70 Business Ideas For Teachers You Can Start Today [2023]

70 Business Ideas For Teachers You Can Start Today [2023]

Interested in starting a teaching business in 2023?

We put together 69 of the best teaching businesses you can start in today.

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

Here's the full list:

1. Start a cooking class ($1.2M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$7,500 — $100,000/month
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 5 hours/week
Skills
Interests

Monika Reti from many, USA started Hipcooks about 9 years ago, a cooking class.

  • Revenue: $100,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 8
  • Location: many, USA

Case Study

In true Hipcooks fashion: I’m not a culinary school graduate — I’m a hack! Here’s my story:

I’m first-generation American (Mom is from Germany and Dad from Argentina). My parents were young foreign students in the US and their friends were the other international students: I was a kid surrounded by people from different nationalities, like Spain, Russia, France, and the UK. I was a child foodie and loved to experience culture through food.

I caught the travel bug early, living in Argentina (studying economics in college), traveling through Europe, and moved to England for graduate school (I have a Master’s in Economics from LSE.) While in school, I cooked my way through a series of London restaurants in the gastro-boom of the ’90s, just for fun. My first job was on the West Coast, as an econometrician at the RAND Corporation.

how-i-started-a-cooking-classes-business-with-7-locations

2. Start a skills training business ($4.2M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$1,500 — $1,600,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$3,321
Time To Revenue
210 days
Skills
Business model
Work from home

Stephen Somers from Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom started Marketplace SuperHeroes ago, a skills training business.

  • Revenue: $350,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Case Study

If we rewind the clocks, you could say I started out in business when I was in my teens at college. I’ve always been quite entrepreneurial, trying everything from starting my own band, to spending hours at night learning everything I could about marketing, business, and personal development.

I reached a point in my early college days when I thought to myself, ‘I’m not really learning how to become an entrepreneur here. I’m basically learning how to become an employee.’

From there, I gave up the college dream and got a job where I was working for the Government as a data processor... which is literally THE most boring job on earth!

how-we-started-a-350k-month-business-training-amazon-sellers

3. Launch an online tuition platform ($9.96M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$34,568 — $830,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$53,500
Skills

Tom Hooper from London started Third Space Learning over 9 years ago, a online tuition platform.

  • Revenue: $830,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 80
  • Location: London

Case Study

I studied Philosophy and Politics at University, before spending the first few years of my career working in investment in London. Whilst I am glad that I worked in finance, it was never a career for me. I enjoyed meeting company management teams and analyzing their outlook to inform investment decisions. But, in truth, I always wanted to be on the other side of the table helping to build a business. That said, understanding the financial and operational structures of businesses, and how this relates to their plans, is undoubtedly valuable in building a business and working with investors.

I think success is often based on learning quickly enough from your mistakes, such that you are constantly improving.

My family is all entrepreneurs. Both of my parents are, which must have influenced me and my brother and sister. All three of us siblings have founded our own businesses so now we have a full house of entrepreneurs. I guess that growing up in this environment gave us confidence in entrepreneurship as a means of building a career and that the risk was worth it (even if that meant failure). Certainly, it helped to have encouragement and support from our parents that we should go for it and had their total support. I even remember being discouraged from my original decision to work in Finance!

how-i-raised-15m-to-build-a-800k-month-math-online-tuition-platform

4. Become a children's book writer ($24K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$2,000 — $50,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$50,925
Time To Revenue
300 days
Skills

Jane Du from Dallas, Texas, USA started Finn and Remy, LLC over 5 years ago, a children's book writer.

  • Revenue: $2,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Dallas, Texas, USA

Case Study

I am a lawyer and engineer with an artsy streak. I took evening art lessons through engineering undergrad and held an art show in the faculty lounge at my law school.

After graduating during the height of the downturn in 2009, I moved home to live with my parents while working my way into the perfect legal job at the best intellectual property law firm in the country. I forgot all about art until shortly before my babies were born. I painted to decorate their nurseries. And from that, the business was born alongside our second son (we literally launched the website from my hospital room in the maternity ward).

