27 Profitable Business Ideas To Start In Manchester UK (2023)
Interested in starting a business in Manchester UK?
The city is the second largest in England and has a population of over 2 million people. It is also one of the most visited cities in the UK, with over 8 million visitors each year.
Manchester is a great place to start a business, especially if you're looking to make a name for yourself in the UK. There are tons of resources available, from grants and loans to networking events and mentorship programs.
There are many reasons to start a business in Manchester, including:
- A strong economy with a lower unemployment rate
- An affordable cost of living compared to London (the capital) and other major cities
Here is a list of the best business ideas you can start in Manchester.
1. Become a real estate agent
Real estate agents are professionals who assist clients in marketing and selling their properties. They also assist the buyers in purchasing properties. Their services include meeting clients, advising them about market conditions, and providing guidance through the process of buying or selling properties.
A real estate career can be financially rewarding. However, the work requires good management skills, organization skills, customer service, handling complex paperwork and socially promoting yourself.
The pros of becoming a real estate agent include earning extra commission from clients and also setting your own working hours.
My name is Grigory Pekarsky and I own a residential real estate company called Vesta Preferred.
We consistently grow at a 20% pace and this year we are on pace to write 1000 new leases and sell over $120m in real estate.
2. Start a recruiting agency
The global online recruitment market size was $29B in 2019 and is projected to reach $43B by 2027.
The best way to assess the success of a Recruiting Agency is to review what their clients say about them and the results achieved for those clients.
As a recruiter, you dream of landing your first client, but once you do, you realize it’s only the start of what you hope will be a successful business. Have you ever wondered how to start a recruiting agency business? There’s so much you can learn from books, but nothing beats getting real-world experience.
My name is Sharon Koifman, and I am the president of DistantJob. DistantJob is a unique recruitment agency that specializes in finding remote employees. That means we go all over the world to find outstanding talent who works remotely for our clients.
Our unique approach and model, combined with a commitment to great customer support, has done well for us: we have 3 million dollars in revenue.
3. Start a digital marketing business
Digital marketing businesses serve local and international companies to expand their reach and grow revenue. A top reason digital marketing is so exciting is that the field is constantly evolving and is easy to learn.
If you plan to start a digital marketing business, educate yourself and understand how digital marketing agencies work. Then, focus on building your digital skills and advancing your career through online digital marketing courses.
To stand out, find a digital marketing niche and focus on the audience interested in your services.
Hello, My name is Hasan, the founder of H-educate, H-supertools, and some other websites and services. I began working on H-supertools 2 years ago and launched it four months afterward.
Today, we have more than 80K Registered Users on the platform and more than 300K Visits each month, which, in a sense, is a high achievement for a new platform that took less than two years to build.
4. Start a catering business
A catering business is responsible for providing food & beverage-related services for vast types of events.
Catering businesses are known to be more flexible than other businesses because they don't have to worry about location or pricing and can even work 24/7. They can cater anywhere and offer any price point that they want.
However, starting a catering business requires a lot of planning. To start a successful catering business , you'll need to plan and prepare menus, manage budgets, handle clients, and more. In addition, catering allows you to meet more people and show off your cooking skills.
Hi, my name is Nestor Nidome and I am the founder and owner of Elegante Catering. Serving the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside county) and now have expanded to serve all of Southern California. Our customers, mostly higher middle class, have enjoyed our delicious menu ranging from full service plated meals, made to order pasta bars to buffet-style menus such as Mexican fajitas bar and tacos.
Weddings because there is no higher compliment than to have the bride and groom come up to us complimenting us and letting us know how all their guests are raving about the food. As for corporate caterings we like to make it as simple as possible for them. We have 12 different menus they can choose from so that every month their employees enjoy a different menu. Plus once we have their information all they have to do is text us the Date, Menu, and Time they want. We understand that they have better, more important things to do than order food. This has allowed us to grow our monthly sales to $20,000.
5. Start a travel agency
Are you a passionate traveler with entrepreneurial skills? Then starting a travel agency can be a great career choice for you.
As a travel agency, you'll be responsible for linking travelers to providers of all the travel and tourism-related services such as accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, tour guides, local adventure, etc.
Starting an online travel agency is a lot easier than you might think. You'll need to perform market research, get a few necessary certifications (such as your IATA number), study competition, build a website, and do proper marketing.
