Hardly a week goes by without the publication of a new report identifying the fact that we’re all getting fatter and more unhealthy, and the projections suggest that it’s all set to get a whole lot worse. This comes at a time when the health and fitness industry is booming, and despite the apparent lack of success, the boom looks certain to continue.

If you’re interested in fitness, you have the opportunity to turn that interest into a lucrative business when you become a personal trainer. It’s a flexible opportunity, in that you can choose where, when and with whom you work. You also get to choose  the type of training to specialise in, and there are many types.

While the bulk of your income might come from providing training to your clients, there are a number of other options for making money as well, including books, blogs, training videos, nutritional supplement sales and public speaking.

This isn’t for everyone, but is probably more accessible to people of all ages, than you might think. With an ageing population, I can see opportunities for trainers  to specialise in fitness in later years. And if you’re 70, do you really want a 20 year old trainer telling you what to do?

Do you have expensive pieces of  equipment which get used rarely? Of course you do, everyone does and that’s the premise behind  Peerby, a Dutch app that helps people engage with the sharing economy and live a little greener and cheaper.

To begin, users download the app and list all under-utilised items they would be happy to lend out. It can be anything from a lawnmower to a disco ball. Then borrowers can search the database for a particular item they need or browse categories for nearby offers. When they find what they are looking for they can negotiate with the owner within the app and arrange to meet and borrow the item. Borrowers can also create posts with requests for items that they haven’t been able to find.

This definitely sounds like something that could work here in the UK.

Some of the best business ideas combine money making with a social purpose, and an idea I just read out from Panama City  seems to do just that.

The Fortaleza Tour of the Old City was conceived by former members of the Ciudad de Dios gang, after they completed a 10 week rehabilitation programme. The tour begins at the American Trade Hotel in Casco Viejo, an area which has been central to gang culture. The tour guides tell the history of the area and their personal stories, as they show the visitors around the district. Tours last 80 minutes and cost $15.

Many major cities have a history of gang culture, so might this work elsewhere? I’m sure that it would.

Website: www.esperanzasvc.org/fortaleza-tours