If you're deciding whether to start a business rather than analysing one you already run, this is the page for you. Each handbook gives what the market is actually worth with sourced figures, the stages a business like it moves through and the mistake that stalls each one, what every revenue stream genuinely pays, and what to do in your first month. Free, no account, no email.
Why the money is not what runs out, and what to price before you print anything.
$34.9B Global 3D printing market — 2026 projection, up from $29.3B in 2025 (Precedence Research)
Months 1–3 → Months 4–9 → Year 1–2 → Year 3+
Read the 3d printing handbook →Why retainers beat projects, and why no client should be more than a quarter of the business.
74.9M Americans working independently — in 2026, up from about 72.9 million a year earlier; full-time independents are 22% of the full-time workforce, against 10% in 2019 (MBO Partners, State of Independence 2026)
Year 1 → Years 2–3 → Years 3–5 → Years 5–10
Read the agency handbook →Gross per vehicle, days on the lot, and why the floor plan is the real landlord.
$151.9B US used-car dealers — 2026 revenue, up 2.0% on the year after falling about 2.6% a year since 2021 (IBISWorld)
First lot → Years 1–2 → Years 2–4 → Years 4+
Read the auto sales & rental handbook →You sell hours of attention: utilization, attrition and the contract's terms decide the margin.
$28.5B US telemarketing & call centers — 2026 revenue, down about 2.1% a year over five years from the pandemic peak, across about 45,000 businesses (IBISWorld)
Start → Years 1–2 → Years 2–4 → Years 4+
Read the call center handbook →A core facility or contract lab: sequencing, imaging, cytometry and molecular work for the labs around you — the grant calendar, the recharge rate, and the reproducibility the journals now ask for.
608 Misidentified cell lines — on the ICLAC Register of Misidentified Cell Lines, version 14 (15 February 2026); 560 of them with no authentic stock known, and HeLa the commonest contaminant, 145 entries (ICLAC)
Year 0–1 → Years 1–3 → Years 3–5 → Mature
Read the cellular & molecular biology lab handbook →Where a congregation's money comes from, where it goes, and the few numbers that say whether it is healthy.
$151.58B Given to religion in the U.S. — 2025, up 2.4% but flat after inflation (-0.2%); still the largest share of all giving (Giving USA 2026)
Years 0–2 → Years 3–7 → Years 7–15 → Mature
Read the church handbook →A small market forecast to shrink — and why membership, not retail, is the business.
$1.2B US cigar lounges — 2026 market size (IBISWorld)
Before the lease → Opening → Year 1–2 → Established
Read the cigar lounge handbook →What the market pays, how practices actually grow, and what to do first.
$2.6B US life-coaching market — 2025, growing ~9.5% a year since 2020 (IBISWorld)
Year 1 → Years 2–3 → Years 4–6 → Years 7–10
Read the coaching handbook →Offices, medical buildings and government contracts, cleaned on a schedule and billed every month, and the few numbers that say whether the work pays.
$112.4B U.S. janitorial services — revenue in 2026, up 1.7% on the year and about 2.7% a year over the last five (IBISWorld, 2026)
Year 0–1 → Years 1–3 → Years 3–7 → Mature
Read the commercial cleaning handbook →Why the highest-selling categories are often the worst ones, and where the money actually is.
$43.7B US convenience stores — 2026, growing ~4.1% a year since 2021 (IBISWorld)
Taking over → First year → Fixing shrink → Growing basket
Read the convenience handbook →Why collections matter more than production, and what hygiene really does for a practice.
$196.1B US dentists — 2026 market size (IBISWorld)
Associate → Buying or starting → First years → Growing
Read the dental practice handbook →The only three numbers that matter, and why growing revenue can still lose money.
$668.1B US e-commerce sales — in the first half of 2026, up 11.1% on a year earlier; $340.2B in the second quarter alone, up 12.2% (Census Bureau, August 2026)
First 100 orders → Finding the margin → Paid acquisition → Repeat & retention
Read the e-commerce handbook →What the apps actually pay once the car is paid for, and the number almost nobody tracks.
$54.2B US rideshare market — 2026 — Uber and Lyft hold effectively all of it
Month 1–2 → Month 3–6 → Month 6–12 → Year 1+
Read the gig economy handbook →A huge market with famously thin margins — and why competing on price is the losing move.
$963.3B US supermarkets & grocery — 2026, ~8.1% CAGR since 2021 (IBISWorld)
Opening → Year 1 → Finding the margin → Established
Read the grocery handbook →Why membership alone rarely works, and the churn number that decides whether you survive.
$47.0B US gyms & fitness clubs — 2026, up 1.3% — a 3.6% CAGR since 2021 (IBISWorld)
Pre-open → Year 1 → Years 2–3 → Mature
Read the gym handbook →Why the booking channel matters more than the room rate, and what a second property really costs.
$286.5B US hotels & motels — 2025 market size; RevPAR forecast +4.4% for 2026 (CoStar / Tourism Economics, August 2026)
Before you open → Year 1 → Year 2–3 → Second property
Read the hotel handbook →Route density, recurring contracts, and how to survive the off-season.
$176.7B US landscaping services — 2026 market size (IBISWorld)
Solo with a trailer → Building a route → First crew → Established
Read the landscaping handbook →Utilization, realization and collection: the three leaks between your hours and your income.
