Most Promising Online Business Ideas for Your New Startup in 2016
Being a generation of entrepreneurs, we have various business opportunities to invest in a new startup but making the right choice is still the toughest part. Thanks to latest web developments, more specifically the turnkey solutions and emergence of concepts like crowd-funding, which made it significantly easier for aspiring entrepreneurs to launch a new business.
As an online business consultant, I receive lots of queries about starting different sort of online businesses. I also attend seminars and young-entrepreneur events as well as keep an eye on freelancing platforms to remain updated with new and more demanded business models.
Based on the research and experience I’ve gathered, I shortlisted these business ideas, that look perfect for aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to invest in a startup in 2016. Not only these online businesses have huge demand but have great sustainability too, which you’ll get to know as you go on reading; everything is explained in this post. I'll also help you with what's the best way to launch them. So, let's begin!
Ecommerce Store
If you are old enough to start a business, then nobody knows better than you how eCommerce stores have transformed the way people buy things. This is never going to end as long as internet sustains because people will buy things for their survival, and they will always prefer the most convenient way to do it. Therefore, online stores are here to stay, and it’s unquestionable.
The real question here is whether to open a single online store or a multi-vendor eCommerce store. A multivendor eCommerce store is obviously the smarter choice as you remain free of the overheads of inventory & logistics, and comfortably make money through the commission that you get on each sale being the website owner.
How to get started:
There are two ways to start an eCommerce store- First is to build a website from the scratch & second is to choose a turnkey solution. While the first option gives you the freedom to build your online store in your own unique way, I'd prefer the second option, as with it you will have your business up and running in no time, and have the advantage of being the early bird. After all, in business, time means money.
Shopify, Yo!Kart, and CS-cart are the most popular turnkey solutions for launching an eCommerce store. Each has its unique set of advantages. Search about each of them before you make any decision.
Custom Clothing Website
People are turning to the internet to accomplish all sorts of day-to-day tasks – paying bills, grocery shopping, ordering food; so why not for customizing clothes. As a matter of fact, the trend of online custom clothing platforms has picked up quite a pace in past couple of years.
Readymade clothes are easy to get, but ultimately, customers prefer to wear products that perfectly fit them. People are increasingly becoming conscious about their dressing style, and the ease of customizing clothes that websites like IndoChino & Modern Tailor provide, has dragged their attention back to custom clothing.
These websites basically operate with software that allows customers to easily customize their clothes - fabric, pattern, style, cufflinks, pocket style, etc. – basically everything to get a completely personalized design. For men, custom clothing platforms have evolved tremendously in recent years, but for women, the concept of custom clothing is still in a nascent stage. Of course, for women’s custom clothing, the software will be huge and much complicated, but if you are ready to take over the task, the success will be immense.
How to jump in:
Stitch custom clothing software is a pretty decent product to start your custom clothing website. It offers a comprehensive list of customization options. The script itself is customizable, in case you want to add more options. Tailorify is another turnkey solution you can give a try to.
Online Grocery Store
The biggest reason why ecommerce came to the forefront is that it offered a common platform to bridge the gap between consumers and sellers. One such arena which has benefited a lot from the emergence of ecommerce is grocery shopping. There was a time when buying day-today items or grocery was a tedious task. However, in the last couple of years, buying grocery online has started to pick up among the masses.
By sitting at the comfort of your home or offices, you can easily order the required grocery items and have it delivered at your preferred timing. Consumers are increasingly opening up to this concept, which has resulted in a huge market coming to the forefront.
Such websites work on ecommerce software that manages the entire inventory and offers a user-engaging ecosystem to buy all the required items. Now the only question that arises in the mind of entrepreneurs is whether to go for single store managing all operation yourself or launching a marketplace where other sellers can come and sell their produce.
How to Get Started
Like always, you can start from scratch by building the whole CMS for managing the inventory, or just choose the seamless way via turnkey solution. While the first option will give you a unique website, it will take a lot of time and resources. Nowadays entrepreneurs prefer to opt for turnkey solution, which makes it easy for anyone to launch their own website in no given time.
Growcer, Multi City Grocery, Grocery Store are some of the most popular turnkey solutions for launching an online grocery store.
Marketplace for Freelance Writers
With growing sphere of web technology freelance writing jobs are trending high. Artificial intelligence has evolved much in recent years, but we are still many decades (even more) far from the point where robots will take over human writers completely.
Given that writing work is in huge demand, the idea of becoming a freelance writer to make money online instantly strikes most of us. Although I write only occasionally, I know it's a pretty laborious task. Plus, for newbies, it might take years to get in a position where they are able to fetch a decent income off their write ups.
The smartest way to leverage this huge demand of writing work is to provide an online platform that connects professional freelance writers with clients who need different types of write-ups – academic papers, website content, articles, white papers, etc. This way you can earn considerably more by investing less.
Where to begin:
Here again, my recommendation is to choose a turnkey solution. PaperWeight is a script that you can rely upon. It is pretty sophisticated software with lots of features and functionalities to help you run your online business easily. Flexiwriters and StretchGO's iWriter clone script are also worth checking.
Local Service Marketplace
Technology and social media are taking us towards a more efficient world in which there are lesser barriers for getting day-to-day & other minor tasks done. Websites like TaskRabbit, Fiverr, Craiglist, etc. serve as good examples for that matter.
Basically, these websites connect people (who need a certain service) with other people in the neighborhood who have the skills to provide that service. The list of tasks that people can get done on these websites is endless, such as grocery shopping, babysitting, house cleaning, getting lawn mower fixed, ask for voiceovers, and so on.
People will always need help from local service providers, and putting the task on a website is considerably convenient than doing the legwork to find a service provider. So undeniably, online local service marketplaces are the present and future of how people get their every day’s tasks done.
How to begin:
As per my research, Yo!Gigs, QuickRabbit, and Agriya’s Thumbtack script are the topmost turnkey solutions to start a local service marketplace. Do a comparison of these three to check which solution has the best offerings as per your specific goals and needs.
Online Personal Fitness Marketplace
Consumers have become highly particular about their health and fitness and often find it difficult to find proficient personal fitness trainers in their locality. The fact remains that more and more people are now opting for personal fitness trainer rather than hitting a gym. This is where a search portal, which bridges the gap between trainers and consumers, can become an instant hit. If you are interested in launching a startup catering to niche market then such a marketplace is best suited for you.
How to get started:
In this case, I suggest you opt for a turnkey solution that removes the hassle of building the website from scratch. Yo!Fit is the software solution that you can rely upon. It is an innovative software solution aimed at launching online fitness trainer search portal. Other such platforms include PTminder and strength portal.
Conclusion
I know it’s not a fancy list of 20 or 50 online business ideas. But one thing I can promise is that if you execute any of these four business ideas in the right manner, success is assured. Whichever business idea you choose, do more research on that. Check for available opportunities & study existing players of that industry, and start only when you are confident that it is the right thing to do.
Plus, don’t take my words of choosing the turnkey solution for granted. Turnkey solution suits small business investments but that too is applicable if you succeed to find a scalable website script. If a custom website development is what you have in mind, go ahead with that. But make sure the team you choose has sufficient experience of building websites for that industry. Ultimately, your goal should be to aptly serve your target audience.
In case you have additional queries, mention them in the comment section. I will be happy to answer them.
