You may be looking for side business to supplement your income, or you prepare to get out of 9 to 5 job and start your own business. Not everyone is technically savvy and there are still many of the people out there prefer brick and mortar business.
Moreover, online business may seem easy and less costly to set up, but it takes a much longer learning time to get your first earning. Focus on your passion, strength, skill and experience will give you a good start and endurance in the long journey of your entrepreneurship.
We have identified 10 best offline business ideas with low investment for you to kick start.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read about our disclosure policy for more information.
1. GENERAL CLEANING SERVICE
Market Potential
There will always be a demand for cleaning services, as most people find cleaning their homes to be stressful and painful. The household cleaners market is estimated to be worth $40.38 billion by the year 2025.
Business nature
The basic scope of work is providing regular Daily cleaning to home and office. The service includes but not limited to clearing the dustbin, sweeping and mopping the floor, vacuum the carpeted floor, clean up the work table, tidy up the pantry, refill the hand soap and toilet paper, wash the toilet bowl and clean the mirror inside the toilet etc. Due to budget or the size of the organization, some customers prefer Periodic cleaning instead of daily cleaning, such as every alternate day of cleaning service or twice per week, some even request on weekly service.
The other type of cleaning is deep cleaning which is referring to more thorough cleaning services that only required weekly or monthly or quarterly. The services include inner window cleaning, toilet sanitization, carpet cleaning, floor mat cleaning, car washing, upholstery cleaning and equipment cleaning etc.
Requirement
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business and the cleaner may need to attend safety rule and regulation class as they are dealing with chemical. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
Free 7 steps of starting a cleaning business
How to start your own house cleaning company: from start-up to payday in one week
Investment
Cleaning services tend to have much lower set-up costs compare to other ventures, this is one of the few businesses which you can get started with little capital, you just need to invest time and work hard to make your first profit.
You need to invest on cleaning equipment such as vacuum cleaner, wringer bucket, various types of mop and squeegee, cloth, spray bottles and various types of cleaning chemical such as detergents, stain remover, degreaser and disinfectant. You need additional manpower which is the main overhead, or you can get another partner to run this business together. You can use your existing vehicle for the mean time before investing on bigger vehicle when business pick up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media. You can set up referral program, build partnership with other businesses such as plumber, house renovator, landscape designer, interior designer and carpenter etc. You can also sign up as the contracted cleaning service provider with company such as tidy.com, turnoverbnb.com
Pros
This type of business can get started with very low investment but with huge return. The operating cost is very minimal other than labor cost. You can slowly improve your skill via on the job training.
Cons
This business is labor-intensive; you must be able to outsource the cleaner or temporary cleaner at time of emergency when someone is taking leave. The scheduling of cleaning job is another challenge issue where you need to plan wisely especially the distance between the customers’ premises in order not to incur unnecessary high fuel expenses.
2. CAR WASH AND AUTO DETAILING SERVICE
Market Potential
According to the report, the global car wash service market size was valued at $33 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.2% from 2019 to 2025. Market growth is attributed to increasing focus of consumers on vehicle maintenance and rising spending power. Busy lifestyle and time constraint have led consumer to opt for car wash service instead of cleaning by own self.
Business nature
There are many different types of car wash business such as self-service, in-bay automatic and exterior-conveyor. For new business start-up with minimum investment, we recommended to start with self-service car wash business.
There are many ways of operating this business. One way of doing it is to rent a vacant car park lot as your car wash center. You can rent another adjacent car park lot when more cars coming in for your service. The other way of doing this business is to team up with the car park operator.
You can put up a banner to offer car wash for the car parked at the car park. You go to the car instead of the car come to you. You only wash the exterior of the car with car shampoo and clean water. You may gradually expand your business to provide additional service like car polish and waxing for car body, lamp, dashboard and tyre.
Requirement
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
The Profitable Auto Detail Shop: How to Start and Run a successful Auto Detailing Business
FREE beginners guide from carwashcountry.com
Start your own Car Wash and More (Entrepreneur Press)
Car wash business 101: the #1 Car wash start-up guide (buzz Glover)
Investment
You do not need to invest in expensive cleaning equipment as most detailing experts will advise you that the safest way to wash your car is hand wash.
The investment for self-service car wash service is very minimal as you only need to invest on cleaning accessories like bucket, sponge, cloth, brush, spray bottles, car shampoo, tyre shine, car polish and wax.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media. You can set up referral program, team up with car park operators. You can also approach companies where you schedule to spend half a day at their premises to wash their directors or managers’ cars.
Pros
This type of business can get started with very low investment but with huge return. The operating cost is very minimal other than labor cost. Even you start with a self-service car wash can give you a very comfortable profit margin.
Cons
This business is labor-intensive; you must be able to outsource the cleaner or temporary cleaner at time of emergency when someone is taking leave. The main setback of this business is that the car washing is often seasonal, as clients tend to get their cars wash more often in winter to remove salt stains, less so on raining days etc.
3. HOME BASED LAUNDRY SERVICE
Market Potential
According to the report, the global dry-cleaning and laundry services market size reached a value of nearly $118.9 billion in 2018, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% since 2014, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.9% to nearly $180 billion by 2022. Many people nowadays are busy with daily chores and errands, and little to no time to do their laundry
Business nature
You can decide whether to do laundry in your home, or/and at public coin-operated laundries, or in your client’s homes. Most of the busy working people do not run their washing machine daily, so you can use your washing machine to provide laundry service for others to make money. You shall take into consideration of time management, electricity and water bill, transportation costs before deciding which is the better option or combination of these options for different scenarios. This consideration will also determine your cleaning rate to be charged to your clients. Most of the busy working people do not run their washing machine daily, so you can use your washing machine to provide laundry service for others to make money.
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in the next section.
Resources
Free 6 steps to starting your own laundry business from home
How to start a home based ironing & laundry business (Kindle unlimited)
How to wash Dry fold your way to $100,000 (kindle)
Investment
You do not need to invest on other expensive laundry equipment other than detergents, bleach, stain remover and fabric softener etc. You can always make use of public laundry service for washing blanket and comforter and dryer service.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
Home based laundry business can be started with very low investment but with huge return. There are not seasonal or weather dependent. This business doesn’t get affected by economic recession as people need to clean clothes regardless of economic factors.
Cons
You may need to invest more washing machines as business picking up. Your margin will be much lesser if you utilize the other laundry machine from commercial laundry shop.
4. RECYCLING BUSINESS
Market Potential
Contrary to some recent articles proclaiming that the recycling industry is struggling, the recycling industry continues to be an enormous economic driver in the United States. According to this report, recycling is a $100 billion industry that employs half a million people in the United States.
Business nature
A lot of the recycling businesses are low-capital, high returns, but require prior knowledge of where to locate your company, how to collect the waste and where to sell them. You can buy the used items from the clients and sell to scrapyards or/and other interested buyers to earn the differences in price. Once your volume picks up, you can ask for better price from the scrapyard. You can also venture into reuse market where you modify, repair and repurpose the old items to sell as reconditioned or refurbished items.
Types of profitable items that can be recycled
Aluminium can be found from drink cans and aerosol containers. They are generally designed to be used once and thrown away Aluminium is one of the easiest metals to be recycled and it can be recycled over and over again. Aluminium can turn into a new can and back on store within 60 days. The report from world aluminium shows that 70% of aluminium beverage cans in use has been obtained from recycling old aluminium. These empty cans can earn you a good deal of money from beverage and aerosol manufacturing companies.
Car batteries contain certain electrolytic chemicals which can be re-modelled to obtain pure electrolytes.
Recycling of Printer ink cartridges is another big market to go for. The report from Evolve recycling shows that over 300 million inkjet cartridges and 70 million laser cartridges are sold in the U.S. annually. You can consider starting a business that provides toner and ink refilling to save consumers money and protect the environment.
Electronics such as laptops, personal computers, printers, washing machines and mobile phones have components and parts that can be recycled.
Books and paper printable can be recycled to make into low-quality magazine paper.
Fluorescent tubes and light bulbs can be recycled and modified to make into recycled light bulbs.
Plastic bottles for drinking water can be recycled and make into T-shirts, sweaters, sleeping bags and carpets etc.
Some other items that can also be recycled are cooking oil, electrical wire and tyre etc.
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
Hustling for cash money with metal recycling (kindle)
Investment
You can use your existing vehicle to carry the recycled items and allocate some space in your house for temporary storage and sorting purpose before sending the items to scrapyard or other interested buyers.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
You do not have to invest in equipment and purchase goods to resell like most other businesses. Most of the people are so happy to see someone come to help them clearing their unwanted stuffs and they don’t really bother so much about the price of the junk. So, you actually run a business with very little cost other than your time and hard work, the biggest expenses will be your fuel cost.
Cons
You must be prepared to deal with dirt, greasy, oily, bad smell items not only on you, your vehicle and your little temporary storage area in your house. You just must be equipped with safety gear, wear facemask and glove and try to sort and send the items to scrapyard as soon as possible.
5. HANDYMAN BUSINESS
Market potential
Due to global slowdown of economy, people are finding it really hard to land high paying jobs. Homeowners are not keen on buying new houses to replace the existing houses. They will go for renovation and repair over buying a new property. This has increased the demand of handyman services.
According to the report from Harvard, almost 80% of America’s 137 million homes are said to be at least 20 years old and 40% are at least 50 years old. Given that households age 55 and over not only have higher homeownership rates, but many also have the resources to pay for the renovations and replacements. The report from iProperty Management shows that Home improvement sales are estimated to hit $680 billion in 2025.
Business nature
First, you have to identify the scope of work you have knowledge and capable of doing. You can gradually increase your scope of work by learning new skill. You can form a team with other handymen for different types of work. You can always start this business from your neighborhood, to provide quick service for small work. People are more willing to pay a little more for quick solution to their problem, and people prefer to deal with familiar faces rather than dealing with new faces all the time.
