Do you want to position yourself and make money off the virtual reality technology trend? If YES, here are 50 profitable virtual reality business ideas.
If you have great interest in new technologies and can’t always wait to try them out, then the virtual reality (VR) business or any business related to it is something that you should probably look into. The virtual reality business is one that has seen rapid advancement in recent years and it has had a lot of input from sectors such as architecture and engineering.
Companies in the Information Technology sector are spending millions of dollars in order to be able to get into the virtual reality business and new startups have succeeded in raising a substantial amount of capital from angel investors and venture capitalists to also be a part of the industry.
Virtual reality has not only made its mark in the IT industry, other major sectors such as military, education, live events, video games, healthcare, real estate, social VR, interactive desktop applications, engineering and project collaborations have all been impacted by the growth of virtual reality.
Globally, it has been forecasted that the virtual reality business industry will reach $485 billion by the year 2025, which means that tech entrepreneurs, business entrepreneurs, investors and innovators all have an opportunity to capitalize on the opportunities that the industry provides.
However, no matter how lucrative the virtual reality business is, the adoption by other sectors is still quite slow, and any entrepreneur that enters the industry now would be quite successful. That said, here are 50 virtual reality related business ideas you can make profit from.
Best Virtual Reality Business ideas
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Virtual Reality Headsets Rental
The prices for virtual reality headsets are a bit on the high side; also, the computer to be used to operate it has to be powerful. Therefore, the virtual reality headset and accompanying hardware are for those that can afford luxurious items.
However, the fact that the hardware is on the high side does not mean that people do not want to experience virtual reality; thereby making virtual reality headset rental a good business to go into. You would need to invest a substantial amount of money in it, but if you attract the right market, you are likely going to recoup your investment.
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Start a VR Cafe
If you are interested in the VR sector and you have a substantial amount of capital but have no idea on any VR related business to go into, starting a VR café might just be a good idea. You can have VR glasses in your café and VR apps as well.
If you do not have the money to splurge on huge branded names, you can simply get the Google cardboard glasses which are not only cheaper, but will allow your customers enjoy a bit of functionality with their mobile phones and your app without having to pay so much.
You can offer various services such as playing VR games, conducting training exercises, 3D book readings, watching 3D movies and so on.
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Build a VR Community
If you are quite passionate about VR, you can start creating and also hosting meet-up events, lectures, fairs, social events and conferences related to VR in your local area. Once you have made a name for your brand, you can expand your audience till you have a fair share of the VR audience; from this you can sell access to companies that make VR products as well as advertisers.
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VR Based Marketing Agency
While there might be a lot of marketing agencies, there are very few that specialize on VR and so this is a great opportunity for you to create a niche and stand out from others. When running a VR based marketing agency, you have the opportunity to create campaigns that will let your audience realize how they can incorporate VR into everything.
You can make use of simple and cheap VR glasses to carry out your campaigns. Also, aside from featuring products in your marketing campaigns, you can feature stories that will make the audience have more empathy towards VR.
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VR Dating Services
The fact that there are a lot of dating agencies in existence means that in order for you to stand out, you have to offer your customers an experience that is different from what they can get from regular dating agencies.
Offering a VR dating service means that couples looking to go out for a first date might not need to leave their homes and yet will still be able to experience their first date together. The novelty of dating in VR is likely to ensure that many couples will be willing to try it out if they are prevented from meeting each other physically.
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VR Escape Room
An escape room is one that allows players to get involved in physical adventure games such as puzzles by using clues and strategies in order to achieve the intended objective. Most of the rooms used for such games are usually varied and fictional locations such as space stations, dungeons and prison cells.
Some are used as team building exercises for corporate offices and those looking to build networks. The VR escape room is therefore a very promising business opportunity that looks to be very lucrative for any entrepreneur that ventures into it, especially as one will not have to build a physical escape room but instead rely on the virtual ones.
