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How To Choose A Money-Making Business Ideagetty
Starting a business is exciting, but the journey to profitability starts with choosing the right niche. Many entrepreneurs dive into business ideas they’re passionate about, only to realize later that passion alone isn’t enough to sustain a successful business.
While doing what you love is important, if there’s no demand or willingness to pay for your product or service, your business will struggle to thrive. That’s why identifying a profitable niche is one of the most crucial steps when starting a business strategically.
You want to build a business that not only aligns with your passions but also brings in sustainable income. A strategic approach, combined with understanding your market, ensures that your business not only fulfills you personally but also generates steady, reliable income.
Let’s explore the key steps to identifying a profitable niche:
- Solve a Specific Problem
One of the best ways to identify a profitable niche is to focus on solving a specific problem for a particular group of people. Ask yourself what problem you solve better than anyone else. Businesses thrive when they provide solutions that people are actively seeking. The more targeted your solution, the more likely people will pay for it. - Validate the Market Demand
After identifying the problem you want to solve, it’s time to validate the demand. Many entrepreneurs skip this step, assuming that just because they are passionate about an idea, others will be too. Research is key.
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Start by looking for evidence that people are actively searching for solutions related to your niche. Use tools like Google Trends or keyword research tools to understand what people are searching for in your area of interest.
If you find that there’s little conversation or interest around the topic, it might be a sign that there isn’t enough demand. In that case, it’s time to pivot your idea or explore other, related problems that people need solving.
- Evaluate Competition (and Learn From It)
Competition isn’t a bad thing. In fact, competition is often a sign that there’s demand in the market. However, to carve out your profitable niche, you need to evaluate your competition and look for gaps or areas where you can differentiate yourself.
Here are a few questions to consider:
What are your competitors doing well?
Where are they falling short?
Is there an underserved market segment that you can focus on?
How can you position your offering differently?
Finding a gap in the market or offering a unique perspective will help you stand out and attract your ideal customers, even in a competitive space.
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- Identify Your Ideal Client
Knowing who you’re serving is just as important as what you’re offering. The more specific you are about your target market, the easier it is to develop a marketing strategy that resonates with them.
Ask yourself:
Who is my ideal client?
What are their demographics (age, gender, profession, income level)?
What challenges are they facing that my product or service can solve?
Where do they spend time online? What kind of content do they consume?
By defining your ideal client, you can craft tailored marketing messages that speak directly to them, increasing your chances of attracting paying customers.
- Determine Profitability
Once you’ve identified a potential niche, it’s important to assess whether it can be profitable in the long run. This involves looking at several factors:
Pricing: Can you price your product or service high enough to cover costs and make a profit? Are people in your target market willing to pay for the value you provide?
Market Size: Is the market large enough to sustain your business? While it’s great to have a narrow focus, if your audience is too small, it could limit your revenue potential.
Scalability: Can you scale your business in the future? Look for niches where there’s room for growth or expansion. For instance, if you start by offering 1:1 services, can you eventually turn your expertise into a course or digital product to reach a broader audience?
- Focus on Your Expertise
Make sure that you chose a niche that aligns with your expertise or skills. People are more likely to trust you if you have experience or knowledge in the area. If you’re venturing into a new field, consider how you can upskill yourself or partner with someone who has the expertise needed to serve the niche effectively.
Remember, people are willing to pay for value, but they need to feel confident that you’re the right person to deliver it.
The bottom line is that choosing a profitable niche is not about chasing trends or following the crowd. It’s about aligning your passion with market demand, solving a specific problem, and understanding your target audience’s needs. By strategically selecting a niche where people are willing to pay for the solution you provide, you’ll set yourself up for long-term success.
The opinions expressed in this article are not intended to replace any professional or expert accounting and/or tax advice whatsoever.