Types of Handyman work scopes include by not limited to the followings
Adding or replacing appliances
Carpeting
Chimney
Detached garage
Electrical wiring
Fencing or walls
Flooring
HVAC
Insulation
Landscaping or sprinkler system
Painting
Plumbing fixtures
Water heaters
Security systems
Roofing, ceiling tiles
Swimming pools
Windows and doors
Requirement
You need to apply for necessary business license and insurance coverage to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a Handyman business: A step-by-step guide
How to start a Handyman business: Expert shares his secrets
The complete Do-it-Yourself Manual Newly updated (kindle)
How to start a Home-based Handyman Business: Turn your skills into cash
Building your successful Handyman Business: A guide to starting and operating a profitable contracting business (Kindle)
Investment
Depending on the type of handyman work that you want to start with, some involves higher investment of tools, equipment and materials while some are lesser. If you are currently carrying out the similar types of maintenance work for your house, you are most likely already have all the necessary tools and equipment. You can use your existing vehicle as your working vehicle.
Marketing
It is always difficult to canvas for business when you are the newbie in the market. You can list your service at third party service providers such as Handy, Jiffy and Angie’s List just to name a few. You just need to work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
Americans love to watch home improvement TV shows but most of them do not have time and knowledge to undertake certain renovation tasks by themselves. If you are good at Handyman work, you just treat it as maintaining your own house. Moreover, you can learn new skill from online sources like YouTube and Google. Just start from your neighborhood and take up some job and start from there, the word of mouth will spread fast if you provide good service.
Cons
You may need to get some assistants or team up with another handyman doing the same work as you. This is because you cannot attend to more customers at the same time, it is so often that most of the house problem need urgent and immediate solution such as water pipe leaking and no power supply etc.
6. SECOND-HAND BUSINESS
Market potential
The market for bargains is booming, fueled by the economy and ease of purchase online. According to the survey, a third of consumers are buying more second-hand items than they were 12 months ago and more women are happy to look for vintage or used items than men. The main reason for shopping second-hand is saving money, reducing waste and support charity.
Business nature
You can buy and sell via sites like: Craigslist, close5, Ebay, Facebook marketplace and Carousell (South east Asia region). You can pick up some skill to refurbish all those used items, minimize or repair the worn or damaged parts, change some parts, do some cleaning etc before you sell them at a much higher price. You can also sort and group them in bundle for better packaged price.
You can target at Elderly and those who either have no idea or no time to go through the process on selling used items online. You can buy the used items from them, refurbish them and sell them online. You can also act as an agent, take the picture of the items, record the specification and agree with them on the price, post the items for sale online. You only need to take the items from you receive money from your clients.
Once your business grows, you can consider setting up a thrift store for your expansion project.
Popular second-hand items
Books:
all types of books including textbooks
Clothes:
all types of clothes especially wedding dresses
Electronics:
iPhones, Sony Play station 4, Xbox one game console, secondhand HD TV and laptop.
Exercise or Gym equipment:
Bicycle, indoor cycle, treadmills, multi-press machines and rowing machines
Furniture:
sofas, shelves, tables, chairs, couches and filing cabinets
Musical instruments:
Drums, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboards, pedal, mixer and amplifiers
Sporting goods:
Golf clubs, basketball nets and hoops, tennis rackets, skis and surf boards
Tools & Home care items:
Power drills, power sanders, generators, snow blowers and lawn mowers
Others:
watches, souvenirs, old coins, old clocks etc
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a resale business
How to make easy money selling your old used books on Amazon
Investment
You can use your existing vehicle to carry the used items and allocate some space in your house for temporary storage and sorting purpose before selling them to potential customers.
Marketing
You can sell your items via sites like: Craigslist, close5, Ebay, Facebook marketplace and Carousell (South east Asia region).
Pros
One person’s junk is another person’s treasure. Spend sometimes weekly to browse through the above-mentioned sites to look for items at low prices and learn to identify the saleable and profitable stuffs. The point is you can get pretty good margin for this business
Cons
You need to spend a lot of time to study and look for the right items and you may have to buy some items to keep and sell later, so you need time and space.
7. LOCAL COURIER BUSINESS
Market potential
As more and more people shop online, the demand for courier services is going up with time. According to this report, the global couriers and messengers’ market reached a value of nearly $541.6 billion in 2019, having grown at a compound annual growth rate of 9.3% since 2015, and is expected to grow at 11.1% to nearly $824.9 billion by 2023.
Business nature
Local courier service focuses on providing speedy, often same day delivery for parcels and important documents within the city. You need to decide your targeted customers are densely populated central business district or less populated suburb. You can start off by acting as a delivery agent for some more reputed courier companies and focus on certain locality beyond their standard coverage. Once you familiar with the trade and build up your portfolio and expand your fleet, you can start to run your own full-fledge courier company.
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a courier business
Start your own courier business: step-by-step in just 30 days
How to become a self-employed courier
Investment
The most important tool for this business is vehicle. You must determine which type of vehicle you need for your business model. If you are focusing on densely populated central business district, you can choose bicycle or motorcycle courier. For this model, you only focus on small parcel and important document. For handling of bigger parcel and lesser populated district, you may consider MPV or van courier. If you already have a dependable vehicle and a cell phone, you can start a courier service right away. It is a simple business to start and operate, so you don’t need a lot of money to start up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other courier companies. They will often give their business your way if they get too busy or unable to complete a delivery on a deadline. Advertise your service for free on website and social media or start a referral program.
Pros
This business does not incur any cost other than fuel and vehicle maintenance cost. You just need to invest your time and effort.
Cons
The business involves a lot of traveling on the road, traffic jam under hot sun and in the rain.
8. ERRAND SERVICE BUSINESS
Market potential
In this modern era, most people are caught in the rat race of life, everyone has tight schedule to fulfil and we all find it hard to run errand services for the family, our loved ones and our friends etc. We end up using parts of our working time to run this errand. Another factor is the growing ageing population where the elderly community becomes another customer segment of the errand services as they need someone to help them instead of their friends, neighbor and relatives.
This has created a new opportunity which had turned this errand services industry to a multi-million-dollar business.
Business nature
An errand service is a service aimed at helping those peoples and business who have not much time to complete daily task.
Types of Errand services
Some of the errand services are:
Taking or fetching clothes from the cleaners
Taking mails to the post office or courier office
Filling the car with fuel
Taking sacks of leaves to the compost center
Getting groceries
Running to the bank
Bill payments
Mail sorting and organizing
Arranging appointment
Pet care
Buying their medications
Reading assistance
Pickup and delivery of vehicle for car wash or service
Meal purchase and deliveries
Gift shopping and wrapping
Party or event preparation
Moving services: packing or unpacking
Requirement
You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
Start your own senior concierge service: from start-up to Success in just 30 days
How to start an errand business: Essential start up Tips to boost your errand business success
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time, effort, care and the use of your transport mode.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other errand service providers. They will often give their business your way if they get too busy or unable to complete in time. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media.
Pros
With a little hard work and some compassion for others, you’ll be on your way to be an all-star errand runner. Although there are a number of errand mobile apps available for food delivery, groceries collection etc, but most people do not want to deal with new people (errand runners) everyday, they prefer to get the service from the same errand runner that he feel comfortable with, and the errand runner is familiar with his personal preference. Errand runners generally paid hourly rate instead of task, the market standard is around $25 to $40 and hour depending on country and types of services.
Cons
This business involves doing a lot of odd task here and there and sometime involves a lot of unexpected waiting time. You may just run out of time most of the time. You need to get many ready helpers on hand in time of emergency, of course you pay them accordingly.
9. PARTY AND EVENT PLANNING BUSINESS
Market potential
According to the report, the market size, measured by revenue, of the party and event industry is $4.9 billion in U.S. in 2020.
Business nature
You just need to identify your strength, passion, expertise and experience as which of the below mentioned types of markets are more suitable to you. You need to make a study of the local market to see which market is in demand and profitable with comparatively lesser competition. You need to know how to send invitation, do booking for venue, decoration, selecting caterer, looking for cameraman and videographer, selecting music and DJ, security etc.
There are many different types of markets
- Birthday party
- Business conference
- Christmas party
- Cocktail party
- Farewell party
- Fashion show
- Fundraising party
- Garden party
- Graduation party
- New year party
- Reception party
- Tea party
- Trade show
- Wedding party
- Welcome party
Requirements
You may need a license to operate this business. You need learn the trade and learn the skill, or/and find a team of people with the right expertise and experience to take up the project. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a party and event planning business
Event Planning: Management & Marketing for successful events: Become an event planning pro & create a successful event series
The Art of Event Planning: Pro Tips from an industry Insider
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time and effort for your humble start-up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other event organizer. They will often give their business or part of the project to you if they get too busy or unable to complete in time. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media.
Pros
You will like the business if you enjoy meeting interesting people. You can decide to take big or small project depend on your commitment, manpower and time management. at different places.
Cons
You must learn fast and really perform well and build your brand in order to survive in this market. There are new players coming into the market, so competition is keen. You may need to have other sources of income while waiting for projects to come.
10. HOME TUITION
Market potential
According to the report, amid the Covid-19 crisis, the global market for Private Tutoring estimated at $173.4 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of $279 Billion.
Business nature
You need to decide on your targeted market such as teaching mathematics to high school students, teaching English to undergraduates where English are not their native language, and teach computer to Elderly etc. You can join as a tutor to a local tuition school to get an idea about the ways they run the tuition school, the syllabus, teaching method, experience the real challenges and more importantly get connected to other tutors.
Requirements
Check with your city to find out whether you need a license or permit to run home tuition business. You should have a natural desire to help people, great patient to listen to their questions. You don’t need to let your qualification limit you when it comes to the subjects you tutor in. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resource in next section.
Resources
How to start a Home Tuition Service or Get Home Tutoring Jobs
Tutor and grow Rich! How to make a full time Income Tutoring Part time
How to start a Business as a Private Tutor – Set up a Tutoring Business from Home
Turn tuition into biz: how to put together a tuition business
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time and effort for your humble start-up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and also get to know other tutors or someone who teach people to make full income or some extra income. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media. You can also run online tutoring class concurrently.
Pros
The demand for tutoring is always there as people need to learn to upgrade themselves, student needs to take tuition to improve their grade in school, and elderly need to learn latest technology to fit in to modern lifestyle etc. One good thing is the start-up costs are very minimal.
Cons
You need to be exceptionally patient as you are dealing with all types of people should them be elderly or small children. You are expected to work on non-standard hours, that mean if you are tutoring school student, your working will be evening or weekend when they are not schooling. It will not be cost effective to conduct one to one home tuition class, so you have to find a way to provide group tuition either at your house or one of your student’ house or you have to rent a place for it.
You may be looking for side business to supplement your income, or you prepare to get out of 9 to 5 job and start your own business. Not everyone is technically savvy and there are still many of the people out there prefer brick and mortar business.
