Top 20 Financial Services Business ideas You Can Open in 2022

After a certain amount of time in the business, we met many financial experts who are fed up with making money for other people and want to start being rewarded for their efforts. They know that the best way to do this is to start their own business, but too many of them hold back because they are worried they don’t have enough capital to start a business.

Sound familiar? Then you have come to the right place. Today, we are going to show you 20 ways you can turn your knowledge of the financial world into a money-making side hustle, and hopefully, eventually a full-time job. All without having to invest a huge amount of money.

Sound too good to be true? We’re not saying this will be the easiest path in the world, but if you are fed up with your bosses pocketing all that extra money you earn them – then starting your own business is more than worth the effort.

Top Finance Business ideas

1. Start a Personal Finance Blog

If you already know a lot about personal finance then why not put that knowledge to use by starting your own blog. One of the great things about websites is that if you set them up correctly they can earn you passive income. You can then sell them later for 26-40x their monthly revenue.

To be successful in this industry, you need to pick a niche (a specific topic, like dealing with debt or cryptocurrency). Writing within a niche will mean that you have less competition for your articles and your work will rank better on Google.

If you have a talent and a passion for teaching others how to achieve their finical dreams then you should consider starting a blog – especially as you can make money yourself in the process.

2. Angel Investment Company

Angel investors (also known as seed investors) help other businesses get started by buying shares in them or by lending them capital. Right now, this is a popular and growing market, with many investors looking to diversify. This could be a great opportunity for your own portfolio and you could help other people to diversify too.

You could set up an Angel investment group, where you offer to find investment opportunities for others who do not know the finical markets as well as you do. Like other investment firms, you could take a small commission for this service.

You could create a platform where you pair investors and startups together. You take the stress out of finding opportunities for the investors. While also helping startups to secure capital in a more sustainable way. This form of investing offers many opportunities for people who understand the marketplace.

3. Audit Firm

The audit market is essentially a captive market just waiting to be capitalized on. Every business, no matter its size, needs to be audited every year to make sure they are paying the IRS correctly. If you are already a trained auditor then you will be able to earn much more money if you go solo and set up your own auditing firm.

At first, business may be a little slow as you build up your network and your group of clients but once you have established yourself, you will have clients to go back to year after year. You may find that your service is so popular that you have to hire other auditors to come on board and help you manage the workload.

When you own your own business, you can take the full auditing fee for yourself, you don’t have to worry about your bosses taking a cut despite not having done any of the work.

4. Bureau De Change

A Bureau De Change is a currency exchange office. Many credit card companies charge you for using your card abroad, so it is often cheaper to visit a Bureau De Change before you leave and take out a good amount of cash. This means you will not have to worry about paying conversion fees.

It is possible to start a Bureau De Change will a very small amount of capital. First, you will need to get a license – but this is a cheap and speedy process. After that, you just need to think about how you are going to get the cash. If you convert the money when the dollar is strong then there is a possibility to make a large amount of money in a short amount of time when running a Bureau De Change.

5. Business For Sale Brokering

Most entrepreneurs start a business with the intention of selling it when it is worth a good amount of money. Entrepreneurs may start multiple businesses and sell them on throughout their lives. They may use the money they make from selling one business to start another.

If you are looking for a B2B (business to business) money-making opportunity then you should consider sale brokering for entrepreneurs. When an entrepreneur wants to sell their business, they will need a broker to help them do this.

If you are interested in the world of finance but want a job where you get to talk to people every day then this is a great option for you. It will be your job to find buyers for the businesses and negotiate the best price possible for your client. If you have a legal background and are good at drawing up contracts then this would be the ideal job for you.

6. Business Subsidy & Grant Consulting

If you want to start your own business (and you probably do if you are reading this article) then you have probably done a lot of research into grants and subsidies. During this process, you may have discovered that, while they are a great opportunity, they can be hard to get and the process of applying is time-consuming.

