In this article, we will take a look at the 15 most profitable small businesses to start in 2024.
A Few Successful Small Business Owners
On February 6, Business Insider discussed the entrepreneurial journey of Louise Dean, an inspiring author who pivoted to become a writing coach. She opened a writing school and has trained over 1,500 people so far. She started her career as a poet and writer and was awarded several accolades for her novel, Becoming Strangers. Soon, she realized that writing is a team effort and set up a writing school, The Novelry. Within no time she had almost 200 subscribed members. She then created a website to record her everyday tasks and arranged one-on-one Zoom calls to discuss stories with other authors. Dean then pivoted her career and drafted courses to become a writing coach. She runs 40 live classes and workshops monthly with authors and editors. Her courses are priced between $630 and $4,428.
On March 24, Elizabeth Nelson shared her business journey with Business Insider. Nelson started her digital marketing agency in 2021 and made $180,000 in 2022 while maintaining a work-life balance. Between 2016 and 2020, she worked as an SEO specialist and pay-per-click professional for a PR agency in the wine and tourism industry. When the pandemic hit, the PR agency fired all workers and she stepped into wildland firefighting. On one occasion she inhaled poison oak and decided to work as a ghost web designer and SEO strategist for wedding industry speakers. Her clients recognized her talent and asked if she could work on their ads and websites. She learned how to build a website but wanted the freedom to work for herself and have enough time to go on traveling adventures. In 2021, Nelson created her website and within 2 and a half years, she had over 70 clients in web design, SEO, digital marketing, web hosting, and consulting. Nelson now makes between $8,000 to $10,000 per month.
How Can Franchising Help People Start Small Businesses?
Franchising is one of the most prominent forms of business. According to the latest release of the Franchising Economic Outlook by the International Franchise Association, franchise growth expanded by 2.2% in 2023 and is projected to grow by 1.9% in 2024. This means another 15,000 franchise units and 221,000 jobs will be created in the United States, bringing the total number of units and jobs to 821,000 and 8.9 million respectively. Franchise output is expected to increase by 4.1% to reach $893.9 billion in 2024 from $858.5 billion in 2023. You can also look at the best franchises to own in 2024.
Starting a repair and maintenance is one of the most profitable small business ideas in 2024. Becoming a part of a franchise may make starting a new business easier for budding entrepreneurs. Ace Handyman Services is a leading home improvement and repair services franchise. The franchise was founded in 1998 and provides single or multi-unit franchise opportunities across the United States. According to Franchise Direct, the minimum cash required to start the franchise is $75,000. For the year ended 2023, the franchise had 367 franchise locations. Ace Handyman Services is part of an industry, expected to grow to $36.7 billion by 2032 from $32.9 billion in 2023, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.1%, according to a report by IMARC Group.
Starting a consulting business is another great business idea. According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the consulting service market is expected to grow to $447.72 billion by 2029 from $354.01 billion in 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.81%. Before setting up an individual consulting business, budding entrepreneurs may associate with a franchise to ease the process. Transworld Business Advisors is a leading franchise that has sold over 15,000 business units. The minimum cash required to start the franchise is $100,000, and the franchise fee is $64,500. Franchisees must have a minimum net worth of $150,000 to start a franchise. Transworld offers over 300 franchising opportunities across several industries.
The Best Supporting Software for Small Businesses
Budding entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes use software to ease the project management process. monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) is a leading work management platform for individuals and companies. Its top features include project management, resource management, requests and approvals, and custom workflows. monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) is used by more than 225,000 customers from across the globe and is available in over 200 countries. You can also read our piece on the best Asana alternatives and competitors for project management.
On May 6, monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) released new product updates for its suite of products. Users can now summarize text using AI and build custom AI automation using Monday AI. Moreover, users can now see all calendar meetings in emails and activities. monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) allocated a large portion of its revenue to innovation and producing more products. The company logged revenue worth $216.9 million, up by 34% year-over-year, and reported a 90% gross margin. The company spent $34.8 million on research and development, 16% of their revenue, in quarter 1 of 2024. The company also expects to increase its current employee headcount of 1,987 to add more personnel in the R&D and product and sales departments. At the close of Q1 2024, monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) had $1.22 billion in cash and cash equivalents, up by $1.12 billion at the close of Q4 2023.
Monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:MNDY) is focused on small and medium businesses. Over 10% of revenue came from new customers. The Small and midsize business (SMB) segment accounted for 45% of all its customers in Q1 2024. Monday.com Ltd.’s (NASDAQ:MNDY) investments and focus on AI and customer-centric decision-making sets it apart from its competitors.
Now that we have studied the small business landscape, let’s discuss the most profitable small businesses to start in 2024. You can also read our piece on the most profitable businesses to start from home in 2024.
Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock.com
Our Methodology
To gather a list of the 15 most profitable small businesses to start in 2024, we consulted threads on Reddit and over 10 rankings and reports on the internet. We picked the business ideas that appeared in 50% of our sources and then ranked them.
At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
15 Most Profitable Small Businesses to Start in 2024
15. Digital Marketing Services
Providing digital marketing services is one of the most profitable small business ideas to start in 2024. As mentioned above, Elizabeth Nelson made $180,000 in 2022 from her digital marketing business. Within 2 and a half years of operations, she had over 70 clients in web design and SEO.
14. Pet Care Store & Services
Starting a pet care store and services is one of the most profitable small business ideas to start in 2024. A pack of pet grooming wipes is available on Amazon for $5.99. The product has a customer start rating of 4.6. More than 20,000 items of the product were sold in the past month.
13. Web and App Design and Development
Website and application design and development is another great business idea to start in 2024. A web designer can earn somewhere between $15 to $30 per hour on Upwork. For one-time projects, web designers may earn between $50 to $400 per project. App developers on the other hand may earn $150 to $2,000 per project. The price depends on the complexity of the project.
12. Graphic Design
Starting a graphic design business is one of the most profitable businesses to start in 2024. A graphic designer may earn somewhere between $15 to $150 per hour on Upwork for freelance graphic design projects. For one-time projects, graphic designers will usually be paid a lump sum amount.
11. Freelance Writing and Editing
Starting a freelance writing and editing business is a profitable business idea to start in 2024. Freelance writers may earn somewhere between $15 to $40 per hour on Upwork. On the other hand, if freelancers opt for one-time projects, they may bag between $40 to $200 per project.
10. Consulting
Starting a consulting business is one of the most profitable business ideas to start in 2024. Starting a consulting business may be daunting. Budding entrepreneurs can look to set up a consulting franchise. Transworld Business Advisors is a leading franchise operating for more than 40 years. The minimum cash required to start the franchise is $100,000, and the franchise fee is $64,500.
9. Fitness Services
Providing fitness services is one of the most profitable business ideas to start in 2024. Fitness service providers can offer fitness services online and market themselves on social media platforms. Alternatively, purchasing a franchise is another great option. Anytime Fitness is a leading fitness franchise. Business owners must pay an initial franchise fee of $42,500.
8. Repair and Maintenance
Providing repair and maintenance services is another great business idea for budding entrepreneurs. To step into the repair and maintenance industry, individuals can purchase a franchise. Ace Handyman Services is a leading home improvement and repair services franchise. According to Franchise Direct, the minimum cash required to start the franchise is $75,000.
7. Babysitting
Becoming a babysitter ranks 7th on our list of the most profitable small business ideas to start in 2024. On October 4, 2022, Business Insider quoted the story of Dahlia Melnick, a babysitter who charges up to $45 per hour.
6. Abstract Art
Creating and selling abstract art is another great business idea. PolarisOfFortune on Reddit is an abstract artist who makes interesting art pieces and posts them on the internet. An investment firm saw their work and bought a piece for $2,400. The Redditor then built a website to showcase their work. They currently have an art broker that brings in clients for them.
5. Chef
Becoming a chef is one of the most profitable small business ideas to start in 2024. A Redditor, Chr0ll0_ worked as a cook while they attended college. The user claimed to make $1,200 on Fridays, $1,500 on Saturdays, and $1,300 on Sundays.