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Maybe your town has enough coffee shops. Your city probably has enough cupcake shops. And your county might not need yet another nail salon. If those ideas are up your alley, power to you! But if you’re thinking about starting a solo small business, it might be time to branch out into less familiar territory so that you can capture the attention (and dollars) of consumers near you.
An excellent way to set yourself apart from everything currently in the marketplace is to start a service business that caters to niche customer needs. By doing something different from what everyone else in your area is doing, you can build a client base without having to worry about being drowned out by competitors. And small service businesses tend to be relatively cheap to start with little paperwork or setup required at the outset, so you can begin to pad your bank account fast.
Many service businesses can be booted up with a small amount of equipment or supplies, a limited capital investment, and a user-friendly website, which you can build for free, in less than a minute, with Durable’s AI website builder. They also don’t require a lot of training or education and you definitely don’t want to have to look for office or retail space with the current real estate situation. You just need a great idea.
Well, you’re in luck: here are our favorite unusual home service business ideas to get your creative entrepreneurial juices flowing.
31 weird business ideas that can work for you.
Let’s get down to the dirty details by starting with the dirtiest idea on our list.
1. Dog poop removal
Picking up pet leavings is an unpleasant task, and with increasing restrictions on how pet waste can be disposed of, there is space in the market for someone with a hardy constitution and the dedication to become an expert in excrement removal.
2. Mobile bike repair
With a broken bike, it can be tough to get to a local repair shop. So pack up your tools and a lightweight bike stand and bring the shop to your customers.
3. Outdoor personal trainer
Not everyone has the time and mobility required to get to a gym, and plenty of people don’t have the space in their houses for home training. Meet your personal training clients in a park, school field, or community exercise space.
4. Mobile car detailing
You can clean a car in any location that is convenient for your clients that has access to a garden hose. No need to rent a garage.
5. Pet and house sitter
Take care of furry friends and ensure that your clients’ homes are safe and sound while they are on vacation or business trips. No equipment or supplies required!
6. Home staging
Help homes look their best in real estate photos and vacation rental listings by staging them with a small supply of inexpensive items like throw pillows, candles, books, plants, and whatever else your sense of decor tells you.
7. Concierge service
Some people work so much that they just don’t have time to manage the rest of their lives. Help them out (for a fee) by getting groceries, picking up drycleaning, taking their pets to the groomers, and more.
8. Aerial drone photography
Shutterbugs are a dime a dozen—get above the crowd by becoming a drone photographer. Drones are getting cheaper all the time and flying is fun!
9. Vacation rental management
Renting on Airbnb and Vrbo is hugely popular but not all homeowners have the time to manage their vacation rental properties. You can take over coordination of cleaning, restocking, booking, and more.
10. Holiday light installation
Yes it’s seasonal, but who couldn’t use a little extra cash during the winter months? If you have a ladder, hanging festive lights could be your ticket to a happy holiday.
11. Wedding officiant
Church and courthouse weddings aren’t as popular as they once were, which means there is room for someone like you to swoop in with a fresh new take on the wedding ceremony. In most places you’ll just need to follow the steps to become ordained by a church or organization.
12. Mobile pet grooming
Strapping Fido into the station wagon can be a headache for pet owners, so why not bring your aesthetic skills to them? Have flea comb, will travel.
13. On-call translator
Sometimes Google Translate just isn’t good enough. If you speak more than one language, offer your services on an on-call basis, either over the phone or in person.
14. Niche catering
There are a million wedding caterers, but how many vegan ultramarathon caterers are there? Figure out where the gaps in on-site food service are in your area and fill them.
15. Mobile knife sharpening
There’s never a dull moment in the mobile knife sharpening business. Clients will pay for expert skills and incredible convenience—target home cooks as well as restaurants.
16. Tour guide
Host walking, bicycle, bus, or boat tours in your area. All it takes is reading up on local history and a good pair of shoes.
17. At-home spa services
People’s lives are busy and stressful. Help alleviate their tension and save them some time by providing spa services in their homes: facials, massage, reiki, mani-pedi, and more.
18. Home fruit picking
Chances are there is fruit growing in your area that no one picks. You can pick it and then sell it, make jam, cider, wine, and more. Just get permission first, you’re no thief.
19. Voiceover service
If you have a quiet place in your home, you could become a voiceover artist for TV, YouTube, phone messaging, and more. Bonus points for multilingual fluency.
20. Mobile yoga
Yoga helps people improve their mobility, so making your yoga classes mobile can make them more accessible to more people. Namast-yay!
21. Bike rental and delivery
If someone is renting a bike, there’s a good chance they don’t have reliable transportation to pick it up, so take a bike to them. Start by working with an existing rental company until you can build your own fleet.
22. Party services
Partiers love to see classic entertainment at family events. Practice your clowning, dazzle as a magician, or simply deliver a bundle of helium balloons to the delight of children and adults alike.
23. Indoor plant care
People murder their indoor plants all the time. You can be the difference between life and death with just a watering can and some simple potted plant supplies.
24. Smart home setup
Not everyone is smart enough to set up their smart home devices. But if you can read a manual or follow instructions from a YouTube video, you can have clients talking to their devices in no time.
25. Thermal imaging
Thermal imaging is incredibly useful when inspecting buildings for heat loss or investigating industrial sites for excessively heated components. A one-time investment could make you the local hotshot.
26. Mobile tailoring
No one likes standing in front of three mirrors while someone sticks pins alarmingly close to their fleshy bits. If you’ve got sewing skills, meet your clients at home to increase their comfort and convenience.
27. Fish tank maintenance
There are plenty of people who don’t have fish tanks because of the maintenance. You can take the algae off their hands—you’ll only need a few tools and supplies.
28. Hot tub maintenance
Pool cleaning is well-established but hot tubs get equally gnarly. Specialize in hot tub maintenance to help your clients get even more relaxed.
29. Solar panel cleaning
With the proliferation of at-home solar arrays, we’re reducing our reliance on the power grid. But when they get dirty, they don’t produce as much of the juice, so get your ladder and scrub brush out of the garage and start looking for photovoltaic opportunities.
30. Hurricane preparation
As the climate gets increasingly weird, hurricanes are becoming stronger and more frequent. With some simple handyman tools and supplies, you can help protect homes and businesses in your area from rain and wind damage.
31. Beer draft line cleaning
At the end of a long day of entrepreneurship, all you want is a great tasting beer, and that requires clean draft lines. Ensure your local speakeasy is pouring sparkling brews—all you need is a bucket, some simple tools, and some line cleaning chemicals. Drink up!
When you’re ready to get weird, Durable is here.
When you’ve decided on a small service business and you’re ready to get started, come talk to us at Durable for help getting rolling. Durable makes it easy to build a website (it takes just 30 seconds), keep track of clients and send out invoices. With Durable, you can start bringing your special brand of strangeness to customers by the end of the day.
