In the midst of technological advances and the onset of tech startup businesses, there is still room for manual labor and opportunities to earn from them. Find out what they are in our list of low-tech startup businesses. Not Tech Savvy? No Problem. Here are 25 Startup Businesses for Non-Techies In this digital age, almost everything […]
In the midst of technological advances and the onset of tech startup businesses, there is still room for manual labor and opportunities to earn from them. Find out what they are in our list of low-tech startup businesses.
Not Tech Savvy? No Problem. Here are 25 Startup Businesses for Non-Techies
In this digital age, almost everything is run by computers. Thankfully though, we have not yet reached the level of the Jetsons’ world where all activities require the use of hi-tech gadgets. This is good news for those who are not quite tech-savvy.
These businesses have been around for a long time and continue to profit for those who have entrepreneurial skills but with limited technical training or knowledge. We’re running down a list of businesses that continue to deliver profits with low tech requirements.
1. Cleaning Business
This business is as manual as it can get. All you need are customers who need the service, cleaning materials, supplies, and you’re off to a good start. Almost every household requires cleaning services so promoting your business isn’t going to be too difficult.
2. Flea Market Vending
Trading or the good ol’ buy-and-sell is the most basic business model. You buy some items at bargain prices then sell them for a profit. The markup may seem negligible for each item, but if you total all your sales for the day, you’d be surprised how much money you’ve actually made. If you have the skills, you can also “pick” vintage items, upcycle them and sell them at flea markets.
3. Child Care Service
It may not be high-tech, but running a daycare center is not an easy job. It does not only require knowledge of child psychology and behavior, most importantly, it requires tons of patience. On the upside, a computer course certificate is not a requirement to get into this job.
4. Lawn Mowing
If you think lawn mowing is only for teenagers, think again! Believe it or not, what used to be a teenager’s summer gig has evolved into a legit professional job. The job could be easy or difficult depending on the size of the lawn you’re trimming and of course, you would need to shell out some serious cash for a durable lawnmower and a vehicle to take on jobs but the job does pay.
5. Errand Service
Running an errand service only needs very minimal employee training especially if the errands you’d be taking on are odd jobs such as picking up clothes from the dry cleaners, doing grocery shopping, picking up food or coffee – jobs busy people rarely have time for. The key is hiring dependable workers who can follow simple instructions.
6. Pet Sitting
Pet owners love their pets and they would want their animals to be safe, fed and well taken care of when they’re away. If you love animals and don’t mind caring for other people’s pets, why not become a pet sitter? A successful pet sitting service is built on a reputation of trustworthiness. Hire employees who understand the importance of trustworthiness as much as you do and you’d have no trouble growing your business.
7. Dog Walking
Pets are indispensable companions to their pet owners. But oftentimes, there’s just too much going on in people’s lives that even a simple task such as walking their dogs becomes impossible to squeeze in. Because of this, the demand for dog walkers has risen in the past few years. People who were quick to see this demand have switched to doing it full time. It may not seem obvious, but these full-time dog walkers who pet owners have come to trust with their canine companions are making quite a good business out of it.
8. Baker
Make money off of your baking hobby either by selling them to a nearby bakeshop or restaurant. You can also start posting photos of your creations on social media. One of your friends is bound to ask if you accept orders! Think along the lines of Minecraft themed cupcakes for your friend’s little boy or maybe a Disney themed batch for a little girl.
9. Personal Chef
If cooking is your passion, you’ve probably toyed with the idea of opening your own restaurant at one time or another. Maybe, like many others, you decided against it because the risk was too great or the costs were too steep. Well, if you’re really determined, why not get into the personal chef business. A lot of families just do not have the time and/or talent to whip up a 7-day meal plan week on week. Or unlike you, they just simply do not enjoy cooking as much. Offer your services to the right customer and BAM! – you’ve made a name for yourself as the new chef on the block!
10. Food Stand
If you look around you, you’d see a multitude of food stands, food trucks and food trailers. These generally do well as a business because, well, it’s food! The mobile food business is so popular today is because although people are constantly in a hurry and are always trying to get somewhere – they still need to eat. People need food that’s quick and cheap and the food stand passes both criteria.
11. Packing Service
This is a specialized business that caters to people who are moving. You can start small and offer your services to someone in your neighborhood. As your business grows, you can offer your services to businesses. You can add forwarding and transporting to your list of services offered if you have the resources. The people you hire play a big role in the success of your packing service business since you’re dealing with people’s belongings.
