Starting and running a business is like a journey. If you’re someone who loves journey rather than always thinking about the destination, then you’ll love running a business. I don’t know whether you have ever ran a business or seen business operations closely, but can you guess what’s the hardest part (apart from financials)? Managing people. In fact, managing people are way harder than managing finances.
Hence, it’s sometimes better to start a one-person company and manage everything by yourself. People starting and managing their business alone are often called solopreneurs. It has got a nice, professional ring to it…
So, if you too want to become a solopreneur and want to start your own business, then this is the best time to do it. I have shortlisted the 10 best one-person small business ideas. I have also talked to people who own the businesses in this list, and all of these businesses have good profit potential.
(1) Laundromat Business
I’ll reveal you a little secret about finding a good and a sustainable business idea: (1) Does the business solve a sticky problem? If yes, then your business is already a hit. Of course, there are other factors as well, but solving issues is one of them.
A laundromat business is one of them. Not that this is somethin new, but professional cleaning has picked up pace in the past few years. What could be the reason? Lifestyle changes. People have become super busy, and they don’t always have the time to take care of their clothes. Today, people have money, but no time….
And cleanliness is something nobody can/should abandon. Nobody likes a shabby, and a smelly person. Anyways, a laundromat business is profitable, as it’s almost entirely passive. The Japanese know this very well. They have locations where you can clean all your clothes for very little money. The process is fast, and on top of everything… mutually beneficial. The only issue with starting a laundromat business is the starting cost. Powerful washing machines are slightly expensive. So, if you don’t want to go overboard, start with one machine and see how things pan out.
(2) Pet Bakery
This is an unique one! People love their pet, and they won’t mind spending a little extra to celebrate their birthday, or any occasion for that matter. I got this idea while watching a YouTube video about a Walrus receiving a birthday gift made of fish. Super cute, and a great business idea hidden right in front of the eyes.
One of relatives are dog lovers, and they celebrate nearly everything about them. Their birthday, their first whatever… But, every time they face this one issue: How to make a healthy cake out of all the conventional cakes available in the market?
Finally, they had no option but to buy a cream cake (meant for humans) for their dogs. Nothing wrong about it, but animals are allergic to oily food. It’s unhealthy for them.
Do you get the idea now? If you know how to bake, and can mix it with pet products, then you’re good to go. Start a cloud kitchen, and showcase your products on social media. Keep the price reasonable, and I’m pretty sure you’ll start getting orders in no time.
(3) Blogging
Do I have to write a 100-word sentence about how profitable and versatile blogging is? Funny enough, this website is a blog too… Few years ago (in 2020) blogging and content creation became the two biggest side hustles for many people. There are two reasons behind the sudden rise: (1) Easy, (2) Affordable. Starting a blog is easy, and it’s affordable too.
In fact, you can even start a blog today without spending a DIME. Yeah, you won’t have to spend on domain name either. But what makes blogging versatile? Remember the pet bakery small business idea? You can start a website related to pet bakery. Why, you can even convert your pet bakery blog into an online store and sell directly from your website….
And, if you’re not interested in starting a pet bakery shop, but only want to write about it, you can do that too, and make money from ads… See? Versatile isn’t it?
It’s still not late to start a blog and start sharing your ideas on the internet and make money out it… Still, if you’re not convinced enough, you can sell your blog and make money too. I won’t reveal the exact number, but I’ve earned 6-figures from blog sales. One of my close friends have made 7-figures from their single blog…
(4) Own Karaoke Place
While the Japanese love Karaoke, few years ago it was not that famous in other parts of the world. Thankfully, this is not the case today. The Karaoke culture is spreading fast in other countries as well, especially in the US, and other Europeon countries.
The starting investment is not that high, and your Karaoke place don’t have to be a grand one. Surprisingly, most Karaoke places are small, but not cramped… Owning a Karaoke place is a great passive income idea. Apart from regular checks, there’s nothing you need to do to run the business.
Before jumping the bandwagon, look for Karaoke in your city/town. Are there any? If there are none, then you have got a good chance. And, in case there are already some Karaoke places in operation, observe closely whether they get enough customers. Because, at the end of the day more customers > more profit.
(5) Online Coaching
We have already covered half of the post… Did any of the small business intrigue you? Please let me know…
Moving forward, If there’s one business model that is eternally profitable, it’s online coaching. There are two types of online coaching: (1) Live coaching, (2) Pre-recorded coaching. Live coaching is an active income source, and, the pre-recorded one is passive.
