35 AutoCAD Business Ideas You Can Start Today [2024]

Updated: July 24th, 2023

Interested in starting a autocad business in 2024?

We put together 35 of the best autocad businesses you can start in today.

For each business idea, we’ll show you real-world examples of other autocad businesses to help you see what it really takes.

Here's the full list:

1. Start a recruiting agency

The global online recruitment market size was $29B in 2019 and is projected to reach $43B by 2027.

The best way to assess the success of a Recruiting Agency is to review what their clients say about them and the results achieved for those clients.

As a recruiter, you dream of landing your first client, but once you do, you realize it’s only the start of what you hope will be a successful business. Have you ever wondered how to start a recruiting agency business? There’s so much you can learn from books, but nothing beats getting real-world experience.

How much you can make: $100 — $320,000/month

How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)

How I Started A $3M/Year Remote Worker Recruitment Agency

DistantJob is a unique recruitment agency that specializes in finding full-time remote employees, and with $3 million in annual revenue, they offer small to medium-sized tech companies an edge over big competitors who are not willing to hire remotely.

About
Sharon started DistantJob about 16 years ago
Revenue
Sharon grew the business to $290K/month
Read by 11,363 founders

2. Start a 3D Printing Business

3D printing is a process that assembles objects layer by layer and starting a business in this industry can be a very creative venture.

You will need investment in the right equipment and materials, and the acquisition of 3D modeling and design skills. You will also need to regularly calibrate and maintain your 3D printers to deliver consistent results.

Plan how you'll handle shipping and logistics, and leverage technology to find new applications of 3D printing in all industries.

How much you can make: $42,000 — $330,000/month

How long does it take to build: 360 days (?)

How I Started A $330K/Month Ecommerce Specialized In 3D Printing

Founder Roy Kirchner shares how he started an eCommerce business specializing in 3D printing with an initial investment of $65,000, which now averages monthly gross sales of $330,000 and has partnered with international manufacturers and local businesses while offering technical support and education.

About
Roy started Ultimate 3D Printing Store over 8 years ago
Revenue
Roy grew the business to $330K/month
Costs
It cost Roy $65000 to start the business
Read by 29,030 founders

3. Create an online course

An online course business involves creating and selling digital classes teaching specialized skills or knowledge to subscribed students.

As an entrepreneurial course creator, you identify educational gaps around topics you have expertise in and develop engaging video lessons and supplementary materials.

With flexibility around self-paced or cohort-based structures, building a student base provides passive income potential.

For founders who enjoy information-sharing, launching an online course platform presents a lucrative way to monetize your instructional talents with small startup costs by serving eager lifelong learners seeking convenient access to emerging subjects.

How much you can make: $350 — $3,735,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,850 (?)

How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)

How This 28-Year-Old Couple Quit Their Jobs And Make $20K/Month Running A Blog

Learn how one couple created a successful personal finance blog, The Savvy Couple, that now makes over $20,000 per month and has sold thousands of digital workbooks and courses, by focusing on purposeful content and optimizing their ROI with efficient time management.

About
Kelan started The Savvy Couple over 7 years ago
Revenue
Kelan grew the business to $20K/month
Costs
It cost Kelan $500 to start the business
Read by 27,276 founders

4. Start a freelancer platform

Freelancer platform is a place where people come with skills and services to offer and people come who need those skills and services. So we can say freelancer platforms are a marketplace for sellers and buyers of services and skills.

The freelancing industry is growing rapidly and it's becoming a popular career option for people who are "non-traditional" employees. The global Freelance Platforms market size is expected to reach $6.7B by the year 2025. While working on a full-time job, freelancers simultaneously work on a freelance career. The platforms available online help them to increase their business by attracting new clients.

With all of the businesses looking for help on their websites, it would be a good idea to start a freelancer platform. Freelance platforms do well because people have jobs that need to be done and businesses have the resources to pay for the job at hand.

How much you can make: $3,000 — $5,000,000/month

How long does it take to build: 80 days (?)

We Bootstrapped A Tech Talent Platform To $1.2M Sales In Our First Year

CloudDevs, a tech talent platform that sources and vets freelance tech talent and matches them with companies, has achieved $1 million in GMV in its first year, plans to achieve 100% growth year on year, and focuses on customer loyalty through its Net Promoter Score metric.

About
Rifzan started CloudDevs about 4 years ago
Revenue
Rifzan grew the business to $100K/month
Costs
It cost Rifzan $2500 to start the business
Read by 16,322 founders

5. Start an AutoCAD toolset generator business

6. Start a mechanical drafter business

7. Start an Electrical drafting business

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

8. Start an AutoCAD blogging business

9. Start a surveying and mapping technician business

10. Start an office furniture business

Furniture is the centerpiece of any corporate establishment. In a broad sense, office furniture adds an attractive appearance and provides a comfortable working environment for employees.

According to statistics, the market for office furniture is anticipated to witness increased demand over the next few years. Therefore, starting an office furniture business can be a lucrative idea.

How much you can make: $166,000 — $500,000/month

How long does it take to build: 150 days (?)

How I Started A $300K/Month Premium Office Furniture Business

Branch Office Furniture offers a new approach to the office furniture industry, selling high-quality furniture directly to businesses with space design, delivery, and installation included at one-third to one-half of the price of comparable quality products, resulting in over $1M in sales since launching in Q1 of 2019.

About
Greg started Branch Furniture over 5 years ago
Revenue
Greg grew the business to $500K/month
Costs
It cost Greg $350000 to start the business
Read by 16,125 founders

11. Start an industrial designer business

How much you can make: $20,000/month

How long does it take to build: 360 days (?)

