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100 Great Business Ideas You Can Start On Today [UPDATED 2024]

Written by on December 21, 2016

2025 is just around the corner, and with a new year comes a new space for great business ideas.

But what if you can’t come up with any business ideas? Or you have the energy and even money, but you just don’t know where to put it?

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Well, luckily for you, we’ve compiled 100 of the best business ideas that you can start doing today. Some require work with your hands, most with your brains. Some you don’t need any money at all, and others will require some money (and time).

With these 100 great business ideas, you’re sure to find one (or many) that’ll tickle your fancy. So have a look and see which is the best for you!

  • Day care – If you’re great with kids and have a safe home, a daycare will guarantee you steady income.
  • Dog walking – This requires no money and little dog knowledge (for most dog breeds) and an enjoyable few hours of your time.
  • Dog sitting – Instead of putting their pets in doggie hotels, pet owners will pay you to watch their most loved pets in your or their home.
  • Errand services – Odd jobs are horribly boring and time-wasters for most busy people to do—and they’ll be happy to pay someone else to do it.
  • Lawn mowing – While having a lawnmower is a necessity, with a little investment and the right knowledge, you can have a steady income with no training necessary.
  • Handyman – As we explain in our full, free guide, handyman work varies a lot, and you can start with smaller jobs if you have few tools.
  • Landscaping – If you have the basic equipment and energy, you can do landscaping for commercial and residential properties
  • Home-based bakery – If you love baking, why not make a lot at one time and sell them off to shops and homes?
If you love baking and making other types of food, why not use that for a business idea?
If you love baking and making other types of food, why not use that for a business idea?
  • Frozen bakery goods – this is even better for homes, frozen baked goods that you can prepare and freeze and sell anytime.
  • Personal chef – If you love cooking and others compliment you constantly, set yourself up as a freelance personal chef.
  • Pool cleaning – Commercial and private residences need their pools cleaned on a regular basis, which means a steady income for you.
  • Tailoring – With just a few basic tools, you can start tailoring peoples worn clothes, especially useful in winter weather.
  • Blogging based on industry knowledge – If your knowledge is valuable, set up a blog. As a bonus, you can begin setting advertising immediately, and as your blog grows, so will your wallet.
  • Online coaching – If you have skills in a demanded field, start selling your coaching, either online or in-person.
  • Graphic design – With digital increasing, graphic design is more in-demand than ever, and just needs a computer and basic software.
  • Web design – Almost everyone has a website these days, and many will need their sites to be personalized the way they want.
  • Website development – When the client knows how the site should look, you can do the coding and get paid.
  • Tax preparation – Taxes are difficult for almost everyone, and if you have accounting skills, you can set up tax preparation for about $250 per tax return.
  • Cleaning business – All you need is energy and a few basic supplies everyone has (we even have a free, full guide to get you started).
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  • Ebooks – This is like coaching, but through a book. Self-publishing is so easy nowadays, why not sell your knowledge through ebooks?
  • Podcasting – Get some great topics and interesting guests, and people will pay money to hear your podcasts.
  • Youtube vlogger – Youtube stars get money from affiliate sales, sponsorships and advertising revenue.
  • Dropshipping – Set up your Shopify shop for a niche product without ever having to see inventory.
  • Amazon reselling – Reselling other people’s products on Amazon can reap huge benefits for you.
  • Phone and tablet cases – Everyone has a smartphone or tablet, and you can take advantage of the market by selling unique cases.
  • Affiliate sales – Anytime anyone buys a product through a link on your site, you get a percentage of sales.
  • Virtual assistantVAs are needed throughout the business world to do the more mundane tasks other busy people don’t have the time for.
There are nearly limitless business ideas that revolve around computers and the internet
There are nearly limitless business ideas that revolve around computers and the internet
  • Online English (language) teaching Start teaching students eager to learn your language right from the comfort of your own home.
  • Testing tutor – All potential students need to take tests, and will pay high price if you can help them pass the test.
  • Social Media Manager – With great social media awareness, you can help increase a business’s social media profile and make money.
  • Ad specialist – Become a consultant to help online businesses or local companies fine-tune their advertisements and bring in real results.