To maximize earnings, negotiate discounts from the industry service providers, and charge travelers within the market rate.
Hey! My name is Marissa Daniels, and I am a millennial travel agent! I began Spread Your Wings Travel in February of 2019. Prior to 2019, I wanted an extra source of income just to have an extra cushion. I did mystery shopping, took surveys online, drove for Postmates and DoorDash, worked at a grocery store, anything I could find for extra money. I also did, and still do Brand Ambassador events as well- but those things didn’t fulfill me. I was doing them to get extra money, but it didn’t have a purpose and it wasn’t paying me as much as I wanted, so I stopped it all and just gave it to God. I let Him handle it.
Spread Your Wings Travel offers all-inclusive vacations (most under $1000 per person), cruises, luxury villas, cabins, domestic travel and more! The main thing that people like about my business is that I have a payment plan option. I like to have that option for them because not everyone is able to pay for a vacation upfront.
6. Start an event management agency
The event management agency oversees all logistics leading up to and during an event, whether a conference, a wedding, or an organized gathering. The event management agency executes the event plans by managing staff, finances, and vendor relationships.
The demand for event management services will grow by 18 percent in a few years. If you love organizing parties and corporate events, an event management agency could be your best business. The event management business has huge earning potential, provides you with networking opportunities, and builds your creative skills.
To start your own event management business, gain event planning skills and experience, and determine your event planning market or the target audience. To increase business success potential, develop an expansive network and staffing resources.
I’m Natasha Miller- raised in Des Moines, Iowa but high-tailed it out of there as soon as I could at the age of 23. I thought I’d be a performer only - a classical violinist and jazz vocalist, but as it turns out those careers might have been the catalyst for where I am today.
- Inc. 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies in America
- Entrepreneur Magazine 360 List “Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America”
- San Francisco Business Times Fast 100 “Fastest Growing Companies in the San Francisco Bay Area”
- Special Event Top 50 Event Planners in the World
7. Start a coffee cafe business
In May 2020, During the pandemic, we opened Momentum Coffee and Coworking. You will know Momentum Coffee by our logo which includes the Power Symbol. It’s all about powering up, empowering others, and powering the community!
Our revenue is about $17-20k a month and increasing as we come out of COVID restrictions. In our first year, we served over 4k customers in total at that time.
8. Start a financial consulting business
Financial consulting is a business that helps individuals and businesses manage their financial affairs. Managing financial affairs include creating financial plans, analyzing financial data, and advising investment and financial decision-making.
To start a financial consulting business, you will need a strong understanding of financial principles and practices and excellent communication and problem-solving skills. You may also need to obtain necessary licenses or certifications, such as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.
To start the business, you must create a business plan, establish a business structure (such as a sole proprietorship or LLC), and identify your target market. You may also need to secure financing and create a marketing plan to attract clients. It is also important to network with other professionals in the financial industry and stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in the field.
My name is Evan Bleker, I’m an investor and entrepreneur. I started a company called Net Net Hunter, a membership community focused on a niche value investment strategy. The core of the strategy is buying cheap stocks, incredibly cheap stocks.
We now offer a list of roughly 1000 international net-nets and filter through them by hand to identify the top 40 or 50 to focus our research efforts on. Along the way, I’ve collected a lot of bits and pieces written about net investing and packaged them into a learning resource. We added a community forum to share ideas and help members connect. This has been very popular. Investment analysis came later.
9. Start a fitness coaching business
Starting a fitness coaching business is one of the best ways to follow your passion and make money doing it. If you love people and have an interest in helping them achieve their health goals, starting a fitness coaching business may be right for you. It can be as simple as providing one-on-one training, or you can offer group sessions.
You'll need to get certified before you begin your coaching career. There are many certifications available in the industry, so be sure to do your research and find one that best fits your goals and experience level.
Once you're certified, start networking with other fitness coaches in your area. You'll want to build relationships with them so they can refer clients to you when they have openings in their schedules. Finally, create a website that showcases your services and what you have to offer.
Hello! My name is Jacob Montoya and I am the founder of FitSW and its sister site FindTrainGain. With FitSW, we provide software to personal trainers to help them grow their businesses and enable them to use our technology to effectively manage their clients’ fitness. With FindTrainGain, we enable people searching for fitness help from all over the world to join a wide variety of Live Online Fitness Classes led by fun, energetic Fitness Instructors.
