17 Mobile Business Ideas to Get Your Company-on-Wheels Rolling

The emerging world of work flexibility is great news for workers, yes, but also for entrepreneurs and customers. If you’re considering mobile business ideas, then you’re already well aware that this changing landscape has opened up opportunities for a whole new slate of companies to serve customers on demand. Businesses that go to a customer can be extra convenient for those who want to spend money — and mobile business owners can charge a premium for services delivered to a client’s door.

In many cases, you can take a current business or area of expertise and put it on wheels for a strong new mobile business idea. Others are a little more tailored to the fact that they’re on-the-go enterprises. Really, it just matters what kind of mobile business you want to build.

17 lucrative mobile business ideas

We’ll review some mobile business ideas that already have proved they can work in practice. Use these ideas as a jumping-off point; these aren’t the only types of companies and services that can travel.

Hair and makeup services

The wedding market is a big one and people are willing to pay for great services that are extra convenient during a busy day. Among the services wedding parties often demand are hair and makeup, which provides an excellent mobile business idea. Unlike running a traditional salon, you can take your styling van or trailer directly to your clients. Of course, weddings aren’t the only occasions for which people need glamour teams — there are lots of other occasions — but they can be a great initial market to try to target.

Pet grooming

It can be tough for some pet owners to corral their pets into the car and get them to the groomer to be washed, dried and fluffed. As a mobile pet groomer, you can provide an on-demand, on-location service to pet owners by creating a mobile salon in a van or trailer. Making sure you cater to cats as well as dogs will expand your market.

Tech help

There are plenty of brick-and-mortar tech repair shops, but people often find it difficult to make an appointment that’s convenient for them; after all, tech help is usually needed in times of emergency. A tech help vehicle can be a huge boon to both business owners and private individuals who need specialized help — data recovery, screen repair, wireless troubleshooting and more — where they are and as fast as they can. If you’re able to specialize in heavier tech equipment, such as servers, you could also expand your market, since the only way to repair such large equipment is on-site.

Handyman and other specialty repairs

If something goes wrong with your house, you can’t take it with you to a repair shop; you have to call for help. That’s why setting up a mobile handyman or other specialty repair business could be lucrative if you’re good with tools. If you’re able to make emergency repairs during odd hours — like how you can call some locksmiths 24 hours a day — then you may be able to both charge a premium for your services as well as cater to a larger clientele.

Cleaning services

Much like repairs, cleaning services often need to go to the places where the tasks are. You could start a house cleaning service to offer a top-to-bottom clean of a customer’s home. But you may want to think even more specifically, too. You could also focus on certain types of cleaning, such as carpet cleaning or silver polishing, which require a little more specialized skill but may have limited competition among cleaning services.

Food truck

Food trucks aren’t a new idea, but they’re a stalwart for a reason. There are many opportunities for food-loving entrepreneurs to create beloved ventures for hungry customers. To make your mobile restaurant stand out, consider doing some market research to figure out where existing food trucks aren’t doing a good job of serving customers — maybe that’s with a certain cuisine or for a certain diet, for instance.

» MORE: Best food truck loans

Coffee, smoothie or other specialty cart

If a truck is too big of a mobile business idea, consider a cart-based business instead. There’s a lot of demand for specialty foods that don’t take up much space, such as high-end coffee, vegan ice cream, smoothies and more. It could be fun to hang out with your cart on a busy boardwalk on a nice day, but also consider that these kinds of businesses can be great for corporate events, parties and more.

Traveling bar

Consider opening up a bar with some salon seating that people can come into for a drink with friends or colleagues. You can park at local spots that you know people love to sit and enjoy that may not have good options for socialization (like a beach or boardwalk), and, with good marketing, you can encourage customers to follow you around wherever you roam. Just don’t forget to check out the permitting for your state's liquor license.

Cloth diaper service

As consumers become increasingly eco-conscious, cloth diapers are emerging as a sustainable alternative to disposable diapers. But cloth diapers can be (no pun intended) a pain in the butt to clean and must be laundered often. Consider creating a cloth diaper service that picks up cloth diapers for cleaning, and delivers batches of laundered diapers at the same time. You may even want to advertise yourself as a baby registry gift, so expecting parents can have their friends and family purchase vouchers for your services.

