Key Takeaways:
- Ecommerce businesses, especially dropshipping, have high growth potential due to rising online shopping trends. Low overhead makes them attractive.
- Food trucks and meal prep services meet the growing demand for quick and unique dining options. They can start small and expand.
- Consulting leverages your existing expertise to help businesses in your niche. Low startup costs but requires specialized skills.
Introduction
Entrepreneurs looking to launch new ventures want to choose business ideas poised for growth and success. The fastest growing businesses tap into hot market demand, require low startup costs, and provide recurring revenue streams.
We’ve identified three business types that meet these criteria:
- Ecommerce businesses
- Food trucks and meal delivery
- Consulting
Below we explore why these industries are exploding and provide actionable tips for starting your own fast-growth business.
Ecommerce Businesses Offer Digital Access to Customers
Ecommerce businesses top the list of fastest growing businesses to launch for several reasons:
Online shopping is expanding rapidly
- Ecommerce sales grew over 30% from 2019-2021 as more shopping moves online
- Expected to reach $1 trillion in the US by 2023
Low overhead to start compared to retail stores
- Avoid costs of commercial real estate, staff, utilities
- Easy to scale up as you grow
Multiple ecommerce models to choose from
Popular options include:
- Dropshipping: Sell products stored and shipped by another company
- Amazon FBA: Amazon handles storage, shipping, and sales platform
- Ecommerce store: Create your own online shop and manage all operations
We’ll take a deeper look at each ecommerce model next.
Dropshipping Offers Hands-Off Convenience
Dropshipping has exploded in popularity due to its simplicity and flexibility. As a dropshipper, you create an online store but don’t actually stock any inventory. A third-party supplier stores and ships products directly to customers when you make sales.
Benefits of dropshipping:
- Extremely low startup costs – often less than $100
- Easy to scale – add new products without overhead costs
- Low maintenance since you don’t handle logistics
Successful dropshipping niches include phone accessories, hobby supplies, clothing, beauty products, and impulse buys. Limitations include low margins, reliance on suppliers, and inability to customize products.
Overall dropshipping represents one of the most accessible online businesses to start today. The industry is predicted to grow to $491 billion in the US by 2025.
Amazon FBA Outsources Key Operations
Selling products through Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program constitutes another popular low-touch ecommerce model. As a third-party Amazon seller, you source products but rely on Amazon for critical operations:
Amazon handles key functions:
- Warehousing and inventory management
- Picking, packing and shipping orders
- Customer service and returns
- Sales platform and traffic
As the seller, you specialize in product research, branding, marketing, and branding. Top product categories include books, toys, kitchenware, electronics, and home goods.
The Amazon FBA industry hit $200 billion in 2021, but competition is fierce. Success requires carefully selecting niche products and perfecting branding and listings.
Building Your Own Ecommerce Store Offers More Control
For entrepreneurs wanting maximum control and custom branding, building your own ecommerce store presents an attractive option. You independently handle everything end-to-end:
- Sourcing and warehousing products
- Managing online storefront
- Packing and shipping orders
- Marketing and promotions
- Customer service
Popular platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce make launching easier. Focus your store around a specific product niche where you can add expertise and value.
Despite greater effort needed, your own store allows customizing operations, margins, and branding to best meet client needs. And industry growth remains high – the US ecommerce market is expected to hit $1.2 trillion by 2025.
Food Trucks and Meal Delivery Gain Popularity
Food service covers another category of fastest growing small businesses today. Trends driving growth include:
Demand for unique dining experiences
- Customers seek adventurous new cuisines and fusions
- Interest in street food and authentic ethnic options
Need for speed and convenience
- Busy schedules limit sit-down dining time
- Meal delivery and takeout meet quick service needs
Custom models possible
- Lower cost trucks and virtual kitchens allow testing ideas
- Delivery-only operations increase flexibility
In the sections below, we explore profitable models in this space – food trucks, meal prep services, ghost kitchens, and virtual restaurants.
Food Trucks Offer Unique Location Flexibility
Food trucks have exploded from a $1 billion to $4 billion industry in the last decade. These small businesses boast distinct advantages:
Low cost to start
- Used trucks start at $10k vs $200k+ for restaurants
- Avoid rent, utilities, wait staff costs
Location flexibility
- Test concepts and locations before investing in a store
- Move to customers via office parks, fairs, breweries
Specialization possible
- Focus the menu on a signature dish or cuisine type
- Build a cult following with select offerings
Profitable food truck niches include speciality coffee, desserts, authentic international street foods (Korean, Indian, tacos), and popular staples like BBQ and lobster rolls.
Food trucks let entrepreneurs start small, test ideas, build expertise, and expand at their own pace – fueling industry growth.
| Startup Costs | $10,000-$100,000 |
|---|---|
| Profit Margin | 10-35% |
| Staffing Needs | Solo up to 5 staff |
| Common Locations | Fairs, parks, street parking, breweries |
| Regulation | Permits, licenses, truck maintenance, parking |
Meal Prep Services Meet Nutrition Needs
For health-focused dining options, freshly prepared meal delivery represents a thriving model. These services send weekly packages with pre-made meals tailored to clients’ nutrition plans and diets.
