and with relaxed loan repayment schemes. Apart from loan requirements, the right location and infrastructure also become very important to run a business for a longer duration.
Remember to enter into a long-term lease agreement so that the investments in infrastructure and business development are not mixed up.
We know this is a mobile age, where everything happens via smartphone applications. Whether you want to order food, book theater tickets or hotel reservations, purchase groceries, apparel, or name anything available to you via the app. Broadly, there are two kinds of mobile applications: utility and gaming.
With this increasing demand, there is a vast scope for app developers with expertise in designing, building, and managing mobile applications. App development can be a good business idea, as it has robust earning potential, a strong career outlook, and multiple opportunities to work with cutting-edge technology. One can quickly start one’s own app development business designing mobile applications by pursuing related certifications and diversifying one’s coding skills.
Crowdfunding has been considered one of the most viable investment choices for new-age startups and emerging business ventures. In simple terms, Crowdfunding happens when a ‘crowd’ funds a project or business rather than just one or two major investors. Crowdfunding can be related to different segments, such as donation, equity, real estate, or reward-based.
However, to run a successful crowdfunding business, one needs good sales and marketing skills to attract many investment backers and convince them to invest in your project. The main benefit of a crowdfunding business is that it has minimum financial risk and can be started with a really small budget.
Digital marketing services are in huge demand, and they play an important role in branding and advertising a company’s image. If you have a knack for SEO, content marketing, blog advertising, pay-per-click ads, or social media management, you can easily start your small-scale business from an office or even work from home. Many companies prefer to outsource these services rather than establish an in-house team.
If you like to direct and implement marketing plans meticulously, digital marketing is the right business for you.
Cloud mining is a computerized remote mining process that validates coin transactions on the blockchain. It is initiated by cryptocurrency mining hosts who participate in the process to earn or gain some returns from it. Cloud mining is perfect as a small business idea, as it is a very accessible, shared power processing system that facilitates miners’ mining of crypto coins without establishing any costs for the hardware and its maintenance.
The most significant advantage of cloud mining is that it can be installed anywhere globally, where the miner can easily access online with a regular internet connection. So, if you are planning to mine cryptocurrency by yourself, you only need to focus on equipment and electricity costs before investing in the cloud mining process.
Cloud mining revenues are impressive, and their rate is progressively increasing. At the same time, specific projects facilitate mining crypto coins with little or no investment.
If you are an auto enthusiast or want to start your own business in the automobile sector, then a car detailing business is apt for you. Car detailing is not when your car goes through a car wash; it focuses more on the pristine conditions of your vehicle while doing a thorough detail. Detailing not only keeps your car clean but also protects its exterior and interior, which further helps extend the life of a vehicle and maintain its maximum resale value.
Starting a car detailing business in India is still a challenge as this type of service is still new and complicated. However, you can follow these below steps to make your business shine:
Always remember that having new customers can cost more than retaining existing customers. Most car detailing sales come from existing customers who keep coming back to you, so focus on providing good service to the customer.
If you love baking delicious cakes, cookies, and other baked goods but may not have the resources or the time to start your own retail bakery, then a home-based bakery business is just right for you. With a home-based setup, you can easily be your own boss and work from home rather than renting out an expensive store and hiring a team of employees.
All you need to do is plan an attractive menu, invest in bakery equipment, purchase supplies such as flour, sugar, butter, and eggs, and promote your venture to the best of your ability on social media platforms. An attractive visual social media platform such as Instagram is a superb place to share images of your beautiful cookies and cakes. The home bakery business can be started with little investment and can be expanded as the business grows.
Coding is not only a rewarding and lucrative career option but also contributes to the growth of organizations worldwide. A freelance coder is an individual who performs the designing and development requirements of clients on a contractual basis through their coding skills. A freelance coder is self-employed; thus, they have complete independence in selecting companies, work domains, and project types based on their preferences. It is to be noted that many coding companies are mushrooming in India, but to set your business apart; you must have competencies and skills such as the ability to negotiate, a solid network, the ability to meet deadlines, and timely quality services.
