By Ashley Preen
February 19, 2019
The best entrepreneurs have their finger on the pulse of society, constantly looking for new and emerging trends which bring new and emerging markets to their startup business. So-called “startup businesses” have become all the rage in recent years, with innovators and visionaries from various fields trying their hand at setting up a business in a specific niche space.
There are many business and tax advice consultants who can help you to grow your business in its initial stages, including Pearl Accountants’ business and tax advice service, but knowing where to start is one of the key components that cannot be changed at a later date. So, if you’re a budding entrepreneur who wants to set up startup businesses in 2019, why not check out some of these ideas?
According to the BBC, UK adults spend an average of 8 hours and 41 minutes a day looking at screens. To put that into perspective, we now look at digital screens more than we sleep every day. With screens continually infiltrating our lives from every angle, more and more people are wanting to go on a “digital detox” and get back to basics in their lives instead of wasting their time endlessly scrolling on Facebook or Twitter.
It’s not just issues with productivity, however; smartphone and tablet addictions can lead to health problems, including depression and anxiety. Many people also suffer from low self-esteem due to constantly comparing their own life to the seemingly-pristine lives of their online friends and followers. Getting rid (or reducing) this unhealthy behaviour is one of the biggest trends for startup businesses in 2019.
As a result, tech giants like Google and Apple are starting to integrate screen time monitoring solutions into their software, although there is plenty of room for third-party apps and even consultation services which help consumers to monitor their screen time, keep it to a minimum, and give themselves a thorough digital detox. Why not grow your business by helping people to get back in touch with reality?
According to Totally Money, the average pet costs an owner in the UK £19,577 over its lifetime – this includes food, vet treatments, and pet care costs. One thing new startup businesses can always bank on is the fact their Britons love their pets, and they’re continually willing to spend large sums of money to see that they get the luxury treatment that they deserve. 45% of UK households have a pet, and an annual £4.62 billion is spent in the UK pet space.
As UK pet owners lead busier professional lives, they’re more willing to pay top dollar for their pets to be pampered in their absence. This includes high-end luxury cat hotels, premium dog-walking services, increased “spa treatment” services and much more. When it comes to profitable startup businesses, few niches can rival luxury pet care.
More and more companies are using social media streams to fulfill their sales and marketing campaigns, engaging customers and generating leads through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. At the end of the day, you go where your audience is, and for most markets, the audience is on social media channels.
However, few companies have the training or skills necessary to run their social media accounts effectively, choosing to pass the responsibility on to social media management companies who specialize in posting engaging content, exploring paid advertising routes, and interacting with leads.
It can be relatively easy to grow your business in this space, especially if you can demonstrate that your social media management has led to increased leads and conversions for your clients. There are multiple programs and systems which can assist you with social media management and all the relevant analytics, and there’s always the option of software integration services for companies who lack the necessary computing power on their own.
Whether the environmental data backs it up or not, it’s currently very zeitgeist-ey to promote plastic alternatives, particularly single-use plastics which are disposed of and not commonly recycled. There’s a floating “garbage island” in the Pacific Ocean which is larger than Texas, and much of this is made from discarded plastic, so it’s no wonder that the sustainability-conscious millennial generation is pushing for alternatives to plastic which don’t harm the planet too much.
New startup businesses could approach this from different potential angles. For example, you could go into the manufacturing side and look to develop replacement materials for plastic straws, water bottles, any other similar products. On the other hand, you could go into the digital space and create apps which helps people to monitor their plastic use and purchase from places that promote sustainable plastic solutions.
Veganism and vegetarianism are becoming more and more widespread in the UK, what with Greggs Vegan Sausage Rolls and the continuing popularity of Veganuary – a challenge where people go vegan for the entire month of January. It’s a bit like “dry January”, but it’s for meat and animal products instead. As we roll into 2019 and veganism continues to go mainstream, we are going to see multiple small businesses popping up in the plant-based foods space.
For example, in addition to manufacturers such as Quorn making more of their products vegan (as opposed to just veggie), we’re seeing a common rise in the number of vegan bodybuilders and gym-goers who are using plant-based protein to help them with their muscle mass gains.
Yes, this is a crowded space for startup businesses, but the market is there and it is only getting bigger by the year. If you find yourself making considerable turnovers of more than £85,000 in this business niche, then you should take advantage of Pearl Accountants’ VAT service for startup businesses. We can help you to grow your plant-based business responsibly and sustainably.
In the UK, and indeed the rest of the world, consumers have fallen in love with digital on-demand services, whether it’s for TV, accounting, music, or learning things. As we progress into 2019, we’re going to see more and more people learning skills and training themselves up over the internet. For example, music teachers are more commonly conducting their lessons virtually over Skype, while business consultants are discussing startup businesses over similar video chat systems. Even our own small business accountants team can do their work for clients over the internet!
So if you’re looking to start a new business or grow your business that already exists, perhaps you should look into online coaching and consulting! Whether you’re a doctor, a music teacher, a business consultant or a divorce attorney… if you’ve got skills and an internet connection, there’s a strong chance that you can move some (or all) of your business online. Although you could argue that face-to-face consultations will always be more effective and intimate, plenty of customers do not care and would rather pay for a convenient service which takes up less of their time.
“Bespoke beauty” is a new beauty trend for 2019 which stipulates that beauty products should be individually tailored for the customer who is buying them. For example, you could create the perfect foundation shade for your skin, the perfect shampoo for your hair type, and the perfect facial scrub for your unique skin type. The UK’s health and beauty industry is reportedly going to be worth a whopping £27 billion as of 2022, so why not get in there early and grab a slice of that £27 billion pie?