$422.4B US law firms — 2026 revenue across about 412,000 businesses (IBISWorld)
Year 1 → Years 1–3 → Years 3–6 → Years 6+
Read the law firm handbook →A contract shop making parts and assemblies to its customers' drawings — aerospace, medical, industrial, energy, semiconductor and automotive at once: the quote, the certifications, the long-term agreements and the customer mix.
54.5% Factory activity — ISM's Manufacturing PMI for September 2026, the ninth month of expansion in a row; new orders 55.3, and prices paid 77.9, up 6.8 points in a month (ISM, October 1, 2026)
Year 0–1 → Years 1–3 → Years 3–5 → Mature
Read the manufacturing (multi-industry) handbook →A medical practice with a spa's front door: injectables, the medical director, and memberships.
10,488 US medical spas — locations in 2023, up from 8,899 in 2022; owners with more than one location average nine (AmSpa 2024 State of the Industry)
Open → Years 1–2 → Years 2–4 → Years 4+
Read the med spa handbook →Reimbursement pressure, referral relationships, and why cash-pay services keep appearing.
$56.4B US physical therapists — 2026 market size (IBISWorld)
Solo clinician → Building referrals → First hires → Established clinic
Read the physical therapy practice handbook →What advertising really pays, why almost nobody lives on it, and what does work.
$2.86B US podcast ad market — 2025, up 17.6%, with 9.6% more expected in 2026 (IAB / PwC)
Episodes 1–20 → Episodes 20–60 → Episodes 60–150 → Episodes 150+
Read the podcast handbook →Operator or broker, Part 135 or not, and the empty legs that eat the margin.
+3.3% Private jet flights — worldwide in 2026 to mid-October against the same weeks of 2025, with fractional programs growing and charter falling through the autumn (WINGX, reported by Private Jet Card Comparisons, October 2026)
Start → Years 1–2 → Years 2–4 → Years 4+
Read the private jet charter handbook →One clinician and one week of hours: what each payer pays for an hour, and the few habits that keep a solo practice whole.
$37.2B U.S. psychologists, social workers & counselors — revenue in 2026, up 2.5% on the year and 3.6% a year since 2021 (IBISWorld, 2026)
Year 0–1 → Years 1–3 → Years 3+ → Mature
Read the private psychology practice handbook →Agents, splits and the file: where a brokerage's money comes from, and the few habits that stop it leaking out through skipped steps.
$235.2B U.S. real estate brokerage — revenue in 2026, across 1,020,421 businesses (IBISWorld, 2026)
Year 0–1 → Years 1–3 → Years 3–7 → Mature
Read the real estate brokerage handbook →The hardest business in this app — and the numbers that decide it before you open.
$1.55T US restaurant & foodservice — projected 2026 sales, up 4.8% (National Restaurant Association)
Before the lease → Opening year → Years 2–3 → Established
Read the restaurant handbook →Chair economics, why retail matters more than it looks, and the rebooking number that decides everything.
$63.4B US hair salons — 2026, growing ~2.1% a year since 2021 (IBISWorld)
Behind a chair → Your own chair → First hires → Established shop
Read the salon handbook →Scooters, mopeds and e-bikes sold and fixed under one roof: the season, the bench and the batteries.
−7.6% New motorcycles & scooters — U.S. sales in 2025: 486,468 units, down from 526,625 (Motorcycle Industry Council, reported by Common Tread, February 2026)
Year 0–1 → Years 1–3 → Years 3–5 → Mature
Read the scooter sales & repair handbook →What the platform actually takes now, why occupancy assumptions sink people, and the rules that change under you.
9M+ Airbnb's reach — active listings worldwide, from more than 5 million hosts (Airbnb, February 2026)
Before the first listing → First season → Second and third property → Portfolio
Read the short-term rental handbook →A small market where the artist is the brand — and the shop is really a platform.
$1.3B US tattoo artists — 2026 market size (IBISWorld)
Apprentice → First chair → Your own shop → Established studio
Read the tattoo studio handbook →Four months of income, twelve months of costs — and the fix everyone eventually finds.
$15.0B US tax preparation services — 2026 market size (IBISWorld)
First season → Building the book → Beating the season → Established firm
Read the tax prep handbook →Why the contracts matter more than the trucks, and what a shrinking market means for pricing.
$11.8B US automobile towing — 2026, up 0.8% on the year (IBISWorld)
One truck → First contracts → Two to five trucks → Established yard
Read the towing handbook →The honest version — including the failure rate nobody quotes you.
$906B US trucking revenue — 2024, down from $1.004T in 2023, on 11.27 billion tons hauled (ATA American Trucking Trends 2025, the latest edition)
Before authority → First year → Finding your lane → Second truck
Read the trucking handbook →A capital-heavy, weather-dependent trade where utilisation days decide everything.
$876.4M US private boat charters — 2026 market size (IBISWorld)
Before the boat → First season → Building the calendar → Second vessel
Read the yacht handbook →How this differs from our guides: the guides help you read the numbers of a business you already operate — prime cost, revenue per mile, rebooking rate. The handbooks are for before that: market size, what to expect, and what to do first. Different question, different page.
Figures are sourced from published industry research (IBISWorld, trade associations and regulator data) and are stated with their year. They describe typical conditions, not your specific situation. Every handbook carries a note on licensing, because several of these trades are regulated and the rules are usually local. This is general information for business owners, not financial, tax, or legal advice.