6 Easy Entrepreneurial Ideas

[toc]Starting a business is never a simple task, but sometimes the hardest part is coming up with that one big idea. Entrepreneurial ideas don’t need to be that hard to develop. You don’t necessarily have to think of a brand-new concept to start a successful small business; you just have to identify a need that isn’t being filled in your local area, or a niche where your expertise could add value.

Some entrepreneurial ideas might come to you suddenly, like a bolt of lightning. Others might present themselves after a more careful analysis of your skills and the current economic climate. To get you inspired, let’s look at six interesting entrepreneurial ideas that could lead to profitable small businesses:

1. Home Day Care

Many parents dream of earning some money while being able to stay home with their kids. While that might seem like a unattainable fantasy, a few entrepreneurial ideas may actually enable your dream to come true. The most practical of these entrepreneurial ideas is opening a home day care center.

With more and more parents needing to work while their children are young, demand for quality childcare remains strong even when the overall job market is suffering. You don’t need a large home to operate a home day care: Just designate a couple rooms of your house as play and nap areas for the children. If you keep your total headcount below a specific number, you may not even need to obtain licensing to operate your day care.

2. Cleaning Service

Professional cleaning may not be glamorous, but it certainly can be lucrative. Starting a cleaning service offers a wide variety of opportunities for entrepreneurs. You can focus on either residential or commercial cleaning, and you also have the flexibility to choose either a part-time or full-time workload. Unlike other entrepreneurial ideas, a simple maid service requires relatively little investment to start.

If your independent cleaning service becomes successful, you can eventually develop teams to do the manual work for you, while you take on a more administrative role.

3. Professional Organizer

It’s no secret that Americans tend to have too much clutter in their homes. In fact, a whole segment of reality shows have emerged, depicting the struggles of people with hoarding problems! Of course, most people don’t have the extreme clutter issues of these hoarders, but busy professionals often don’t have time to organize their shelves, closets, basements, and garages.

If you have a knack for bringing order to messy spaces and creating organizing systems that work, there are entrepreneurial ideas that allow you to leverage these skills. Professional organizers are in high demand these days; with no real educational or licensing requirements, the field of professional organization is a relatively easy one to enter. You just need to have a talent for cutting through clutter and the ability to market yourself.

4. Social Media Consulting

Most companies understand that social media is the new frontier for marketing and connecting with customers; unfortunately, not all of them have the expertise to harness its potential and use social media to grow their brand. That’s where you might come in. One of the more innovative entrepreneurial ideas available to someone skilled in the art of social networking is to offer their services as a consultant. A business that can help companies add social media to their marketing strategy has the potential for great success and speedy growth.

5. Mobile App Development

If you’re technical by nature and have some programming experience, many entrepreneurial ideas allow you to take advantage of these skills and be your own boss. Mobile app development for smartphones and tablets is a particularly hot field right now. Many smaller companies who want to develop a mobile app for their business don’t have the in-house staff to make it happen, but also don’t have the budget to hire a large, expensive development firm. Freelance mobile app developers will find significant demand for their services among these companies, and can easily build a strong client base this way.

6. Data Security Consulting

For most companies, information is their most valuable asset, and they’ll do whatever is necessary to protect that information. However, many small companies can’t afford to keep an in-house data security specialist on staff. You can see where this unmet need could lead to some excellent entrepreneurial ideas for a technically inclined person. If you have a professional background in information technology, a data-security consulting business that helps companies shield their data from hackers and identity theft could prove to be extremely lucrative. Multiple training and certification programs exist to provide you with the necessary credentials to break into this promising field.

I know this article promised to present six entrepreneurial ideas, but I thought I’d throw in a bonus idea, just for fun:

7. Children’s Party Business

It seems like no matter how much Americans cut back on spending in other areas, they’re still willing to splurge when it comes to their children’s parties. This apparently recession-proof industry can be a great small business opportunity for an entrepreneur who can help with some aspect of the party-planning process. Children’s party vendors can provide a wide variety of party-related services, including customized party favors, creative invitations, some form of children’s entertainment, or comprehensive planning and organizing services. No licensing or educational requirements are needed to start working in the party business; all you need is enthusiasm, the ability to market your services, and a knack for making parties special.

These are just a few of hundreds of entrepreneurial ideas available to prospective business owners. While some require previous expertise in a given field, others can be started by anyone with the ambition to make it work. If any of these ideas appeal to you, see if you can expand on these concepts to develop a workable business plan. Otherwise, just use your imagination, and think outside the box: Don’t let a shortage of entrepreneurial ideas stand between you and your dream of business ownership!