Perhaps you could pick a niche beauty product and find a way to make it customised to your individual customers’ needs. There are many products you could go into, such as bath bombs, mascaras, hair styling products, and much more. If you want to grow your business and ensure that your new startup runs efficiently, why not increase your productivity by trying out Pearl Accountants’ payroll services?
If you’re looking at setting up startup businesses in 2019, chances are that you’ve heard of SEO and web development services. Put simply, SEO services equip companies with cutting-edge tools and techniques that help them to rank highly in Google for their appropriate keywords and search terms. With proper search engine optimization techniques, a business is able to get themselves in front of leads and increase their brand awareness.
Although some companies may try to grow their business on their own and create their own DIY SEO campaigns, most sensible startup businesses are seeking the services of SEO experts who are trained in the latest algorithms used by Google to rank how web search results are organized. It doesn’t matter if you’re a solicitors or a small local garage – SEO can help to grow your business effectively.
SEO firms have relatively low startup costs if they already have well-trained staff – they just need to invest in hardware and software integration for them and their clients. You don’t even necessarily have to work with clients – you can just as easily build niche websites full of affiliate links and earn money online more passively. SEO firms tend to have a high ROI, so you probably want to work with a small business accountants such as Pearl Accountants who can help you grow your business steadily.
Similarly to online consulting, more and more people are choosing to learn new skills and train themselves up for a job by taking in-depth online courses and learning programs. This has seen a surge of startup businesses fronted by people who have industry knowledge in a niche field which they can implement into online courses, whether they do it by themselves or by outsourcing to developers who can create bespoke online learning courses for them.
Although there are multiple existing businesses focused on online courses and teaching, this may not stop you from growing your business, especially if you’re working in a niche field which the big sites (such as Lynda and Coursera) have not yet covered. If you can position yourself as experts in and leaders within your industry, you should be able to hold your own against the competition.
If you’re going to create your own membership-model software which stores your online courses on the cloud and grants your customers access, then you’re probably going to have some fairly intensive startup costs to get the startup business up and running, so do bear this in mind. If you need help in this process, Pearl Accountants’ business and tax advice specialists will be able to consult you on the direction of your business, as well as advise you on tax liabilities and running costs.
US-themed activities and shops and becoming more and more commonplace in the UK. For example, you only have to walk down your typical UK high street to find startup businesses toting American “candy” and food products often seen in US movies, such as Pop Tarts, Twinkies, and Arizona Ice Tea. Something that’s becoming even more popular, however, is American Football and the NFL.
Several NFL games are actually set to take place in London this year, with London also hosting official games from the big US baseball and basketball tournaments too. American sports are becoming more and more popular in the UK, with British sports fans slowing beginning to learn the rules and enjoy the games more. As a result, we are seeing more and more American-themed Sports Bars popping up around UK cities.
This is a trend that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, and the prevalence of US multimedia helps to propel these startup businesses even further. Although this space is a little broad, it could be a great space to grow your business and make some relatively easy money from America’s grandiose reputation.
According to Flurry Analytics, personal health app usage grew by 330% in 3 years between 2014 and 2017. In 2019 and onwards, it should come as no surprise that personal health apps continue to soar in popularity – people are continually integrating their health with their technology on the never-ending journey to become fit and healthy!
Whether you’re wearing a smartwatch that analyses your heart rate throughout the day or you’re using your smartphone as a pedometer which encourages you to walk 10,000 steps per day, personal health apps are helping to lift the burden on the NHS by gamifying personal healthcare and wellbeing, making Britons fitter and healthier.
It’s estimated that mobile apps in the personal health space will be worth $11.2 billion by 2025, meaning that there’s plenty of time to grow your business and grab a slice of that $11.2 billion pie. Consider developing a healthcare app which targets specific chronic conditions, enabling people with lifetime ailments to better manage their exercise, eating habits, and overall health.
If you’ve got some decent technical knowledge which you can fine-tune, then gadget repairs is one of the most lucrative spaces you can get into right now. Why? Because statistics suggest that you’re most likely reading this on a smartphone right now, if not a tablet. So what happens when you inevitably drop that smartphone or submerge it in water? You need to get it repaired ASAP.
More than 80% of the UK population own a smartphone, providing you with a market which is absolutely huge! The great thing about a gadget repairs business is that it requires relatively low startup costs and you can operate from anywhere with a decent population. It doesn’t matter what part of the country you’re in, as the vast majority of people own smartphones and other digital devices which need maintaining and repairing.
So if you’re good at fixing broken screens, waterlogged phones, and fried batteries, then you could make a decent living from repairing gadgets. This is one of the most common startup businesses in the UK, admittedly, yet the market is absolutely huge! If you want advice on software integration which could make your gadget repairs business even more efficient and profitable, speak to one of Pearl Accountants’ trusted business advisors.
According to Get Your Guide’s United Kingdom section, the most popular tourist spots in the UK include London, Edinburgh, Inverness, Windsor, Belfast, Oxford, Liverpool, and Fort Augustus. If you happen to live (or want to live) in a touristy area, then you’re in luck! Tour guide businesses have very little overheads and running costs, relying largely on the layout of their city and the charisma of their guides.
These are great startup businesses for social and charismatic people who are enthusiastic about showing their city to tourists from all over the world. Tourism in the UK is very common, and sites like TripAdvisor and Viator can help you to grow your business and reach an even larger audience.
Are you looking to start a new business in 2019? You should get in touch with our small business accountants to find out more about being a startup entrepreneur.
Pearl Accountants are a team of specialists that can assist you with all your accounting and taxation needs in one place. From the first contact through to completion, our aim is to keep you informed and provide a simple, affordable solution for all your financial needs.
We Guarantee to never miss a deadline or your money back
© 2024 Pearl Accountants. All Rights Reserved
Registration No. 07078392
020 8582 0076 