Most successful bloggers make huge money not from ads, or even affiliates for that matter, but from coaching (course sales). I have talked with people who get a measly 10,000 visits a month and make $50K+ every month from live coaching and course sales. On the other hand, I have also met people who make $10K from 1M visits a month.
That’s the insane earning power of coaching. If you’re still having a hard time trusting me, then search for Anastasia Blogger, Ali Abdaal, and Jon Dykstra. These three are the pioneer of course sales. Especially, Ali. Dude makes $1M+ from Skillshare alone.
(6) Social Media Manager
Older people diss social media because they don’t like their kids sticking to phone always. New generation people love social media because it’s making them “clever,” and RICH AF. These successful, and rich social media influencers have more money than they have think of… But, they don’t have time to personally handle their account.
That’s where a social media manager comes in. A social media manager manages the social media account of a business or an individual. A SMM is responsible for keeping the social media page updated, and the followers happy with BTS.
While there are SMM companies too, but if you want to take small projects, you can handle it alone too. Of course, you’ll have to do harder work, but the payout is good, and you can even start your own one-person company out of it.
(7) SAAS
SAAS stands for Software As A Service. Any software you use today is a SAAS. For example, Adobe Photoshop is a SAAS app. So is Whatsapp. Among all the one-person business I have listed here, SAAS has the highest earning potential. I would not hesitate to say that there’s literally no limit to how much you can earn from a SAAS app.
While doing research for this post, I stumbled upon a community post about a guy who made it big during the crypto boom of 2013-2014. When everyone was trying to become a millionaire investing in Bitcoin, this dude made a $5/month web app that helped people track other crypto coins (Litecoin, etc), and compare it with their present investments.
He reportedly made a freaking 9-figure within one year. Later he sold the SAAS app to a big company for 5x yearly profit. So, that guy not only made the first $100M from subscription sales, but also made at least $500M from SAAS sales.
If this idea seem fake to you, then how about the Photopea story? The Photopia dude makes $1M+ every year from his free Photoshop clone. And, he manages the entire project alone. Read the Photopea story.
(8) Dropshipping
A couple of years ago, a Reddit post became famous for all the right, and funny reason. It was about a guy who made millions every month from his “door handle” dropshipping business. Here’s what he did: Registered a one-person business, and contacted sellers from China. After everything was done he started promoting his business on social media sites.
As everything went right, he imported door handles from China and sold them at an insane margin. Though I don’t remember the exact numbers, but it’s somewhere close to 50x profit margin. So, if he bought something for $1, he sold them for $51.
Dropshipping is definitely not as easy as it used to be, but the industry still exists at a large scale. Remember this one thing: No industry dies, only the entry barrier increase. The same thing has happened with Dropshipping. There are still many profitable Dropshipping stores, but it has become a little more complex than before.
Among all the small business ideas in thist list, Dropshipping is the hardest one to get hold of. The positive side is that you can manage it alone, without needing anyone to hire.
(9) Competitor Analyst
Do you know why Dropshipping has become a tough nut to crack? No, it’s not just the entry barrier. Something different. Competition! Competition has gone through the roof. Guess what happens when too much competition arise? Profit margin takes a hit. Of course, the customesr are happy, but the business, mostly, aren’t.
What can you do then? Stay away from doing businesss? Hell no! You have got two options: (1) Do something unique, (2) Do competitor analysis. The former is rather hard, and has a very small chance of success. So, most businesses resort to the latter – Competitor Analysis.
I suppose you know about SAAS like SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, Ubersuggest, and more… All these are primarily used for competitor analysis. These apps help you discover your competitor’s secret so that you can replicate it too…
But you know what? Not everyone has the time to do deep research. Hence, they hire competitor analyst. A Business analyst can also act as a competitor analyst who finds out loopholes of a business, and also recommends how to expoit them. If you have that skill, then you can approach other small businesses with your offer and make money from clients.
(10) Small Eatery Shop
Don’t underestimate a small eatery shop just because it’s small, and somewhat unorganised. The sheer profit they generate is often more than a well-established business. How is that possible? Because, they operate on a quantity basis, unlike a luxury restaurant.
For example, a hotdog stand sells hotdogs for $1.5 per piece. $1.5 might seem nothing, but they sell instantly because the price is so low. Of course, a small eatery shop may not earn $1M every month, but they earn enough for a one-person business.
You can repeat this same idea with other small businesses as well. A Flower Shop is one great example of such small, one-person business idea.