We Built A $240K/Year Online Platform From India

SolutionBuggy is an AI-based manufacturing consulting platform, providing end-to-end solutions for entrepreneurs looking to start the manufacturing industry, having completed over 2000 projects with 50,000 industries and 10,000+ experts registered on their platform, and planning to expand with 20 million registered MSMEs and 300,000 consultants in the next few years.

About
Arjun started SolutionBuggy almost 8 years ago
Revenue
Arjun grew the business to $20K/month
Read by 4,000 founders

12. Start an AutoCAD permitting websites

13. Start a CAD drafting business

14. Start an online AutoCAD tutorial business

15. Start an AutoCAD blocks sales business

How much you can make: $260,000 — $8,333,333/month

How We Grew Our Corporate Gifting Platform To $2M/Year

Bookblock co-founder shares how they grew their corporate gifting platform to a £2m annual turnover, and their plans to expand to the consumer market through their new gifting platform.

About
Tom started Bookblock over 9 years ago
Revenue
Tom grew the business to $260K/month
Read by 9,225 founders

16. Start a process drafter business

17. Start a landscape AutoCad specialist business

How much does it cost to start: $8,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)

18. Start an AutoCAD specialist business

How much you can make: $1,000,000 — $2,000,000/month

Launching and Growing Canada’s Largest Online Fragrance Retailer

Canadian fragrance retailer, Fragrancebuy, shares how they became one of the fastest-growing companies in Canada and the USA, by focusing on adding value at every stage of the customer's purchasing experience and using platforms such as Shopify, Google Adwords, and Facebook Ads.

About
Gary started Fragrancebuy Canada over 10 years ago
Revenue
Gary grew the business to $2M/month
Read by 6,278 founders

19. Start an AutoCAD tutoring business

How much you can make: $1,000,000/month

We've Helped 1 Million Entrepreneurs Build Companies and Make $10M+ Per Year

A case study about Growthink, a business planning and capital raising company that has helped over 1 million entrepreneurs, discusses the founder's journey from side hustle to expanding product offerings, attracting customers through content creation and search engine marketing, and using AI to streamline operations and develop an AI business plan generator.

About
Dave started Growthink over 24 years ago
Revenue
Dave grew the business to $1M/month
Read by 703 founders

20. Start an AutoCAD floor plan designing business

21. Start a CAD designing business

A CAD designer is a professional who specializes in Computer-Aided Design. They use CAD software to create designs for clients and projects.

The CAD design industry has been growing at a rapid pace over the last few years. As a result, the need for 3D modeling and rendering services has risen dramatically in recent years, with many industries looking to CAD designers for their expertise and creativity.

A good CAD designer should have a wide range of skills that will allow them to work on projects from start to finish, from initial concept through final production.

How much you can make: $8,000 — $20,000/month

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

How I Left My Job To Start A $9K/Month CAD Design Business

A 3D CAD designer and product inventor who started as a side hustle and averaged $9,000 a month in revenue, shares his insights on the ups and downs of owning a service-based business alongside an eCommerce store, as well as lessons learned in customer acquisition and in generating multiple streams of passive income.

About
Scott started caddesignhelp.com about 9 years ago
Revenue
Scott grew the business to $8K/month
Costs
It cost Scott $15000 to start the business
Read by 19,230 founders

22. Start an architectural drafter business

23. Start a blueprint machine business

How much you can make: $1,000,000/month

We've Helped 1 Million Entrepreneurs Build Companies and Make $10M+ Per Year

A case study about Growthink, a business planning and capital raising company that has helped over 1 million entrepreneurs, discusses the founder's journey from side hustle to expanding product offerings, attracting customers through content creation and search engine marketing, and using AI to streamline operations and develop an AI business plan generator.

About
Dave started Growthink over 24 years ago
Revenue
Dave grew the business to $1M/month
Read by 703 founders

24. Start a digital art & design business

Digital art and design is often used to create visual content for websites, apps, and other digital platforms.

Digital art and design businesses can be either freelance or full-time.

They can work in-house for larger companies or as independent contractors for other businesses or individuals.

How much you can make: $1,200 — $30,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,500 (?)

How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)

How Our AI Image Generator Hit $10K In Just 6 Weeks

Imagined with AI generates unique, AI-generated portraits in various styles that has helped generate over 234,000 unique images to date, and is used by customers in over 25 countries.

About
Sabatino started Imagined with AI over 1 year ago
Revenue
Sabatino grew the business to $4.5K/month
Read by 3,686 founders

25. Start an AutoCAD plans sales business

How much you can make: $1,000,000/month

We've Helped 1 Million Entrepreneurs Build Companies and Make $10M+ Per Year

A case study about Growthink, a business planning and capital raising company that has helped over 1 million entrepreneurs, discusses the founder's journey from side hustle to expanding product offerings, attracting customers through content creation and search engine marketing, and using AI to streamline operations and develop an AI business plan generator.

About
Dave started Growthink over 24 years ago
Revenue
Dave grew the business to $1M/month
Read by 703 founders

26. Start an AutoCAD laser cutting business

27. Start an electronics drafter business

28. Start an AutoCAD software business

29. Start an aeronautical drafter business

30. Start a drafting table business

31. Start an AutoCAD estimator business

How much you can make: $3,735,000/month

Khan Academy: Sal Khan - How I Built This

A former hedge fund analyst left his job to create a non-profit online teaching platform, which started with free tutorials on Youtube and now offers hundreds of free recorded tutorials in dozens of languages that is used by 30 million users a month.

About
Sal started Khan Academy about 15 years ago
Revenue
Sal grew the business to $3.74M/month
Read by 844 founders

32. Start a civil drafter business

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

33. Start an art and drawing tools business

34. Start a filling cabinets business

35. Start an AutoCAD designer business

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.