Small business ideas NZ: Start your own business today
Starting a small business in New Zealand opens doors to financial freedom and flexibility. Learn proven ideas that work.
Written by Lena Hanna—Trusted CPA Guidance on Accounting and Tax. Read Lena's full bio
Published Friday 7 November 2025
Table of contents
Key takeaways
• Evaluate your business idea against four key criteria before investing time and money: ensure it's doable with your existing skills, affordable with available capital, personally fulfilling for long-term commitment, and profitable enough to exceed expenses.
• Consider starting with a side hustle rather than jumping into full-time entrepreneurship, as research shows part-time businesses have higher success rates due to reduced financial pressure while maintaining steady employment income.
• Focus on service-based businesses or skilled trades that require minimal startup capital, as these allow you to monetize existing expertise and grow gradually without significant financial risk.
• Explore multiple funding options beyond personal savings, including government grants for New Zealand startups, bank loans supported by solid business plans, and revenue from initial customers to reinvest in business growth.
Benefits of starting a small business
Small business ownership gives you control over your career while building something meaningful. Starting your own business offers several key advantages:
- Autonomy: You decide how the business runs and operates
- Flexibility: Set your own schedule and work-life balance
- Financial control: Keep profits and build long-term wealth
- Personal satisfaction: Build something from the ground up
Business ownership gives you the chance to shape your own schedule and income. In the early years, you may need to invest extra time and plan for income fluctuations. Choose a business idea that matches your skills, personality, and available capital.
Get inspired
List of small business ideas
Small business ideas range from low-cost service businesses to product-based ventures. These proven business models work because they address real market needs with manageable startup costs.
Inventor
Inventor businesses create and sell original products, from simple improvements to existing items to completely new solutions.
How it works:
- Design phase: Hire designers to create product drawings and prototypes
- Manufacturing: Use contract manufacturers or 3D printing for inventory
- Marketing: Target niche audiences through online retail and digital marketing
Why it works: Modern e-commerce platforms let you reach specific customer groups cost-effectively, even for highly specialized products.
Franchisee
Many products or services you enjoy are available as franchises. To open a franchise, you pay the parent company (franchisor) to use their name and systems. You get access to their branding, products, and trade secrets. Some franchisors also offer business advice or finance. Costs and support vary by franchise. You can find franchises in many industries, from restaurants to consulting to window washing. Learn more about franchising.
Transcription
If you're a skilled typist and have an excellent ear for detail, transcription could be a good small business idea. You could write notes from recorded meetings, transcribe for local courts, or provide closed captioning for television and movies.
Virtual assistant
Virtual assistant services provide remote administrative support to busy entrepreneurs and consultants. Growing demand for flexible work arrangements makes this a strong business opportunity.
Core services include:
- Schedule management: Coordinating calendars and appointments
- Communication: Managing emails and client correspondence
- Meeting support: Setting up calls and taking detailed notes
- Administrative tasks: Document preparation and data management
Business benefits: High earning potential, flexible schedule, and strong client relationships when you deliver consistent value.
Cleaning services
The cleaning sector is a growing opportunity for startups, especially as residential and commercial customers seek out environmentally sustainable providers. What's more, it can be relatively cheap to start a cleaning business. If you're a good planner, with high standards and you can maintain a good reputation, you're well on your way.
Coffee cart or food truck
Hospitality is a competitive and challenging sector, but it can also be very rewarding. Recent reports highlight the importance of careful planning and strong business foundations in this industry. You get to feed people in the literal sense, but you can also add to the sense of community in a neighbourhood. Starting off in a truck or cart will help keep your overheads lower.
Catering
Catering is a great small business idea for talented cooks or bakers. You don't need a whole restaurant. You can get by with a nice clean kitchen. And you typically work from advance orders, which means you can plan your inventory and workflow accordingly. Plus you may be able to focus on certain niches, like house dinner parties, office events, pastry mornings, order-in sandwiches, and so on.
Online selling
You can set up an online store easily. A Xero survey found they cost less to run than a physical shop and can be more profitable in the early years. You can sell your own products or stock known brands. Learn how to start an online business.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a form of online retail where you don't have to handle the products you sell. Just make sure you choose a good dropshipping supplier. You simply populate your online store with pictures and descriptions but the goods themselves stay in the manufacturer or wholesaler's warehouse. When an order comes through, you send it straight to them to pack and ship to your customer. You don't need to invest a lot of money in inventory, you don't need a stock room, and you can avoid managing shipping and storage. This simplicity makes it a good small business idea for beginners. However, you may face challenges if there are supply issues or if your customer needs support with their new product.
Sell a digital product
Digital products include songs, jingles, images, videos, templates, ebooks, and other items you can send to customers by email. Like dropshipping, selling digital products does not require storage or logistics. You will, however, have to create worthwhile digital products, or buy licenses to existing digital products.