12. Tutoring Service
Along with the rise of the popularity of home schooling, comes the need for tutors for specialized subjects. Some parents who choose to homeschool their kids do not actually have time to sit down and go through the entire curriculum. Tutoring services (especially those that are done at the student’s homes) allow the parents to “oversee” their child’s education without having to do the actual teaching themselves. Some children, not necessarily those who are home schooled, just learn better when the teaching is done in a one-on-one setup. If you think about it this way, you’d realize that there certainly is a real market for these services.
13. Personal Training
Take advantage of the fitness craze sweeping not only young people but the middle-aged as well. Share your fitness regimen while making some money out of it. Personal training is a great business for those with great social media savvy: get noticed by posting your before and after pictures. Make sure people leave you reviews on yelp! It’s hard work, but if this is something you’re interested in, you probably don’t shy away from working hard.
14. Car Washing
Car washing is a great money making opportunity whether you do it on your own at your neighbors’ front yard or you open a professional car wash business. Customers will always go to you if you give them satisfactory service.
15. House Sitting
This is one of the easiest jobs as it doesn’t require you to do anything other than to keep watch of the house while the owners are away. But make no mistake; it is a solid supplemental income opportunity. Some homeowners would even allow you to watch TV. Make sure you establish your policies and rules, and provide your clients with background checks.
16. Elderly Caregiving
People, for want to keep their grandparents close by, now choose to keep them at home. To make up for the professional care they could have had at a home for the elderly, they instead opt for paid home care services such as that of a professional caregiver. Some of a caregiver’s tasks include picking up groceries, some cooking. giving the elderly their meds and they must have first-aid know how. If you decide to start a home care business, you’d need to make sure that the people you hire are first of all trustworthy, have had proper training, and had gone through necessary background checks to assure the safety of your would-be clients.
17. Pool Cleaning
What’s the point of having a swimming pool if you can’t swim in because it hasn’t been cleaned for the longest time? But cleaning both the internal and external parts of the pool is such a tedious task that most owners opt to hire pool cleaners. That’s where you come in.
18. Tailoring Shop
Perfect for those who have the skills in altering and repairing all kinds of garments. The job is to repair, resize, remodel and create clothes from dresses and tops to trousers. Best of all, you can open the shop right in your own home. All you need is a sewing machine.
19. Custom Embroidery
If you enjoy embroidering as a hobby, this business is for you. Turn your passion into a livelihood by personalizing shirts, polos, hats and other apparel with an embroidered design like custom logos and initials.
20. Handyman
Things break. That’s a fact of life. Thank the stars for people who are handy with the hammer and circular saw. If you are one of those people who have a knack for fixing things, you might as well be in the business doing just that and get paid to do what you love doing anyway. People break things but don’t always have the skills to put things back together – thus the reason why handy workers are always in demand. Patching up holes in the roof, replacing broken door knobs or de-clogging the kitchen sink is never a fun task, but someone has to do it.
21. Tour Guide
There are people whose sense of pride in their places is unusually stronger that they can narrate historical tidbits and little-known facts other locals are not aware of. If you’re this kind of person, why not make a living with this knack of yours by becoming a tour guide? Not only will you be able to make a career out of it, you’ll be doing your community a service by contributing to its tourism industry.
22. Translator
Interpreters have been in demand from companies that want to communicate with their foreign business partners. As globalization increases, their services are sought after now more than ever as companies seek to capture diversified markets overseas. Now is the time to cash in on your multi-linguistic talent.
23. Wedding Consultant
This business may not be high-tech, but it is hard work. Coordinating with various vendors and service providers alone is already complicated. Multiply that if you have numerous clients. The good news is that many marrying couples are willing to spend big on their wedding day which you can take advantage of.
24. Interior Decorating
Who doesn’t want to have a beautiful home? Interior decorators are highly sought after by homeowners who are willing to spend more just to show off their affluence. This can be a fun and lucrative business if you have a keen eye for design.
25. Window Cleaning
Washing windows is probably one of the easiest chores in the planet but nobody seems to want to do it. Most people would rather pay someone else than to get their hands dirty doing it themselves. Cleaning windows is a fairly easy task so you’d have no trouble building your workforce should you decide to go into this type of business. You also don’t have to wait for money to come in since you get paid right away as soon as you’re done. You won’t need to spend too much on supplies either. You’d only need basic cleaning supplies to start – and maybe a bunch of long-handled squeegees.
So, despite of all the newer technological innovations that have emerged in the recent years, there are still plenty of other business options that don’t require technical training.
If this article was helpful and you’d like to get started, download our 21 Step Business Start Up Checklistfor a step-by-step guide on how to start your own business.