If one is planning to start a coding business, they will require at least two employees who are skilled in administrative and coding tasks. Always hire staff who understand the coding business well.
Starting your podcast can be so much fun, appealing, and lucrative. You can start a podcast and earn money depending on your likes, preferences, and goals. Focus on building the image of your podcast by naming it strongly, designing your cover art, and choosing striking audio sounds or background music that add a vibe to your podcast and help you gain more subscribers. Also, create a proper website or RSS feed to host your podcast online. Pick your format and hosting style. The format can be educational, storytelling, and conversational. You can host your own podcast or multiple hosts, adding variety. These are the various pieces of equipment that one needs to start a podcast:
Toy libraries can be small, casual, or even event-specific. The toy library is a fun business that can be quickly started from your home or a small rented space. These libraries can have either open or closed collections. In an open collection, all the toys are displayed, and the children feel, touch, and then choose what they want from the shelf. However, in a closed collection, children or parents can look at images of toys on social media pages or websites and then decide what they would like to borrow.
Apart from space, you will also require a low-tech inventory system to track what and who is borrowing. If your toy library is small and informal, you can easily manage it or run it on your own. But if you have a big set-up, you will require a larger workforce to handle things perfectly.
To be successful in this business, promote your library through various social media platforms, WhatsApp groups, flyers, and posters that can be distributed to nearby localities, pre-schools, and daycare facilities.
Just like fintech, another rapidly growing segment is health tech. Telehealth and virtual medical services, integral to health tech, have picked up, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. These services are now not just restricted to video calls or video meetings of physicians and patients but also offer fully remote care services, from appointments to prescriptions to medications and follow-ups, from one platform.
This can be one of the best and most lucrative business opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs and start-ups. However, whichever telehealth services you wish to launch, be extra careful with the regulations and compliance. Research telemedicine laws more and create a realistic business plan by considering all expenses. Also, you need someone to partner with as a technology solution provider while launching a telehealth company. There is also a vast range of criteria that should be taken into consideration while opting for telehealth software that provides data security, tech support, and easy documentation.
So, before investing in a telehealth business, choose the right platform, carefully consider the pricing strategy, and build your business model beforehand.
The pet business in India is still nascent compared to the Western countries, but it is growing rapidly and only getting bigger and better. If you are fond of pets and are very attracted to animals, you can start a pet grooming business. To start this business, you must initially invest in rent, related products and equipment, electricity and water, and groomer salaries. The services offered to pet animals, such as dogs and cats, are spas, haircuts, and other grooming, depending on their breeds and types.
If you have already worked in this stream of influencer marketing and have gathered enough contacts, you can start your agency on a small scale. Nowadays, influencer marketers solely focus on marketing with social media stars with huge followers on different social media accounts. This can be done via specially designed tools and platforms that help find social media celebrities and track their collaborations.
Start with fewer clients first, and then you can expand your client base over the years. Focus on competitive pricing and unique offerings and work on niche sectors for which you already have the expertise, as your hands-on experience will always win over the theory.
Are you excited to start an online business but wondering how to begin? Then, you can surely think about drop shipping, as you do not have to get into manufacturing or production stuff here. Drop shipping is an online retail business where no physical store stocks the products; therefore, as an online seller (acts as a middleman), you do not have to stock the product directly or store it in warehouses.
Five main steps of the drop shipping process:
1. The customer places an order with a drop shipping retailer.
2. The retailer processes the order and passes it to the wholesaler.
3. The wholesaler receives the order from the retailer.
4. The wholesaler ships the order.
5. The customer receives the order.
Drop shipping is a low-risk business model that requires less upfront capital investment and overhead costs than other online modes in India. It is also regarded as one of the most rewarding business models as you are not liable for the manufacturing or shipping costs of the product, and thus, you can start making money from every sale you make.
