Whether you want to start a business, build an audience on social media, start a blog, or create a marketing campaign, your first task is exactly the same: choose a “niche”.

A niche is just a group of people or businesses who share a set of common interests or problems. More specifically, your niche is your set of target customers, and your niche’s common problems are what you are going to talk about and sell solutions to solve.

When choosing a niche, you want something that is both large but also sufficiently homogeneous. For example, the niche consisting of “all adults living in California” is a relatively large niche (over 30 million adults who collectively brought in over $3 trillion of personal income in 2022). However, there is essentially nothing that all these people have in common beyond the fact that they all live in California. You might be able to create a YouTube channel about general news in California (California laws & elections, weather, etc) but that’s about it.

Now let’s contrast the niche of all people in California with the niche of all small businesses in America. According to the U.S. chamber of commerce, there are over 33 million small businesses in America as of April 2023. In 2022, those businesses contributed over $11 trillion to U.S. GDP, and every single one of those businesses has an ongoing LEGAL AND PRACTICAL REQUIREMENT for bookkeeping & tax filing. That means the niche of bookkeeping & taxes for small businesses in America offers much more opportunity than the niche of general news for Californians. That’s why Quickbooks has over 26 million users and generates billions of dollars in revenue each year. It’s also why there are dozens of podcasts talking about how to build a bookkeeping business.

Rule of Thumb: Small businesses are the low-hanging fruit niches. They are easier to sell to than consumers, take less time to sell to than large businesses, and have money to spend on anything that can help them make more money or lose less money.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you should target ALL small businesses like Quickbooks does. Instead, you’ll find it easiest to get early customers if you find a more specific (but still large-ish) subset of small businesses to focus on (a niche within a niche).

In the table below, I list 105 examples of high-value small business niches. Each niche listed is a multi-billion dollar niche yet is homogeneous enough that all businesses in the niche share some common problems. However, if you want to narrow your niche even further (called “niching down”) you can intersect any of the niches below with a geographic area (e.g. instead of targeting “pharmacies” you might only target “pharmacies in New York State” or even “pharmacies in Manhattan”).

Alternatively, you can niche down from any of the examples below by focusing on businesses within the niche which share even more commonality. For example, instead of targeting all veterinarian businesses, you could target exotic pet veterinarian businesses.

