You can find all sorts of mobile business ideas through a quick Google search. But I want to go beyond a list and actually dive into some of the most profitable themes happening in the mobile space right now.

The business options inside this post come from my experience as an operator or customer of these services. In other words these are all based on my opinion so let feel free to let me have it on social media or in the comments if you disagree.

Mobile coffee shop setup.

Before we get started, my definition of a mobile business is any company that delivering a product or service direct to the consumer. This could manifest itself as a food truck serving customers at an office complex or a maid service cleaning a residence. In both examples, the business drives to the customer to make a sale.

While you might only looking for a lucrative side hustle some of the businesses listed here could be grown into good sized organized with a dozen or so employees if it’s something you want to do. In fact, the home services segment of the United States economy (most of which are made are mobile businesses) is estimated at $600 billion in annual revenue. This means there’s plenty of room for you to grab a tiny slice of the pie.

I believe these sorts of businesses are huge opportunities for entrepreneur for three key reasons:

  • People are spending money on home services. There’s the potential to expand and grow this type of business.
  • You don’t need to invest 6-figures in a retail location to be able to start doing business. You just need to show up at your customers house, look professional, and provide the service.
  • In most cases offering these services do not require any advanced degrees that will cost money and time to acquire. In some cases, you might need to attend a low-cost class to get a permit.

Now that you understand the reasons why I’m bullish on mobile business (low barrier to entry, in-demand, high-profit potential), let’s get into the nitty gritty and discuss some of the different paths you could pursue. Some of these I think are great long-term opportunities, while others I think you should pass on due to low profit margin or competitiveness.

Mobile Business Options:

Home Service Business

Home service businesses are every where. If your neighborhood is anything like mine, you probably see these businesses driving in and out of the community all day long, every day. Here are a few examples:

  • Maid and cleaning services
  • Lawn mowing and landscape businesses
  • Plumbers
  • Handyman services
  • Pool cleaning
  • Windshield replacement / repair services
  • Drive way power washing
  • Weed control and fertilization companies
  • Vehicle cleaning
  • Pest and bed bug services
  • Pool cleaning
  • Holiday light setup and take down
  • Home inspection services
  • Notary Public
  • Pool cleaning
  • Custom closet builder
  • Interior decorator
  • Mobile dentist
  • Moving company
  • Personal chef
  • Computer repair and tech help
  • Commercial window washer
  • Mobile salon
  • Pet groomer
  • Laundry services
  • Personal trainer
  • HVAC repair and maintenance

This list is only the tip of the iceberg. All you need to do is look around at your own home to find more ideas. Every major piece of your home likely has a service opportunity tied to it (your water heater, fridge, oven).

I can’t think of any service business that couldn’t benefit from being mobile. Customers are only beginning to have groceries delivered to their front door instead of going out to shop. The trend of increased convenience a consumer mega-trend we see unfolding right in front of us each day.

Now let’s dig into some of the specifics of these different business models to access the best opportunities from the limitless of options.

Garage Door Repair

According to Doors & Access Systems Manufacturers International (DASMA), there are 2.5 million new garage doors sold each year. This is a component of every home that can break down at any moment for home owners. The garage door could go off its track, the door could stop going up all together, and a hundred other different potential problems.

I’ve had an issue with a garage door not going up in the past and let me tell you it was a major pain. If you have a family that’s going in and out of the house a lot you know what I mean. I called a garage door repair person that was referred by a friend and had to wait 2 – 3 days for the guy to come over to my house because he was so booked with work.

When the repair man did arrive a few days later, it took him all of 15 minutes to fix the problem. I was charged about $100 including a tip for the service and was more than happy to pay the fee to get this problem solved.

What I love about garage door repair is there’s a huge market opportunity. Literally every home in America has an electric garage door that will break sooner or later. It’s also a service that doesn’t require you to get dirty or bust your butt climbing into attics to complete the task.

The most common problems are can be easily fixed. If you can’t figure out how to solve the problem, you could always up-sell the customer into buying and installing a replacement opener.

What I Like: 

  • Don’t need a big vehicle.
  • Don’t need a lot of expensive equipment for repairs.
  • You aren’t lugging any heavy equipment around and putting strain on your back, neck, etc.

What I Don’t Like: 

  • These are usually lower ticket / one-off jobs unless you are replacing the garage door opener.
  • You could end up driving a long distance in between small jobs if you’re not careful. You’ll need to establish a strict service area.

Mobile Disc Jockey

Weddings are lucrative events for these types of businesses.

I used to operate a mobile disc jockey business and cover band while in college. I have a few good stories from the experience and it was terrific money for a broke college student. I know for a fact I could build a DJ business like this again, but I have a family now and don’t want to spend my weekends at a party or wedding.

If you like the idea of getting paid to party this can be a very lucrative business. This business model is straight forward. There are all sorts of events like weddings, class reunions, corporate parties, or other events happening in your city every weekend. You will bring the music and entertainment to these events.

To start, you’ll need to accept gigs on the lower end of the price spectrum. When I ran the DJ business in college, we would started doing gigs for $100 and a case of beer. Eventually, we moved our way up to around $500 per event and turned down the rest. There were a handful of events where we made about $1,000 for a few hours of playing.

Everyone I know that started a successful DJ business, got their start doing low-paying or free gigs. It’s just the way it is. You start by doing a few free or almost free gigs to get your name out there and then you work your way up to more profitable events like weddings. If you want to make the most money possible in this business, set your sites on appealing to weddings or corporate clients.

The biggest pain when operating this business is the setup of your PA equipment. You’ll be unwrapping cables, putting those cables into speakers, testing the audio levels, and plugging in lights well before the event kicks off. You’ll encounter electrical problems and people stumbling over equipment (especially later in the evening) when you run this business. The setup and takedown process can get to become a real grind even if you really enjoy the live show aspect.

What I Like: 

  • After you invest in the audio equipment, your expenses are very low.
  • Great way to net between $500 – $1,000 a day.

What I Don’t Like: 

  • Setup and audio testing takes a long time. Expect to spend at least three hours before an event starts for setup and two hours after an event ends pulling everything down.
  • The most profitable events are held on weekends at night.

Holiday Light Setup and Takedown