Nida Bohunr | November 7 2021
Do you dream of having a lavish lifestyle without selling yourself to some big-shot corporation that works you seven days a week? Do you want to be like those carefree people you see on your social media feeds? Everyone dreams of something like that. Something where you have greater control over your personal time, all the while making handsome money – to be financially fulfilled without compromising on your health and time. But how can that be possible? A lifestyle business is an answer to that. With the recent changes in the business landscape due to the pandemic, 2020 saw an all-new rise in small business and online purchases. With more than 78% of small businesses making profits in the previous year, now is your time to step into your business ventures. The pandemic gave an air of uncertainty for a few small businesses as they fell in the “endangered market” zone; however, on average, small business owners seem to be confident about their businesses.
Talking about the “endangered market” zone from above, let’s just say lifestyle business is something on the other end of that spectrum. If you’re in catering, restaurant, taxi, or such business, of course, you’re in the endangered zone. Such businesses took it hardest when the pandemic hit, but our lifestyle startup ideas are designed to get you away from those endangered zones. A lifestyle business can be any business that allows you to live how you want; it is a part of your lifestyle. It can be anything you can make money out of. The point here is to mitigate risk by evaluating which ones are compatible with your lifestyle and also hold the potential to flourish in 2021 and beyond.
To explain further, a lifestyle business is a little different than a company startup. Both have pros and cons, and people usually turn their profitable lifestyle startups into lifestyle companies later by expanding their operations.
As displayed in our infographic above, in most cases, people go for a lifestyle business with the main goal of sustaining a stable level of income while enjoying their freedom. For some people, that stable income level might be making 300 USD per day, while on the other hand, some might have bigger financial goals.
Basically, your business revenue is dependent on the kind of lifestyle you have. For example, if you enjoy simpler pleasures of life like keeping a farm or growing produce, home-cooking, reading as many books as you can, or going for walks, then it’s obvious that your lifestyle business doesn’t have to generate a buck load of money per year.
On the other hand, if you enjoy vacationing around the world and partying in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Paris, and New York, then your lifestyle business will need to produce more to support all that.
In a nutshell, your lifestyle determines your lifestyle business goals and mission statement. Generally, lifestyle businesses take little to no investment to get off the ground and often generate passive income.
Here are some of the many other benefits of lifestyle startups.
If you’re going with other business models like opening a restaurant, dive shop, or a physical store, you’ll need at least some investments to get the ball rolling. That’s not always the case with lifestyle startups, though.
The best lifestyle startup ideas are the ones that allow you to start slow and grow steadily. That way, you can easily control your costs. Slow and steady wins the race for sure. Keeping this approach will also allow you to minimize your risks and stress, making the journey all the more enjoyable.
Many of the lifestyle startup ideas shared in this article are designed to support your lifestyle for many years to come.
The idea behind going for a lifestyle startup is to escape that 9 to 5 grind, so a lifestyle idea isn’t any good if it only lets you out of the rat race for a few months or so.
We think this one just takes the cake. This is most definitely the first aspect that attracts most entrepreneurs looking to start their lifestyle companies. You can work from anywhere, any time. You’re not bound to anyone’s schedule but yours. You’re also not dependent on any location. All you need is your laptop, and you’re good to sort out a few quick things even if you’re vacationing in the Bahamas.
Lifestyle startups are a great way to earn some passive income. It is the holy grail of making money while leading the life you want. What we mean by passive income is you’re not bound by work hours. Your salary is not dependent on the number of hours you give; it’s defined by the amount of work you put in. If you can pull in good numbers by working two hours on a Friday evening before heading out to enjoy your weekend, then you don’t really have to worry about getting up on time on Monday. You can enjoy your weekends as you like.
Now that you have a clear idea of how a lifestyle startup looks and how manageable it can be, let’s look at some of the best lifestyle business ideas in 2021 and beyond.
Following ideas are focused on creating a healthy income while taking the least of your time and resources.
You don’t have to be an English or Literature major to write a book. You don’t even have to be a know-it-all. If you have been working in a certain industry for years, it is given that you know the ins and outs of it. You can write about your experience or a guidebook for the rookies entering the same industry. You can even write short fiction on some crazy story that pops up in your mind. Even if you think you have all the experience, guiding notes, and crazy fiction ideas but can’t write, it’s not a problem at all. There are a lot of ghostwriters providing their services at reasonable costs.
