TOP 25
Business Ideas
To Start In 2021
Top 25 Business Ideas To Start In 2021 That Will Thrive For The Next 100 Years (Or More)
Many politicians and futurists are talking about a future economy where there may be a shortage of jobs due to major technological advances that will eliminate positions such as drivers and assemblers, everyone associated with internal combustion vehicles and the auto insurance industry, or anyone working in fossil fuels. Many other industries will be disrupted as well and millions of people will need a transition into other work.
I can easily make the case that there will be plenty of jobs, as lower costs for transportation, energy, medical, and many products will increase overall wealth. Wealth means people can afford goods and services that were unaffordable previously. That will increase jobs in those places. But which of those?
Following is a list of 25 small business ideas that would seem to be in a position to grow radically or at least decrease over the next 100 years or even longer. If you are thinking of starting a business and you don’t want to be disrupted, you might want to consider the following ideas:
It is already happening, but we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. The travel and leisure industry will explode over the next 10 years. Travel and leisure is the perfect example of how wealth will empower folks to spend in new areas that they couldn’t afford in the past.
Vacation destinations around the world are already full to overflowing. New Orleans is considering charging $1 for people to just walk on Burbon Street, as that boulevard is jammed much of the year. Other cities are considering limiting the number of tourists who can visit on a given day, much like Disneyland.
American citizens will travel more often and to more exotic locations, but the less developed nations are going from almost no travel to starting to travel. They will be the ones that cause the tsunami to drive up prices and create waiting lists.
How can you take advantage?
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New Destinations and Accommodations – Finding new islands, atolls, naturally beautiful locations, and seasonal treats is one way. Starting a business offering accommodations at locations that have room to take more visitors is another.
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AirBnB – An inexpensive way to get into the accommodation business is AirBnB. You can buy or build spaces to rent out, or you can rent space and then use it for AirBnB guests. I use AirBnB as a stand-in, but there are many other such companies that help tourists find good spots to stay. And your AirBnB doesn’t have to be in a tourist destination. Many are located in cities large and small as an alternative to hotels and motels.
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Entertainment Venues – When folks travel, they want to be entertained on arrival. Providing tours, museums, gardens, and live entertainment will always be in demand. Once again, entertainment is also necessary for every town, so this business idea is not just for vacation destinations.
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Souvenirs and Local Products/Crafts – Travel will always be a time of collecting memorabilia in each location you visit. No one wants to buy their souvenirs or local crafts on Amazon. These will always be purchased in a local brick and mortar.
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Rental Businesses – Travelers today take a roller suitcase and little else. They need to rent everything from bicycles to automobiles and from scuba gear to sailboats when they reach their vacation spot.
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Personal Pampering – You might never spend $300 or more for a day at the spa when at home, but somehow it seems like a bargain when luxuriating in some foreign resort. We are unlikely to see a day when robots will be doing this kind of work.
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We may not have covered every possible way there is to make money in the travel and leisure business, but you get the idea. Maybe you’ll have your own idea.
Small Business Ideas For Travel and Leisure
During the COVID year, we saw home sales, home remodels, and every other home thing become very popular. This will not end. More wealth definitely means spending more on nesting. Next, we’ll explore a few of the businesses that should survive disruption.
7. The Building Trades – Try as I might, I can’t figure out a way to automate the plumber, electrician, HVAC, locksmith, carpenter, drywaller, or roofer. You can add another long list to this one, then add those who specialize in commercial versions.
8. Interior Decorators, Building Designers, Architects – These professions will also grow as wealth grows. Home improvements almost always mean the need for a professional view or advice.
9. Home Staging Companies - When you sell your expensive home, you get more money if the house looks like it was recently featured on Houzz.com.
10. Smart Home Installers – The new smart devices and entertainment products are easier to install than ever, but harder to network and put to optimal use. Getting an installer to layout the smart devices and then explain to you how to use them will be a growing opportunity.
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What else will folks be needing at home to make life easy and more delightful? Plenty of opportunities in this category that will not be automated.