Moreover, online business may seem easy and less costly to set up, but it takes a much longer learning time to get your first earning. Focus on your passion, strength, skill and experience will give you a good start and endurance in the long journey of your entrepreneurship.
We have identified 10 best offline business ideas with low investment for you to kick start.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read about our disclosure policy for more information.
1. GENERAL CLEANING SERVICE
Market Potential
There will always be a demand for cleaning services, as most people find cleaning their homes to be stressful and painful. The household cleaners market is estimated to be worth $40.38 billion by the year 2025.
Business nature
The basic scope of work is providing regular Daily cleaning to home and office. The service includes but not limited to clearing the dustbin, sweeping and mopping the floor, vacuum the carpeted floor, clean up the work table, tidy up the pantry, refill the hand soap and toilet paper, wash the toilet bowl and clean the mirror inside the toilet etc. Due to budget or the size of the organization, some customers prefer Periodic cleaning instead of daily cleaning, such as every alternate day of cleaning service or twice per week, some even request on weekly service.
The other type of cleaning is deep cleaning which is referring to more thorough cleaning services that only required weekly or monthly or quarterly. The services include inner window cleaning, toilet sanitization, carpet cleaning, floor mat cleaning, car washing, upholstery cleaning and equipment cleaning etc.
Requirement
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business and the cleaner may need to attend safety rule and regulation class as they are dealing with chemical. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
Free 7 steps of starting a cleaning business
How to start your own house cleaning company: from start-up to payday in one week
Investment
Cleaning services tend to have much lower set-up costs compare to other ventures, this is one of the few businesses which you can get started with little capital, you just need to invest time and work hard to make your first profit.
You need to invest on cleaning equipment such as vacuum cleaner, wringer bucket, various types of mop and squeegee, cloth, spray bottles and various types of cleaning chemical such as detergents, stain remover, degreaser and disinfectant. You need additional manpower which is the main overhead, or you can get another partner to run this business together. You can use your existing vehicle for the mean time before investing on bigger vehicle when business pick up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media. You can set up referral program, build partnership with other businesses such as plumber, house renovator, landscape designer, interior designer and carpenter etc. You can also sign up as the contracted cleaning service provider with company such as tidy.com, turnoverbnb.com
Pros
This type of business can get started with very low investment but with huge return. The operating cost is very minimal other than labor cost. You can slowly improve your skill via on the job training.
Cons
This business is labor-intensive; you must be able to outsource the cleaner or temporary cleaner at time of emergency when someone is taking leave. The scheduling of cleaning job is another challenge issue where you need to plan wisely especially the distance between the customers’ premises in order not to incur unnecessary high fuel expenses.
2. CAR WASH AND AUTO DETAILING SERVICE
Market Potential
According to the report, the global car wash service market size was valued at $33 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.2% from 2019 to 2025. Market growth is attributed to increasing focus of consumers on vehicle maintenance and rising spending power. Busy lifestyle and time constraint have led consumer to opt for car wash service instead of cleaning by own self.
Business nature
There are many different types of car wash business such as self-service, in-bay automatic and exterior-conveyor. For new business start-up with minimum investment, we recommended to start with self-service car wash business.
There are many ways of operating this business. One way of doing it is to rent a vacant car park lot as your car wash center. You can rent another adjacent car park lot when more cars coming in for your service. The other way of doing this business is to team up with the car park operator.
You can put up a banner to offer car wash for the car parked at the car park. You go to the car instead of the car come to you. You only wash the exterior of the car with car shampoo and clean water. You may gradually expand your business to provide additional service like car polish and waxing for car body, lamp, dashboard and tyre.
Requirement
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
The Profitable Auto Detail Shop: How to Start and Run a successful Auto Detailing Business
FREE beginners guide from carwashcountry.com
Start your own Car Wash and More (Entrepreneur Press)
Car wash business 101: the #1 Car wash start-up guide (buzz Glover)
Investment
You do not need to invest in expensive cleaning equipment as most detailing experts will advise you that the safest way to wash your car is hand wash.
The investment for self-service car wash service is very minimal as you only need to invest on cleaning accessories like bucket, sponge, cloth, brush, spray bottles, car shampoo, tyre shine, car polish and wax.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media. You can set up referral program, team up with car park operators. You can also approach companies where you schedule to spend half a day at their premises to wash their directors or managers’ cars.
Pros
This type of business can get started with very low investment but with huge return. The operating cost is very minimal other than labor cost. Even you start with a self-service car wash can give you a very comfortable profit margin.
Cons
This business is labor-intensive; you must be able to outsource the cleaner or temporary cleaner at time of emergency when someone is taking leave. The main setback of this business is that the car washing is often seasonal, as clients tend to get their cars wash more often in winter to remove salt stains, less so on raining days etc.
3. HOME BASED LAUNDRY SERVICE
Market Potential
According to the report, the global dry-cleaning and laundry services market size reached a value of nearly $118.9 billion in 2018, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% since 2014, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.9% to nearly $180 billion by 2022. Many people nowadays are busy with daily chores and errands, and little to no time to do their laundry
Business nature
You can decide whether to do laundry in your home, or/and at public coin-operated laundries, or in your client’s homes. Most of the busy working people do not run their washing machine daily, so you can use your washing machine to provide laundry service for others to make money. You shall take into consideration of time management, electricity and water bill, transportation costs before deciding which is the better option or combination of these options for different scenarios. This consideration will also determine your cleaning rate to be charged to your clients. Most of the busy working people do not run their washing machine daily, so you can use your washing machine to provide laundry service for others to make money.
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in the next section.
Resources
Free 6 steps to starting your own laundry business from home
How to start a home based ironing & laundry business (Kindle unlimited)
How to wash Dry fold your way to $100,000 (kindle)
Investment
You do not need to invest on other expensive laundry equipment other than detergents, bleach, stain remover and fabric softener etc. You can always make use of public laundry service for washing blanket and comforter and dryer service.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
Home based laundry business can be started with very low investment but with huge return. There are not seasonal or weather dependent. This business doesn’t get affected by economic recession as people need to clean clothes regardless of economic factors.
Cons
You may need to invest more washing machines as business picking up. Your margin will be much lesser if you utilize the other laundry machine from commercial laundry shop.
4. RECYCLING BUSINESS
Market Potential
Contrary to some recent articles proclaiming that the recycling industry is struggling, the recycling industry continues to be an enormous economic driver in the United States. According to this report, recycling is a $100 billion industry that employs half a million people in the United States.
Business nature
A lot of the recycling businesses are low-capital, high returns, but require prior knowledge of where to locate your company, how to collect the waste and where to sell them. You can buy the used items from the clients and sell to scrapyards or/and other interested buyers to earn the differences in price. Once your volume picks up, you can ask for better price from the scrapyard. You can also venture into reuse market where you modify, repair and repurpose the old items to sell as reconditioned or refurbished items.
Types of profitable items that can be recycled
Aluminium can be found from drink cans and aerosol containers. They are generally designed to be used once and thrown away Aluminium is one of the easiest metals to be recycled and it can be recycled over and over again. Aluminium can turn into a new can and back on store within 60 days. The report from world aluminium shows that 70% of aluminium beverage cans in use has been obtained from recycling old aluminium. These empty cans can earn you a good deal of money from beverage and aerosol manufacturing companies.
Car batteries contain certain electrolytic chemicals which can be re-modelled to obtain pure electrolytes.
Recycling of Printer ink cartridges is another big market to go for. The report from Evolve recycling shows that over 300 million inkjet cartridges and 70 million laser cartridges are sold in the U.S. annually. You can consider starting a business that provides toner and ink refilling to save consumers money and protect the environment.
Electronics such as laptops, personal computers, printers, washing machines and mobile phones have components and parts that can be recycled.
Books and paper printable can be recycled to make into low-quality magazine paper.
Fluorescent tubes and light bulbs can be recycled and modified to make into recycled light bulbs.
Plastic bottles for drinking water can be recycled and make into T-shirts, sweaters, sleeping bags and carpets etc.
Some other items that can also be recycled are cooking oil, electrical wire and tyre etc.
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
Hustling for cash money with metal recycling (kindle)
Investment
You can use your existing vehicle to carry the recycled items and allocate some space in your house for temporary storage and sorting purpose before sending the items to scrapyard or other interested buyers.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
You do not have to invest in equipment and purchase goods to resell like most other businesses. Most of the people are so happy to see someone come to help them clearing their unwanted stuffs and they don’t really bother so much about the price of the junk. So, you actually run a business with very little cost other than your time and hard work, the biggest expenses will be your fuel cost.
Cons
You must be prepared to deal with dirt, greasy, oily, bad smell items not only on you, your vehicle and your little temporary storage area in your house. You just must be equipped with safety gear, wear facemask and glove and try to sort and send the items to scrapyard as soon as possible.
5. HANDYMAN BUSINESS
Market potential
Due to global slowdown of economy, people are finding it really hard to land high paying jobs. Homeowners are not keen on buying new houses to replace the existing houses. They will go for renovation and repair over buying a new property. This has increased the demand of handyman services.
According to the report from Harvard, almost 80% of America’s 137 million homes are said to be at least 20 years old and 40% are at least 50 years old. Given that households age 55 and over not only have higher homeownership rates, but many also have the resources to pay for the renovations and replacements. The report from iProperty Management shows that Home improvement sales are estimated to hit $680 billion in 2025.
Business nature
First, you have to identify the scope of work you have knowledge and capable of doing. You can gradually increase your scope of work by learning new skill. You can form a team with other handymen for different types of work. You can always start this business from your neighborhood, to provide quick service for small work. People are more willing to pay a little more for quick solution to their problem, and people prefer to deal with familiar faces rather than dealing with new faces all the time.
Types of Handyman work scopes include by not limited to the followings
Adding or replacing appliances
Carpeting
Chimney
Detached garage
Electrical wiring
Fencing or walls
Flooring
HVAC
Insulation
Landscaping or sprinkler system
Painting
Plumbing fixtures
Water heaters
Security systems
Roofing, ceiling tiles
Swimming pools
Windows and doors
Requirement
You need to apply for necessary business license and insurance coverage to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a Handyman business: A step-by-step guide
How to start a Handyman business: Expert shares his secrets
The complete Do-it-Yourself Manual Newly updated (kindle)
How to start a Home-based Handyman Business: Turn your skills into cash
Building your successful Handyman Business: A guide to starting and operating a profitable contracting business (Kindle)
Investment
Depending on the type of handyman work that you want to start with, some involves higher investment of tools, equipment and materials while some are lesser. If you are currently carrying out the similar types of maintenance work for your house, you are most likely already have all the necessary tools and equipment. You can use your existing vehicle as your working vehicle.
