Everyone should start their own business, even if at first they run their business during their spare time and their “office” is in a corner of their bedroom.
So, where can you find a business idea you can potentially run with? Here’s a list of business ideas and opportunities for 2010.
Springwise: Top 10 Business Ideas for 2010
Headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Springwise’s staff takes to the streets of world cities, digital cameras in hand, looking for promising business ventures, ideas, and concepts. Taking advantage of their expertise and vast database of business ideas, they’ve compiled a list of the Top 10 Business Ideas for 2010.
Among the ideas they highlight in their top ten list is Le Verdure Del Mio Orto (‘The Vegetables from my Garden’) which lets anyone build an organic garden right from their web browser. That is, the company offers Italians the ability to reconnect with the origins of their food.
Users select a garden size and can choose from 40 different types of vegetables, using a highly intuitive interface that includes information on expected yields and harvest times. As the organic produce grows, it’s picked and delivered to the customer’s door within 24 hours.
There’s a world-wide movement to know where your food comes from, and it’s ripe for the picking. Be sure to stop by and read the other nine ideas Springwise offers; you can also find lots of great ideas simply by perusing their site.
10 Unconventional But Successful Online Homebusiness Ideas
The blog NicheGeek.com has an interesting post on 10 Unconventional But Successful Online Homebusiness Ideas. For example, Michael Senoff tracks down seminar material from popular speakers whose seminars sell out for thousands of dollars. He resells the material on ebay and profits over $1000 a day. You’ll find nine more examples by heading over and reading the article.
Ideas From Participants of Seth Godin’s Alternative MBA Program
For Seth Godin’s Alternative MBA program, nine of the students came up with 111 business ideas each. Here’s their gargantuan list of 999 business ideas. My three favorites are the following:
- Feng Shui site where you upload your floor plan and other details and get a recommendation on how to construct your space.
- Prepackaged school supplies based on the lists from the school districts.
- “How to Live On a Small Budget” web site written by college students for college students sponsored by local merchant coupons.
12 Hot Business Ideas
Entrepreneur.com created a list of 12 Hot Business Ideas back in February of 2007; the ideas are still viable today. The first idea they list is offering tutoring services. With colleges becoming more and more competitive, there’s a solid market for tutoring, test-preparation services, speed reading lessons, and supplemental content. (Here’s an example of someone who started a small tutoring service: The Scarsdale Tutor).
Another trend that they point out is the market for home-services for the aging baby boomer generation. Many baby boomers entering their golden years want to continue living in their own homes instead of moving into a nursing home, but they need help with chores and running errands.
If you would like to read Entrepreneur.com’s Predictions and Trends for 2010, go here.
The Blog “Business Opportunities and Ideas”
The Blog “Business Opportunities and Ideas”, as you can gather from the title, is filled with ideas on businesses you could start. Here are three ideas that I found interesting:
- Fast Food for Runners: What do concession stands usually sell at sports events such as 10k races? Hot dogs, French fries, and hamburgers. What if you had a concession stand where you sold smoothies, fruit salads, whole wheat pasta salads, and other healthy foods? (How about owning a “Green Truck“?)
- Hobby Greenhouse Kits for those who just want to grow their own salad or have a small herb garden in their flat, on their balcony or even on a window sill.
- Business School in a Box: Create a series of tutorials and podcasts with everything a person needs to know to start a successful online business.
I hope you found this list useful! Happy 2010 everyone! 
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(Image from here.)
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