If there’s one thing that every entrepreneur is all too familiar with, it’s coming up with unique business ideas. But even the tiniest spark of an idea can change the world.
Take a look at Airbnb, Bumble, Facebook, Uber, and even Mindvalley. These are examples of businesses that started off with a small “Eureka!” moment and grew into the mammoth brands that they’re known for today.
Conjuring up “the next big thing” can sometimes feel like it’s easier said than done. However, it’s not impossible. It just takes some grit and know-how to get the ball rolling.
What makes a business unique?
As with anything in life, what makes something unique is its ability to stand out from the crowd. In the case of businesses, it’s the ability to constantly innovate while continuing to serve their entrepreneurial purpose.
The reality is, there are countless businesses out there. Case in point: U.S. Census Bureau reported 5.4 million new business applications were filed in 2021, which surpassed the record set in 2020 of 4.4 million.
So with millions of entrepreneurs hustling and bustling out there, what makes one company stand out from the rest? The answer: their ideas solve problems.
Let’s take Netflix, for instance. The initial concept was to send movies, shows, and video games via post mail instead of having to go to rental stores like Blockbuster. It was one of the most unique business ideas of its time.
However, as technology advanced and consumers’ needs evolved, the company converted its business model to the at-home streaming service that we’re familiar with today. With its ability to continuously evolve without compromising its brand vision, Netflix is a prime example of what makes a business unique.
5 unique business ideas, inspired by Mindvalley quests
It’s often believed that unique business ideas equal multi-million-dollar inventions, like the iPhone or Tesla cars. However, that’s not so much the case.
While it does take some creativity to come up with these products, it’s not necessarily about reinventing the wheel. It’s more about simply looking to solve an ongoing problem.
Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘Ugh, if I only had this thing or this service, then my life would be so different, so much better’? — @twinmiki Share on XSo if you’re hoping to get some unique business ideas or be inspired, here’s a list (inspired by Mindvalley’s Quests, mind you) that may help spark your creativity.
1. Become a life coach
Life has its ebb and flow, so it helps to have someone assist and encourage us without judgment. That’s where a certified life coach comes in handy.
We all need a little bit more support — with the times that we’ve had and the times that are coming — from somebody who can really help us navigate life. — @ajitna Share on XAs a life coach, your main purpose is to help your clients create a more beautiful future. You’d guide your clients to align themselves with their values, clarify their goals, and identify and overcome the gaps in their own lives.
And if that’s not enough to convince you, check out these stats:
- The estimated global revenue in 2019 totaled about US$2.8 billion, which is a 21% increase from 2015.
- In the United States alone, life coaching is a US$1 billion industry.
- The average annual income for coaches in North America is US$62,500.
While the concept of life coaching is super general, it’s highly advised to identify your niche market — the type of people you want to help. And it should be one that aligns with your passion, purpose, and personality. For example, if you’re a male who’s organized and knows how to be indistractable… then, a male empowerment coach might just be your sweet spot.
And because life is all-encompassing and there will always be areas in which coaches can find their niche.
Learn more:
- Life coaching with Ajit: A go-to guide on what you need to know
- How to become a life coach by Mindvalley Coach co-founder
- 8 must-have coaching skills, according to Mindvalley Coach co-founder Ajit
Take action: Apply now to become a Mindvalley Certified Life Coach
2. Open a restaurant that promotes “diet”
Yes, you read that correctly — diet. But here’s the thing: the diet culture has us fooled.
The four-letter word isn’t about “losing weight.” Nor is it a “temporary alteration of your life for short-term gain,” according to Eric Edmeades, trainer of Mindvalley’s WILDFIT Quest.
“Diet” really means “way of life.” It’s the way you live every day, consuming the foods your body needs during the different seasons. And every organism on earth has a diet, even humans.
With more than 1 billion obese people worldwide, maybe it’s time to reconsider “diet” and food freedom.
Freedom is not eating whatever you want, whenever you want, but also not eating what you don’t want, when you don't want. — @EricEdmeades Share on XWhat would make this restaurant unique? It serves food with ingredients that are fresh and seasonal. Moreover, it encourages those who love to eat to do so intuitively.
Learn more:
Take action: Turn into a “human diet” expert
3. Conscious sexuality teacher
Fact: Sex is the core of what our lives are built on. And science shows that a thriving sex life has quite the list of health benefits, including:
- Boosting the immune system
- Lowering blood pressure
- Eases stress
But even with the prevalence of sexual activity worldwide, sex is still a taboo topic. The good news is that there are people like Psalm Isadora, trainer of Mindvalley’s Tantra Touch Quest, who are squashing the negative perception.
Contrary to popular belief, sex is not just about orgasms. It’s about the experience in its entirety — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
One of the most beautiful things we can ever do is have that experience of connection and sex with another. — Psalm Isadora Share on XUnfortunately, many people aren’t in tune with their sexual potential. That’s where a conscious sexuality teacher can help.