Marketing
It is always difficult to canvas for business when you are the newbie in the market. You can list your service at third party service providers such as Handy, Jiffy and Angie’s List just to name a few. You just need to work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
Americans love to watch home improvement TV shows but most of them do not have time and knowledge to undertake certain renovation tasks by themselves. If you are good at Handyman work, you just treat it as maintaining your own house. Moreover, you can learn new skill from online sources like YouTube and Google. Just start from your neighborhood and take up some job and start from there, the word of mouth will spread fast if you provide good service.
Cons
You may need to get some assistants or team up with another handyman doing the same work as you. This is because you cannot attend to more customers at the same time, it is so often that most of the house problem need urgent and immediate solution such as water pipe leaking and no power supply etc.
6. SECOND-HAND BUSINESS
Market potential
The market for bargains is booming, fueled by the economy and ease of purchase online. According to the survey, a third of consumers are buying more second-hand items than they were 12 months ago and more women are happy to look for vintage or used items than men. The main reason for shopping second-hand is saving money, reducing waste and support charity.
Business nature
You can buy and sell via sites like: Craigslist, close5, Ebay, Facebook marketplace and Carousell (South east Asia region). You can pick up some skill to refurbish all those used items, minimize or repair the worn or damaged parts, change some parts, do some cleaning etc before you sell them at a much higher price. You can also sort and group them in bundle for better packaged price.
You can target at Elderly and those who either have no idea or no time to go through the process on selling used items online. You can buy the used items from them, refurbish them and sell them online. You can also act as an agent, take the picture of the items, record the specification and agree with them on the price, post the items for sale online. You only need to take the items from you receive money from your clients.
Once your business grows, you can consider setting up a thrift store for your expansion project.
Popular second-hand items
Books:
all types of books including textbooks
Clothes:
all types of clothes especially wedding dresses
Electronics:
iPhones, Sony Play station 4, Xbox one game console, secondhand HD TV and laptop.
Exercise or Gym equipment:
Bicycle, indoor cycle, treadmills, multi-press machines and rowing machines
Furniture:
sofas, shelves, tables, chairs, couches and filing cabinets
Musical instruments:
Drums, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboards, pedal, mixer and amplifiers
Sporting goods:
Golf clubs, basketball nets and hoops, tennis rackets, skis and surf boards
Tools & Home care items:
Power drills, power sanders, generators, snow blowers and lawn mowers
Others:
watches, souvenirs, old coins, old clocks etc
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a resale business
How to make easy money selling your old used books on Amazon
Investment
You can use your existing vehicle to carry the used items and allocate some space in your house for temporary storage and sorting purpose before selling them to potential customers.
Marketing
You can sell your items via sites like: Craigslist, close5, Ebay, Facebook marketplace and Carousell (South east Asia region).
Pros
One person’s junk is another person’s treasure. Spend sometimes weekly to browse through the above-mentioned sites to look for items at low prices and learn to identify the saleable and profitable stuffs. The point is you can get pretty good margin for this business
Cons
You need to spend a lot of time to study and look for the right items and you may have to buy some items to keep and sell later, so you need time and space.
7. LOCAL COURIER BUSINESS
Market potential
As more and more people shop online, the demand for courier services is going up with time. According to this report, the global couriers and messengers’ market reached a value of nearly $541.6 billion in 2019, having grown at a compound annual growth rate of 9.3% since 2015, and is expected to grow at 11.1% to nearly $824.9 billion by 2023.
Business nature
Local courier service focuses on providing speedy, often same day delivery for parcels and important documents within the city. You need to decide your targeted customers are densely populated central business district or less populated suburb. You can start off by acting as a delivery agent for some more reputed courier companies and focus on certain locality beyond their standard coverage. Once you familiar with the trade and build up your portfolio and expand your fleet, you can start to run your own full-fledge courier company.
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a courier business
Start your own courier business: step-by-step in just 30 days
How to become a self-employed courier
Investment
The most important tool for this business is vehicle. You must determine which type of vehicle you need for your business model. If you are focusing on densely populated central business district, you can choose bicycle or motorcycle courier. For this model, you only focus on small parcel and important document. For handling of bigger parcel and lesser populated district, you may consider MPV or van courier. If you already have a dependable vehicle and a cell phone, you can start a courier service right away. It is a simple business to start and operate, so you don’t need a lot of money to start up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other courier companies. They will often give their business your way if they get too busy or unable to complete a delivery on a deadline. Advertise your service for free on website and social media or start a referral program.
Pros
This business does not incur any cost other than fuel and vehicle maintenance cost. You just need to invest your time and effort.
Cons
The business involves a lot of traveling on the road, traffic jam under hot sun and in the rain.
8. ERRAND SERVICE BUSINESS
Market potential
In this modern era, most people are caught in the rat race of life, everyone has tight schedule to fulfil and we all find it hard to run errand services for the family, our loved ones and our friends etc. We end up using parts of our working time to run this errand. Another factor is the growing ageing population where the elderly community becomes another customer segment of the errand services as they need someone to help them instead of their friends, neighbor and relatives.
This has created a new opportunity which had turned this errand services industry to a multi-million-dollar business.
Business nature
An errand service is a service aimed at helping those peoples and business who have not much time to complete daily task.
Types of Errand services
Some of the errand services are:
Taking or fetching clothes from the cleaners
Taking mails to the post office or courier office
Filling the car with fuel
Taking sacks of leaves to the compost center
Getting groceries
Running to the bank
Bill payments
Mail sorting and organizing
Arranging appointment
Pet care
Buying their medications
Reading assistance
Pickup and delivery of vehicle for car wash or service
Meal purchase and deliveries
Gift shopping and wrapping
Party or event preparation
Moving services: packing or unpacking
Requirement
You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
Start your own senior concierge service: from start-up to Success in just 30 days
How to start an errand business: Essential start up Tips to boost your errand business success
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time, effort, care and the use of your transport mode.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other errand service providers. They will often give their business your way if they get too busy or unable to complete in time. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media.
Pros
With a little hard work and some compassion for others, you’ll be on your way to be an all-star errand runner. Although there are a number of errand mobile apps available for food delivery, groceries collection etc, but most people do not want to deal with new people (errand runners) everyday, they prefer to get the service from the same errand runner that he feel comfortable with, and the errand runner is familiar with his personal preference. Errand runners generally paid hourly rate instead of task, the market standard is around $25 to $40 and hour depending on country and types of services.
Cons
This business involves doing a lot of odd task here and there and sometime involves a lot of unexpected waiting time. You may just run out of time most of the time. You need to get many ready helpers on hand in time of emergency, of course you pay them accordingly.
9. PARTY AND EVENT PLANNING BUSINESS
Market potential
According to the report, the market size, measured by revenue, of the party and event industry is $4.9 billion in U.S. in 2020.
Business nature
You just need to identify your strength, passion, expertise and experience as which of the below mentioned types of markets are more suitable to you. You need to make a study of the local market to see which market is in demand and profitable with comparatively lesser competition. You need to know how to send invitation, do booking for venue, decoration, selecting caterer, looking for cameraman and videographer, selecting music and DJ, security etc.
There are many different types of markets
- Birthday party
- Business conference
- Christmas party
- Cocktail party
- Farewell party
- Fashion show
- Fundraising party
- Garden party
- Graduation party
- New year party
- Reception party
- Tea party
- Trade show
- Wedding party
- Welcome party
Requirements
You may need a license to operate this business. You need learn the trade and learn the skill, or/and find a team of people with the right expertise and experience to take up the project. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a party and event planning business
Event Planning: Management & Marketing for successful events: Become an event planning pro & create a successful event series
The Art of Event Planning: Pro Tips from an industry Insider
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time and effort for your humble start-up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other event organizer. They will often give their business or part of the project to you if they get too busy or unable to complete in time. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media.
Pros
You will like the business if you enjoy meeting interesting people. You can decide to take big or small project depend on your commitment, manpower and time management. at different places.
Cons
You must learn fast and really perform well and build your brand in order to survive in this market. There are new players coming into the market, so competition is keen. You may need to have other sources of income while waiting for projects to come.
10. HOME TUITION
Market potential
According to the report, amid the Covid-19 crisis, the global market for Private Tutoring estimated at $173.4 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of $279 Billion.
Business nature
You need to decide on your targeted market such as teaching mathematics to high school students, teaching English to undergraduates where English are not their native language, and teach computer to Elderly etc. You can join as a tutor to a local tuition school to get an idea about the ways they run the tuition school, the syllabus, teaching method, experience the real challenges and more importantly get connected to other tutors.
Requirements
Check with your city to find out whether you need a license or permit to run home tuition business. You should have a natural desire to help people, great patient to listen to their questions. You don’t need to let your qualification limit you when it comes to the subjects you tutor in. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resource in next section.
Resources
How to start a Home Tuition Service or Get Home Tutoring Jobs
Tutor and grow Rich! How to make a full time Income Tutoring Part time
How to start a Business as a Private Tutor – Set up a Tutoring Business from Home
Turn tuition into biz: how to put together a tuition business
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time and effort for your humble start-up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and also get to know other tutors or someone who teach people to make full income or some extra income. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media. You can also run online tutoring class concurrently.
Pros
The demand for tutoring is always there as people need to learn to upgrade themselves, student needs to take tuition to improve their grade in school, and elderly need to learn latest technology to fit in to modern lifestyle etc. One good thing is the start-up costs are very minimal.
Cons
You need to be exceptionally patient as you are dealing with all types of people should them be elderly or small children. You are expected to work on non-standard hours, that mean if you are tutoring school student, your working will be evening or weekend when they are not schooling. It will not be cost effective to conduct one to one home tuition class, so you have to find a way to provide group tuition either at your house or one of your student’ house or you have to rent a place for it.
You may be looking for side business to supplement your income, or you prepare to get out of 9 to 5 job and start your own business. Not everyone is technically savvy and there are still many of the people out there prefer brick and mortar business.
