Starting a small scale business is a good step towards earning a reliable source of income. If you want to start a business for a living, you’ll most likely want to start with small scale business.
There’re tons of small scale business ideas that you can venture into. And most of this business ideas requires just little capital. After all, it’s a “small scale business”, so you won’t have to break the bank to set up such business.
One good thing, however, is that some of this business doesn’t require capital to start it. And the interesting part is, there are lots of small scale business option to choose regardless of the kind of person you are.
If you’re curious about the exact small scale business that suits you, this article will do justice to that. Or perhaps you want to know the business that require the least or no capital, you’re at the right page.
This is a complete guide on everything you need to know about small scale business.
Now let’s dive in.
What is Small Scale Business
As its name implies, small enterprise is a privately owned enterprise that require small start-up capital.
Unlike medium or large businesses, services can only cover a small community. And, it usually has very few or no employees.
While people’s opinions vary, any business that has less than 15 employees are, in most cases, considered as small scale business.
What You Should Know Before Setting Up a Small Scale Business
Choosing the small scale business that suits you and setting it up at the right spot are the keys towards becoming successful.
You shouldn’t set up a business without a prior idea of how it works. For instance, you won’t want to set up a fish farming business without a knowledge about how it works. As a result, you’ll have to undergo training before opting in to some of the small scale business ideas in this article.
Also, for some small scale business, the location where you set it up is what matters most. You’ll have to set it up where you think the business can thrive.
Some business like computer training center, cyber café, game center and the likes should be carefully set up in a place where it can thrive.
You’ll have to choose the business you can cope with. Also, you should know that some of the small scale business ideas in this article requires you to have a special skill. In addition, some of it requires a good marketing strategy to get the best out of it.
Small Scale Business Ideas
Below is the list of small scale business ideas.
1. Cyber Cafe
Most people will want to make use of cybershop to attend to their needs. This makes cyber café a unique small scale business you can dive into. The business is profitable and you can set it up within a short period of time.
What you need to start the business is a computer, printer, internet connection and a reliable power supply.
You’ll need few employees to run the business. However, this depends on the overall service you’re rendering. You can set up this small scale business in student area or place where cybershop is demanding. You might want to set it up in school area.
2. Computer Traning Center
The world is becoming digital. And increasing number of people will want to have a basic understanding of how to make effective use of computer. This is one of the small scale business ideas you can venture into. You just have to set it up at the right spot.
If you have a cyber café set up already, this small scale business can be an add on. In other words, you can extend your services by allowing people to undergo computer training.
3. POS Business (small scale business)
Point of sale business is a small scale business that’s growing fast in Nigeria. You can start offering services like money transfer and withdrawal, airtime recharge, bill payments and the likes.
This business is lucrative because the services are in high demand. Recharge cards is one of the most used products. And you’ll be earning commission selling recharge cards for customers.
Also, the stress of using ATM where it’s not sufficient for customer is usually annoying. The point is, most people will rather use POS machine for transactions rather than withstand the stress without minding the charges.
You can start POS business within few days. However, you’ll need enough capital to start this business because it deals with exchange of money. And you’ll have to set up this small scale business in a safe place for security purposes.
4. Sport Viewing Center
Youths in Nigeria loves watching sports, especially football. The number of football fan just keep increasing each day. You can leverage this opportunity to be earning a decent amount of money.
If you’ve got a small piece of land, you can create a space for customers to watch their favorite sports. What you need for this small scale business is capital to get the screen, cable TV and power supply.
Also, there should be enough space for fresh air. In most cases, you’ll need to get a fan for enough ventilation.
5. Phone and Computer Repair
Repairing faulty phones and computer is a profitable small scale business. People’s phone or personal computer will certainly have issues at some point in time. And if you have the skill to fix faulty phones and computers, then this small scale business is just for you.
If you don’t have the skill, you can undergo training from a skilled phone and computer repairer. After all, you can’t start this business if you have not undergone proper training.
The moment you’re good enough to stand on your own, you can start the business.
What you’ll need to set up this small scale business is the tools you need for fixing and replacing parts of the phone and computers and other necessary stuffs.
In addition, you’ll need to get a shop to look reliable.
6. Game Center
This is a profitable small business that almost anyone can dive into. You can start offering gaming service to game lovers who can’t afford to get their own game console.
With just little capital, you can start this business. You just have to make most of the popular games available for customers. In addition, you should set up this business where you can be getting enough customers.
7. Laundry Service
Dry cleaning business is one of the small scale business ideas that is in high demand. Most people are too busy to take care of their cloths. You can take advantage of this opportunity to help them wash their cloths and get paid doing so.
You can start offering the service with just pressing iron and soap. As the business grows, you can get washing machine and other things you need to make you work easier.
8. Barbing or Hairdressing Salon
While this is a saturated small scale business, your uniqueness will surely help you stand out. One of the good things about this business is that your customers will be loyal to you if your style is unique. In other words, your customers will keep coming for your service if you’re really good at what you do.
You just need to get a shop and other necessary tools you’ll need to attend to customers. You’ll have to make the shop look classy because the classier it looks, the more you can charge your customers.
9. Disc Jockey (DJ)
Hiring a DJ is becoming necessary for almost every event these days. Certainly, Without a DJ in an event, the vibes won’t just be there. This means that DJ service is in high demand.
