03/11/2021
Construction Business
When you think of construction you may think of large projects like complete houses and commercial buildings that might be a little more than you’re ready to take on. But there are many smaller construction projects you can do to ease your way into this field.
For example, you could start by building sheds, playhouses, garages, outside decks, house additions, studios, pool houses or basement remodels. You could also consider taking on a little more risk yourself by buying a house that needs work, rehabbing it and selling it for more. It’s relatively easy to get bank financing for rehab projects.
03/11/2021
Nonprofit
Maybe you’d enjoy running a nonprofit organization more than a business? With a nonprofit you can do good for whatever cause you are seeking to serve. Plus you can pay yourself a salary and reimburse yourself for appropriate expenses.
Setting up a nonprofit is slightly more complex than a for profit business and you need to check on specific requirements in your state. For example, some states require a certain number of people on the board of directors.
An alternative to setting up a totally new nonprofit is to arrange for an existing non profit to be your “fiscal sponsor” so that you can avoid some of the legal and accounting costs of starting and maintaining a new legal entity.
03/11/2021
Wine Bar
A wine bar can be a really fun business.. You are going to need to serve at least some food to make a go of it. So it is pretty similar to a restaurant business, albeit with a distinct twist. It’s higher risk than starting a sandwich shop, let alone some of the simple service businesses on this list. But if you can develop a loyal customer base you can become quite successful.
Near my summer house in Dennis on Cape Cod I watched a young couple evolve and grow their wine bar business. They started with low to moderately priced wines, beer and cocktails and just a few simple food items that didn’t require much preparation.
03/11/2021
Health Club/Self Service Gym
I’ve belonged to some pretty fancy gyms over the years. Tennis courts, racquetball courts, saunas, steam baths, jacuzzis, indoor pools, outdoor pools, hot tubs – they had it all. If you are feeling ambitious you could open a full service health club like one of these.
But there are plenty of health clubs or gyms that have been incredibly successful with a much more limited model. Maybe you could just offer some basic exercise machines. Maybe just cycling. Maybe just yoga. Some of these gyms emphasize a specific workout program or workout concept as opposed to their equipment.
03/11/2021
The market for good domain names isn’t going away and you can make money trading these names. But like any trading business – from used boats to collectibles – I suggest you start slowly, and develop a specialty. Get to know the pricing really well. And learn what kind of domain names you can sell quickly.
This business is an obvious candidate for digital marketing. I would include email outreach to companies and organizations that you think may be candidates for particular domain names. For example, domain sellers often approach our companies selling domains they think we might be interested in. But they are usually names with several words in them or don’t end in “.com” and hence are names that have little interest to us and probably most other possible buyers.
03/11/2021
Antique Dealer
Near my summer house on Cape Cod there are hundreds of antique dealers, mostly selling out of their homes during the summer tourist season. Unsurprisingly, the dealers who do best have often become known for some kind of specialty. And that’s really the key to this business – focus on one area, get to know the pricing, and learn what kind of items you can turn over quickly.