Affiliate marketing
Digital marketing can be a cost-effective way for small businesses to reach specific audiences. However, very few business owners understand how it works. As a digital marketer could step in to run small social advertising or search engine marketing campaigns.
Personal trainer
If you have energy, willpower, and motivational skills, you could help people achieve their fitness goals. It helps to understand how the body works, so you can support your clients safely and effectively. But with the right approach, you can improve people's health, vibrancy and confidence, which is a great way to make a living. There are lots of different types of customers, young and old, with a wide range of fitness goals. There's bound to be a niche for you.
Life coach
A life coach (or wellbeing coach) helps people find balance and fulfillment in their lives. Clients may feel pulled between family and work, or feel so focused on tasks that they lose sight of their overall goals. A life coach can lead them through exercises and discussions to develop new perspectives and hopefully improve their sense of contentment. This career can inspire clients to make positive changes, so it's important to approach it with care and professionalism. You can take courses to start building up your skills.
Handyman/contractor
For those who are good with tools and who enjoy fixing things, working as a handyman or a contractor is an excellent small business idea. Handyman skills are always in demand, no matter where you're located.
Landscaping and lawn care service
People love their green spaces so why not be the person that cares for them? Most landscaping work involves mowing, pruning, and weeding, so you can get started with basic skills. However, clients may eventually ask for your advice on trees, soils, watering systems, fertilisers and so on. You'll need to get some training if you want to grow your business by offering that sort of advice. There are lots of niches to target. You could offer gardening services to homeowners, landlords, holiday homes, businesses, or public spaces.
Construction
Do you know a trade like carpentry, joinery, plumbing or electrical? While there is often demand for new housing and renovations, the market can be complex; for instance, recent data shows that national house prices have been broadly unchanged over the past three years. Either way, someone has to do the work. Construction has lots of niches. You could be the door-hanging contractor, the staircase maker, or the patio person just to name a few.
Manufacturing, engineering and fabrication
Skilled engineers, builders and welders can grow boutique manufacturing businesses. Equipment and materials can be costly so try to identify a local niche that allows you to focus on a few core products or tasks. You might pick up contracts building components for other businesses in the area. To make this business idea work, you'll need to be a good communicator in order to understand customer requirements. Some design or drawing skills will also be handy.
Consulting
Households and businesses both seek advice from independent experts. Maybe you can offer (or acquire) some valuable skills that they'd pay for. There are many options. For example you could become a residential interior designer or home-budgeting guru. Or you could find work serving local businesses as a project manager, a researcher, or an editor. Explore what's needed in your community then develop and market your skills to meet that need.
Business advisor or troubleshooter
If you've been working in an industry for a long time then you can become an expert advisor. In this role, you'd help up-and-coming businesses identify new opportunities, overcome hurdles and unlock growth. You'll do well if you're experienced, analytical and a good communicator.
Webmaster
An increasing number of small businesses feel they need a website but they don't know how to set it up or manage it. You could take that off their hands for a small monthly fee – promising to keep their site secure, implement content updates, and provide some SEO (search engine optimisation) services. You could expand on this small business idea by adding ecommerce and digital marketing services.
Digital marketer
Digital marketing can be a super affordable way for small businesses to reach niche target audiences. However, very few business owners understand how it works. As a digital marketer could step in to run small social advertising or search engine marketing campaigns.
Freelance copywriter
A good writer can pick up a variety of gigs writing for businesses. Common jobs include writing websites, corporate blog posts, emails, articles, social posts and ads. You might even get to work on taglines, product names, or whole advertising campaigns. It's a good idea to specialise in certain types of work. The more efficient you become, the more you can earn per hour.
Freelance designer
Designers can pick up all sorts of work, depending on their specialty. You might help lay out newsletters for local government, design awards and certificates for schools and sports clubs, help small businesses with websites, flyers and business cards, or pick up overflow work from agencies. Build up the right sort of online portfolio and your good work will win you plenty of new opportunities. But you need to get good at time and cost budgeting so sharpen up those skills now.
Photographer
Photography can be a good small business idea for visually-minded creatives. Your photos often capture important events like weddings and award ceremonies, so attention to detail is important. You'll need the right temperament to succeed. Equipment can be expensive but if you're a keen hobbyist, you may already have made those purchases anyway.
Clothing boutique
Opening a clothing boutique can be a fun way to enter the fashion industry. You might recycle clothing, resell second-hand clothing, or import certain types of hard-to-find garments and labels. In particular, the second-hand market continues to grow thanks to eco- and cost-conscious consumers. This could be an online business idea, a physical store, or a little of both.
Clothing label
Have you thought about creating your own label? There are lots of specialist categories to target, like sportswear, maternity gear, fair trade, baby wear, sustainable clothing and more. You can make them yourself or get contractors to follow your designs. Start out with one or two lines while you test the market's appetite for your products.