Then life was back to normal. Two working spouses, kids in daycare, and little time to ourselves. Like many new parents, we were not sleeping enough, and feeling pent up and frustrated. We needed a change, a refresh. We used to travel so much before careers and kids, and now do we really have to wait 18 years to do it again? So we decided to press pause on the American Dream and, with lots of planning, are trying out a different way of life for a year. A life where we pick up our heads and give ourselves permission to be endlessly fascinated by the world around us. In August of 2018, we rented out our house, packed everything into a 10x20 storage unit, and left the country to travel the world with four backpacks and a pack n’ play. During this time, we finished and just published our latest and greatest book: Einstein’s Trampoline. (Bilingual edition coming soon because we are learning Spanish!).

pausing-the-american-dream-to-travel-the-world-writing-children-s-books

5. Start a language learning app ($224K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$9,000 — $13,500,000/month
Skills

Alex Chernikov from Berlin, Germany started Gikken ago, a language learning app.

  • Revenue: $18,635/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

Case Study

Gikken’s foundation was laid in 2011 or so. I don’t remember the exact year but I was in high school. I was amidst my most active English learning years. I was trying to read as many articles, blogs, essays, etc in English as possible. At some point, an idea that it’d be great to double click on words to get them translated right there struck me. It was the early days of Google Chrome that wasn’t the most popular browser yet. And, I think it already could translate pages entirely, but it was totally useless for me because when I can understand 80% of the text, why would I translate it entirely? It’s also terrible for mastering a language. Guessing the meanings of words from the context works better for memorizing new vocabulary. The more effort your brain takes, the stronger neural connections are.

So, physiology aside, I wanted a fast way to translate single words I didn’t understand or double-check sentences. The previous flow involved copying it, switching to a new tab with Google Translate opened there, translating it, and then switching back. Terribly inefficient and annoying when you have to do it 10 times per article, 100 times per day.

By the time I was obsessed with this idea, I could already easily implement anything I wanted on the web. I started coding at 13, so I had already at least 2 or so years of experience with copycatting news portals, trying to build my social network (who didn’t!), and reinventing a few popular JavaScript libraries. It was the early days of not only Google Chrome but also Chrome Web Store—the extension store. I made an extension that I needed for my own needs, called Instant Translate, and uploaded it to the Chrome Web Store. Uncunningly, the timing was perfect for organic growth through the store as Instant Translate happened to be one of the first extensions there. The 15-year-old me knew something only about building apps but absolutely nothing about turning them into a business. Thus, I relied on "organic growth". In other words, routinely checking analytics and praying that it grew. I did nothing more than that for the first few years.

how-we-started-a-18k-month-app-and-browser-extensions-development-business

6. Become an online fitness coach ($984K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$250 — $39,875,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$1,375
Time To Revenue
180 days
Skills
Business model

Ryan Milton from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA started TeamFFLEX about 9 years ago, a online fitness coach.

  • Revenue: $82,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Case Study

I came up with TeamFFLEX seeing the massive trend of everything turning online and want to help as many people as possible achieve results. In a traditional gym format trainers job, there are only so many hours you can work in a day and a limit on clients you can actually work with. For example, if a client does a 60-minute session and you work an 8 hour day you can see 8 clients within that day. There are also of course training teams, and classes as well as small groups but still even if I could have worked with 100 people a day in a gym it would not have been enough.

I wanted to find a way to help people all around the world. The people that couldn’t get to the gym or didn’t have the money to hire an expensive trainer. I wanted to make sure that no matter where people were at the gym or at home they had the ability to take action on their health and fitness and get results.

Seeing in today's world how basically kids are born with an iPhone in hand it all just made perfect sense. Take personal training online and help people all around the world. The thing about today's society is that we want it now. We don't want to wait. We don't want to go into a building, meet with some trainer, get sold on all the different expensive packages and then pay basically to have a really expensive cheerleader. I honestly believe that within the next 10 years we won’t see trainers in gyms anymore. The quality of training in gyms continues to drop due to the fact that not enough people get training and also that trainers can’t even make enough money to sustain a living. I knew that if I could go online with everything not only would I be able to impact people to a much larger degree, I would also be able to live a life on my terms.

how-i-started-a-48k-month-business-with-an-online-fitness-training-service

7. Become a corporate trainer ($150K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$4,500 — $20,000/month
Time To Revenue
270 days
Skills
Business model
Work from home

Andrew Tarvin from New York, New York, USA started Humor That Works about 14 years ago, a corporate trainer.

  • Revenue: $12,500/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: New York, New York, USA

Case Study

I am an engineer and have always been obsessed with efficiency (I think the word efficient should be one syllable).

I went to The Ohio State University, got a degree in Computer Science & Engineering, and started working at Procter & Gamble after I graduated. At P&G, I realized that you can’t be efficient with humans--they have “emotions” and “feelings”--but rather you had to be effective.