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The 3D printing business is apt for tech enthusiasts who have a vision to design real-life things into 3D versions. You can have more success if you are an engineer and are proficient at retooling, refining, and offering ways to improve upon a design. The 3D printing business can be started for different industries, such as eyeglasses, toys, jewelry, home décor, spare parts, smartphone cases, and forensic evidence.
To start or make your 3D printing business in India more money-spinning, you need to understand the requirements of setting up this business, the capital-intensive machinery and 3D printer cost, and its rules and regulations.
To boost such industries, the Union Government of India has devised various schemes through which entrepreneurs or business owners can obtain loans with a low rate of interest.
Food trucks are one of the most viable options for aspiring entrepreneurs who have a passion for cooking but limited resources to start their own restaurant or café. The overhead and maintenance expenses of a food truck are quite low, and this business can be started with very little initial investment.
However, permissions and locality rules are vital in setting up a food truck in a particular area.
The car share market has gained immense popularity in recent years, especially in metro and tier-1 cities of India. It basically connects riders who are ready to share their car to pool with people who need a drop-off at a certain location.
Some big names dominate this market, but still, there is room for more if one comes up with a good business idea. Apart from choosing a quirky and catchy name, the app’s look and feel should also be unique and customer-friendly. First, select the niche and the most nearby location and provide innovative features incentivizing riders. It has the most effortless sign-up and registration feature and easy payment options.
To gain the rider’s satisfaction, offer round-the-clock phone, email, or chat support to handle customer service grievances.
There is always a demand for domain name specialists and huge scope for them. Most businesses need a strong domain name to add a sense of professionalism and expertise to their official website.
You can quickly start as a domain name specialist or as a consultant to many firms and companies if you have a deep understanding of types of domain names and their marketplaces, domain name registration process, costing, and SEO to secure site traffic. Thus, you can assist these firms with your expertise and help them have a unique online address that further helps them make their brand more visible and attract more customers.
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A personal fitness training business is a low-cost and highly lucrative business idea if you are a fitness enthusiast. Nowadays, many people, irrespective of their age, wish to have a healthy regime under coach service or proper guidance. Whether it is pilates, yoga, hot yoga, zumba, aerobics, or personalized nutrition tips, all these services are easily available if one hires a fitness consultant.
Remember to put an Instagram feed with inspirational fitness quotes, exercise videos, and healthy snack ideas beyond personal coaching services; it is also a common way for fitness experts to build their brands in our digital world and earn money.
More business professionals are turning to virtual assistants (VAs) to assist them with specific business tasks. This saves the business money because it doesn’t need another full-time employee with benefits while still getting the work done. As a virtual assistant, you will do specific tasks, such as coordinating travel, managing social media, and maintaining the calendar.
There is no precondition to becoming a virtual assistant. However, it would help if you were good with people and had determined organizational skills. To service your clients, you’ll want a computer with a fast internet connection.
Starting something on your own might be daunting as well as overwhelming. It not only requires hard work but also the right strategy, proper management tools, and guidelines that must be implemented promptly. Although every business idea requires a different approach, Forbes Advisor India has identified a few basic steps or guidelines that any entrepreneur can follow while starting their venture:
Business ideas are the key driving force behind setting up a firm and the main reason behind every enterprise’s successful operations. The idea does not always need to be rare, different, or unique, but it must have the potential to capture a considerable part of its target market.
So, never hesitate to share your business ideas with your friends, family, and relatives until you recognize the perfect idea that fulfills your passion and makes excellent financial sense.
I have experience across journalism segments including finance, fashion and entertainment. I have written short stories and assisted as director and cinematographer on a few projects in the past.
Aashika is the India Editor for Forbes Advisor. Her 15-year business and finance journalism stint has led her to report, write, edit and lead teams covering public investing, private investing and personal investing both in India and overseas. She has previously worked at CNBC-TV18, Thomson Reuters, The Economic Times and Entrepreneur.