You might have looked on at the process and thought, I would much rather pay someone to do this for me than do it myself. Well, that is what a business subsidy and grant consultant would do. You would offer to do the research and the paperwork required by these applications for other businesses – for a fee.

If this is something you have experience in and are good at, you will be shocked by how many small businesses are looking for help in this area and that they are willing to pay you to help them.

7. Collection Agency

When banks lend out money to people they typically need to keep a collection agency on retainer just in case payments are missed. At first, collection agencies are required to inform businesses and individuals that they need to make their payments, but if more deadlines are missed then they may be required to go and collect collateral or repossess a building or pieces of equipment.

Collection agencies often work hard and aren’t very popular with most people. However, there is a lot of collection work out there that needs to be done. If you are able to deal with confrontational and angry customers in a calm and professional manner then this may be a good career choice for you.

Much like other roles, if you want to get the most money out of these jobs then you are better off being self-employed or running your own agency than working for someone else.

8. Commercial Bank

If you are starting a business for the first time, this may not be the option for you. As it requires an extremely large amount of capital to get off the ground. However, it is the businesses that require this large amount of starting capital that typically offer the best returns. This may be an option you want to consider when you have already sold a few businesses.

The way people save, spend, and invest their money is changing, and the popularity of completely online banks like Monzo have shown that there is space in the banking sector for people who can offer customers something new and more useful.

If you have the capital then you might want to consider starting a commercial bank aimed at younger generations who want something different from their bank and who no longer trust the big name brands.

9. Debt Collection Agency

This is a very similar concept to the Collection Agency idea that we talked about above. One thing that is recommended for people who are looking to start a collection agency is that they spend some time working within a pre-existing collection agency.

This will allow you to gather the skills that you need, learn the laws surrounding this industry, and get hands-on experience before you start your own business. Studying how another agency works will allow you to learn from them.

You will be able to copy what they do well and improve upon the areas where they lack. This will save you time and hassle – as you won’t have to start from scratch. One of the best places to find a gap in the market is to look at the reviews of already established businesses in your field and see what the customers wished they were doing.

10. Forex Trading

Some businesses, like an auditing firm, offer low levels of risks but fairly small returns. While others, like becoming a Forex trader, are very risky but have the potential to make you a lot of money. Forex traders trade on the foreign exchange market.

Billions of dollars worth of currency are traded on the Forex every day. There is a lot of opportunity to make a profit but there are also a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong. It is best to gain experience working with a trading company before you dive into the Forex.

However, this is a business that you can set up and run from home with only a small amount of capital. It is the type of business that you can run on the side until you are earning enough money from it to devote yourself to it full time.

11. Franchise Consulting

There are two main types of franchise consultants – (1) a consultant who works with franchise offering companies to help them find clients, and, (2) a consultant that helps customers to buy into the right franchise for them.

While some franchise businesses aren’t picky about who they sell licenses to, some employ consultants who investigate and work with potential clients to make sure they are the right fit for the brand. If a franchise location is run badly, it can reflect poorly on the business as a whole. Some franchise offering companies are very concerned about their image.

Applying for a franchise license can be complicated, and some business owners will employ a constant to handle the process for them. The consultant would be in charge of putting together the application, negotiating prices, and making sure everyone is aware of what is expected of them.

12. Freelance Bookkeeping

America has one of the most complicated tax systems in the world. Did you know that in some countries, the government works out their taxes for them and they pay them in small amounts throughout the year? They have it so easy. The one upside to this country having such a complicated tax system is that it creates a lot of work for bookkeepers.

If you have the skills to be a bookkeeper then there will be a lot of work out there for you. While you can choose to work for a single company, you can make more money by working as a freelancer. You can offer your services to different people and businesses, helping them to keep track of their earnings and tax obligations throughout the year.

Freelance bookkeeping is particularly popular with freelancer workers in other industries – as their workloads are often inconsistent and a freelance bookkeeper offers them more flexibility.

