I want to start a business but have no ideas! Ugh, I feel you!
Long before I started my journey to self-improvement, I knew that I was not meant to be an employee. I just didn’t know what I wanted to do.
I went from a clueless hippy who spent a decade exploring my interests to an HVAC technician with an engineering degree. Eventually, I helped my significant other start a photography business. That venture taught me everything it could about starting a successful business venture.
It meant researching good business ideas, learning marketing strategies, finding clients, negotiating contracts, and more. All those skills eventually led me to become a small business consultant. Then I took a writing gig with UpFlip.
Nearly three years later, I rely on the same skills I used in consulting to help over a million UpFlippers find good business ideas, start their own businesses, and improve them over time. It’s highly rewarding, but it was a long and tedious journey with a ton of failures along the way.
In this blog, we’ll talk about the process that I and many other successful business owners have used to get where we are today. You can either keep reading or click any of the links below to jump to the section that interests you:
Keep reading to learn what I do when I know I want to start a business but have no ideas.
Decide If It’s Better to Buy or Build a Business
The first thing you’ll want to think about is whether you want to buy a business or start your own. The main considerations come down to two areas:
- Finances: Do you have the money, credit, or negotiation skills to buy a business? Buying a business can be a great way to move forward faster with fewer growing pains.
- Skills: Do you have the industry experience and knowledge to run the business successfully? You can learn the skills, but it might be easier to start a business that specifically focuses on skills you already have.
William Lee, a chief financial officer and chartered financial analyst, explained:
Find out more in the video below:
How to Start a Business With No Ideas
To start a business without any ideas, you should follow the process below:
- List your skills and knowledge.
- Identify the problem each skill solves and who it helps.
- Decide if you want to start a business with the idea.
- Explain the benefits of the solution to the customer.
- Describe the product.
- Identify the size of the market.
- Estimate the sales price.
- Estimate the cost to provide the product or service.
- Evaluate your target market.
- Form your business.
- Get products, equipment, and materials.
- Implement a marketing strategy.
- Grow the business.
We created a free business ideas template to help you visualize your ideas.
Step #1. List Your Skills and Knowledge

Starting a business is all about providing value to customers. Think about your life experiences and what you do well.
These skills could be the basis for your next great business idea. Insert each skill into a box in the first column of the template.
William once said:
If you’re looking for the professions that make the most money, you don’t have to look far. Just get into the medical field or become a pilot.
Step #2. Identify the Problem Each Skill Solves and Who It Helps
You learned each of your current skills because they solve a specific problem. Now, think about what problem the skill solves for customers. The most common problems you can solve for paying customers are:
- They don’t have the time to perform the task.
- They don’t know how to do the task.
- They don’t have the energy to do the task.
- Their health is preventing them from accomplishing something.
Notice that these roadblocks point to major areas of business: the service industry, education, and health.
William Milliken, the founder of Swoop Scoop®, explained:
Check out our interview with him below:
You’ll also want to identify the type of people this helps. For instance, only property owners who have dogs would need William’s service.
Write down your answers in the second column of the template.
Step #3. Decide If You Want to Start a Business With the Idea

You need to consider whether the business idea is one you want to pursue. Just answer with a simple yes, no, or maybe in column three of the template. William Lee explained:
Aptitude and interest tests like the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery or CareerOneStop assessments help identify whether you would enjoy pursuing a particular field.
Step #4. Explain the Benefits of the Solution
Explain how the business would improve customers’ lives. You’ll want to include this information in column four of the template.
The best business ideas are ones that create a positive impact on people’s lives. For instance, at UpFlip, every piece of content we create is put together to help you succeed faster.
Step #5. Describe the Product or Service You’ll Offer
Now, think about each of the products or services you’ll offer. For service businesses, this will normally be a couple different options.
Cristobal Mondragon started Bumble Bee Cleaning Services. His business offers regular cleaning services, deep cleaning, move-in service, and Airbnb cleaning. Plus, he offers one-time cleaning rates and discounts for weekly, biweekly, and monthly cleanings.
Describe the services and products you’ll offer in column five of the template.
Step #6. Identify the Size of the Market
The next step to evaluate potential business ideas is considering whether your business idea has enough demand to actually make you money. That means you need to know how many potential customers have the pain points you’re offering to solve.
A local service business will want to limit potential customers to the regions they serve, while a product business can be regional, national, or global. Input the number of people in column six for each business idea.
Step #7. Estimate the Sales Price
Next, you’ll want to establish how much you can charge for the product or service. Service businesses normally charge around $100 per service visit at a minimum, but poop scooping charges way less. Meanwhile, product sellers may sell items that range from a couple dollars to millions.
This number, multiplied by the size of the market, will give you the maximum potential revenue or total addressable market (TAM). In column seven, document the prices you’ll use when you sell to customers.
Step #8. Estimate the Cost to Provide the Product or Service