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VR Museums
Museums are places where people go to see artifacts and also to have immersive experiences by being transported into another time and place. However, while this is always limited to the imagination of the patron, a VR museum is likely to take this imagination to a higher level.
The power of what VR can accomplish is making museums to embrace VR and so in order to be able to stand out, you can ensure that you create a unique content and technology for your own VR museum. Asides from allowing customers to view VR content while on tour in the museum, and offering tours to patrons through the website of the museum; you can also offer live VR presentations of certain special events.
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VR Libraries
There are still a lot of people using libraries for various purposes from leisure, academic to research and so ensuring that these users have a better experience whilst using the library is very important. With VR, users can get to view books in 3D, watch 3D immersive videos, read books that are not 3D but in an immersive environment where they are least likely to be distracted.
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VR App Development
The VR industry is not only huge and lucrative but it also offers innovative entrepreneurs opportunity to start something especially when it comes to developing apps.
There are a variety of markets waiting to be explored such as VR mobile app development, training software that is VR-based, VR content development, VR add-ons for applications that are already in existence and various other forms of services.
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Sports VR Streaming Services
Even though the sports industry has been slow in adopting VR especially the field segment, VR has started to venture into certain segments of sports example, major league baseballs are offering their fans and the audience live VR streaming services.
There are therefore enough opportunities for any entrepreneur looking to break into the sports industry by offering a platform where fans can stream live via VR or where commentators and even sportcasters can get to have an enhanced view of the game.
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VR Hardware Repairs
Most of the VR hardware that are being sold are very expensive and are regarded as luxury items and so owners of VR glasses and the PC might want to repair them when things go wrong instead of having to purchase a new one. You might need to get technical training in order to be able to repair damaged glasses or PCs. This will allow you stand out from other electronic repair companies as you will be going into a different niche.
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Real Estate Broker
Real estate brokers have started using VR in order to sell or rent out real estate to their intended clients. As a real estate broker, you can make use of VR glasses and combine it with 3D shots of the property you are looking to sell so as to enable clients view your properties in an enhanced format.
The real estate business is one that is very exhausting especially for one that is looking to rent or buy because they would have to go round and view so many properties or apartments before deciding on the perfect fit. All these frustrations can be avoided via the use of VR.
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Create Theater Experiences
There are more virtual reality theaters in existence looking to attract the attention of customers all over the world. All you have to do is to create a movie theater where people can use VR headsets to enjoy videos that are of 360 degrees. Due to the kind of niche entertainment that you will be offering your target market, you stand to make good profit in no time.
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Create VR content
Even though the VR world offers interesting enough content for users, the content is limited and has people craving for more especially interesting contents.
In order to create interesting content, you can create a blog that will let your audience know of the latest technology available or create a YouTube channel where you can give opinion on movies, exhibitions, conferences and games that are trending. Once you are consistent, you will win a sizable number of audience and can use this later to your advantage.
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Sell VR headsets
If you have a substantial amount of investment, you can go into sales of VR headsets or glasses. However, due to the fact that VR headsets can be pretty expensive, selling cardboard-like headsets like that of Google will ensure that you do not use too much money to start the business.
Asides from Google, other companies have also started producing cheaper versions of VR headsets and so you can buy this in bulk and sell via online or rent a physical location where you can to sell the headsets.
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VR Therapy Clinics
VR is not limited to gaming and other such uses only known of in the technology sector as it has proven to be quite a useful tool in diagnosing as well as treating certain psychological disorders such as depression, PTSD, phobias, autism and stress-related disorders.
Therefore any entrepreneur looking to go into this sort of business must carefully conduct a research on the kind of psychological disorders that are likely to be treated so as not to waste resources and time for something that will not generate enough revenue.
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VR for Fitness and Exercise
VR is starting to achieve what many games haven’t been able to achieve as it is pushing the boundaries for health and fitness. VR games that make players use their whole body will help those looking to lose weight achieve their goals and intentions.