Photo Caption: College Graduation. Proof I was (and still am) a nerd.

how-being-the-funny-guy-at-work-turned-into-a-full-time-career

8. Become a test prep coach ($360K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$30,000 — $1,666,666/month
Skills

Grantly Neely from Nashville, Tennessee, USA started Granite Test Prep ago, a test prep coach.

  • Revenue: $30,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Case Study

In my junior year of high school, I was introduced to the concept of mindfulness after reading Emotional Awareness by Paul Eckman and the Dalai Lama. This cursory introduction didn’t lead me to formal mindfulness practice; however, it set the seeds of curiosity which would subsequently sprout in my freshman year of undergrad at Dartmouth College. In (what was often) a stressful academic environment, I became fascinated by the idea that one could simply “watch” emotions instead of being “tossed around” by them. My fascination with mindfulness led me to books like The Miracle of Mindfulness by Tich Nhat Hanh and interviews with former monks like Andy Pudicomb of Headspace.

The advantage of starting in a service business and slowly migrating to software (as opposed to starting with an app) is that you can gain incredibly rich insight into your customers and build up savings.

My curiosity in mindfulness, as an intervention to academic stress and augmentation to academic performance, solidified in my senior year of undergrad; specifically, I was involved in research formally exploring mindfulness as an intervention for academic stress and binge drinking. It was around this time that I knew I wanted to find a way of bringing mindfulness into the public sector; I knew I wanted to bring mindfulness to people who might not otherwise be exposed to it. Despite that, however, I wasn’t yet sure how to begin. So, like many people, my uncertainty led me to a finance job.

how-i-created-a-30k-month-mindfulness-based-test-prep-software

9. Start a freelance writing business ($1.5M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$700 — $320,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$405
Time To Revenue
90 days
Skills
Business model

David Tile from Toronto, Ontario, Canada started Article-Writing Co about 12 years ago, a freelance writing business.

  • Revenue: $125,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 25
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Case Study

In 2011, coming out of college, I miserably tried to start a penny auction website. I studied Political Science at University, which had absolutely no bearing on this idea. I knew I wanted to do something entrepreneurial and was consumed by this auction model. I had my own specific mechanics that I thought would make the game a lot more fair for the average consumer. But alas, 6-8 months later, after burning through thousands of dollars trying to get the technology right, I was absolutely nowhere.

I was resigned to not give up, but the mechanics of the auction are critical to the smooth operation of the website and if you can’t get it right you don’t have a business. So I decided to start taking on some freelance writing work, just to get some cash in.

One thing led to another and I started getting some bigger clients with bigger asks. Eventually, I snowballed hiring some writers and copy editors. Turning this thing into a full-time business operation.

how-i-started-a-80k-month-content-writing-business

10. Become an author ($240K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$200 — $9,259,259/month
Average Initial Investment
$6,050
Skills

Nick Thacker from Colorado, USA started Conundrum Publishing about 6 years ago, a author.

  • Revenue: $20,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2
  • Location: Colorado, USA

Case Study

I’ve always been a fanatic reader, specifically in the thriller genre. I discovered Dan Brown as a kid, then James Rollins, and I’ve always love action movies that combine adrenaline and history (think National Treasure, Indiana Jones, etc.).

I decided to write a book (my first was called The Golden Crystal, and it has been re-launched as The Atlantis Stone) when my grandfather passed away. He had always been a strong positive influence in my life, and he, my dad, and I often swapped paperbacks we liked. That first book was intended as a gift for my dad for Christmas, and it was going to be the only one I ever wrote -- just to see if I could do it.

I had no idea what I was doing (arguably, I still don’t…). I just thought it would be fun to combine technology with the discovery of Atlantis… in some way. When I got started, I was naive enough to think that books simply happen, but the book very quickly got the best of me. I took a six-month break and consumed as much as I could on the subject of the craft of writing fiction. I’d never really written anything before, so it was an eye-opening experience to learn about structure, plot tropes, character development, and everything else that goes into a good, cohesive story.

how-i-generate-10k-month-as-an-indie-writer

11. Start an educational blog ($13.2K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$1,100 — $5,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$1,686
Skills
Business model

Pete Codes from Edinburgh, UK started No CS Degree almost 4 years ago, a educational blog.

