Hello, dear readers and subscribers of the business magazine site. Today we have prepared for your attention a useful article with an analysis of the best business ideas, namely, we will consider startups with minimal investment of money at the start.

From the article you can find out:

• How and where to start your business with a minimum investment?
• What niches are the most profitable and accessible to beginners?
• What projects have been successful in Russia and abroad?

If you are planning to find a suitable idea, then we have already prepared everything for you. The rest is in the text.

Startup: which of them are the most successful today?

- what is it in simple words: the definition of the term and its essence

Startups, what is it? For the first time, the term "Startup" was introduced into general use by American entrepreneur Steven Blank. Literally translated from English, in simple words, “startup” means “ start of process, start, start ”, but in relation to a business idea, a startup is a temporary project that is created in order to implement a larger business model in the future.

All classic startups (regardless of the country of origin) have one thing in common: they are all projects with minimal investment and they are all built on the basis of an original (exclusive) idea and never repeat an idea that has already been proposed by someone before.

Startup topics can be very diverse: From food to space exploration, the main thing is that it be a fresh and bright idea. At the beginning of development, the project may not even be legally formalized. This can be done later, if the project becomes successful and starts to bring the first profit.

Unfortunately, startups, like any business idea, have their positive and negative sides, and the negative ones include an acute lack of funding, weak market positions and lack of serious support. Although, if the idea shoots, then it can bring truly huge fees to its creators.

An example of a successful startup is the launch of Facebook, since at that time the idea Mark Zuckerberg was new, it had no analogues in the world, and perhaps this fact helped Zuckerberg become such a successful and outstanding entrepreneur in the future. You can also mention Wikipedia, YouTube, Skype and other software solutions - after all, they were all once someone's ideas that worked.

Startups with minimal investment: TOP-11 popular ideas for starting your own business

The best business ideas with minimal investment of money.

Startup #1. Work "Husband for an hour"

“Husband for an hour” is a service that can be ordered when a repair or minor repair is required. It can be anything: installing a switch or socket, replacing and installing a light bulb, fixing plumbing, repairing small (and sometimes large) household appliances, etc.

This idea will be especially in demand in megacities and large cities, where the rhythm of life is so frantic that it is sometimes difficult to allocate even half an hour of extra time for repairs, so it is easier to call a master who will fix everything as soon as possible.

In order to launch this idea, you will need to advertise in thematic groups or social networks. A personal car will also significantly facilitate work, as it will allow you to come to trips faster, but if you don’t have one yet, it’s also not scary, public transport will help. Over time, if things go uphill, you can hire an additional 2-3 people, thanks to which it will be possible to take more orders.

Competition in this market is not so big, but, nevertheless, it exists, so the main emphasis should be placed on the quality of services provided. It is better to do well and ask for a higher price, but at the same time earn accolades and future recommendations. People are arranged in such a way that they are morally ready to pay more money right away, but then forget about this problem than save 50 rubles and call the master every other day. That is why the idea of ​​"Husband for an hour" is a great start for a business with a minimum investment.

Qualified specialists can earn 40-60 thousand rubles a month, and an entrepreneur who organized the launch of a business, being a skilled manager, can receive up to 150,000 rubles a month at the initial stage.

Startup #2. Breeding dwarf animals at home

Breeding animals can become a fairly profitable business, with the only condition that this business, of course, must have a soul. If a person does not like animals in principle, he will be forced to constantly overpower himself, and, ultimately, everyone will suffer from this.

But if a person loves animals and clearly understands the scale of work and responsibility, then after a short time, this idea will begin to bear fruit.

First, of course, you need to decide which animals you need to breed: it can be kittens, puppies, guinea pigs, hamsters or newts. The main condition for successful implementation is to find a "sales market". There are special groups on social networks that unite animal lovers, it will be possible to place ads for sale there, at least for the first time. Later, when the funds are available, it will be possible to make a good advertisement so that as many people as possible know about the sale.

As for earnings, they can be very worthy.

For example, purebred pedigreed kittens and puppies with a good pedigree can cost anywhere from $300 to $2,000. Also, over time, if the area allows, you can open a veterinary shop where related products for animals will be sold - so there will be even more people who want to.

In a word, domestic animal breeding is definitely worth thinking about this idea.

Organization of business of cargo transportation.

Startup #3. Cargo transportation

Recently, with the development of the Internet, online trading or online stores have become widespread, where a person can buy almost anything without leaving home. Naturally, with the growth of sales of such goods, the need for cargo transportation has increased, allowing you to quickly bring the ordered goods to the specified address. This is what makes the cargo transportation niche so attractive to potential investors and is included in the category of “startups with minimal investment”.