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President and CEO, Novonesis, Denmark
Ester Baiget is the President and CEO of Novonesis, the newly merged entity that combined industrial biotech companies Novozymes and Chr. Hansen. Its focus is on developing biologically-based alternatives to industrial products and processes. It has customers across more than 30 industries, including food and beverages, animal health and nutrition, energy, fine chemicals, dietary supplements and plastics. Earlier this year, Novonesis partnered with Carbios, a company using enzymes to break down plastic, to begin development of a biological plastics recycling facility to help recycle 50,000 tons of PET waste per year. In 2023, Novozymes brought in $2.4 billion in revenue and Chr. Hansen’s revenue was $1.48 billion. The merger was finalized in January 2024.
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Christophe Beck – Kelly Hill
Courtesy Kelly Hill
Christophe Beck
Chairman and CEO, Ecolab, United States
Last year, Ecolab, a multinational water management company run by Christophe Beck, helped customers conserve more than 226 billion gallons of water. Based in Minneapolis, Ecolab employs 48,000 people worldwide and made $15 billion in revenue last year. Beck has spearheaded Ecolab’s involvement in the United Nations’ Water Resilience Coalition (WRC), which comprises 37 companies that help 100 water-stressed basins provide water for over 3 billion people. Last year he helped launch WRC’s California Water Resilience Initiative, which is helping conserve water in the Golden State through public-private partnerships. Under Beck, Ecolab has invested in WaterEquity, a fund that has raised $150 million to improve water and sanitation in the Global South.
Ryan Begin – Divert
Divert
Ryan Begin
Cofounder and CEO, Divert, United States
Ryan Begin is CEO and cofounder of Divert, a company using AI to help retailers reduce food waste. The Massachusetts-based company has raised approximately $300 million to date and counts Kroger, Target, and CVS among its over 6,600 customers. Divert’s 13 U.S. facilities processed over 384 million pounds of waste in 2023 and it is on track to build 30 more plants by 2031. Begin oversaw a $1 billion infrastructure agreement with Enbridge in 2023 for facilities to turn organic waste into renewable energy. Its collaboration with supermarket chain Safeway earlier this year boosted food donations 20% in just three months. “Sustainability is more than just a vision; it’s the practical application of real, impactful solutions that transform our environment,” Begin told Forbes.
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Courtesy Josefina Belmonte
Joy Belmonte
Mayor, Quezon City, Philippines
In 2019, shortly after Joy Belmonte took office as mayor, Quezon City, the most populous city in the Philippines, became first in the country to declare a climate emergency. That move allowed Belmonte to allocate 13% of the city’s budget (which has since increased) to climate initiatives to reach its stated goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050. Her initiatives run the gamut: doubling the city’s bike path network to 217 miles, electrifying its free bus service, adding solar panels to public buildings, banning plastic bags and single-use utensils, introducing a “trash-to-cashback” program and creating refilling stations for liquid detergent and other common household products. (For more, see “How The Mayors Of Quezon City And Freetown Are Fighting The Climate Crisis.”)
Sam Bencheghib
Courtesy Sam Bencheghib
Sam Bencheghib
Cofounder, Sungai Watch, Indonesia
Sam Bencheghib, a 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia alum, founded Sungai Watch in 2020 with his two siblings, Gary and Kelly in order to clean up rivers in Indonesia, which annually dump an estimated over 1 million metric tons of trash into the ocean. Sungai Watch has installed 300 floating barriers in those rivers that have removed 5.2 million pounds of trash, mostly plastic waste. The non-profit organization has created 10 facilities that sort the collected trash for potential recycling. Sungai Watch now employs 150 people and plans to expand to rivers in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. It is also in talks with government officials and non-profits to expand into the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Colombia and Kenya.
