5 Alternative Start-Up Ideas For 2019

Thinking of setting up your own business in 2019? Stuck for ideas? To help set the wheels in motion, here are five alternative start-up ideas for you to consider.

The online gambling industry has come under a lot of scrutiny in the last two to three years, and as regulation and taxation have put the squeeze on businesses, the opportunities for windfall profits like the old days have disappeared.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t money to be made.

The affiliate marketing sector continues to thrive as websites position themselves as curators and comparison sites—hubs that list the hundreds of new casinos and sportsbooks for at-a-glance comparison. Some of the best new affiliate businesses focus on niches within the industry. In the last 12 months, there have been a number of fan sites for slots players, game strategy sites for live blackjack, and live-odds comparison sites for sports betting.

Meanwhile, big affiliate businesses like Catena Media are hungrily buying up smaller affiliate sites to widen their portfolio and increase their customer acquisition numbers, which makes a great exit strategy for anyone going into this market in 2019.

2. Selfie Drones

Drones are big business. Reports estimate that the global commercial drone market will be worth $15 billion by 2027.

The possible uses for these flying machines are seemingly endless: military operations, Amazon.com deliveries, crop surveillance, filmmaking, racing, medicine, and now… taking selfies. Not content with pouting at their selfie sticks, millennials are now using drones to get that perfect angle for their latest Instagram post.

There are already a number of drones on the market offering selfie capabilities—basically, a drone with a camera on it—but no one has quite delivered the perfect execution of the idea.

A well-developed product that is super-easy to control, stable as it hovers, and offers top-quality pictures through high-spec technology would be big if it was backed up by a cool, creative marketing campaign.

3. Online Coaching

YouTube is a fantastic business opportunity for anyone with a deep knowledge of a particular area who wants to share their skills online. From cooking to foreign languages, bike and car repairs, kite flying, sewing, and a million other niche skills, online coaches are now thriving.

One of the biggest opportunities is in fitness, where personal trainers, pilates, and yoga instructors opt to provide instruction via webcam streaming online. Those who don’t want to share their experience in a group class or prefer to train without the inconvenience of leaving their home are your captive market.

4. Virtual Reality Product Rental

Virtual reality is another technology with applications in many different areas: IT, education, healthcare, the military, and gaming, to name just a few. Forecasts show that the VR industry could be worth as much as $48.5 billion by 2025.

One interesting opportunity is renting out VR headsets. If anything is holding back the growth of this sector, it is the cost of the hardware. For example, many people want to try VR games but cannot afford the technology. Renting out VR equipment could be a great way to tap into this market.

5. Smart Device Repair

With the high costs of purchasing smart technology like phone handsets, device repair services are in demand. How often does our phone screen break if something go wrong with the connection ports? These breakages are often not as expensive to repair as the makers would have us believe and there is an opportunity for enterprising engineers to offer cheaper repair services.

It is possible to enter this sector by owning a repair shop, an office, or by operating a mobile service where you go to the customer to fix their device.

The costs of starting up a business like this are relatively low if you choose to focus on mobile and tablet devices; you just need replacement inventory and tools and then the money to market your business online and in the local area.

These are just five start-up ideas to get budding entrepreneurs thinking in 2019. You can learn more about how to set up your own business on our Start-Up pages.