You can start by opening small agency, which will employ 3-4 people. While there is no own fleet, it will be possible to look for the same drivers with personal cars who want to earn money and use them to go on orders. It is better to set prices not too high, but not to work at a loss.

Before making a price list, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the current prices of transportation companies already existing on the market and offer customers more attractive conditions. There are many examples of how a person who has only one gazelle carries out transportation on more favorable terms, and then hires a few more people on the staff, after which the work is in full swing.

But in a good scenario, a small company of 4 people and two cars can bring 170,000 -300,000 rubles a month. Of course, you will need to start, you may have to, but it's worth it.

Startup #4. Work as a home tutor

Tutoring is not just a profitable job, it is, among other things, also difficult. After all, it’s not enough just to have some kind of knowledge, you need to be able to somehow transfer this knowledge to others and try to make sure that a person passes it through himself and assimilates it. That is why good and talented tutors are now worth their weight in gold.

If tutoring is a vocation, then this vocation can be turned into a decent income, however, before that, you yourself need to answer a few questions. Firstly, it is necessary to decide whether this work will be aimed exclusively at schoolchildren who are going to enter universities, those who simply want to learn something new for themselves or for children. Based on this, a different training program is selected, that is, completely differentiated teaching methods are used.

A tutor is a job that needs to be given entirely, because any neglect is always felt by both the student and the parents (if it is a child). If you prove yourself as a competent and qualified specialist, satisfied students will recommend the tutor to their acquaintances and friends, citing themselves and their results as an example. And this is the most effective way to advertise.

The cost of a tutor's services can be different, it all depends on age, experience and city, but average prices start at 500 rubles per hour.

Startup #5. Massage at home or out

In order to become a professional massage therapist, like it or not, you will have to get a specialized education. It is not necessary to graduate from a medical school, but getting a diploma in nursing or nursing or taking specialized courses is still a requirement. And then you can start developing this service sector.

Today it is difficult to find a beauty salon, a fitness club or a swimming pool that does not have a massage room. What does this say? The fact that today massage is in great demand, and regardless of age, field of activity and social status of a person. Someone is prescribed a massage for medical reasons, and someone just wants to relax - so why not give people this opportunity? Moreover, you can offer various types of massage: therapeutic, sports, preventive, anti-cellulite, hygienic and others.

A massage parlor can be opened at home, or you can work with a visit to the client's home. As for the cost, the average price for 1 half-hour massage session ranges from 400 to 1500 rubles.

If you plan to travel to the client, you will need to add the cost of the procedure to the cost of the road.

Startup #6. Online customer consultation

The Internet has truly destroyed all existing boundaries between people, cities and countries. Today, for example, you can engage in consultations and trainings without leaving your home - why not start-ups with minimal investment? Thanks to Skype, Viber and other programs that support video communication, this has become possible.

Online customer consultation via computer.

To make online consultations a full-fledged way of earning money, you need to choose a specific niche for yourself. This can be teaching foreign languages, conducting legal or medical consultations (if there is a specialized education, of course), psychological trainings, business trainings, webinars designed to teach some kind of occupation (conducting master classes), compiling individual horoscopes and much, much more. other. Naturally, medical consultations will cost an order of magnitude more expensive than horoscopes, but they also require more knowledge and professionalism.

The possibility of fruitful communication via the Internet is suitable for both parties, as it allows you to save money on travel. And if you also be an excellent specialist in your field and make sure that consultations bring real benefits to people, then there will definitely be no end to clients. All you need for online consultations is a stable Internet connection and a personal computer or laptop (although a tablet or smartphone will also work).

According to current rates, the average cost of one hour of consultation with a doctor is about 1000 rubles, with a lawyer 700-800 rubles, with a business coach from 500 to 1500 rubles. Monthly earnings directly depend on the number of clients and each of them is individual.

Startup #7. Confectionery to order

Making desserts to order is a great example of how a hobby can turn into an income, and a good one at that. If a person loves to bake, but does not know where else to apply this talent, this business idea will suit him.

To start the process, you need to take several important steps: make a catalog, find customers, organize a distribution channel. People who have never placed an order with this confectioner will definitely want to look at the work already done, so you will have to spend a little time and money to create a beautiful album with works, a kind of “portfolio”.

Next, you need to look for clients, and at first, you can do this through acquaintances and friends, as you know, word of mouth works very well. You can also advertise about yourself on social networks - this will give you even more opportunities to attract customers.

And finally, if the business goes uphill, you need to look for distribution channels. A great solution would be to rent a place in a supermarket or a small candy store, but for this you need to do something truly original and memorable.