  • Revenue: $1,100/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: Edinburgh, UK

Case Study

I had been learning to code for some time and I was looking for inspiration from people who like me hadn’t learned programming at college. I’m a member of quite a few online communities and I had already been asking developers for a while about how they got into software engineering. I knew quite a few people hadn’t been to college and had still done really well in their careers.

For instance, an Austrian developer Richard was making six figures as a self-taught web developer aged 22 years old and I was really impressed by that. Also, Harry Dry made a dating website for Kanye West fans which went viral and he was basically learning how to make it as he went along. One of my biggest influences, Pieter Levels, is also a very successful entrepreneur and makes $600,000 as a self-taught web developer. These stories helped encourage me to keep learning to code so I thought other people would be interested as well.

I knew of course that interview websites like Indiehackers and Starter Story were a good way to start a business so I had some examples to follow already. I figured that over the next 10 years there are going to be so many people learning to code for the first time that I could get ahead of that and making a website for them. I was definitely inspired by the way Pieter Levels took advantage of the trend of remote work with his websites Nomad List and Remote OK aimed at people having a location-independent lifestyle.

how-i-started-a-1k-month-blog-and-newsletter-sharing-stories-from-self-taught-developers

12. Become a proofreader ($24K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
Skills

Lenny Bron from New York, New York, USA started The Blog Proofreader almost 7 years ago, a proofreader.

  • Revenue: $2,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: New York, New York, USA

Case Study

This business idea was born in 2016, but the journey really began in 2014.

After working for a company for 8 years, I hadn’t really gotten far financially and felt stuck. I decided to find a job with better financial prospects and the possibility of advancement. After 6 months of searching, I was hired at a new employer and managed to double my salary in one fell swoop!

Just start! That little voice inside your head giving you doubts will always be there. Push through that voice and keep going until you reach a point where you’re lost.

how-i-added-2-000-to-my-monthly-income-proofreading-blog-posts

13. Start a tutoring business ($1.2M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$1,000 — $375,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$1,723
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 5 hours/week
Skills
Interests

Adam Shlomi from Miami, FL, USA started SoFlo Tutors about 4 years ago, a tutoring business.

  • Revenue: $100,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2
  • Location: Miami, FL, USA

Case Study

I come from an entrepreneurial family. My father works for himself and my maternal grandfather started a clothing factory. Working for myself has always been encouraged by my family, but before I could get started, I needed to learn a skill. At Georgetown, I study international politics and business. Most students with these backgrounds go on to work at prestigious firms like J.P. Morgan. I really didn’t know what kind of business I could start, and frankly, planned to work as a (boring) data analyst after graduation.

If you have an idea but don’t have the knowledge to execute, use that idea as motivation and go learn how to turn your vision into reality.

Tutoring first came to mind because I had spent significant time working for other tutoring companies and cutting my teeth/learning how the industry works during my teen years. I first started tutoring when I was 15. I was hired by College Experts, a local test prep center in Davie, Florida. My first student was three years older than me, and I spent our first session teaching him how to use his calculator rather than trying to explain any complicated formulas. Being a student myself, I was able to bring a student’s perspective to tutoring. I worked for College Experts until my senior year of high school when I began tutoring on my own and finding clients on Craigslist.

how-i-started-a-15k-month-sat-tutoring-business-while-in-college

14. Start a webinar hosting business ($5.68M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$2,000 — $897,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$168,033
Skills

Examples of a successful webinar hosting business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a webinar hosting business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a webinar hosting business ➜

Case Study

Hi everybody, my name is Philip and I’m the founder of Tiiny.Host - the simplest way to host & share your web project online. It’s perfect for prototyping, demos, testing, learning to code, and small web apps.

I started it around 2 years ago and to date, over 40,000 websites have been uploaded. We’re currently at $2,000 MRR (monthly recurring revenue) and doubling every 3 months. It’s been a rollercoaster couple of years, we were making less than $100 MRR for about the first 12 months but revenue then skyrocketed. It just goes to show the trajectory of SaaS businesses on the internet.

how-i-turned-my-teenage-hobby-into-a-profitable-static-web-hosting-service

15. Start a resume consulting business

How Much Can You Make?
$2,000 — $26,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful resume consulting business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a resume consulting business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a resume consulting business ➜

Case Study

My name is Fernando Pessagno, I am an Argentinian Product Designer and the founder of ResumeMaker.Online, a WYSIWYG web app that could enable even non-tech-savvy users to design an attractive resume in just minutes.