13. Fundraising Consulting

Have you started your own business before? Have you worked in the financial services of a larger business? Then you probably know how important it is for businesses to acquire investment if they want to grow. The unfortunate truth is that not all business people have a way with investors or the ability to put together accurate return projections or even know how to make a balance sheet.

This is where someone like you, with your skill set, can step in and help them. You can put together the research and the paperwork they need to start looking for investors. You could even help them to acquire these investors if you have the skills to do so.

This is something that a lot of small businesses would benefit from. Having a freelance consultant come in, allows them to benefit from expert advice, without having to pay an expert’s yearly salary.

14. Gold Loan Company

Before starting a gold loan company, you should check what your local laws surrounding small loans are. That being said, this can be a really lucrative business model for many and it requires a small amount of capital to launch.

With this business, you would take someone’s gold as collateral for a loan. You could then keep the gold until they pay you back. If they missed their payments you would be entitled to keep the gold – much like a pawn shop. Where the money is earned in this business model, is from the interest payments on the loans.

We recommend that you invest in a credit score checking subscription so that you can make sure you are lending the right people money. However, you do have the gold as collateral. Gold is a better option than electronics or cars because it very rarely decreases in value and is one of the most stable investment options.

15. Insurance Agency

If you are a good salesperson then you should be looking for a freelance style job that you can earn commission through. Becoming an insurance agency is exactly that. If you start your own insurance agency, you won’t need much capital you will just need the ability to sell products and services.

Your role as an insurance agent is to find the right insurance for your customers. You need no money to start this business and you can quickly build up a client base and earn a healthy amount of commission. This is a form of financial service that is referred to as evergreen because people will always need to buy insurance.

16. Become a Mortgage Broker

This is another option that you may be able to choose if you are starting your first business. As it does not require any capital to launch. However, it can be a difficult business to get into. As a mortgage broker, you will be the middle man between the customer (who is looking for a mortgage) and lending companies.

What you would do is go through all the options for your clients, and find the best one for them. You would then help them to apply for that mortgage for a small fee. The main issue with this particular business model is as more banks put free mortgage calculators on their websites, the fewer people will need your services and want to pay for them.

This is a role that many price comparison websites are also trying to muscle in on. The downside of this is that the price comparison websites will get their commission directly from the lenders, so the customers won’t have to pay anything. The price compassion websites will also be able to do the work much quicker than you can.

17. Start A Business Financial Advice Service

If you are someone with a lot of business experience then you could see big profits if you set up a finical advice service. If you do set up one of these, we recommend you set up a financial advice blog at the same time (see the top of this list).

Businesses need to be aware of both local, state, and federal tax regulations and this can be time-consuming. They may want to turn to a financial adviser to help them make all the right purchases and tax contributions. Small businesses will be able to benefit from your knowledge without bringing on a full-time staff member and you will have the freedom to work with who you want when you want.

Your role will be to help businesses increase their profits, but their losses, pay off their debts, and maybe even find new investors.

18. Money Transfer Business

As a money transfer business, you would help businesses to process their payments in one place. Some businesses are paid in cash, cheque, wire transfer, and even with cryptocurrency now. A money transfer business will transfer all of these different forms of payment into the right bank account for the business.

But they will also create a selection of invoices and paper trails that will make the tax process a lot easier for the business. Money transfer businesses typically charge a small fee per transaction or ask for a yearly rate. Money transfer businesses are getting rarer, as many banks will offer this with any business account set up.

However, small businesses may be interested in the service if it is cheaper than working with a large bank. It would be worth doing as much research into the businesses in your area as possible before you start a business like this.

19. Start A Credit Card Comparison Website

We have talked a lot already about how comparison websites have been muscling in on many finical businesses’ market shares. So, why not consider making your own. If you are able to build a website and develop comparison software, this could be a low-cost business opportunity for you.