A huge advantage of this business is the fact that it is not seasonal, but permanent, that is, people celebrate and celebrate something all year round. As for the price, here it is necessary to proceed from the cost of products, as well as the amount in which the confectioner evaluates his work and creativity.

On average, making 2-3 medium-sized cakes per week, you can earn about 15-20 thousand rubles a month.

And only then, when the cakes become a work of art, the price for them can rise sharply, and this is already a direct road to success and financial independence. For some confectioners, a wedding cake alone costs 20-50 thousand rubles.

Startup #8. Sale of handicrafts (hand-made)

As with custom-made cakes, handicrafts are another example of how a hobby can generate tangible income and. Hand-made covers an entire industry, which is difficult to limit to any one type of product. This includes the manufacture of jewelry (jewelry, earrings, rings, bracelets, brooches and pendants), handmade dolls (tilde, etc.), sewing children's clothing, making Christmas toys and decorations. And yet, speaking of hand-made topics, it is also worth mentioning figurines, decorative trinkets, interior decoration items and much, much more.

The most important thing is to find customers who will order some things. First, you should think about posting several of your works in thematic groups dedicated to needlework, since there are enough of them now, both on Vkontakte, and on Facebook or Odnoklassniki. Over time, if things go uphill, it will be possible to open your own online store where you can place products in stock, as well as take orders for manufacturing.

At first, a novice master can earn about 8-15 thousand rubles a month, but a well-known master with his own online store can earn from 100 thousand rubles a month, minus overhead costs.

For an online store or to issue an IP, but it's not difficult. Therefore, we can conclude that making handmade items can be a very profitable activity, but only if you put your soul into it!

Atelier at home: a profitable business for women.

Startup #9. Atelier at home

There are people who sew excellently, and they do it by themselves, they do not make any special efforts for this. So why don't they start their own business from scratch and open an atelier from home. Atelier at home is very convenient, as the client always has somewhere to come and try on a thing in a calm atmosphere, without rushing.

Before starting work, you need to decide what format of the atelier to do: whether it will be just alteration and minor repairs of clothes or individual tailoring. You can start with the alteration of clothes, because services such as sewing in a dress, adjusting the width of trousers to size or cutting jeans will always be in high demand. And if opportunities allow, you can immediately offer customers to sew clothes to order. If a dressmaker knows her job well and can make a pattern and then sew any outfit that the client wants, over time, a lot of people will learn about such a master.

For example, there is a fairly large category of people who want no one else to have such a second thing, and who, except for a seamstress, can give them such a guarantee? Moreover, it is immediately worth noting that professional dressmakers charge quite a lot for tailoring. decent money.

To open an atelier, you will need to take care of purchasing a good sewing machine, which, by the way, is also expensive, find a supplier of good fabrics and accessories, but also be patient, of course. Cutting and sewing is a monotonous and sometimes routine occupation, it requires special perseverance and increased concentration, but the result will not be long in coming.

Experienced and talented dressmakers can earn from 70-80 thousand rubles a month.

Business ideas for starting a business in your garage.

Startup #10. Own production in the garage

The world does not stand still and a lot of enterprising people have come up with the idea of ​​using their garage not only as a place for a car, but they were able to. If there is a free garage, that is, it can be slightly converted and used for business purposes. For example, you can open a dry cleaner or laundry: you only need to purchase a couple of cars, laundry equipment and go.

Another garage can be used as home appliances repair place, that is, in the garage you can open a small repair shop. This idea will be especially useful for those who understand repair and already have a certain accumulated experience. The advantage of the workshop in the garage is the fact that this activity can be used as extra work and do repairs in their spare time.

And finally, the third option: in the garage you can grow mushrooms, namely oyster mushrooms and champignons. In order to establish mushroom cultivation in the garage, it is enough to install a ventilation system, take care of lighting, buy compost and mycelium.

According to average estimates, the initial costs will be about 20 thousand rubles, but the first income from the sale will be about 50 thousand rubles. If we develop marketing channels for mushrooms, it will be possible to raise this price point.

Startup #11. Aquaprint at home

Aquaprint is an immersion print, which is an image on a solid surface that imitates various natural structures, such as wood, stone, animal color and others. The advantage of hydro printing is that it can be applied to various types of surfaces, up to plastic and glass.

To open a hydrographic business, you will need to purchase immersion film, an activator, a bath, car polish and supplies. And of course, you need a person who will know how this process takes place.

The market cost of applying hydrographics, for example, to a car - a sedan, is about 13 thousand rubles, for oversized furniture 3000-4000 rubles.

Therefore, monthly earnings depend solely on the number of clients and personal professional skills.