You’ll want to estimate the average cost to produce each product or service. Include materials, labor, and overhead to get a good idea of the cost of providing the goods or services.
These don’t have to be exact, but you need this to estimate your profitability. Put the cost to provide the product or service in column eight of the template.
How to Use These Numbers
You’ll need to do some math to establish whether each business opportunity makes sense. The following formulas will help you establish the maximum potential revenue, expenses, and profits:
Maximum potential revenue = size of market × sales price
Maximum potential expenses = size of market × costs
Maximum potential profit = maximum potential revenue – maximum potential expenses
Remember that you’re unlikely to make the maximum potential profit or anywhere near it. Ask yourself whether you’d be okay with making one thousandth of that per month to establish whether it’s a business that makes sense to pursue.
Many passive income plays may seem like small amounts. For instance, you might only make $1,000 a month for owning a vending machine, but you’ll only work maybe 10 hours a month. That means you’re making pretty decent money.
Fields that require more active involvement will normally need over $10K in revenue to justify being more than a side gig.
Step #9. Evaluate Your Target Market

Before you start the best business idea on your list, you should talk to your target market to verify any assumptions. Make it a point to ask:
- Does the solution actually help them?
- How often would they use your product or service?
- How much would they pay for it?
These questions help you identify if you have a good idea that people would actually pay for.
Step #10. Form Your Business
If you worked along with the business idea template, you effectively created a miniature business plan. However, there’s still more to do to turn the perfect business idea into a successful business. You’ll need to:
- Choose a business name: Try our business name generator to get more ideas.
- Create a business structure: Most business owners go with a limited liability company for the added protection.
- Open a business bank account: You’ll want to keep business and personal finances separate.
- Get business insurance: We recommend using Simply Business to compare rates.
It will normally cost between $1,000 and $10,000 to start your business once you’ve found the right business idea. If you need funding, you can apply for a loan at Borrow Nation.
Step #11. Get Products, Equipment, and Materials
Next, you’ll want to get all the equipment, software, products, and materials you need to begin your entrepreneurial journey. Given that each business idea has different considerations, we suggest reviewing our blogs about relevant business ideas to find out what you need.
Step #12. Implement a Marketing Strategy
Both local businesses and online businesses will need to implement a marketing strategy to reach their target audience. You’ll want to do market research on what works best to reach potential customers in your industry. Here’s some tips to help get you started:
- Small business owners should always sign up for and use social media platforms.
- Creating short content is a great way to help your potential customers gain valuable insights about you and your company.
- Every local business needs to create a Google Business Profile to help people in your local community find you online.
Step #13. Grow the Business

Your business will evolve as you learn. As you build your professional and customer network, you’ll get more word-of-mouth business, but it takes time.
Make sure to look at how the business has grown and listen to what your customers ask you to do. They can be the key to identifying new business opportunities.
You may need to invest in employees, new locations, or additional equipment. All these can be done once you have enough money. The most important thing is to just get started.
Best Business Ideas for People Who Don’t Know What Business to Start
There are plenty of great business ideas, so it can be hard finding the right idea. If you want to start a business but have no ideas, you’ll want to consider three types of small businesses.
Service Business Ideas
A service business is any type of work where you sell your time. These businesses are often less regulated, less costly to start, and can be run from home. You might want to consider:
- Consulting services
- Cleaning homes
- Catering
- Graphic design
Check out more ways to be your own boss in our blog about service business ideas.
Online Business Ideas
Online business ideas are also a great way to financial freedom. There are successful entrepreneurs in fields like:
- Building an online store
- Social media marketing
- Online tutoring
- Managing online forums
- Content creation
These businesses don’t require a physical store. You just need to create an eCommerce store, implement a marketing plan, and attract customers through search engines and social media platforms.
Online Course Creation
Many successful entrepreneurs (including us) love the online courses business model. It’s a lot of work at the beginning, but once you’ve created the course and set up an effective marketing campaign, profit margins can exceed 80%.
Anyone who is experienced in a particular industry can create courses. If you have a specialized skill, you’ll sure to find a target audience who will find it valuable.
Other Ways to Find Business Ideas