As an expert, you’d teach your clients how to have a slow, meditative sexual experience. This will allow them to enjoy the journey — from expressing their sensual emotions to foreplay to thoroughly feeling the sensations in their body.
What’s more, being a conscious sexuality teacher means you can teach from anywhere. So there’s always the option of holding online courses.
Learn more:
- The sex talk: 3 lessons the experts want you to know
- 6 science-backed strategies for a thriving sex life, according to Dr. Amy Killen
- Psalm Isadora: All you need to know about tantra
Take action: Become a Tantra expert
4. Traveling 10X trainer
What makes a business unique is when an entrepreneur takes an existing idea and revamps it to provide a solution to a current problem. We see this through and through — AirBnB challenging hotels, Bumble reimagining the dating game, and even Uber taking over taxi cabs.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that health is for sure our wealth. The 2022 fitness industry market is at US$13 billion, and that’s in the U.S. alone. Plus, it’s estimated that it’ll only increase from here on out.
So enter the traveling 10X trainer.
If you want to develop strength and muscle mass but you don't have access to a gym, there is a way. — Ronan Oliveira Share on XThe premise of 10X is strength training and it’s a program you can do anywhere. So globe-trotting is definitely doable.
As a trainer, you’d travel to different places and provide your expertise in health & fitness. You can train private clients, gym members, or both, whichever is your preference.
Now, this service business idea might sound like a glamorous gig, but your income can vary based on the type of jobs you take and the clients you serve. Credentials can give you an edge, so consider getting 10X coaching certification.
Learn more:
- Becoming a health coach: The complete guide by Ronan Diego
- 10X Fitness: Mindvalley’s revolutionary science-backed program
- Holistic weight loss: A 15-step guide
Take action: Get the Mindvalley Holobody & 10x Coach certification
5. Become a virtual interior designer with a specialty in feng shui
Okay, so feng shui isn’t solely about interior design and vice versa. But because feng shui is about auspiciously arranging objects and space to allow for the natural flow of energy, it can be a relevant skill to incorporate into interior design.
Interior design is an art form in and of itself. It introduces colors and light into a space and adds personality, comfort, and good energy.
Combined with feng shui, a space can be more than just aesthetically pleasing. It can be an effective tool to attract abundance, power, wealth, health, love, and all the good things in life.
Take every step that you can to bring more power into your life. Even small steps help. — @mariediamond888 Share on XWith the ever-growing popularity of the metaverse, you can use augmented reality to show your clients how feng shui can really make their space more harmonious and balanced. And picture this as part of your metaverse — an online store to sell your home decor.
Ergo great business idea: the virtual interior designer specializing in feng shui.
Learn more:
- Feng shui master’s advice on how to manifest abundance
- Ultimate feng shui basics for peace and abundance
- How to make the best possible vision boards using feng shui
Take action: Grow into a feng shui expert
How to come up with unique business ideas
Understandably, coming up with unique business ideas can be difficult. However, life is filled with wonderful things that can inspire you to create ‘the next big thing.’
That’s what social entrepreneur Miki Agrawal did. This self-proclaimed She-EO is known for her ‘wow’ ideas that have successfully turned into disruptive innovations.
How unique are her business ideas? Well, they’re based on pizza, periods, pee, and poop — the problematic areas that stemmed from her life and those around her. The need to change the status quo for these issues led her to create WILD, THINX, and TUSHY.
My whole concept has been around just looking at things with a fresh pair of eyes and just asking myself, ‘Is this the best way to do it?’ — @twinmiki Share on XBut here’s the thing: Miki’s not here to just put another product on the market. Nor is she here solely for the money. She’s here to do cool sh*t (also the title of one of her books, which we thought was a genius name in its own right).
What’s her advice for those who’re looking to get their business ideas up and running? Find the answers to these three questions first:
- What sucks in my world?
- Does it suck for a lot of people?
- Can I be passionate about this issue for a long time?
“People are interested in challenging the status quo and trying new things,” Miki says. “I think people just need to be given the permission to do so.”
Want more advice or two from Miki? Have a peep of this video to discover how you can shift from stress to business success:
Things to keep in mind: 3 lessons from Miki Agrawal
In business, it’s a well-known fact that as you transition from ideation to creation, you may find that you run into some snags. But fret not because ‘difficult’ is just a state of mind.
Even Miki wasn’t immune to learning a lesson or two along the way. Here are three of them that you can keep in mind:
Lesson 1: Hire someone with experience
WILD wasn’t created out of an idea. Actually, it was born out of a stomach ache.
“While I was on the sets of commercial music videos, I would eat off the craft service tables. I would just be eating all this, like pigs in a blanket and all this crappy food,” Miki explains. “I would come home and just have awful stomach aches every single night. And especially when I ate pizza, I would just come home bloated, farty, gassy.”
