Do you want to start a business in Germany? If YES, here are 50 small business ideas and investment opportunities in Germany to start with no money.
Okay, having provided a detailed analysis of the legal requirements, market feasibility and every other thing it takes to start a business in Germany and a series of industry-specific sample business plan templates; here is an in-depth analysis of the top 50 best small business ideas in Germany. So put on your entrepreneurial hat and let’s proceed.
Best Small Business ideas in Germany
Germany is aggressively promoting and developing its biotechnology industry. The government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on infrastructure, fund research, development, and recruitment of top international scientists. Though, breaking into this industry requires solid background knowledge and a huge capital.
Fast foods and snacks sell very well in Germany. This means investors can really make lots of profit from businesses that sell snacks such as barbecue, pizza, and so on. This business requires little capital and no formal academic certifications. So, it’s one you can easy venture into.
Transportation is one of the necessities that are almost indispensable in every economy, and this is why the demand for transport services is high almost everywhere. As a foreign investor in Germany, you can start a transport business, the scope of which hinges on your capital.
If you have little capital, start a taxi service that transports people within local routes. As time goes, you can start an inter-city or inter-state transport service.
Food business is probably the best business to start not just in Germany, but all over the world. This is because there is a universal need for food, and it is the most important basic need of man. So if you are thinking about venturing into the business opportunities in Germany, food business is one of the most notable.
-
Car Manufacturing and Retailing
The car manufacturing industry is the largest in Germany’s manufacturing sector, accounting for a larger chunk of the total industrial output.
This high production rate notwithstanding, there are huge opportunities for businesses that sell electronic products to consumers. With a little capital, you can focus on a narrow range of car manufacture, but this could be wider depending on your capital.
With increasing need by businesses to attract customers and sell their offers via the internet comes the booming demand for professionals and businesses that offer online marketing services. These services range from copywriting to search engine optimization.
If you are a seasoned copywriter, or a website designer and developer, or a search engine optimization specialist, or a social media marketing expert etc.
With the increase in number of individuals and businesses that have adopted blogging as a way of making money online comes the escalating demand for creative ghost writers. So, freelancing is one of the business opportunities in Germany.
Most Germans especially in this era are just too busy to handle their laundry themselves. So, they would rather pay to get this done for them. If you are looking to start a small-scale business in Germany, consider this option.
Because there are many businesses, both indigenous and foreign in Germany, there is high demand for individuals that offer professional financial services such as accounting, auditing, and bookkeeping. If you have a solid background in any of these services, you can make a lot of money in Germany by helping other businesses with the skills you have on offer.
Cars and other automobiles sell very well in Germany. And foreigners can easily break into the business. But capital remains the main issue, as the business requires huge capital. However, if you are having little capital, you can start a business that sells auto spare parts instead. They sell well, too.
Individuals who need to have their appliances or furniture repaired can save costs. Hence, a repair service business can be a good business option. In any economy, whether good or bad, people will always have things to fix as fixing an item cost less than buying a brand new one.
Running a small business that provides residential upkeep can be a good business. Commercial establishments that need to keep their premises clean can also be regular clients. You can provide housecleaning services, office cleaning services, foreclosure house cleaning, roof cleaning, etc.
Heads of families in Germany prefer to arrange for home tutoring for their kids, making it a good business option. You can even choose to teach English language or other subjects which are very high in demand.
Providing quality care for the elderly, like preparing meals, running errands or housekeeping, can be lucrative business, especially in households with busy working professionals. Due to the fact that many persons are busy with different tasks, you can take this up.
More and more people are realizing the importance of having a fit body. A fitness trainer can get his share of clients. Products that enhance health may likewise have huge demand.
-
Eco Friendly Product retailing
Distributing eco-friendly products online such as light bulbs and recycled items may be a great business move. Just be sure to keep your site navigation-friendly and updated with fresh articles.
-
Telecommunication business
Germany is one of the major telecom hubs in Europe. Be it mobile phone connections or providing internet services, there is a whole market that has been left untapped by existing telecommunications players. Although the existence of private players is very prominent, facilities such as radio and television stations are all government-owned bodies.
