The Easiest Businesses to Start and How to Start them - Guest Post

The easiest businesses to start and how to start them - A guest post by Alyssa Strickland.

Alyssa Strickland created millennial-parents.com for all the new parents on the block. Alyssa believes the old adage that it takes a village to raise a child, but she also thinks it takes a village to raise a parent! Millennial-Parents is that village. Today’s parents can be more connected than ever and she hopes her site will enrich those connections. On Millennial-Parents, she shares tips and advice she learns through experience and from other young parents in three key areas -- Education, Relationships, and Community.

There is no doubt that entrepreneurship is riskier than your typical 9-5. It requires sacrifice and is demanding work. But with that struggle also comes satisfaction, fulfillment, and the lifestyle benefits of being your own boss. And when you hustle your way into money and a following, it will all be worth it, right?

But you can pave the way to success the hard way or the easy way. If you believe in working smart, not hard, this article is for you. Here, we share some easy-to-achieve business ideas (and how to achieve them) so you can move towards your entrepreneurship dreams faster. Keep reading for more.

How to Identify Successful Business Ideas

Every business starts with an idea. If you're stumped about where and how to start, just remember that you need to think long and hard - about your goals, your intended results, and demands in the market. Here are some pointers to go by:

• Get inspired: Checking out business precedents is a great way to get your entrepreneurial thoughts started. Product Hunt and Kickstarter are great platforms with the latest creations in products, apps, websites, and more.
• Futureproof your ideas: The world is constantly evolving, and you need to ensure your products and services grow with it. For this, think ahead of the curb and anticipate needs. Check out-trend forecasting sites like SpringWise and Google Analytics to foresee market demand.
• Look at categories: Focus on a category that you can potentially build a product or service under. Ideally, this category should be profitable and not overly saturated, with high demand - for example, personal services, health, and wellness, or coaching programs.

Once you have a ballpark idea of potential businesses, brainstorm as much as possible. Consider potential pitfalls and successes you could have along the way, so you have everything accounted for.

Easiest Businesses to Start

Still find yourself stumped on the kind of business to undertake? We've got you. Check out some viable yet profitable businesses every entrepreneurship newbie can get into today:

Monthly Subscriptions

A growing trend in today's marketplace, subscription services offer variety and surprise in categories ranging from beauty and shaving razors to wine and candles. Meal delivery services and kits with pre-portioned ingredients are hitting the market, so there are lots of ways to get creative here. Choose a product or a niche that is your speed, market it, and hand-select unique items to send to your customers each month. You'll outsource most of the elements, leaving you to bear little to no startup costs with minimal effort.

Rentals

If you have some extra savings, why not put them towards starting a vacation rental? According to Smart Asset, you can recover more than half your expenses in the first few months alone of starting an Airbnb business. If you don't have that kind of capital quite yet, you could manage other people's properties for a hefty fee. This typically includes offering a range of services such as advertising, listing, cleaning, and customer service.

Amazon Fulfillment

The Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program allows entrepreneurs to sell their products through the Amazon platform. They'll handle the packing, shipping, storage and more, while you focus on the business idea and manufacturing end of things. This is a great low-risk way to dip your feet into the world of e-commerce, especially if you're up to date with current trends and market needs.

Coaching

Coaching as a Fitness trainer, life coach, business consultant, design advisor, strategist - the sky's the limit. According to Coaching Federation, The coaching industry is skyrocketing and expected to grow by 6.7%, reaching $20 billion by 2022. You can get into this lucrative business, too, as you don't need any capital or equipment to get started. Simply identify some of your in-demand skills, market them, and conduct sessions that help individuals worldwide. You'll be able to do all this from the comfort of your own home, charging by the hour or by the project.

Concrete Steps to Get Started

So you have the business idea. What next? Coming up with your startup product or service may just have been the easiest step! Now it's all about actionable steps and constantly implementing and adjusting:

1. Business plan: Time to write up a detailed business plan! Consider your purpose, goals, audience, funding, and more in a well-written comprehensive plan.
2. Market research: Look up client demographics in your field through research, surveys, focus groups, and more. Try to understand the needs and behaviors of your target audience and how competitors cater to these needs. This will help you provide actual value to potential customers.
3. Organize funding: Try to calculate how much your startup costs will be. You could fulfill these expenses by funding yourself (if you have some money tucked away) or funnel cash in through your day job (if you're retaining your current position). Or else organize funding through lenders, business grants, investors, or crowdfunding. Be sure to determine profitability through a break-even analysis, so you know what to expect.
4. Business name: You will also need to have a brand or service name. Most prospective entrepreneurs will benefit from creating a DBA or 'doing business as' name for their company. A service like ZenBusiness.com can help. Doing so allows you to branch out into different services more quickly if you sell your services or products under another name down the line. You'll also be able to market your brand using another name, which may become necessary if you can't find a business domain or if your current name isn't working out.
5. Build your team: You will likely need to recruit an outstanding, reliable team unless you plan to be a solopreneur. Give great thought to who you hire, as the initial few employees will form the building blocks of your brand's success.
6. Advertise: A perfect product is excellent, but you need to invest in advertising to ensure people know about it. Get the word out by building a solid social media presence and offer promotional discounts and other incentives for a successful launch. Ensure the branding across your logo, website and branding are consistent for a trustworthy look. And don't forget to build up a CRM platform to send out marketing campaigns through email and address customer feedback.
7. Keep growing: Business is never static - so be prepared to adjust and respond to your audience! Collaborate with other brands, cross-promote, get involved in the local community, and keep adapting to changing situations.

There is no perfect formula for attaining entrepreneurial success. However, by combining some tried and tested business ideas with learnings along the way, you have a great chance at achieving your goals. Just keep at it, and keep keeping on - a good dose of persistence is the key to growing your business.

Are you looking for more informative and engaging content? Be sure to check out InspiresN for articles on inspiration, photography, business, cooking, web designing, and more.

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