Mobile Business Ideas in 2024

If you want to start a business but not be bound by a physical location, mobile businesses are perfect for you. From lower startup costs to scheduling flexibility, the benefits of different mobile business ideas go beyond not being tethered to a fixed brick-and-mortar location, waiting for customers to come to you. Smartphones and social media have changed the way mobile business owners reach their target audiences, allowing new and existing customers to find you.

Whether by van, bus, cart, or trailer, there are some things to know before you go. This includes permit requirements, local codes, ordinances, and limitations on truck-based businesses. All of which vary by city or state. That said, let’s look at some mobile business ideas:

Coffee Charts

Coffee on wheels is an interesting concept. It is one of the foods whose carts can go almost anywhere because people almost everywhere want caffeine. It is very similar to an ice cream truck, but you might want to set your coffee cart or truck in one location.

You might also be open to people contracting with you to bring your cart to different venues. These could include weddings, corporate retreats, etc. Popular locations to place a coffee cart would be busy intersections, fairs, farmer’s markets, etc. This type of business provides a specialty product along with a unique experience, taking the place of a bar for daytime activities or alcohol-free events. Some mobile coffee businesses are:

• Maui Wowi is a smoothie and coffee cart chain based in Scottsdale, AZ. As a franchisee, you will operate a restaurant, preparing and serving fresh fruit smoothies, Hawaiian coffee, and related espresso beverages. You will also serve a variety of Hawaiian products and beverages, food items, and other products and services.
• Xpresso2U offers a variety of coffee cart and truck franchises all throughout the USA. Xpresso2U franchises are in the range of $25,000 to $90,000.
• The Rush Coffee also offers franchises for Coffee Carts. It was founded by Claire and Parseigh Oksayan in 2017.

Ice Cream Truck

An ice cream truck is a vehicle that serves as a mobile retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the spring and summer. Ice cream vans are often parked at public events, or near parks, beaches, or other areas where people congregate.

Ice cream vans often travel to where children play—outside schools, in residential areas, or in other locations. They usually stop briefly before moving on to the next street. Along the sides, a large sliding window acts as a serving hatch, and this often displays pictures of the available products and their prices.

• Mister Softee is an ice cream truck franchise that specializes in soft-serve ice cream. In addition to traditional ice cream in a cone, the trucks also serve up milkshakes, ice cream floats, and ice cream sundaes. The brand is easily identifiable. This is not only due to its cone-headed character Mister Softee on the side of the trucks and cups, but the familiar instrumental jingle that is emitted everywhere the truck travels. Mister Softee is America’s oldest and largest franchisee of soft ice cream trucks.
• Kona Ice Inc. is a company founded in 2008 and began offering Kona Ice franchises that same year. To this day, the company has kept its original name, and it is based in Kentucky. There are currently 1304 Kona Ice franchises in the United States and that number is growing every year. Tony Lamb is the founder and CEO of Kona Ice. Tony took inspiration from a bad experience with a “creepy ice cream truck” to start the biggest mobile ice cream franchise in the country.
• Established in 2014, Ice Cream Emergency is a mobile franchising opportunity…like no other. It’s a full-service ice cream parlor on wheels, housed inside a shuttle bus. Customers go inside the fully appointed, climate-controlled bus to be served hand-dipped, gourmet ice cream and then help themselves to the delectable toppings bar.

Dog Grooming Vans

There are 90 million dogs in the U.S., and people spend more than $123 billion a year on their pets! Over the past 30 years, the percentage of pet owners has increased by double-digit. Additionally, more than two-thirds of the families own more than one dog.

Unlike other industries, the pet care industry is recession-proof, maintaining its consistent growth since the 1980s. This is primarily due to the steady increase in pet ownership and the awareness of better health care for their dogs. The American Pet Product Association is projecting the expectation of a big growth rhythm at the pet industry, especially in pet grooming. According to forecasts, the global pet care market will grow to $359 billion by 2027, at a compound annual growth rate of 6%.

• Scenthound offers the optimal opportunity for you to own a business while spending time with dogs! Scenthound franchised business specializes in essential care, wellness, and grooming services for dogs. The franchisees principally offer services for dogs, and focus on five areas of maintenance: skin, coat, ears, nails, and teeth.
• Dog Training Elite provides professional dog training services with unique tailored programs to meet each dog’s unique situations. The co-founder has been in the pet industry for nearly 50 years! Kelley Rosequist and John Mestas founded the franchise system and are the current CEOs. At the close of 2021, they had 84 franchised units.
• Founded in Australia, HydroDog is a mobile dog grooming service. After growing the franchise to more than 200 units, HydroDog was introduced to the United States.

Pressure Washing

A pressure washing business could be an incredibly lucrative opportunity if you find the right area to start and establish the correct customer base.

The startup costs in the business are low and the profit margins can be very high, but that is not true for everyone. Otherwise, everyone would have a pressure washing business.

• Men In Kilts is a Boston-based franchise that provides home and commercial cleaning services. Some of its offerings include window cleaning, pressure washing, gutter cleaning, and house washing. Men In Kilts started offering franchises in 2010 and, as of 2021, has 10 franchised locations.
• Sparkle Wash is another pressure washing franchise that markets itself as the pioneer of the self-contained mobile pressure washing system. They have 88 units in the United States, Canada, and Southeast Asia.

Yard Greeting Franchises

Yard signs are an emerging segment of the greetings industry. The trend of greeting has changed. It went from welcoming people with greeting cards to putting up a great sign somewhere in the yards of the individual who is the center of celebrations.

There are many emerging industry participants who are trying to occupy the pie of the business, but all of them are in the growth segment of the product life cycle.

• The Sign Gypsies story begins in 2014 in McKinney, TX. They are a yard greeting service providing franchise. Sign Gypsies claims to now be the largest yard greeting franchise in the country, with locations in 47 states totaling 825 locations. This additionally includes a growing number in Canada.
• Card My Yard provides yard greeting services founded by Amy Arnold, Josh Arnold, Jessica Stanley, and James Stanley. Amy and Jessica, both moms of three, met at a women’s Bible Study and quickly became friends. After that, in October 2014, the two moms (alongside their husbands) founded Card My Yard. Their goal was to serve families and make a positive impact on the community as small business owners. Now 450+ franchise locations are in operation across the United States.