	Business Type	Industry	Number of Unique Companies in the U.S.	Total Annual Payroll
1	Veterinarian businesses NAICS 541940	Specialized Professional Services	27,943	$16 Billion
2	Pharmacies and drug stores NAICS 446110	Retail	19,486	$27 Billion
3	Drugs and druggists’ sundries merchant wholesalers NAICS 424210	Wholesale	7,207	$39 Billion
4	Other chemical and allied products merchant wholesalers NAICS 424690	Wholesale	5,804	$11 Billion
5	Physicians’ offices (excluding mental health specialists) NAICS 621111	Healthcare	157,663	$235 Billion
6	Dentists’ offices NAICS 621210	Healthcare	124,384	$50 Billion
7	Physical, occupational, and speech therapist companies NAICS 621340	Healthcare	28,366	$18 Billion
8	Outpatient mental health & substance abuse centers NAICS 621420	Healthcare	7,215	$12 Billion
9	“All other outpatient care centers” NAICS 621498 Excludes: – Family planning centers – Outpatient mental health & substance abuse centers – HMO medical centers – kidney dialysis centers – freestanding ambulatory surgical and emergency centers Includes (non-exhaustive list of examples): – Outpatient biofeedback centers – Outpatient pain therapy centers – Outpatient community health centers – Outpatient sleep disorder clinics – Outpatient infusion therapy centers – Freestanding birth centers – Centers/clinics with health practitioners from more than one industry practicing	Healthcare	6,258	$28 Billion
10	Medical, dental, and hospital equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers NAICS 423450	Wholesale	8,156	$29 Billion
11	Law firms NAICS 541110	Specialized Professional Services	161,132	$110 Billion
12	Insurance agencies and brokerages NAICS 524210	Insurance	122,198	$54 Billion
13	Real estate agencies & brokerages NAICS 531210	Real Estate	120,942	$24 Billion
14	Residential remodeling companies NAICS 236118	Real Estate	114,459	$18 Billion
15	Landscaping companies NAICS 561730	Maintenance Services	105,954	$30 Billion
16	Janitorial service companies NAICS 561720	Maintenance Services	58,011	$25 Billion
17	Family clothing stores NAICS 448140	Retail	6,710	$13 Billion
18	Stand alone convenience stores NAICS 445120	Retail	27,998	$2.7 Billion
19	Gasoline stations with convenience stores NAICS 447110	Retail	56,460	$18 Billion
20	Supermarkets and other grocery (except convenience) stores NAICS 445110	Retail	38,753	$65 Billion
21	Grocery stores NAICS 4451	Retail	66,709	$68 Billion
22	Health & personal care stores NAICS 4461	Retail	43,613	$37 Billion
23	Industrial machinery and equipment merchant wholesalers NAICS 423830	Wholesale	21,231	$30 Billion
24	Computer and computer peripheral equipment and software merchant wholesalers NAICS 423430	Wholesale	5,517	$20 Billion
25	Other electronic parts and equipment merchant wholesalers NAICS 423690	Wholesale	8,474	$34 Billion
26	Hardware stores NAICS 444130	Retail	9,476	$4.1 Billion
27	Other building material dealers NAICS 444190 Includes: – lumber stores – glass stores – fencing stores – plumbing supplies stores – electrical supplies stores – kitchen and bath cabinet & countertop stores	Retail	21,876	$14 Billion
28	Couriers and express delivery service companies NAICS 492110	Mail & Freight Transportation	4,414	$32 Billion
29	Freight transportation arrangement companies NAICS 488510	Mail & Freight Transportation	14,999	$18 Billion
30	Long-distance general freight trucking NAICS 484121	Mail & Freight Transportation	38,733	$27 Billion
31	Long-distance specialized freight (except used goods) trucking NAICS 484230	Mail & Freight Transportation	9,609	$10 Billion
32	Local general freight trucking NAICS 484110	Mail & Freight Transportation	32,883	$10 Billion
33	Local specialized freight (except used goods) trucking NAICS 484220	Mail & Freight Transportation	29,980	$12 Billion
34	Freight trucking (total) NAICS 4841 & 4842	Mail & Freight Transportation	123,378	$82 Billion
35	Office administrative services companies NAICS 561110	Business & Professional Services	31,298	$36 Billion
36	Administrative management and general management consulting companies NAICS 541611	Consulting & Business Services	80,226	$70 Billion
37	Construction companies focused on power and communication lines & related structures NAICS 237130	Construction	5,329	$19 Billion
38	“Other” scientific and technical consulting businesses NAICS 541690	Consulting & Business Services	25,255	$13 Billion
39	“All Other” professional, scientific, and technical services businesses	Consulting & Business Services	19,397	$8.2 Billion
40	Marketing consulting service companies NAICS 541219	Consulting & Business Services	40,946	$17 Billion
41	Advertising agencies NAICS 541810	Consulting & Business Services	12,545	$18 Billion
42	PR agencies NAICS 541820	Consulting & Business Services	7,917	$5.9 Billion
43	Investment advisers NAICS 523930	Finance	20,213	$14 Billion
44	Portfolio management companies NAICS 523920	Finance	24,128	$89 Billion
45	Offices of other holding companies NAICS 551112 *These are typically corporations or LLCs that hold influential security interests of other companies but don’t actively participate in those other companies. Private equity fund management companies would would be the typical example.	Finance	6,019	$11 Billion
46	Miscellaneous financial contract intermediation companies NAICS 523910 These are businesses that primarily buy and sell financial contracts for their own account (typically on a spread basis), and does not include investment banks, securities dealers, or commodity contract dealers. Typical examples of businesses in this category are: – Investment clubs – Tax lien dealing companies (i.e. they act as a principal in dealing tax liens to investors) – Mineral royalties or leases dealers – Proprietary venture capital investment companies (i.e. not managing a fund) – Mortgage dealers – Prop trading companies – Viatical settlement companies	Finance	8,029	$10 Billion
