28 Veterans Business Ideas You Can Start Today [2024]
Interested in starting a veterans business in 2024?
We put together 27 of the best veterans businesses you can start in today.
For each business idea, we’ll show you real-world examples of other veterans businesses to help you see what it really takes.
Here's the full list:
1. Start a healthy meal delivery service
Meal prep delivery services offer healthy and nutritional meals to customers via e-commerce sites.
These services provide either DIY meal kits or Ready-to-eat meals, saving time and eliminating food waste.
They are particularly beneficial for busy people and health-conscious millennials who prefer nutritional food at home.
There are two types of meal services: online meal kits and fast food delivery services.
A meal prep delivery business can be profitable, especially when compared to restaurants, as they save costs on a storefront.
To make a good profit, one should invest less in groceries and ensure they have many customers.
How much you can make: $5,000 — $25,000,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 7 days (?)
Healthy Chew is a profitable weekly meal preparation service that grew from 200 to 10,000 weekly bowls in just over 3 years, with an overall sales figure of $1.8 million, achieved through effective branding and personalised customer service.
2. Start a remodelling business
A home remodeling business focuses on renovating or making additions to one's home. Architects oversee the home remodeling process and are responsible for coordinating with other home remodeling professionals to ensure their client's needs are met.
If you are an architect looking for a side income or even a primary income opportunity, consider starting a home & office renovation business.
How much you can make: $350,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $3,500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)
Carolina Exteriors is a residential home improvement service that generates $4,000,000 in revenue annually, with 12 full-time employees and over 50 trade partners, developed in response to the previous housing crisis and their founders' belief that contractors needed to be more customer-focused.
3. Start a fruit snacks business
Love snacking? As consumers become more health-conscious, they are turning to fruit snacks. Therefore, starting a fruit snacks business today can be a great idea.
How much you can make: $15,000 — $3,000,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $35 (?)
Peaceful Fruits, an award-winning for-profit social enterprise, sells organic, clean label, natural fruit snacks and has gone from $8,000 in sales in 2015 to $150,000 in 2017, employing 30 people with disabilities in their production facility and is an excellent example of a successful, mission-based business.
4. Become a mobile personal trainer
Do you love helping people through their fitness journey? If you want a great side hustle to earn extra income, consider becoming a personal trainer.
The fitness trainer side hustle can be an adamant industry to earn good money. However, once you develop a reputation as a good trainer, you can get more clients through referrals. You need to register for the certification course to start offering personal trainer services .
To attract your first clients, consider online advertising, and seek referrals from every customer.
How much you can make: $600 — $8,333,333/month
How long does it take to build: 532 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 4 hours/week
Live Fit, a personal training company founded in 2011, grew from earning $80,000 in their first year with two trainers to earning over $760,000 in 2019 with 12 trainers and two locations, thanks to a focus on building trusting relationships and providing a variety of services to clients.
5. Start a shipping company
A shipping company can be a great business to start. You can get the support and training that you need to run a successful small business. You may already have some of the resources at hand. This could include what you need to transport goods and a vehicle or two that you can use to get these materials from point X to point Y.
Shipping is a crowded industry. Starting your own shipping company isn't as hard as it used to be. With the explosion in eCommerce, there's an increasing demand for small package shipping. Becoming a shipping company entrepreneur has its rewards. Shipping is an area where there's a lot of potentials to earn bounties, it serves as a good source of income.
How much you can make: $20,000 — $2,400,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
Nationwide Auto Transportation ships approximately 4,000 vehicles per month and has served more than 50,000 customers, offering custom services such as help for clients who cannot find suitable carriers for their vehicle.
6. Start a healthcare advocacy business
7. Start a bar
The “bar” business idea involves opening and operating a bar or nightclub that serves alcohol and provides entertainment for customers. To run this business, you must secure a location, obtain necessary licenses and permits, and stock your bar with various drinks and supplies. You may also need to hire staff to help with serving drinks, managing the music and lighting, and maintaining the establishment’s cleanliness.
One of the benefits of running a bar is that it can be a very lucrative business, as people are often willing to pay a premium for a night out with friends or to enjoy live music or other forms of entertainment. Additionally, a well-run bar can attract a loyal customer base and build a reputation as a popular destination in the community.
