Looking to start a new business?
The world is changing quickly, but there only ever seems to be more opportunity.
Software, digital services, new product businesses, and entirely unique offerings never before seen.
Now is an incredible time to start a new business, if you can find something that fits what you’re looking for.
That brings us to this guide. Below, you’ll find a list of the top trending business ideas of 2024.
They cover a variety of business types, industries, and skill set so that you’re sure to find something that piques your interest.
Read on to find out more.
20 Top Trending Business Ideas of 2024 (Definitive List, No Fluff)
The list below is our top picks for the most trending business ideas of the year.
Keep in mind that nothing on the list below is fluff. You may have read lists online with 50 “business ideas” only to be hit with the same basic businesses that have been around for more than a century (and aren’t getting any more popular– i.e. they’re not trending).
That’s not what this list is.
Each of the business ideas below has been growing in popularity either starting this year or, as is more often the case, over the past several years.
With that said, let’s get into it.
These are our picks for the top trending business ideas of 2024:
1. Online teaching
Online education and digital classrooms have become more popular than ever, and with it the demand for teachers willing to teach remotely.
If you’re a credentialed teacher, this could be an amazing opportunity to be able to teach full-time while getting more time at home and with family.
2. Remote bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is another service that went remote in the past several years.
You can now find clients online without ever having to leave your home on freelance sites like Freelancer and UpWork, as well as by networking on sites like LinkedIn.
3. Catering
Some chefs in recent years have turned to catering as a viable business model.
Catering is unique from opening a restaurant in that you don’t need to maintain a large brick and mortar space with high rent, only the space you need to prepare the meals and a delivery truck.
It also gives you more flexibility, as you know and set your schedule with your catering clients.
4. Translation services
If you know a second (or additional) language, you can find translation jobs for an assortment of different tasks online freelance.
Businesses are looking for translators to translate their websites and other marketing material into different languages, media needs translators, and even large content creators looking to scale their businesses.
You can even scale those translation services yourself into a full-blown service company, making this easy to start up with room for growth.
5. Video production
The internet is largely dominated by video content now, meaning great videographers are in high demand.
A video production company can handle everything from planning to scripts, shooting, and editing or just focus in on one or more of those if you’re already an expert there.
Many video production companies simply come up with video ideas, the client shoots them on camera, and then they edit and publish, making it a relatively easy business to manage if you know or are willing to learn video production.
6. Create a newsletter
Paid newsletters have exploded in popularity in recent years.
What was once exclusively free content (email newsletters) is now a lucrative paid venture, with many newsletters raking in six and seven figures just from paid subscriptions.
If there’s a topic you have expertise in, or you’re simply obsessed with, or you have experience creating content, you can build a platform that offers a paid newsletter as its primary business model.
7. App development
Apps are as profitable as ever, including everything from digital tools to games. Plus, there’s lots of different opportunities, from developing apps for businesses to creating your own app based on a unique business idea.
If you have software experience, the app development market is worth looking into, even if you’ve never made an app before but are willing to learn the in’s and out’s.
8. Social media marketing
Social media marketing has been a hot topic for several years, but it hasn’t slowed down by any means.
In fact, if anything it’s become a cornerstone of most business’s marketing strategy where before it seemed optional.
The advantages of a social media marketing agency is that you can focus in on the social channels you know best and become an expert at them.
SMM agencies also tend to get paid quite well for client work while the work is relatively easy and doesn’t require high expertise.
9. Food truck
The food truck rage may have died out, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t still incredibly popular.
Food trucks, similar to catering, are a great way to make use of your skills if you’re a certified chef without having to put up the same level of initial investment as you would have to with a restaurant.
It also gives you the flexibility to hit the road while you get to make amazing food for your customers to enjoy.
10. Photography
Similar to video, high-quality photographers are in high demand not only for the traditional events such as weddings, large events, and corporate functions but also for creating high-quality marketing material.
If you’re a passionate photographer, there are lots of angles you can approach this and places you can hone in your niche to make a profit while you scale up the business.
11. Business consulting
Consulting is another booming freelance opportunity and one with great scaling potential.
Businesses all around the world are constantly looking to get ahead. If you have experience in anything that can help a business grow, you can build a company around offering that expertise as a business consultant.
12. Self-storage
As families all around the country have downscaled and the largest group of retirees ever in U.S. history retires, self-storage has grown in popularity.
The baby boomer generation have set out in their RVs or simply downscaled to meet their reduced retirement income, leading to self-storage to become highly sought after.
If you’ve done real estate or service before, self-storage is a great business to consider. Hours run long unless you hire help and you need initial capital to purchase your storage facility, but the margins are high and the business type stable.
13. Daycare provider
Home-based daycares are still around and have increased a fair bit in popularity recently, making a daycare an easy business idea to start up and scale.
If you love children and want to pursue childcare as a career but teaching isn’t quite for you, this is a great option to consider.
14. Mobile auto repair
Mobile mechanics have become more and more popular over the past few years, with full-fledged businesses with entire fleets of mechanics cropping up all around the country.
If you’re a mechanic looking to make some extra money on the side while also having the potential to scale the business into something more, starting a mobile mechanic business is a great option to consider.
15. Website development
Similar to app development, website development has been popular for some time but hasn’t slowed down.
It is true that services such as Wix have made it easier than ever to create a website for cheap yourself, turning many lower-priced clients away.
However, where the real money lies is in servicing higher-priced clients who want custom websites (often based on WordPress) that these services don’t offer and can’t match.
16. Business startup and planning
New business owners and seasoned business owners looking for every advantage both often use business planning and startup services to help them get off the ground right.
This can be something as simple as market research and business plan creation to something more extensive such as helping with the startup process.
It really all depends on your level of expertise and where you’re at. This makes it a great business for starting without much investment while also having lots of room for growth.
17. SEO consultant
Like video production and social media, SEO is a pillar of modern marketing.
SEO can be a bit more complex than video production and especially social media marketing, but learning it helps you develop valuable skills that companies will pay top dollar for.
It’s also easy to get started freelance while you develop your skills and portfolio and work on scaling the business.
18. Subscription box
Subscription boxes hit it off a few years back, but the space has continued to grow and become larger since.
The cool thing about subscription box businesses is that there are a limitless number of things you can base the business– and your boxes– on.
Pick a physical product associated with a passion of yours and see if a company exists already that offers a subscription box for that thing.
If there is, you know there must be some sort of demand for it and it’s likely a business idea worth considering.
19. Beauty brand
Producing your own custom beauty products has become incredibly easy with platforms online that help you link up with suppliers and manufacturers for everything from packaging to the actual beauty products themselves.
If you have experience in content or beauty, or are simply willing to learn, you can create a brand around yourself and launch a beauty brand through it using social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram as your launching pad.
20. Career coach
Millennials and Gen Z are most interested in development opportunities(Gallup), especially as it relates to jobs. This in part has made career coaches more popular than ever.
As a career coach, you can pivot into an entirely new direction by taking an existing expertise and teaching others how to build a career around it.
Plus, you can get official certification through something such as the CPCC to get a boost of credibility, which will help you obtain clients faster (and better clients).
Find An Idea Worth Pursuing?
There are countless amazing business ideas out there, but the one that’s best for you will bring together a combination of your:
- Experience and knowledge
- Passion
- And motivations
Consider not only what works for you but also what the world needs and how you can carve a niche in a way that helps you stand out.
Also consider how much startup capital is needed to start your new business, as every business has different startup costs.
When you’re ready to grow your business, Excel Capital is here to provide the capital you need to go to the next level.
We hope this guide on the top trending business ideas of 2024 helped you find something worth pursuing.