Life changing books for entrepreneurs

Looking for the best business ideas for 2020? With the rise of the digital economy and the “economy of the individual,” more people than ever want to start a business and be their own boss.

All you need is the right business idea to make it big.

For example, I started this blog as a small business idea in 2019 to make money online.

It now brings in over $74,000/month if you check out my Blog Income Reports.

Over 63% of 20-somethings want to start their own business for the first time. The fact that you’re reading this article means you are on the same page and may even want to start a part-time side hustle.

Even hobbies can turn into the best small business ideas with a little online marketing. Take dog walking for instance. It may not seem like a legitimate business idea at first.

But once you start running it solo and understand the ropes of pet sitting, you can build your dog walking agency, hire other dog walkers, create an app, and build your puppy walking empire.

And just like that, a business idea is born.

This guide will cover the best new small business ideas – many with low start-up costs and the ability to work from home. 

Let’s get started. 

Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which provide me a small commission at no cost to you. These are merely good business tools to use in tandem with these home business ideas. You can read my affiliate disclosure in my privacy policy.

WHAT ARE THE BEST BUSINESS IDEAS?

Here is a list of the 51 best small business ideas to start in 2020.

1. BEST ONLINE BUSINESS IDEA: START A PROFITABLE BLOG.

When you start an online business, you’re most likely selling one of three things:

• Your time (coaching or consulting).
• Your own products (ecommerce or SaaS).
• Someone else’s products (affiliate marketing or ads).

With a blog, you can sell all of these from one website and make the most money of any online business idea out there. 

For example, when I first started my blog in 2019, I sold high-end SEO consulting services. Once I got more traffic, I added a few digital resources and sold them to my email list.

Today, I’m in over 200 affiliate programs and make over $74,000/month from this blog promoting SaaS software with a profit margin of over 92%.

So how do you get started?

First, you need to reject common blogging advice and learn how to blog like a business from day one. 

A lot of common advice from successful bloggers (who all started 5-10 years ago mind you) is to “write about your passions” so that you can make a decent side income within a few years.

I never liked this generic advice. I always felt that it was written to appeal to the widest possible audience and it never gave tactical step-by-step guidance on how to grow from zero. 

The entire reason I started this blog in 2019 was to prove that most blogging advice is outdated and you absolutely can make life-changing money in months, not years. 

You just need to scale and treat it like a business.

If you’re interested in learning how to start a blog and follow the exact formula that made me over $200k year one and pacing to  seven-figures year two, check out my ultimate guide to starting a blog:

11 EASY STEPS TO START A BLOG AND MAKE MONEY IN 2020.

Some of the steps I cover in my 15,000+ word blogging guide include:

• Choosing your blog’s niche based on four primary business factors, not your passions.
• How to choose your domain name and set up web hosting for as low as $2.95/month with a company like Bluehost.
• How to install a simple WordPress theme along with all of the relevant plugins bloggers need.
• Getting to know SEO tools and performing keyword research to generate traffic to your site.
• Becoming well-versed in SEO writing to help your content rank.
• Scaling your guest blogging and link building strategies to build Domain Authority.
• Monetizing your blog with the right tactics at the right stage of your blog’s growth.

My email list will help too: To help you further, you can follow along with my free 7-day email series on how to make $10k in 90 days (plus you’ll get a free 8-Page WordPress Blog Launch Checklist).  You can sign up for this email series at the bottom of this article or in the right-hand sidebar.

If you’re ready to get started now, I recommend you sign-up with Bluehost for $2.95/month, which is 63% off their regular price.

Blogging is the ultimate low-risk, high-reward business idea, and my top pick for 2020. 

How to Save the Most with Bluehost: 

• Plan: Basic Plan at $2.95/month
• Term: 36 months
• Total cost at checkout: $106.20
• Savings: $181.44

You can save more up-front but pay a little more per month if you opt for a shorter term length.

Get started with Bluehost

2. ONLINE COURSES AND COACHING.

It has become easier to share your knowledge or expertise via online course platforms. If you are a subject matter expert or passionate about something, then you can convert it into a substantial income.

Offer online coaching classes to students, build a community to help while building your online coaching business. You can set up a Facebook page or even a podcast where you can reach out to people looking for online coaching classes.

There are also several online platforms, including Thinkific and Teachable, to help you get started quickly. You can register on these platforms and start coaching right away.

You can get started today with a One-Month Free Trial of the Thinkific Pro Plan with my link below.

Try Thinkific

3. DROPSHIPPING.

If you have the ability to procure products in demand at lower prices, then you can start a lucrative dropshipping business by reselling those products at third-party sites like eBay or AliExpress. Dropshipping is a concept in which sellers procure products in bulk from suppliers and sell them further to the end-user.

Here’s a perfect breakdown of how dropshipping works:

For dropshipping business ideas, you need to do extensive market research and identify critical products in high demand and can be procured easily at discounted prices. Check high-selling products on the leading ecommerce website, including Amazon, to gauge the current trend.

Learn more about dropshipping by taking an online course or by reading my ultimate guide to dropshipping.

I recommend you get started dropshipping with a free 14-day trial with Shopify.

Get Started with Shopify

4. GRAPHIC DESIGN.

Companies are always on a lookout for graphic designers for branding purposes.

From designing marketing collaterals, including banners, posters, and logos to creating stunning designs of landing pages, the opportunities here are immense.

You can pitch your design skills to small business owners or individuals to start your gig. Graphic designers can also join freelance websites like Flexjobs to find relevant work.

If you have prior knowledge of this field, then getting clients would be helpful. However, learning the basics of graphic design from scratch is pretty easy, with a vast number of online courses.

You can leverage graphic design software like Adobe InDesign to learn the foundation of graphic design.

Alternatively, you can use other user-friendly online tools like Visme to hone your graphic design skills further.

Here are some amazing graphic design courses that will give you a great head start in this career:

• Fundamentals of Graphic Design (Coursera)
• Graphic Design Fundamentals: Getting Started (Creative Live)

I recommend you get started with Adobe InDesign as part of Creative Cloud. 

Try Adobe InDesign