21 Phenomenal Side Business Ideas for 2015

Health & Fitness for Kids

The child health niche is one that often goes unexploited. You could run a soccer day camp for middle school students or develop a line of healthy energy bars for pre-teens. Parents are always more than willing to pay for a product or service that promotes healthy kids.

Build a Translation Business

Besides being a handy skill, knowing a foreign language is a side business just waiting to happen. Market your translation skills online to customers such as e-book authors that want to publish their manuscripts in multiple languages. Qualified translators often charge at least $20 per hour for their expertise.

Launch a Consultancy

Regardless of your experience or skills, you can parlay your know-how into a profitable consultancy. Setting up a consultancy is easy and relatively inexpensive. All you need is a computer and a web presence to start. Offer your services for free to non-profit organizations in the beginning to build clout.

Develop Wearable Tech

Though the field sounds complicated, wearable tech is actually a pretty easy market to jump into. Shirts and armbands with embedded sensors and displays don’t require an engineering background to develop. You can outsource that part to the real geeks. Just focus on designing memorable garments that will stand out.

Teach an Online Course

A great way to convert your knowledge into dollars is by teaching an online course on Udemy, Learnable or Coursera. Once you develop a curriculum, all you have to do is advise your students as they work their way through the material. It’s easy money and fun to boot.

Write & Sell E-books

If you’re looking for a passive income opportunity with serious legs, writing and publishing e-books is the way to go. Nowadays, multiple high-quality platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, iBooks Author, Smashwords,Nook Press and Lulu make it easy to self-publish your works and reach a potentially massive audience.

Offer Senior Citizen Care

Every industrialized country in the world features a growing population of senior citizens as demographic profiles stabilize. This new reality presents a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to profit by delivering high-quality elder care. If you possess nursing or first responder experience, you’ll have a leg up on the competition.

E-Cycling

Every year, millions of computers, printers and cell phones are tossed in the trash. The reality is that anything with a circuit board can yield a surprising amount of cash if salvaged properly. Collect old electronics from the community and ship it to a recycler in a country like Mexico or Malaysia.

Start a Composting Business

Organic produce is big business nowadays as consumers become more aware of the importance of all-natural food. A composting business is easy to launch and can be highly profitable. All you need is a little land to set up composting bins on and a steady supply of scrap material.

Grow Organic Produce

If you want to branch out beyond mere composting, you could always start an organic farm that specializes in heirloom tomatoes or squash. With the right game plan in place, it’s more than possible to grow up to 6,000 pounds of produce on a quarter-acre of land or less.

Start a Community-Supported Business

While the CSA,  (“Community-supported agriculture”), model is the obvious way to go, you don’t have to grow produce or raise livestock to profit from a community-supported business. Identify a niche where your community’s needs intersect with your own skills or interests. For instance, you could launch a community-supported shuttle bus service for disabled citizens.

Create a Mobile Accessory

Nearly every household in America has at least one mobile device. While it’s unlikely that you’ll build the next Samsung from scratch, you can profit from the mobile revolution by producing custom accessories like phone cases and tablet stands. Come up with a design and outsource the production to a third party.

Design Healthcare Products

You don’t need to personally administer care to make money from the medical industry. Try designing and building products like custom crutches or walkers for patients. While you’ll most likely need to get government approval for your creations, the long-term profits can be substantial once you clear the regulatory hurdles.

Start a Property Management Company

Thanks to recent real estate trends, many investors are piling into the rental game. All of that property needs to be looked after by someone. You can make a mint by forming your own property management company that performs routine maintenance and upkeep on apartments and rented houses.

Get Involved in Rentals Yourself

If you can secure the financing, purchasing foreclosed homes and renting them out is always a great moneymaker. The key to success in this particular endeavor is knowing your local real estate market inside and out. If you can spot a bargain, rentals may be a great fit.

Mobile App Development

While the mobile app gold rush may have tapered off somewhat, there’s still money to be made in mobile software development. You don’t need to be a Java or Objective-C guru to create apps. Just come up with a unique idea that’s been overlooked and outsource the coding to a developer.

Affiliate Marketing

As the web’s most reliable business model, affiliate marketing is always a good idea. To get the most from the practice, one needs to keep tabs on the hottest consumer trends and adapt to new promotional methods. Bone up on your social media skills, crank out content, recommend products and profit.

Produce Branded Goods

Businesses of all sizes are always looking for ways to increase their visibility. One of the best ways to do this is by giving away items like USB keys, t-shirts and mugs that prominently feature a name and logo. Marketing branded goods to SMBs is an easy sell and can be quite lucrative.

Crowdfund a New Gadget

Using sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and FundAnything to crowdfund product development is one of the hottest entrepreneurial opportunities available. Use some free CAD software to whip up a prototype, pre-sell it online to interested customers, outsource the actual production to a niche manufacturer and watch the money roll in.

Buy a Low-Cost Franchise

If you do your homework, buying a franchise is arguably the easiest way to start a new business. For instance, you could buy a few Fresh Healthy Vending machines and place them in high-traffic locations. The startup costs of such an operation can be as little as $3,000.

Direct Sales

While the industry has been tarnished by numerous high-profile MLM pyramid schemes, direct sales can be honest and highly profitable. The key is to pick a product or service that has real value and a sterling reputation before you start promoting. Direct selling is a great fit for stay-at-home moms and retirees.

Endless Possibilities on the Horizon

Clearly, lackluster economic conditions are never a serious obstacle for entrepreneurs that can adapt to change. Many of the best opportunities are the result of emerging technologies just waiting to be exploited. Stay alert and be ready to launch your new side business when the time is right.