To succeed in this business, it is important to have a strong understanding of the local market, and what types of drinks and entertainment will be most appealing to your target audience. You should also be prepared to put in long hours and work on evenings and weekends, as this is when most bars are busiest.
Overall, the “bar” business idea offers the opportunity to create a fun and profitable business that can become a central hub for socializing and entertainment in the community.
8. 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.
How much you can make: $3,000 — $20,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $3,750 (?)
How long does it take to build: 45 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 8 hours/week
Learn how former tech salesman, Matt Paskow, left the industry to start Fresh Look Mobile Auto Detailing, a profitable mobile auto detailing business generating around $5k per month that focuses solely on SEO, Google AdWords, and Google My Business for marketing.
9. Start a veteran's needs serving business
10. Start a franchise ownership business
How much you can make: $100,000/month
Franchise Direct, a leading global franchise portal with 15 multilingual sites, boasts 1,000 clients, 675k monthly visitors, and nearly 2M page views per month, all achieved despite Covid-19.
11. Start a fishing guide business
12. Start a special event security
The event security business takes care of event venues’ safety and security. The event security team works towards enhancing the guest experience and takes care of security strategies, risk assessment, threat and vulnerability protection, and more services to enhance the guest’s experience.
To start an events security business, hire staff who understand crowd-handling strategies and how to respond to emergencies. A good security company commits to safeguarding event attendees’ cash and valuable items.
13. Become a general contractor
How much you can make: $16,000 — $100,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $3,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)
Hometown Painting LLC, an exterior residential painting company founded by a husband-wife duo, went from no sales in their first year to over $100,000 net profit the next year, and is projected to reach half a million in annual sales with a 30-35% net margin with continued growth and adding more crew in the next year.
14. Start an extreme adventure trips business
15. Start a gym
Over the last decade, more people across the globe have become self-aware of the importance associated with living a healthy lifestyle.
As a result, the gym has become a trend for millions of people, leading to a rapid increase in the size and popularity of the global fitness industry. According to statistics, the global fitness club industry is worth over $96 billion.
Therefore, starting a gym could be a great business opportunity.
How much you can make: $20,000 — $1,200,000/month
How long does it take to build: 227 days (?)
Live Fit, a personal training company founded in 2011, grew from earning $80,000 in their first year with two trainers to earning over $760,000 in 2019 with 12 trainers and two locations, thanks to a focus on building trusting relationships and providing a variety of services to clients.
16. Start a garage business
17. Start a Building affiliate sites business
How much you can make: $11,000 — $349,983/month
Empire Flippers is a thought leader in brokering online business deals, having brokered over $50 million worth of deals and grown their pool of potential buyers by hundreds every month through a focus on content marketing and middle-of-funnel content.
18. Start a security guard business
A security guard business provides security solutions including assessments, measures, and personnel to ensure the safety and security of its clients’ properties and events.
Starting a security business requires certain prerequisites such as obtaining the necessary licenses, insurance, and providing adequate training to employees.
Success in the security guard business depends on building a reputation for reliability, professionalism, and excellent customer service.
It’s important to have a clear understanding of the client’s needs and to develop a customized security plan to meet those needs.
A strong marketing strategy and networking with potential clients can also help grow the business.
How much you can make: $2,000,000/month
Cyber security SaaS platform Coro offers cloud security services to mid-market enterprises, securing a total of $81.5 million in funding and a $500 million valuation, with 4,500 clients on the platform and reaching a $1 million run rate in 2019.
19. Start a coffee shop
Starting a coffee shop is an exciting and rewarding venture. It's a business that can be started with relatively little capital, and there are many ways to make it profitable. Coffee shops feature a low-cost stock but are profitable businesses.
If you plan to open a coffee shop, you may purchase a franchise, buy an existing business, or start from scratch. Whichever the decision, ensure a strategic location and renovate the space to create an inviting atmosphere. Develop a fantastic offering and begin marketing the business even before you open.
How much you can make: $15,000 — $52,500/month
How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
This case study follows the co-founder of Camper Cafe, a mobile coffee van business which started as a hobby and now has 6 units that supply the UK's biggest sporting events, commercial and film shoots, generating around £150k from working only 70 days of the year.