Doula service

Becoming a doula requires certification and training, but you’ll be able to serve clients in their homes and help them on their journeys to becoming parents. You may even be able to team up with other doulas to create a larger, more comprehensive resource for parents that still comes to them both before and after birth.

In-home care service

There’s never a lack of need for health care professionals with a caring side. If this sounds like you, you may want to set up a care service, which could offer things such as elder care, emergency care and infant care. Depending on your certifications, you may be able to separate yourself from the competition by offering not just in-home care, but medical attention, too.

Children’s play tank

Busy parents can often use a break from their children, whether that’s to get work done or simply decompress. If you’re creative and love kids, you may want to get a van or trailer filled with fun, stimulating activities in which you can entertain children for an hour at a time. Projects like Mobile Mommies have found their niche offering specialized childcare at special events.

Personal assistant service

Many people want more time in the day. You won’t be able to provide them that, but you can create a personal assistant service that takes care of tasks that are eating up their time. That can be something as simple as picking up their dry cleaning, or more complex like shopping for gifts. It’s up to you to determine what kinds of services you offer, and the clientele to whom you’ll market yourself. But consider getting a sense of what tasks potential customers wish they could outsource before making your menu.

Specialty organizer

Organizing isn’t just a question of Marie Kondo-ing someone’s home: It’s helping them get in better mental shape, too. You can bring your mobile organizing services to clients’ homes who need help with a top-to-bottom reorg, or simply help get them get a handle on specific rooms. You may also want to see if you can team up with a moving company to help those who’ve just bought new homes to make sure that they step into their new houses as the most organized versions of themselves that they can be.

Specialty clothing shop

If you have a tasteful eye, you may want to think about opening up a mobile specialty clothing shop. You may look for a recurring place to park your vehicle where customers can expect you — like a craft market, for instance. But you might also want to embrace the fact that you’re on wheels and travel a bit to be able to expose lots of different audiences to what you have to offer.

Tutoring service

Creating an on-site tutoring or educational service can be extremely helpful for students who need extra help in certain areas during the school year, but particularly around test time. One important thing to note about this type of business is that it’s relatively seasonal with the school year, so if you’re considering this mobile business idea, then you may want to also create a summer-specific service that can help round out your offerings.

Specialty fitness service

In an era of so much on-demand fitness via streamed classes, why not create an equivalency in person? If you’re a certified personal trainer, or can teach certain types of classes such as yoga or barre, consider setting up a mobile fitness business. You can either cater to private clients who want extra attention or even market yourself to workplaces as a teacher who can come in and lead stress-relieving classes.

Next steps

Hopefully, something from this list has piqued your interest. If you’re ready to go ahead with one of these mobile business ideas, or another you’ve been thinking about for a while, you have a few next steps to take.

1. Make a business plan

Like any other business, you’ll want to write a business plan. Your business plan will help you understand where you fit into the market, how you’re going to make money, how you’re going to price your product or service, who your team is and what kind of problem your business is solving.

A business plan isn’t just a perfunctory document; for instance, if you go on to apply for major business financing like SBA loans, lenders may require you to provide your business plan for loan approval.

2. Create a marketing strategy

Since people won’t be able to easily find your business at a consistent address, you need to get the word out to your community. As you plan your small business marketing strategy, ask yourself a few big questions:

• Where will you find your customers?

• How will you position yourself to stand out?

• How will you let customers know where you are at a given moment?

• What kind of customers are you targeting?

• What kind of messaging will you use to communicate the need you’re filling?

• How will you pay for your marketing efforts?

3. Figure out financing

Starting a business is generally a capital-intensive process, but can be especially expensive for mobile businesses that need to create a physical footprint and get gear. Think about how much money you’ll need to invest in your business, and where you’re going to pursue that business capital — whether from investors or lenders.

Many small business owners begin with a business credit card for foundational expenses, especially since securing funding as a startup isn’t always easy. You may be able to put initial startup costs on a business credit card, and then build up your financial profile to get hold of a more substantial business loan, like a business line of credit, equipment financing or even an SBA microloan. Some lenders will work with businesses as young as six months.