Which Businesses Should You Consider in 2021?

Given how many people are looking to start their own business online, it is no secret to see more and more industries growing substantially. When there is a demand, there will be those trying to fill the niche and making money.

Of course, the road to entrepreneurship is not that simple. There are a lot of difficulties that you might encounter, particularly if making money online is not something you are experienced with in the first place.

Nevertheless, some of the most successful business people started from scratch with next to nothing at their disposal. In fact, things were even harder back in the day. Now, you have a plethora of educational sources that you can study and improve.

Ultimately, though, what matters the most is your actual work. And before you get started, you will need a business idea.

Right now, there are multiple niches to consider, and I’ve picked some of the hottest business ideas for you. The sooner you start working on one, the sooner you will see money coming your way.

Digital Marketing Agency

If you are interested in offering digital marketing services, learning the craft could take a while. Moreover, covering multiple digital marketing methods and mastering them on your own is more or less impossible. As such, you would need to focus on a particular niche.

For example, you could become someone well-versed in social media content, PPC, email marketing, or SEO. But what comes next? Will you be doing the same thing over and over?

Not necessarily. It seems that the future of digital marketing is pushing in the direction of agencies. And why wouldn’t it.

When you have some experience as a digital marketer, you can look to grow your own team of talented individuals and take on bigger and more interesting projects that would be out of reach if you were working alone.

Since it is digital marketing we are talking about, your agency can hire remotes from different cities or countries and work remotely. The ongoing pandemic has shown that remote work is not a problem.

By running a digital agency, you will also get a satisfying feeling of providing other people with a job, and it is one of those benefits that are easy to overlook.

Finally, establishing a digital marketing agency will cement you as one of the authorities in the industry. You will be considered an expert in your field, and it will be easier to find and work on projects you know how to manage.

Blogging and Influencing

Blogging is a bit tricky to monetize, particularly when you are not that great with words. However, like other crafts, writing is also something one can polish and improve over time. So long as you have the creativity to compensate for the early stages of learning how to write, you should be okay.

It is also worth noting that a blog could work as a great platform to start a brand and build it over time. Your influence as a blogger can expand in other channels. For instance, you could start to stream on Twitch TV and monetize a channel there. Or, if your blog revolves around visual content, such as photos for interesting locations, you can start an Instagram account and become an influencer.

These days, bloggers and influencers are often interchangeable terms, and there are plenty of social media influencers who switched to blogging rather than the other way around.

Of course, if you start out as a blogger and attract a decent amount of regular viewers, monetizing the blog itself should not be a problem either.

Some bloggers offer digital goods, such as e-books or webinars. Others run ads or include affiliate links, though these two are not as effective because ad blocker extensions are a thing, and too many affiliate links jeopardize blog content.

Another benefit of running a blog is that it gives you opportunities to connect with other influencers, thanks to guest post exchanges. The larger your network, the more opportunities there are.

Online Education

Some say that Covid-19 changed education forever, but the online education trends were noticeable before the pandemic. Thanks to available technology, people can learn remotely and digitally. In other words, they do not need to buy physical book copies.

According to Tech Jury, the worldwide online education industry is expected to be worth more than 320 billion dollars in 2025. The same report also reveals that about 40 percent of organizations in the United States saw an increase in income thanks to e-learning.

As you can see, the demand for learning online is quite high, and it will continue to grow thanks to its convenience. The question is, how does one monetize this opportunity?

The way we see it, there are two approaches—building an online education platform and inviting content creators or publishing courses yourself.

An online education platform is quite an endeavor, as it will require a lot of hard work to launch. You will likely need to hire web developers and collaborate with them. Promoting a new education platform is also not that simple because the competition is pretty fierce. Nevertheless, if this is a venture you feel like you could take on, then go for it.

As for the second idea—creating your own courses—realizing it is easier. Even if you have no educational background, you can still create valuable courses and sell them on already-established platforms. YouTube could also be one of the options if you plan to create video content, though monetizing YouTube is not that simple these days due to changes in their ad algorithm, not to mention difficulties in attracting subscribers.

Taking a more traditional approach and sticking to actual educational platforms might be more beneficial. People who are looking to learn something will seek guidance on a site that specializes in educational content.

When you are creating courses, make sure to focus on quality and value. Offer learners information that they will find useful. Also, remember that the more time you spend on developing a course, the more likely it is to succeed and ultimately bring you the money you desire.

Game Development and Esports

Some could argue that the gaming industry is oversaturated. However, the demand continues to grow. Take this, for example—the number of gamers increased from 2.69 billion to 2.81 billion in 2021.

The fact that there are so many people playing video games should be a good enough indication to show how healthy the industry is. Steady growth is an additional benefit.

Similar to a digital marketing agency, you could consider starting a game development company, but that would probably take too long and without guarantees to succeed.

What you might want to consider is learning a craft that would help you find work in the gaming industry and put the thought of owning your own company for a bit.

Keep in mind that dedicated game development revolves around more than just coders, designers, and artists (though these two make a lot of money). Video game companies also need marketers, storyboard directors, testers, customer support employees, and virtual reality experts, to name a few.

In a similar vein to video games, esports is worth a shout as well. Professional gaming is no longer a fantasy thanks to the popularity of League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Valorant, and other titles.

A business in esports is worth your while because the industry is still relatively new, meaning less competition. You could consider creating your own organization, starting an esports news site, or becoming a team coach.

Ecommerce Store

These days, starting an ecommerce store is not that difficult because of the available solutions. Picking an ecommerce platform lets you set up a store in a couple of minutes. And once the website is up and running, you can focus on marketing to attract customers.

In case you are worried about getting products or services to sell, remember that there is no need to manufacture the goods yourself. The dropshipping business model is a great alternative to running a traditional online store, even if it is difficult to find a reliable supplier sometimes.

Before you commit to creating an ecommerce store, make sure to spend enough time researching available niches. You do not want to enter an oversaturated market and face an overwhelming amount of competition.

Finally, since the ecommerce industry is evolving, one needs to be at the top of their game to keep up with the latest trends and not fall behind others.

Search Engine Optimization

If there is one craft worth learning for monetary gains, SEO is definitely up there. The competition between various industries is tough when it comes to ranking at the top pages of Google and other search engines.

Some of the biggest SEO benefits include:

• generating more quality leads 
• staying ahead of the competition
• raising brand awareness

Companies are not afraid to spend a lot of money because they understand the search engine optimization value and that this particular marketing method is a long-term investment.

As the competition for ranking higher on search engines grows, so does the demand for SEO experts. For instance, if you want to optimize SEO for your Shopify store, you are less likely to take on the job yourself. It makes more sense to seek someone who specializes in Shopify search engine optimization, right?

To start an SEO business, you will need to learn some basics first and gradually increase your competence. General expertise is appreciated, but you could also consider improving in a specific SEO area (like our example about Shopify).

You can work as a freelancer, join an established company, or even look to start your own SEO agency. The industry still has room for new SEO gurus, and there are no indications that things are slowing down for those working in the search engine optimization industry.