Arlene Blum – John Kokaska
John Kokaska
Arlene Blum
Executive Director, Green Science Policy Institute, United States
Chemist Arlene Blum discovered a toxic chemical in children’s pajamas in the 1970s, which helped lead to its removal. After she learned the same toxic material was being used in furniture and baby products, in 2008, Blum, also a research associate in cell and molecular biology at UC Berkeley, founded the Green Science Policy Institute. Its goal is to rid the world of toxic chemicals, including PFAS, known as “forever chemicals.” The EPA and state regulators have increasingly focused on harms from PFAS, and her research has helped reduce their use in food packaging, personal care products, and textiles. The Institute has raised $10 million from 10 foundations and 300 private donors. “Stopping the use of harmful chemicals in our products is like climbing a high Himalayan mountain,” Blum, a longtime mountaineer, told Forbes by email. “You find a worthy objective, select a team, pick up heavy loads, and persevere through deep snow, storms, avalanches and an occasional Yeti to reach the summit of a healthier world.”
Jason Buechel – Jori Fine
Jori Fine
Jason Buechel
CEO, Whole Foods Market, United States
Since becoming CEO in 2022, Jason Buechel has led efforts to improve Whole Foods Market’s environmental practices by sourcing more sustainably grown products and tackling food waste—a key source of the greenhouse gas methane. Whole Foods Market diverted 87,000 tons of unsold food and food scraps from landfills in 2023, and donated nearly 17,000 tons of food to redistribution programs. The company also adopted a policy requiring produce and floral suppliers to use biological pest controls instead of chemicals. Through its foundations, Whole Foods Market provided $9 million in grants and loans in 2023 to assist marginalized farmers and support projects to improve biodiversity and soil health. Last year it offered 41,000 organic products across its stores, a 9% increase from 2022.
Tadeu Carneiro – Liam Sullivan
Boston Metal
Tadeu Carneiro
Chairman and CEO, Boston Metal, United States
Steel is responsible for around 8% of global CO2 emissions. Boston Metal’s electrolysis process, developed by researchers at MIT, enables steel manufacturing with no emissions of CO2 or other pollutants. Tadeu Carneiro, former CEO of Brazilian metals giant CBMM, joined the startup as CEO to commercialize the process. The company has raised more than $350 million in venture funding and developed a pilot plant for green steel at its Woburn, Massachusetts headquarters. Last year, it was selected to negotiate a $50 million grant from the Department of Energy for a plant to manufacture chromium and alloys in the former coal community of Weirton, West Virginia. In March, it opened a factory in Brazil, producing low-carbon iron alloys with similar green technology. Carneiro told Forbes earlier this year he expected the Brazilian operation to reach $400 million in revenue, with $100 million in operating profit, by 2026 – the same year the company aims to start selling its green steel. (For more, see “This Bill Gates-Backed Startup Is Trying To Fix Steel’s Horrible Environmental Impact.”)
Gaurab Chakrabarti- Javier Vargas
Javier Vargas
Gaurab Chakrabarti
Cofounder and CEO, Solugen, United States
Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnus Gaurab Chakrabarti is cofounder and CEO of Solugen, which utilizes a unique biochemical process to produce industrial chemicals that are typically made with fossil fuels. Solugen uses yeast and proprietary catalysts to turn sustainable ingredients like sugar into chemicals, with less carbon emissions and waste than petrochemical companies. The company has raised over $600 million in investment and generates revenue from industrial, personal care and energy customers, as well as the Defense Department. It has a biomanufacturing facility in Houston and recently broke ground on a new 500,000 sq. ft. facility in Minnesota.
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Michael Prince for Forbes
Yet-Ming Chiang
Professor of Material Science and Engineering, MIT, United States
A professor at MIT, Yet-Ming Chiang has used his research to launch 10 startups, eight of which are focused on green technology. These include Form Energy, which has raised nearly $1 billion to build a gigafactory for its iron-air battery products, and Sublime Systems, which in April received an $87 million Department of Energy award for a commercial plant to make low-carbon cement. Chiang, who immigrated from Taiwan as a child, has said the goal of his research is to replace current carbon-based technologies with commercially-scalable green and low-carbon alternatives. He holds some 110 patents and has published over 330 peer-reviewed papers. His startups have raised over $2.5 billion and have counted companies like Black and Decker, GM and Dominion Energy as customers. (For more, see “Meet The MIT Professor With Eight Climate Startups And $2.5 Billion In Funding.”)
