Spring is a time for renewal. The long winter has come and gone, replacing blustering winds, leafless trees and frosty mornings with newborn lambs and the first rays of summer. Flowers aren’t the only things that start to sprout up in spring though; it’s the perfect opportunity for a new small business to make its mark.
Whether temporary or the start of a beautiful adventure, there are loads of small businesses you can start to make spring a more exciting, profitable season.
1. Easter-themed gifts
What’s more spring than an Easter celebration? Launching an Easter-themed company is a great way to get some seasonal business and avoid the stress of having to think long-term. Selling Easter baskets is just one excellent money-maker at this time of year that arty types should absolutely look into.
As the holiday creeps closer, people will be clamoring for Easter baskets for their hunts. Whatever the weather, there are going to be kids out looking for chocolate eggs, and they’re going to need baskets. You can either buy cheap baskets for your business in bulk or go down a more artisan direction and weave your own bespoke ones. Perfect for selling at local events in the run-up.
One of the best parts of business ideas like this is you can drop them after the holiday and not miss out on any future sales. However, there is a lot you can do with this idea. Your baskets could develop into hampers, and by Christmas, you could be selling handmade gift baskets full of everyone’s favorite goodies.
2. Gardener
The spring brings with it good weather, giving everyone’s lawn the chance to grow again. Someone is going to need to cut that grass and tend to those gardens.
Gardening is the perfect small business because there is a huge market of people who simply don’t have the time to do it themselves. Lots of customers would prefer to tend their gardens, but can’t commit because of their job or family. A lot of older people enjoy having a well-kept garden but might not have the energy or strength to do the work required. Part of the beauty of this small business is its not just a way to earn some money, but is a way to become a community asset.
This is one of the easiest ways for green thumbs to do what they love and get paid for it. Dedicate a couple of days a week to your gardening and there will be lots of scope for your business to grow throughout the summer. You’ll learn a lot about gardening and craft out a little niche for yourself.
3. Website developer
Temporary spring businesses aren’t just for outdoorsy folks. Website development is one of the fastest-growing businesses around, and a great thing to latch onto early in the year.
If you’re a bit more of a technical whiz, starting a business developing small websites as a side hustle is a great way to use your skills to bring in extra cash. It’s a business you can run from your home, offering plenty of scope for creativity. You don’t have to invest heavily in a team or equipment; just start by developing simple WordPress websites for local businesses who could use a boost. Even if your knowledge isn’t incredibly expansive, this is a relatively easy skill to learn with practice and can help you work your way up to bigger projects.
Experiment by offering to update local community websites or build pages for special events, maybe even one for their local Easter fair?
4. Microtasks
For the more tech-savvy amongst us who don’t stare blankly when they hear terms like cryptocurrencies and blockchain, there are some exciting ways to make money online without any investment and minimal effort. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? But the world of microtasking is rife with opportunity for new businesses.
Microtasking is earning money online from completing short tasks (as the name suggests), such as surveys, quizzes and even filling in entries on encyclopedia websites such as Everipedia. If you make it your business to complete as many of these as possible in a day, you’ll soon be racking up some hefty funds.
The key to a lot of these tasks is they will mostly pay in Bitcoin. This is why it’s not a business idea for just anyone, but someone with the technical knowledge or the drive to learn about this unique form of currency. If you can, there’s a wealth of opportunity for a thriving home business this spring.
5. Tutor
Around this time of year, a lot of kids and students are spending their days fantasizing about their summer breaks. Unfortunately, spring is also the signal that exams and deadlines are on their way. With all that last-minute cramming to do, students who are struggling or want to move up a grade will be looking for tutors.
A spring tutoring business can be as small or expansive as you want it to be. You can spend a couple of nights a week helping your neighbor’s children get up to date with their algebra, or tutor a group of college students on the references they absolutely have to learn for their finals. It’s an excellent way to make use of a specialist subject or a degree that your day job doesn’t necessarily require.
One of the biggest perks of starting a tutoring business is the lack of investment. The students will have their books; you just need to turn up with your brain and help them out.
6. Party planner
Spring is the start of the party season. Holidays, barbeques and nights under the stars watching fireworks are what this time of year is all about. Those parties don’t organize themselves though.
Party planning is a great small business venture because it requires part business-acumen and part-instinct. We’ve all been to parties and thought about how we could do things so much better. This is your chance to do that, and get paid for it.
There’s a great sense of satisfaction in being a party planner. If you enjoy helping people out and get a kick out of seeing others have a good time, it’s a great venture. You can start by organizing small-scale parties and work your way up to larger events. A couple of good parties under your belt can get a lot of people talking about how good a bash you throw. Better get those caterers on the phone.
7. Personal trainer
As the summer draws near, people start to feel the pressure to get into shape before the beach season arrives. Spring is a great time to take advantage of this last-minute rush to get fit. Start your own personal training business.
Hoping a gym plan and an average diet will get you in shape before the sun properly comes out isn’t enough in spring; people need the help of an expert. If you’re already a fitness freak or spend a lot of your free time in the gym, it makes sense to turn that into a business. There are only a few qualifications you need to pass to become a certified personal trainer.
There’s no need to invest in an office or equipment; you can strike a deal with a local gym to use their premises with your clients. If that’s not an option, you can always just head out into the park with a yoga mat and a couple of weights. You can even branch out into dietary advice; there’s lots of room to upsell.
8. Art classes
People are always looking for creative outlets to give them a break from work and stop them from spending their evenings in front of the TV or on their phones browsing Facebook. Night classes have always been a popular outlet for adults, with art classes, in particular, remaining a small business idea that will always attract a crowd.
If you have any artistic talent or experience, bet it painting, pottery or even something digital, you can start a small business helping people express their creative side. While some artistic endeavors require more input and equipment than others, the heavy lifting of the business will really be done by your students. You just let them know about a new skill and watch them go, offering advice as they go.
This is a great way to bring people together and start a creative business that will actually help a lot of people find their passion.
9. Tour guide
Do you consider yourself a bit of a local knowledge buff? Maybe your town or city’s tourism industry could use a new tour guide. Setting up a tour business sounds much more complicated than it really is. In reality, your workspace is already there; you just need to brush up on your history and practice your public speaking.
Becoming a tour guide for your local area only really requires you to make a website for bookings and a bit of advertising. People are always curious about the places they’re visiting, looking for a bit of culture to break up their trip. Try and find your historical or culture niche, and lead people on a walking tour through it on lovely spring afternoons.
This is another private business that can quickly grow from something small into a much more expansive money-making enterprise.
10. Spring cleaning service
What better time of year is there for a spring clean?
Everyone goes into new seasons and holiday breaks looking to reset their lives a little, and freshening up their homes is a big part of that. Unfortunately, between family festivities and work, not everyone can find the time to commit to those best-laid plans.
Much like the gardening business, becoming a traveling cleaner is not only a great side hustle to earn some extra cash with nothing more than a little elbow grease, but a brilliant way to endear yourself to the local community and help out those in need.
A little bit of local advertising and a couple of good early jobs will quickly get the ball rolling on new business this spring.
Small businesses are a great way to earn extra cash or even set yourself up for an entirely new career, both of which can be great assets as you gear up for the summer. If you fancy doing something new without having to commit 100%, these are some brilliant options for working independently.
