Top 10 ideas about Starting a business with 10k, plus 10-step startup guide for 2022

Proven Top-10 business ideas and tactics by City Profit: Starting a business with 10k with Real World examples and without over-spending here and there. And yes, you can find a 10 step startup guide on that page too. So, where do you want to start?

01 SWOT Analysis is crucial in starting a business with 10k or less
Learn our proven step-by-step guide for starting your own service business
004 affiliate business
Our TOP-10 Service business Ideas for 2022

Table of Contents about your 10K business

10 Step Guide for starting a successful service business with 10K

If you want to start your first service business and have 10k in the bank or less, then you might find this guide helpful.
08 Sales Funnel Concept and SEO analysis of a website

1. SWOT analysis for you and your team

This is the first stage of a startup. The major things to take into consideration when writing a SWOT analysis is external factors and internal strengths. For external factors you want to consider threats from your competitors, as well as analysis of key markets, limitations on resources and problems with distribution channels. But lets assume you don`t have a business yet.

When you build yourself up and/or analyze your skills on paper, you’ll be able to identify your true skills and capabilities. Keep in mind that it’s always a mix of both strengths and weaknesses.

For example, you have a good Math skills, you like systems and Excel PLUS you love football and know a lot about it. Maybe you can be a football analytic for bets business? Find 3-5 niches (drafts) on that stage, and don`t move forward until you did it. Starting a business with 10k or even less – hard. And there is no point to move forward until you know your SWOT.

P.S.: You can use your business community or friends with their own succesfull businesses to help you out with that.

01 SWOT Analysis is crucial in starting a business with 10k or less
Strenghts are a keys to your Niche

2. Niche for your next 10k business venture

Now, you should open your Google and type in your specific niche keyword. How many results do you have?

Look for some competitors and opened every single link from page 1 of Google. So, does anyone need someone to work with? Is there any sellers or buyers?

After that, you may have a one or two niches on that stage now. And maybe you already fixed one of them, right? Titles and Services you see is a tip for men and women like you. When you start a business with 10K or less you have just one chance to make it right.

02 math and Football Niche
Math and Football can be a Niche

3. Drill down the Niche with business trends

Now you may want to choose a smaller and more specific niche for starting a business with 10K.

Now you may want to choose a smaller and more specific niche. Like you have a “Lawyer in Boston”. And your sub niche going to be “Lawyer for medical personnel”. Then you have a “Lawyer for people with disabilities”. You can even go so far as to say “Lawyer in Boston that specializes in DUI defenses”. Drill down.

P.S.: Have a look at our 9 niche trends: about niche marketing with examples

03 drill down the niche of service business
Drill down the niche of service business

4. Your first model - SUP 1.0

Actually, this is a technique we use to make a first approval for Starting a business with 10k. You should too.

1) Summarize all of your starting / initial investment. And then, summarize all of your monthly costs. Keep in mind that you need to calculate only fixed costs. So it`s like the cost of ownership in conditions that you`re not selling anything, just spending (rent, sallary, etc.).

2) Write down your pricing strategy for your main product. Like you buying apples for 1 dollar per item, and selling them for 2.5 dollars. Your margin is 1.5 USD per item. But your tax rate is 30%, so your margin is 80 cents per item? etc.

3) Answer the question: “how many items should you sell to have a profit of 1k / 10k/ 100k per month?”

By the way, we can provide you with Free First Consultation.

More about Finance in Startup and SUP.

04 SUP Calc concept by CITY PROFIT for business modelling
SUP Calc concept by CITY PROFIT for business modelling

5. Risk manager inside you - PEST LEED quick analysis of your service business ideas.

Test drive your service business idea. Think of this as a risk-manager consultant. What would you say if someone says: “I`m starting a business with 10k only, and I need you pro-level advice… what risks am I getting? What can goes wrong?”

You’ve just discovered a service business idea that you want to get off the ground. But before you actually start working on this project, the first thing you should do is perform a PEST analysis. This will help you take a look at your potential competitors and customers – and how they are likely to respond to your idea.

Let`s do more. Lets make a PEST LEED analysis.

Every letter is a word.

P – political risks

E – economical risks

S – social risks

T – technological risks

L – law-related risks

E – ecological risks

E – educational risks

D – demographical risks

For example, Edu-risk. It`s when you make a Web Design with old-school HTML. But there is competitor with WordPress skills. If you will not learn – you`ll be out of business soon. They do websites much faster and these sites are easier to manage. And it`s cheaper. 

So, try it before starting a business with 10K. No problem here? Great! Let`s move on!

