Jonathan Steiman

Top 10 Industries to Start and Grow a Business

 

Interestingly, employment services will be a major player in the home healthcare industry, the sixth best industry to start and grow a business, according to our survey. Hospitals and other medical facilities will rely heavily on temporary workers to meet the needs of the aging baby boomers.

Human resource consulting, a product offered by a few employment service firms, will be in demand between now and 2012, thanks to complex employee-related laws, worker's compensation claims and health benefit plans.

Placement agencies are predicted to grow, too, but not as fast as temporary service providers. Though firms are increasingly willing to use outside employment service companies to screen potential candidates, online job sites are taking a lion's share of the industry. All told, between now and 2012, the sector should see a healthy output rate of 5.1% each year.

Company Profile: Sedona Staffing

5. Management, Science and Technical Consulting

As the economy expands and the nature of business becomes more complex, the demand for consultants increases, which helps explain the huge 55% job growth expectation for this industry, as well as a healthy 4.1% per year rate of output through 2012.

Business consultants are projected to do well, based on the increasing number of businesses that will need help drafting business plans, budgets and strategies. Marketing consultants will also been in high demand, as franchise restaurants and retailers will need advice on locations and marketing plans. The more businesses and the bigger economy will increase the number of logistical consulting firms. Finally, businesses will continue to need consultants specializing in government compliance to help navigate the federal government's sea of regulations.

As the global economy becomes more integrated, the need for outsourcing consultants will be invaluable. So, too, will be firms that assist companies in doing business overseas.

Company Profile: The Milestone Group

6. Home Health Care

While employment in the health service industry is projected to grow 28% by 2012, employment in the specialized home health care industry is expected to be nearly twice that, or 54.5%. Each year, over 7.6 million people receive home health care services, according to the National Association for Home Care. In 2004, annual expenditures in home health care were projected to reach $45.2 billion, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group.

In demographic terms, the number of people in older age groups is growing faster than the total population because of the post-war baby boom followed by a drop in the birthrate of American woman. Advancements in medical technologies also have extended the lives of the very ill and the very old.

Company Profile: Quality Assured Services

7. Personal Financial Advisory

Along with healthcare, baby boomers will need advice managing their money in the coming decade, making financial advisory our seventh pick for starting and growing a business.

On demographics alone, financial advisory is a growing sector. If the Bush Administration gets its way, however, and Social Security is privatized, the need for financial advisors could grow beyond the 45.7% predicted by the government. With just a fraction of the $54 billion a year in investments predicted under the President's plan, the advisory sector could be evermore lucrative in 10 years, and one great place to start a business.

Company Profile: Ames Financial Planning

8. Childcare Services

When women started pouring into the workforce 30 years ago, a new industry was created: childcare. The child daycare service industry has become one of the fastest-growing businesses in the U.S., and it takes in more than $11 billion annually. And it's only going to get bigger, thanks to an expected increase in the number of woman between the ages of 15 and 44 entering the workforce.

The number of women in the workforce, though, isn't the only thing changing in the coming decade. With the 40-hour work creeping upwards, parents will need more childcare services, particularly later into the evening and on weekends. For these reasons, the number of persons working in childcare is expected to grow 43% by 2012, making it the eighth best industry to start and grow a business.

Company Profile: Hildebrandt Learning Centers

9. Arts, Entertainment and Recreation

The baby boomers are going to be the richest retirees in our nation's history. So what are they going to do with their cash? Spend it, of course. With plenty of time and a penchant for enjoying life, the baby boomers are expected to drive the arts and entertainment sector, which includes everything from fitness clubs and health spas to cruise ships and golf courses.

The arts, entertainment and recreation sector will also benefit from a younger clientele. Over the last decade, the saving rate among Americans has fallen, partly because of an increase in the cost of living, but also because of increase spending on discretionary items. This trend, coupled with the demand from baby boomers, provides entrepreneurs with many business opportunities.

Company Profile: Contours Express

10. Motion Picture/Video

Fifty years ago there were three television channels. Thirty years later, after the advent of cable television, the number of channels grew to 40, tops. Today, Americans and much of the world flip through over 200 channels of programming. The movie industry has grown in a similar fashion, with single movie houses getting consumed by 20-screen theatres with stadium seating.

Such a massive amount of programming requires a commensurate supporting industry of production studios, distributors, advertisers and engineers, just to name a few. Over the next decade, the number of persons employed by the motion picture and video industry is expected to grow 31%, making it our tenth best industry to start and grow a business.

Company Profile: AVSC

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