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Monetize Personal VR Experience
If you are a developer who has the required skills in game engines, then there is a likelihood that you can also build and sell your VR games by developing the game and then either putting it up on certain stores for cash or selling it for free and then integrating advertising in order to be able to monetize it. You can connect with brands if you will not be overwhelmed or network with startups that will help you achieve this.
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VR Consultant
VR is spreading to different sectors and so companies that are looking to venture into it are looking to be advised on the tons of opportunities that exist therein as well as who would teach them about VR.
These companies might not have the time to gather knowledge about VR from various sources, know how to set up high-end VR systems, how the stitching works or how a 360 degree camera works. And so benefiting from the ignorance of these companies or individuals by helping them is very lucrative especially if you are offering your services to many companies.
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VR Researcher
Even though this might sound academic and boring, it can be a very lucrative business idea to go into. Becoming a VR researcher will enable you to gather the data that companies will need to understand how to move forward in the digital environment, what should be focused on, industry insights and consumer trends. It will also allow you to break into other sectors thereby making you a VR expert.
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Earn Money via VR Games
If you are a gamer and would like to earn money from playing games, you could create a niche for yourself by playing VR games for money. You will need to dedicate a certain amount of time to playing these games.
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Create VR Apps for Healthcare
Nowadays, diagnoses can be done remotely as opposed to earlier processes where a series of steps had to be taken in order to be able to identify the symptoms and from there diagnose the disease before seeking for a solution.Even though diagnoses have become very fast now, virtual reality has dramatically improved the experience not only making it faster but also more effective as the use of medical haptic gloves can be used to remotely diagnose a patient.
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Virtual Offices
Offices and workspaces have become quite popular for those who do not want to rent out a whole physical office to themselves either due to finances or other circumstances but also want to network. Virtual officers have started coming into existence so that anyone from any part of the world can pay to use the office from anywhere.
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VR in Urban Planning
Urban planning is a technical process that involves the development of land as well as revitalizing certain existing parts of a city by using goal settings, forecasting techniques, data collection and analysis, design, strategic thinking as well as public consultation.
Using VR in urban planning will help to put a spin on whatever concept is being designed and also aid to visualize the data as well.
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Social Experiments
Social experiments are research projects that are conducted using human beings as subjects and were widely used in the field of medicine as far back as 1862. However, social experiments have evolved as even lay people are using it to provoke certain responses from others.
However, due to the fact that there have been concerns about the subjects being abused when social experiments are conducted; the use of VR will ensure that these experiments can still be conducted without having to actually be in contact with real people.
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Education
If you are looking to run a VR business in the education sector, then there are many opportunities that are available to you. Education has become boring for many due to the limitations it throws up when students are trying to understand or imagine what is being taught.
However, with the use of VR, students will be able to see scientific discoveries either from the perspective of the scientist that made the discovery or from the lab itself. Ensuring that the students understand where the inventor is coming from will allow them to understand better.
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Data Visualization
Data visualization helps people to understand the significance of data by placing it in a visual context. Data visualization often helps to expose trends, patterns and correlations that might have otherwise gone undetected if the data was text-based especially as the amount of data in the world is growing at a very fast pace.
Even though data visualization apps have made people better understand the significance of data, using VR will take it a step higher as people will get a more immersive experience when studying data.
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Indoor Navigation
Indoor navigation has to deal with navigations within buildings with the use of positioning technologies when one desires automatic positioning. The good thing with indoor navigation is that they help the user determine the actual floor level.
Indoor navigations can be used with Wi-Fi, beacons, ultra-wideband and is used by those who want to navigate complex buildings such as train stations, airports, hospitals, trade shows, offices and retail industries. It can also be used to track employees and objects by corporate organizations and so an enterprising entrepreneur can tap into VR in order to give users a better experience.
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Safety Training
Safety training is designed to teach occupational safety and health standards developed by the government labor organization in the united states where standards and regulations that will have an impact on the employers and employees in the country are produced. The use of VR can leave a more lasting memory for users and will also make an impact on their lives.