However, you may need more capital if you are going to have to hire someone to do the majority of the world for you. Be aware that most IT specialists know the value of their work and can charge a lot of money. There are many different types of comparison websites – insurance, cars, supermarkets. But a type of comparison that is currently underserved is the credit card comparison site.

There are so many different options for credit cards now, that most people like to shop around the make sure they are getting the best deal. You could make your money by earning commission from the companies that your customers sign up with.

20. Become A Stock Day Trader

Our final suggestion is to become a day trader on the stock market. Many people have seen financial movies and are put off this because they think it is an incredibly high-stress job. If you were working on Wall Street and trading with portfolios with billions of dollars, then it would be a stressful job.

However, when you are starting out, you won’t be trading with this much money. As trading on the Forex, there are a lot of risks involved in trading stocks, one bad decision could wipe out your whole portfolio. But with high risk comes the chance of huge rewards.

Out of all the businesses on this list, stock trading probably offers the best chance of rewards. You will also be able to work from home and start your own business with only a small amount of capital. To thrive in a job like you need to make sure that you do your research before you start investing your money.

21. Venture Capital Firm

A venture capital (VC) firm is a business that provides a form of private equity and a type of financing to startup companies and small businesses that are believed to have long-term growth potential. The financial resources provided by investors to startup firms and small businesses that show potential for long-term growth is called venture capital.

At the end of 2020, 1,965 venture capital firms managed 3,680 venture funds and had approximately $548 billion in US venture capital assets under management (AUM), as well as a record of $151 billion in dry powder heading into 2022. According to the National Venture Capital Association, there are about 1000 active venture capital firms in the United States.

22. Payroll Processing Company

A payroll processing company handles employee information which includes wages, deduction, hours worked, and any other services that are compensation-related, to ensure that they are generated to employee paychecks and reports. This service is usually done on behalf of the employer.

Payroll processing companies are largely concentrated in the United States of America, as 70 percent of the industry’s revenue is accounted for by the 50 largest companies, with the four largest companies which deal in paychecks generation, tax filing as well as payroll reports for clients accounting for close to 50 percent of the whole industry. In the United States of America alone, about 285,212 payroll businesses employ about 929,849 people.

23. Factoring Company

A factoring company is a company that offers financial transactions and a type of debtor finance in which a business sells its accounts receivable (i.e., invoices) to a third party (called a factor) at a discount. A business will sometimes factor its receivable assets to meet its present and immediate cash needs.

Factoring is also seen as a form of invoice discounting in many markets. With factoring, accounts receivable is discounted to allow the buyer to make a profit upon the settlement of the debt. Factoring transfers the ownership of accounts to another party that then chases up the debt.

Statistics have it that in the United States there are over 862 factoring companies (invoice discounting companies) employing about 5,420 employees, and the industry rakes in over $5 billion annually.

24. Prepaid Debit Card Business

A prepaid debit card company is a business or better put a financial institution that specializes in issuing debit cards to clients. Please note that a prepaid debit card is similar to a gift card: It allows clients to spend whatever amount of money is stored on the card.

The prepaid debit card business is part of the prepaid card industry and the global prepaid card market size was valued at USD 2.01 trillion in 2019 and is predicted to reach USD 18.47 trillion by 2030, with a CAGR of 22.5% from 2020 to 2030. So also, the Prepaid Cards market in the U.S. reached US$612.7 Billion in the year 2022. The country currently accounts for a 36.09% share of the global market.

25. Savings and Loan Company

A savings and loan company which is also known as a thrift institution is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgages and other loans. Although savings and loan company is similar to a bank, they specialize in helping people get residential mortgages.

Generally, savings and loan companies provide higher interest rates on accounts to encourage more deposits. This allows the S&L to make funds available for borrowing. The global lending market reached a value of nearly $6,875.4 billion in 2019, having increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9 percent since 2015.

