Looking to start a business in 2026? These small-business ideas are poised to take off—and many can be launched with minimal experience. There’s never been a more popular time to start a business.

There’s never been a more popular time to start a business. Over the past five years, more than five million new business applications have been filed per year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Your next multimillion-dollar AI idea probably won’t come from asking ChatGPT to “pick a niche.” It will come from identifying a painful ...