5 best industries for aspiring entrepreneurs in 2017

Here are five industries with promising futures, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, market research firm IBISWorld and financial information company Sageworks.

According to an outlook by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than half of the 20 occupations projected to have the highest percent increase in employment by 2024 are in the health industry.

According to the bureau, employment of home health aides is expected to increase 38 percent by 2024, and finding employees may be relatively easy since the job doesn't require a degree.

[...] for every high, there's a low.

Because the drug remains illegal at the federal level, says Dmitry Diment, a senior industry analyst at IBISWorld, new growth opportunities arise only when regulations are approved by the states.

From landscaping to cleaning to pest control, businesses in maintenance industries that service residences and commercial buildings saw a 13 percent increase in sales in 2016, according to Sageworks.

If you gain the right expertise, Sageworks analyst James Noe says, these businesses are easy to start because they have relatively low upfront costs and don't require large inventory, staff or dedicated office space.