Small Business Ideas

Good small business ideas are hard to come by. Entrepreneurs who come up with good business ideas often see a business opportunity before others do.

Have you ever come across a business and thought to yourself that you could do that better or more efficiently? Well, you might just have come across a new small business idea. Maybe you could visit internet discussion boards, and look out for comments by people complaining about the lack of a product or service. Then check whether a product or service that would fulfil their need is available. This could be the birth of your next business idea.

Another way of generating a large number of ideas is brainstorming. This is best done with two or more people. People just talk about their ideas freely and write them down. One idea leads to another and you never know what business idea you might come up with next.

Edward De Bono, the inventor of the term ‘lateral thinking’ was a master of brainstorming. He came up with many useful techniques. Buy some of his books to learn lateral thinking techniques that will help you come up with many useful small business ideas.

Idea Business

You come up with an idea, or a concept. This can then be licensed to others. For example, you may invent a new product or develop a new cartoon character. Idea businesses are more risky, since they almost always involve unproven concepts that need to be tested. On the other hand, the return can be very high if the concept proves to be successful.

Service-Based Small Business Ideas

You provide a service to other people. Examples of this are domestic services such as cleaning, lawn mowing, ironing or professional services such as graphic design and desktop publishing. When operating a service-based business, you usually charge customers for your time.

Product-Based Small Business Ideas

When implementing a product-based business idea, you produce something that is then sold to customers. This could be a very simple product. For example, you could start making jams at home (check out the licensing issues before you start), self-publish a book, or assemble computers.

10 Great Small Business Ideas

Cleaning service – You don’t have to do the cleaning yourself. Organise for other cleaners to do the work at domestic or industrial premises.
Child Care Centre – Open a child care centre in your own home. Make money at the same time as you are looking after your own children as well.
Café – Open a café in your suburb. If you open up in a business district, you could limit your working hours to Monday to Friday, while cashing in on the lunch trade.
Gourmet Foods – Start producing gourmet products such as jams and mustard and sell them at local markets.
Jewellery – Jewellery is another product that can easily be manufactured. This is a good product for sale at local markets.
Affiliate Programs – Publish topical websites on the Internet. Earn affiliate income by advertising other companies’ products on your site.
Writing – If you are good at writing, you can offer your services to other people. Examples are advertising copywriting, writing brochures, books and online content.
Stock Photography – Take photographs with your digital camera. Offer the photographs for licensing through your website.
Independent Sales Agent – If you see a company that sells a good product, approach them. They may be looking for an independent sales agent who sells the product in your local area.
Expense Reduction – Offer companies an expense reduction service. You go over their book and find areas where the expenses can be reduced. You will be paid a percentage of the expense reduction you can achieve.