Some of us like to do things a little differently, and that’s also true of business owners and entrepreneurs. If you’ve looked at some standard business ideas and thought “that’s not for me,” perhaps you need something a more unique.
Starting a niche business could be a great idea — you’ll be creating products or services that people can’t easily get elsewhere, and you’ll be able to identify your target market and build up your marketing and reputation with them.
The question is, just where do you start? How do you find a unique business idea, test it out and bring it to life? We can help. Since 2004, we’ve helped over 250,000 people like you become entrepreneurs, starting exciting businesses and bringing their ideas to life. We’ll give you the support, guidance and advice you need to create a unique business and make it into a success.
To get you off on the right foot, here’s our simple guide to starting up a successful unique business. From highlighting important facts to validating your ideas, and from choosing the right structure to managing and running your business, you’ll find the answers you need.
Read on for some insight into creating your own unique business and becoming an entrepreneur.
A unique business needs a unique idea. Starting a truly one-of-a-kind business may be a stretch, as the chances are someone has already done something similar. But you can certainly find niches that are not too saturated, and then create a unique model to serve them.
We recommend basing your business around skills, talents, training or interests you already have. That way you won’t need to learn something new at the same time as starting up a business. This is a multi-step process as you:
We’ve all got skills we could turn into business ideas, and it’s time to harness them into your own business. Start by looking at the various parts of your life and writing down your talents and areas you’re good at.
This doesn’t just have to be formal training like home improvement or bookkeeping — it could also include other skills like writing or cooking. Make sure to capture a good number of skills across various areas like training, qualifications, work, social, hobbies, etc.
Similar to how you explored your skills, start thinking about the things that inspire you — your passions and interests. These are the things you choose to do in your spare time. They could be hobbies and pastimes or things you care about and think about often. Look at the social media groups you belong to, what you chat about with your friends, or the books and other media that you consume for inspiration.
The most successful businesses happen because the founder has a great idea that they care about. Even if you’re awesome at Excel spreadsheets, you’re not going to be able to sustain a business doing data analysis if they don’t interest you.
Go through each of your skills and interests and prioritize them — how good are you at this particular area? Could you see yourself doing it as a business? Are you enthusiastic about it?
Once you have some prioritized skills and interests, combine them with each other to see if you have an idea for a business.
For example, say you’ve listed nonfiction writing and programming as skills, along with veganism, classic cars and fitness as interests. You’d take each of those and combine them to create a list of business ideas:
You can continue to expand into your other skill and interest areas too—such as starting a moving company based on your skills with helping friends move or starting a record company based on your love of music.
Remember, the ideas you’ve created are just a starting point. You will need to define and tweak exactly what type of unique business you want to run by conducting your own research.
And don’t assume that just because you have a great idea, it will be easy to turn that into revenue. You still need to stand out, deliver superior products and services and excel in your chosen area.
Getting started in business is easy, but becoming a success is harder. Before committing too much time, energy and money into your new unique business, it’s important to test the marketplace. Here's how:
The thing to learn here is that it’s okay to say “no” to your first, second or third unique business idea. Very few entrepreneurs get it right the first time. In fact, getting it wrong is often a badge of honor! Still, you don’t want to waste too much time, energy or money on the wrong initiatives, so ask and answer these questions honestly to find the right way forward.
Until you have a business plan, your unique business idea is just a concept. A business plan forces you to start considering how your idea would look and how you can turn it into a product or service.
You need to define how you’re going to run your unique business, market yourself, get sales, make a profit and grow. Business plans do vary slightly, but they should cover the following areas:
There are five main business structures you can have in the U.S., and it’s important to choose the right one. We’ve shared your options below. They are:
This is the "default" business structure and is what your unique business will be if you decide not to create a more formal structure. We don't recommend this type of business as it doesn't give you the legal protections you need.
This is a type of business that is formed when two or more people work together without creating a more formal business entity. Like a sole proprietorship, it may not give you all the protections your unique business may need.
The most common type of business entity, an LLC is fast, simple and inexpensive to set up and maintain. It protects your personal finances and assets and is a great way to start your unique business.
This is a more complex type of business and isn't generally recommended for smaller organizations.
These are the largest and most complex types of businesses, and are typically far more than the average entrepreneur or unique business owner will need.
Once you've legally created your business, you’ll need to get some other things in place.
The location you work from will be defined by the type of business you start. Many unique businesses can be run successfully from home, although other businesses may need a specialized location. Don't forget that if you work from home, you can write off part of your utility and housing costs against your taxes.
Depending on the type of unique business you run, equipment needs will vary widely. For selling services, you will probably only need a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.
Marketing to a very defined niche is much easier than marketing to a broader audience. Spend some time and effort identifying who your audience is and the best channels to reach them. You will probably want an awesome website, but you'll also need to get branding, newsletters, digital ads, social media accounts and other channels in place.
The right software and processes will make running your unique business much easier. See our list of the best apps and software at the end of this guide.
To begin with, you probably won’t need to hire anyone else for your unique business, especially if you’re a good administrator. But start thinking about who else you may want to bring on board as your business grows.
You will need a separate business bank account for your business, and you might also want to consider a business credit card. Additionally, you will need to keep careful bookkeeping records and file business and personal taxes. Here at Incfile we can even help you file your taxes.
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