Are you thinking about starting a small business in Texas? Owning your own business can be tremendously rewarding, allowing you to chart your own path, make important decisions about its direction, and reap the financial rewards.
Texas is a great state in which to start a business, an opportunity to operate in a state with lots of advantages as a small-business owner, including:
- A large, talented workforce with skilled workers in a variety of skills and knowledge. While you may not be able to hire many, if any, employees immediately, having a strong workforce available is an advantage whenever you want to hire
- A business-friendly environment. According to the Thumbtack Small Business Friendliness Survey, Texas receives high marks for ease of starting a business; regulatory environment; employment, labor and hiring; tax code and licensing
- Tax advantages are considerable. Texas has no personal income tax and instead of imposing a corporate income tax is one of just four states that instead taxes gross receipts.
- Texas is supportive of innovation. Innovation is at the heart of Texas business. Events like Austin’s South by Southwest festival brings creative talent and ideas to the state every year. Texas is also home to strong industrial bases in advanced tech, manufacturing, aerospace, defense, aviation, biotech, energy, petroleum refining and technology
Top 10 Businesses to Start in Texas
Here’s a look at 10 great business ideas for Texas, with reasons why they are uniquely ideal for the Lone Star State.
1. Food Trucks
Texas has a vibrant culinary culture, with a mix of culturally inspired cuisines that represent the entire world. This incredible mix of foods and cultures has created a creative blend of flavors, ingredients and tastes that demand great tastes.
A food truck business is a great way to work flexible hours with little overhead. Food trucks can operate in multiple ways, either on a regular daily rotation to office parks or busy street locations, or as a weekend gig appearing at music festivals, fairs and community events.
With great weather year-round, food trucks are a reliable and steady income source in Texas.
Food trucks are less expensive to operate, without the need to rent or own a restaurant space. And your mobile kitchen can present flavors and vibes that are hard to replicate in a traditional restaurant.
2. Cleaning Services
Business and residential cleaning is always in demand. Busy parents who both work often want to leave the household chores to someone else, able to free up some time for themselves and family. Typically, house cleaners work during the day, often when parents are working and kids are at school.
Similarly, businesses often rely on external cleaners to tidy up offices. This work usually occurs at night when workers are not there. Empty houses and offices make it easier and faster to clean.
Clean spaces are increasingly important coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, with homeowners, landlords and officials wanting homes, offices and public spaces to be as germ-free as possible to keep family members, workers and visitors safe.
Cleaning services will need to train workers and provide cleaning supplies and guidelines. However, the necessary supplies and labor costs are typically inexpensive and result in high profit margins.
3. Outdoor Guide
Texas is an extraordinarily beautiful state, with a range of vistas, climates and habitats to explore. Offering your services as a guide can help other outdoor enthusiasts enjoy the natural beauty Texas has to offer. Both residents and tourists alike want to enjoy the gorgeous Texas outdoors.
Hiking guides can help lead individuals, couples or small groups on adventures through forests, mountains or hiking trails. Guides ensure that everyone is having a good time and can point out unique features found during the hike, while ensuring that participants are safe and engaged.
Other guides assist with hunting when in season, helping experienced and novice hunters understand the rules and finding ideal spots for hunting in-season and within state rules.
4. Aerial Photography
Technology has advanced so much these days that you do not need an airplane to be an aerial photographer. Drones and advanced cameras allow anyone to become an aerial photographer or videographer, capturing images and video that were not easily possible just a few years ago.
Aerial photographers can get started with minimal equipment investments. In Texas, you will need to follow drone laws and ensure that you’ve passed the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aeronautical Knowledge Test and earned a Remote Pilot Certificate.
Many people consider drone photography to be an invasion of privacy, so be careful about where you take photographs and have permission to do so. Respecting boundaries and personal preferences aside, you can capture stunning images that are attractive for specific projects (a wedding reception or university event, for example) or to sell on their own.
5. Coffee Shop
Americans (and Texans) sure do love a good cup of joe. Opening an independent coffee shop lets you offer an alternative to the chain stores.
With an independent shop, you can set the scene and the vibe, attracting a certain customer base (artsy college students, busy professionals, kid-friendly) with your décor. You can also offer programming, from open-mic nights to mural contests to attract and retain customers.
Offering great coffee is, of course, mission-critical. Consider partnering with a local bakery to offer desserts that are homemade and support a fellow business owner.
6. Health Care
With a large, aging population, there’s a growing demand for health care throughout Texas. You do not need to be a physician or nurse to run a healthcare company. There are many needs, including providing physical and occupational services, selling durable medical equipment or providing other home-based services.
An aging population means there will be increased need for medical care. By shifting some of this care to Texas homes, it reduces the burden on hospitals and allows patients to remain in familiar living quarters longer.
7. Property Management
Both commercial and residential property complexes needed skilled and attentive property management services. Apartment buildings, malls, commercial strips and high-rise office buildings need teams of people to maintain and operate shared spaces. Property managers take care of leases and payments, show available space to prospective tenants and address complaints while ensuring properties are clean and up to building codes.
Property managers need to obtain a Texas real estate broker’s license from the state Real Estate Commission.
8. Franchise Ownership
If you’re looking to invest in a business with a proven brand name, business model and policies and procedures, franchise ownership may be the way to go. Franchise owners buy a location and are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the franchise and pay both fees to acquire the location and a percentage of profits to the franchisor.
This approach is a structured way to enter an industry and have the backing of a company with a proven track record and guidelines and support to help you find success in Texas.
9. Beauty Services
Everyone wants to look good. Offering beauty services, either a hair salon or barber shop, is a great way to build a clientele. Haircuts are a constant need and providing cosmetologists who can cut hair, provide coloring and wax services and other aesthetics is a great way to create a business.
You don’t need to be trained to practice the beauty services you provide, if you can find the right skilled workers who can make customers feel great with their newly coiffed curls.
10. Online Business
Do you have products you want to sell around the world and in Texas? Do you want to work from home? An online business is a great option.
An online commercial business lets you source products and build a website and social media presence that promotes your wares. If you don’t want to run your own website, you could sell on sites such as Etsy, eBay and Poshmark, instead, all from the comfort of your Texas home office.
Forming a Texas business is an exciting way to earn extra income and control your own company. When starting a business, among others, it’s also important to consider how you want it to be structured. Many small businesses establish themselves as a limited liability company (LLC), which is a simple process to complete and provides you with tax advantages and liability protection.
Creating an LLC in Texas establishes your business as a legal entity and ensures you have the benefits of this popular business structure.