We enable people to stay fit and stay connected with fun fitness classes in this time of social distancing. At the same time, we also provided a way for fitness professionals to continue to work. We have instructors leading classes on everything from Yoga to Cardio Boxing to our most popular Dance Cardio class. Classes are accessible to anyone and many are priced as low as $5 a class.
10. Start a home care business
My name is Gareth Mahon. I’m the co-founder and CEO of The CareSide, a home care and nursing service provider for elderly individuals in Australia. We are based in Perth, Australia.
We launched our company in 2017. Over the past 3 years, we have scaled to $5 million in revenue.
11. Start an in-home senior care business
With the busy lifestyle, family members are often absent and employ in-home caregivers to look after the elderly parents.
Caregivers assist the elderly with personal care routines, including bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting, and exercising. Caregivers also oversee medication & prescription usage and administer medicine.
Researchers anticipate a shortage of more than 100,000 caregivers for the elderly in the next decade. Therefore, starting an in-home senior care business is a great opportunity if you enjoy caring for the elderly and spending time with them. You can choose to work as an overnight caregiver or whichever work schedule suits you.
My name is Gareth Mahon. I’m the co-founder and CEO of The CareSide, a home care and nursing service provider for elderly individuals in Australia. We are based in Perth, Australia.
We launched our company in 2017. Over the past 3 years, we have scaled to $5 million in revenue.
12. Become an IT consultant
Are you an IT graduate still looking for that dream job? Then becoming an IT consultant might be the right choice for you.
An IT consultant is an external analyst in charge of evaluating a company’s IT systems and helping them meets its business objectives. IT consultants analyze and diagnose a company’s IT infrastructure, understand the client’s needs, and design solutions to help companies’ IT problems.
My everyone. My name is Dan Khadem. I’m from Denver, Colorado and have a wife and 2 kids. I might have the most interesting or unique story because I have two very opposite things going on in my life. For my first business, I started a database consulting service for small and medium-sized organizations. This is using my technical skills and is very much using the Type A side of my personality. On the other end of the spectrum I do commercial acting and modeling. This is essentially for advertising in the form of print ads and commercials.
The rest of my side income comes from the database consulting service. Unfortunately, time is my limiting factor otherwise I’d grown the consulting business to larger than what it currently is.
13. Start a waste management business
Waste management is a booming industry with a lot of potential for growth. Waste management companies are in charge of collecting and transporting waste from households, business areas, and other sources. They also collect recyclable materials and sell them to recycling centers.
The market for waste management is huge, but it may be difficult to enter due to the high capital requirements. However, if you have the resources and expertise, there's a lot of opportunity to make it big in this industry.
Hi! My name is Dustin Maze. I am the owner of SOCO Waste, a locally owned and operated residential waste removal business based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Originally the loan provided a trailer and 5 dumpsters. We now have 51 dumpsters, two roll off dumpster delivery trucks and two residential garbage trucks. We are projecting $700-800k in sales for 2020.
14. Start a legal consulting business
Starting a legal consulting business, whether for small or large businesses, startups and entrepreneurs, or even individuals, is a rewarding career. It involves significant writing work to establish the business and deal with clients. Make sure to build an online presence, as it will help you get clients by leveraging your reputation by writing high-quality content.
Legal consultants market their legal expertise to corporations, institutions, governments, and individuals. According to experts, the legal industry is witnessing a growth phase that may not slow anytime soon. If you are a registered advocate, you can start your legal services firm.
My name is Mark Sias, and my wife Grace and I started a business called Noble Notary & Legal Document Preparers. This business is a Florida dba held by G & M Sias companies, LLC.
We generate approximately 15,000/month in profits, conservativly, and in many cases much more, as our overhead, inventory, and advertising expenditures are extremely low.
15. Start a herbal and natural products business
I’m Logan Christopher, co-founder, and CEO of Lost Empire Herbs. We’re an ecommerce business in the herbal supplement space. We specialize in high-quality herbs from across the world that help people in different aspects of health and performance, most notably hormone support.
And it seems to be working! We’ve gone from starting the business on a table top to being in the mid-seven figures in revenue.
16. Start an interior decorating business
Interior design is one of the most exciting and rewarding fields to enter. Interior designers help clients create functional, beautiful spaces that reflect their personalities.
