According to statistics, a number of small business ideas have offered millions of entrepreneurs in different countries an opportunity to start a new business, grow it and earn a living regardless of their location.
Many of these entrepreneurs have gone on to create celebrated success stories with their ideas, inspiring more people to start their own business journeys but, a number of start up businesses have also failed, after much effort and investment regardless the number of success stores we have out there.
In fact, based on certain factors like resources, location, market demand, experience etc., there are certain business ideas that can get you to generate massive income from your efforts and there are also some ideas that will not yield a lot of returns, due to these same factors.
Among many other things, knowing the difference between what business idea is going to deliver realistically and what will not is one of game changers that will make or break your success as a small business owner.
Unfortunately, there’s very limited data potentially successful business ideas and as a beginner, you don’t get to know what works before getting started in most cases. But, in this post, I’ll be listing out some of the research backed top rated small business ideas you can realistically start and build success with limited resources, in the following paragraphs.
Catering or Food Business
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Catering, restaurant or food vending is one of the popular small business ideas any one could start with very little funds.
Outside the fact that the food niche is an evergreen niche that’s always on demand, catering is one of the age long businesses that’s never out of sales.
Regardless of where they are, people are always going to have to eat food because it’s a basic need.
So your services as a food vendor will always be in high demand.
The good thing about catering as a small business idea is that you can decide to break it down into any segment depending on your expertise.
For example you can open a restaurant, food mall, bukka or cafeteria where you sell popular delicacies to people of all kinds.
Where this is not your forte, you can decide to cook, sell and supply food to people at homes individually or at parties.
Either ways, you can always decide how involved you want to be with your food business or not.
But one thing to watch out for is the fact that the food business can be highly time consuming and demanding although this is one of the top businesses to start with low capital.
Retail Stores & Shops
Opening a retail store or local shop where you sell every day essential items is another top small business ideas popular in many localities.
With your store you can stock and sell items ranging from normal groceries and household items to other fashion accessories among other high demand products needed in your locality.
Alternatively, you can open a shop or grocery store where you sell only specific items like food items etc.
Where you can sell common high demand items at your shop you’ll easily get patronage that will lead to business growth.
TIP: In situations where there’s high competition in the neighborhood, you can decide to sell very specific items with far fewer competitors.
With this you’ll get to garner more specific needs and repeat customers.
Tailoring or Fashion Design
Clothing is another basic needs of humans. Regardless of the economy or economic situation in your country, people will always wear clothes.
This makes tailoring or fashion design services one of the top small business ideas you can start with low capital, anywhere.
While this is not necessarily as time consuming as the others, to start a tailoring business you’ll need some training or trained tailors to run the business for you.
As soon as you’ve gotten the needed training, you can purchase your tailoring machines and then have your business set up.
Outside setting up a tailoring shop, you can also sell clothes directly to final users.
This could involve buying and reselling clothes based on the purchasing power of the neighborhood you live in, selling new clothes you make or ultimately importing your materials.
Regardless of your financial statement, you can start either of these businesses and then grow it to incorporate the others at intervals.
Beauty Salon or Barbershop
Are you a barber, beautician or someone versatile in hair making? Then starting a beauty saloon or barber shop could just be the perfect small business idea for you.
Think about it.
Even in inner cities and rural areas, hundreds of people are barbing or making their hair on a daily basis. Young and old, people are getting to have their hair cut or made into different styles that fit them.
If you’re a skilled barber, you can start your own barber shop where you take care of people in need of barbing services.
As a hair technician for women, you can also set up your beauty saloon for female hair needs. There are so many options you could use to make your beauty saloon stand out.
For example you could incorporate pedicures, manicures, massage, body treatment and related beauty care services.
Depending on how you decide to run it, you can attract very specific kinds of clients to patronize your business.
From lower to middle and upper income, you can choose your preferred target clients at the onset or grow to incorporate them as you work on the business.
You can combine both businesses to cater for male and female clients or you can set to target a specific kind of clients.
And where you can’t really provide these services yourself, you can pay experts to work for you while you run the business.
PS: If you’re not skilled as a barber, hair stylist or hair technician, you may want to learn the skill or have a trusted expert managing it for you so you don’t get cheated
Baking & Pastry Making
In a fast moving world where the demand for fast food and snacks is increasingly on the rise, baking and pastry making has gradually become one of the hot small business ideas for entrepreneurs.