Popular startups in Russia and America + Video

We can talk about the importance of developing and introducing new ideas into existing industries for a very long time, but to better understand, we can give a few clear examples of how a small team of people took a risk and ... remained a winner. Below are examples of how startups with minimal investment paid off over time and made their creators famous and wealthy people.

Successful projects in the USA

In America, the number of startups dramatically outnumbers other countries, but, unfortunately, as elsewhere, only a small fraction of them become commercially profitable. Here are some of them:

Project #1: Checkr

Checkr is a project that sells verified job applicant profiles to companies such as Warby Parker, Instacart, Uber, and others. A specially developed application generates API reports, which are then recognized by the data processing systems of the above companies. Checkr was founded by Daniel Janiss and Jonathan Perichon, and the company's current investment package is $50 million. The company generated $150 million in revenue in 2016.

Project #2: BitSight Technologies

BitSight Technologies is a project that allows you to analyze and rank the security of companies that can threaten the computer security of their partners. In their work, they use complex algorithms that work with large amounts of data. The founders of BitSight Technologies are Stephen Boyer and Nagrjuna Venna, the company has about $95 million in investments, and the profit for 2016 was $30 million.

Successful startups in Russia

There are also many people in Russia who have shown by their example that nothing is impossible and you can always find the desire and strength to do something new and interesting. Like those guys downstairs.

Project #1: Gvidi

An application that, in fact, is an analogue of the famous Foursquare, but more adapted for Russian users. Prompts users to select a nearby restaurant or cafe based on reviews from users who have already visited the establishment. Currently, the application has been downloaded and installed by more than 40,000 people.

Founders Anton Baranchuk and Alexander Dorzhiev, profit amounted to $1.5 million.

Project #2: YouDo

A very interesting startup is a project that allows you to order a certain service, most often a one-time one. For example, the most popular services are dog walking, furniture assembly, shopping, minor repairs. There is a geolocation function that shows exactly who will undertake the task and where this person is currently located. The app has now been downloaded over 1 million times. Developers Denis Kutergin, Alexey Gidirim. The company's investment in 2016 was $6.2 million, and the profit was $2.1 million.

See examples of some more startup ideas in the video clip:

The startup is essential for economic development, as it is the missing link between science and industry. The scope of the projects is not limited to the scientific and technical or technological direction and can support any trend.

How to make a startup successful

What is a startup

A newly formed company is called a startup. Usually it is under development, formed by innovative ideas and not necessarily officially registered. The characteristic features of such a business project are the lack of funding and the precarious position of the business entity in the market for the provision of services, production or sales of products. Risky decisions are often made to achieve the set goal.

Why a startup?

What is a startup

Large corporations successfully promote products that are already in demand and do not seek to introduce projects into their plans that need to be developed for a long time. Their income is stable, and when innovative ideas are promoted, it will be reduced due to the need to invest funds and dilute the attention of the business manager by creating an additional niche for earnings that will not be received immediately. Therefore, the founders of large business entities are rarely involved in start-ups, since it is easier for them to create a subsidiary or register an individual business to ensure mobility and efficiency in the implementation of new ideas.

Project founders are not necessarily active business representatives, they can be ordinary individuals who have set a goal for themselves, are able to convince and work for results.

Trend selection

According to the statistics compiled by the participants of the start-up party, entrepreneurs in the field of ecology, defense, science and culture have low chances for the development of projects. You can try to promote the project to successful results with a competent approach to business in a niche that supports the mass market and education. Rapid and stunning results can be achieved in medicine, tourism and communications. It should be noted that the forecasts formed on the basis of the analysis of historical data are not accurate, but allow us to assess the existing trend.

What is the key to success

The successful implementation of an entrepreneurial idea and its introduction to the market is the goal of any startup at the stage of its formation. However, not every project acquires this status. The reason for failures is the choice of an irrelevant trend or an improperly organized business. So what is the key to success when implementing a business idea for a startup?

Idea

The main component of the success of the project is an innovative idea, which should be unusual and fresh.

Its parameters in terms of prospects and demand are evaluated by investors, and their decision to cooperate depends on the impression made by the innovation and the expected results from its introduction into business. An idea displayed on paper, in the form of a business project, even without material implementation, can be expensive.

Team building

Stages of startup development

An indispensable element of success is a well-chosen team of personalities. The implementation of the conceived idea can be carried out by one person, but in such a situation it will take more time to achieve results. Difficulties may be associated with the need to conduct simultaneous activities in several areas: strategy development, management and entry into the sales market, as well as the search for investors with insufficient project funding.

