Sunday, July 17, 2011

20 Best Small Business Ideas for 2011

Welcome to 2011!  A new year with new small business ideas and opportunities.  The year 2011 is both similar and different from 2010 in terms of small business ideas.  Different because the year 2010 began under the highlights of recession whereas 2011 has begun with the bang of the biggest ever holiday shopping season.  Similar because a lot of trends and small business ideas from 2010 will continue to exist and even gain strength in 2011.
The trends that one should look at while deciding to start a small business in 2011 are:

* Increase in consumer spending as reflected by the 2010 holiday season sales; the focus is on buying socially, discounted and personalized.
* Aging population.
* Retirements, but only partially; people who retire continue to work, at least part-time.
* Focus on health and fitness.
* Increase in travel as people move across cities in search of work and small business opportunities.
* Home and personal luxury; people are again ready to invest in home improvement, making their homes green and for their lifestyle, beauty and relaxation.

Technologies such as smartphones, iPads and other tablet PCs, increased use of video on the web etc. are becoming mainstream.

Here are some of the best small business ideas for 2011 that one should consider if thinking of starting a small business.

Hiring and Retiring Businesses

1. Employment Screening Service – With the increase in hiring and companies looking to hire people with proven skills and clean backgrounds, one can easily start a profitable employee screening service and help companies with background checks.

2. Plan Retirement – People who retire need advice in terms of managing their finances, savings and contingency planning. With lots of people retiring, a Retirement Planning business can be an ideal opportunity for someone who is good at managing personal finances.

3. Help Buying a Franchise – Franchises are an attractive business for those who can invest. After retirement, people with savings look for investing in business and getting a franchise business is one of the common options. Buying a franchise brings people a level of comfort because of the existing brand value of the business and a successful business model. However, it is a real task to find the right way in the maze of hundreds of franchise options available in the market and this is where people need a Franchise consultant.

4. Staffing Service – A traditional but still applicable business is starting a staffing service. As companies grow in 2011 and their aging staff retires, they will need manpower to accommodate growth and fill in vacancies. Starting a staffing service could be a great idea for someone with knowledge of human resources.

Senior Services

5. Senior Care – The senior market is booming and one of the most important thing they need is care. Senior care, sometimes also called assisted living, is one of the biggest opportunities. Since seniors need help with almost everything in their daily routine right from shopping to cooking food, it is good business opportunity for someone who loves to work with seniors.

6. Senior Training – While a lot of seniors choose to relax their are some who want to get back to work post retirement. With dynamic business requirements, it becomes difficult for them to keep up with the new advances in business technologies, processes etc. Becoming a senior training specialist can be a profitable idea in current times when more and more seniors are getting back to working.

Home Related Businesses

7. Home Improvement Business – Home improvement is a really vast field and will see growth in 2011. One needs to find their own niche in this business area. You can do anything from furniture restoration to flooring to tiling and more. The list is endless. If you want to offer all of them start a home improvement firm and hire people who can do all these tasks.

8. Energy Consultant – With the increased focus on energy conservation, people have started thinking about how much energy they are using and how it can be used efficiently. Since energy conservation and efficient usage also bring in savings in monthly expenditure, both businesses as well as households are now more interested than ever in hiring a consultant to audit their energy requirements and suggest changes for increasing energy efficiency.

9. Home Automation Business – Advances in technology and new gadgets are making people’s life convenient and help them save time. However, people need someone to suggest the best gadgets that can be used in their homes and help them with installation. A home automation technician does just that.

Health and Fitness Businesses

As people are becoming more and more health conscious and realize the need to stay fit, a bigger market is developing for the businesses that can provide products and services which help people stay fit and healthy. One of the ways to keep healthy is to be physically active and this is one area where lots of business opportunities lie for people looking to start a small business. One can choose from any of the following:

10. Become A Yoga Instructor – As a Yoga instructor, you would be training people in the proven and scientific field of Yoga which can help them keep fit physically and spiritually too.

11. Become A Personal Trainer – As a personal trainer you would be providing exclusive training to people who can afford to pay for your time. This business will probably have less number of clients but it is well paying business.

12. Start a Pilates Studio – Pilates is one of the newer physical fitness mechanisms but is steadily gaining popularity. It still has lesser competition as compared to other fitness businesses.

13. Start a Fitness Club – Starting a fitness club or gym can be a little expensive but it is one business which has been seeing rapid growth year over year, even during recession.

14. Become a Sports Nutrition Consultant – Sportspersons need better nutrition than anyone else and that is why they look up to a sports nutrition consultant for suggestions. With ever increasing popularity of and competition in sports, this business is going to stay and thrive in the future.

15. Become a Licensed Acupuncturist – Acupuncture is one of the alternative treatment methodologies that have become popular as a solution to several health problem. One needs to have a license to practice as an Acupuncturist. A licensed Acupuncturist can start own practice or get associated with fitness centers which offer Acupuncture as one of their services.

Business Travel Related Services

This year will see a lot of growth in the travel market as people travel more and more for job as well as business opportunities. Apart from core travel services such as ticketing and transportation, there are several other services that are useful to business travelers.

16. Start a Bed and Breakfast (B&B) – It is an ideal business for those who own a house or can rent one at a place that is near to the business locations in a city.

17. Personal Concierge Business – Businesses travelers often need assistance in various tasks and not many of them can afford a full time assistant. A personal concierge business can help such travelers in doing tasks that require local knowledge.

18. Business Event Planner – Businesses often conduct events such as conferences, seminars etc. in various cities. As a business event planner, one can help these businesses organize such events.

Internet Related Businesses

19. iPad App Development – Apple iPad is one revolutionary device when it comes to tablet PCs. This year, the iPad sales are set to go north and so will be the demand for apps that can run on iPad. If you have an idea for a great app get it developed by a developer and run it as a business. If you are a developer yourself, you can start offering iPad app development services to others.

20. Web Video Production – The success of several videos on YouTube has led to marketers thinking of online videos as a social media marketing tool. Businesses, however, lack the skills and capabilities of producing quality videos. If you are great at making videos, this is one service that you can offer to companies today!

Hope you will find one of these ideas good to start your small business in 2011. Do share your stories, experiences and thoughts about these small business ideas.

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