Unique Business Ideas for Creators To Try
Many content creators are looking for ways to generate a sustainable income stream. Multiple income streams are especially smart in the current economic climate; but with so many creators, streamers, and influencers out there, it can be challenging to come up with unique business ideas that will actually generate interest and profit.
But whether it's a food truck business, selling ecommerce items, a photography business, dog walking business, life coaching, personal training, or offering your services as a personal chef, event planner, or graphic designer, there are ways to choose a path that will make your online business really stand out.
Let's discuss what makes great business ideas interesting, which business ideas are some of the best ones to try - and what to do once you actually find the right idea for you.
How Can You Make Your Business Ideas Unique?
Making your online business idea unique and distinctive is crucial, so that you can set yourself apart from the competition and attract a devoted customer base who are hyped about what you have to offer! Here are some strategies that can help:
Learn what's in demand
Start by identifying what your followers want and need, to learn if there's a demand for your ideas, and how you can do better than similar products already on the market. Conducting market research is your next step - get to know your fans/viewers/customers better by conducting surveys, reading comments and messages, monitoring social media trends, and simply asking for suggestions.
Once you have a clear understanding of what they're interested in, you can then tailor your merch and products to design and provide items that they'll be excited to buy.
Combine your passions and skills
Truly great business ideas most often come from your passions and skills. Identify what you're good at and incorporate it into your business idea; it'll be easier to work with if you already have some knowledge on the subject, and your enthusiasm for it will help carry you through challenging times in your business.
For instance, if you're a beauty influencer, you could start a cosmetics line or create beauty tutorial videos; if you're a chef, you could bottle and sell your own sauces; if you're an artist or graphic designer, you could design and sell your own POD (print on demand) wall art through a site like Fourthwall.
Identify USPs (Unique Selling Points)
A USP, or Unique Selling Point, is a characteristic that sets your product or business apart from others. It could be a product feature that's very different from the usual, creative package design, or sustainable sourcing - anything that helps your product stand out from the thousands of other similar products on the market so it can become a profitable business idea.
What makes your product distinctive and special is also that elusive ingredient that'll help draw in your target audience.
Build your own website
Your website is an essential tool for selling products, services, and building brand awareness for your business. With Fourthwall, creators can easily create a website to sell and promote their products to their community and customers.
Fourthwall is an all-in-one platform that provides website, product, and ecommerce capabilities, making your website building process easy, with lots of options to really customize it and make it your own. Fourthwall even eliminates website startup costs, as there are no monthly or signup fees!
Offer standout customer service
Providing exceptional customer service can make your business stand out from your competition. Ensure that you (or your host platform) are available to answer and resolve customer queries promptly and efficiently.
It can also be to your benefit in multiple ways to collect customer feedback, to help fine-tune your products and marketing approach; these are the people you're selling to, after all, so listening to their needs and wants is a great way to help you expand your business.
21 Unique Business Ideas To Try
To help you get inspired, here's a curated list of unique business ideas tailored to creators:
1. Merchandise design service
If graphic design is your thing, sell customized freelance merchandise design services to your customers! Whether fellow content creators, YouTubers, Twitch streamers, or another type of business entirely, if you have the skills (or can pull together a team of designers), you can offer unique designs to help other creators/businesspeople brand their companies, establish logos, and put together a merchandise line. Fourthwall makes it easy for anyone to convert designs over to merch; so you'll be the creative one making your clients' designs come to life!
2. Digital products shop
Host a digital marketplace to sell products like printable art and cards, software, fonts, and other digital products that cater to your audience's needs. This would be a particularly great home business idea that you could take anywhere with you, as once you establish the marketplace, you basically just need to oversee it. You can make even more extra revenue by posting your own digital creations/software, and earn commissions or percentages from other creators by giving them space to showcase and sell their work.
3. Live streaming production services
This online business idea sees you offering freelance live streaming production services to content creators who want to amplify their stream visuals. You can create and sell anything from social posts and video/static ads to stream overlays, intro/be right back videos,emotes, clip compilations, or anything that your clients require in the live streaming space. Your design work here can assist content creators in establishing their own look, which can then help them draw in new viewers.
4. Software creation
Got coding skills? There's a whole row of doors open for you in this category! You can develop and sell personalized digital avatars for streamers, using software to create a digital likeness of a person. Develop virtual reality experiences as software or mobile apps, such as immersive games and experiences that transport the users to different worlds. Or create a game of your own and sell it via a gaming platform like Steam. The keys here are, again, to be unique, and also to find a software niche that's either missing or needs improvement.
5. Event planning
Event planning was quiet for several years, but now it's coming back into its own alongside virtual event planning, which has also gained a lot of momentum. These events can take the form of webinars, conferences, or festivals - either online or IRL (in real life) - and with this online business idea, you're the event planner - which means you'll take the helm and charge your clients to help organize everything from the venue and swag to the guests, performers, panels, and other logistics.
