2022 is bringing quite a few difficulties, but it's also ripe with opportunities for people who might want to open a new small business. While it may not be the year to go into the dine-in restaurant business, if you're thinking about starting an online-based business or one that thrives on deliveries, you're probably in luck.
People are more likely to want to support small businesses after the tough past two years as well. Here are just 6 of a huge list of the best business ideas for 2022 (and beyond, because who only wants to go into business for one year?).
1. Online Freelancer
This is a broad category, but becoming an online freelancer (or starting it as a side hustle for a little extra cash), is a great business idea for 2022. More businesses are moving online as a result of lockdowns and more people staying home, and those businesses need bookkeepers, copywriters, web designers, and graphic designers.
The best part is, you can use the myriad free resources online, so your startup costs for this business are minimal (for instance, if graphic design is your interest, you can help businesses design their very own logos at a site like this one for free).
If you need help finding clients or building a portfolio, check out Upwork, where you can apply for freelance work from clients all over the world.
2. App/Software Development
You might not be interested in starting a new tech company, but with some basic skills and some training, you can start developing apps as a small business. People are on technology more than ever before. And being able to create an app or some software that solves a problem, or provides some sort of entertainment, could be a viable business option. If it's really successful, you might just get lucky and sell it to a major software company for big money.
3. Cleaning Service
There are plenty of good reasons to start a cleaning service in 2022, not least of all because places of business and public spaces need to be sanitized to help with COVID-19 mitigation. People need their houses cleaned, restaurants and stores need to be more frequently sanitized, and public locations like government buildings that are still open need cleaning too. You'll probably have some competition, but starting a cleaning service this year means you probably won't ever have a shortage of business.
4. Social Media Marketer
Other small businesses are becoming increasingly aware that they need to have a social media presence, but they might not know how to effectively build one, or how to manage the marketing piece. Starting a social media marketing business directly services this population, and is a good B2B startup in 2022. If you need some training on how to start managing a business's social media marketing strategy, check out the courses on LinkedIn Learning.
5. Food Delivery Service
This might take on a variety of flavors, but a food delivery service is a great choice for 2022 when a lot of people still are focused on staying at home and getting food delivered. You could start a food truck and drive it to different neighborhoods around you. People will be happy for the chance to get out of the house and get some delicious food for a change.
You might look at starting an in-home food service where you take orders and deliver it (make sure you check out local regulations before you do something like that), or you could purchase or lease a commercial space and start selling from there. With today's technology, it's definitely possible to do if you can work out the logistics.
6. Animated Video Services
The media market is going to educate us via videos and animated visuals. As more businesses engage with customers, they need to understand the media landscape at their back-end. When we translate this insight into our clients, we give them a powerful platform on the growing trend of short forms and short films in marketing.
Animated video services are an attractive option for brands, websites, and developers. Graphics is a mighty tool that can have devastating effects on any site. The animated videos allow us to highlight our products or services by presenting these in a soothing video format without much wait necessary. You can determine the purpose of your marketing videos and keep them to an average length of 1-2 minutes in duration. It will be enough for showing critical product information.
Graphic formats are starting to change the way it is done. There are various ways the world of graphic art gets executed, and there's no shortage of new technology to enhance user experience in interactive products.
Conclusion
I've always believed that the most important thing about any small business idea is its capture. It should be easy to transmit, learn and implement. I was passionate enough to see how our virtual and non-virtual business ideas become actual reality by selling tiny packages of technical information or pieces of knowledge.
Business advice is also recommended, like using an enterprise IT company for your network to avoid technical issues and to keep your customer data more secure.
After all, sometimes we find out how relevant anyone's business idea can be as there are phrases like "You got it!". Good luck with your next best business idea journey in 2022!
Connie Pittman