You want to be an entrepreneur, but you do not want to dive into a full-time business just yet. Understandable. If you have a secure job and do not want to let it go, or if you are a stay-at-home parent wanting to spend most of the day with your kids, here are a few business ideas you could try to do on the side to satisfy your entrepreneurial desires.
During the last decade, a growing number of entrepreneurs started adopting exclusive online sales as their modus operandi. Others use online stores to scale and then open physical locations. Whatever your end goal is, there are several factors to consider when launching an online business. One of them being location. Good news is, Texas has consistently ranked as one of the most favorable states to do so due to its economic outlook score and five-year business survival rate. Now, choose a product, a craft or a service you can sell online, set up a platform and start selling!
Do you have experience training people to exercise, dance, stretch, or do other functional exercises such as yoga or pilates? In Texas, the fitness industry grosses around $2.2 billion annually. Personal training sessions can cost anywhere from $20 to $200 per session, depending on your area of expertise. You can work with small groups or on a one-to-one basis. Texas is one of the lowest ranking states when it comes to physical activity of people in all age groups, so there is definitely a need to get people up and moving.
There is a growing popularity of meal subscription services. Problem is, some of the biggest national providers do not actually cook the food for you because of storage and delivery protocol. Sometimes the food arrives damaged, not even the best food delivery services can guarantee mishaps. You can use this as an opportunity to market your meals with a local angle, delivering directly to your clients doors or setting pick up times and locations. You can also personalize meals and increase their value by using organic and local products.
Go to any big city in Texas and you will notice how the ‘best’ daycares and preschools have long waiting lists. There is a big gap in child care, which makes it a great business opportunity if you have experience taking care of littles. Nannies charge anywhere between $20 to $100 an hour depending on their experience and the amount of children they are caring for. You can set your own schedule and care for children during the evenings or weekends, usually charging a higher rate. If you decide to scale this business idea and care for multiple children at a time, you can open a home daycare center after obtaining the necessary permits.
If you have a big enough backyard or a small farm in Texas where you can grow your own fruits and vegetables, or raise a few chickens, this could be the ideal business opportunity for you. There is a growing demand for locally grown produce and pasture-raised eggs, diary products, poultry and meats. Use that to your advantage and start offering your products to your neighbors. You can also attend farmer’s markets around Texas during the weekends or offer free delivery to clients who live near you.
If you do not have a small farm and you still want to grow and sell your own food, hope is not lost. Microgreens can be grown in small spaces and sell for around $2 an ounce. Bug protein popularity is also growing in Texas. Some restaurants are starting to experiment with crickets and worms, using dehydrated critters to add some crunch to their plates. You can raise hundreds of them in very small and dark spaces, usually, a few cardboard boxes will do. Mushrooms are also something easy to harvest indoors and sell for a competitive price. If you do not have experience, there are hundreds of free guides on the internet that you can use to start your own mini microgreen/bug/mushroom farm in your apartment!
Texas is great in many things, composting is not one of them. There are currently no municipalities in Texas that offer public composting services. With climate change and a growing environmental awareness, Texans are more inclined than ever to compost, many just don’t have the option to do so. You can scout for people who want to compost, pick up their compost once a week, charge for the service and then turn that same compost into fertile soil you can later sell to farmers. Yes for soil enrichment money!
Some people treat their pets like royalty. Others refer to them as their own offspring. If you go to Austin, everybody has a dog. Same thing in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. A low-maintenance business idea is to offer pet owners services such as playing, walking and caring for their four-legged friends while they are out working or traveling. You can even walk or care for multiple pets at a time, depending on where your clients live. Some people charge around $20 for an hour of care. This is something you could do during a lunch break, before or after work, depending on your work schedule.
There are so many people who do not have the time (or child care) to leave their home for hours at a time. These people still need to get their nails and hair done. Or maybe they want a facial or a massage. If you already have experience and the certifications needed in order to offer one of these services, you can start promoting your skills and going directly to your client’s homes. Think of it as a mobile beauty salon or spa! This business model allows you to operate without a physical space and control your own schedule. All while offering a valuable and time-saving service to your clients.
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