20. Start a butcher shop
Starting a butcher business involves sourcing and procuring high-quality meats from local farms or suppliers, preparing and processing them for sale, and selling them to customers in a retail storefront or through wholesale channels. To start and run a successful butcher business, you will need a deep understanding of the different cuts of meat and how to prepare them for sale, as well as excellent customer service skills and a strong business sense.
You will need to secure a location for your business, whether a physical storefront or a processing facility. You will also need to invest in equipment such as refrigerators, freezers, meat processing equipment, and tools like knives and cutting boards. You will need to obtain the necessary licenses and permits to operate your business. You may also need to seek insurance coverage to protect your business against potential liability.
Marketing your business is also crucial to success, whether through online channels, social media, or traditional marketing methods. Building relationships with local farms and suppliers can also be beneficial, as well as developing partnerships with restaurants and other food-based businesses.
Running a butcher business requires dedication, hard work, and a passion for quality meats. With the right planning and execution, however, it can be a rewarding and successful venture.
21. Start a firearms training business
Starting a firearms training business is an excellent opportunity for those passionate about gun safety who want to help others learn how to handle firearms properly. The demand for firearms training has increased significantly recently as more people purchase guns for personal protection and sport shooting.
To start a firearms training business, you’ll need to understand firearms and their proper handling techniques thoroughly. Understanding firearms includes knowledge of gun laws and regulations and teaching others how to handle firearms safely. You’ll also need to have strong attention to detail and be able to communicate instructions to your students.
In addition to your knowledge and expertise, you’ll need to invest in crucial equipment to start your business. Necessary equipment includes firearms, ammunition, targets, and protective gear for you and your students. You’ll also need to secure a location to hold your training sessions, which could be an indoor or outdoor range or a classroom setting.
Marketing your firearms training business will be vital in attracting new students and building a successful business. You can use social media, local advertising, and word-of-mouth referrals to do marketing. It’s essential to continuously educate yourself and stay up-to-date on the latest gun laws and safety techniques to provide the best training possible to your students.
Starting a firearms training business is an excellent opportunity for those passionate about gun safety who want to help others learn how to handle firearms properly. You can build a successful business in this growing industry with the proper knowledge, equipment, and marketing efforts.
How much you can make: $15,000/month
Gun Made, a media business founded by Brady Kirkpatrick, started as a COVID side project and now generates about $15k per month in recurring revenue from affiliate marketing, with plans to help retailers generate over $2.5M in sales in 2022 through their new e-commerce platform that aggregates pricing from hundreds of retailers.
22. Start a security services business
The demand for private security services is increasing, a trend that is fueled by the rising number of violent crime incidents and terrorism incidents.
Therefore, if you wish to enter the private security field, 2024 might be the best time.
To start a private security business, research what security services are in high demand and learn how to add services based on market demand and size. You may decide on a niche, such as an event security and personal security, and write a business plan.
How much you can make: $2,000,000/month
Cyber security SaaS platform Coro offers cloud security services to mid-market enterprises, securing a total of $81.5 million in funding and a $500 million valuation, with 4,500 clients on the platform and reaching a $1 million run rate in 2019.
23. Start a shooting range training business
24. Start a convenience store business
A convenience store is a shop with extended opening hours and stocks different household goods and groceries.
These stores are located conveniently, such as strip malls or residential areas, where people can access them easily.
Here are three options to consider:
- Buying an existing store
- Opening a franchise
- Starting a convenience store from scratch
Buying an existing convenience store comes with the advantage of inheriting the existing customer base so long as you keep up the excellent service. For the franchise, it means the parent company will provide you with the guidelines and procedures, inventory lists, and pay for national marketing and advertising.
However, opening your convenience store means you have the freedom to choose vendors and product selection. You can select the location and negotiate the lease.
Regardless of your choice, ensure your convenience store is within a strategic location.
25. Start a workplace training business
26. Start a tech consulting business
How much you can make: $3,000 — $10,000/month
HIC Global Solutions provides out-of-the-box Salesforce services to clients across industries, with estimated yearly revenue of $8M, including partnerships that have helped them retain over 60% of their customers, and offering career opportunities.
27. Start a disaster planning and preparation business
- 4,818 founder case studies
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