Germans are a very fashionable bunch of people. They love keeping up with the latest trends and looking their best at all times. It’s therefore easy for anyone who is into fashion to break even in the country.
-
Professional Course Training
This is an up-and-coming industry in the world of business in Germany. It offers a lot of opportunities for professionals to be certified. You could consider setting up business in this sector that provides accredited courses in travel and tourism, hospitality, fashion designing, business administration, science and research and so on.
Many globally-renowned IT firms have already set up businesses in Germany owing to the growing potential and skilled labour available in this arena.
You could set up a business that provides a variety of IT services such as wireless networks, or web development, social networking, website designing or other businesses depending on your interest. Cyber laws here are well-equipped to regulate the internet and are updated on a regular basis.
Any destination that has a booming tourism industry will most definitely have a growing hospitality industry. This includes small-time bars and cafes to large multinational chains of hotels and resorts to the food and beverage industry here. You could make hay while the sun shines and invest in this sector.
The travel and tourism industry is one of the contributors to the German economy. You might want to think about tapping potential domestic and international tourists by setting up your own travel agency or an airline that would cater to their every need and make their visit a memorable one.
-
Career Coaching
Want to help and inspire people for a living? Starting a career coaching practice could be the key to doing what you love and making a difference. Through career coaching you can work with clients of all ages, from young people who don’t know what career path to pursue or how to land their dream job, to older people looking for a career change.
-
Online Retail Consultant
If you’re knowledgeable about popular selling platforms like Amazon and eBay, you can help other people turn their online businesses into successes. Help sellers set up and improve their stores, advise them on product photo best practices and how to write better product descriptions.
You can also show clients how to use social media to promote their shops and how to get their products featured in publications to help them boost sales.
-
Upcycling Services
As an artist or anyone interested in crafts, try turning items that would otherwise be thrown out into useful products and selling them at craft fairs or on a website like Etsy. You can also offer to turn other people’s unwanted items into up cycled projects, like refreshing outdated clothes to make them more stylish and trendy, etc.
You don’t have to be a big-box retailer to start an online store. Whether you sell directly to consumers or use a drop-shipping service, all you need is a website and the right e-commerce software to get started. You can sell your own products or items from niche suppliers. Alternatively, if you’re crafty, you can also sell your own handcrafted creations on online marketplaces.
-
Event Planner
Do you love throwing parties and organizing meetings? Start an event-planning business and turn your passion into a profitable small business. Everyone needs event planners, from individuals to organizations and corporations. Though as an event planner, you will need to be resourceful and have a keen eye for detail
If baking or cooking is what you love doing, consider launching a home-based bakery, personal chef or catering business. You can whip up your concoctions for individuals, events, and local businesses and organizations. Keep in mind that home-based food businesses are heavily regulated, so start by figuring out the rules and regulations in your area.
In most places in Germany, you don’t need a license to run a babysitting service from home if you keep your child headcount below a certain number. With more parents needing to work, offering a home-based child care situation can be a great way to start a business and stay home with your own kids, too.
In some ways, the recession has made people busier than ever. Between working long hours, cooking more at home and juggling responsibilities, there’s a lot that gets left undone. A service that runs errands (including dropping off dry cleaning, paying bills, etc.) requires just a car and cell phone. Start small, do a good job and word of mouth will spread quickly.
If you are good at solving issues or if people always come to you for help on certain areas. Well may be it could be time to offer your services to people out there at a fee. Businesses need consultants who can help them realize their mission and visions.
Individuals want help with the problems in their lives. People are willing to pay you if you can help them stay focused and work their way towards achieving their goals.
-
Coaching
: If you are good at a particular subject or area, you can also teach others at a fee. Thus it could be students, business people or employees. You stand a good chance of making money with this business idea anywhere in the world, especially Germany.
