15 Best Small Business Ideas For 2023

There are so many great small business ideas out there that it can be tough to choose which one to pursue. And if you’re currently employed full-time, it can be even tougher to find the time to start a business on the side.

But it is possible. I know firsthand because I’ve done it myself. In fact, some of the best businesses are started by people who are already working full-time.

If you’re feeling motivated to start a business in 2023 but don’t know where to start, here are 15 great business ideas you can pursue.

1. Start a blog

If you’re passionate about a certain topic, why not start a blog about it? You can share your knowledge and expertise with the world, and if you’re lucky, you might even be able to make some serious money from your blog through advertising or affiliate marketing. 

On average, serious bloggers make around $45,000 year. Keep in mind that the first six months is a building phase of creating content, driving traffic and building your following. The real income tends to kick in during the second six months, with the $45,000 a year figure for an established blog. 

One of the best things about blogging is that it’s relatively inexpensive and can be done in your spare time.

2. Start an e-commerce business

If you’re good at finding products that people want to buy online, an e-commerce business could be for you. You can sell just about anything, from physical goods to digital products. And the best part is, you can get started without investing a lot of money.

The trick is to find products you can purchase for a low amount, sell for substantially more and that people want to buy from you. 

T-shirts and other personalized items can work really well for this and entire 6 figure businesses have been built with a few super catchy and timely t-shirt slogans along with good graphics and marketing.

3. Start a service business

If you have a particular skill or talent that you can offer others, why not start a service business? You can offer your services to clients on a freelance basis, or you can even start your own service-based business.

If you are particularly good at any one aspect of online marketing, for example, then this could be a good fit for you. Content creation, graphic design, reputation management and business coaching are all good possibilities.

4. Start a subscription box business

If you’re looking for a unique business idea, why not start a subscription box business? You can curate boxes of products based on a theme and people can subscribe to receive them on a monthly or quarterly basis. This is a great way to build a loyal customer base and make some recurring revenue.

I’ve seen this work in crafting niches such as crochet and knitting, as well as pet niches, personal care items and even snack foods.

5. Start a drop shipping business

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of shipping products yourself, you can always start a drop shipping business. This type of business allows you to sell products without having to worry about inventory or shipping. Instead, when a customer orders a product from your store or from Amazon, you simply order it from your supplier and have it shipped directly to the customer.

The key here is to identify savvy product opportunities. Finding products from overseas that will sell well while giving you a good profit margin will take some research, but it can be well worth it.

6. Start an affiliate marketing website

If you’re good at driving traffic to websites, you could start an affiliate marketing website. This type of site earns revenue by directing visitors to other websites via your affiliate link where they can make purchases. As an affiliate, you earn a commission on every sale that you refer.

Your first step is to choose a niche. Find products that you want to promote in that niche and then create content to bring in prospects. Build your list and market these affiliate products to your list as well as on your website.

7. Start a social media marketing agency

If you’re good at marketing on social media, you could start your own social media marketing agency. You can help businesses grow their online following and get more leads and sales from their social media accounts.

8. Start writing ebooks

The beauty of ebooks is that while content matters, length does not. As long as you deliver on the promise of the title, your ebook can be almost any length. This means that if you get busy and focus, you could possibly write a new ebook every month or two. Heck, I’ve known people who wrote their first ebook over a two-day weekend.

Use each ebook to recommend the other ebooks as well as any services you provide. 

In fact, an ebook can be a great way to get customers for your service. For example, if you’re a web designer and you wrote the book on web design, clients are going to be much more eager to hire you for your services. 

9. Start teaching online courses

If you’re an expert then there is likely an audience willing to pay to learn what you know. Teachable is perhaps the easiest and most affordable platform to host your course and they have plenty of free resources to help you get started.

10. Start an SEO agency

If you’re good at optimizing websites for search engines, you could start your own SEO agency. You can help businesses improve their ranking in search results and get more traffic to their website.

11. Start a web design agency

If you’re good at designing websites, you could start your own web design agency. You can help businesses create beautiful and functional websites and entire sales funnels that convert visitors into customers.

12. Start a content marketing agency

If you’re good at creating compelling content, you could start your own content marketing agency. You can help businesses attract more website visitors and convert them into customers with high-quality content.

13. Start Instagram marketing

Build a loyal following on Instagram and could get deals with major brands to promote their products and services related to your content. If you have enough followers, you can charge $500 to $5000 or more per post.

14. Start an online coaching business

This can be the perfect way to teach beginners in your field. One-on-one coaching is a dependable side business that can be grown into a full time income. If you charge by the hour,  then you’ll want to use a system like Teamwork to keep track of billable hours while managing client projects at the same time.

In addition to the help you give others, you can also build an online community using a private Facebook group or Slack for your clients to interact and learn from each other.

15. Start a podcast

If you enjoy telling stories, chatting and doing interviews then this is a great opportunity for you to build an audience around a specific topic. You can use your podcast to get sponsors, to promote affiliate products or your own products. Even a new podcast with a built-in audience or a podcast that is building a strong audience can secure advertisers at $200 to $500 per 90 second slot.

You can research and create your own content, or you can interview experts on your podcast. Be sure to do plenty of storytelling to get and keep your audience, as well as conveying your enthusiasm for your topic, using emotion and humor to keep listeners coming back for more.

Of course, these are just a few ideas to get you started. There are endless possibilities when it comes to starting your own business. So, if you’re feeling motivated, take the first step and see where it takes you!