Small Business Ideas for Small Towns, Villages & Rural Areas
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20 Profitable Business Ideas for Small Towns, Villages & Rural Areas

Living in a small town, village, or rural area may sound tough at times, but when it comes to starting a small business, a small town or a village can have the same abundance of options as a big city seems to have. There are seemingly endless business ideas for small towns and rural places!

Profitable Small Business Ideas for Small Towns and Villages

Where there is a problem, there is a business opportunity; so if your village or town has so many problems, don’t just run away from them. They are business opportunities for you!

Depending on the local setup, the opportunities may vary, and you may have a unique solution for them. However, some proven small business ideas for small towns and villages can work great if executed well. Here goes the list:

best business in village

1- Mobile Phones/Gadgets Repair:

Most of the population in small towns and villages tend not to buy new devices or gadgets until they have a working device in their hand. Even if there is some problem with the device, they tend to try the repair option instead of buying a new handset. The popularity of mobile phones driven by huge demand can turn a mobile phone repair business into a lucrative one.

Before we proceed to discuss the next ideas, you might as well want to earn passively through survey apps like PrizeRebel, SurveyJunkie, and the like. Inviting your friends to join you in doing this fun will also give you some bucks for your business.

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 ideas for new business in small town

2- Private Tutoring:

Students from small towns and rural areas have to travel a long distance if they need help on a subject. Finding one good option locally will not just save their time, but money also. On the other hand, one has a lot of time in his or her student life, and it can easily be channelized to earn money by offering tuition to junior grade students. If you have a decent amount of knowledge on various subjects and want to earn money, start providing tuitions to your juniors, especially in groups.

3- Guest House/Bed & Breakfast:

Living in a small town or a village can be highly rewarding, especially when it’s a hill station or there are other places of tourist interest nearby. Hotels in and around your area may not exist or should be costly, so set up the house to make it a business machine.

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4- Tailoring/Stitching/Alteration:

Even though there are several categories of tailors you can get into, ladies’ tailors are most popular in almost every small town and big city. This field doesn’t require a huge investment, and if you have interest and expertise in this area, this is a good business.

5- Catering Business:

Catering is required in every function, irrespective of whether it is a business, religious, or personal gathering. Weddings, religious and cultural events happen in almost all small towns, villages, and rural areas, and wherever these events will occur, there will be demand for catering services.

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6- Hair Salon:

You need to have a sense of styling and experience in hair cutting to make a great salon business. Though you can set up a hair salon to target any audience, gents’ salons work more effectively in small towns than ladies’ hair salons. You may also partner up with an existing makeup artist business or a beauty parlor.

Related Reading: Hair & Beauty Salon Business Plan

7- Budget Clothing Shop:

Clothing is an important item that is required by any human being. Most people opt for budget clothing, and the demand for such readymade garments is quite high in small towns, thereby making it a profitable business. Try opening a small-scale clothing store that provides quality yet affordable items and witnesses your business touching new heights.

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8- Pick & Drop Service:

If you have a drivers’ license and own a car/van, you can turn your vehicle into a running business. People from small towns frequently need to travel to the main city; public transport doesn’t work door to door and can also be time-consuming. Offering a budget/luxury service to such people can work great. You can set shifts to make more money, i.e., early morning, late morning, afternoon, and evening.

9- Grocery Shop:

Every small town needs a grocery shop, even if there is one already available, giving them competition is not a bad idea. However, opening a grocery shop does require a capital investment to take the start. The rest you can take on credit from the retailers.

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10- Frozen Foods Shop:

Frozen foods such as fish, chickens, turkeys, etc., all are generally consumed worldwide. However, people in small towns may not travel long to the main city to buy fresh. Starting a frozen foods shop can be highly profitable in small towns. It’s also not capital intensive and is very easy and simple to manage.

11- Bakery:

Everyone wants to eat fresh bun, cakes, and bread, no matter they live in a big city or a small town. Opening a small-scale bakery in a small town can be lucrative if you know the skill!