The formation of the team must be done in such a way that its members complement each other with qualities and skills that companions lack. In partnership, it is important to share the responsibilities for planning, networking, product development, production and implementation. When selecting partners, one should take into account not only the knowledge and skills of applicants, but also their age, passion for the idea and willingness to work until results are obtained.

Stages of startup development

Development. At this stage, the actual idea for the business appears, the implementation plan is being worked out, the search for sources of financing and other work is underway. An important activity is the study of the market, the identification of competitors. If the startup is technological, at this stage it is necessary to patent know-how, analyze substitute inventions, and so on. Launch. At this stage, the startup has its first clients. This means that there is a practice of doing business in real conditions. The launch stage is the most critical for a startup, since poor service for the first customers, providing them with low-quality goods will lead to further impossibility of business development. The success of this stage is based on the quality of project planning during its development. Extension. At this stage, the development of the startup idea, the increase in sales, the earning of the main profit, its investment in the further growth of capacities, and so on. Exit. A startup implies the closure or exit from the project. There are two options for closing, as it was written above: the sale of a company or the sale of a franchise. Based on the results of leaving the startup, the effectiveness of the project is assessed (the ratio of investments and results achieved).

Who is a startup

Profitable startup ideas for business from scratch

Interesting ideas with minimal investment

New ideas - internet startups

American social startups

Ideas for a startup in agriculture

The existing options for start-ups in the agricultural industry are to apply new telecommunication technologies. For example, not so long ago a device for monitoring the state of the soil appeared, and information from it can be obtained remotely. As a result, a farmer or an agricultural enterprise always clearly understands the state of his land and what measures need to be taken to increase its fertility. An interesting idea is also a livestock accounting service. Most people living in the village are aware of the loss of livestock. The presence of special transmitters and an application with which you can track the movement of livestock allows you to minimize the risk of losses and save the livestock. Successful startups also include various kinds of assistants to specialists. For example, a device for selecting drugs for treatment and increasing plant yields. Or a device for determining the composition of the soil and selecting the optimal crops for growing on it. Thus, despite the fact that agriculture is a very conservative industry, there is a place for modern technologies in it.

How to come up with a startup idea and implement it

Analyze and formulate your skills and strengths, think about what you would like to do. The second step is to determine what kind of business is very inspiring, what the entrepreneur is ready to do with full dedication and what he is ready to devote the maximum of his working time to. The next step is to find a problem that exists , but has not yet been solved in the area where its strengths have been discovered. At first glance it may seem (especially to people with low self-esteem) that no one needs their skills, but this is not so. You need to think, look at problems from a different angle, show your own creativity and come up with an idea for a startup that has not yet been implemented. The fourth step is building a product prototype, manufacturing a prototype and testing it. If it really solves the problem, then this business can be continued, otherwise, it is necessary to look for a new solution to the problem. The fifth and final step is the launch of the project, its implementation. The test of efficiency is the presence of revenue and profit from the sale of project products. If the results of the work are positive, there is a profit, then we can talk about a successful startup. If it doesn't work the first time, you'll have to try again.

The most successful startup ideas in the world

Top Startups in the USA

Popular startups in Russia

An example of failed startups

Opening your own company is the dream of many people. Just imagine: you work not for the boss, but for yourself. You organize production activities yourself and are responsible only for your own work. Later, when you start to achieve some success, you will have the opportunity to hire employees and earn more money, expanding your sphere of influence. This is a very interesting prospect, but most people do not even think that it can be realized, and not just kept in dreams.

Introduction

The two biggest obstacles in the path of many people who continue to take jobs they hate even though they dream of starting their own business are lack of money and lack of ideas. Almost everyone believes that to open your own company you need to have a huge budget, as well as be a creative genius who can take creative ideas from the void.

Resale of things

Trading in the modern world is very different from what it was 10-20 years ago. The fact is that technological progress has led to the creation of online stores that have not displaced real ones, but have taken a much higher place in the industry. Naturally, in order to open your own online store, you will have to try and spend money: you need to create your own website, purchase a large range of products, find suppliers, promote the resource and advertise your activities.

But you can start small: there are now a huge number of web pages on the Web that sell things by hand. That is, someone sells his things, and someone is looking for what he needs and buys what the first person put up for sale. This is where it is easy to start your business. You can look for cheap items and then resell them for more. If you buy a wholesale supply of some popular product at a low price, then it is advisable to sell with a solid margin.

In general, there are many opportunities, and you can start such an activity with a minimal budget. If things go uphill, then you can gradually move to a higher level by opening your own online store.

However, this is far from the only startup with minimal investment. There are many other options for you to explore. Which startup with minimal investment to choose? Here it is already worth deciding what you personally like and give more pleasure.