Moreover, online business may seem easy and less costly to set up, but it takes a much longer learning time to get your first earning. Focus on your passion, strength, skill and experience will give you a good start and endurance in the long journey of your entrepreneurship.
We have identified 10 best offline business ideas with low investment for you to kick start.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read about our disclosure policy for more information.
1. GENERAL CLEANING SERVICE
Market Potential
There will always be a demand for cleaning services, as most people find cleaning their homes to be stressful and painful. The household cleaners market is estimated to be worth $40.38 billion by the year 2025.
Business nature
The basic scope of work is providing regular Daily cleaning to home and office. The service includes but not limited to clearing the dustbin, sweeping and mopping the floor, vacuum the carpeted floor, clean up the work table, tidy up the pantry, refill the hand soap and toilet paper, wash the toilet bowl and clean the mirror inside the toilet etc. Due to budget or the size of the organization, some customers prefer Periodic cleaning instead of daily cleaning, such as every alternate day of cleaning service or twice per week, some even request on weekly service.
The other type of cleaning is deep cleaning which is referring to more thorough cleaning services that only required weekly or monthly or quarterly. The services include inner window cleaning, toilet sanitization, carpet cleaning, floor mat cleaning, car washing, upholstery cleaning and equipment cleaning etc.
Requirement
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business and the cleaner may need to attend safety rule and regulation class as they are dealing with chemical. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
Free 7 steps of starting a cleaning business
How to start your own house cleaning company: from start-up to payday in one week
Investment
Cleaning services tend to have much lower set-up costs compare to other ventures, this is one of the few businesses which you can get started with little capital, you just need to invest time and work hard to make your first profit.
You need to invest on cleaning equipment such as vacuum cleaner, wringer bucket, various types of mop and squeegee, cloth, spray bottles and various types of cleaning chemical such as detergents, stain remover, degreaser and disinfectant. You need additional manpower which is the main overhead, or you can get another partner to run this business together. You can use your existing vehicle for the mean time before investing on bigger vehicle when business pick up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media. You can set up referral program, build partnership with other businesses such as plumber, house renovator, landscape designer, interior designer and carpenter etc. You can also sign up as the contracted cleaning service provider with company such as tidy.com, turnoverbnb.com
Pros
This type of business can get started with very low investment but with huge return. The operating cost is very minimal other than labor cost. You can slowly improve your skill via on the job training.
Cons
This business is labor-intensive; you must be able to outsource the cleaner or temporary cleaner at time of emergency when someone is taking leave. The scheduling of cleaning job is another challenge issue where you need to plan wisely especially the distance between the customers’ premises in order not to incur unnecessary high fuel expenses.
2. CAR WASH AND AUTO DETAILING SERVICE
Market Potential
According to the report, the global car wash service market size was valued at $33 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.2% from 2019 to 2025. Market growth is attributed to increasing focus of consumers on vehicle maintenance and rising spending power. Busy lifestyle and time constraint have led consumer to opt for car wash service instead of cleaning by own self.
Business nature
There are many different types of car wash business such as self-service, in-bay automatic and exterior-conveyor. For new business start-up with minimum investment, we recommended to start with self-service car wash business.
There are many ways of operating this business. One way of doing it is to rent a vacant car park lot as your car wash center. You can rent another adjacent car park lot when more cars coming in for your service. The other way of doing this business is to team up with the car park operator.
You can put up a banner to offer car wash for the car parked at the car park. You go to the car instead of the car come to you. You only wash the exterior of the car with car shampoo and clean water. You may gradually expand your business to provide additional service like car polish and waxing for car body, lamp, dashboard and tyre.
Requirement
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
The Profitable Auto Detail Shop: How to Start and Run a successful Auto Detailing Business
FREE beginners guide from carwashcountry.com
Start your own Car Wash and More (Entrepreneur Press)
Car wash business 101: the #1 Car wash start-up guide (buzz Glover)
Investment
You do not need to invest in expensive cleaning equipment as most detailing experts will advise you that the safest way to wash your car is hand wash.
The investment for self-service car wash service is very minimal as you only need to invest on cleaning accessories like bucket, sponge, cloth, brush, spray bottles, car shampoo, tyre shine, car polish and wax.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media. You can set up referral program, team up with car park operators. You can also approach companies where you schedule to spend half a day at their premises to wash their directors or managers’ cars.
Pros
This type of business can get started with very low investment but with huge return. The operating cost is very minimal other than labor cost. Even you start with a self-service car wash can give you a very comfortable profit margin.
Cons
This business is labor-intensive; you must be able to outsource the cleaner or temporary cleaner at time of emergency when someone is taking leave. The main setback of this business is that the car washing is often seasonal, as clients tend to get their cars wash more often in winter to remove salt stains, less so on raining days etc.
3. HOME BASED LAUNDRY SERVICE
Market Potential
According to the report, the global dry-cleaning and laundry services market size reached a value of nearly $118.9 billion in 2018, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% since 2014, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.9% to nearly $180 billion by 2022. Many people nowadays are busy with daily chores and errands, and little to no time to do their laundry
Business nature
You can decide whether to do laundry in your home, or/and at public coin-operated laundries, or in your client’s homes. Most of the busy working people do not run their washing machine daily, so you can use your washing machine to provide laundry service for others to make money. You shall take into consideration of time management, electricity and water bill, transportation costs before deciding which is the better option or combination of these options for different scenarios. This consideration will also determine your cleaning rate to be charged to your clients. Most of the busy working people do not run their washing machine daily, so you can use your washing machine to provide laundry service for others to make money.
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in the next section.
Resources
Free 6 steps to starting your own laundry business from home
How to start a home based ironing & laundry business (Kindle unlimited)
How to wash Dry fold your way to $100,000 (kindle)
Investment
You do not need to invest on other expensive laundry equipment other than detergents, bleach, stain remover and fabric softener etc. You can always make use of public laundry service for washing blanket and comforter and dryer service.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
Home based laundry business can be started with very low investment but with huge return. There are not seasonal or weather dependent. This business doesn’t get affected by economic recession as people need to clean clothes regardless of economic factors.
Cons
You may need to invest more washing machines as business picking up. Your margin will be much lesser if you utilize the other laundry machine from commercial laundry shop.
4. RECYCLING BUSINESS
Market Potential
Contrary to some recent articles proclaiming that the recycling industry is struggling, the recycling industry continues to be an enormous economic driver in the United States. According to this report, recycling is a $100 billion industry that employs half a million people in the United States.
Business nature
A lot of the recycling businesses are low-capital, high returns, but require prior knowledge of where to locate your company, how to collect the waste and where to sell them. You can buy the used items from the clients and sell to scrapyards or/and other interested buyers to earn the differences in price. Once your volume picks up, you can ask for better price from the scrapyard. You can also venture into reuse market where you modify, repair and repurpose the old items to sell as reconditioned or refurbished items.
Types of profitable items that can be recycled
Aluminium can be found from drink cans and aerosol containers. They are generally designed to be used once and thrown away Aluminium is one of the easiest metals to be recycled and it can be recycled over and over again. Aluminium can turn into a new can and back on store within 60 days. The report from world aluminium shows that 70% of aluminium beverage cans in use has been obtained from recycling old aluminium. These empty cans can earn you a good deal of money from beverage and aerosol manufacturing companies.
Car batteries contain certain electrolytic chemicals which can be re-modelled to obtain pure electrolytes.
Recycling of Printer ink cartridges is another big market to go for. The report from Evolve recycling shows that over 300 million inkjet cartridges and 70 million laser cartridges are sold in the U.S. annually. You can consider starting a business that provides toner and ink refilling to save consumers money and protect the environment.
Electronics such as laptops, personal computers, printers, washing machines and mobile phones have components and parts that can be recycled.
Books and paper printable can be recycled to make into low-quality magazine paper.
Fluorescent tubes and light bulbs can be recycled and modified to make into recycled light bulbs.
Plastic bottles for drinking water can be recycled and make into T-shirts, sweaters, sleeping bags and carpets etc.
Some other items that can also be recycled are cooking oil, electrical wire and tyre etc.
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
Hustling for cash money with metal recycling (kindle)
Investment
You can use your existing vehicle to carry the recycled items and allocate some space in your house for temporary storage and sorting purpose before sending the items to scrapyard or other interested buyers.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
You do not have to invest in equipment and purchase goods to resell like most other businesses. Most of the people are so happy to see someone come to help them clearing their unwanted stuffs and they don’t really bother so much about the price of the junk. So, you actually run a business with very little cost other than your time and hard work, the biggest expenses will be your fuel cost.
Cons
You must be prepared to deal with dirt, greasy, oily, bad smell items not only on you, your vehicle and your little temporary storage area in your house. You just must be equipped with safety gear, wear facemask and glove and try to sort and send the items to scrapyard as soon as possible.
5. HANDYMAN BUSINESS
Market potential
Due to global slowdown of economy, people are finding it really hard to land high paying jobs. Homeowners are not keen on buying new houses to replace the existing houses. They will go for renovation and repair over buying a new property. This has increased the demand of handyman services.
According to the report from Harvard, almost 80% of America’s 137 million homes are said to be at least 20 years old and 40% are at least 50 years old. Given that households age 55 and over not only have higher homeownership rates, but many also have the resources to pay for the renovations and replacements. The report from iProperty Management shows that Home improvement sales are estimated to hit $680 billion in 2025.
Business nature
First, you have to identify the scope of work you have knowledge and capable of doing. You can gradually increase your scope of work by learning new skill. You can form a team with other handymen for different types of work. You can always start this business from your neighborhood, to provide quick service for small work. People are more willing to pay a little more for quick solution to their problem, and people prefer to deal with familiar faces rather than dealing with new faces all the time.
Types of Handyman work scopes include by not limited to the followings
Adding or replacing appliances
Carpeting
Chimney
Detached garage
Electrical wiring
Fencing or walls
Flooring
HVAC
Insulation
Landscaping or sprinkler system
Painting
Plumbing fixtures
Water heaters
Security systems
Roofing, ceiling tiles
Swimming pools
Windows and doors
Requirement
You need to apply for necessary business license and insurance coverage to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a Handyman business: A step-by-step guide
How to start a Handyman business: Expert shares his secrets
The complete Do-it-Yourself Manual Newly updated (kindle)
How to start a Home-based Handyman Business: Turn your skills into cash
Building your successful Handyman Business: A guide to starting and operating a profitable contracting business (Kindle)
Investment
Depending on the type of handyman work that you want to start with, some involves higher investment of tools, equipment and materials while some are lesser. If you are currently carrying out the similar types of maintenance work for your house, you are most likely already have all the necessary tools and equipment. You can use your existing vehicle as your working vehicle.