Next, you’ll want to look for something people need or want. There are a few ways to find businesses that will help people. You might want to:
- Fill a gap in the market
- Apply a business model to a different industry
- Target a niche market
- Provide inputs for emerging trends
- Work within your network
- Play the middleman or marketer
Reading blogs and books may also help you discover new business ideas that you wouldn’t have come up with on your own.
Fill a Gap in the Market
Sometimes ,existing businesses fail to meet customers’ needs. An entrepreneur can capitalize on this and find small business ideas that will help fill that gap in the market.
This strategy can help you gain both consumer and business market share. Larger businesses often buy out small business ideas that satisfy their client base.
Apply a Business Model to a Different Industry
Borrowing strategies from one industry and applying them to another is sometimes called the “rip, pivot, and jam” method. You’re simply adopting business ideas from one industry and creating a business venture in another.
One of the major sectors I think could use this strategy is service-based businesses. Customers would never suffer through a cold or hot night if an independent company became the Doordash of HVAC.
Imagine if your HVAC technician could order an air conditioner on an app similar to Doordash. After establishing a replacement unit is needed, they could order a new one and have the old one removed by the time the new unit (and the additional teammates needed to install it) arrives.
Here’s more about how to ”rip, pivot, and jam.”
Target a Niche Market

Ever noticed that new business ideas either apply to a broad range of people or a tiny niche?
Some people refer to these as “shotgun” and “rifle” strategies. A shotgun strategy targets a broad range of customers with its marketing, while a rifle strategy uses a more targeted approach.
In the business world, you might have a good business idea that falls into both categories. However, it’s easier to compete in a niche market (i.e., the rifle approach).
For instance, it’s easier to start a business as a luxury sneaker reseller than it is to start a convenience store.
Provide Inputs to Emerging Trends
New business ideas rock the world all the time. When a shift occurs, there are two ways to capitalize on it:
- Get actively involved: Crypto is a great example of an emerging trend. If you’re a developer, you might find creating your own cryptocurrency to be a great business idea.
- Provide materials: Small businesses that are more risk averse might instead sell all the parts like NVIDIA processors that are used in crypto mining.
This technique is sometimes called the “shovels in the gold rush” method. Let others do the heavy lifting while you start a business that helps them accomplish their goals.
Work Within Your Network
Successful new business ideas normally incorporate several of the owner’s personal strengths. Look for where your skill set, personal network, and interests intersect.
The intersection method helps people develop business ideas that will hopefully get support from their friends and family as potential customers. Unfortunately, a business plan based on getting friends and family to support a business owner doesn’t always work because they often expect discounts.
Play Middleman or Marketer
Some of the best businesses to start focus on marketing while someone else handles product fulfillment. For example, you can sell two types of products:
- Private label products: With this model, a third party manufactures a product exclusively for your brand.
- White label products: You can also brand a generic product and use the dropshipping fulfillment method. This strategy often reduces start-up costs.
Read Blogs About Small Business Ideas
We’ve written numerous blogs for people who want to start a business but don’t know what they want to do. Start with:
- How to Start a Business: The Ultimate Guide
- 321 Best Small Business Ideas
- The 43 Most Profitable Businesses to Start
- 29 Best Online Business Ideas
- 34 Best Home Business Ideas
- The 25 Best Low-Cost Business Ideas
We also have blogs about self-employment ideas, side hustles, and more. Plus, if you sign up for the UpFlip Academy, you’ll gain access to our full business ideas database.
Read Some Books
Several multimillionaires such as Warren Buffet, Charlie Munger, and Bill Gates reportedly have voracious reading habits.
Start reading more if you haven’t already developed this habit. Check out our list of the best business books to find great business ideas.
For those who feel like their life is already too busy, try listening to audiobooks on Audible.
Talk to Other People
Networking is a huge part of starting a business from nothing. Talking to more people helps you find better solutions. No matter how good of a researcher you are, there’s always the chance you missed something.
You might think you’ve concocted the easiest business to start, but then you talk to someone whose competitive analysis found that people don’t like your solution because it’s too difficult to understand. That might be a deal breaker, or you might choose to simplify it.
Do you know what you want to do now?
We’ve provided a ton of ways to start a business when your well of ideas runs dry. Now it’s up to you. While we’d love to be able to tell you the exact business to start, it’s really a matter of which business makes the most sense for you.
Did we help you find a business idea? Let us know in the comments below.