20 Profitable Business Ideas to Start in London in 2024

In the ever-evolving world of entrepreneurship, understanding business trends is key to running a successful enterprise. If you are looking forward to starting a profitable business in London in 2024, then it is essential to research the industries, trends, and ideas that are lucrative. Although there has been some form of economic downfall in the past few years, however, there are still many thriving businesses one could explore.

In this guide, Incorpuk provides you with the 20 most profitable businesses you can start in 2024.

20 Profitable Business Ideas to Start in London in 2024.

1. Personal training services

Unlike ever before, Londoners now fully understand the advantages of seeking a healthy living habit. After working for a long period of hours, there is the need to relax the body, soul and mind. Personal training services can help people achieve this. Although there are traditional fitness training services around, however, many individuals won’t mind having a personal trainer who would cater for their needs in the comfort of their home.

You can set a specified schedule for the number of clients you’ll be able to take at a time. Apart from that, you can also set up an online personal training schedule whereby you attend to each customer through an individualized controlled online training platform. To be a legal personal trainer in London, you would need to attain some qualifications and obtain the necessary licenses and permits to work.

2. Financial consulting

Everyone needs the services of a professional financial consultant. Whether they need help on how to go about insurance, taxes or other forms of payment or they need advice on investment schemes or savings, you would always find out that most people need the services of a professional financial consultant. With that, you can set up your business and render freelance services to suit these needs. To be able to do this, you would need some form of certification.

3. Drone photography services

Apart from the usual photography services, you can also start your drone photography services. This has become more common in London now than before and you can use it for weddings, events, professional video production and so on. For you to fly a drone in London, you have to obtain a CAA drone license and be aware of the laws and guidelines. Once you’re able to meet up with this, drone photography could be one of the latest interesting business enterprises to explore.

4. Delivery services

With the number of startup businesses within the UK, you can easily set up home delivery services. You can partner with the businesses around so that you can deliver goods to their customers. Delivery services are easy to set up so far you have the means of transport to use. You can always market this service online in order to get customers. Also, there are some already established platforms where you can register and start your business.

5. Personal shopping

If you are very conversant with the fashion world and you understand what is trending, you can offer personal shopping services to people. This would include those who are interested in luxury items, international tourists, those who love fashionable items but want a second opinion and many more. In fact, people have varying reasons for which they use a personal shopper. However, this is a very lucrative business for people who have good taste in fashion and are willing to help others achieve their shopping aims.

There are so many shops within London that hire personal shoppers on a freelance basis. You can also make use of the online platform to market your services around.

6. Digital Businesses

Offering digital services online is one of the most profitable businesses you can start.  This involves offering services like website design, software development, SEO, graphic design, social media management and so on. The most interesting aspect of starting this kind of business is that you do not need much capital to start. Moreover, you can always decide to work from home and thus save more profits.

Digital businesses are great but you need to learn the most suitable skill for you, and be proficient in it so you can earn from it.

7. Specialized E-commerce

Rather than selling generalized products, you can decide to sell a niche product that will earn you more profits. This you can achieve either by selling through your social media handles or maximizing the use of some online marketplace like Etsy, or Amazon to sell your product. The trick here is to search for a niche, hot selling the products and then offer to sell them to the public. You can also create a simple landing page or website for the product while also ensuring that you run some paid ads to boost your conversion.

8. Dog walking and pet sitting

If you are a lover of dogs, then you can offer dog walking services. You’ll need some forms of insurance to do this and with some marketing, you’d be able to get clients. While this business is now competitive, you will be able to stand out from the crowd if you niche down to some breed of dog. Apart from dog walking, pet sitting is another business you could start. However, this could involve spending some hours with the pets in their owner's home while also providing care for them.

9. Mobile Make-up and Hair Styling

With the modern-day tools that we have here and there, people do not necessarily have to visit a salon to have their hair fixed. Whether you are a hair or make-up stylist, you can set up an online shop that allows you to render your services on the go. With it, people can see the available periods that you have and have an appointment fixed with you. This would be in the form of a home service, however, a mobile app or platform would make it easy for your customers to easily set a suitable time with you.

10. Virtual Assistant

While so many companies have moved some of their business activities online, the need for virtual assistants who would manage some aspects of the business has been on the rise. With the right skills, a functioning laptop, and an internet connection, you can easily render this service as a business. Virtual assistants are being hired to complete so many tasks depending on the needs of the business. You could be required to book appointments, schedule meetings, complete data entry tasks, create content for social media handles etc. While there are so many reasons why a virtual assistant could be hired, the sole aim most times is to ease some business operations or activities.

11. Mobile catering services

It has been estimated that up to 50% of individuals within London order cooked food items rather than prepare them at home. Several working class prefer to purchase food than to spend time cooking it at home. With this, you can start a mobile catering service to serve this set of people. This way you would target industries, companies, event centres, and public areas with people who’ll be willing to buy from you. Apart from selling food items, coffee, teas and other edible items can also be sold.

