Are you trying to figure out what the best ideas for startups in 2020 are? Read this article to learn what business you should start in 2020.

Tired of coming in as an employee? Isn’t it time to be your own boss and run your own business?

That said, there are well over 30 million small businesses in the US alone and this keeps growing each day. That’s a tight market and you’ll want to focus on ideas for startups that resonate with today’s consumers.

Don’t panic, however, because we’ve got you covered. We’ve listed 20 startup business ideas you can try out right now:

1. Affiliate Marketing

Looking for ideas for startups you can get into right now? One of the best options is to get into affiliate marketing.

Never heard of it? It’s all about blogging and promoting products on sites or platforms like Amazon, Rakuten, eBay, or Shopify. Each time someone purchases a product after clicking on a link from your reviews or features, you earn a commission.

Keep in mind that not all affiliate marketing programs are the same. Some offer higher commissions but have tighter restrictions. Make sure to review these programs before signing up for one.

2. Personal Blog

Yes, a personal blog can also become a viable business. It’s all about building a healthy online community and gaining sustainable traffic. You’ll earn through the ads displayed on your blog site and through different sponsorship deals.

To date, this is one of the best startup ideas in the world. Some successful blogs earn well over $200,000 a year!

The good news is you can build a blog about anything under the sun. You can make a travel blog, a food blog, a site discussing movie news or video games, and more!

3. Web Designer

Got a knack for visual graphic designing? You might want to consider launching a web design business. This type of work involves the front-end work in building a website, primarily focusing on the visuals.

You might need to consider taking small business loans to cover the initial costs. After all, you need expensive tools for this kind of business. To start, you’ll need to pay for tools like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and then you’ll need multiple plugins like Divi or Elementor for website building platforms.

4. Web Developer

If web designers focus on aesthetics, web developers are the people who make a site run. They’re the ones behind the coding and all the programming work. If you have a fondness for logical computer languages, this is a business you can get into.

You’ll focus on selling your skills and experience.

The more languages you can code in, the better. It’s important to get familiar with the staples, such as C#, PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, and Python.

If you want to run a bigger business, hire a web designer to work with you. This ensures you come as one package, offering both front-end and back-end website development.

5. Professional Trainer

While most business startup ideas prioritize online ventures, you can still launch a business offline as a personal trainer.

Helping people at the gym is the first thing that often comes to mind but you don’t have to stick with this angle. You can be a personal trainer for driving, cooking, or following a diet. Why not become a personal trainer for people who need help dealing with alcoholism or drug abuse?

Others want physical trainers for sports and martial arts. If you’re a professional in these fields, you can make a living by training others.

6. YouTube Career

Don’t belittle YouTube stars! Ryan, an eight-year-old who’s been on the platform for a few years now, earned a whopping $26 million in 2019 alone!

That said, a vast majority don’t earn enough on YouTube to rely on it as a primary source of income. Don’t get into YouTube thinking it’s your next big career. Launch it as a hobby and continue building it until your community and followers are big enough so you can quit any other job.

7. Online Retail

Brick-and-mortar retail shops are always going to be in business. However, paying for rent, attracting local consumers, and paying utility bills aren’t things everyone can deal with. Fortunately, you can still run a retail business online.

It’s similar to launching a blog site but your priorities now focus on the retail end. This means you’ll need tools like Shopify to allow people to purchase online. You’ll also have to figure out logistics to deliver these products and how you’ll store your stock too.

Some people combine their online retail business with a traditional brick-and-mortar shop.

8a. Freelance Writer

Freelance writers can do a myriad of tasks. Many focus on ghostwriting for SEO companies, providing blog content for different clients. Others write research papers, legal documents, or news.

All of these focus on technical writing. You have to understand things like how keywords work or different referencing styles — APA and Chicago are two of the most preferred.

Not sure how to launch this type of business? You can get a few good writers and look for clients on Fiverr, Upwork, and other freelancing websites. Eventually, you’ll build a portfolio and it’ll become easier and faster to get more work.

You might even have to hire more writers to handle the workload!

8b. Creative Writer

Hoping to work as a writer but without all the technical jargon or deadlines? You can do so as a creative writer. Many people write action, sci-fi, fantasy, romance-erotica, and horror stories and then self-publish them for the Amazon Kindle market.

9. Small Cafe

Let’s step away from work you can do with a computer and discuss a more traditional type of business startup: a cafe or diner.

The initial capital to launch a cafe or diner isn’t something to scoff at; you’ll need to take out a loan or invite an investor to get enough cash. However, it’s a worthy investment because cafes and diners are almost always guaranteed to succeed. People are always hungry and always need a place to eat.

However, this doesn’t give you the right to get lazy. Make sure the place is clean and that you serve fresh food. Get creative with your decor and recipes and you could find success!