The demand for Interior decor is booming and showing no signs of slowing soon. If you love enhancing the look of interior spaces, starting an interior décor business can be a great business idea.
To start an interior décor business, you must possess a working knowledge of space planning, textiles, color schemes, and more. You will work with architects, engineers, and builders to plan the look and function of indoor spaces.
17. Start a stock photography business
Stock photography is typically sold on an exclusive basis to one buyer for a single usage fee. Stock photos are often available in different sizes, resolutions, and file formats. Businesses most commonly use stock photos for marketing purposes.
Stock photography is the supply of photographs often licensed for specific uses. Stock photos are the perfect marketing and advertising resource for website owners and bloggers.
You can build an impressive portfolio and earn a passive income by uploading high-quality stock photos.
To start a stock photography business , invest in some good photography gear and learn how to take stock photos. An excellent online presence can help you sell your stock photos faster and at profitable margins.
Hi! My name is Tsour Lee Adato and I am the founder of Pro Photo Studio. I started my product photography business over 5 years ago while living in New York. Pro Photo Studio specializes in high-end commercial photography and also caters to the average eCommerce online seller who sells on platforms like Amazon and Etsy.
The company began realizing a profit very quickly, in the first quarter after opening and year over year profits have increased while the cost of customer acquisition has decreased. Currently, the company makes approximately $350k per year and is on its way to becoming a 7 figure business.
18. Start a mobile app development business
Mobile app development is the process of creating software applications that run on mobile devices. These apps can be used for a variety of purposes, including games, productivity, and social networking.
Starting a mobile app development business is a great way to enter the world of software development. This type of company is growing in popularity as businesses are looking for ways to reach their customers through mobile apps.
To start a mobile app development company, you need to have strong technical skills and be able to develop high-quality software. You should also have a good understanding of how to market and sell mobile apps
Hi! 👋 My name is Tim Bornholdt, and I’m a co-founder of The Jed Mahonis Group. We are a custom iOS and Android app development consultancy, and we specialize in building native mobile app solutions for businesses of all sizes.
We’ve grown at a steady pace over the past eight years. We currently work with several large and small organizations including Great Clips, Profile by Sanford Health, Green Mill, and the USA CUP. My business partner and I started the company right out of college by investing $250 each and have since turned it into a nearly seven-figure a year agency.
19. Start a food delivery business
In today’s busy lifestyles and schedules, cooking is no longer a priority to many. People like to order-in food from their nearest restaurants or food joints and enjoy a meal in the comfort of their homes.
The food delivery business is like a courier service through which restaurants deliver food to their customers.
You can offer retail food delivery services to restaurants within your locality if you have a truck. Customers order through a restaurant or grocer’s website, and the owners contact you to deliver.
I started my career at the world-famous Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles Apprenticing under Certified Master Chef Raimund Hofmeister.
Food Fleet’s growth Year after year has been at an at over 30 %. From 2017-2018 we had an unprecedented 160% growth spurt. With a team of 6, including my partner and I, we managed over 20 million in sales for our clients. As an example. We took over a convention center 3 years ago managing their food truck business. For their largest event of the year, we were up 53% over the previous year. I honestly would have to equate some of that success to the under-reporting of sales by the previous operator. But the following year we were up 19% from that figure and again close to that this year. That is due in large part to our understanding of transaction times, menu mix, the equipment in each truck or pop up and other factors.
20. Start a nutritional advisory business
Nutrition is a critical part of health and development. Better nutrition results in improved health, robust immune systems, and a lower risk of infectious diseases.
With the risk of new and risky diseases such as coronavirus upon us, we need to improve our nutrition habits to ensure stronger immunity systems.
Therefore, starting a nutritionist advisory business is such a noble business idea. Nutritional advisors use food science to help clients make better choices with their food intake.
To become a nutritionist, you need a bachelor's degree in nutrition and complete a supervised dietetic internship.
Mike saw people didn’t have a problem with fitness, but a problem with nutrition. He started Stronger U, a nutrition coaching company, and makes $600k/mo.
21. Start a dry cleaners business
Dry cleaning is a business that takes clothing, linens, and other fabrics and cleans them with no water. The dry cleaning process uses chemicals to clean the fabric and make it look new again. This process can remove stains, soil, and odors from your clothes.