Marketing
It is always difficult to canvas for business when you are the newbie in the market. You can list your service at third party service providers such as Handy, Jiffy and Angie’s List just to name a few. You just need to work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
Americans love to watch home improvement TV shows but most of them do not have time and knowledge to undertake certain renovation tasks by themselves. If you are good at Handyman work, you just treat it as maintaining your own house. Moreover, you can learn new skill from online sources like YouTube and Google. Just start from your neighborhood and take up some job and start from there, the word of mouth will spread fast if you provide good service.
Cons
You may need to get some assistants or team up with another handyman doing the same work as you. This is because you cannot attend to more customers at the same time, it is so often that most of the house problem need urgent and immediate solution such as water pipe leaking and no power supply etc.
6. SECOND-HAND BUSINESS
Market potential
The market for bargains is booming, fueled by the economy and ease of purchase online. According to the survey, a third of consumers are buying more second-hand items than they were 12 months ago and more women are happy to look for vintage or used items than men. The main reason for shopping second-hand is saving money, reducing waste and support charity.
Business nature
You can buy and sell via sites like: Craigslist, close5, Ebay, Facebook marketplace and Carousell (South east Asia region). You can pick up some skill to refurbish all those used items, minimize or repair the worn or damaged parts, change some parts, do some cleaning etc before you sell them at a much higher price. You can also sort and group them in bundle for better packaged price.
You can target at Elderly and those who either have no idea or no time to go through the process on selling used items online. You can buy the used items from them, refurbish them and sell them online. You can also act as an agent, take the picture of the items, record the specification and agree with them on the price, post the items for sale online. You only need to take the items from you receive money from your clients.
Once your business grows, you can consider setting up a thrift store for your expansion project.
Popular second-hand items
Books:
all types of books including textbooks
Clothes:
all types of clothes especially wedding dresses
Electronics:
iPhones, Sony Play station 4, Xbox one game console, secondhand HD TV and laptop.
Exercise or Gym equipment:
Bicycle, indoor cycle, treadmills, multi-press machines and rowing machines
Furniture:
sofas, shelves, tables, chairs, couches and filing cabinets
Musical instruments:
Drums, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboards, pedal, mixer and amplifiers
Sporting goods:
Golf clubs, basketball nets and hoops, tennis rackets, skis and surf boards
Tools & Home care items:
Power drills, power sanders, generators, snow blowers and lawn mowers
Others:
watches, souvenirs, old coins, old clocks etc
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a resale business
How to make easy money selling your old used books on Amazon
Investment
You can use your existing vehicle to carry the used items and allocate some space in your house for temporary storage and sorting purpose before selling them to potential customers.
Marketing
You can sell your items via sites like: Craigslist, close5, Ebay, Facebook marketplace and Carousell (South east Asia region).
Pros
One person’s junk is another person’s treasure. Spend sometimes weekly to browse through the above-mentioned sites to look for items at low prices and learn to identify the saleable and profitable stuffs. The point is you can get pretty good margin for this business
Cons
You need to spend a lot of time to study and look for the right items and you may have to buy some items to keep and sell later, so you need time and space.
7. LOCAL COURIER BUSINESS
Market potential
As more and more people shop online, the demand for courier services is going up with time. According to this report, the global couriers and messengers’ market reached a value of nearly $541.6 billion in 2019, having grown at a compound annual growth rate of 9.3% since 2015, and is expected to grow at 11.1% to nearly $824.9 billion by 2023.
Business nature
Local courier service focuses on providing speedy, often same day delivery for parcels and important documents within the city. You need to decide your targeted customers are densely populated central business district or less populated suburb. You can start off by acting as a delivery agent for some more reputed courier companies and focus on certain locality beyond their standard coverage. Once you familiar with the trade and build up your portfolio and expand your fleet, you can start to run your own full-fledge courier company.
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a courier business
Start your own courier business: step-by-step in just 30 days
How to become a self-employed courier
Investment
The most important tool for this business is vehicle. You must determine which type of vehicle you need for your business model. If you are focusing on densely populated central business district, you can choose bicycle or motorcycle courier. For this model, you only focus on small parcel and important document. For handling of bigger parcel and lesser populated district, you may consider MPV or van courier. If you already have a dependable vehicle and a cell phone, you can start a courier service right away. It is a simple business to start and operate, so you don’t need a lot of money to start up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other courier companies. They will often give their business your way if they get too busy or unable to complete a delivery on a deadline. Advertise your service for free on website and social media or start a referral program.
Pros
This business does not incur any cost other than fuel and vehicle maintenance cost. You just need to invest your time and effort.
Cons
The business involves a lot of traveling on the road, traffic jam under hot sun and in the rain.
8. ERRAND SERVICE BUSINESS
Market potential
In this modern era, most people are caught in the rat race of life, everyone has tight schedule to fulfil and we all find it hard to run errand services for the family, our loved ones and our friends etc. We end up using parts of our working time to run this errand. Another factor is the growing ageing population where the elderly community becomes another customer segment of the errand services as they need someone to help them instead of their friends, neighbor and relatives.
This has created a new opportunity which had turned this errand services industry to a multi-million-dollar business.
Business nature
An errand service is a service aimed at helping those peoples and business who have not much time to complete daily task.
Types of Errand services
Some of the errand services are:
Taking or fetching clothes from the cleaners
Taking mails to the post office or courier office
Filling the car with fuel
Taking sacks of leaves to the compost center
Getting groceries
Running to the bank
Bill payments
Mail sorting and organizing
Arranging appointment
Pet care
Buying their medications
Reading assistance
Pickup and delivery of vehicle for car wash or service
Meal purchase and deliveries
Gift shopping and wrapping
Party or event preparation
Moving services: packing or unpacking
Requirement
You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
Start your own senior concierge service: from start-up to Success in just 30 days
How to start an errand business: Essential start up Tips to boost your errand business success
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time, effort, care and the use of your transport mode.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other errand service providers. They will often give their business your way if they get too busy or unable to complete in time. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media.
Pros
With a little hard work and some compassion for others, you’ll be on your way to be an all-star errand runner. Although there are a number of errand mobile apps available for food delivery, groceries collection etc, but most people do not want to deal with new people (errand runners) everyday, they prefer to get the service from the same errand runner that he feel comfortable with, and the errand runner is familiar with his personal preference. Errand runners generally paid hourly rate instead of task, the market standard is around $25 to $40 and hour depending on country and types of services.
Cons
This business involves doing a lot of odd task here and there and sometime involves a lot of unexpected waiting time. You may just run out of time most of the time. You need to get many ready helpers on hand in time of emergency, of course you pay them accordingly.
9. PARTY AND EVENT PLANNING BUSINESS
Market potential
According to the report, the market size, measured by revenue, of the party and event industry is $4.9 billion in U.S. in 2020.
Business nature
You just need to identify your strength, passion, expertise and experience as which of the below mentioned types of markets are more suitable to you. You need to make a study of the local market to see which market is in demand and profitable with comparatively lesser competition. You need to know how to send invitation, do booking for venue, decoration, selecting caterer, looking for cameraman and videographer, selecting music and DJ, security etc.
There are many different types of markets
- Birthday party
- Business conference
- Christmas party
- Cocktail party
- Farewell party
- Fashion show
- Fundraising party
- Garden party
- Graduation party
- New year party
- Reception party
- Tea party
- Trade show
- Wedding party
- Welcome party
Requirements
You may need a license to operate this business. You need learn the trade and learn the skill, or/and find a team of people with the right expertise and experience to take up the project. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a party and event planning business
Event Planning: Management & Marketing for successful events: Become an event planning pro & create a successful event series
The Art of Event Planning: Pro Tips from an industry Insider
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time and effort for your humble start-up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other event organizer. They will often give their business or part of the project to you if they get too busy or unable to complete in time. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media.
Pros
You will like the business if you enjoy meeting interesting people. You can decide to take big or small project depend on your commitment, manpower and time management. at different places.
Cons
You must learn fast and really perform well and build your brand in order to survive in this market. There are new players coming into the market, so competition is keen. You may need to have other sources of income while waiting for projects to come.
10. HOME TUITION
Market potential
According to the report, amid the Covid-19 crisis, the global market for Private Tutoring estimated at $173.4 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of $279 Billion.
Business nature
You need to decide on your targeted market such as teaching mathematics to high school students, teaching English to undergraduates where English are not their native language, and teach computer to Elderly etc. You can join as a tutor to a local tuition school to get an idea about the ways they run the tuition school, the syllabus, teaching method, experience the real challenges and more importantly get connected to other tutors.
Requirements
Check with your city to find out whether you need a license or permit to run home tuition business. You should have a natural desire to help people, great patient to listen to their questions. You don’t need to let your qualification limit you when it comes to the subjects you tutor in. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resource in next section.
Resources
How to start a Home Tuition Service or Get Home Tutoring Jobs
Tutor and grow Rich! How to make a full time Income Tutoring Part time
How to start a Business as a Private Tutor – Set up a Tutoring Business from Home
Turn tuition into biz: how to put together a tuition business
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time and effort for your humble start-up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and also get to know other tutors or someone who teach people to make full income or some extra income. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media. You can also run online tutoring class concurrently.
Pros
The demand for tutoring is always there as people need to learn to upgrade themselves, student needs to take tuition to improve their grade in school, and elderly need to learn latest technology to fit in to modern lifestyle etc. One good thing is the start-up costs are very minimal.
Cons
You need to be exceptionally patient as you are dealing with all types of people should them be elderly or small children. You are expected to work on non-standard hours, that mean if you are tutoring school student, your working will be evening or weekend when they are not schooling. It will not be cost effective to conduct one to one home tuition class, so you have to find a way to provide group tuition either at your house or one of your student’ house or you have to rent a place for it.
You may be looking for side business to supplement your income, or you prepare to get out of 9 to 5 job and start your own business. Not everyone is technically savvy and there are still many of the people out there prefer brick and mortar business.
Moreover, online business may seem easy and less costly to set up, but it takes a much longer learning time to get your first earning. Focus on your passion, strength, skill and experience will give you a good start and endurance in the long journey of your entrepreneurship.
