The top start-up businesses in 2018

What do you think when you hear the word “startup”?  Most people think venture capital-backed Silicon Valley technology companies. But, as FitSmallBusiness.com, the digital business publication discovered, it turns out some of the best companies to start in 2018 are decidedly low tech.

The publication’s list of the Top Businesses to Start in 2018 found several notable surprises: Pet spas, liquor stores and limousine services all made the Top 10. These businesses have few barriers to entry, high profit potential, they’re likely to receive loans, and they have high industry growth.

FitSmallBusiness.com conducted research on the best businesses to start in 2018 using key factors such as profit potential, availability of capital, financial growth, competition, access to talent, and minimum required education.  The magazine discovered that the best businesses to start are service-oriented, and with a positive growth outlook over the next 10 years, such as home services, childcare, and pet care.

The FitSmallBusiness.com project ranked businesses based on their accessible start-up costs and growth outlook over the next decade.  You’ll find the full study of the Top 40 businesses to start in 2018HERE.

FitSmallBusiness.com regularly researches different business-related topics, and releases studies.  For this list, the publication reviewed all 50 states and analyzed publicly-available data from leading sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and Bureau of Labor Statistics, to rank the 40 best businesses to start in 2018.

THESE ARE THE TOP 10 BUSINESSES TO START IN 2018:

1) Landscaping service

2) Child daycare center

3) Pet spa

4) Roofing company

5) Courier, messenger and local delivery service

6) Janitorial service

7) Residential remodeling

8) Full service restaurant

9) Beer, wine and liquor store

10) Limousine service

The publication based the ranking of the best businesses to start on 10 metrics across six total categories. The businesses were ranked for each metric, and each of the six categories was given a weight based on its importance to starting a business. FitSmallBusiness.com then multiplied the weight for each metric by each business’s ranking to come up with the weighted ranking, adding the categories together to come up with an overall score, which was used to rank each business-type.

• Profit potential – 20%
• SBA loan availability – 15%
• Minimum required education and training – 15%
• Human resource costs – 15%
• Competition – 15%
• Business growth rate – 10%

“There are a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs to start businesses that don’t require millions in start-up cash or advanced degrees, but that still have high profit potential,” says Eric Noe, Editor-in-Chief, FitSmallBusiness.com.