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Tourism
Tourism involves people going to see other places in order to learn about the history or culture of the place, to relax, to visit family and friends, to enjoy a change of scenery or to participate in activities that they would not have otherwise been able to participate in at home.
The tourism industry is considered a huge one as it involves transportation, places to stay, food and drinks. This makes this a perfect business for virtual experience.
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Manufacturing
Manufacturing can be referred to as the steps through which raw materials are converted into a final product. However, before a raw material can reach the final stage, it has to be modeled so that an idea of what the final product will look like can be seen, and where necessary modifications made.
Using VR for visualization or modeling will make the work easier for those in this sector with less cost than going for a 3D modeling with printer.
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Designs
Design can be referred to as creating a plan that is to be used for the construction of a system or object. Even though design has different connotations in different fields, the use of VR offers any entrepreneur the chance of carving out a niche of the market for themselves and generating profit.
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Pornography
Pornography is the portrayal of a sexual subject matter in order to elicit sexual arousal. Even though pornography can be presented in a variety of media, using VR to enhance experience for users will mostly be of benefit in video games and films.
In order to make it competitive, an entrepreneur can make use of haptic devices and teledildonics to make users have a better experience. Also, innovative entrepreneurs can go for niches where clients can customize their fantasies.
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Travel Agencies
Travel agencies provide travel and tourism related services on behalf of their clients. Also, there are travel agencies that act as sales agents for foreign travel companies and so using VR can help an entrepreneur running a travel agency to entice customers to buy trips to countries by showing them 3D clips of the countries.
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Mining Companies
Mining is the process of extracting valuable minerals or any other geological materials from the earth. Mining has been a human activity since ancient times and was slow to adapt to changing technology due to the fact that companies were on the lookout for making profit rather than caring about those that worked for them.
Regulations however slowed down mining operations due to the negative environmental impact that mining activities had on the environment. With virtual reality however, mining companies can use that to train employees to work without having to send them underground.
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Building One’s Own Virtual Reality Game
Even though building a video game for VR with one’s own code might be daunting, there are several companies that are looking to make it easier for those who want to build their own VR games and also make money from it. This is different from having to develop one’s game from scratch and so you might need to partner with a developer who has made the codes. Ensuring that people pay and download your games will now be up to you.
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Blog about Virtual Reality Technology
The fact that you do not have any technological skills doesn’t mean that you cannot make money from virtual reality. If you are one who is interested in learning new things and telling it to others, then you can go on different platforms to consume virtual reality content and then blog about your experiences, the different platforms and the apps available to your intended audience.
Once your blog has gained the desired attention, you can go to companies making these apps to give you for free in return for a review.
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Sell Virtual Reality Tickets for Concerts
Look around your town or local area for any band that is struggling to feel their venues and use VR to help them out. With virtual reality, front-row seats can be virtually created from anywhere. Not only can such concerts get more attendance but it would get unlimited front-row seats. You can go further by selling virtual tickets to shows at clubs and even studio sessions.
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Build Virtual Reality Real Estate
If you are a graphic designer, you can stand out by creating real estate for virtual reality companies. Once you have created a unique architectural style and have built it up in a virtual world, you can then sell the designs to content creators in the virtual reality industry.
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Virtual Reality Professor
Even though virtual reality is being adopted in various sectors across different industries, there are still a lot that most people don’t know about virtual reality and so if you have a skill that you feel will be useful to others, then you might take a shot at teaching others about virtual reality no matter what part of the country or world you are in.
It is important that you choose a course that attractive as well as informative. You can even teach DIY subjects or technical courses like design and engineering.
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Advertising
In order to be able to get a piece of the revenue pie, you can go into advertising of VR directly or indirectly. There are plenty of VR companies that are looking for ways to raise awareness for VR products and contents that they have developed.
