The economic recession, which saw many people being terminated from their long held and high paying jobs, has shaken many corporate professionals. Now, many of them, in order to secure their financial future, are contemplating starting a business. This change in the mentality of people coupled with the amazing different business opportunities that the internet has opened up, is propelling many people towards starting their own businesses. So for all those men and women who are thinking on the same lines, here are some lucrative startup business ideas. Education Technologies The interactive white-board industry is booming like never before. In the recent years, as online education becomes an integral part of academic curriculum, technologies related to online education is gaining immense popularity. Many companies have already started grabbing the opportunity to provide better and user-friendly services to the students, teachers and parents. So get all your geek and tech wizard friends together to embark on an entrepreneurial journey. Energy Related Businesses The mantra today is go green and the number of startups related to energy industry has also shot up significantly in the recent years. How to save energy, effective means to conserve it, education about energy, alternative energy sources, carbon footprints, carbon credits agencies and the list goes on. This industry has tremendous potential in this energy starved era. So if you are able to figure out what is needed in this field, you are there for a long term business and of course, decent money. Home Healthcare For many people this may appear a mundane business. However, let me remind you that the American population is getting older with every passing day. The number of elderly people in the USA as well as all across the world is going to increase at an unprecedented rate. The complex urbanization and modernization of our cities is also interfering with our priorities related to families. Care for older people is especially turning out to be one of the most complex challenges for the government. A home care facilities business catering to this segment of population has tremendous scope. There is a lot to explore in this sector. Providing care and love to older people is immensely satisfying besides the obvious merits of making some money. Remember that doing this type of business may not be very rewarding for you monetarily but it will for sure help you live an enriching life. Tech Applications With the software, gaming, web designing and technology world producing something new and unique everyday, those with good programming skills and a flair for creativity have the chance to come up with mobile or web-based applications that can prove to be a useful tool for billions of users all across the world. Even starting a website catering to the ever-increasing needs of technical assistance for several businesses is a great idea! Internet Affiliate Marketing If you are looking for a business from home, then you can consider Internet affiliate marketing. The basic concept behind this online business is that you help a manufacturer or marketer of products to sell his products online by promoting them on your website. So understandably, you must have your own website or web page, with quality content, that pulls the traffic to it. Whenever a user of your website clicks on the advertisement of products to go to the marketer's or seller's website, you earn some money by way of agreement between you both. This profit sharing arrangement is called "pay per click". Sometimes, profit sharing is done on the basis of the number of sales made through your website, this is known as "pay per sale". Event Planning To become an event planner, the only qualifications required are superb organizational skills, ability to pay attention to detail and excellent public relations skills. If you think you have it in you to become an event planner, talk to your acquaintances if they have any function or party coming up. Initially, start with organizing small functions and if you are able to arrange them well, very soon you will start getting business through word of mouth. You can even venture out to organizing corporate functions at a later stage. Event planning is indeed one of the most profitable startup business ideas for 2012. Virtual Assistant Services To start this business, you will need a computer with high speed internet connectivity. Some of the services which a virtual assistant provides to corporates are administration, email and telephone services, writing services, data entry services, secretarial services, bookkeeping and account services. Life Coaching In this time of recession, when so many people are facing the stresses of life on their own, you can offer them a helping hand, by becoming a life coach. For this of course, you should be good at understanding human nature as well as empathizing with people. Good communication skills, listening skills, a positive attitude, being well-read and experienced are some other requirements of such lucrative businesses to start. Most importantly, you should be able to offer solace as well as practical solutions to people's personal problems. Freelancing If you are really passionate about something, be it photography or writing or interior decoration or exercising, you can convert it into a successful low cost startup business. These days, with so much importance being given to health and fitness, there is a great demand for personal exercise trainers. If photography is your passion, you can offer to cover weddings or business meetings. For those of you who are good at writing, there is a huge requirement for content writers, bloggers as well as editors on the internet. Freelancing in any field has many perks besides the money. You can take up assignments as and when you want to. The kind of flexibility such a business provides, is second to none. The only challenge in converting these hobbies into a career is that you have to invest your heart and soul into them, backed by a properly executed plan. Moreover, you have to ensure that initially you're not completely relying on them as your sole source of income. Only after you have been able to place yourself firmly in this field, you should follow them full-time. Nevertheless, there a large number of people who have followed their guts, quitting their jobs and following their passions. So in the end, the decision is yours and you have to trust yourself. For the above mentioned business ideas to be successful, you need to be very good with your planning. You should have ready finance available to make the initial investment and some contacts as well, to get you the first few assignments. Remember, fulfilling these work assignments with full focus and dedication will help you get repeat business as well as new clients. All the best!