People will always need their clothes washed so that this business model can succeed. Starting a dry cleaning business is a great way to enter the industry.
To maximize profitability, offer multiple services beyond the typical dry cleaning like wash and fold service.
Hello! My name is Nishant Tripathi, and I founded Dhobilite, a premium online dry cleaning, and laundry service. I started this company in 2011 with a vision to pioneer laundry service in India.
We started operations in the year 2011. Over the years, we experimented with and developed our business model and software. In 2015, we disrupted the laundry market and became India's first app-based, on-demand laundry service provider. We have expanded into more than 15 cities in the last two years and have around 20+ stores today. In addition, we have 30 plus franchises. We also have factories in Gurgaon, Noida, Lucknow, Hyderabad, and Faridabad.
22. Start an auto detailing business
Starting an auto detailing business is a great way to start your own business and get in on the action. Auto detailing is one of the fastest-growing industries in America, and it’s only going to get bigger as people want their cars to look like they just came off the showroom floor. Plus, you’ll be satisfied knowing that you’re helping people take care of their most prized possession: their car!
Auto detailing business is a low barrier to entry entrepreneurship opportunity and can be mobile or operate from a physical location. To start an auto detailing business, find a strategic location and invest in modern equipment and technology.
My name is Matt Paskow. I started a mobile auto detailing business called Fresh Look Mobile Auto Detailing which services North County, San Diego.
23. Start a game development business
Hi! I’m Jamey Stegmaier, and I run Stonemaier Games, a tabletop game company based in St. Louis. We publish strategy games like Wingspan, Scythe, and Viticulture.
Stonemaier Games started with a Kickstarter campaign in 2012 that raised $65,980, and in 2020 our annual revenue eclipsed $18 million. Our latest game, Red Rising, is shown here (photo credit: Tim Chuon).
24. Start a music studio business
25. Start a bookkeeping consulting business
Josh Pigford is the founder of Baremetrics, a subscription analysis platform he bootstrapped and launched in 2013.
The subscription analysis platform has evolved swiftly from a little side project to something utilized by thousands of organizations and now generates over $1 million in revenue each year.
Josh had an intriguing business path that led to the creation of Baremetrics. Before Baremetrics, he created two other saas products in the survey spaces, and now he wanted to develop a tool to help businesses solve a particular problem.
The data analytics firm works with Stripe to measure recurring income, churn, and average revenue per user.
After one year of operating, in December 2014, the company had close to $27,000 in recurring monthly revenue and 280-300 users with 6 full-time employees. Within five months, Baremetrics went from making $0 to $5,000 per month.
Josh started this business as a little passion project, and it took him around seven to eight days of coding to build the first version of the software. Now, it has grown into a successfully running SaaS business with 18 people working with the company.
This founder has worked on 62 projects, including popular projects like maybe, laser tweets, vibe wars, etc.
In November 2020, Josh sold Baremetrics to Xenon for $4 million, and there was no provision for earn-out. He walked away with $3.7 million in cash.
26. Start a baby nursery business
If you're looking to start your own business, starting a baby nursery might be the perfect fit.
Baby nurseries are places where mothers can take their children to have them cared for while they work or go shopping. They can be profitable businesses because they include many different services that offer a wide range of potential clients.
Starting a baby nursery business is a great way to make the most out of your parenting experience. You can spend more time with your kids, grow your own business, and make extra money to help you afford all the other things that come with having children.
27. Start a home brewing supply shop
The home brewing supply shop is a business that sells all the supplies you need to make your own beer.
You will be in charge of buying, stocking, and selling all supplies needed for making beer. You may also be in charge of training customers on how to use the equipment and ingredients needed for home brewing.
The market is ripe for the picking. This is a new industry with tons of growth potential, and the market is wide open for you to make a name for yourself in the space.
You'll need to do some research before you jump in, of course. But once you've done that, we recommend starting small with one type of product—like beer or wine kits—and building from there. If you do it right, you'll be able to turn your home brewing supply business into an empire that will bring in millions annually!
My name is Diego Benitez and I run Progress Brewing (http://progress-brewing.com) Progress brews and sells craft beer in a wide variety of styles exclusively at its tasting room in the city of South El Monte, approximately 12 miles East of Downtown Los Angeles.
Hey! 👋 I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.
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