1. Move to Cardiff!
New research by the School of Marketing has found that Cardiff is the best place in the UK to start a business.
With 20% of Cardiff’s workforce employed within the financial and business sector, there is a wealth of employable talent to hire. And it shows, with 2021 seeing 72% higher business openings than closings, the Welsh capital is oozing with new business ventures.
It’s also the UK’s most beautiful city, according to the author of this piece, who was born there!
2. Mint NFTs
NFTs, or “non-fungible tokens”. What are they? Does anyone really know? Well, they became a $40B market in 2021, just $10B shy of the physical art market.
Interested in learning more about minting NFTs? The people at Ethereum have put together a helpful “how to” guide here.
3. Write and distribute a newsletter
Writing and distributing a newsletter is a good way to organically build a community of like-minded people, often around a specific theme or idea. Newsletters can be sent weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly... You decide! The aim is to pack them full of interesting and engaging content, announcements, offers, and insight.
Though not necessarily itself a business, a newsletter is a great marketing tool to advertise an existing business or to expand into a business with your dedicated subscribers.
You can also use your newsletter to direct readers to your products or accept paid advertisements from businesses.
4. Open a market stall
Some business ideas will never go out of date. The town market is the original market. Running a market stall is a great way to build a personal relationship with your customers, build a reputation for selling high quality products, and meet like-minded sellers.
Do you already sell small-batch peanut butter? Or crocheted hats? Or tasty bottles of hot sauce? Consider appearing at a local market stall so that customers can put a face to the brand.
Alternatively, with plenty of markets open around London, and with the cost of hiring a stall starting at around £15-£20 per day, becoming a stall holder could be the way to take your business idea from bedroom fantasy to real-world reality.
Unsplash © Jon Tyson
5. Train as a wellness instructor
With the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on the UK’s mental health, many have turned towards wellness training to combat anxiety, depression, and loneliness.
Some people can get their dopamine-rush from an early morning run, swim in a lake or visit to the gym. Others need a little guidance. It isn’t a simple task to become a qualified yoga instructor, but is certainly a business route for those who are already passionate about the practice.
6. Become a driving instructor
There is a huge backlog of people waiting to learn how to drive, with many having to wait ten months to take a test. As a driving instructor you can work to your own schedule and build a brand you’re proud of.
There are many ways to train, and most reputable driving instruction companies offer their own bespoke training programmes.
7. Walk dogs!
With the gradual return of workers to the office, many are going to need a walker for those lockdown-inspired dogs! Again, this is a great way to build a personal brand and work to a flexible schedule.
Professionalism is important to bring on clients. And with building a website from scratch costing as much as a handwritten sign taped to a bus stop, I recommend you put together a simple website with your name, contact information, and rates, and distribute a QR code to local businesses!
8. Become a freelancer, and become your own boss!
Freelance culture is on the up and up! And when it comes to startups, freelancers are a no brainer.
Now you’re going to have to decide what type of freelancer you are (writer, web developer, data scientist), but if you have a particular skill, there are plenty of websites out there that will allow you to sell your labour.
Unsplash © Alizée Baudez
9. Design websites
All companies need websites; all websites need website designers. Of course, “drag and drop” website design companies are a simple solution, but for companies with a bit of money to spend, a bespoke website is a marketing necessity.
Not currently a website designer? There are plenty of online courses, though some will be better than others. Look for the ones with the highest number of good reviews.
10. Become a graphic designer
The aim of the graphic designer is to captivate an audience. Again, you’ll need to go through some form of training to learn the basics, but, if you’re already a creative person with an eye for design, graphic design could be a lucrative side project that can develop into a fully-fledged career.
11. Learn how to code
Continuing the theme of jobs that build websites, coding is one of the most lucrative skills you can currently acquire. There is also a huge disparity between those who know how to code and those who don’t know how to code. Coding isn’t currently a prerequisite to being in business, but it may be soon.
For too long coding has been a male-dominated field, but a collection of edtechs are challenging the norm and offering coding equity.
Not sure where to start? A coding bootcamp will give you an insight into what coding is, just find the one targeted at the appropriate level.
There is no shortage of work going for coders, so once you’re trained you can start to work!
12. Sell your skills as a photographer
Often, website editors will use open source imagery from stock photography companies.
Though images are often free to use, users can tip the photographer. On some sites, the photographer will receive a commission from the host website.
Alternatively, a photographer could promote their services through social media sites such as instagram. This is a perfect way to market skills in wedding, events, or live music photography and a great way of getting future work.
13. Tutor
With so many kids missing out on essential education over the pandemic, parents are scrambling for tutors to lend support. Edtech companies are plugging some of the gaps, but for many, an in-person or virtual tutor is preferred.
There are two routes to becoming a tutor. You can sign up with a pre-existing tutoring service who will link you to clients. Or, you can self-market, advertise online and around your neighbourhood, and build a solo brand.
With some hourly rates upwards of £50, tutoring can be a perfect side-hustle.
Unsplash © John Schnobrich
14. Sell your clothes online
As an individual, you can take one of two avenues when it comes to selling your clothes online. If you're someone who has an over-abundance of clothes, you can sell off your unworn back catalogue. Websites such as Depop have artfully combined the worlds of social media and ecommerce to create a unique online setting for informal peer-to-peer transactions.
If, on the other hand, you're someone with an eye for a deal and can spot what is, and what is not, fashionable, you could scout out good finds in markets and charity shops and then re-sell at an inflated price online.
15. Take a two-week all-expenses paid holiday!
Okay, this one will need some explaining... If you have two weeks spare, or perhaps you're a remote worker with a light workflow, you could check yourself into a local Flucamp. Flucamps conduct paid medical and clinical research trials on willing citizens. The remuneration is very generous and you're provided with a bed and meals.
The downside if you may be infected with a serious cold or flu virus.
16. Become a voiceover artist
The voices that soundtrack commercial advertisements may not always seem human, but they very often are!
Do you have a particularly unusual, or, depending on the brand, usual, voice? If so, you could etch out a career reading advertising slogans or even voicing animations. There are very few barriers to entry in this industry, beyond having a very good microphone.
17. Engage in some passive income streams
A passive income stream is a form of income that requires very little active management or input.
Classic examples include investment into stocks and shares, which will pay out over time. But the passive income market has developed substantially with the introduction of technology. Have you considered renting out a bedroom, a storage space, or even a parking space? Doing so will provide a steady inflow of income and will require very little maintenance or input.
18. Make and monetise YouTube videos
A 2019 poll found a third of youngsters want to become vloggers on YouTube; this is unsurprising, considering 5B videos are watched on YouTube every single day. However, with 300 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute, it is hard to stand out.
However, YouTube is a democratic video-hosting platform with few to no barriers to entry. Find your niche, record videos, build a following, monetise your content.
19. Become a streamer
Becoming a streamer is slightly different to becoming a YouTuber. Whilst YouTube largely hosts standalone, edited videos, streaming sites such as Twitch allow individuals to livestream an online performance. A significant number of streamers livestream video game footage.
Are you pretty good at an online game? Do you consider yourself quite amusing? Streaming could be for you!
20. Invest in a startup
Investing into a business at seed-stage isn’t the preserve of venture capitalists. Through websites such as Crowdcube, you can pledge some money to a startup that will pay out, in some form, upon success and growth.
Whilst conventional investment into the stock market can occasionally feel impersonal and intangible, investing into a crowdfunder offers greater proximity to the founders and their product. Take a look at some companies currently crowdfunding here.