05 Risks is always near and ready
Risks is always near and ready

6. Is it a Market Ready product line?

Your business idea has changed from stage 1 of our startup guide, right?

Find as much keywords as you can that are related to your business. 

If you`re accounting firm, then keywords can be “accounting software classes”, “accounting tax preparation”. 

If this keywords has a big Volume (monthly searches in Google), then you better find a way to integrate this SERVICES into your product line.

06 Google research Analysis for better product line
Google research Analysis for better product line in 2022

7. ABCR and Pricing

We`re in a business of real-world business development projects for 12+ years. With perfect record by the way. And one thing we know for sure. It is always about pricing and product line.

Perfect product line always looks like this:

A – sell it one time and you have enough to feed your team and family for a year

B – your regular product (like average sale)

C – very unexpensive product, like 7 or 9 bucks.

R – recurrent service

Don’t do anything before you develop this kind of product line. It is crucial for starting a business with 10k or less. You must be profitable soon to keep your money in a pocket. We can help with free consultation.

ABCR and Pricing Visualization
ABCR and Pricing Visualization

8. Sales Funnels

So, you have pricing and startup costs. Now you need to plan your sales funnels. How many foot-traffic or online traffic you can get?

How your interest ratio and conversion to a buyer going to look like? Make it as a calculator in Excel or Google sheet. And approve these numbers with some facts, statistics, or from a business development experts and sales / marketing consultants.

This is the way to find out about your expected earnings and real costs of offline or digital marketing. Successful business is all about good business plan. So yeah, you always need numbers in your laptop.

Have a look at our services

08 Sales Funnel Concept and SEO analysis of a website
Sales Funnel Concept

9. Advice Stage - best practice for starting a business with 10k (USD)

This is a stage when you`re opening your phone contacts and start searching for the most related to your great business idea person. Once you find one – call him and say some like that:

“Listen I have a local business idea and its all about electric car service, can I talk to you about it? You`re the only person I know that in a car business. And YES, I know that you`re not selling EV-s, but maybe you can help me with advice about that market? I need that info, cause I`m a newbie”

This is how you`ll get a proper networking (“Ok, thanx for your time today, can you refer me to someone else too, so I can find out more?”). Make 10 visits per week. You`ll be surprised of pre-sale results.

This is how you get your pricing and product-line updates (“how much do you think it can cost?.. Oh realy? why is that?”)

And this is how you get realy hot clients (everything they say to you – is an offer! like “do that with your product line and I`ll be your customer”).

09 Advice and Networking
Strenghts are a keys to your Niche

10. Marketing Stage when starting a services business with 10K

Now, you need:

1) Website (Funnel or Ecommerce)

2) Facebook / Instagram / LinkedIn pages

3) Content Plan created by Top-Level SEO specialist

4) Copywriter

5) Web-Designer

6) Google My Business page

7) PDF`s for your potential customers

8) Calcs, CRM and Task-management (or everything in Google Sheets for now – its your choice)

9) Basic Sales scripts for you or your sales person (FAQ for your clients basically)

And YES, you can do it all by yourself! 

And YES again. We can do it all for you. Faster then you think. Successful business is all about product and partners. Period.

Starting a business with 10k can be easy with partners like us. 

10 Marketing Kit for Starting a business with 10k

The Best Service Businesses to Start With 10 000 USD or less.

Some of these business ideas you can operate from your home. Some you can start part time. And most of them you can scale FAST. Starting a business with 10k can bring you the same amount of money, your colleagues can have with mid-size enterprise.

Just have a look at key-factors you need to keep in mind.

006 Artist

1) Online Store with trendy niche goods (E-commerce)

Main Idea: buy stuff – sell stuff. Simple as that.

Problem: Business Model is very important. Find a supplier that can deliver goods on time and with wholesale pricing that can bring you enough margin to evaluate your business.

The Way:

  • Find a Niche with growing demand
  • Find a best suppliers (at least 2 companies)
  • Create an easy-to-manage Website with great UX, FAST and CHEAP
  • Create a simple CRM or Google Sheets / Excel Online clients Database
  • Create a Social Media content Marketing Strategy
  • Develop a mobile version of your web store and add push notification
  • More sales = better wholesale prices = more margin 
001 online store

2) Start Home Staging with 10K

Main Idea: find a person who`s selling a house, make a house more appealing and preparing for the real estate market.

Problem: Networking and Paid Ads is the gold here. So, you`ll need to have a money in your pocket for your beautifull Ads (with your face on it). Plus – a very good, PROVEN decoration, home-design and communication skills.