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Jamel Toppin for Forbes
Catherine Coleman Flowers
Founding Director, Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, United States
Catherine Coleman Flowers is the Founding Director of the Centre for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ), an Alabama-based non-profit working to improve public health and economic development by providing marginalized rural communities with wastewater technologies that could also be used to recycle and reuse water. In 2021, her community organizing work led to a federal investigation that found that the Alabama Department of Public Health failed to provide basic sanitation services to Lowndes County, Georgia, exposing residents to raw sewage. To date, CREEJ has raised over $10 million through donations and grants, and has worked in communities in Michigan, California, New York, and Barbados. She has served as co-vice chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council since 2021.
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Tom Darrah
Courtesy Tom Darrah
Tom Darrah
Cofounder and CTO, Koloma, United States
Tom Darrah is a geology professor at Ohio State University and one of the world’s leading experts on geological hydrogen, a potentially vast new clean energy source. Darrah’s research led him to cofound Koloma and serve as its chief technology officer. The startup has already raised more than $300 million from investors like Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The company is drilling test wells across the U.S. and is preparing to begin commercial extraction of naturally occurring hydrogen within the next few years. Initial users of its low-cost hydrogen are likely to include fertilizer producers and industrial customers. “It’s on every continent,” Darrah said. “The scale of how much there is is profound.”
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AJ Goren
Scott Dunn
Cofounder and CEO, Noveon Magnetics, United States
Motor manufacturers in the U.S. are largely dependent on China for rare earth minerals, which generate large amounts of toxic waste when extracted. That’s where Scott Dunn comes in. In 2014, he cofounded Noveon Magnetics to develop an energy-efficient way to manufacture high-performance magnets used in motors and generators, using rare earth elements from discarded devices. After raising approximately $200 million in funding, in June 2023 the company set up a factory in San Marcos, Texas to supply its automotive, renewable energy, aerospace and defense customers. “Ultimately, Noveon Magnetics hopes to create a circular economy for permanent magnets, both lessening the overall global demand for newly mined magnetic material while also accelerating the energy transition and powering the future more sustainably,” Dunn told Forbes. (For more, see “Meet The Texas Startup That Recycles Rare-Earth Magnets, Bypassing China.”)
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Courtesy Cody Finke
Cody Finke
Cofounder and CEO, Brimstone Energy, United States
Cement manufacturing accounts for 7.5% of global CO2 emissions. Cody Finke and his company, Brimstone, are looking to change that by using non-carbonate calcium silicate materials to replace the traditional limestone used in cement production, which is responsible for 60% of its CO2 emissions. The startup has raised $60 million from investors, and in March, Brimstone received a $189 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to finance its first plant, which it says will be operational later this year. Brimstone’s manufacturing decreases emissions from conventional cement production by 75% compared to traditional cement-making facilities.
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Fernando Martinhoe
Marcel Gomes
Executive Secretary, Repórter Brasil, Brazil
Marcel Gomes is the executive secretary of Repórter Brasil, a non-profit media outlet focused on human rights and environmental investigations. His work linked Brazilian beef giant JBS to illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, which caused six major supermarket chains in Europe to indefinitely halt the sale of JBS products. In 2023, Hyundai pulled out of areas in the Amazon where Gomes reported that heavy machinery the company manufactured was accelerating illegal deforestation. Also in 2023, a Repórter Brasil investigation revealed that Starbucks sourced coffee beans from farms involved in slave and child labor. “My team at Repórter Brasil has shown that the due diligence mechanisms from companies in major sectors such as beef and soybean do not work and must be reviewed,” he told Forbes.