10. Freelance Translator

If you’re fluent in more than one language, take advantage of it! You can launch a business focusing entirely on translating.

There are two ways you can do this: first, rent an office and focus on translating actual documents, books, or advertising materials for different clients and publishing companies. This is the traditional route.

Your second option is to do this online. You can translate TV shows and movies, for example, and write down subtitles/captions for a different language.

11. Voice Actor

Speaking of shows, why not lend your voice to different agencies? They might be on the lookout for talented people to do voice narrations for an explainer video or to dub a foreign show in English.

Others focus on voice work for video games, video ads, and news reports. All of these are viable businesses you can launch. You’ll only have to invest in a good sound booth, a microphone, and audio editing software.

12. Transcriptionist

In a related field, you could also start a business on transcribing audio to text. Medical facilities, such as hospitals, require this for document keeping. Most doctors like to keep audio clips of their sessions with patients and your team can transcribe those audio clips into written text.

You can also do this type of business to make subtitles for YouTube shows, Netflix movies, and more. If you’re into freelance work and you have a team ready to work with you, why not get on Upwork and offer your whole agency to clients so you can grab bigger projects?

13. Virtual Assistant

Do you have a knack for keeping things organized? Are you comfortable calling different establishments and talking to different people?

If you do, you could launch a VA business. Virtual Assistants work much like secretaries but for multiple clients.

You’ll primarily work two tasks: running an organizational tool to help the client keep track of all their documents, subscriptions, and schedule. The other main task is to get in touch with their partners, clients, hotels, restaurants, airline agencies, and travel companies to arrange meetings, reservations, and more.

If you want to make it a bigger business, hire a few people with the same skillset and give them all the same tools. Now, as a team, you can take on multiple clients at the same time.

14. Local Handyman

Plumbers, HVAC repairmen, cable guys, carpenters, termite exterminators, and automobile mechanics all have one thing in common: you can’t do their work online. These businesses require physical labor and there will always be people in need of their help.

If you’ll run this type of startup business, don’t cater to everyone yet. Focus first on a small radius, like your town or neighborhood. Once you start seeing profits grow, invest in more employees and transportation so you can reach out to customers further away.

15. Logistics

The best business to start in a place with a lot of retail shops or online retailers is a logistics company. You’ll need a lot of money to get it off the ground but it’s well worth the investment. Delivering goods from one point to another is no small feat, after all.

What does this business require? You’ll have to invest in transportation, drivers and deliverymen, a warehouse, software for tracking, and a website.

16. SEO and PPC Management

Ever wondered how Google arranges which websites appear first whenever you conduct a quick search? Google relies on a complex algorithm that crawls over websites and ranks them according to user experience, authority, content, and relevance.

How do you beat that algorithm so that a site ranks higher than others? It’s all about Search Engine Optimization and paid ads. You can run a business that offers expert SEO or PPC advice to multiple online businesses.

No, this isn’t a business you can start without some capital. You’ll need to purchase some tools. You need these to conduct keyword research, schedule social media posts, check competitor sites, and more.

17. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing might sound like SEO but there are a lot of differences to set them apart. You have to look into a whole different set of analytics and prioritize different tasks, such as scheduling posts.

Keep in mind that marketing on Facebook is nothing like marketing on YouTube, Instagram, or Pinterest. These platforms offer different experiences for their users so you’ll have to get familiar with them if you want to run a business in this field.

18. Dropshipping

Dropshipping is like running an online retail shop except you never hold the items. You don’t keep them in stock. You’re simply listing items on your site but whenever someone purchases from you, you use the money to purchase from the actual source and then have the item delivered to your customer.

You never have to worry about keeping items in stock. You don’t need a warehouse. You never have to worry about items not selling and rotting in your home.

19. Craftwork and Cosplay

Ever seen people attend the San Diego Comic-Con or the annual E3 convention? Many like to attend while wearing elaborate costumes based on their favorite shows, movies, and video games.

If you have a talent for making costumes and crafting accessories, you should turn your hobby into a business! Who knows, the next time someone wins a cosplay tournament it might be thanks to your handiwork!

20. App Development

Last, but certainly not least, you can start a business in app development. The Apple App Store and Google Android Play Store both flow with thousands of apps, all for different kinds of needs and wants. Many apps are games but you’ll find fitness apps, work organizing apps, alarms, recipe apps, and so much more.

Of course, this business isn’t easy and you’ll need different people with all sorts of skills. You’ll need programmers, visual designers, people to test the apps you make, and a marketing team.

Try These Ideas for Startups Today!

These are 20 ideas for startups you can get into today. All of these require some capital — some bigger than others — but they’re all viable for a small team to launch and run.

But starting a business is only half the battle. You still have to keep it running until it becomes profitable. Fortunately, we’ve got more business guides right here for you to check out and learn more tips and tricks!