Do you have what it takes to come up with the latest intergalactic fashion? With a shortage for upcoming moon missions, NASA recently invited private businesses to tender for spacesuits. There’s a new business model for you right there – and we have plenty more ideas for the taking!

Here’s the thing, being a successful entrepreneur doesn’t mean you need to reinvent the wheel, sometimes all you need to do is stay grounded and listen to where the gaps in the market are or observe the direction of new and emerging industries.

While space tourism might be beyond reach for most entrepreneurs at the moment, if we were to start another successful business in 2022 or beyond, the following are the themes we would definitely consider.

E-commerce, Version 2.0

E-commerce is continuing to grow in astronomical proportions. It’s predicted by Emarketer that online shopping will make up 24.5% of all global retail purchases by 2025. Right now, e-commerce is still focused on Amazon, Ebay, and Shopify models. 

The next big thing for e-commerce, obviously, is to marry it up with mobile and social media. Yep, that’s right, buy things on your phone directly from a post on your favourite social media app. 

Driving the success of basically every business, including e-commerce, will be even bigger big data, which is expected to double by 2027. Emerging software companies that tap into big data will be on top.

Nostalgia

Any business that revolves around the nostalgia of the millennial youth has a fine chance of success as the millennials are about to become the majority working generation. 

We’ve already seen it happen with the reemergence 1990s video game Pokémon, Marvel comics, and the fan culture of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Hell, even cargo pants, leather chokers and thick headbands are back in fashion. 

If you have a product that looks like it should have been born in the 1980s or 1990s, or was, there’s a fine chance it’ll have commercial chance. 

Cannabis

Cannabis is getting some much needed love. Germany’s recent plans to legalise weed has just potentially created the biggest cannabis market in Europe. 

While the CBD oil market has become saturated, everything else cannabis-related is fair game. From branded bud to cool consumption lounges, there’s plenty of opportunity to, errm, light up about. 

With climate change now on the agenda of every fashion retailer, we also would be surprised if hemp clothing gained some new-found respect and become a major player in the textile world.

Local and Green

Continuing the trend that has already been firmly established during the COVID-19 lockdowns, local businesses that offer a direct to consumer delivery model are going to do very well in the next ten years – everything from farm box schemes to local subscription services.

Sustainable solutions are also sticking around. From sustainable transport such as Electric Vehicles (EVs), to renewable industries such as wind energy, biofuel production and solar power, to plastic alternatives and vertical farming, there’s lots of potential – and some of the best solutions aren’t always the ones that require USD $2.5 billion of investment – remember one person’s trash is another person’s treasure! 

Smart Office

Business travel hasn’t bounced back and the majority of companies are still embracing the new and productive WFH culture. What we’ve seen is the need for remote-physical symbiosis. 

So, any technologies that allow physical devices to be connected and aware of each other and learn user preferences is going to be a big deal in the decade to come – from smart lighting and vents to AV conferencing systems and intelligent UV disinfection. This of course will also be driven by the major emerging technologies.

Tailor-made

Mass personalisation, who would have thought it? (Flashback to Stephen Spielberg’s advertising scene in the 2002 film Minority Report). 

Absolutely everything nowadays can potentially be tailor-made and both businesses and consumers have begun to expect it. 

Tailor-made entertainment, healthcare, travel, shopping, beauty and skincare are just some of the industries already well on their way.

Personalisation is awesome for embracing diversity and celebrating our differences, but can we prevent the polarisation of society? That’s a question that’s been floating around for decades – and perhaps the company that answers it will be onto a winner!

And, obviously, duh…

It would be wrong not to mention technology when recommending future-proofed businesses. 

Blockchain, 3D printing, nanotechnology, DNA biometrics, 5G networks, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), the metaverse and the Internet of Things (IoT) are all going to play a huge role and create business off-shoots that’s only limited by the imagination as more businesses adopt them. Now’s the time to get to know the technology.

Repair, maintenance, diagnostics of these major technologies will all be in high demand. 

As Elon Musk would say, “It is a fixer upper of a planet but we could make it work.”

Have we just given you your next big business idea? You’re welcome!