  • Presentation design specialist – PowerPoint is still big, and business people can outsource the design and completion of their presentations to you.
  • Travel consultation – If you have experience of a travel destination, or in general, you can consult people on the best way to make travel plans.
  • Landing page consultation – With a good idea for landing page conversion, you can help businesses optimize their pages to increase sales.
  • Interior designer – Help homeowners, businesses, and others create unique, fantastic interiors that they’ll love—and pay you a lot for.
  • Personal stylist – If you have an eye for fashion, provide personalized styling consultation to help your clients dress amazingly.
  • House-sitting – While your clients are out, you can watch over their homes and they can travel in total confidence.
  • Babysitting – Not just for teenagers, babysitting can be a lucrative, steady source of income.
  • Social media marketing – Help business figure out how to market their products and if you bring in great measurable results, you’ll have consistent clients.
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  • Property management – Help landlords manage their many properties, which requires many skills, including managing taxes and the occasional handyman work.
  • Sell things on Etsy – Create your products, but don’t wait for a shop—sell it online in the popular marketplace.
  • Sell on Ebay – Alternatively, you can sell your products for varying prices on the world’s biggest online auction site.
  • Fiverr or Upwork – Begin to offer up a variety of services on the popular freelancing marketplaces.
  • College admissions essays consultant – With the increasing competitiveness of college admissions, many parents seek expert guidance to improve their children’s essays. College admission consultants offer personalized coaching to help students stand out in the admissions process, making this a lucrative field for those with experience in education or college applications.
  • Packager and mover – People hate packing and moving, and have no problem paying you for your good work.
  • Personal trainer – Help people become the best they can be in their physical weight and strengthening goals.
  • Tutoring – There are a variety of things to help people with, such as language, writing, arts, and more.
  • Craft fair– Sell your crafts from vendor stalls in various craft fairs on a weekly or monthly basis.
If you are great at creating crafts, you could have many business ideas
If you are great at creating crafts, you could have many business ideas
  • Childproofing specialist – With the right knowledge, you can consult and assist homeowners and schools in making their premises childproof.
  • Car detailing – Car owners will spend money for those who can meticulously clean inside their cars.
  • Large item recycling – When large items need to be broken down and sorted correctly or taking to the proper locations, you can help and get paid.
  • Home care for elderly – Elderly people constantly need help around the house, getting groceries, and other daily tasks.
  • Tour guide – With deep knowledge about a city or town, you can guide visitors and give them interesting information.
  • Yoga instructor – Help people release their stress and get into physical well-being, and get a steady income in addition.
  • Translator – With fluency in two or more languages, you can help translate important documents and even books for great prices.
  • Antique goods sales – Find and purchase quality antique goods and see your income rise month-on-month.
  • Aquarium maintenance – With the proper knowledge, you can have great income by consistently maintaining residential or commercial aquariums.
  • Window washing – Washing the outside of commercial and residential windows is often too big a task for most, which is where you can make money.
  • Gardening – Help others maintain and grow their gardens—not much is necessary, except a green thumb and love for gardens.
  • Event planningOrganizing an event often takes people away from enjoying it, which is why they’ll pay you to put it all together.
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  • Florist – Grow beautiful flowers and create stunning arrangements for homeowners and shops.
  • Hair, nails and makeup – Help your customers look beautiful for their most important events, such as parties and weddings.
  • House painting – By yourself or with the right team, you can paint people’s homes in a few days and make great money.
  • Greenhouse construction – More homeowners are interested in growing their own vegetables, and they’ll need their own greenhouses.
  • Nursery – Grow the vegetables, herbs and flowers that homeowners can plant in their gardens and keep in their homes.
  • Canning – With large harvests, you can start canning your own products for sale or can your clients’ products for a price.
  • Woodworking – If you have the right knowledge and tools, you can build customized wooden products for a great price. One of the most important tools you need to get started is a bandsaw. If you want to save some money, you can acquire a used bandsaw at Revelation Machinery.
