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Home/r/Entrepreneur/2025-07-10/#best-business-start-major-city
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What’s the best business to start in a major city?

r/Entrepreneur
7/9/2025

Content Summary

A successful online entrepreneur seeks advice for transitioning to urban business opportunities. The discussion focuses on service-based models leveraging city density, including mobile EV charging recovery, urban landscaping, and niche community services. Key considerations include balancing competition with profit margins, identifying workflow gaps through observation, and building local trust through in-person services. The thread emphasizes leveraging population density for service economics while warning about labor costs and market saturation.

Opinion Analysis

Mainstream opinions emphasize service-based models leveraging urban density, with mobile EV charging and cleaning services as top suggestions. There's strong support for workflow analysis frameworks to identify market gaps. Controversy exists around the viability of mobile charging businesses, with debates about operational costs vs emergency pricing premiums. Some argue for leveraging existing skills rather than new ventures, while others promote niche community building. The thread shows tension between scalable online models and hyper-local service requirements.

SAAS TOOLS

SaaSURLCategoryFeatures/Notes
[No specific SaaS tools mentioned in the content]---

USER NEEDS

Pain Points:

  • High competition in urban service businesses
  • Slim profit margins due to labor costs
  • Difficulty identifying viable urban opportunities

Problems to Solve:

  • Finding service-based businesses with urban density advantages
  • Identifying niche markets in crowded cities
  • Balancing scalability with local context

Potential Solutions:

  • Mobile services leveraging city density (e.g., EV charging recovery)
  • Community-focused businesses building local trust
  • Urban landscaping/cleaning services for small spaces

GROWTH FACTORS

Effective Strategies:

  • Leveraging population density for service economics
  • Building AAA certification for credibility
  • Creating workflow analysis frameworks

Marketing & Acquisition:

  • Local networking and community engagement
  • Emergency service positioning (e.g., EV charging)
  • Niche targeting (urban professionals, conference attendees)

Monetization & Product:

  • Premium pricing for emergency services
  • Subscription models for recurring needs (cleaning/landscaping)
  • Hardware+service bundles (mobile charging trucks)

User Engagement:

  • In-person trust building through local presence
  • Community-focused business models (creative studios)
  • Leveraging urban lifestyle pain points