The Way:

  • Find a Niche that you`re comfortable with (commercial real estate, big houses, old houses, small houses, apartments etc.)
  • Find a few clients in your area (it is going to be perfect if real estate is located on a well-known streets)
  • Create a simple website (web-based sales funnel to be exact, with free offer, upsell and thank you page)
  • Create a simple CRM or Google Sheets / Excel Online clients Database to be intouch with your potential customers (they are your real marketing instruments)
  • Create a real estate service with local business profile in Google 
  • Create Social Media page for real estate sellers with portfolio and your personal brand
  • 20$ per Ad, per week as a minimum (make at least 3 at the same time)
  • More clients per month = more business ideas about scaling
002 home staging business for 2022

3) Begin today that Home Inspection if you have enough experience.

Main Idea: find a person who`s buying a house, invoice him for your services (houses inspections). He`s going to pay you for every house he`s going to buy or rent.

Problem: Starting a business with 10k may sounds like easy-peasy. But this time – competence and Paid Ads is the gold here, again. So, you`ll need a very good house-maintenance skills PLUS budgets for the Ads. So be ready to have enough money for budgeting your marketing.

The Way:

  • Find a few clients which buying a house in about 3 months and make then an offer of free first inspection
  • Create a simple website (web-based sales funnel to be exact, with free offer, upsell and thank you page) and easy to understand pricing plan.
  • Create a simple CRM or Google Sheets / Excel Online clients Database to be intouch with your loyal clients (they are your real marketing instruments, and your future customers as well)
  • Create Social Media page with posts about crucial mistakes or issues when buying a house 
  • More clients per month = more ways to be more pricey
003 home inspection business

4) Creating Online Affiliate Marketing business like you are a celebrity

Main Idea: find a product / service / software that is legit and known by YOU and your community. Find a way to promote your dropshipping business. Have a affiliate bonuses from every item you`ve sold. 

Problem: You must be a descent youtuber / influencer, or creative SEO-specialist, or very good at Facebook / Tiktok / Instagram / LinkedIn Ads. If you`re not experienced enough you may have a money loss just because Ads are pricey. And yes, this is not your product. If it`s gone – your business is gone too. Generating business ideas is a crucial competence for you.

The Way:

  • Find your perfect product (you like it, you know a lot of people who can buy it)
  • Create a simple website (web-based sales funnel; with your product offer, upsell with quantity and thank you page)
  • Promo video, Ads, Ads, Ads!
004 affiliate business

5) Business idea about home based food hobby

Main Idea: create a product line without pricing at all. Make a degustation party with anonyms voting about what’s good and what’s wrong with visual, naming or is it taste good. Edit your product line and make a descent pricing. Sell it in your city. Your first clients can be schools, cafe`s, small business owners.

Problem: You have to be very confident on your product (is it looks / tastes good enough to make a recurrent pricing plan?). Is it cheap or pricey? How many clients can you handle per day without going mad about it? How many clients you MUST have to have a 10K/month (for example)

The Way:

  • Make a product with good taste, price, look.
  • Create an e-commerce website for your product line. Find local business associations for your next business development steps.
  • Create a simple CRM or Google Sheets / Excel Online clients Database to be in touch with your loyal clients (they are your real marketing instruments, and your future customers as well)
  • Create a local business profile in Google
  • Create Social Media page with posts about your products, delivery, manufacturing
  • Give Ads a shot (100$ per week)
  • More clients per month = more business ideas about your product line. Then, maybe, you should consider starting a business with 10K again.
005 home based food business

6) Creative Artists business problems and Main idea for starting a business with 10k .

Main Idea: Be a niche photographer / Artist. Sell your services in your city, for the people or for the business owners. Be as unique and as niche oriented business as possible (be profitable as well).

Problem: Deeper niche is always less markets to buy from you. Initial investment can not be cheap when you go with pricey services or Art.

The Way of starting a business with 10K:

  • Find your niche (means – you`re the best on it in your area, and every other Artist agreed with that)
  • Create your photography business portfolio with free offers to your first clients (5-10 influencers would be perfect)
  • Create a simple CRM or Google Sheets / Excel Online clients Database to be intouch with your loyal clients (they are your real marketing instruments, and your future customers as well)
  • Create Social Media page with posts about your clients, your work, and manufacturing process
  • Find your dream clients (dream portfolio, medium and small business owners, I`d say) in Facebook and other social media, maybe they`ll be interested in free work from you?
  • More clients per month = more ways to be more pricey
006 Artist
Starting a business with 10k like Creative Artists

7) Go with Social Media marketing and overall SM management business in 2022

Main Idea: Be the one who understands every social media platforms algorythms, who writes a sales copy and has a good taste in designing for social media. Business owners loves that.