After consulting with ‘Auntie Google,’ she discovered the horrors of the mass-produced food industry — the use of pesticides, preservatives, antibiotics, and hormones in the food we all eat. This causes a lot of the food intolerances we suffer from, like gluten and dairy.
She saw an opportunity to disrupt this billion-dollar industry and open up New York’s first alternative pizza concept (this was in 2006, mind you), using gluten-free flours, hormone-free cheeses, and local seasonal toppings.
What Miki learned
It took her seven years to learn this, but learn it she did.
“Finally, I brought in, seven years later, a partner/an operator/a restauranteur — someone who knew what he was doing,” Miki says. “Literally, within one week of him taking over the restaurant operations, our numbers doubled.”
Bringing in someone with experience to do what they do best, allows you the opportunity to go and do what you do best.
And for Miki, that’s creating things born out of a necessity. In this case, it’s what she and every woman go through — periods.
Lesson 2: Create an empowerment model
The idea for THINX came about during the Agrawal’s annual family barbeque. In the middle of the race, Miki’s sister started her period and so much so that the blood dripped down into their socks. (Don’t worry, they still won the race. Women, right? Amazing.)
The idea hit: “Wouldn’t it be amazing to create a pair of underwear that never leaked, that never stained, that supported women every day of the month during super important times like the three-legged race?”
With a little sleuthing, Miki found there had been only three major innovations in the entire 20th century — tampons, pads, and menstrual cups. And fun fact: two out of the three were invented by men.
Miki, together with two co-founders, spent the next several years developing “a technical underwear that looks and feels like a regular pair of underwear, but has built-in technology that makes it leak-proof, absorbent, anti-microbial, and moisture-wicking.”
What Miki learned
Social entrepreneurship — developing solutions for social, cultural, or environmental issues — is the future of businesses. And companies that practice social and environmental sustainability show better operational performance.
So when it came to THINX, Miki not only wanted to support herself but also support those who really need these kinds of products, a.k.a women.
“In the very beginning of the business, we wanted to weave in a giveback mission because we truly believed that the future of entrepreneurship is social entrepreneurship,” she explains. “It cannot be otherwise.”
Taking a cue from Toms’ one-for-one giveback model and modifying it to create an empowerment model, Miki and her co-founders teamed up with AFRIpads in Uganda. For every pair of THINX underwear sold in the United States, a portion of the profits goes to AFRIpads. The funds help to create more pads, lowering the costs for the end-user. And as a result, it creates job opportunities for Ugandan women.
Lesson 3: Your problem may also be other people’s problems
Question: why was there a toilet paper shortage in the U.S. at the start of the pandemic?
Panic buying could be one reason, but couldn’t Americans just wash their butts? Apparently not, according to Miki who explains that the U.S. is one of the very few countries that have yet to embrace bidets.
“The way we wipe ourselves has not changed since the late 1800s,” she says. “We have our iPhones, we’ve got wi-fi and technology. And then, the minute we jump into our bathrooms, poof! We’re back in the 1800s.”
Suffering from a hyperthyroid condition that constantly forced her to go to the bathroom, toilet paper was doing Miki’s butt more harm than good. After an eye-opening trip to India, where they use bidets, Miki was inspired to upgrade the American bathroom experience with a modern, affordable bidet attachment.
And TUSHY was born.
Recommend reading: How to go viral: 7 tips to boost your personal brand online
What Miki learned
Toilet paper not only is damaging your butt, but it’s destroying forests as well.
Americans use, on average, 57 sheets of toilet paper every single day. Plus, it takes 37 gallons of water to make just one roll. And because most people use at least 1.5 toilet rolls a week, that works out to about 55.5 gallons of water every week.
So using a bidet is better for your hygiene and also better for the environment.
And Miki is not one to pass on the chance to help communities. The shitty truth is poor sanitation affects billions of people, many of whom are forced to practice open defecation because they don’t have access to proper toilet facilities.
She says, “for every TUSHY bidet sold, we are helping fight the global sanitation crisis.” Through Samagra Sanitation, the profits go to building community toilets in India, enabling those without access to proper toilets “to lead healthier, productive, and more dignified lives.”
Creatively disrupt
It’s always a challenge coming up with breakthrough products, especially one that stands out from the crowd. While this pandemic has shut down tons of businesses, many entrepreneurs and business owners have found that the pandemic brought about new opportunities.
ou really can’t disrupt anything in your life, anything in business, anything in the world unless you get your body into the space of fearlessness. — @twinmiki Share on XAccording to Miki, fearlessness isn’t the asset of fear. It’s taking action in the face of fear.
You, too, can do so by taking a leap with your awesomely unique business ideas and building the brand you’ve had in your pipe dream. And if you need a little guidance, head over to Mindvalley and check out the Zero to $100 Million class with Miki.
