To read the most up to date version of this article, view the Most Profitable Businesses in Australia 2024 here.
It’s all fine and well to invest in a business based on its profit potential, but to truly grow your company and reach your desired success level, it should also match your individual profile.
You should consider your passions, existing skills, and how much funding you have to start or buy your business as these will directly affect how successful you are.
While we can’t figure that out for you, this article will share some of the most profitable business opportunities in Australia so that you can pick one that’s a good fit.
We’ll dive into the competitiveness of each business along with market growth projections (where available) and share how much you may stand to earn from each opportunity.
Most profitable small businesses in Australia
Let’s dive into this list of high-profit business ideas, so you can launch your new business with confidence.
Laundromats
First on our list of money-making businesses are laundromats. Laundromats provide customers with self-service laundry facilities, making it a good option if you don’t want to hang around a store all day.
The laundromat industry is quite established, meaning it’s a competitive industry, but this also comes down to the location you choose. However, researchers still expect laundry care revenue to grow at 2.33% annually over the next five years.
In Australia, successful laundromats can expect to earn $15,000 per month on the high end, with some stores even generating up to $350,000 in yearly profit. Buying a laundromat offers entrepreneurs several benefits, but it's important to understand what the buying process looks like for this type of business. Funding, location, equipment and local competition are some factors you'll need to consider.
Cleaning companies
Cleaning companies offer a range of services for both residential, commercial and industrial properties, making it an extremely varied industry.
While competition is often fierce due to the industry not requiring extensive certification, there is always demand for cleaning services. Besides that, you can offer services that require specialised training, such as industrial or post-construction cleaning, which are particularly lucrative businesses.
In Australia, you can expect the cleaning services industry to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% until 2030. This number features growth across the board in both commercial and residential cleaning services. It's a lucrative industry to enter, whether you plan to start or buy a cleaning company.
And, according to a popular bond cleaning franchise, their cleaners can earn up to $100,000 per year with some even earning $3,000 per week.
Freelancing agencies
Starting a freelance services business has become extremely popular due to it being a high-profit margin business.
While freelancing can be seen as competitive if you look for clients through freelance marketplaces, you can avoid this issue by contacting clients directly. It’s also possible to offer more specialised services to reduce competition levels.
According to the popular freelancing marketplace, Upwork, here are a few of the most profitable service businesses you can start and how much they earn on average:
- Writing: Annual earnings of $62,000 based on an hourly rate of $44 - $59.
- Editing: Annual earnings of $59,000 based on an hourly rate of $37 - $51.
- Web development: Annual earnings of $132,000 based on an hourly rate of $73 - $88.
- Graphic design: Annual earnings of $132,000 based on an hourly rate of $59 - $66.
- Digital marketing: Annual earnings of $147,000 based on an hourly rate of $73.
Note: If you work with direct clients instead of through a third party, such as an agency, you can earn higher rates.
While we can’t predict the growth of freelance businesses as a whole, the freelance marketplace industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.5% until 2030. This shows that demand is increasing faster than many other businesses.
Lawn maintenance
Next on our list of small business ideas is lawn maintenance. Lawn care businesses offer services like mowing, trimming, fertilising and landscaping for residential or commercial properties.
Like other businesses, competitiveness comes down to your location, the quality of your work and whether you offer specialised services. For example, offering patterned lawn trimming would reduce your competition versus offering standard trimming. Understanding how to successfully run a landscaping business is something you'll need to research before venturing into this industry.
Since it’s an established industry, researchers expect the industry to grow by a CAGR of 1.08% over the next five years.
While this growth may seem small, according to an industry insider, successful companies can easily earn $400 - $600 per day in gross profits with a single worker or $500 - $1,000 per day with an employee.
Small-scale farming
If you’re looking for small business ideas from home, small-scale farming might be a good choice.
Small-scale farming involves cultivating crops or raising livestock on a smaller scale, such as at your home. For this example, we’re focusing on crop cultivation as it’s much simpler to start.
Certain crops may be more competitive than others depending on your location, so it’s important to assess market demand and local competition before choosing what to grow.
For example, you can expect the global microgreens market to grow at a CAGR of 11.1% until 2028 whereas mushroom cultivation is seeing much lower growth.
In general, you can sell a tray of microgreens for roughly $30 with profit margins of around 90%, making it one of the most profitable food businesses to start.
There are multiple farming opportunities in Australia, so take some time to research which route would be best suited to your skills and finance capabilities.
Tour agencies
Tour agencies organise and coordinate guided tours, travel packages, and experiences for tourists.
While competitiveness in the travel industry can be extremely high, you can reduce this barrier by offering experiences that aren’t typically found elsewhere.
Profit margins in the industry are quite low at 4.7%. However, this number includes large companies with hundreds of employees. As a small business owner, your margins will be much higher.
Finally, experts estimate that the industry will grow at a respectable 2.62% per year until 2027.
Bookkeeping consultancies
Bookkeeping businesses provide financial record-keeping and accounting services to individuals or companies.