Customer segments served:
- Athletes and bodybuilders
- Busy professionals
- Health/diet focused
- Seniors/assistance programs
Key advantages:
- Repeat subscription revenue model
- Specialized to meet target customer needs
- Lower cost than restaurants
Prepared meal delivery brings in over $10 billion annually with growth estimates around 12% per year. Offering specialized nutrition and convenience lets these businesses command steady demand.
Ghost Kitchens Optimize Delivery Operations
Even more streamlined than food trucks, ghost kitchens focus exclusively on delivery and pick-up. They operate commercial kitchens optimized for preparing off-site orders.
Benefits of the ghost kitchen model:
- Eliminate dining room costs with smaller footprint
- Optimize operations for delivery orders
- Tap into delivery apps for instant customer access
- Test multiple virtual restaurant concepts from one kitchen
Further supporting order volume is the rise of virtual restaurants – eateries that exist only on delivery apps without physical locations. Combined, ghost kitchens and virtual restaurants make up a $1 trillion global industry growing over 15% annually.
The optimized cost model offers a lucrative opportunity for entrepreneurs. But success requires mastering delivery apps, digital marketing, and tight operations.
Consulting Leverages Niche Expertise
From marketing consultants to computer experts to business coaches, consulting businesses remain highly popular for their low barriers to entry. Industry growth results from:
Steady demand to improve business performance
- Companies seek outside experts to enhance strategies, systems, and skills
Lower startup costs than other professional services
- Avoid expenses for office space, equipment, hardware, inventory
Recurrent revenue potential
- Ongoing coaching and advisory roles possible
We’ll now review two of the most popular consulting models – expert consulting and business coaching.
Expert Consulting Capitalizes on Existing Skills
Leveraging hard-won industry expertise represents the essence of expert consulting. Whether an accountant, programmer, scientist, or designer, your niche skills translate into marketable services.
As a consultant, you work with clients to solve problems, improve performance, and extract more value from your field of specialty. Engagements may involve:
- Strategic planning
- Project management
- Troubleshooting
- Training and advising
Low startup costs, flexible hours, and high income potential make consulting appealing. Success requires confidence, self-direction, and commanding premium prices communicating your expertise.
Business Coaches Guide Growth
For larger business impact, entrepreneurs can position themselves as coaches. Coaches work with clients on big picture and strategic issues such as:
- Crafting business models/plans
- Setting goals and accountability
- Leadership development
- Team alignment
- Organizational change
Industry demand results from leaders recognizing their own blindspots. And coaches can target diverse niches – by role (executive, sales), industry (healthcare, tech), or business.
Choosing Among the Top Opportunities
The businesses described all leverage hot market demand and industry growth trends. But which option best fits your skills, interests, and risk tolerance?
Here we compare the models across key factors to consider:
| Startup Costs | Competition | Expertise Needed | Operations Complexity | Income Potential | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dropshipping | Low | High | Low-Moderate | Low | Moderate |
| Amazon FBA | Moderate | High | Moderate | Low-Moderate | Moderate-High |
| Ecommerce Store | High | Moderate | High | High | High |
| Food Truck | Moderate | Low-Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate-High |
| Meal Delivery | Moderate | Low-Moderate | Moderate | High | Moderate-High |
| Ghost Kitchen | High | Low-Moderate | High | High | High |
| Consulting | Low | Low-Moderate | High | Low | High |
Key takeaways:
- Ecommerce models offer the fastest business growth potential
- Food services balance growth with lower startup costs
- Consulting leverages skills for premium rates
Now let’s explore tactics to maximize success once you choose a direction.
Key Steps to Launch Your Business
While specifics will vary across the business types, some universal best practices set you up for faster growth and greater profits.
Refine your niche – Clearly define target customers and needs to position your solutions.
Register legal formalities – Determine needed business licenses, permits, insurance based on your model.
Fund launch costs – Estimate and source startup funding via savings, loans, crowdsourcing.
Select business systems – Choose tools for email marketing, accounting, HR, operations to scale efficiently.
Set up an online presence – Create a professional brand identity with a domain, website, and social media handles.
Build a marketing toolbox – Test channels to cost-effectively drive customer acquisition – SEO, social ads, content, partnerships.
Track metrics diligently – Measure key performance indicators like customer churn, lifetime value, profit margins to enhance efforts.
Stay lean initially – Keep overheads low while testing product-market fit, then scale up incrementally.
As beginner entrepreneurs, avoiding falling prey to “analysis paralysis”. Commit to a plan of action and expect to iterate based on results come. The faster you start learning from real customers, the quicker you’ll gain traction.
Conclusion
While every new venture carries risks and learning curves, today’s fastest growing sectors promise accessible startup models and strong industry tailwinds.
Choose the opportunity best aligned with your expertise and interests. Develop your model thoughtfully but be prepared to adapt based on market response.
Finally, bring the grit, systems, and marketing savvy required to stand apart from the competition. By tapping into current demand trends with strategic execution, you can build a profitable, scalable business poised for growth.