What were the top 5 most popular sectors for startups in 2020?

Sometimes, all it takes is a little push to get those who always wanted to start their own business to finally pull the trigger. For thousands of us, COVID was that push. With so many rendered temporarily jobless by the pandemic, it gave us time to take stock and realise our entrepreneurial ambitions. In the UK, there was a surge in startup registrations throughout 2020, particular in the major cities of London, Birmingham and Manchester and particularly in the summer months, as the first lockdown eased. Going forward into 2021, thousands more are planning to take their destinies into their own hands and start a new business but what kind of business will it be? Since many businesses are doing their activities online, choosing an online business will probably influence your business industry one way or another.

According to a survey by poster printing company, instantprint, it’s more than likely to be an online retail business. But what other sectors saw a major boost in company registrations in 2020 and what might that mean for 2021? Take a look at these business sectors that seems to already found their place under the tree and are rapidly climbing the top of it.

1.Retail sales (online) 22,011

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why this one is sitting pretty at the top of the table. Online retail saw a huge uplift because of the restrictions placed on physical retail stores thanks to COVID and there remains a major market for all corners of the sector as lockdown continues and more of us than ever before choose to shop exclusively online. The profit will be also great if you sell online according to the one doing offline, and attracting more buyers is easier than ever. Choose your business niche and grab this chance!

2. Management consultancy 16,869

Typically a career that you’d expect would only be attainable by the kind of people that grew up ‘with money’ and went to a ‘good university’, with the resources available online, anyone from any background can learn how to be a management consultant these days. It’s a job that you can do from anywhere and doesn’t really rely on any specific qualifications. It’s one of the few high-earning jobs you could potentially blag your way into with a quick tongue.

3. Buying and selling real estate 16,747

People were buying and selling a lot more real estate in 2020 not only because of the stamp duty holiday but because they had the extra free time to invest in getting to know the market. The real estate market is also one of the few markets that remains profitable even in times of great economic turmoil so we’re not surprised so many turned to it last year. The smartest thing to do when having extra money to spend is in investing it. And buying real estate really puts you steps ahead and guarantees a return of money when you decide on renting it. I know there are a lot of people that lost their job during this crisis but wait for the right time when everything will get to normal.

4. Freight transport via road 10,848

A by-product of more people shopping online is that there was more cargo that needed transporting across the country. As such, freight transportation saw a massive boom in 2020 and will continue to flourish in 2021, though Brexit might complicate matters for those with international ambitions. Even though international borders are locked, the number of people that need transporting goods in their country is still growing. Either way, you go for this kind of business, or your niche is something else, freight transporting will be your necessity to send your customers’ products. A good reason to choose cargo business are the future predictions about this niche only going up.

5. Building developer 9,217

We can only surmise here that, with so many people now working from home, there is a greater need for larger domestic properties. Either way, the figures don’t lie so it would seem that over 9,000 new property developers entered the ring in 2020. Best of luck guys!

Choosing one of these popular sectors if you are planning to invest your money, time, and skills into something useful is the wisest step you should take this year. Failures are unavoidable, so if you are stuck finding yourself crossing some obstacles while running your business, don’t quit and keep trying, coz Covid times are full of opportunities to find the industry that works best for you. And most importantly no matter what sector you are trying to dive in, there are always be people that will need your product or service to solve their problems and meet their needs.