Are you thinking about becoming your own boss? 2020 might have its downs, but there is still an opportunity for you to chase your dream of starting and running a successful business. The first question to answer, though, does your business idea fulfill the needs of the market? There are multiple industries with plenty of opportunities for small businesses. Below are the top 10 small business industries to start a business in 2020:

1. The Service Industry

With its broad sector, the service industry can be overwhelming to navigate. However, getting into the industry will be easier for you if you know what service to focus on. You can focus on either transportation, distribution, or selling goods by connecting producers and consumers in the service industry.

While this is a broad definition of the industry, you can narrow it down to what services people in your area would benefit a lot from. Humans are always looking for ways to make their lives as convenient as they can get. It could be delivering products to offices or homes, providing services like accounting or business advisory online, or tutoring.

2. The Retail Industry

The retail industry involves selling goods or products directly to customers. It could be a homemade product or buy products in bulk from manufacturers and sell directly to the customers. Think about the niche of products that you are well versed in and do well in your area. Even if there are other players, you can find ways to customize or personalize your services to make a difference in the market.

You can do this by selling online or through a brick-and-mortar shop. Once you figure out what products you can sell in your area, you need to think about what selling strategy works best; online or a physical shop. How do people in our area like to shop for that specific product?

3. Home Care Industry

The home care industry will do well, especially if you are providing in-home services for the elderly. Not every family has the capacity to send their elderly to a hospice or afford the insurance for physical therapy sessions in expensive hospitals.

You can leverage this by offering personalized and in-home services. Services in the home care industry can either be medical or nonmedical. If you have any medical training, you can start a small business as an in-house nurse or open a personal private nursing business.

For anyone without any medical background, you can start a business as a caregiver for the elderly. This includes grocery shopping, running errands, grooming, meal preparation, feeding, or dressing of the older adult, depending on their ability.

4. Fintech Industry

The current wave in technological development does not leave behind the finance industry. Thanks to these developments, there is a whole new industry in financial technology (FinTech). If you have a knack for technology, like developing apps or software programs for business solutions, you can dive into the Fintech industry.

Some of the most common ideas in the Fintech world are online lending platforms, invoicing platforms, tax solutions, online payment methods, mobile banking, and online trading platforms.

5. The Green Industry

With many consumers going vegan or eco-friendly, you can find a niche for your products. All you have to keep in mind is that the industry’s primary focus is providing sustainable products using sustainable ingredients. It’s not just about providing organic end products; it also reduces your carbon footprint and uses less water and energy during the production process.

There are many small businesses you can start in this niche. You can produce or sell eco-friendly products, establish a publication or blog, hand-made products, green finance, or growing organic products, among others.

6. The Health and Fitness Industry

The healthy and fitness sector is a billion-dollar industry, with people looking for ways to stay healthy and fit. In fact, you don’t need to own a gym to start a business in the sector. Numerous health and fitness professionals provide online lessons, downloadable meal plans, personal trainers, fitness vloggers, or starting a health and fitness blog.

If you have the finances or extra space in your property, you can start a yoga, wellness, or fitness studio. Again, the secret is to find what is missing in your area’s niche of health and fitness and trying to occupy that space. You can even target a wider population with businesses like Vlogging or blogging.

7. Pet Care Industry

As more humans open their doors to pets and try as much as possible to provide comfortable living spaces, this industry is growing at an exponential rate. According to research, the pet care industry is expected to reach $202.6 billion globally by 2025. That’s a good sign for anyone interested in starting a small business in this industry.

Your business could focus on offering services or selling pet care products. This could range from opening a private vet clinic if you have the qualifications and license, selling pet wearables, pet food and treats, offering pet sitting or walking services, pet training services, and pet or grooming services.

8. Healthcare Industry

While you might not be a doctor, there are other opportunities in the healthcare industry that you can explore. The healthcare industry is broad, leaving one with many options to choose from when starting a business. The most lucrative area is finding ways to reduce the high medical and insurance costs for consumers.

For instance, you can start a small manufacturing business to manufacture products needed in the healthcare industry like surgical gloves, surgical dresses, gloves, weighing scales, drugs, sanitizers, disinfectants, or sanitary napkins others. Another idea is to open a rehab for various addictions or to help with mental health. You can also have an online-based health publication or blog to offer advice or tips on various diagnostics, medications, or how one can manage their life to avoid contracting certain diseases.

9. Food and Restaurant Industry

While social distancing and global lockdowns affected the industry, some businesses still made sales. Most of these businesses had an online presence with home-delivered options for their customers.

Some ideas include selling vegan-based food, being a personal chef, selling customized meal plans, or have a food delivery business. Some companies, like Nurture Life and Yumi, have an online-based delivery platform for organic baby food. You can also have a bakery shop, sell water, a meal-to-go business, freelance bartender, or target people with a sweet tooth with products like ice cream and flavored popcorn, among others.

10. Beauty and Personal Care Industry

Fior Market research shows that the global beauty and personal care industry is expected to have a $756.63 billion market value by 2026, up from $493.34 billion in 2018. It’s not hard to see why. With more young people looking for ways to groom and beautify themselves and maintain a healthy lifestyle in the process, you can find a niche for your products on services in this industry.

You can offer services like a makeup artist, a technician for nails, brows, or lashes, start a salon, become a beauty blogger or vlogger. You can even make homemade products and target a specific niche, like gender-neutral products or organic beauty and personal care products.

The bottom line is, there are many opportunities to explore when you want to be your own boss. While starting a business in a niche that you are well-versed in and have an immense passion for, it’s also important to confirm how the product or service performs in the market or what different perspective you can offer. Whichever business idea you settle for, ensure you know all the regulations and licenses required in your area to run the business.