“There’s nothing wrong with staying small,” says Jason Fried, founder of web software company 37signals. “You can do big things with a small business. And you can stay in control. You can make money and live on your own terms. What’s better than that?”
From that perspective, it’s no surprise that an increasing number of people are ditching the 9 to 5 life to start their own small businesses.
A record 5.5million business numbers were registered in the USA during 2021. Figures from accountancy software firm Quickbooks suggest that 2022 will be another record year for the number of new business owners.
But now that more people are launching their news ventures, what type of businesses can we expect to see?
ZenBusiness has the answer.
Its researchers looked at geo-tagged keyword data from around the world to identify the most popular types of businesses people in every country dream of starting.
And they put the results into several world maps.
The maps reveal that clothing and fashion related businesses are the number one types of enterprise people want to run. These were the most searched terms in 22 countries, including Canada, Australia, Tanzania, and the majority of South American nations.
Real estate came next; it’s the number one choice for go-getters in Germany, Cyprus, and 17 more countries.
Plenty of entrepreneurs are considering taking advantage of the post-lockdown wanderlust gripping millions of tourists. Travel and tourism-related businesses, including hostels and hotels, are the most searched for in Belarus, Macedonia, Armenia, Georgia, and Albania.
New Zealanders see their nation’s famous (and abundant) green spaces as a potential business opportunity. Lawn mowing is the top search among Kiwis thinking about becoming their own boss.
They won’t need much capital to get their business up and running. And the potential returns on that small investment are huge.
New Zealander and Business Bootcamp Podcast host Mike Andes started his landscaping business with a $1,000 loan from a family member. Today, Augusta Lawn Care services generate over $160,000 a year. Mike even sells it as a franchise to others looking to follow in his footsteps.
Now that’s what you call the entrepreneurial spirit.
The most extraordinary result in the study comes out of the small Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan. Of all the potential businesses people could start in Uzbekistan, soap production is the number one choice.
See the rest of the findings in the maps below.
