15 Best Service Business Ideas You’ll Actually Want to Try

Service business ideas are what many entrepreneurs gravitate towards when thinking about starting a business. It’s appealing for a number of reasons, like lower startup costs, no shipping required, the ability to work from home, and other perks.

The kind of service business you start can boil down to factors like personal interest, passion, expertise, and knowledge in the field. Choose a service business you’re excited to run, and it can be a very fruitful, rewarding, and lucrative experience.

To help inspire you, we’ve rounded up 15 of the top service business ideas to consider. Discover what service businesses exist, how they work, their income potential, and more.

Let’s get into it!

Best Online Service Business Ideas

We’re starting by looking at 6 of the best online business ideas for services. These are online-based services that can be run from the comfort of your home.

1. Freelance Writer

For creatives who have an interest in and experience writing, consider starting a freelance writing service business.

You’ll write short-form and/or long-form copy for your clients, which may include:

• Ghostwriting a book
• Writing a script for media
• Creating a sales page for a business

Freelance writing is a lucrative service business. Alli Hill makes six figures as a freelance writer and coach.

How It Works?

You can start freelance writing with just a computer. This business idea is one of the best for low startup costs. No overhead, supplies, or shipping/product materials are needed in this business.

Find clients on freelance sites like Upwork, Fiverr, or Guru. Networking online is helpful to connect with small business owners that could be potential clients as well.

Income potential: $29/hour

2. Site Operator

A site operator is a professional who runs/manages websites for a living. This could be running your own websites or client websites.

Your tasks may include:

• Updating plugins/software versions, as needed
• Coordinating projects
• Responding to reader messages/inquiries
• Performing routine site audits.

In all, you’ll be in charge of making sure the website runs like a well-oiled machine. Brock McGoff created a profitable business, building two blogs to $30,000 in profits!

How It Works?

This is perfect for people who have experience managing websites. If you have created and managed a website of your own and have a pretty good understanding of CMS systems, coding, and related skills, this is a job you might consider.

If this sounds interesting, but you're wondering if you truly have the skill set to do this kind of work, consider the online course from Affiliate Lab. You'll learn how to build, grow, monetize, and sell websites, including search engine optimization, email marketing, CRO, and more.

Income potential: $64,300/year

3. Web Design

A web designer works with websites to create, execute, and apply website design. This online business includes designing web pages for function, user-friendliness, and appeal.

You’ll have some coding skills, and you should be able to work independently on website design projects.

How It Works?

Web designers work one-on-one with clients to create and execute a design vision that meets the needs of their clients. 

Web designer Becca Luna attracts clients using TikTok and other social channels.

According to this TikTok video, she recommends finding clients through social media. She suggests you showcase your portfolio, engage with potential clients, and close the same through DMs (direct messages).

Income potential: $54,900/year

4. Customer Service

Working in customer service is the perfect online service business idea. This is for people who enjoy working with customers and providing one-on-one support.

How It Works?

You’ll work from a home office, providing customer service to clients and performing routine tasks like:

• Answering questions/inquiries
• Processing payments and returns
• Providing account balances
• Putting in support tickets to IT, management, etc.

You can run your own customer service company, take on one or multiple clients, or work for an employer as an independent contractor.

Income potential: $37,800/year

5. Accounting

Running an accounting service business is for accountants who can work independently, performing accounting services for clients.

How It Works?

For licensed accountants, you may do tasks like:

• Preparing financial reports for businesses
• Tax prep
• Bookkeeping
• Collecting and managing financial records and recordkeeping

Income potential: $62,200/year

6. Graphic Designer

Graphic designers use computer software to do design work for clients, like creating logos, designing web pages, social media kits, and designing book covers, to name a few.

How It Works:

This is one of the top service businesses for creatives. If you know how to do graphic design, consider setting out on your own and running a graphic design business.

Income potential: $21/hour

Best Offline Service Business Ideas

Now, let’s get into offline service businesses. These are businesses in the field where you’ll do in-person service work.

7. Tax Prep

Tax preparation agents are licensed professionals who are certified to prepare taxes for others.

How It Works?

You'll work with clients to help them prepare and file taxes. Tax prep can be seasonal, busiest at the top of the year between January and April, since tax filing in the U.S. is on or around April 15th.

Some tax prep businesses make their entire year's revenue just working four months out of the year. If you're looking for a part-time business with full-time income potential, this may be a fit! It's also an option for making some extra money during part of the year and working a full-time day job as your main source of income.

Income potential: $20/hour

8. Nanny

A nanny is a long-term babysitter. Where a babysitter drops in periodically to watch kids while parents are away, a nanny offers childcare service on a more long-term basis. 

How It Works?

You’ll do the same tasks as a babysitter would, like:

• Preparing snacks and meals
• Helping with bathing and grooming
• Executing the bedtime routine
• Playing with kids and supervising play activities

This is a good service-based business for people who enjoy kids. This business will keep you busy and active.