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Courtesy Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Granholm
Secretary, Energy Department, United States
Jennifer Granholm, a two-term governor of Michigan, is the current U.S. Secretary of Energy. Her time in that role coincides with a major boost in funding for clean energy projects from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. That allowed Granholm to oversee the awarding of tens of billions of dollars in grants and loans for projects, including domestic battery and solar panel production and related materials, grid upgrades and creating a low-carbon, clean hydrogen energy industry. “Our motto is deploy, deploy, deploy,” Granholm said. “That has not historically been the case. When I came in we reorganized a whole new vertical inside the department and hired almost a thousand people to execute on deploying clean energy.” (For more, see “How Jennifer Granholm’s Energy Department Is Pumping Billions Into Clean Tech.”)
Rodi Guidero – David Heifetz
David Heifetz
Rodi Guidero
Executive Director, Breakthrough Energy, United States
Rodi Guidero is executive director of Breakthrough Energy, the climate tech investment fund spearheaded by Bill Gates. Since its founding in 2015, the organization has raised more than $4.5 billion and supported over 165 climate tech companies across sectors and continents. Guidero has helped steer Breakthrough Energy since the early days—he first joined as managing partner in 2016 and became executive director in 2022. Notable investments over the years include fusion power company Commonwealth Fusion Systems, carbon removal tech developer CarbonCure and geothermal installer Fervo Energy. In June, he hosted nearly 1,500 climate tech investors, innovators, policy-makers and world leaders at a global summit in London, showcasing technologies across every area of green tech.
Katharine Hayhoe – Ashley Rogers
Ashley Rogers
Katharine Hayhoe
Chief Scientist The Nature Conservancy, United States
Katharine Hayhoe is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, where she leads and coordinates the nonprofit’s scientific research to tackle the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. She is also a professor at Texas Tech University, and one of the country’s foremost climate scientists, having authored over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications. Her research currently focuses on using climate models to predict the future impacts of climate change at regional and local levels. The Canadian-born scientist is best known as a communicator who regularly gives talks and is quoted in leading media outlets on climate science.
Søren Hermansen – Søren Hermansen
Søren Hermansen
Søren Hermansen
CEO, Samsø Energy Academy, Denmark
Soren Hermansen is the CEO of Samsø Energy Academy, which since 1997 has decarbonized the Danish island of Samsø, which now produces all of its electricity from community-owned renewable energy projects. “It takes a community to make change. Leadership is a shared effort,” Hermansen told Forbes. Per capita, the island produces more solar power, and has more heat pumps and more electric vehicles than anywhere else in Denmark, and is one of the only carbon-negative communities in the world. The organization is now going global: In 2023, it partnered with the Japanese town of Ogata to build a biomass district heating plant.
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Henri Garat
Anne Hidalgo
Mayor, Ville de Paris, France
Since taking office in 2014, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has made the French capital more sustainable and climate resilient by building hundreds of miles of bike paths, planting over 200,000 trees and increasing parking fees for gas-guzzling SUVs, helping reduce air pollution and vehicle traffic by more than 40%. Hidalgo also rolled out a plan to make the summer Olympics more sustainable by restricting the use of single plastics, fast-tracking efforts to make the Seine clean and swimmable and slashing emissions by 50% compared to the London Olympics.
Jay Inslee – Jaime Smith
Jaime Smith
Jay Inslee
Governor, Washington State, United States
Since becoming governor of Washington in 2013, Jay Inslee has implemented numerous reforms to reduce emissions. He has rolled out policies to direct state funding to underprivileged communities to increase access to renewable energy and reduce exposure to pollution. In 2023, he introduced a “cap-and-invest” program that charges companies for greenhouse gas emissions and uses the money to build climate infrastructure. His administration enacted policies to decarbonize buildings and awarded grants to install more than 5,000 EV chargers. In 2017, Inslee cofounded the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of governors dedicated to achieving the Paris Agreement’s climate goals. “In fighting climate change, I’m fighting for my grandchildren. Their future and that of so many others hinge on what we do today,” Inslee said.
