TODAYS BUSINESS YOU CAN START
Edtech
Have kids or younger siblings? If so, you may know that more and more classrooms are allowing computers, iPads, and even smartphones during lectures and school activities. With the rise of this new privilege comes the rise of edtech, or educational technology. This can include “blackboard”-style student portals, educational games, online discussion platforms, assignment submission forms and much, much more. In fact, we’ve taken a stab at the edtech industry ourselves with the Kidpreneurs Academy. The Kidpreneurs Academy, a series of fun and interactive videos on young entrepreneurship, is a wonderful complement to a book we wrote that teaches kids seven through 12 the same concepts. Combined, "Kidpreneurs: Young Entrepreneurs with Big Ideas" and the Kidpreneurs Academy are our attempt at combining our area of passion and expertise (entrepreneurship) with youth education and the edtech industry.
It may seem like every type of edtech imaginable has already come to fruition, but realistically, a lot of today’s edtech is glitchy or impractical. Few online classroom resources do everything a teacher or student needs them to do; those that are actually complete are also inexplicably expensive. As an entrepreneur, it’s up to you to create (or sell) a solution that meets more than just one requirement at a time.
Website rentals
It’s 2016 -- these days, everyone calls themselves a web developer. But do you know what very few people tend to say they do? Rent websites.
You read that correctly: creating websites from scratch for specific companies is now the old way of generating revenue from Web clients. Instead, Web devs are creating several websites at a time for a certain niche, then renting customizable versions of each site to local businesses. The businesses pay monthly for a website the developer maintains. It’s a great way to make passive income and expand your existing Web dev business -- as long as you know what you’re doing.
Ethical business consulting
Ethical entrepreneurship and management is a huge focus of concern for this generation. It’s not just about protecting employees and vendors from discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality and religion -- modern business owners and managers also worry about ethical product acquisition, social responsibility and environmental awareness.
Whether they’re first-time business owners or seasoned managers newer to ethical business, there are hundreds of potential clients waiting for an ethical business consultant to help them out. Maybe they’re going through a massive hiring period, and they’d like an ethics consultant to help protect job candidates from discrimination. Perhaps the company is working on making their products fully biodegradable for a “greener” demographic. There are countless areas you could work in, and the best part is, you can easily pick a specialty you find most interesting and engaging.
Healthy fast food
Don’t be mistaken -- fast food is thriving today just as much as it ever has. But today people seek out healthy alternatives to the greasy meals that make up much of fast food fare. Taco trucks, burger joints and ice cream stands just aren’t doing it anymore. Restaurants who offer acai bowls, quinoa-kale salads and whole-grain wraps are in.
One great little niche is the healthy fast food truck. Take Green Pirate and Nectar for example; both trucks offer fresh juices and smoothies to a different location every day. Native Bowl and Hola Arepa mix up creative bowls and salads full of fresh, local ingredients. If mobile fast food isn’t really your thing, don’t worry -- restaurants like Green Tomato and Zoe’s Kitchen do just as well.
Delivery Services For just About anything
ERRAND BOYS: we are your messengers,send us anywhere we will go
Americans are working harder now than ever before. Between their jobs, school, family, social obligations and hobbies, people just don’t have time to pick up their own dry cleaning, or even to bring takeout to work. While this is a problem for most, it’s an opportunity for the modern entrepreneur.
It seems that, given the opportunity, people will pay to have just about anything done for them. They already pay Postmates and Uber Eats to deliver food to their homes and workplaces. Booster Fuels will fill up their cars wherever they are. And with the rise of services like Amazon Prime Now, people can have everything from groceries to electronics delivered to their doorstep in under two hours. The concept has already proven itself -- all you have to do is figure out what you’d like to deliver.