Once you get a couple of books out there, you can even turn it into a full-time business by productizing your services and merchandise.
No matter how time-consuming it may look, you have to agree that starting a YouTube channel might be one of the most enjoyable lifestyle startups out there. And it doesn’t really feel like hard work or some tedious task if you’re doing something you’re passionate about. Yes, it may take some extra time but hours playing video games (if you’re into that) is still better than hours spent at your office.
All you need for your YouTube channel is consistency, uniqueness, and commitment. Let’s take In The Pocket MMA, for example. A relatively new channel with 82.4k subscribers within around two years. These guys started back in January 2019 with compilations of their favorite MMA news and fights. Their earliest videos had hardly 100 views; now, they go up to 37k views within hours after posting.
They’re already working with Man Scaped as a sponsor, and their fanbase is continuously growing. What you need to learn from this example is to know your niche –here we have two dudes just having fun and talking about what they actually enjoy watching, but because their content is unique, most of the MMA fanbase seek their channel as a community for like-minded people who can talk on the same things.
If you’re someone who just loves to shop for the pure pleasure of it and not because they need to go to the mall, this job is for you. In addition to your passion for shopping, you also have to be good with budgeting while shopping and must have a keen eye for fashion trends. Because as a personal shopper, you need to help clients who are struggling to find their personal style. When you’re shopping for someone, you need to know your fashion rules as you’ll have to revamp your client’s entire wardrobe depending on their personality and lifestyle.
Why not refresh your mind by going back to the basics while also making some money out of it? We have to say this is one of the businesses which majorly benefitted from the pandemic situation, but even with or without a pandemic, online tutoring is always a great way to cash in some extra amount while helping people out. If you’re well educated in any subject, you can start the business of online tutoring right from your personal space. Many websites and forums like Skooli and Tutor.com can help you in finding students for your online classes.
With life going by so fast and everyone struggling to keep up, people often skip meals or go for faster and cheaper junk or instant food alternatives. This has led to a rise in metabolic disorders and energy drain. People are more drawn towards healthier options of nice yet affordable meals-to-go businesses. Start small by serving in your local community and build a loyal consumer base. Offer customized meal plans and try to connect with your clients personally because that’s one of the things that attract consumers to small businesses.
Moreover, there’s always room for expansion with minimum investments in this lifestyle startup idea. You don’t have to invest in all the equipment or a bigger kitchen. You can always find shared space where they rent equipment and space by the hour through websites like The Kitchen Door.
This is all the rage these days. From college graduates to work-from-home employees, everyone’s cashing this great opportunity. Basically, what we mean by Website Flipping is a lot like real estate but a lot less hectic. You buy an already running website with all its fundamentals intact, improve its design and content, and then resell it for a profit. When your site begins to generate more revenue than what you acquired it for, you can list it for sale on the marketplace—a lot like buying a low-priced property, renovating, and then reselling it for more. Shopify’s marketplace Exchange is a great place where you can buy and sell websites.
With globalization on the rise, multilingual people are always in demand. If you can speak two or more languages, consider ways to monetize those skills. You can start by looking for clients on websites like Upwork, Flexjobs, and even social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook to slowly build your portfolio. It doesn’t matter if you only have a few hours to spare each day because translation is among those lifestyle startup ideas which require the least amount of time. Once you’ve worked with enough clients, you’ll have more clients coming your way, and you can even hire more translators who specialize in other languages. This way, you can keep expanding what started as a personal side business into a proper business model.
The ideas shared within this article are based on our research on what works best for lifestyle startups. However, you don’t have to follow only these ideas and get demotivated if you feel like none of these fit your schedule or expertise. Because there’s a lot more you can do. Remember, you only need to find what you’re passionate about and comfortable doing without stressing yourself out. That is the key ingredient to any lifestyle startup.
See Also: 14 Most Disruptive Startups Of 2021
A highly skilled accounting professional at Monily, having extensive and diverse experience of working in US healthcare and agriculture industry. Nida is a CA finalist with expertise in Bookkeeping, Auditing, Bank Liaison, Tax Preparation, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable.