Many youth and women have won tenders worth millions of shillings to supply stationery, grade roads, offer services such as cleaning or repairs and many others. You can also come together in groups with complementary skills to increase your chances of being awarded.
People, clubs, organisations, clique of friends etc. are usually in need of cakes especially for special occasions and events. The making/decoration of cakes is indeed the business for this period. As a family, with members who are very good in this type of business, you can set up a cake making business that will be operated by members of the family.
Though it sounds strange, but it’s a business that a family can venture into. There’s great potential to earn extra money from looking after kids, but you’ll need to adore children (not just your own), have boundless energy and patience and in many cases must satisfy some criteria.
In this century, many persons are mostly in need of repairs/troubleshooting for their computers/laptops. A family understanding this need can set up a computer repair/troubleshooting centre. This service and many more can be offered to many people who still find computers complicated to maintain and terrifying if they go wrong.
Dog grooming refers to both the hygienic care and cleaning of a dog, as well as a process by which a dog’s physical appearance is enhanced for showing or other types of competition. This is a very vital part of the healthiness and wellbeing of a dog which increases its lifespan.
-
Veterinary care
This career idea is hinged on the basis of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both domesticated, and wild, with a wide range of conditions which can affect different species especially the pets.
This is both a pastime and a profession involving the act of a person walking with a dog, typically from the dog’s residence and then returning. This constitutes part of the daily exercise regime needed to keep a dog healthy. It also provides exercise and companionship for the walker.
-
Pet Groomer
This is an evolving career idea in the pet industry, which ensures that its practitioners and professionals groom pets especially dogs on their day-day lives and activities. This involves teaching the pet all that it is supposed to know from eating, drinking, playing, socialising etc.
-
Pet Care Blogger
In this era of computer age and technological developments. Many pet owners are in constant need of information, guidance and training on how best they can take good care of their pets.
-
Pet Insurance Career
Pet insurance pays, partly or in total, for veterinary treatment of the insured person’s ill or injured pet. Some policies will pay out when the pet dies, or if the pet is lost or stolen. As veterinary medicine is increasingly employing expensive medical techniques and drugs, and owners have higher expectations for their pets’ healthcare and standard of living than previously, the market for pet insurance has increased
-
Legal Services
As a lawyer, if you are looking towards looking having a career in any country, then one of your best options is Germany as you can specialize in any field and you will thrive there.
-
Online trading
The world today is a global village, and it is now easy to trade online (i.e. buying and selling). A family can venture into this type of business and trade their stocks on offer to people on an online platform. Sites such as eBay and Amazon make it easy for people to dabble in e-commerce.
If you start to sell other goods, focus on things you can get hold of easily, or are passionate about. And have an eye on the Christmas market: think about what will be selling well in a few months’ time. This is also a business idea for families to dabble into.
-
Aquaculture
Delving into the fish farming business means that you must have knowledge about the business. While you might want to ask why it is important, this is so because you do not want to come across as a dullard who is in business. You can start out by carrying out a thorough research on the internet.
Every day blockbuster movies are being churned out and those who are the helms of affair when it comes to film production are doing all they can to see that great movies are produced. You too can join the bandwagon when you start a film production business. You do not need any qualification to join the train.
If you are interested in going into the internet radio business, then you should be conversant with the fact that it is a different kettle of fish from the traditional radio business – especially as the source for your internet radio business is a computer.
Before starting this business, you should know what topics you would need to discuss to appeal to your target market, and what kinds of business you would be concentrating on.
If you are arts inclines and are looking for an arts related business to start, then you can look into the graphics design business. One of the good things about this business is that you can acquire the skills that is involved from the scratch and then expand on what you have learnt
Groceries are amongst the basic things that Americans cannot do without. Therefore, starting a business in this line would be the right step in the right direction. Good news is that starting this business isn’t a herculean task. What is more, you can be sure to get good returns on your investment.
Fitness has always been a source of concern to Americans. This is because of the high rate of cancer that continues to ravage people. If you are a fitness and health enthusiast, then you can look towards starting a gym related business. You will need to have enough finance to equip your gym center.