  • Photo restoring – Physical photos are not dead—help restore the older ones that are in danger of disappearing forever.
  • Laundry – Do the work that most people would pay not to do—laundry, which is not energy intensive but requires time.
Many busy people don't have time to do household or other everyday tasks, which is ripe for many business ideas
Many busy people don’t have time to do household or other everyday tasks, which is a goldmine for many business ideas
  • Resume writing – Everyone needs a great resume, and with your amazing skills and experience, you can help them write the perfect resumes for the perfect job.
  • Soap making – Soap is a great gift to give others, and if you make your own you can customize to your client’s wishes.
  • Proofreading – Many businesses needs proofreaders to ensure their writing is professional and immaculate.
  • Online dating consultation – Help others find love by providing tried and true advice on how to find their better halves.
  • Niche fiction writing – If you write in these niche markets, you can sell your products on Amazon and build up your income.
  • Writing greeting cards – Short, poetic, and popular, greeting cards need to be constantly updated, unique and fresh.
  • WordPress consultant – With so many blogs and sites popping up, site owners will need your WordPress expertise to help them express their ideas.
  • Uber driver – If you have a car, you can start driving when you have the time, and then increase your driving as the demand increases.
  • Rent out your home on AirBnB – Why let all those rooms sit unused—rent it out at great rates and see what passive income is all about.
  • Portrait photographer – Take fantastic pictures of families that they would be proud of hanging in their homes.
  • Wedding photographer – With the complexity and length of weddings, you’ll have a steady income with the right amount of skills and experience.
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  • Become a caterer – Provide not just cooking but catering services and help your clients have amazing (and delicious) events.
  • App developer – With training that you can do informally, start developing apps for businesses and entrepreneurs.
  • Flip domain names – Buy domain names based on your research on trends and emerging markets, and sell them for a much higher price.
  • Brew your own beer – With the right flavor combination, your home-brewed beer can be sold in shops, at markets, and person-to-person.
  • Refurbish used electronics – Buy or take for free people’s old or broken electronics, fix them, and sell them for a nice price.
  • Copywriting – Help businesses write compelling copy to help them sell their business ideas, products and services.
  • Licensed product distributor – License foreign products for sale domestically and you can see your revenue slowly but surely increasing.
  • Online surveys – Although not particularly interesting, organizations still pay money to have people take their surveys.
  • Music instructor – If you’re great at piano, guitar, or other instruments, you can offer private tutoring to help your students realize their music dreams.
  • Stock photography – Take photos based on the ideas people are most eager to communicate, and sell them to stock photography websites, where you’ll get a commission each times someone licenses your images.
With your skills in photography, writing and other arts, you can come up with many business ideas
With your skills in photography, writing and other arts, you can come up with many business ideas
  • Ghostwriting – People are willing to pay much more for your writing skills, if you don’t mind never receiving any credit.
  • Online subcontracting – Take on a job, and begin contracting it out to other freelancers for a lower price, making money for passing on the work.
  • Teach DIYs – Help give people the confidence to create their own products through clear and useful instruction and guidance.
  • Freelance ebook writing – Write ebooks in niche genres, such as horror, erotic fiction, or many others where your writing talents will bring you in great money.
  • Computer repair – Help repair people’s computers, so that they don’t have to spend a lot of money on replacing them.
  • Tech support services – If your friends constantly ask you to remove a virus or fix Windows, why not start making money out of it while helping your friends avoid tech support scams?
  • Modeling – You can model for a wide variety of purposes, including hand and foot, clothing, accessory, and many others.
  • Customer furniture builder – Many times, homeowners want furniture that doesn’t exist—yet, which is where your future income lies.
  • Real estate consultant – Help future homeowners find the right home for them and their families. This requires knowledge of the area and a good idea for fitting the home to the buyers.
  • Gigwalking – This one is interesting—find work based on the needs of companies; they send to GigWalk what they need done, you pick it up, do it and get paid.

Got any other fantastic business ideas? Let us know in the comments below!

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