6. Subscription box curation
If you have lots of knowledge about a certain type of merch and a good eye for trends, another profitable business idea is to launch a subscription box service that delivers unique, exclusive products to your subscribers each month for a fee. Subscription boxes work especially well for those looking for ongoing discovery (music, books, candy); an emotional connection (old-timey recipes, favorite childhood games); a challenge to solve (puzzles, mystery rooms); or to boost their favorite hobby (running, crocheting, cooking.)
7. Personalized voice services
Interested in voiceover work, or simply have a great voice? You could sell customized voice audio to your audience as a freelancer, such as personalized greetings for voicemail or out-of-office messages; promotional voiceover; livestreaming character voices; educational or instructional voiceover for videos; converting email newsletters into audio; or language translation if you have that in your personal skills tool box. Yet another unique business idea for voice skills would be offering special audio greetings (birthday, anniversary) emailed to the giftee of your client's choice.
8. Interactive storytelling podcast
Another great business idea for those with voice skills would see you producing an interactive storytelling podcast that engages your audience and captures their attention. Successful iterations of this include This American Life (true stories told like mini-movies) and Serial (a non-fiction investigative journalism story told over multiple episodes.) You could create any story thread you can think up, and let your creativity unfold over audio or video, generating revenue via sponsors and ads.
9. Influencer brand
Develop an influencer brand of your own! This is another profitable business idea for which the possibilities are practically endless. You could start a brand of accessories that caters to pet owners, from pet food to pet fashion accessories. Perhaps an eco-friendly line of beautifully scented cleaning products that promotes sustainable and ethical practices; running shoes that complement your health/fitness content; or a food or beverage product that lines up perfectly with your personal brand.
10. Creative content licensing agency
You can start your own small licensing agency by offering services to help creators license their content to other businesses for a fee. This online business idea would involve you basically brokering deals between content creators and companies, to assist creators in finding brands that would blend well with their own, and then working out the details of these deals (how many YouTube and TikTok videos are required, and what they would contain, for instance) to best benefit the creators and satisfy the company's marketing goals.
11. DIY craft kits service
Indulge the creative side of your audience with this unique business idea: a monthly DIY craft kit service. This would ideally be something that you're already streaming or creating content about, such as knitting, woodworking, painting, or sewing; you could put together instructions or a pattern, and provide materials for your customers to make a small item, with your guidance, each month. You could even include a video tutorial as the instructions, to drive more traffic to your YouTube.
12. Open an ecommerce store
Another great home business idea is to open your own ecommerce store, selling products of your choice online. This is actually something you can do easily with Fourthwall; with your own Fourthwall site, you can set up your own storefront with your own design, customize a large selection of products, and easily sell them without having to keep stock or even deal with shipping, and there are no startup costs.
13. Artisanal food or beverage brand
Foodie pursuits are always trending, and if you have cooking, chef, or food curating skills, there are many ways to develop your own online business idea around foodstuffs. You could create your own artisanal food and beverage brand; launch your own food truck; collaborate with chefs to create menus for events; or build a website around offering your services as a personal chef. Food truck businesses are especially hot right now; your hometown probably has multiple food truck businesses you can check out for inspiration (bonus: you can try some delicious food, too!)
14. Coaching or training service
If you enjoy working with and helping people, you could offer remote freelance coaching consulting and/or mentorship services in your area of expertise. This can be anything from business/executive skills to health and fitness pursuits, music lessons, acting coaching, finance consulting, language lessons, or cultural mentorship. Other unique business ideas in this category would include life coaching skills like mindset management or home organizing.
15. Digital art gallery
A unique business idea that's also fairly new is running a marketplace or online gallery for digital art NFTs. NFT art, or "non-fungible tokens" of art, are basically just like the physical artworks that people collect, only in digital form; instead of purchasing an actual painting to hang on the wall, an NFT purchase means that the buyer owns the original digital artwork with built-in authentication. NFT collecting is something of an exclusive club, but it can be very profitable and exciting if you know what you're doing.
16. Interactive online courses
Sharing your knowledge can be both fun and profitable when you design and sell engaging and interactive online courses that cater to your audience's interests. These side hustles could be anything from beauty tips to dog training, computer skills to gardening. Make your classes even more interactive by adding components like discussion forums, live streamed co-working sessions, or gameifying the courses themselves.
17. Art workshops
If creating art runs in your blood, whether it's drawing, sketching, painting, sculpture, graphic design, or another medium, a unique business idea for your skill set is to conduct freelance art workshops. You could teach a specific art discipline online via live streams or videos; run art therapy workshops for your audience, using art as a therapeutic tool; or host art "create-along" sessions, where you and your viewers create the same piece of artwork or art along the same theme, much like Bob Ross' legendary instructional painting show, which got a revival on Twitch.