In early 2018 I was managing a small digital design studio. Life was good, but after more than 10 years of only doing client work, my passion for design wasn’t really there anymore. I could see the burnout on the horizon, so I knew I needed to do something about it.

i-built-a-profitable-resume-making-tool-on-the-side-700k-resumes-downloaded

16. Become a freelance editor

How Much Can You Make?
Skills

Examples of a successful freelance editor:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a freelance editor:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a freelance editor ➜

Case Study

I’m Daniel Waldman and I’m a freelance writer. My business is called Daniel Waldman Writing and I’ve been in business for about 3 years. That said, I’ve worked in marketing and public relations for nearly my entire career (over 15 years), and writing has always been a central element of my professional activities.

I offer a wide variety of writing and editing services, but mainly clients come to me for help with blogging, article writing, their website copy, and video script writing. I’ve also helped one writer with editing a business book and continue to expand my editorial services. On average, I earn about $3500/month (before taxes).

leaving-the-agency-grind-to-start-my-own-freelance-writing-career

17. Start an online course sales business

How Much Can You Make?
$100 — $1,666,666/month
Average Initial Investment
$100
Skills
Business model

Examples of a successful online course sales business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a online course sales business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an online course sales business ➜

Case Study

Hey, y’all I’m Cinquanta Cox-Smith I hate putting myself in a box, but If I had to explain what I do: I’m a Multipreneur. (Author, Podcaster, and Entrepreneur) I’ve been helping entrepreneurs start an EASY Print On Demand side hustle from anywhere for about 3 years now. I’m originally from a small town in South Carolina called Georgetown. It’s historic in many ways, especially for the Geechee Gullah culture. I’m an Army Veteran and my Husband (Shawn) is an active-duty soldier. We have 2 kids Kyree (15) and Sharye (12). Let’s not forget about our dog ChuChu. He's most definitely the star of this show.

I’ve always felt like this was just a hobby, or I was just making shirts but Print On Demand is so much more than that. It’s helped me create $7,000 in one month selling POD journals on Amazon KDP, it’s helped me land a Magazine Cover with my T-Shirts for Stars & Stripes (American Military Newspaper). It’s helped me teach over 10,000 people how to create passive & residual income from home with just a computer and some wi-fi. Most importantly it’s allowed me the gift of TIME. Time to spend and travel with my family. Once we get further along into this interview. I’ll tell you about how I accidentally started in the Print On Demand industry 12 years ago.

i-make-120k-year-with-my-print-on-demand-t-shirt-side-hustle

18. Start a remote grading service business

Examples of a successful remote grading service business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a remote grading service business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a remote grading service business ➜

article

19. Start a writing workshop teaching business ($360/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$30 — $14,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful writing workshop teaching business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a writing workshop teaching business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a writing workshop teaching business ➜

Case Study

My name is Burak Kanber, and I'm a software engineer, entrepreneur, musician, and sometimes-educator and writer. Some consider me an expert on machine learning; enough so that I've been approached to write and publish two books on the topic. Secretly, though, I wish I were a fiction novelist. There's just something "capital-R Romantic" about that lifestyle. I picture myself like Hemingway, earning a living by writing 500 clever words a day while I lounge by the pool.

Once I came to terms with my poor discipline I decided to build an app that punishes me for my bad habits. So far, I've got a few dozen users writing regularly on the app, which is great seeing as it's only in public beta and I've done zero marketing!

i-built-an-app-that-punishes-writers-if-they-don-t-write

20. Build an online research software

How Much Can You Make?
Average Initial Investment
$550,000
Skills

Examples of a successful online research software:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a online research software:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an online research software ➜

Case Study

Hi, I’m Prof. Jed Macosko, and I have the privilege of telling the story of how AcademicInfluence.com got started. I serve as president and academic director under the capable leadership of our CEO, Wayne Downs, and alongside an incredible team that includes Prof. Robert Marks, Drs. Winston Ewert, Brian Carlson, and James Barham, and Dave Tomar, Jenn Finley, and Dan Edelen. Our website helps parents and students find colleges that are a good fit. But more importantly, we strive to connect learners to leaders, which is why a large portion of our site is devoted to highlighting the works and lives of influential people.