While bookkeeping can fall under the freelancing umbrella, it’s extremely profitable with average profit margins of 26%, making it one of the most profitable businesses in Australia.
Since bookkeeping is an established industry, it’s neither growing nor declining. However, experts believe there will be a spike in demand as bookkeeping is dominated by older individuals (average age of 48 in Australia) who will soon retire.
You can expect to make anywhere from $50 - $60 per hour with some specialised bookkeepers making over $200 per hour.
Phone and computer repair
Phone and computer repair businesses offer repairs, troubleshooting, and maintenance services for electronic devices with the most common service being smartphone repairs.
The competitiveness in this industry can be moderate to high, with both authorised service providers and independent repair shops.
While we couldn’t find exact numbers for industry growth, a proxy is the number of smartphone users in Australia – which experts estimate to grow at 2% per year until 2026.
Like most small businesses, earnings from phone and computer repair can vary widely depending on location and demand. But according to the businesses for sale on our website, you can earn around $3,000 per week once established and as much as $800,000 per year with multiple locations.
While you may want to buy an existing electronics repair business, you can also start repairs from home, making it one of the most profitable side businesses around.
Aged care providers
Aged care businesses provide services and support for elderly individuals, including personal care, companionship and assistance with daily activities.
The aged care industry is quite competitive in Australia. However, with the country’s ageing population, demand is sure to increase in the future. For example, a recent report into aged care found that more than 3.5 million Australians will use these services by 2050, meaning Australia will need an extra one million aged care workers – four times the current workforce!
According to researchers, aged care profit margins are only 1.2%. However, this includes aged care facilities that also provide housing to their clients which results in significant overhead.
Instead, you can offer in-home services which can drastically improve your margins. Other routes into this sector include starting your own home care business, buying an existing care home, or investing in a care-related franchise.
Pest control services
Pest control businesses offer services to eliminate or control pests in residential or commercial properties.
The pest control industry is relatively competitive, but it will always depend on your local area. And like most businesses, it’s important to offer specialised services to stand out from your competition.
Researchers estimate industry-wide profit margins to be 8.7% with the industry experiencing neutral to slightly negative growth. However, as a small business owner, your profit margin is likely to be much higher.
According to a well-known franchise in Australia, pest control services can cost between $300 - $700 depending on the property size.
And with pest controllers able to tackle 4 - 7 jobs per day, you can generate at least $1,200 in revenue for every full day you work, making it one of the most profitable small businesses on this list.
Helpful FAQs
What are the most profitable businesses in Australia?
The most profitable businesses in Australia are:
- Laundromats.
- Cleaning companies.
- Freelancing agencies.
- Lawn maintenance.
- Small-scale farming.
- Tour agencies.
- Bookkeeping consultancies.
- Phone and computer repairs.
- Aged care providers.
- Pest control services.
What kind of online business is most profitable?
There is no single online business that’s the most profitable. However, online businesses in the following categories tend to have high-profit margins:
- Software as a service (SaaS).
- Freelancing agencies (marketing, design, etc.)
- Coaching and consulting.
- Digital products (arguably the most profitable e-commerce business)
What small business has the highest profit margin?
Determining the small business with the highest profit margin can be challenging, as it depends on various factors such as the industry, location, operating costs, and pricing strategy.
However, businesses that typically have higher profit margins include those that:
- Provide professional services, such as marketing and software development that rely on human knowledge.
- Provide life-altering services, such as healthcare.
- Provide services and products without a physical storefront.
What is the easiest business to succeed in?
The easiest business to succeed in comes down to a mixture of your interests, existing skills and market conditions.
However, businesses that you may deem easier to succeed in can include:
- Service-based businesses: These businesses are low risk since you can start as a freelancer and grow as demand does. Additionally, most of these businesses have a large customer base.
- Online businesses: Like freelancing, online businesses often require low initial investment. Dropshipping, affiliate marketing, content creation (blogging, vlogging), and online coaching or consulting are examples of online businesses that can be relatively easier to get started.
- Franchise businesses: Buying into a franchise is another way to make reaching success easier since you’re leveraging existing systems and business reputation. Most franchises also offer ongoing support in case you run into any issues.
Ready to start your journey into business ownership?
While all the businesses in the list above are excellent choices, succeeding requires more than just choosing the right business – you need to have adequate funding and you need to understand your market.
One of the top reasons for small business failure is a lack of funding. It’s incredibly difficult to predict market changes, so it’s important to have at least six months of capital runway. However, this can increase or decrease depending on the business you choose.
On the other hand, you also need sufficient demand for your products or services to succeed.
Do online research, talk to franchises and other business owners in the industry and talk to potential customers to understand what’s happening in your chosen market. With this knowledge, you’ll become more confident in your choices and avoid choosing the wrong business.
If you need some extra help, we’ve created tons of start-up guides that cover the finer details of starting a business in Australia.
However, another way to ensure you’re choosing the right business is to simply buy one that’s already profitable. On our website, we list thousands of profitable businesses for you to invest in.
If that sounds good to you, make sure to check out our guide which covers everything you need to know about raising finance to buy a business.
@Be_theBoss