Organization of holidays

Before considering another idea, it is necessary to refer to the term "startup" used above. What it is? Many users may not be aware of what this strange word means, but it has long been included in the speech of modern people. So what is a startup? What it is?

A startup is a new business that you open on your own, in most cases it starts with one person or a group of like-minded people. And your personal startup can specialize in organizing a variety of festive events.

You do not have to spend big money to provide services, as they will be intangible. Professionalism plays an important role here, so it is worth focusing on this aspect. It is recommended to start with a children's audience, as it is less demanding. When you host a certain number of events at a high enough level, you will definitely get noticed. You can help this with online promotion.

Advertising agency

How else can you make your startup? The idea of ​​an advertising agency may seem highly unrealistic to many, but it's actually much simpler than you might think. All you need is a creative mind and basic equipment like a computer, printer, scanner, and so on.

Then you just need to look for clients, of which there are plenty on the Web, if you know how to do it. An advertising agency can consist of one person or a small group of people, and it is not necessary to rent an office - you can engage in advertising activities right from home. So the advertising business is the area in which you can safely start your startup. The idea is very profitable if it can be implemented correctly.

"Husband for an hour"

It is quite possible that you have already seen ads for “husband for an hour” services that do not imply any intimacy, as some might think. In fact, such a “husband” should be a jack of all trades and be able to do a lot, from plumbing to repairing small and large household appliances.

However, such a startup has one big advantage - you don’t have to spend money on implementing your idea at all. You will only need to take the toolbox that is in every apartment and go to earn money. With startups in Russia becoming more and more popular, you will have to put in a lot of advertising to stand out from the rest. However, this will not be a problem if you will be remembered by your customers for your versatility and professionalism. As a result, you can gain such popularity that you will leave all startups in Russia far behind. They will envy you and take an example from you.

Cargo transportation

As mentioned above, online stores have changed modern trade, and this also affected cargo transportation. Now you can easily open your own business in this area if you have a driver's license and a car. How to start a startup of such a plan? It is always better to start on your own, delivering goods to online stores, as well as to customers of such outlets.

Even if you don't have a car, you can borrow it. With a good workload, it is realistic to make a profit of about 35 thousand rubles per month from one vehicle. And when the loan for the car is paid, the profit will grow to 50 thousand rubles. Naturally, if you decide to expand and buy more cars, you will have to think about salaries for drivers. But at least 20-25 thousand rubles from one vehicle per month you will be guaranteed. As you can see, profitable business start-ups do not always require incredible investments from you.

animal breeding

Startups with minimal investment in Moscow are a very real idea, but what about small towns whose population does not exceed 100-200 thousand inhabitants? Here the conditions are much more complicated, but you can always find your niche. For example, you can breed pets. Just study the demand and purchase those animals that are of more interest to the inhabitants of your city.

One of the most convenient and effective options is breeding rabbits. They are undemanding animals that breed at a fast pace, and for a thoroughbred rabbit you can get up to five thousand rubles. In order to open such a startup with minimal investment, you will simply need a project. It is necessary to analyze, make sure that demand does not fall, and also plan how you will keep the animals. Remember that they are not things and you will have to look after them and take care of them.

Shoe repair, key making and other manual work

As in the case of the “husband for an hour”, in this option you need to be good at doing what you are going to make money on. Equipment for work is not so difficult to buy. It can also be purchased on credit, which is easy to pay off over time. In a crisis, Russians are less likely to buy new shoes and try to repair old ones, so you should definitely take advantage of this opportunity. This is a low investment start-up that pays off fairly quickly.

Beauty salon services

As you can see, examples of startups with minimal investment are almost endless. You just need to determine what you can do best, as well as what brings you pleasure. Use the ability to do a haircut, make-up or any other beauty procedure, trying to charge for it. Initially, you can dye your hair or do your nails at home, so you don't have to rent a room. Build a client base, starting with your friends, and then expand and gain popularity.

Tutoring

Another very common and interesting option is tutoring. As part of this, you will need to teach the subject in which you are best versed. This is a service that is always very popular, but becomes especially relevant closer to the moment when school graduates begin to prepare for admission to higher educational institutions. Take advantage of the Internet. Start small and then expand - there is a chance that you will end up with your own author's school of foreign languages.

Catering

If you know how and love to cook, then you should use it not only to eat yourself, but also to feed others. Naturally, for money. This does not mean that you need to rent a huge area and arrange a restaurant with a hundred seats. Three or four tables are enough to get you started. Some do not make seats at all, selling takeaway food, while others simply cook meals at home and then deliver them to customers at home (or they themselves come to pick up the order).

