The best business ideas for small businesses

Since the Coronavirus pandemic, the trend has been toward working from home – particularly for small businesses and freelancers. In some cases, this can offer completely new business ideas and fields of work. We’ll present seven small business ideas that you can start up from home fairly simply!

First of all, your own hobbies or previous professions often determine which kind of business you’ll typically want to start. For example, you if worked as a programmer, graphic designer, or lawyer and decide to stay on the same career track, the move to self-employment is usually motivated by the promise of increased flexibility and freedom, but the job itself remains very similar. It might be, however, that you want to have a change and start something completely new and different. In that case, knowing how to identify a good idea is the right place to start.

A good idea is only really revealed the more you plan it out - starting a business takes a lot of work in the first steps, during which, however, it often already becomes clear which difficulties you’ll have to face, but we will go into this again below. In the following paragraphs, we will first list seven areas with concrete small business ideas that are suitable for starting up your own business.

Whether self-care boxes, candles and wax melts, regional food specialties, cosmetics, or baby-shower boxes — almost anything is available as a package-product or subscription service. Either you look for (regional) cooperation partners or suppliers who provide you with the items for the box, or you go into production yourself. Sales then take place via your own online shop. Some of the ideas also open up further small business ideas: for example, offer online tastings or seminars to go with wine boxes, which you host wherever you like!

When all leisure facilities closed during the Corona crisis, as well as many educational institutions, the topics of e-learning and online DIY seminars experienced a real boom. The great thing is that once you have produced these courses, you can run them over and over again, but you no longer have to put in any extra effort. A business in instructing people on an area of your expertise may be fun and rewarding!

Similar to the idea of offering e-learning courses, you could also become a source of expertise for clients in need of guidance for their physical or professional wellbeing. Online as well as offline possibilities mean this is a large playing field to start your own business. You could give private or group fitness classes, help people find a new goal in life - or simply offer your expert knowledge on your current career to others. The advantage of these business ideas is that you don't need a lot of start-up capital to get going. It is not always easy to get started - consultants and coaches seem to be a dime a dozen but not all of them are reputable. If you have a good work ethic, a strong network, and good client feedback, you’ll be able to set up a strong foundation for your business.

Doing something good for yourself, working on self-improvement - these are eternally popular options for people. The health and beauty industry is booming, which is why there is certainly still a lot of potential to get involved here. This can involve the production and sale of self-care products (but make sure you follow local and national guidelines regarding the safety and labeling of these!), for example.

In the broadest sense, this also includes the development of health apps - whether for sports and exercise in general, for nutrition, or for meditation.

Not a business idea in its own right, but a huge field at the moment is the topic of sustainability. Whether it's opening a zero-waste shop, making plastic alternatives, or simply providing instructions on how to live a more sustainable life, people are interested in sustainability. Admittedly, some of these start-up ideas are more costly, but they are worth it in more ways than one - you will be making a contribution to the environment and there is a real market for sustainability now.

These are not get-rich-quick ideas, but you can still generate a small side income in the long run with them. The only requirement is a certain amount of creativity – and you can print T-shirts with your own designs, sell your paintings or photographs, sell handmade clothes and so on (and sew on?!)

If you're less creative, you can also simply offer a one-stop household service, providing everything from gardening to house and office cleaning, minor handyman work to dog sitting if you’re trustworthy and caring.

Once you have decided on an idea, flesh it out, and record your thoughts in writing. To do this, first describe the actual idea, what your business model should look like and what skills you need and bring to it. Based on these considerations, create a business plan. This forms the basis for your foundation and is indispensable if you want to convince investors to participate financially in your idea.

The most important contents in your business plan are a presentation of yourself and your idea, a detailed target group and market analysis, the assessment of resulting opportunities and risks as well as a list of all costs, a profitability and investment plan. If you have a particularly cost-intensive business idea, you should also think about the financing options in the business plan.

Note that a professional online presence is at least as important as a well-developed business plan. Starting with your own domain, you can then develop a handsome online shop. At IONOS you will find an all-inclusive package to get you started and, if required, you’ll get all the support from experts you need for creating a website.