Starting your own business can be an incredibly rewarding experience as it lets you turn your best ideas into money-making realities, not to mention the freedom you get from being your own boss. It’s not an easy road, naturally, as you’ll need to be able to handle all the responsibility and tackle the great challenges practically every new business faces.
If you’re a creative person, you already have one of the most important qualities of a successful entrepreneur. You likely enjoy thinking “outside the box” and can come up with inventive solutions to problems. Here are some great business ideas to put creative skills to work.
Freelance Graphic Designer
If you have talents for the visual arts, becoming a graphic designer can be a great career choice. It’s becoming more common for designers to embrace the freelance market, whether they’re doing so from the start or making a transition from working for a design company. Common challenges freelancers face in the beginning are maintaining the motivation to work under their own schedule, setting up a good portfolio, and getting their name out there.
While the first problem can be solved with practice, how quickly you can build a portfolio will depend on how many projects you’ve already completed. If you don’t have much material to show off already, you can create mockups (logos, business cards, etc.) to show off your skills. It’s also best to create your own website to further demonstrate your abilities and appear more professional to clients.
Personal Stylist
For those with an eye for fashion who either lack the skills or motivation to design clothes, you can still become involved in the industry by helping others look their best. As a personal stylist, you’ll help others define or revise their style based on current trends, as well as help them choose the colors, clothes, and accessories that work best for them. To bring in clients, you’ll need to get familiar with search engine optimization (SEO) and best practices for building a web presence. Many people don’t realize this career is even an option, and that goes for potential clients who need to be clued in too.
Woodworker
If you’re someone who prefers working with your hands or more intensive labor, you may find it rewarding to make products from wood. Wood is a popular material for furniture and smaller items like jewelry boxes, trunks, cutting boards, and plenty more. Customers are also willing to pay well for wood products, and even better, none of the biggest companies control more than 5% of the woodworking market value. This makes woodworking an excellent niche for small businesses.
Naturally, most of your startup costs will include your tools and materials, whether you’re starting with a storefront or working out of a home workshop. As your business expands, you may need help from a company like this seller of material handling equipment in New Jersey. Naturally, you’ll need to make sure all operations are up to OSHA standards.
Social Media Influencer
Once you start attracting a bigger client base and have a stronger online presence, you’ll be able to garner respect as an expert in your niche. With the help of a branding expert like the entrepreneur Jason Wong, you can learn to become a social media influencer in your field. The more you engage with your audience and post original content (blog posts, videos, podcasts, etc.) that’s relevant to them, the more trusted you’ll become.
If you’re open to working with popular brands in your niche, you can get paid for influencer marketing. Brands will pay you for endorsements or product placements within your content in an effort to reach your audience. The more trusted your opinions become, the more valuable they’ll be.