Beauty business
People like to feel good about themselves so there's always a market for beauty products. There are some big players in this field already, and lots of celebrities now have their own lines, but there are still niche opportunities. Not everyone wants mainstream products. Consider developing a grooming or beauty philosophy of your own then curate a list of products that fits. You could make some products from scratch or source them from craft suppliers.
Pet care
There are already over 1 billion pets worldwide, with ownership growing among millennials. Some pets need more attention than others, so there could be pet-care opportunities in your area. Dog walking or grooming are popular but there are other opportunities, such as caring for pets in their home when owners are away on holiday. You could also retail pet accessories as part of your business.
Podcasting
Podcasting can be a lot of fun and may even generate income. There are thousands of podcasts available, many by media professionals. Focus on a niche topic where you can share valuable insights. You can also use your podcast to promote training or educational resources.
Print-on-demand
Print-on-demand is a low-risk way to create and sell merchandise. You can market your cat poems on mugs, cushions and calendars – when you receive orders, a third-party printer does all the work. You don't need to buy any of the gear, which makes it a fairly inexpensive small business idea.
Printer
The other side of print-on-demand is to buy your own kit and offer printing services. You could then take orders to print custom Christmas cards, wedding invitations, flyers, or t-shirts. This business will work even better if you can offer design services too.
Teaching online courses
If you have expertise and strong communication skills, you can teach online courses. Websites such as Udemy make it easy to create and sell your own course on many topics. Many people like to learn at their own pace.
Tutor
In-person tutoring is a great way for you to earn extra money while helping others. You can work with learners from early school through to university, so there is always a wide customer base.
Teach languages
People learn new languages all the time, and you can teach them. You don't need to know any languages other than your own, although it helps. You'll need to be patient and encouraging as some of your students will naturally struggle at times. There are dozens of training and certification programs to give you the skills you need. Helping people to communicate in a new country can be incredibly rewarding and important work.
Childcare
You can work as a nanny or au pair with one family at a time, or find a space where you can support multiple families at once, such as by providing neighbourhood after-school care. Do your homework on health and safety or licensing requirements if you decide to care for kids outside of their family home.
App developer
With the right coding and user experience (UX) skills, you could work as a freelance app developer. You can pitch for work from businesses that need apps developed, or you could pick up overflow work from app development agencies. You can even work on your own tech business idea on the side.
List of side hustle ideas
Side hustles are part-time businesses you run alongside full-time employment. Research shows side hustles are more likely to succeed than full-time new businesses because they reduce financial pressure.
These opportunities work for side hustles because they:
- Require flexible scheduling: Work evenings and weekends
- Need minimal startup costs: Low financial risk while employed
- Generate quick income: Faster path to supplementary earnings
Join a focus group or take surveys
Marketing companies often recruit people to sample new products or answer questions about their buying habits. You might try new food for a restaurant or watch a television show before it airs. If you give useful feedback, you may be invited to participate again. You could sign up with a few research companies to earn regular extra income.
Mystery shopping
Mystery shopping is another side-hustle idea for people who like working in market research. In this case, you're hired to go shopping in certain stores then report on the experience. The demand for mystery shoppers varies a lot by location. But it can be a fun way to earn money while seeing retail in action and learning how big brands build a good experience.
Rent your spare room
If you enjoy meeting new people and are comfortable sharing your space, this could be a good option. You need to own your home and have a spare room. Renting out your spare room can be profitable and socially rewarding.
Rent out your car
If you have a vehicle you rarely use, consider renting it out. This can help you earn extra income instead of letting it sit unused. You'll probably need to bump up your insurance, as your current policy may only apply if you're the driver. It needs to allow for guest drivers. Do some due diligence on the people who want to hire your vehicle and make sure they're fully licensed.
Gig work
Gig work is a popular side-hustle for people who need a flexible schedule. Gigs can include rideshare driving, food delivery, or running errands for people. You can use apps like TaskRabbit to find and accept gigs but be aware that not all the money you make goes into your pocket. Providing those services will cost you money if you need to drive places, catch buses, or use your own vehicle and tools, so budget accordingly.
Deliver groceries or food
Delivering groceries or food is a relatively easy way to bring in a few extra dollars. However, you'll need to run your own vehicle so factor fuel and maintenance costs into your budget. It's also quite tricky to spin this sort of side hustle idea into a sustainable full-time business so you're better off to think of it as pocket money.
Flipping items for profit
Reselling things for a higher price is not a new idea. In fact it's the very basis of retail. But it's exploded in the internet age, where resourceful traders can find deals on one website then flip the same product for a lot more on another website. You need an eye for a bargain, good research skills, and patience. Some deals may not work out, but with research and patience, you can find profitable opportunities.
