OK, first off, for all of those who are searching business ideas all over the web, I want to share with you guys a very very very important lesson.
" Ideas don't make businesses successful. Their execution does."
Learned something? Yes, you don't need to seek for new and unique business ideas. Ideas are all around us. Go around your neighborhood for fifteen minutes and count the number of businesses you find out (Tip : Each kind of artificial object you see is probably a product of a business that makes good money selling those products). You can pick any one of them. Any one. And you CAN succeed in that. You don't need new ideas. (This doesn't mean I'm discouraging people with new ideas. New ideas are great but only if you can execute them greatly.) I tell you this with 100% confidence because I have experienced that Ideas are not worth much. But the way of execution of idea is something you must be very very concerned about. After all, what's an idea without execution?
Once, when I was in a cafe I noticed the stains of food on the wooden table in front of me. Then suddenly a thought popped up, "what if the table was coated with plastic? Wouldn't it be easier to wipe and keep it clean?" I never tried. But I did tweak an already established business in my own way which may have resulted another kind of business (improved furniture). Try it. Observe your room. What problems do you see around? What improvements can you make in the existing products?
Facebook is a social media website. Wasn't there Hi5 before that ? Wasn't there Yahoo messenger before Facebook messenger? Why is Whatsapp still running when there's Viber and messenger and wechat? Why is Instagram running successfully when Facebook provides almost same kind of photo sharing feature?
Most of you who want to start a business are always searching for something new. Yes, new and unique businesses often make good progress. Yes, new ideas are cool; they make money and run business. And they establish themselves as an authority; but that's not always the case. Plenty have started and failed miserably. The secret is not in the idea. It is in the execution.
Bottom line- it's not compulsory to come up with new ideas to start a business; you can use the existing ideas and bend them in a certain way to execute them differently.
Okay. Enough of those lessons. Here are some business ideas that are common around the world. (It is from these common ideas, you can create new ones. Just execute in a different way !)
Online business
- blogging
- affiliate marketing
- writing and selling ebooks
- being a youtuber
- providing online classes (ever heard of Skype tutoring? One of my teachers used to teach Java, it's a programming language, to Nepalese students studying in US through Skype.)
- sell software online
- establish a freelancing company
- mine cryptocurrency
Home based business
- Almost all the online businesses that I mentioned above can be done from your home
- Creating handicrafts and selling
- Reselling items (buying used old products and selling them)
- Offer tuition classes in your home. (I ran tuition classes for two groups, an hour for each group, in my own home for more than 5 years. )
Service businesses
Okay, this is a huge category. Tons of businesses fall under this category. Some simple ideas that you can startup are:
- Consultation/ Mentoring / Coaching
- Babysitting/ Child care service
- Institute of some kind (music classes, programming classes, dance classes, yoga classes, stock trading classes, SEO classes, content marketing classes, copy-writing classes....)
- Cleaning services
Just few minutes ago, I read in startups.co.uk, one of the cleaning company that started out with just two cleaners in 2014, had won the Service Business of the Year 2016. Do you think cleaning service was a new idea? - Start an advertising company- you would handle the advertising campaigns of any client company.
Retail stores
- Weren't there retail stores before WalMart? So, yeah, you can give it a shot.
Technology business ideas
- Start a software developing company. (Gather few developers, or learn programming by yourself. Find clients. Sell software. Later, go public. Make online presence. Sell online.)
- Focus on specific field of technology. ( Just focus on application development related to AI and Image Processing or something like that)
- Create some new electronic device and find an investor and make it large.
Import/ Export business
Okay, this may not be an easy startup. But you can give it a go, if you have some knowledge. This is a common business here in Nepal. Clothes, shoes, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets are imported in huge amount every year from China and India. Then, they are sold here on a higher price.
I do not suggest it as a startup idea for people new to this field. But those who are related can give it a try.
Food & Restaurant business /Clubs and Bars / Hotels & Motels / Lodges
- Street food business can be a very good startup business. Doesn't require capital as large as clubs and restaurants. Focus on a certain recipe and make it your special that no other can offer !!
Environment friendly businesses
- Recycle waste
- Pollution free vehicle manufacturing (bicycles, electric bikes or cars)
- Alternative energy business (Solar energy, wind mills)
Ideas will keep coming to you if you learn something new every day. For example, I have no damn idea about solar businesses. If I read a book on it, I'm sure I'll learn few ideas and can bend them somewhere to execute it differently. So, keep reading and learn a bunch of things. Ideas born in everybody's mind but only few are courageous enough to try them out.
Don't stop learning and don't give up on your startup journey ! Remember, only those who are determined to succeed reach to the top.
This list will keep increasing. Please share your ideas and suggestions below in the comments. Thank You for reading !