If you’ve always dreamed of starting your own business, finding a lucrative opportunity may be your biggest challenge.
Your entrepreneurial spirit is pointless if you don’t have the right business idea to back it up. Here are 10 profitable small business ideas you can start right now.
1. Online store
Compared to a traditional brick and mortar store, an online storefront has several advantages.
Setting up is as simple as building a user-friendly website and installing an appropriate e-commerce solution.
There’s no rent to pay, and if you don’t have your own product to begin with, you can always use a drop-shipping service.
While you can have your online store up and running in a few days, you’ll need to have a solid marketing plan for a real chance at success.
A business plan must include the type of products you plan to sell, target audience, an evaluation of the competition, marketing strategy, sales projections, merchant solutions, and mode of product delivery.
E-commerce and merchant solutions are plentiful, so you’ll have to conduct some research to find one that’s a good fit for your business. Keep in mind that there’s a cost attached to some ecommerce solutions, and the learning curve may be steep. However, services like eBay, Etsy, and Paypal shops make it easy to list your products and begin selling right away without upfront costs.
These are huge marketplaces so you won’t have to worry about creating an elaborate marketing plan to attract customers. They’re a good place to start and test the market before you launch your own ecommerce store.