7 Profitable Business Ideas Which Every Single Dad Will Love!

The challenge for responsible single dads is that they have to look after their kids and earn a living at the same time. Are you a single dad looking to earn some extra income? Then,  starting a business can be a great way to earn some money.

A single dad has to structure their lives around his kid. Many dads take up a night shift job after tucking their children to bed, and come back in the morning, in time to prepare them for school. The struggle and determination of a single dad to become a stock-broker and care for his little son, was successfully portrayed by Will Smith in the movie “The Pursuit of Happiness”.

There are many successful dad entrepreneurs that can inspire you. Here are some legitimate business ideas that you can do:

1. Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is kind of like an administrative assistant except that you can do it from anywhere in the world, like your house. As a virtual assistant you will be doing administrative, organisational, and sometimes marketing tasks for busy entrepreneurs. You might be doing things like answering emails, dealing with clients, booking appointments, scheduling, etc.

Other tasks which business owners offer to virtual assistants are uploading images to a website, tracking sales in a spreadsheet, etc. These tasks are not difficult but they take time. When you step in and take over these tasks, you are giving your clients their time back, and they will gladly pay you for it.

All you need is a computer and wi-fi, and you must have communication and organisational skills. Assess your current skills and see what you can offer to the client. If you want to know what skills people are looking for in a virtual assistant, you can join a related Facebook group to find out.

2. Social Media Influencer

You can find a lot of small business ideas in social media. If you think that you can influence people in a positive way, this could be the perfect business for you. One way of doing it is by opening a YouTube channel. You have to find your niche area. It can be fashion or health and fitness, even comedy.

If you want to start a health and fitness channel ,you can upload videos of workouts, share health tips and nutritious recipes. Or, if fashion interests you, you can start a fashion blog. Since, competition is fierce, you have to offer something different, to gain a large following.

One thing to remember is that people have to get some value from what you are offering. For example, if you are posting some pictures of yoga postures on Instagram, how will people benefit from it, considering that there are thousands of such pictures already on the internet. If your videos or posts impacts someone’s life or makes him/her feel better, you will be a success in this business.

You must be wondering what will be my source of income? Well, most social media influencers earn from affiliate marketing. Also, YouTube will pay you if your channel manages to draw a large number of viewers. Advertising is another source of revenue.

3. Barber Shop

Men will always have a need for well-trimmed hair and a clean shave. If you have some space in your house or garage, you can start a barbershop business. First you will have to furnish the place. For that you need to go to a store and buy quality chairs and other furniture like cabinets and drawers.

You can start a shop with a small investment, and gradually expand as the business grows. The most important thing to run this business is to get quality barbers. If you are not trained in this, you have to hire a few. Remember, that this a service, and people will come back as repeat customers only if the service is good. If a customer gets a bad haircut, he can write bad reviews about you and mar your business.

Getting customers is on every business owner’s mind. You can place ads in Facebook or other social media platforms. Or, you can place advertisements in the newspaper, so that local people get to know about you.

4. Photography Studio

There are lots of new business ideas for a creative person. If you are a single dad who loves photography, a photography studio at your home would be a great way of making money while taking care of your children.  You won’t need a lot of space-a 10 feet by 12 feet area will be enough. You can select a niche area like portrait photography or portraiture. People are always fascinated by the concept of a family or a single photograph taken by a professional photographer, and a skilled photographer has a high demand.

Cameras have now become very affordable. You have to buy lights, umbrella, and other studio paraphernalia such as background props. You have to set up a colour lab for processing the photos and printing them.

Event and wedding photography with video-cameras could be another source of income for you. The advantage is that you will have lots of free time between two events or two weddings. So, this is a very practical enterprise for a single father.

5. Online Boutique

If you love fashion, you can open an online boutique from the comfort of your house. First pick a business name that is catchy, easy to remember and easy to spell. Since your business model is based on the internet, you should get a domain name for your business.

Shopify and Squarespace are two websites where you can build a great website for your boutique. Then you have to buy wholesale clothes. You can visit fashion trade shows where you will meet hundreds of vendors.

In the next stage, you have to buy a good camera and take pictures of your clothing. You should post these photos online, and start marketing. Facebook and Instagram are two great places for promoting your brand. Online boutiques have lots of growth prospects, and if you are good in this, you can quit your day job.

6. School Children Transport Service

Many working parents find it tough to pick up and drop their children from school. As a solution, you can associate with the school authorities and start a school transportation business. If you are a single dad, you probably take your own kid to school. You can pick up a few more kids on the way, and earn some money in the process.

Today’s children have to go to various activities apart from attending school, like sports or tuitions. If you start a cab service just for kids, you are sure to find lots of takers from the parents. But be sure to make safety your number one priority.

If your business grows, you can buy a fleet of cabs. You will have to hire more drivers, but always do so after proper verification. You also might have to get commercial registrations for the vehicles.

7. Bag Making Business

Craft making is a business that will always have a demand. You can start a small bag manufacturing unit in your house and make different bags like hand bags, luxury bags, etc. If you don’t have knowledge about this business, you can take a vocational course. Or, you can hire skilled workers.

You have to invest some money to start the business for buying raw materials, machines, etc. You can take a small business loan for this purpose. Your products should be unique in terms of aesthetics, finish and workmanship.

Laptop bags sell very well, and can be on your product list. If your business grows, you can even start exporting abroad. Online platforms like Amazon or Flipkart will be a great help in spreading the reach of your products.
Single dads are the heroes for their kids. The responsibility for the family lies with them, and they have to earn sufficiently. We hope that the business ideas that we shared here, will help them to start a venture of their own.

Also read:

1) Payroll – Definition, Processes & Solutions
2) Where Do the Best Business Ideas Come From?
3) Does Commercial Solar Power Make Sense For Businesses?
4) How Small Businesses Afford Digital Marketing?