47	Nondepository credit intermediation companies NAICS 5222 These include credit card issuing companies, sales financing companies, and other nondepository credit intermediation companies	Finance	14,067	$59 Billion
48	Activities related to credit intermediation NAICS 5223	Finance	13,761	$31 Billion
49	Insurance carriers NAICS 5241	Insurance	5,162	$150 Billion
50	Commercial banks NAICS 522110	Finance	4,473	$138 Billion
51	Real estate credit companies NAICS 522292	Finance	3,400	$28 Billion
52	Financial transaction processing, reserving, and clearinghouse businesses NAICS 522320	Finance	3,163	$21 Billion
53	Third party administrators of insurance and pension funds NAICS 524292	Finance	2,626	$26 Billion
54	Tax preparation companies NAICS 541213	Finance	17,302	$2.3 Billion
55	CPA firms NAICS 541211	Finance	52,111	$44 Billion
56	Other accounting service companies NAICS 541219	Finance	41,081	$11 Billion
57	Accounting, tax prep, bookkeeping, and payroll services companies	Finance	114,687	$74 Billion
58	Residential building construction NAICS 2361	Construction	184,122	$44 Billion
59	Electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors NAICS 238210	Construction	74,649	$59 Billion
60	Drywall and insulation contractor companies NAICS 238310	Construction	18,864	$15 Billion
61	Site preparation contractor companies NAICS 238910	Construction	37,102	$27 Billion
62	Poured concrete foundation and structure contractor companies NAICS 238110	Construction	20,947	$14 Billion
63	General warehousing and storage companies NAICS 493110	Real Estate	6,034	$41 Billion
64	Residential landlord companies NAICS 531110	Real Estate	52,216	$15 Billion
65	Crude petroleum extraction companies NAICS 211120	Mining & Extraction	4,250	$11 Billion
66	Coal mining companies NAICS 21211	Mining & Extraction	362	$4.3 Billion
67	Gold mining companies NAICS 212221	Mining & Extraction	141	$1.5 Billion
68	Crushed and broken limestone mining & quarrying companies NAICS 212312	Mining & Extraction	539	$2.3 Billion
69	Sand, gravel, clay, and ceramic and refractory mineral mining companies NAICS 21232	Mining & Extraction	1,534	$2.3 Billion
70	Companies that provide support activities for oil and gas operations NAICS 213112	Mining & Extraction	8,482	$22 Billion
71	Wireless telecom carriers (excluding satellite carriers) NAICS 517312	Utilities	5,197	$19 Billion
72	Data processing, hosting, and related services companies NAICS 518210	Tech	10,576	$62 Billion
73	Custom computer programming service businesses NAICS 541511	Consulting & Business Services	60,772	$96 Billion
74	Computer systems design services NAICS 541512	Consulting & Business Services	45,622	$84 Billion
75	Engineering services companies NAICS 541330	Specialized Professional Services	45,823	$109 Billion
76	Architecture services companies NAICS 541310	Specialized Professional Services	20,834	$15 Billion
77	Commercial printing (except screen and books) companies NAICS 323111	Other	15,837	$16 Billion
78	Metal service centers and other metal merchant wholesalers NAICS 423510	Wholesale	6,666	$10 Billion
79	Machine shops NAICS 332710	Specialized Professional Services	17,679	$13 Billion
80	Hotels and motels (excluding casino hotels) NAICS 721110	Real Estate	43,624	$50 Billion
81	Fitness and recreational sports centers (e.g. gyms) NAICS 713940	Other	32,223	$12 Billion
82	Nonresidential property management companies NAICS 531312	Real Estate	15,564	$12 Billion
83	Residential property management companies NAICS 531311	Real Estate	38,089	$22 Billion
84	Exterminating and pest control service businesses NAICS 561710	Maintenance Services	12,883	$5.4 Billion
85	Security guards and patrol services companies NAICS 561612	Maintenance Services	6,937	$20 Billion
86	Assisted living facilities for the elderly NAICS 623312	Real Estate	14,643	$13 Billion
87	Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) NAICS 623110	Real Estate	9,818	$55 Billion
88	Residential intellectual and developmental disability facilities NAICS 623210	Real Estate	6,734	$16 Billion
89	Service providers for elderly and disabled people NAICS 624120	Healthcare	30,878	$28 Billion
90	Home health care service companies NAICS 621610	Healthcare	24,619	$48 Billion
91	Golf courses and country clubs NAICS 713910	Real Estate	9,393	$9.8 Billion
92	Solid waste collection companies NAICS 562111	Utilities	6,620	$13 Billion
93	Electric power distribution companies NAICS 221122	Utilities	1,244	$41 Billion
94	Temporary staffing companies NAICS 561320	HR	14,586	$122 Billion
95	Businesses of independent artists, writers, and performers NAICS 711510	Media & Entertainment	32,201	$9.5 Billion
96	Business associations NAICS 813910	Community	14,967	$9.2 Billion
97	Professional organizations NAICS 813920	Community	6,458	$7.5 Billion
98	New car dealers NAICS 441110	Retail	17,057	$67 Billion
99	Restaurants NAICS 722511 & 722513	Retail	380,726	$194 Billion
100	Religious organizations NAICS 813110	Community	184,259	$39 Billion
101	Securities brokerages NAICS 523120	Finance	6,487	$47 Billion
102	Management, scientific, and technical consulting services NAICS 5416	Consulting & Business Services	176,784	$126 Billion
103	HR consulting businesses NAICS 541612	Consulting & Business Services	6,846	$11 Billion
104	Process, physical distribution, and logisitcs consulting businesses NAICS 541614	Consulting & Business Services	7,301	$5.2 Billion
105	Environmental consulting companies NAICS 541620	Consulting & Business Services	8,336	$6.7 Billion

If you need more inspiration to find your niche, check out these 17 examples of online companies with niche markets or these 17 examples of niche finance blogs that get from 100k to 100 million visits per month.