Considering that street food is a thing in many cities, you can start your own pastry business and make a decent income out of it.
As someone that’s already skilled in baking and pastry making, you can get started in a popular street corner or rented shop.
All you want to do is make and sell popular street food, pastries and all of that. Where you don’t have baking skills, you can learn the skills for a few weeks or months before getting started.
Good thing about this business is that it doesn’t require a lot of upfront investment. With some decent funds, you can hit the ground running and then re-invest into the business until it grows to the height you want.
Laundry & Dry Cleaning Services
In most urban centers, the increase in urbanization and very busy lifestyle of city dwellers have pushed dry cleaning into one of the top small business ideas any one can start and make a decent earning.
Good thing is, regardless of who you are, you’re going to have to wear clothes. And when you do, sometimes you’ll not have time to wash and iron them if you’re very busy. This is where the need for a laundry man comes in.
In most areas, the number of reliable laundry men are never enough. Depending on where you are, you can choose to fix the gap in your neighborhood by setting up your own laundry services.
Setting up a laundry business equipped with modern facilities and offering efficient services can attract busy professionals and households in need of convenient garment care solutions.
And just like the other businesses, you don’t have to be there to run it.
You have the option to hire people to run the business for you while you work on the side or you can engage in it full time
Transportation & Logistics Services
Transportation and logistics services is one of the top small business ideas you can get started with little capital.
To make a mark in this industry, there are many options to choose from.
For example , from motorcycles to tricycles, mini buses and buses, you can use either of these as a means to get started.
The best part is, if you’re living in a city with a bustling and growing population, then there’s already an existing demand for reliable transportation services.
And you can step in to make this happen while smiling to the bank in return. Also instead of transportation, you can choose logistics to get started with.
Both options do have a generous demand and long standing market as far as the movement of people and goods is concerned.
To get your logistics business a step higher, you can get yourself a website or mobile application to get started with.
POS Agent Business
For the past few years, point of sales agent business has become one of the top small business to start with low capital in various cities.
From street corners to city centers, a number of POS centers have been set up to service the teeming population of people who will rather withdraw money from the POS agents, than go to the banks.
What makes this business idea stand out is the lower reach of banks in most locations. Also, the fact that starting a POS business does not require a lot of start up funding has become one of the most attractive factors to most entrepreneurs.
If you’re keen on starting this as your own small business, you can consider getting your capital sorted and then looking for a decent location with a booming population around you.
With all of this and your registration for licensing all sorted out, you can set up your stall and kick start your business and start earning from scratch.
PS: Another good thing about this idea is that you can also run a POS business alongside other business ideas.
Cleaning Services
Cleaning services is a top small business ideas that’s thriving because cleaning is a regular part of daily life that cannot be wished away, even in a crunching economy.
It was one of the top business ideas off my head, back in the days when I needed ideas to start with. From home cleaning to home laundry, office cleaning services etc. there are different aspects of this cleaning you could choose to start with.
The thing about cleaning is that there are many options you can use to position your brand. For example, you can choose direct one on one marketing where you introduce your business to clients directly using items like flyers, complimentary cards, word of mouth etc.
You can also choose an option where you use digital marketing options to modernize your business and position it fully online.
Whatever option you choose between this two, you’ll need to set up your business before getting started. That means you’ll do things like getting a brand name, setting up your brand etc. This is very important.
Final Words
There are a ton of small business ideas you can start in Nigeria or any part of the world today and make a decent income.
But one thing is certain, for some reasons, not all the business ideas are realistic or ideal for you.
In this list we’ve listed out some of the top small business ideas that are high demand for people in almost all locations but it’s still your job to choose the ones that suits you based on your resources and location.
After you do start your business, remember that things like your resources, location and quality of service are very crucial to success in this field.
And beyond getting started, you have to put in the work, create awareness about your business and consistently put out excellent work if you really want to grow.
Of course, from getting you visibility to promoting your business, you can reach out to us to for counsel and further guidance here.
Now, it’s your turn. What are your challenges when it comes to starting your own small business? Drop your comments below.
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