Income potential: $21/hour

9. HVAC

Working in HVAC means you’ll be installing, repairing, and maintaining HVAC units. If you have the skills to do this work, you’ll have job security. I think these jobs will always be needed - it's one of the top in-demand services out there.

How It Works?

You’ll be certified to work in HVAC, meaning you attended and completed a training program in HVAC. You also have the skills and experience to work independently and run your own HVAC service company.

Finding clients might be easier than you think because of the high demand for HVAC repair, especially during seasonal periods like summer. You'll do HVAC work for residential customers and local businesses in your area.

Income potential: $24/hour

10. Window Cleaning

Get paid to clean windows for residential and/or commercial properties (learn how to start a window cleaning business here). This is one of the few well-paying service business ideas in this list where no experience is required.

This Reddit thread shared a story from a new window cleaning business making nearly $4K in their first three weeks!

Check out our list of over 2200 ideas for window cleaning business names!

How It Works?

Buy window cleaning supplies, find clients, and perform the service to get paid. If you’re physically fit and a good cleaner, this could be a great business to start.

Income potential: $19/hour

11. Personal Trainer

Help people get more physically fit with a personal training business. This is one of the best service businesses for people who want to be active and work on their feet.

How IT Works?

You’ll work one-on-one with clients to help them reach their fitness goals:

• Lose weight
• Improve strength
• Improve flexibility and mobility.

This could be a really fun business to run for people passionate about physical fitness. Set up your business, get clients, set your schedule, and start training!

Here are over 1,000 personal trainer business name ideas to help you kick off the process!

Income potential: $27/hour

12. Pet Sitting

Pet sitting is a low startup cost business involving babysitting pets for their owners. You may onboard pets into your own home or visit pet owners’ homes to pet sit in their homes.

Check out our list of pet sitting business names for some inspiration.

How It Works?

This is a great business for animal lovers.

Pet sitting tasks to prepare yourself for include:

• Feeding pets
• Administering pet medicine, if needed
• Walking dogs.

Income potential: $14/hour

13. House Painting

Painting houses can be a rewarding and lucrative service business idea to pursue. This can be interior and/or exterior house painting.

How It Works?

You’ll invest in supplies and equipment needed for your house painting work, like brushes, a ladder, etc. Then, create a marketing strategy to find clients, close the sale, do the house painting job, and get paid.

Read our article on how to start a painting business for more insights. And for even more inspiration, we have a list of painting company name ideas and painting company slogans.

Income potential: $42,000/year

14. Personal Chef

Cook and prepare meals for others as a personal chef. This could be for special events or catered occasions.

How It Works?

Being a personal chef as your own service business is a great business idea for a cook or chef who has attended culinary school or has experience cooking. You’ll be responsible for business tasks, including:

• Finding clients
• Menu preparation
• Buying supplies, equipment, and food to prepare the meals
• Delivery
• Cooking and meal preparation
• Food presentation

For people who enjoy cooking, this can be a very rewarding career and service business to run.

Income potential: $70,200/year

15. Beauty Salon

Running your own beauty salon usually means you’re a hairdresser, and you make money styling your clients’ hair.

How It Works?

A hairdresser may be working with various chemical hair treatments like hair color and perm treatments, etc.

This is a creative service business that can be personally fulfilling and give you a chance to work one-on-one with clients, practicing and perfecting your craft of hair styling.

Income potential: $28,800/year

What is the Most Profitable Service Business?

The most profitable service business in our roundup is the site operator. That’s because running a site operation business gives you an opportunity to earn passive income and recurring revenue. All other service businesses in the list exchange time for money, which can be limiting. 

A site operator managing one or more of their own websites can monetize their sites through passive income channels like ads or affiliate marketing. This means their income isn't capped; it's unlimited!

It's one of the most profitable service businesses to pursue.

What Service Businesses are Most in Demand?

The most in-demand service businesses are:

• Freelance writing: There are so many different kinds of essential freelance writing needed, from creating scripts for media, writing books, copywriting sales pages, and a lot more. There will always be a need for this service.
• Pet sitting: When pet owners are away and can’t take their pets, a pet sitter will be needed. Whether it’s a pet boarding facility or a personal pet sitter who will onboard the animal or housesit and watch the pet in the owner's home. 
• HVAC: HVAC units are a critical part of modern life, heating and cooling homes, and facilities around the world. HVAC professionals are needed to install, repair, and maintain those units.

Bottom Line on Service Business Ideas

There are so many different and interesting ideas for service businesses out there. The great thing about service businesses is that they're more within reach than product businesses, which can have higher barriers to entry because of higher startup costs, generally.

If you can perform a service, you can start your own service-based business, pursuing your passion as a small business owner.

It’s an exciting time to go into business for yourself and start reaping the rewards of business ownership.

Which profitable service business ideas are your favorite?

Which are you learning toward starting as your own business?

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