I Discovered the Best Businesses to Start in 2026

About this video

Martell ranks businesses to start by gross margin, arguing the best combine high margin with a high selling price, unlike restaurants with low margins. Product businesses (about 50–60% gross margin in his figures) can work but often fail on distribution: pre-sell via crowdfunding to validate demand, sell direct-to-consumer to skip wholesalers and retailers and their cash-flow problems, and invest in brand, reviews, press, and word of mouth. Agencies and service businesses (about 60–70%) are the easiest start because you can sell a skill you already have, but to scale beyond a low-paying job you must target a strong pain (he gives AI efficiency help for businesses as an example), productise the service around one specific outcome instead of selling hours, build recurring revenue on multi-month engagements, and scale with systems and checklists so others can deliver the work. Coaching, consulting, and information products (about 70–80%) require learning to sell your expertise, giving your strategy away free through education-based marketing and getting paid for implementation support, and building a community so clients gain value from each other — he admits he delayed calling himself a coach for years. Software (about 80–90%) has the highest leverage because an extra user costs almost nothing, but only works with a sticky, daily-use ‘painkiller’ product, a boring industry whose customers do not churn for the newest tool every few months, a strong first-time user experience that gets users to activation, and a focus on retention and lifetime value over chasing new customers.

Key takeaways

• Judge a business by gross margin and ticket size: aim for the 70–90% margin categories rather than low-margin models like restaurants.
• Product businesses must pre-sell to validate demand, sell direct-to-consumer, and invest in brand and reviews to create a flywheel.
• Agencies scale only when they target a strong pain, productise one outcome instead of selling time, secure recurring revenue, and systemise delivery.
• Coaches should give their information away free as education-based marketing, charge for implementation support, and build a client community.
• Software wins on retention: build a sticky daily-use painkiller for a boring industry, nail the first-time user experience and activation, and prioritise keeping customers over acquiring new ones.

Episode details: published February 4, 2024 · 10:53 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dan Martell’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

← Previous: Multi-Million Dollar Morning Routine · Next: How to Buy Companies and Make Millions (Step-By-Step) →

All Dan Martell videos · Dan Martell profile · Dan Martell (official site)