South Africa has a vibrant and constantly changing market. With a growing middle class, a tech-savvy population, and a government prioritising sustainability, the nation is fertile ground for entrepreneurs with a vision. This article explores eighteen business ideas you can start from home. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a recent graduate full of fresh ideas, these business ideas will spark your imagination and equip you with the knowledge to navigate the exciting South African marketplace.
Airbnb
Airbnb is an online marketplace that connects people who want to rent out their property with people who are looking for accommodations, typically for short stays Airbnb offers hosts a relatively easy way to earn some income from their property. Guests often find that Airbnb rentals are cheaper and homier than hotels.
Baby Sittings
Babysitting can be another way of a side hustle. Many individuals tend to have busy lives, from going to work, church, meetings, etc. they find it hard to juggle every appointment. So here you can open a babysitting business and stay with their kids for a fee. This business can be profitable when you have more kids to babysit.
Bakery
Home bakeries can be a successful side hustle or even a full-time job. Whether you want to keep it small or build it up, it’s essential to know what you’re getting into. The amount you’ll make is based on the work you put in and the name you make for yourself. It all depends on what you’re trying to get out of it!
Beautician
This business provides on-demand beauty services like hair styling, makeup application, and nail care, you can work with clients for special events, photoshoots, fashion shows, or regular beauty maintenance. This business idea offers flexibility and the opportunity to build a loyal client base.
Car Wash
If you’ve thought about starting your car wash to make extra money, you might be onto something. There’s a large market for this service in South Africa, there has been an increase in the number of cars being bought. As a result, the need for car wash services will continue to rise. Busy schedules and time constraints continue to prompt more people to use professional car washes instead of cleaning their cars at home.
Chicken Dust
Chicken dust is essentially a 1-kilogram spiced chicken roasted on a charcoal braai on the side of the road. The cost of a chicken is usually R 50 per chicken and when selling it it’s between R 110 and R 120 each. This is a great business idea for aspiring entrepreneurs to start as many people like to grab fast foods and it’s a place people go to when there are load reductions in their areas.
Food Joint
Selling food from home in South Africa can be profitable, attributed to easy start-up costs and low overheads. If you enjoy a good fry-up in the kitchen, and creating unique meals that aren’t in your area, then following your passion for cooking and deciding to start a food business from home could be your next successful business venture.
Funeral Home Business
As we all know people die all the time and most times, the families of the deceased do not want to have to face the task of preparing for their beloved, and so contract the services of a funeral home. Like offering groceries, transportation or even maybe preparing food on the day of the funeral and washing dishes after. This service is to ease their task.
Game Zone
A Game Zone is a place where people can come together to play video games, compete in tournaments, and form a community of their own. Each individual who plays a game needs to pay a fee. This is another great business idea as it doesn’t need a lot of things, you just need your Gaming machine and a Television.
House Cleaning Services
This business idea needs you as an entrepreneur to start by cleaning houses in your area and when the clientele grows, you can hire agents to cover more clients’ houses in a day. This is an easy and cheap business idea to do during your spare time, especially if you love hygiene and tidiness.
Internet Cafes
Internet Cafes offer customers high-speed internet access, other computer services, and a variety of PC games. It deals with internet time that a customer buys and it can be sold per hour or minute and sometimes longer. And could have other services like printing, scanning documents, laminating, and more.
Laundry Services
The best part about this business idea is that you can do it in the comfort of your own home, but some clients may request a callout. A laundry service is simple to run since your primary resources are a washer and a dryer and they are cheap to maintain and reliable.
Personal Shopper
Personal shoppers earn a commission on every item they purchase, meaning the more they shop, the more they earn. High-demand items like apparel and accessories offer even higher commissions, making this business idea particularly lucrative.
T-shirt Print-on-demand
Selling T-shirts with your art, words or anything else printed on them is a great way to exercise your creativity and make money. A T-shirt business can make you a small profit on every unit you sell, which can add up to a great source of extra income
Shisanyama
Shisanyama businesses remain one of the most popular options. Shisanyama is the heart and soul of many townships. They’re the popular gathering place where locals braai meat and socialise. Shisanyama offers a profitable market opportunity as customers buy meat and drinks.
SME PARTNER
Spaza Shop
Starting a spaza shop is always one of the most popular options. These are small, informal shops that can be run from your house, a container, or any other small premises. Spaza shops are relatively easy to set up, and as long as there are people, there’s always a demand for them.
Tailor
A tailoring business involves altering or creating clothing according to a customer’s specific needs and measurements. A skilled individual, who is also known as a tailor, uses their knowledge of fabrics, patterns, and fashion to modify the garment as per the customer’s needs.
Sneaker Wash
The Sneaker Wash business concept is now popular. For a person living in a metro city where the population densities of ultra-busy people are high, a sneaker wash will be a perfect business idea for them.
In today’s world of entrepreneurship, there are many business ideas aspiring entrepreneurs can start as their part-time hustle or even a full-time job. What’s great is that these business ideas you can start from home and they are not expensive to venture into. Entrepreneurs need to find where their passion is and try these business ideas. These businesses can start small but when one is serious they could grow into a successful business.