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Related Reading: How to Start a Home-Based Bakery Business

12- Cold/Hot Corner:

It can either be an ice cream shop or a cold drinks corner or both, especially in hot countries. It can also do well in countries with moderate or cold countries if you replace the cold items with hot, i.e., soups, coffee, snacks, etc., according to the weather. You may start something similar to a food cart business serving drinks in busy locations.

13- Home Based Vegetable Garden:

Living in a small town or a village can be a blessing when you breathe that fresh air. However, you can make your land useful even if you own a small piece of it. Produce fresh vegetables and sell them to make fresh money.

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14- Poultry Business

People living in small towns will certainly buy poultry locally; no one wants to travel so many miles to bring eggs or chicken. This business requires some investment on your part. However, you may start small. The demand is quite high, especially if you can connect to various restaurants and food joints in your area.

15- Local Dairy Business:

Living in a small town and owning a few cows is not just exciting and beneficial for your own wellbeing, but you can turn it into a proper business as well.

dairy small business for small towns

16- Niche Blogging:

All you need to do is write about your expertise and publish it online, and people will follow your blog, and money will pour in. Yes, it would be best to have a good internet connection and a computer, but that’s not a big deal. You might also be interested to try these legit and safe apps where you can earn free dollars.

online business ideas for small towns

17- Download Center:

It’s probably the easiest to set up in a small town. However, government regulations may vary from country to country. The Internet on mobile cannot allow so many movies, music, and other stuff to be downloaded, while buying high-speed internet may not be a suitable option for residents of small towns. Bridging this gap for them can bring you great business!

18- Become a Franchisee:

Becoming a franchisee of a chain is one of the best business ideas for small towns. Sometimes, a small town or rural area might not have enough commercial presence. Sometimes, it’s nice to have a run-of-the-mill fast food chain available into the later hours. Those in small towns are likely to appreciate the low prices that chain restaurants just like Stouffville restaurants or fast food vendors can offer. 

If you want to become a franchisee, there is a process to go through, but it should pay off quickly if the town is excited about your venture. It would take the responsibility of branding and positioning off your shoulders at first. Of course, there might be some competition. As long as you can enter the market with minimal pushback from the town residents, your Dunkin’ Donuts or Subway could hit the ground running!

19- Bridal Shop:

Do you want to know one thing that will always be in-demand? Wedding apparel and paraphernalia. People aren’t going to stop getting married any time soon, and in small towns it’s less likely that spouses-to-be will be holding their wedding too far away. Naturally, then, the brides, grooms, and honorees will need beautiful and spiffy outfits to wear on the big day! 

So, what better idea than a bridal shop? If you want, you can conduct a bit of market research on your target town. Look at the general marital status of the citizens and their median age. You’re looking for a small town with a good proportion of young adults that are not yet married, for obvious reasons. The great thing about bridal shops is that you can have a section for wedding-only attire, but also sell prom dresses and ball gowns for people attending similar occasions.

The market for formal attire will always be there, but make sure you price appropriately for the income level of your peers.

20- Farm-to-Table Restaraunt:

If you want to start a business in a small rural town, the chances are that there will be farms nearby. This is one of the best business ideas for small towns. Who doesn’t love a good farm-to-table restaurant? Usually, the residents of a small town will be very loyal to their local farms and want to support them. So, you’ll need to partner with some of these farms and create a nice, cozy, farm-to-table venture.

The fun part about the restaurant business is that you can create the atmosphere. Include decoration from local artists or furniture-makers, employ those in the area, and it’s no question that your restaurant should become popular with residents quickly. It’s always a good idea to involve the people of a small town in your business as much as you can to avoid pushback and make the people comfortable with your business ventures.

So, we hope that you enjoyed the article, and are maybe now inspired to start a business in a small town! We hope that we provided good business ideas for small towns. If you have any others you’d like to add, or even have started yourself, let us know in the comments below!

Living in a small town or village proudly, breathing fresh air, witnessing the natural beauty, and running your own business; that’s an ideal lifestyle. Get out there!

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