Some of the most common excuses we hear for why someone hasn’t started a business yet are either lack of money or lack of substantial ideas. So we compiled a list of companies that can be started immediately, with virtually no barrier to entry. The common ground these ideas share is the simple fact that they solve problems. Everyday problems that most people don’t have the time or motivation to do themselves. These aren’t super complex jobs that you’ll need any qualifications to do, but, when pumped full of the necessary energy, any of these ideas can quickly turn into lucrative businesses.

The biggest hurdle will be explaining to your potential customers what problem they have, how you can solve it, and why their lives will be better with the outcome. If they aren’t convinced they have a problem in the first place, the likelihood of them purchasing the solution from you dwindles. You’ve got to get creative with it. So, here’s a few ideas to think about:

1. Canine Cardio Specialist

So, essentially a dog walking service. But doesn’t Canine Cardio Specialist sound so much cooler? How you present the problem can go leaps and bounds in garnering someone’s attention. But let’s face it. Its getting cold out, and people aren’t going to be as likely to jump for the leash when Ashebrooke starts barking to go outside. This means fewer and fewer walks the poor pup gets to enjoy, and more and more weight he’ll slowly gain. So who’s life is the decision to stay inside really hindering? You can solve this problem, and make money at the same time. Do it for Ashebrooke. 

2. Food Courier

Everyone’s busy. Some are too busy to eat. Or at least too busy to spend the time trekking across town to get the food they’re craving. They’re sick of the same old places that deliver, and chances are they didn’t pack a PB&J from home. So now they either have to spend valuable time out of their day to get something to eat, or they can call you. You’ve got all day and no strict corporate timelines to meet, so you offer to drive to that place on the other side of town and pick up a meal to bring back for them. For a small fee of course =] Everyone has the right to eat a meal they’ll enjoy.

3. Tour Guide

If you’ve lived in the same geographic area for an extended period of time, over the years, you’ve probably compiled a list of your favorite local spots. Or maybe you just know the area a little better than a non-native would. Either way, you can turn that knowledge into a business. Whether you’re showing someone new to the area some highlights of the city to give them a taste of local life. Or, you’re guiding a group of people around the city on a food tour, stopping at the places with the most peculiar menu items. Or, you can just put together your own sequence of hidden gems in the area that not many people know about, and show a group of people a side of the city they’ve never seen before. You just cater your route to the customer and get creative with it. 

4. Blog Post Writer/Editor

Everyone has that topic that they’ve mastered over time. There are only few, if any, are more knowledgeable in this particular sector of information. Or maybe there’s a certain topic, controversial, perhaps, that you think more people need to be thinking about. There are boundless themes waiting to have blogs built around them. If you’re passionate about something, chances are there are others in the same boat. Write about it. Share your thoughts and experiences. Reach out to people and start conversations worth starting. There has been several occasions where someone’s blog that they started for their own pleasure blossomed into worldwide success stories. Like, “Sh*! My Dad Says”, where a comedy writer started a twitter account simply posting quotes from his father that he found humorous. Many others found the same humor in these brief quotes, and it has since been adapted into a book and a sitcom TV series on CBS. Write for the sole enjoyment of writing, and you never know what could stem from it. 

5. Facebook Post Generator

While Social Media is an important key to a successful business, and free to implement, it still takes some time to write and create solid content. That is time that a lot of small business owners, with few employees, don’t have the time for. So, assuming you’ve read this and know how to take advantage of Social Media. You can become the interim Social Media Manager for anyone. The beauty of scheduling sites, like Hootsuite, is that you can write 2 weeks worth of content in one day, and just set up scheduled posts and your work is done. This takes huge loads of weight off a business owner’s back, and if you’re good at it, can land you more sustainable  long-term gigs. 

6. Errand Runner

You know what sucks? Working a 9-to-5 and never being able to do the things on your errands list because everything is only open 9-5. You’re still a human and have things you need to get done during a normal workday, it shouldn’t be so hard to run errands. But it is, and not everyone’s employer lets them take work time to do personal deeds. But, good thing you’re your own employer, and can work whatever schedule you wish to. So, while Susan in corporate doesn’t have the time to mail that package, or pick up that dry cleaning, or buy those batteries, but you do! And they’ll pay you to do it! Pretty sweet. 

7. Christmas Shopper

During the most hectic consumer season of the year, it can be difficult to get in and out of stores at times that aren’t swarmed with the chaos of thousands of other people trying to do the same thing. After a long week of work, a lot of people don’t the energy to suit up for battle on the weekends and go Christmas shopping. Most people have lists of the things they need to buy at this point in the year, just not the time to buy them. You can read. You can get from one location to another. You know how to buy things. How about you get shopping lists from people, and help them knock another thing off that dating to-do list. And guess what, you don’t have to do this for free either!

8. Automobile Sanitization Technician

It’s just washing a car, but it sounds much more important this way. But hey, it isn’t warm outside anymore. People aren’t looking for excuses to get outside like they were when the weather was nice. They’re doing the opposite. Any way they can coordinate reasons to spend more time indoors, they’re gonna do it. No one is dying to get outside and get wet washing the cars every weekend like in the summer. But dirt doesn’t stop being dirt when the temperature drops, and birds still don’t use toilets, like dirty animals. Cars still need to be washed. It’s good for them. And their owners. And your wallet if you play your cards right. 

9. Book Keeper

Here’s the issue, not everyone is as organized as they wish they were. And being organized can help induce a more productive and lean work environment. Whether they have finances that need to be categorized and recorded, or there’s a stack of business cards to be sorted, or they have a huge list of blog and media posts that need to be inventoried and tagged. Having information organized in a more accessible manner can help make decision making easier or bring a new perspective to your business. But organizing, filing, and the like, are tedious tasks that people will pay someone a pretty penny to have done for them. You can be that someone.  

10. Handy-Man

There are more and more things getting added to the “I’ll get around to fixing it someday” list. Like that door that doesn’t shut quite right, or that table that is literally on it’s last legs that needs to be tightened, or the shed that needs to be painted. Or even small things like that light bulb that went out 2 weeks ago that instead of replacing, you just somehow convinced yourself that kitchens with working lights are far too luxurious for your lifestyle, and now you just have to use your cell phone flashlight when looking for snacks after dark. No matter what the issue is, a lot of people have those things that they’ll never get around to. But, you can get around to those things for them, and everybody wins. 

11. Sales Consultant

Of all the tasks that come with owning a business, making sales is among the most difficult. Especially for someone who isn’t the most aggressive person out there, and will probably take the first “no” for an answer. These people need sales consultants to help push their product or service into the hands of the customers. You don’t need to have any sort of degree to make a successful sale. Just the desire and energy to get it done. Just having another set of hands on the sales force can make all the difference in the world. And maybe you get a commission or something, I don’t know. 

12. Lawn Maintenance

Landscaping duties are among the first to be neglected when it get cold outside. Drive around your neighborhood, and those surrounding, and find the ones that still have the first leaf that fell this year on their lawn, underneath the hundreds of other leaves that have since fallen on top. Or look for the bushes that need to be trimmed, or the gardens to be weeded. Being outside when the temperature starts to drop might be dreadful, but that’s all the more reason to get paid for it. 

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