If you own a blog, website, YouTube channel or social media platform that has lots of audience, you could go into charging for adverts on your platforms or commissions on any products sold through the adverts on any of your platform.
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Investing
If you are looking for a quick way to get involved in any industry, investment is one of the quickest though most risky method of entry. There are startups with good business concepts looking for a substantial amount of seed funding from angel investors, venture capitalists and crowdsourcing.
Therefore, if you do not have all the in-depth knowledge about VR or do not feel that you have the patience to build a company from the ground up, then depending on your investment level, you might support one or two companies that have shown promise in ensuring that you get your initial investment plus profit in the future.
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Customized Cardboard Headsets
Due to how expensive most branded VR headsets are, cardboard headsets are becoming very common for those that are just venturing into VR.
Even though Google might have started the cardboard trend, other companies have caught up with the trend and are not only producing cardboard headsets but are also beginning to print their own logos on these headsets and are either selling them or giving them away with special purchases; that way they get to advertise their businesses whilst introducing VR to their clients.
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YouTube Channel
For years now YouTube has been a very important platform for those looking to ply their trade and craft to a large audience.
However, the 360° video that has been introduced on the platform offers entrepreneurs on the platform the chance to show their viewers more than what is in front of the camera by instead offering them a 360-degree view of the environment of the camera. This has led to a lot of simulation videos, online concert experiences and virtual home and city tours.
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Affiliate Marketing
If you do not have any VR products which you intend to sell, then getting paid to sell the products of others is another lucrative way of generating income for yourself. The startup costs for this kind of business is very low because all you need is a laptop and an internet connection.
You do not need to be able to blog, even though that might be counted as an added bonus if you can. The risks involved in this kind of business are very low and allows you to be in full control of whatever VR gadgets you sell.
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Producing 360 Video
One of the most popular and accessible VR content for now are 360-degree viewing videos and the good thing about this business idea is that those consuming the content do not require an expensive headset or PC in order to view them.
Also, from the production perspective, not only do they offer an experience that is immersive, but one that does not cost much to produce. Ensure that the content you intend to produce is amazing so that you can get a fair share of the market.
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Virtual Reality UI/UX Designer
In order for users to be able to get that immersive experience, it is important that the user experience (UX) and the user interface (UI) design are taken very seriously when developing the app on mobile or on desktop.
Improving user experience in VR will ensure that the user not only enjoys the experience but is also able to avoid motion sickness. Even though the UI and UX sector in VR do not have any standards for now, you can still create a niche for yourself in order to stand out.
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VR Addiction Treatment Centers
The introduction of VR has made some people prefer the virtual world to the real world and so become addicted to the virtual world that they find it difficult to function in the real world. As the VR technology continues to grow with contents and apps developing rapidly, this is bound to become a huge problem in the near future and so having centers that treat VR addiction would prove lucrative.
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VR Payment Systems
More retailers have begun to venture into the virtual world in a bid to deal with declining in-store purchases. Huge retailers are already introducing a virtual reality payment system where virtual reality shoppers can pay for items. However, even though this business idea is one that throws up a lot of confusing questions, it is still an opportunity that any innovative entrepreneur can key into.
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Space Tourism
Many people will like to know what it feels like to be in space, so targeting this set of consumers mean that you will be catering to a particular niche.
This type of business idea can gulp a huge amount of start-up capital but if you have a good business plan, you should be able to get substantial funding to start up. Ensure that you have carried out thorough research so you do not end up wasting time and money.
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Virtual Reality Arcade
You can now run an arcade center that will offer your consumers better entertainment than they thought possible. Arcades are fun places for people of all ages to visit, so if you have regular old games, then you are likely going to have a lot of customers.
Investing in VR equipment is not only guaranteed to bring in more customers but will also ensure that you are able to generate more revenue.
In conclusion, virtual reality is bringing more opportunities to entrepreneurs who are innovative and enterprising, and those who take advantage of new opportunities are likely to achieve early success.