Problem: Your (or your clients) posts should have at least 10 reposts, and you have 10 leads from every post you made on average, to start that kind of business

The Way

  • Find 2-3 business owners from your target audience (online business or home based business – doesn`t matter at all). Your work is free for them. They only pay for Ads cost.
  • Create your perfect-record PDF. Go to local business associations. Find potential clients there.
  • Find digital marketing partners (not competitors, but partners!) to have a better product line.
  • Create a simple CRM or Google Sheets / Excel Online clients Database to be intouch with your loyal clients (they are your real marketing instruments, and your future customers as well)
  • Create Social Media page with posts about your clients, and free tips on “how to promote your business on TikTok” etc.
  • Create a simple website (web-based sales funnel; with your product offer, upsell with quantity and thank you page)
  • More clients per month = more ways to be more pricey, more expected earnings. Starting a business with 10k is more likely successes.
007 social media business idea

8) Business 2022: Create some outdoor events and stay away from scailing.

Main Idea: Business owners want some outdoor activities to manage. You have a catalogue of events you can handle (business trends says it can be in PDF format).

Problem: this is not a small business! You`ll need a pro-team (account, decorator, animators, maintenance manager / technician, buyer) and a bigger ammount of initial investment on instruments, decor, ads. In a year or two you`ll going to need a business expense reduction consultants.

The Way

  • Find 2-3 clients with business from your target audience. Your work is free for them. They only pay budgets.
  • Create your testimonials PDF, standart invoice calculator for every standart project in Google Sheets or Excel and share it with your potential clients.
  • Create a simple CRM or Google Sheets / Excel Online clients Database to be in touch with your loyal clients (they are your real marketing instruments, and your future customers as well)
  • Create a simple task-manager for your team (like trello or Google Forms + google Sheets)
  • Create Social Media page with posts about your clients, and free tips on “how to make a perfect outdoor activity” etc.
  • Create a simple website (web-based sales funnel; with your services offer, upsell and thank you page)
  • More clients per month = more ways to be more pricey. 
  • But customer service is crucial – keep an eye on it.

p.s. Accepting credit cards can bring you a lot of upsell (think now!) during outdoor activity itself.

008 Outdoor Adventures

9) Be a better HR in a Market

Main Idea: Your business plan is simple. Business owners needs a perfect team for their business, you can find right people.

Problem: small business that needs to find a way to be cheaper then “others” and your HR system must be perfect, so people will not leave the clients job in 2 month`s.

The Way

  • Find 2-3 clients with businesses from your target audience. Your work is free for them. They only pay after your people are hired and worked for 3 month`s.
  • Create your testimonials PDF, standart invoice calculator for every standart position in Google Sheets or Excel
  • Create a simple CRM or Google Sheets / Excel Online clients Database to be intouch with your loyal clients (they are your real marketing instruments, and your future customers as well)
  • Create a simple task-manager for yourself (like trello or google Sheets)
  • Create Social Media page with posts about your clients, and free tips on “how to find a perfect team” etc.
  • Create a simple website (web-based sales funnel; with your services offer, upsell and thank you page), make a post about your customer service and virtual assistant services.
  • Find a digital marketing partner to get more local businesses and potential clients from United States. 
  • More clients per month = more teammates you need.. or collect some more money for initial investment on Top-Level clients with Top-Level HR needs. So, business model can change right away.
009 HR Services Startup business idea
Strenghts are a keys to your Niche. Be a BETTER HR before Starting a business with 10k or less

10) Freelance writing as a small business with a small team

Main small business Idea: be the one who`s writing skills is soooo good, that everyone of your target business-clients want to work with you. And you only! 

Problem: you must be in love with copywriting. Can you write about your target businesses freely? Can your texts bring leads / brand awareness fast? Does your small business have a new team members onboarding process for scaling fast?

The Way

  • Find 2-3 clients with businesses from your target audience. Your work is free for them. They only pay if they like your texts. Marketing consultants, affiliate marketing specialists are your potential clients and on top of that… they are your source of clients.
  • Create your testimonials PDF, pricing, standard invoice for every standard copywriting items from your product-line
  • Create a simple CRM or Google Sheets / Excel Online clients Database to be in touch with your loyal clients (they are your real marketing instruments, and your future customers as well)
  • Create a simple task-manager for yourself (like trello or google Sheets). It`s useful if you are the one who`s starting a business with 10k.
  • Create Social Media page with posts about your clients, and free tips on “how to be more powerful on social media and sell more with texts” etc.
  • Create a simple website (web-based sales funnel; with your services offer, upsell and thank you page)
  • More clients per month = more ways to be more pricey
freelance writing

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