4 Types of Small Business You Could Start in Florida

The year round sun, beautiful beaches, and an exciting nightlife have long made Florida one of the best places to start a small business, and this was before the millions of new migrants started to arrive from states such as New York and California over the past two years. 

Now, with Miami already being touted as the next Silicon Valley, and the state leading the country when it comes to the ease of doing business, cost of living, and other key metrics, Florida is no longer just for retirees, and is actively scouting for doers, risk-takers, and creators. 

While there is no shortage of small business opportunities to capitalize on, here are 4 types of businesses you can get started with right away, and see the best results in Florida.

Vacation rental arbitrage

The one thing that Florida is never short of, apart from sand, beaches, and humidity, is tourists. Receiving over 118 million visitors each year, hotels in the state are often booked to capacity throughout the year, and command a substantial premium for their services.

With this, setting up an Airbnb is one of the most lucrative options for a small business in the sunshine state. You also don’t need to have your own property to rent out on Airbnb; in fact, a vast majority of the hosts on the platform don’t own their properties, but lease it for a fixed monthly price.

Referred to as Airbnb rental arbitrage, with the right approach, strategy, and execution, this is an opportunity that can yield high results, with relatively low investment and risks.

Food trucks 

While any kind of food business involves heated competition, the thing about the food scene in Florida is that almost all of the 10s of thousands of restaurants and food trucks take their share of the pie in this $50 billion industry.

Setting up a food truck often doesn’t require much investment, but be aware of local laws pertaining to operating a mobile eatery, along with rules and regulations regarding locations, parking, and more. 

Senior care

For decades, Florida has been known for being a paradise for retirees, which explains why the state is filled with retirement communities. As a result, senior care is another lucrative opportunity to consider in Florida, and with millions of boomers set to retire in the coming few years alone, there are substantial broader tailwinds for this sector no matter where you decide to start it.

Senior care is again a low cost business, and there are plenty of franchises and partnership opportunities available for budding entrepreneurs to give a try. With seniors today being one of the wealthiest in history, there is no shortage of the type of services you can sell to them.

Cleaning services

With over 500,000 hotel and motel rooms in the state, and millions more renting out their homes to travelers, there is substantial demand for cleaning services in Florida. Given the high margins, and relatively low overheads in this business, it remains one of the best opportunities in this list.

Here again, there are quite a few franchises offering their brand, training and know-how for up-and-coming entrepreneurs, with initial outlays not more than $20,000 in most cases. There is also the added advantage that this business can be effectively run from home.

Final words

Florida is brimming with potential. Imagine starting a business in California right at the beginning of the tech gold rush, or Detroit during the Great Depression, this is exactly what it is. Given the state’s remarkably low red-tape and regulations, all you have to do in most cases is apply for an LLC in Florida, and you are pretty much good to go.