What Industries Are Ripe for Entrepreneurs in 2015?
With 2014 barely in the rear-view mirror, we’re already seeing certain trends for 2015 that promise growth opportunities for entrepreneurs—particularly in areas where old and new industries overlap. While business prospects vary region to region, there are six general sectors that entrepreneurs can’t afford to overlook.
1. Education Services
Traditional ideas about learning are fading fast, which makes the education industry “ripe for disruption,” according to Shawn Sadowski, the entrepreneurs in residence at Cogswell College, which offers a master’s program in Entrepreneurship & Innovation in Sunnyvale, California. Small businesses are behind on college-level software suites for at-home learning, as well as MOOCs—massive open online courses.
“Online education is key right now in [K-12],” he adds. “There’s a lot of diversity of opportunity in education technology.” That opens the field to any innovator who is passionate about learning to develop software and technologies that can be integrated into classrooms, engage students and help connect parents with teachers.
2. Mobile SaaS
The small-to-midsize business market for Mobile SaaS—software as a service for tablets and smartphones—is expected to reach $19.7 billion by 2017, according to a report by Strategy Analytics. “There are tons of opportunities for capitalizing [on the development of] software services for mobile devices,” Sadowski says.
To support this new subscription-based model, “firms are creating the next great app or software as a service,” he says. For instance, rather than having to download an entire QuickBooks program onto a computer, small businesses are starting to offer consumers simpler ways to access accounting services when they need it.
3. Mobile Payment Trends
Smartphones may be ubiquitous, but using them to make purchases is still relatively new. More and more sellers will be looking for ways to reach consumers quickly and reliably. You don’t necessarily have to compete with the likes of Apple Pay. But as mobile wallets and other payment technologies are being tested in the marketplace, why not look for ways to capitalize on the trend?
4. Construction-Related Industries
As financing for construction projects becomes more available, residential growth is poised to take off this year. Commercial construction starts for 2015 are predicted to rise 15 percent, a point higher than last year. That spells opportunity for dozens of industries supported by contractors: from the developers, brokers and realtors making deals, to carpenters, landscapers and decorative lighting salespeople called in after a sale is closed. Even videographers will be selling their services to the increasing numbers of housing professionals who are showcasing their services online.
5. E-commerce
Online retail sales are on the rise. The availability of Web-hosting companies like WordPress, Yola and Weebly means that even the least-techie entrepreneurs among us will have an easier time taking products to a worldwide market. Capturing this growing market of online retailers, and innovating the way the industry works, continues to be a profitable move for entrepreneurs.
6. Healthcare
Let’s not forget the vast policy changes in U.S. healthcare in the last couple of years. Whether it is creating a seamless way to offer medical services to the newly insured or creating refreshing content for healthcare publications, independent innovators will continue to benefit from this industry.
Clare Curley, NFIB
