This has been a strange year in the world of business. Many companies have had to make radical changes in the way they do just about everything. Some of these have had a positive effect on the market and brought about new and exciting trends. This means there will be plenty of opportunities for people with small business ideas in the future. Here are some examples, based on figures from developments in recent years, and predictions in 2020.
Meal Plans and Delivery
At the moment most businesses are solely reliant on delivery in order to get their products to their customers. Before social-distancing was implemented, companies like UberEats and JustEat had already taken over, and having food brought to your door was ever popular. The key idea is thinking of a USP. Some companies are providing complete meal services, for specific diets for example, but others are also adding a home cooking aspect to this.
Delivery meal kits are doing very well at the moment, as it’s somewhere between takeout and a healthy meal plan. Customers can pick and choose prepared ingredients, and find out a little about their nutritional value. This is great for those who want to save time, reduce waste, and select local produce. In fact, many local businesses are starting to provide a service like this.
Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR)
This is the future of video and gaming technology but it’s also being applied in many fields. Design and Architecture, for example, are doing well with AR products as they can display a virtual example of their client’s house. This is very effective for sales. There are many opportunities for AR to grow in different areas. It could add a social experience to business meetings or other virtual events. This year everybody is dependent on platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and this has helped with productivity and efficiency working from home. It’s likely that they’ll be a development in this area.
Franchise
If you don’t want to risk everything by starting a brand new business from scratch, then a franchise business might be a great compromise. Franchises allow you to utilise the name, reputation, marketing and customer vase of an already-established company to help you get up and running. While the business will still be yours, you will need to pay a fee for any franchises for sale to get started, and you will be responsible for running the business, staffing, etc. Still, you get the support of the company providing the franchise, so you can hit the ground running.
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
Amazon has developed the FBA program to enable small businesses to use their services. This gives small businesses an opportunity to get on to the retail marketplace. FBA sellers source products for their Amazon stores from their original ideas, that they manufacture, or from other local businesses and wholesalers for example. Amazon works as the middle man, for a fee of course, by advertising and distributing the products.
Home Renovations
There’s a lot of business for tradespeople such as painters, carpenters, roofers, anything to do with home improvement. This is something that is unlikely to change. If you have a small business in this area and you want to stand out the best thing you can do is to get professional help with developing a website. SEO and digital marketing are how you find the business these days so your online presence is crucial. Make sure the world knows you’re the best skilled in the area and with the right branding, the business will come flying in.