If you have the skill, this is one of the profitable small scale business ideas you can dive into. You can start mixing music for events to make money. However, mixing music is not enough, you have to mix it in a professional way. Above all, you can only claim to be a DJ if you can keep the vibe alive during an event.
What you need is a laptop, mixer and other necessary tools for effective mixing.
Creative Small Scale Business Ideas
If you are creative enough, you can start some of this creative small scale business ideas. Creative jobs is in high demand, and you can be making a lot of money if you’re good at what you do.
10. Graphic design
You could be making a lot of money by creating designs such as logos, images, book covers and the likes. In today’s world, each brands needs good designs to make their business unique.
If you’ve got a high level of creativity, this is one of the small scale business ideas you should consider. It requires little or no capital.
In addition, you can start offering your services to business owners or start selling your services on freelance sites.
11. Photography
You can start making a decent amount of money by taking event pictures. Taking pictures on events such as graduation, wedding, birthday and other events will make you a lot of money.
What you need is a good camera, lightning, laptop and studio to make the business thrive well. If you can’t get a space for studio because you’re just starting out, you can use you home. The moment your business starts thriving, you can then consider getting a space for your studio.
As I’ve said earlier, some of the small scale business ideas require you to have special skill and photography is one of them. You need to know how to take pictures professionally to have any chance of making it big as a photographer.
If you’re really good at what you do, you can start taking pictures and sell them online to make money.
Manufacturing Small Scale Business Ideas
If you’re good at making beads, jewelry and the likes, you may consider this manufacturing small scale business ideas.
12. Bead Making
Making beads is one of the manufacturing small scale business ideas you can start doing. Most women use beads to look more beautiful. In fact, most of them can’t do without it, especially if the need to attend a party.
If you creative enough, you can start using plastics, ceramic and the likes to make beads in different designs, sizes, shapes and colour.
Beads is mostly used as necklace and earrings. Also, it can be used as waist beads and bracelets for beauty. If requires very little capital. And if you’re very creative, you can be making a lot of money.
Online Small Scale Business Ideas
Here are some of the profitable online small scale business ideas you can start doing. This small scale business ideas usually require special skills.
13. Content Writing
One of the small scale business ideas that’s in high demand is content writing. If you’re a good writer, you can start working for journal, newspaper and magazines. In addition, if you can optimize the content for web, you can work with brands by writing web content to promote their business, produce blog post and the likes.
Also, you can create a gig in freelance sites such as Fiverr and offer your service as a content writer. People will hire you to write content for them and you’ll be earning a lot of money doing so.
14. Proofreading
The job of a proofreader is to check for spelling and grammatical errors. If you’re good at proofreading, you may consider this small scale business.
You can check out industries that need proofreaders online. You should know that proofreading is different from content editing. If you’re confused, you can check the difference online.
15. SEO Consultant
Almost all businesses need an SEO consultant to generate more customers. SEO simply means optimizing web content for search engines. In other words, it means making a content rank in search engines.
If you’ve got ideas on how to optimize web content, you can consider this small scale business.
You can partner with different companies to offer your service. And your job is to drive organic traffic to the company’s website content to improve their sales. In addition, you can offer your service on freelance sites as an SEO consultant.
How to Start a Small Scale Business?
- Know the kind of person you are. You have to know the kind of business you’re capable of doing. Also, you have to know how long you can keep running the business. We are all different, and knowing the kind of person you are will help you choose the right business. You should know that what works for someone may not necessarily work for you. As a result, you’ll have to take time to think before you choose any of the small scale business ideas.
- Set a Goal. You should set a goal and work towards it. Setting a goal will help you stay focused. There’s a reason you’ll want to start the small scale business in the first place. If you’re going to depend on the business for a living, you’ll have to be very serious with it.
- Get the Capital Ready. Even though it can be little you’ll need capital to start almost all of this small scale business ideas. If you’re sure of the small scale business you want to venture into, the next thing is to get the capital ready.
- Start your small scale Business. Now that you have everything you need, choose the right location and start the business.
- Promote your business. You’ll have to advertise your business for rapid growth. How you will advertise depends on the type of the business you venture into. For instance, You may have to create an online presence for effective advertisement. And for some business, you’ll just have to display a banner for people to know what you do.
Register your Business
While most small scale business owners neglect their business registration, you should register yours. However, it depends on the type of small scale business you start. You won’t need to get a certificate for some business.
There’re lots of benefits you can get if you register your business. Some of the major benefits is, you can easily apply for loans, you can obtain a visa to travel to any country for business purposes. Also, it protects your business and makes it reliable.
When you register your business, it gives your customers the feeling that they’re dealing with a reliable organization.
Small Scale Business Ideas Final Words
When you’re thinking about starting a small scale business, the problem is not always the capital but the type of business to start. Investing in the wrong business is one of the mistakes most people do. And you shouldn’t let that happen to you.
Starting your own business is a good thing as it let you become your own boss. In addition, you can decide when and when not to work. Everything will be absolutely under your control. You just have to choose the business that matches your talent and the one you’re comfortable with.
I hope this post will help you choose the right small scale business that suits you.
If you need to ask a question, make use of the comment box below.
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