Handmade crafts
If you're naturally crafty, you can market your handiwork online or at markets and fairs. You may already know people who sell homemade jewellery, screen-printed shirts, scented candles, soaps, or wood crafts. There are plenty of other side-hustle ideas in this space, such as metalwork, pottery, paintings, organisers, furniture and the like. You might even partner with other artisans to sell related products.
Blogging
Skilled writers can work their way up to a full-time income from blogging. You can monetise your talent by posting on third-party platforms like Medium, where you get paid a small amount per read. Or you could build your blog on a platform like substack, where you can sell subscriptions to fans. Another option is to charge for including links to other sites in your content. Blogging takes time and consistency. You may need to write for a while before building a large audience, but a few popular posts can help you grow.
Low startup cost business ideas
You don't need much money to get started. Many successful businesses begin with a good idea and your existing skills, not a large investment. These ideas usually have low costs and let you grow your business without big financial risks.
- Service-based businesses: Offer what you know. This could be freelance writing, graphic design, consulting, or social media management. Your main investment is your time and expertise.
- Skilled trades: If you're a talented baker, crafter, or artist, you can sell your creations online or at local markets. Start small from your own home to keep costs down.
- Tutoring or coaching: Share your knowledge in music, academics, or fitness. You can start online or meet clients in public spaces to avoid renting a studio.
- Pet services: Offer dog walking, pet sitting, or grooming. These businesses often have minimal startup costs, especially if you can operate from your home or travel to clients.
How to come up with your own small business idea
Creating your own business idea involves systematic brainstorming combined with subconscious processing. Rather than forcing ideas, use structured thinking to prime your mind for breakthrough moments.
The brainstorming process works because:
- Active thinking: Conscious effort identifies problems and opportunities
- Subconscious processing: Your brain continues working on ideas between sessions
- Spontaneous insights: Solutions often emerge during unrelated activities like exercise or rest
The Zeigarnik effect explains why you often get your best ideas when you're not actively thinking about them.
When brainstorming small business ideas
- doable – you have the skills to make the product or deliver the service yourself
- affordable – you can start it with money you already have (or can get access to)
- lovable – you'd be happy working in the business for most of your waking hours
- profitable – the business can make more than it spends, keeping in mind key financial thresholds like the requirement in New Zealand to register for GST once turnover reaches $60,000 a year.
Recession-proof business ideas: are they real?
Recession-proof businesses maintain stable revenue during economic downturns when consumer spending typically decreases. While no business is completely immune to recessions, three categories show greater resilience:
Business types that resist economic downturns:
- Essential services: Products people must buy regardless of economic conditions
- Small luxuries: Affordable treats that replace expensive indulgences
- Export businesses: Revenue diversified across multiple economies
Essential products or services
Even during a recession, consumers have to keep buying certain things like food. It follows that businesses that produce or sell these essential products and services will be better placed to ride out a recession. But just be aware that even within an essential category like food, consumers may change what, when and how they eat, so your business will still face changes and challenges.
Small luxury items
During the 2009 global financial crisis, marketers noticed that chocolate sales grew. They surmised that people who could no longer afford big-ticket items such as new cars, holidays or fancy meals could still make room in their budget for affordable indulgences. We all like a treat, even if it's a modest one. So small luxuries are sometimes considered to be recession-proof but of course you still have to understand the market's tastes and predict which small luxuries will do well.
Exporters
Exporting can be a recession-proof option because it spreads your risk across multiple countries. When recession strikes at home, these businesses may be able to keep selling overseas. But of course an export business is more complex and needs to be able to compete at a global level so this is by no means an easy recession-proofing strategy.
To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions
Steve Jobs
The truth about recession-proof business ideas
Every recession is different, and a business that thrives in one downturn might face challenges in the next. You can build resilience into your small business idea, whatever it might be. Find tips in the guide to recession-proofing your business.
How to assess your small business idea
Business idea evaluation involves stress-testing your concept before investing time and money. This critical analysis helps identify potential problems early when they're easier to fix.
Essential evaluation questions:
- Personal fit: Do you have the required skills and passion?
- Market viability: Will customers pay enough to make it profitable?
- Resource requirements: Do you have adequate time and capital?
- Growth potential: Can the business scale beyond your initial capacity?
- Competitive advantage: How will you compete against existing businesses?
Funding options for New Zealand startups
Every new business needs some money to get started, but it doesn't always have to be your own. There are several ways to fund your new business in New Zealand.
- Government grants: The New Zealand government sometimes offers grants to support new businesses, like the previous Digital Boost grant for building online capability. Check official government business websites for the latest funding opportunities.
- Personal savings: Using your own money is the most straightforward way to fund your business, giving you full control.
- Bank loans:A solid business plan can help you secure a small business loan from a bank. Banks will want to see your plan before approving a loan.
Get one month free
Purchase any Xero plan, and we will give you the first month free.