26. Check Cashing Business

A check cashing service is a company that enables clients to access their money without a bank account. These services allow people to cash their paycheck and other types of checks in exchange for a fee. They are a part of the financial services system for millions of Americans who are unbanked or underbanked.

The term “unbanked” refers to people who don’t have any sort of checking or savings accounts and generally do not interact with traditional financial service providers like banks. Statistics have it that the United States Alternative Financial Services Market that checks cashing business is part of is estimated to be worth $41.5 Billion by 2025.

27. Insurance Restoration Business

An insurance restoration company is a business that pays for the repairs on a home or business in the event of a fire, natural disaster, water, or mold. Please note that a customized insurance program for restoration provides hard-to-find coverages, including environmental liability at incredibly affordable prices.

Available data shows that the American restoration industry has grown to an astonishing $210 billion annual market due to several factors, including aging American homes and infrastructure, worsening storms, the influx of wildfires, and frequent flooding.

FAQs

Before we leave you, we are going to answer the 5 questions we most frequently get asked by people looking to start their own businesses. If you need help creating a business plan then you should check out the Business Plans page on our website. But for now, if you have questions about starting a business then check out the answers below for more information.

When should we approach lenders for money to start a business?

So, you’re ready to start your business, but you need a loan to get everything off the ground? Well, you should make sure that you have a solid business plan put together and are ready to present it to any possible investors. This business plan will need to include your earning predictions for the next three years, your start-up costs, a study of your competition and the marketplace you are planning to enter, and your intended company structure.

You should also so where you are planning to source products from and show any possible manufacturers you might use. The more you can get in place before you seek extra funding the better.

What’s the difference between a term loan and an overdraft when financing my business?

Overdrafts and loans work very similarly in a business situation, as they do for regular banking.

An overdraft is a form of borrowing money, for which the debt is payable on demand. Most bank accounts have an overdraft limit and if your business goes over it you will be fined every day until you repay the money. You can dip into your overdraft whenever you like.

A loan is an agreed-upon loan of money between a bank and a business. Monthly repayments with interest must be made and missing these payments can result in financial consequences for the business.

What happens if I cannot keep up the installments on a term loan?

If you miss one payment and talk to your lender about why then you are unlikely to face any consequences. However, if you continue to miss payments, you will see your repayments and your interest rates start to rise. You will also be fined every time you miss your repayments.

Eventually, you will default on your loan and the bank will collect and repossess any collateral you put up against your loan. This could be some of the products you are selling, your business premises, or your business could be forced to go into administration.

What are our options if we need to raise more business finance?

If you want to raise more money to support or expand your business then you have a few options.

Our first option is to ask the bank for a loan. You could also apply for a business grant or bursary from your local or federal government.

You could choose to put stocks and shares in your company up for sale. If you sell shares in your company then the people who buy the shares will have a say in how your company operates. People who buy stocks do not tend to get so involved in the business.

However, letting people buy shares in the company is a quicker way to raise money overall. You might be able to ask these investors for more loans at a later date as well.

When people buy stocks and shares, you will not have to pay the money back to them, but they typically take a share of the profits made by the company.

What is an exit strategy, and when should we start thinking about it?

Most entrepreneurs don’t start a business thinking they are going to spend their whole life working for it. They start it with the intent of building it up and then selling it on. This plan is known as an exit strategy. It is good for an entrepreneur to have their business strategy is planned out before they launch the company.

Summary

Are you stuck in a job that doesn’t reward you for your hard work, even when your hard work is making huge profits for your company? Do you know a lot about the world of finance? Then it is time for you to start your own business. Starting your own business doesn’t have to require a huge amount of capital.

Especially if you start small and slowly build it up. In this industry, you have a wide range of activities you could turn your hand to – from starting a financial advice blog to becoming a day trader on the stock market. What are you waiting for? It’s time to take control of your own career and start making money for yourself – not your bosses.