Making crafts

Another startup for those who can work with their hands, only this time in a more creative direction. If you know how to sew, knit, carve wood, then at any time you can start making money on it. There are enough resources on the Internet where people sell what they do with their own hands, while earning good money. Later, you can create your own online store and even promote your own brand.

Web development

In today's Internet-based society, website development is incredibly in demand, so if you have the ambition, you can start making money without investing a dime in it. All you need is knowledge of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. There are tens of millions of sites on the Internet, but the demand for their creation not only does not fall, but is constantly growing. So you can discover a new career path by graduating as a director of a large IT company.

Internet consultations

This startup might be a bit like the one that was about tutoring. Its difference lies in the fact that you do not need to invite clients home and do not need to go to their home to teach this or that subject. All you need is a program that allows you to make calls over the Web, such as, for example, Skype. As a result, you will be able to give lessons on any topic without leaving your home and without leaving your computer. At the same time, the opportunities are not limited to school subjects: you can give legal advice, teach how to do business, and even make astrological forecasts and predict the future of clients. As you can see, the possibilities for starting your own business with minimal investment are unlimited.

We translated his text into Russian, slightly changing the style - that is, all the smart thoughts there are from Lifshitz, and all the stupid jokes are from us.

By the way, the fact that Yuri's text is posted on the new site Medium, in itself already shows how you can act when “everything has already been invented”: while the world is passionate about Twitterization and Instagramization, one of the creators of the same Twitter has made a convenient platform for those who still like to write and read long texts - and on people went to her.

How to find new ideas for starting a company

Coming up with business ideas is a skill. And you can develop the habit of seeing opportunities to start new projects in everything that surrounds you.

Many serial entrepreneurs have a dedicated notebook for exciting new ideas. You can get one for yourself too.

Actions:

• Choose tools to search for ideas.
• Generate some ideas with them.
• PROFIT

1. Live in the future

Be on the cutting edge of the MacBook Air. Use something that didn't exist yesterday. Read about new inventions. Think of products for the next generation.

The future belongs to wearable gadgets, self-driving cars, DNA testing and atom-thick materials. What products and services should emerge around such things?

Think about change by completing the sentence “If you are in the future…” such as “if you are in the future, all cars around are electric” or “if you are in the future, no one uses cash.” And then create a company with which it will come true.

2. Become an expert at something

There are areas where you can't get from the street. Customs, prisons, medicine, defense, nuclear power, bridge construction. Usually, a company in such areas is created only after many years of experience in foreign companies. Become such an insider - and open your way to a large market with a high entry threshold.

Michael Bloomberg worked in IT at Salomon Brothers investment bank. In 1981, he was fired and received $10 million in compensation. With this money, he created Bloomberg L.P., a company that provides financial information to organizations interested in it. Now the company is the market leader, Bloomberg is the mayor of New York, Bloomberg's fortune is on the 13th line of Forbes.

Become a master of some powerful tool. Learn how to make mobile applications, online stores or use big data. Then meet with a bunch of different people, ask about their problems and see if you can help them.

Be very cool in two different things at once. Medicine and sales, IT and government contracts, culinary and retail. At their intersections there are a bunch of unique opportunities.

3. Solve your own problems

Find the problem that is preventing you from living. Pay attention when you cannot find a ready-made solution for something. And problems arise when something changes in your life. Become a parent - you will see so many new opportunities, it will not seem enough.

The same is true in the B2B sector. You have one company, and it cannot solve some of its problems. A second company is created to solve such problems, and then this second company suddenly becomes larger than the first.

Patrick Collison founded the Stripe payment system, tired of connecting other people's inconvenient payment systems to his previous projects. Flickr came about when an online game needed a convenient way to store custom images, and the game itself was shut down.

4. Look for pain points

See where people waste time and money, work inefficiently, suffer, lose everything and generally look like in a Munch painting. And then go out in all white and fix it with your project. Know as much as you can about hunger, poverty, epidemics, unemployment, crime, traffic jams, pollution and corruption. Make friends with those who have been working on these problems for years.

5. Improve the existing

Look for things that make people hate. Finding rental housing, parking, obtaining visas, moving, visiting doctors. Find a better way to solve these problems.

Use modern technology to reimagine the way we do everything. How should workers carry out their duties in the age of smartphones? How should hospitals operate in the digital age?

Monopoly leaders have almost no incentive to develop. It is very difficult to challenge such people, but sometimes it works. Virgin Atlantic started out as an attempt to provide better service than British Airways.