Small Business Ideas For Better Living at Home
Who knew that in 2019, a seat at the opera would cost $100 or more and that every seat would be sold? Who knew that there would be shopping malls with dozens of restaurants that were almost always full on Wednesday to Sunday? Nobody wants to sit at home all the time, even if they just spent thousands on remodeling, and smart TV’s and such. Here are some of the ways that the local folks will want to spend their new wealth even if not at a travel destination.
11. Hair, Nail, Face, Spa, etc. – Of course, these types of businesses are already flourishing. But many still can’t afford even the basic trip for a cut and style. That will change, and everyone will be looking or more pampering.
12. Counseling and Coaching – Wealth makes life easier, but not necessarily less complex. We will still be seeking less fat, more abs, less grief, more joy, better schools for our kids, better jobs to pay for all of it, and therefore we’ll need counselors and coaches.
13. Sports Venues, Training, and Gear – Leisure means more time for sports like bicycles or e-bikes, golf, tennis, lawn bowling, swimming, and the big four, baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. Playing sports requires a place to play, and for some sports (e.g. bicycles) a place to buy the gear and get it repaired. For some sports (e.g. martial arts, kids' sports, golfing) there is a need for training and practice facilities.
14. Entertainment Venues – As with vacation destinations, there will be growing demand for live entertainment, amusement centers, and cultural activities.
15. Restaurants and Bars –Not sure this category needs explaining. We love to go out to eat. Wealth means we get to do more of it. Look for outdoor eateries to still be a thing after COVID.
When we are wealthy, we are likely to want a lot of care for our kids and seniors. We already see this, and it will be growing by leaps and bounds as the baby boom ages, and the young folks want a break from the kids.
16. Geriatric Care –Many elderly will want to stay in their homes as long as possible. Others who are living with their kids will need various levels of assistance. There is a very good business in placing companions and nurses in these homes to solve these problems.
17. Assisted Living – Other seniors will prefer to move into assisted living facilities. A new less expensive and very popular way to get into this business is to buy or rent a home that will accommodate six or so seniors.
18. Nurseries and Child Care Centers – There never seem to be enough quality child care facilities available in any area. If you create a good one, they will come.
Small Business Ideas For Night on the Town
We are now totally dependent on our screens, phones, TV’s, computers, tablets, watches, and soon to be virtual reality, augmented reality, glasses, and contact lenses. Those screens have an insatiable appetite for content. It is possible that some great content will be generated by computer automation in the future, but cute kittens, fails, and news (real or fake) is still likely to require human creative types to fill all that screen time.
Here are a few of the jobs that are unlikely to go away:
19. Amazon sellers – E-commerce is here to stay. If you can manufacture, buy, or import cool stuff, and you can figure out the algorithm, you can make a lot of money online.
20. Affiliates – When you read a Top 10 List of Best Vacuum Cleaners, you may or may not realize that the website owners are making money if you click on one of those 10 and go buy it on Amazon. You can make a commission for sending people to Zoom, Constant Contact, Wix, or thousands of other companies.
21. Content Creation – You can make some serious money by creating written content like this article for companies. You can create YouTube videos for fun and profit. You can travel to various locations (sometimes for free) to do videos about the hotels or other cool things in the area, then make more money from ads on your video. You can become an influencer on Instagram (IG), or tell stories on TikTok.
There are many other professions that make a living from the Internet, such as Marketing Consultants, Entertainers, Scriptwriters, and more.
Here are a few other small business ideas that you might consider:
22. Turo – Did you know that you can rent your car out when you’re not using it? You can also buy cars that you want to rent out full time. Check out Turo.com
23. Electric car charging stations – There will be charging stations everywhere. Apartments, condos, hotels, grocery store parking lots. You can own your own charging station and sell juice.
24. Investment Advisors and Retirement Consultants – When you have more, sometimes you need help managing the money. If you have a head for finance and numbers, you might consider this profession. It is growing and will continue to grow.
25. Craftsman / Artisan / Artist – I’m not as sure about this one, so do your own research. I suspect that as the wealthy get even wealthier, they will want personal art. Something to impress their tribe that has become quite hard to impress. Having a collection of an artist’s work is nice, but commissioning someone to create something personal and unique is another step up. I suspect we might even return to the day of the patron, who supports an artist as a show of being in a league of their own.