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson – Marcus Branch
Marcus Branch
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Cofounder, Urban Ocean Lab, United States
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is the cofounder of Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank aiming to advance climate action for the benefit of coastal cities, and the co-author of the Blue New Deal, a roadmap for including the ocean in U.S. climate policy. The marine biologist is the author of “What If We Get It Right?,” a collection of essays and interviews with climate leaders published in 2024, and the writer and co-editor of “All We Can Save,” a climate anthology published in 2020 that includes insights from 40+ women leading on climate solutions and has sold over 100,000 copies. In past roles she helped develop U.S. federal ocean policy at the EPA and NOAA.
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Miranda Kaiser – Amanda Kimble
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Miranda Kaiser
President, Rockefeller Family Fund, United States
Miranda Kaiser is the president of the Rockefeller Family Fund, a non-profit organization that provides grants to sponsor climate education programs, initiatives to reduce emissions and groups seeking to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the climate crisis. The fund is best known for divesting from fossil fuels in 2016 and supporting litigation to hold Exxon accountable for misleading the public about the effects of the climate crisis. “As a member of the Rockefeller family, I have felt a special obligation to speak out against the behavior of Exxon and other companies that have been purposefully sewing confusion around climate change,” she told Forbes.
Peter Kalmus
Courtesy Peter Kalmus
Peter Kalmus
Climate Scientist, NASA, United States
Peter Kalmus is a North Carolina-based NASA climate scientist, communicator and activist. As a scientist, Kalmus develops climate models to forecast how the climate crisis will impact ecosystems such as coral reefs, as well as kelp and tree forests. His latest research aims to understand how an increase in humid heat will impact human health. To make his research more accessible, his project “Undeniable – The Climate Emergency Network” produces animation, documentaries and videos to explain the root causes of the climate crisis and highlight solutions. “We must work together to transition urgently and skillfully away from fossil fuels,” he told Forbes.
Melissa C. Lott
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Melissa Lott
Professor of Professional Practice, Columbia Climate School, United States
As a professor at the Columbia Climate School, Melissa Lott’s work focuses on climate equity, technology and policy research. A 2013 30 Under 30 alumna and 2023 recipient of the AGU Pavel S. Molchanov Climate Communications Prize, she has authored more than 350 scientific articles, columns, op-eds, journal publications and reports, and her work has been cited by policy proposals more than 800 times. In her advisory work, she moves across aisles and borders, working with government leaders from five continents and executives for large companies. She has testified before the U.S. Congress twice in the last year and directly advised the UN Secretary General and several senators in the past 18 months.
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Helena Kandjumbw
Charlot Magayi
Founder and CEO, Mukuru Clean Stoves, Kenya
Over the past seven years, Charlot Magayi’s startup Mukuru Clean Stoves has sold over 425,000 clean cookstoves in Kenya, helping more than 2 million people by saving households $50 million in energy expenses. The stoves have avoided nearly 1 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions, and the company has nearly quadrupled its year-over-year revenue over the past several years. Mukuru repurposes locally sourced waste metal to craft its cookstoves and has developed mosquito-repellant fuel to power it, helping to combat outbreaks of malaria in areas where its cookstoves are being used.
Gina McCarthy – Rose Lincoln
Rose Lincoln
Gina McCarthy
Managing Co-Chair, America Is All In, United States
Gina McCarthy is the managing co-chair of America is All In, which seeks to spur climate action across all 50 states. As the first White House national climate advisor, McCarthy worked to help pass the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which has so far spurred more than $361 billion in clean energy investments. At America is All In, McCarthy is helping organizations tap into tax credits and financing incentives in the IRA to accelerate the transition to a green economy. McCarthy was previously President and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council and helped strengthen clean air standards when she was the administrator of the EPA under President Obama.
Elisabeth Brier