We have identified 10 best offline business ideas with low investment for you to kick start.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read about our disclosure policy for more information.
1. GENERAL CLEANING SERVICE
Market Potential
There will always be a demand for cleaning services, as most people find cleaning their homes to be stressful and painful. The household cleaners market is estimated to be worth $40.38 billion by the year 2025.
Business nature
The basic scope of work is providing regular Daily cleaning to home and office. The service includes but not limited to clearing the dustbin, sweeping and mopping the floor, vacuum the carpeted floor, clean up the work table, tidy up the pantry, refill the hand soap and toilet paper, wash the toilet bowl and clean the mirror inside the toilet etc. Due to budget or the size of the organization, some customers prefer Periodic cleaning instead of daily cleaning, such as every alternate day of cleaning service or twice per week, some even request on weekly service.
The other type of cleaning is deep cleaning which is referring to more thorough cleaning services that only required weekly or monthly or quarterly. The services include inner window cleaning, toilet sanitization, carpet cleaning, floor mat cleaning, car washing, upholstery cleaning and equipment cleaning etc.
Requirement
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business and the cleaner may need to attend safety rule and regulation class as they are dealing with chemical. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
Free 7 steps of starting a cleaning business
How to start your own house cleaning company: from start-up to payday in one week
Investment
Cleaning services tend to have much lower set-up costs compare to other ventures, this is one of the few businesses which you can get started with little capital, you just need to invest time and work hard to make your first profit.
You need to invest on cleaning equipment such as vacuum cleaner, wringer bucket, various types of mop and squeegee, cloth, spray bottles and various types of cleaning chemical such as detergents, stain remover, degreaser and disinfectant. You need additional manpower which is the main overhead, or you can get another partner to run this business together. You can use your existing vehicle for the mean time before investing on bigger vehicle when business pick up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media. You can set up referral program, build partnership with other businesses such as plumber, house renovator, landscape designer, interior designer and carpenter etc. You can also sign up as the contracted cleaning service provider with company such as tidy.com, turnoverbnb.com
Pros
This type of business can get started with very low investment but with huge return. The operating cost is very minimal other than labor cost. You can slowly improve your skill via on the job training.
Cons
This business is labor-intensive; you must be able to outsource the cleaner or temporary cleaner at time of emergency when someone is taking leave. The scheduling of cleaning job is another challenge issue where you need to plan wisely especially the distance between the customers’ premises in order not to incur unnecessary high fuel expenses.
2. CAR WASH AND AUTO DETAILING SERVICE
Market Potential
According to the report, the global car wash service market size was valued at $33 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.2% from 2019 to 2025. Market growth is attributed to increasing focus of consumers on vehicle maintenance and rising spending power. Busy lifestyle and time constraint have led consumer to opt for car wash service instead of cleaning by own self.
Business nature
There are many different types of car wash business such as self-service, in-bay automatic and exterior-conveyor. For new business start-up with minimum investment, we recommended to start with self-service car wash business.
There are many ways of operating this business. One way of doing it is to rent a vacant car park lot as your car wash center. You can rent another adjacent car park lot when more cars coming in for your service. The other way of doing this business is to team up with the car park operator.
You can put up a banner to offer car wash for the car parked at the car park. You go to the car instead of the car come to you. You only wash the exterior of the car with car shampoo and clean water. You may gradually expand your business to provide additional service like car polish and waxing for car body, lamp, dashboard and tyre.
Requirement
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
The Profitable Auto Detail Shop: How to Start and Run a successful Auto Detailing Business
FREE beginners guide from carwashcountry.com
Start your own Car Wash and More (Entrepreneur Press)
Car wash business 101: the #1 Car wash start-up guide (buzz Glover)
Investment
You do not need to invest in expensive cleaning equipment as most detailing experts will advise you that the safest way to wash your car is hand wash.
The investment for self-service car wash service is very minimal as you only need to invest on cleaning accessories like bucket, sponge, cloth, brush, spray bottles, car shampoo, tyre shine, car polish and wax.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media. You can set up referral program, team up with car park operators. You can also approach companies where you schedule to spend half a day at their premises to wash their directors or managers’ cars.
Pros
This type of business can get started with very low investment but with huge return. The operating cost is very minimal other than labor cost. Even you start with a self-service car wash can give you a very comfortable profit margin.
Cons
This business is labor-intensive; you must be able to outsource the cleaner or temporary cleaner at time of emergency when someone is taking leave. The main setback of this business is that the car washing is often seasonal, as clients tend to get their cars wash more often in winter to remove salt stains, less so on raining days etc.
3. HOME BASED LAUNDRY SERVICE
Market Potential
According to the report, the global dry-cleaning and laundry services market size reached a value of nearly $118.9 billion in 2018, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% since 2014, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.9% to nearly $180 billion by 2022. Many people nowadays are busy with daily chores and errands, and little to no time to do their laundry
Business nature
You can decide whether to do laundry in your home, or/and at public coin-operated laundries, or in your client’s homes. Most of the busy working people do not run their washing machine daily, so you can use your washing machine to provide laundry service for others to make money. You shall take into consideration of time management, electricity and water bill, transportation costs before deciding which is the better option or combination of these options for different scenarios. This consideration will also determine your cleaning rate to be charged to your clients. Most of the busy working people do not run their washing machine daily, so you can use your washing machine to provide laundry service for others to make money.
Formal training or certifications are not really required for typical home and office cleaning. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in the next section.
Resources
Free 6 steps to starting your own laundry business from home
How to start a home based ironing & laundry business (Kindle unlimited)
How to wash Dry fold your way to $100,000 (kindle)
Investment
You do not need to invest on other expensive laundry equipment other than detergents, bleach, stain remover and fabric softener etc. You can always make use of public laundry service for washing blanket and comforter and dryer service.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
Home based laundry business can be started with very low investment but with huge return. There are not seasonal or weather dependent. This business doesn’t get affected by economic recession as people need to clean clothes regardless of economic factors.
Cons
You may need to invest more washing machines as business picking up. Your margin will be much lesser if you utilize the other laundry machine from commercial laundry shop.
4. RECYCLING BUSINESS
Market Potential
Contrary to some recent articles proclaiming that the recycling industry is struggling, the recycling industry continues to be an enormous economic driver in the United States. According to this report, recycling is a $100 billion industry that employs half a million people in the United States.
Business nature
A lot of the recycling businesses are low-capital, high returns, but require prior knowledge of where to locate your company, how to collect the waste and where to sell them. You can buy the used items from the clients and sell to scrapyards or/and other interested buyers to earn the differences in price. Once your volume picks up, you can ask for better price from the scrapyard. You can also venture into reuse market where you modify, repair and repurpose the old items to sell as reconditioned or refurbished items.
Types of profitable items that can be recycled
Aluminium can be found from drink cans and aerosol containers. They are generally designed to be used once and thrown away Aluminium is one of the easiest metals to be recycled and it can be recycled over and over again. Aluminium can turn into a new can and back on store within 60 days. The report from world aluminium shows that 70% of aluminium beverage cans in use has been obtained from recycling old aluminium. These empty cans can earn you a good deal of money from beverage and aerosol manufacturing companies.
Car batteries contain certain electrolytic chemicals which can be re-modelled to obtain pure electrolytes.
Recycling of Printer ink cartridges is another big market to go for. The report from Evolve recycling shows that over 300 million inkjet cartridges and 70 million laser cartridges are sold in the U.S. annually. You can consider starting a business that provides toner and ink refilling to save consumers money and protect the environment.
Electronics such as laptops, personal computers, printers, washing machines and mobile phones have components and parts that can be recycled.
Books and paper printable can be recycled to make into low-quality magazine paper.
Fluorescent tubes and light bulbs can be recycled and modified to make into recycled light bulbs.
Plastic bottles for drinking water can be recycled and make into T-shirts, sweaters, sleeping bags and carpets etc.
Some other items that can also be recycled are cooking oil, electrical wire and tyre etc.
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in the next section.
Resources
Hustling for cash money with metal recycling (kindle)
Investment
You can use your existing vehicle to carry the recycled items and allocate some space in your house for temporary storage and sorting purpose before sending the items to scrapyard or other interested buyers.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection; you just must work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
You do not have to invest in equipment and purchase goods to resell like most other businesses. Most of the people are so happy to see someone come to help them clearing their unwanted stuffs and they don’t really bother so much about the price of the junk. So, you actually run a business with very little cost other than your time and hard work, the biggest expenses will be your fuel cost.
Cons
You must be prepared to deal with dirt, greasy, oily, bad smell items not only on you, your vehicle and your little temporary storage area in your house. You just must be equipped with safety gear, wear facemask and glove and try to sort and send the items to scrapyard as soon as possible.
5. HANDYMAN BUSINESS
Market potential
Due to global slowdown of economy, people are finding it really hard to land high paying jobs. Homeowners are not keen on buying new houses to replace the existing houses. They will go for renovation and repair over buying a new property. This has increased the demand of handyman services.
According to the report from Harvard, almost 80% of America’s 137 million homes are said to be at least 20 years old and 40% are at least 50 years old. Given that households age 55 and over not only have higher homeownership rates, but many also have the resources to pay for the renovations and replacements. The report from iProperty Management shows that Home improvement sales are estimated to hit $680 billion in 2025.
Business nature
First, you have to identify the scope of work you have knowledge and capable of doing. You can gradually increase your scope of work by learning new skill. You can form a team with other handymen for different types of work. You can always start this business from your neighborhood, to provide quick service for small work. People are more willing to pay a little more for quick solution to their problem, and people prefer to deal with familiar faces rather than dealing with new faces all the time.
Types of Handyman work scopes include by not limited to the followings
Adding or replacing appliances
Carpeting
Chimney
Detached garage
Electrical wiring
Fencing or walls
Flooring
HVAC
Insulation
Landscaping or sprinkler system
Painting
Plumbing fixtures
Water heaters
Security systems
Roofing, ceiling tiles
Swimming pools
Windows and doors
Requirement
You need to apply for necessary business license and insurance coverage to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a Handyman business: A step-by-step guide
How to start a Handyman business: Expert shares his secrets
The complete Do-it-Yourself Manual Newly updated (kindle)
How to start a Home-based Handyman Business: Turn your skills into cash
Building your successful Handyman Business: A guide to starting and operating a profitable contracting business (Kindle)
Investment
Depending on the type of handyman work that you want to start with, some involves higher investment of tools, equipment and materials while some are lesser. If you are currently carrying out the similar types of maintenance work for your house, you are most likely already have all the necessary tools and equipment. You can use your existing vehicle as your working vehicle.