With the right strategy, you will always make a good profit from offering mobile catering services.

12. Chiropractic services

Chiropractic business is another enterprise you can set up. If you have the desire to work in the health niche, then you can provide your services to people who have back pain, joint pain, nervous disorder etc. To be able to perform as a chiropractor, then you must obtain professional certifications as necessary. Also, you might need to obtain the necessary licenses and permits.

13. Cleaning services

Cleaning services range from helping people with home and office cleaning to other outdoor areas. This is a good business to start if you have the physical strength to do it. Moreover, as the business grows, you could employ others to work for your business. While people are always moving to new houses, they would need the services of a professional cleaner to fix the space before packing in. Moreover, offices and other outdoor areas need a professional touch once in a while.

14. Dropshipping

Dropping business is relatively easy to start as you don’t need much capital and set-up. In fact, you don’t need to own a product before you can earn as a drop shipper. You will simply be required to market other people’s products and once you get buyers from it, you will be able to earn. As such, you would need some suppliers who have the product in hand and are ready to help send it to the customers once you have one.

Drop shipping could be a great way to earn good income since you can always determine your selling price. However, you must be sure to partner with those who would offer you a fair cost price to earn more.

15. Tour Guide

You can also start a tour guide service. These services would mainly be provided to tourists who wish to explore beautiful and amazing places within London. Your job would be to guide them on how they could spend their days while on a holiday and where to visit. Although your service might not really entice a Londoner who is well conversant with the city. However, it would make a lot of sense to foreigners who wish to explore.

16. Teach English Language as a Foreign Language (TEFL)

As a resident of London, you can also earn a lot of income by simply teaching the English language online. Some online sites allow you to register and offer classes to others who are non-native English speakers. However, you must understand the English language very well and be able to attain some TEFL certification to be qualified.

17. Online counseling

While fitness activities take care of the body, counselling deals with the mind and soul. There is no doubt that almost everyone will need counselling services at one point in their lifetime or the other. There are several aspects of counselling you could focus on including marital, adolescence, rehabilitative, and many more. Counselling services help an individual to maintain mental stability, recover from past trauma, make better-informed decisions, become a fully functioning individual within the society and many more. The importance of counselling within every community cannot be overemphasized.

As such it is a business you’d never regret going into. That being said, there are some certifications you must have before you can practice as a counsellor. Also, you can always offer your services from the comfort of your home.

18. Massage therapy

You can also offer massaging services as a resident in London. Massage therapy services are always needed and will continue to be in demand. With that, you can decide to have a physical space where you attend to people or offer home services. Either way, you can always earn a lot of income from this service. To stay more competitive, you can focus on a particular type of massage therapy like Shiatsu and be good at it.

19. Consulting

If you are a professional in a field like accounting, law, marketing, health and so on. You can create a consulting business. A consulting business allows you to earn based on the expertise and experience that you have. You can easily set up an online platform where people can book appointments with you, ask their questions, and share their queries while you provide answers and solutions. To work as a consultant, you need to be well-informed in your field of practice. Moreover, the more experienced and knowledgeable you are, the higher the income you earn from this.

20. Digital Event Planning

In this post-Covid era, several business events are being held online. With this, you can become a digital event planner whereby you help businesses plan, organize, monitor and create reports of events. This could be online summits, webinars, workshops and so on. With businesses moving most of their activities to the online world, you could make a lot of money by partnering with them as a digital event planner.

Advantages of Starting a Business in London

1. Access to Skilled and Multicultural workforce

If you will be starting your business on a medium or large scale, then you might need at least one or two employees. London consists of so many skilled individuals who are willing to work for you. Accessing the right candidate to hire for your business won’t be difficult, moreover, there is a diverse set of multicultural individuals you can choose from.

2. Relatively easy to get funding

With the UK government start-up program, it is easy to get funding for your business. There also exist many other funding options like Angel investors, venture capital etc that can be used to fund your business. Apart from that there are several schemes available to help reduce your tax burden which you could face as a new business.

3. Access to modern-day infrastructure

With the availability of modern-day facilities and infrastructure within London, it is quite easy to start and scale your business. Infrastructural facilities pertaining to energy, waste management, transportation etc are consistently being improved to meet the needs of the people.

4. Networking opportunities

London is a great place to network with people. Whether you wish to connect with business-minded people like you or other professionals, there are always several events and workshops where you can meet new people.

Incorporate Your Company with Incorpuk Today

At Incorpuk, we will help you file accurate information when you register your company through us. We will help you with incorporation articles, a registered office address, and all you may need to register your company in the UK. Contact our team if you need any information; we will gladly assist.

Conclusion

Starting a business in London just like every other location is not simple, but with the right plan and strategy, you will achieve your business goals. This guide, therefore, has provided 20 profitable businesses you can start in London in 2024. Do you have any questions about profitable business ideas to start in London in 2024? Kindly contact one of our experts for help today.