6. Link cheap resources to rich buyers

Buy low, sell high. This simple formula has been around for centuries, and now it's even easier to connect the product and the buyer from different parts of the world. China has a lot of cheap manufacturing facilities. Developing countries have cheap labor. Somewhere there are abandoned factories that can be rented for a penny. And somewhere in the other hemisphere, people have a lot of money and unmet needs. For example, freelance job boards like Odesk and 99Designs connect workers from developing countries with successful companies.

7. Copy and improve

Most ideas are derivatives. Many successful companies started out as clones. See what you can add to successful ideas. New distribution channels, better service, better quality?

In small businesses, trendy themes are constantly emerging. Today, co-working spaces and bubble tea are popular, tomorrow everyone is talking about private kindergartens, and the day after tomorrow a wave of SMM agencies will come. These waves move around the world with a significant delay, and you can have time to be inspired by a new one. It's more reliable than anything unknown and more fun than buying a franchise.

In the US, each college has its own merchandise - sweatshirts, t-shirts and caps. In Russia, this was not accepted. One student decided to change this, founded UniFashion, and now students in his products can be found in any hostel.

8. Travel

Understand successful business from the other side of the planet. Every industry has its own centers of innovation. Fashion business ideas come from Paris and Guangzhou, software business ideas come from the Valley, financial business ideas come from New York and London.

In the early 80s, Howard Schultz worked at Starbucks. At that time, the company only sold bean coffee, not offering any drinks in its stores. Going shopping in Milan, Schultz saw coffee shops on almost every street. He found that they not only drank excellent espresso, but also met people: coffee houses were public places that played an important role in the social life of Italy, and there were 200,000 of them in the country. same. When gently dismissed, he quit Starbucks and opened his own chain of coffee shops. A few years later he was so successful that he bought Starbucks himself and made it a world-class phenomenon.

9. Make decisions for newly opened markets

New products from big companies create many attractive opportunities. If you react quickly, you can become part of this market.

Venture capitalists understand this. Therefore, they create special investment funds for Facebook applications, Google-glass applications, bitcoin services. When big changes come, entrepreneurs and investors try to ride that wave.

The same works for small local establishments. Follow large construction projects like metro stations and airports, the process of gentrification.

In 1975, MITS released the first commercially successful home computer, the Altair 8800. A Harvard student decided that selling software could become a business for him. He and some friends wrote a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800 and started selling it in partnership with MITS. That student was Albert Einstein Bill Gates.

10. Improve a useless product

Do anything on your knee in a couple of days. Ask your friends what needs to be changed so that they start using it. Refresh. Ask again. Repeat until you have a service for millions. Everyone knows the fairy tale about porridge from an ax, right?

11. Hang out with smart people

Entrepreneurs usually value their own ideas, and consider other people's ideas as secondary. Don't let self-love stand between you and a great opportunity.

Elon Musk once pitched the idea of ​​a solar installation and maintenance company to his cousins ​​Lyndon and Peter Rive. Today, their SolarCity is valued at billions of dollars.

Bad Ideas

And here are popular ways of coming up with ideas that very often lead to failures:

• Analogy. Every second person does X for Y, like Hermitage for digital art, Instagram for video, or Excel for hipsters. Sounds impressive, but most of the time it doesn't work. Most likely, your market has its own specifics and a solution from someone else's market will not work. And if it does, then the source of your inspiration can come and trample you. Who needs multiple "Instagrams for videos" now that Instagram itself has a video?
• "Product Vision". Many entrepreneurs start by presenting their new product with all the details and nuances. But it is not difficult to invent anything, and usually what is invented has nothing to do with the real needs of the market. Most good ideas start with the client.

Every idea has its flaws.

Even your best ideas will have flaws. Find and recognize them. The idea can be implemented if you find a way to effectively deal with shortcomings.

Don't discard ideas that include a lot hard and unpleasant work. If you can handle it, then you will find yourself in a market with low competition and will be more reliably protected from young punks.

Availability successful competitors rather a plus than a minus: it demonstrates the presence of demand. If you have a visual difference from them and evidence that this difference can attract enough customers, you can even enter highly competitive markets.

Sometimes a successful business starts from a very small market. This can work if a few users are just praying for you, and there is a clear strategy for how to survive from a narrow niche to entering a wide market.

Ideas are born in the process of communication. Discuss with everyone around trends, markets and your available ideas. New guesses are guaranteed.

Ideas are born through empathy. Know someone else's pain, and you can come up with new solutions.

Ideas are born out of curiosity. How should everything work? What will the future look like?

Ideas come from the subconscious. Write down the scope of your activity and the requirements for the idea. Then just do other things. A few days later, the idea will appear effortlessly.