Tag: small business idea

business trends

10 high-growth business ideas

Most small businesses start with a great idea. However, at GoForth, we know that sometimes a great small business idea can be coaxed out with a bit of help.

We’ve scanned trends in society, our economy, technology, and government regulations and came up with a list of businesses expected to grow in the next 10 years – from nanotechnology to machine learning to augmented reality and more. Click here to read the list – your next great small business idea could be there!

And if you’re ready to take the plunge into one of these high-growth industries, get prepared with our 100 Essential Small Business SkillsTM training!

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Why be a trend-spotter?

business trends

Trend-spotting — anticipating dynamic changes in our society, our economy, in technology and in our daily lives — can help your search for a unique business idea. What does the future hold for us? What are the key trends impacting our lives, our world and our plans for the future?

Two examples of business trends

Fashion blogs/influencers

The internet has changed the way many businesses operate – including fashion-related small businesses. Over the past few years, hundreds of fashion blogs and YouTube and Instagram accounts have popped up online. These blogs are focused on posting daily outfits and news from the fashion industry. It may seem like a cute hobby, but many designers are taking note.

Fashion bloggers have powerful influence over their readers – anywhere from a few dozen to a few thousand people. Some of these influencers partner with designers, who offer them free or discounted product to style in an outfit and review on their blogs, YouTube, or Instagram. With the addition of affiliate links, the blogger can make some money too. This can be an effective and reasonably inexpensive way for lesser-known designers and fashion businesses to get their name out there, to a captive audience.

(One caveat – no matter your business, partnering with bloggers is no different than any other social media practice. For the greatest odds of success, keep it professional, non-spammy, and well-targeted.)

Rural business tech

Rural businesses need to pay attention to technological trends just as much as other businesses. Tourism is one industry where rural businesses operate, and tablets, smartphones and the internet are changing the way customers think.

On websites like Expedia and Yelp!, guests can shop for discounted rates and/or leave reviews about their experiences. And your business’ website is as important as ever. In fact, many customers also want mobile websites, and get frustrated by browsing a regular website that’s not optimized to work properly on their devices. Rural businesses have to adapt to these changes to stay competitive.

What business trends have you noticed in your industry? Are there opportunities for you to meet a need that’s only recently been identified?

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Linkitz wearable electronic toy teaches girls about coding and tech

At GoForth, we love education and we love tech. So we were excited to learn about Linkitz, a wearable toy that’s customizable. It has links that each have different behaviours, and snap together to create different kinds of toys.

According to their Kickstarter:

Linkitz comes in a kit with a set of links and accessories. Each link offers a unique capability. There are sensors, like a microphone and an accelerometer, and outputs, like a speaker and lights.

Connecting different combinations of links creates different toys. The motion link plays a game of Simon Says. If you connect the motion and speaker link together, Linkitz transforms into a musical instrument. Connect the speaker link with the microphone link and the friend link and you have a walkie-talkie!

Sounds to us like an interesting small business idea, and a unique way for young girls to learn how to interact with and influence tech!

Check out Linkitz’s site for more info.

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Can you turn your hobby into a small business?

hobby-based-small-businessWe’ve talked recently about your own work experience being a source of new small business ideas. On a similar note, your hobbies are a good source of business ideas too! In fact, it’s estimated that about 60% of new business ideas are related to the entrepreneur’s hobby.

The perks of hobby-based small businesses

One of the main reasons we have a hobby is because we love it, whether it’s gardening, restoring antiques, weightlifting, or pottery making. That can mean we’re passionate about it. And passion is one of the elements of psychological capital needed to run a successful business — why spend your time on a business you don’t like? It’s a pretty safe bet that you also know quite a lot about your hobby, which will be an advantage if you choose to make a small business out of it.

Considerations about hobby-based small businesses

Passion is fantastic, but turning passion into profit takes serious work, and a serious understanding of how to run a business. You may know a lot about your hobby, but you know it from a hobbyist’s point of view, not an entrepreneur’s. You may be able to compose, shoot and develop the perfect photograph, but can you source suppliers? Negotiate contracts? Find tax breaks? Ask yourself if you’ll still enjoy your hobby once the more stressful everyday components of entrepreneurship are mixed in.

Entrepreneurship is a lot of work, and starting a small business doing something you already enjoy is a huge motivator in getting up every morning and doing all that hard work. You can turn your hobby into a small business, but make sure that you have a good foundation of small business knowledge and skills too – that’ll help turn your great business idea into a successful business.

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