18. Virtual interior design
Always getting compliments on your space? Offer virtual interior design consultations to clients looking to redesign their own homes, apartments, or businesses. Consult with your customers for a fee to get photos and details about their space and what kind of redesign/redecorating they're looking for; then use graphic design programs or renovation software to deliver your design ideas, complete with affiliate links to where they can purchase the items you've included in your design.
19. Dog walking
Whether you have your own dog (so have experience in dog behavior) or would like to have dogs "by proxy" because you live in a place that doesn't allow pets, a dog walking business is a great side hustle. Dog walking is also a fairly simple business; you exchange dog walking for a fee, ensuring that the dogs get their daily exercise while staying safe under your care. Health insurance is advisable for this small business idea; while most owners will likely not send their dogs out with a stranger unless the dog is decently well-trained, the occasional bite might happen.
20. Fashionable fun
Fashionistas have lots of unique business idea options for small businesses to start. Your own online clothing boutique could be one, whether you choose dropshipping to curate your fashion inventory, or source unique pieces through thrifting; you can even design your own knitwear and activewear on a site like Fourthwall. You could be a personal shopper, curating fashionable clothes for individual clientele. Or this fairly unique business idea: you could start a clothing rental service, connecting high-end gowns or even costumes with those will to pay to rent extravagant outfits to wear to special events.
21. Photography services
As a freelance photographer, you can easily start your own photography business, offering a myriad of photography business services. Portraits and headshots are probably some of the most common for this type of business, but you could also offer product or food photography (for print/static advertisements); fashion photography; home staging/real estate photos; landscapes; and of course that old standby, wedding photography.
What To Do After You've Found Your Unique Business Idea
Congratulations, you've found your unique business idea!
Now what?
Here are 3 actionable steps to help you successfully launch your new business:
1. Solidify your business plan
Develop a business plan that outlines your goals, strategies, and financial projections. Your business plan should include your market research, an organizational chart or spreadsheet showing how you're going to execute your plan, and a financial plan; this is the point at which you'll also want to acquire any business licenses or registrations you'll need, if those are required by the type of business you've chosen. All of this will help you organize your ideas, and keep things running smoothly as you get started.
2. Launch your online headquarters
Whether it's a store, gallery, service, or brand, you'll need an online headquarters to interact with your customers and show off the ware of your unique business idea. Your website should be user-friendly, branded, and optimized for search engines, preferably with minimal startup costs. With Fourthwall, you can create a custom website and launch your online store quickly and easily, with zero upfront startup costs or monthly fees. Fourthwall also provides various templates and ecommerce capabilities that enable you to sell both merchandise and digital products.
3. Analyze your metrics to grow, grow, grow!
Metrics and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) help you measure the performance of your business and identify areas for improvement. Metrics might include website traffic, sales revenue, conversion rate, bounce rate, and customer acquisition cost. By analyzing this data, you can make data-driven decisions and optimize your strategies. Grassroots communications - ie chatting with your audience/fans to gather feedback - can also help turn your fans into customers as you start your new business venture.
FAQ
What is the most fun business to start?
The most fun business to start is subjective and varies depending on the interests and passions of the creator; keeping in mind that this is a project you'll probably working on for quite some time (if not indefinitely, if it's successful!), it's to your benefit to choose a small business idea you'll enjoy in the long-term.
How do you come up with a unique business idea?
Identifying your personal interests, passions, and skills will help you arrive at the ideal unique business idea for you. Conducting market research will help you figure out what your audience will be interested in, and keeping an eye on industry trends can provide further inspiration to take your own interests to another level!
How can you make business ideas profitable?
You can make great business ideas profitable by conducting market research, developing a solid business plan, and continuously analyzing metrics to optimize your strategies. And you can ensure longevity in that profitability by offering quality products or services, and staying ahead of trends to make sure you're providing goods that your customers actually want to purchase.
Which small businesses make the most money?
While the most money-making businesses vary depending on the core industry, some of the most profitable businesses to start include tech services (including mobile apps), food trucks, finance services, personal trainers, online courses and consulting. However, it's important to note that it's most important to pursue a business that aligns with your interests and passions, to help give you longevity in your field as you ride the ups and downs of working on your unique business idea.
Empower Your Unique Business Ideas With Fourthwall
Fourthwall offers powerful tools that can help bring your unique business ideas to life. With Fourthwall, you can easily get started creating a custom website on your own domain that includes a homepage, shop, memberships, and so much more. You can sell customized merchandise of your own design, plus digital products like e-books, music, art, and exclusive memberships all in one place; and then accompany all of that with video posts, thank-you messages, and even more exciting features, all without startup costs or monthly fees.
Fourthwall is so great for creators, as it empowers you to expand upon your online business idea, connect directly with your audience and bypass traditional business gatekeepers, allowing your new business to grow, profit, and get the attention it deserves!