Marketing
It is always difficult to canvas for business when you are the newbie in the market. You can list your service at third party service providers such as Handy, Jiffy and Angie’s List just to name a few. You just need to work hard and provide good service to the clients. You can then build your portfolio and obtain clients’ testimonial and promote with your website and social media.
Pros
Americans love to watch home improvement TV shows but most of them do not have time and knowledge to undertake certain renovation tasks by themselves. If you are good at Handyman work, you just treat it as maintaining your own house. Moreover, you can learn new skill from online sources like YouTube and Google. Just start from your neighborhood and take up some job and start from there, the word of mouth will spread fast if you provide good service.
Cons
You may need to get some assistants or team up with another handyman doing the same work as you. This is because you cannot attend to more customers at the same time, it is so often that most of the house problem need urgent and immediate solution such as water pipe leaking and no power supply etc.
6. SECOND-HAND BUSINESS
Market potential
The market for bargains is booming, fueled by the economy and ease of purchase online. According to the survey, a third of consumers are buying more second-hand items than they were 12 months ago and more women are happy to look for vintage or used items than men. The main reason for shopping second-hand is saving money, reducing waste and support charity.
Business nature
You can buy and sell via sites like: Craigslist, close5, Ebay, Facebook marketplace and Carousell (South east Asia region). You can pick up some skill to refurbish all those used items, minimize or repair the worn or damaged parts, change some parts, do some cleaning etc before you sell them at a much higher price. You can also sort and group them in bundle for better packaged price.
You can target at Elderly and those who either have no idea or no time to go through the process on selling used items online. You can buy the used items from them, refurbish them and sell them online. You can also act as an agent, take the picture of the items, record the specification and agree with them on the price, post the items for sale online. You only need to take the items from you receive money from your clients.
Once your business grows, you can consider setting up a thrift store for your expansion project.
Popular second-hand items
Books:
all types of books including textbooks
Clothes:
all types of clothes especially wedding dresses
Electronics:
iPhones, Sony Play station 4, Xbox one game console, secondhand HD TV and laptop.
Exercise or Gym equipment:
Bicycle, indoor cycle, treadmills, multi-press machines and rowing machines
Furniture:
sofas, shelves, tables, chairs, couches and filing cabinets
Musical instruments:
Drums, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboards, pedal, mixer and amplifiers
Sporting goods:
Golf clubs, basketball nets and hoops, tennis rackets, skis and surf boards
Tools & Home care items:
Power drills, power sanders, generators, snow blowers and lawn mowers
Others:
watches, souvenirs, old coins, old clocks etc
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from the resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a resale business
How to make easy money selling your old used books on Amazon
Investment
You can use your existing vehicle to carry the used items and allocate some space in your house for temporary storage and sorting purpose before selling them to potential customers.
Marketing
You can sell your items via sites like: Craigslist, close5, Ebay, Facebook marketplace and Carousell (South east Asia region).
Pros
One person’s junk is another person’s treasure. Spend sometimes weekly to browse through the above-mentioned sites to look for items at low prices and learn to identify the saleable and profitable stuffs. The point is you can get pretty good margin for this business
Cons
You need to spend a lot of time to study and look for the right items and you may have to buy some items to keep and sell later, so you need time and space.
7. LOCAL COURIER BUSINESS
Market potential
As more and more people shop online, the demand for courier services is going up with time. According to this report, the global couriers and messengers’ market reached a value of nearly $541.6 billion in 2019, having grown at a compound annual growth rate of 9.3% since 2015, and is expected to grow at 11.1% to nearly $824.9 billion by 2023.
Business nature
Local courier service focuses on providing speedy, often same day delivery for parcels and important documents within the city. You need to decide your targeted customers are densely populated central business district or less populated suburb. You can start off by acting as a delivery agent for some more reputed courier companies and focus on certain locality beyond their standard coverage. Once you familiar with the trade and build up your portfolio and expand your fleet, you can start to run your own full-fledge courier company.
Requirement
You may need to apply for necessary business license to operate this business. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a courier business
Start your own courier business: step-by-step in just 30 days
How to become a self-employed courier
Investment
The most important tool for this business is vehicle. You must determine which type of vehicle you need for your business model. If you are focusing on densely populated central business district, you can choose bicycle or motorcycle courier. For this model, you only focus on small parcel and important document. For handling of bigger parcel and lesser populated district, you may consider MPV or van courier. If you already have a dependable vehicle and a cell phone, you can start a courier service right away. It is a simple business to start and operate, so you don’t need a lot of money to start up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other courier companies. They will often give their business your way if they get too busy or unable to complete a delivery on a deadline. Advertise your service for free on website and social media or start a referral program.
Pros
This business does not incur any cost other than fuel and vehicle maintenance cost. You just need to invest your time and effort.
Cons
The business involves a lot of traveling on the road, traffic jam under hot sun and in the rain.
8. ERRAND SERVICE BUSINESS
Market potential
In this modern era, most people are caught in the rat race of life, everyone has tight schedule to fulfil and we all find it hard to run errand services for the family, our loved ones and our friends etc. We end up using parts of our working time to run this errand. Another factor is the growing ageing population where the elderly community becomes another customer segment of the errand services as they need someone to help them instead of their friends, neighbor and relatives.
This has created a new opportunity which had turned this errand services industry to a multi-million-dollar business.
Business nature
An errand service is a service aimed at helping those peoples and business who have not much time to complete daily task.
Types of Errand services
Some of the errand services are:
Taking or fetching clothes from the cleaners
Taking mails to the post office or courier office
Filling the car with fuel
Taking sacks of leaves to the compost center
Getting groceries
Running to the bank
Bill payments
Mail sorting and organizing
Arranging appointment
Pet care
Buying their medications
Reading assistance
Pickup and delivery of vehicle for car wash or service
Meal purchase and deliveries
Gift shopping and wrapping
Party or event preparation
Moving services: packing or unpacking
Requirement
You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
Start your own senior concierge service: from start-up to Success in just 30 days
How to start an errand business: Essential start up Tips to boost your errand business success
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time, effort, care and the use of your transport mode.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other errand service providers. They will often give their business your way if they get too busy or unable to complete in time. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media.
Pros
With a little hard work and some compassion for others, you’ll be on your way to be an all-star errand runner. Although there are a number of errand mobile apps available for food delivery, groceries collection etc, but most people do not want to deal with new people (errand runners) everyday, they prefer to get the service from the same errand runner that he feel comfortable with, and the errand runner is familiar with his personal preference. Errand runners generally paid hourly rate instead of task, the market standard is around $25 to $40 and hour depending on country and types of services.
Cons
This business involves doing a lot of odd task here and there and sometime involves a lot of unexpected waiting time. You may just run out of time most of the time. You need to get many ready helpers on hand in time of emergency, of course you pay them accordingly.
9. PARTY AND EVENT PLANNING BUSINESS
Market potential
According to the report, the market size, measured by revenue, of the party and event industry is $4.9 billion in U.S. in 2020.
Business nature
You just need to identify your strength, passion, expertise and experience as which of the below mentioned types of markets are more suitable to you. You need to make a study of the local market to see which market is in demand and profitable with comparatively lesser competition. You need to know how to send invitation, do booking for venue, decoration, selecting caterer, looking for cameraman and videographer, selecting music and DJ, security etc.
There are many different types of markets
- Birthday party
- Business conference
- Christmas party
- Cocktail party
- Farewell party
- Fashion show
- Fundraising party
- Garden party
- Graduation party
- New year party
- Reception party
- Tea party
- Trade show
- Wedding party
- Welcome party
Requirements
You may need a license to operate this business. You need learn the trade and learn the skill, or/and find a team of people with the right expertise and experience to take up the project. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resources in next section.
Resources
How to start a party and event planning business
Event Planning: Management & Marketing for successful events: Become an event planning pro & create a successful event series
The Art of Event Planning: Pro Tips from an industry Insider
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time and effort for your humble start-up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and get to know other event organizer. They will often give their business or part of the project to you if they get too busy or unable to complete in time. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media.
Pros
You will like the business if you enjoy meeting interesting people. You can decide to take big or small project depend on your commitment, manpower and time management. at different places.
Cons
You must learn fast and really perform well and build your brand in order to survive in this market. There are new players coming into the market, so competition is keen. You may need to have other sources of income while waiting for projects to come.
10. HOME TUITION
Market potential
According to the report, amid the Covid-19 crisis, the global market for Private Tutoring estimated at $173.4 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of $279 Billion.
Business nature
You need to decide on your targeted market such as teaching mathematics to high school students, teaching English to undergraduates where English are not their native language, and teach computer to Elderly etc. You can join as a tutor to a local tuition school to get an idea about the ways they run the tuition school, the syllabus, teaching method, experience the real challenges and more importantly get connected to other tutors.
Requirements
Check with your city to find out whether you need a license or permit to run home tuition business. You should have a natural desire to help people, great patient to listen to their questions. You don’t need to let your qualification limit you when it comes to the subjects you tutor in. You can learn more about the necessary steps required for this from resource in next section.
Resources
How to start a Home Tuition Service or Get Home Tutoring Jobs
Tutor and grow Rich! How to make a full time Income Tutoring Part time
How to start a Business as a Private Tutor – Set up a Tutoring Business from Home
Turn tuition into biz: how to put together a tuition business
Investment
You only need your knowledge, time and effort for your humble start-up.
Marketing
It is reasonably fine to start the business with no connection, go out and introduce your service to people in your local networking group and also get to know other tutors or someone who teach people to make full income or some extra income. Create a website and submit to local directories (yelp, etc) and promote via social media. You can also run online tutoring class concurrently.
Pros
The demand for tutoring is always there as people need to learn to upgrade themselves, student needs to take tuition to improve their grade in school, and elderly need to learn latest technology to fit in to modern lifestyle etc. One good thing is the start-up costs are very minimal.
Cons
You need to be exceptionally patient as you are dealing with all types of people should them be elderly or small children. You are expected to work on non-standard hours, that mean if you are tutoring school student, your working will be evening or weekend when they are not schooling. It will not be cost effective to conduct one to one home tuition class, so you have to find a way to provide group tuition either at your house or one of your student’ house or you have to rent a place for it.