We launched the current version of our website in August 2020, and as of the time of this writing in August 2021, our traffic, as measured by SEMrush, has grown to over 100,000 organic search visits per month. We monetize by generating leads for universities and college consultants and by licensing our proprietary ranking algorithm to other sites.

academicinfluence-com-pioneers-a-new-way-to-compare-colleges-and-scholars

21. Start a lesson plans business

Examples of a successful lesson plans business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a lesson plans business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a lesson plans business ➜

article

22. Start an ed tech business ($312K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$26,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful ed tech business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a ed tech business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an ed tech business ➜

Case Study

Hello! I’m Matt Studdert, and I’m the founder of Frontend Mentor. We are an online learning community that helps people improve their front-end coding skills by building projects. Instead of providing learning tutorials, we provide professionally designed challenges to help our community gain real-life experience building websites and web apps.

Today, we have over 200,000 members on the platform and grow at over 16,000 new members per month. Of those 200,000+ members, we have 1,500+ paid subscribers generating over $15,000 MRR.

we-built-a-180k-year-learn-to-code-community

23. Start an educational website business

How Much Can You Make?
$10,000 — $408,333/month
Skills

Examples of a successful educational website business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an educational website business ➜

Case Study

My name is Neil Granberry and I am the co-founder of Cottage Software alongside my friend, Hunter Hodnett, who founded the business. Cottage helps web designers and developers turn designs into code fast and affordably via a tech platform powered by learning developers.

Right now we’re making $25,000 per month as a tech-enabled agency of just two people. Our success is proving our product’s value as we begin to sell the product directly to web design and development agencies.

how-two-college-friends-started-a-25k-month-on-demand-development-business

24. Start a scholarship consulting business

Examples of a successful scholarship consulting business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a scholarship consulting business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a scholarship consulting business ➜

article

25. Start an online library business

Examples of a successful online library business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a online library business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an online library business ➜

26. Start a copywriting business ($144K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$700 — $160,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$1,342
Skills

Examples of a successful copywriting business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a copywriting business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a copywriting business ➜

Case Study

My name is David Tile. I own and operate a Content Writing Service, under the banner Article-Writing.co.

We don’t consider ourselves a content marketing firm. But a firm dedicated to the business of writing. Project management offers most often attached to marketing agencies. We work against marketing briefs delivering content on time and under budget.

how-i-started-a-80k-month-content-writing-business

27. Become a public speaker

How Much Can You Make?
$7,000 — $200,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$7,333
Skills

Examples of a successful public speaker:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a public speaker:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a public speaker ➜

Case Study

Hi! My name is Dean Bokhari, and I’m the founder of DeanBokhari.com - a membership platform focused on inspiring people to improve their lives and achieve their goals.

These days, about half a million people read or listen to my work every month. It’s both fun and fulfilling to help others grow. And it’s financially rewarding, too—our revenues are over $100,000 per month.

how-i-started-a-100k-month-membership-platform-focused-on-self-improvement

28. Start a teaching & consulting business

How Much Can You Make?
$10,000 — $300,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful teaching & consulting business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a teaching & consulting business ➜

Case Study

My name is Jade, but my students call me Teacher Jade. I have two businesses that were founded from “ah-ha” moments. My primary business is an online academy that offers courses to youth ages 8-18. From the success of that business, I started my second business which teaches anyone how to teach classes online.

That was my first “ah-ha” moment. I went from teaching online as a side job and earning a couple of hundred dollars a month to becoming a five-figure a month online teacher and I was working way less than my full-time contract hours.

how-i-went-from-part-time-tutor-to-making-120k-year-selling-online-courses

29. Become a tutorial video creator

How Much Can You Make?
$1,700 — $375,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$500,050
Skills

Examples of a successful tutorial video creator:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a tutorial video creator:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a tutorial video creator ➜

Case Study

Hey guys! My name is Josh Summers and I’m the founder of All Things Secured, a personal security and privacy brand that produces tutorials and educational content online. I started the company about 5 years ago while living in a sensitive part of China where the internet was highly censored and my activities were closely monitored, but have since moved to a more comfortable location in Thailand.

This past year, we crossed the 100,000 subscriber mark on YouTube and have continued to grow our content through email, live workshops, and other social media channels.

my-security-youtube-channel-hit-100k-subscribers-makes-25k-month

30. Become a music tutor ($840K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$30,000 — $70,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$5,035
Skills

Examples of a successful music tutor:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a music tutor:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a music tutor ➜

Case Study

Hi! I’m Jacques Hopkins, creator of Piano In 21 Days. My online piano course helps adults of all ages learn to play piano as fast as possible. Most of my students are people who never had the time or failed piano lessons before. Some are retirees who are excited about a new hobby but don’t want to wait years for results. Others are busy parents or professionals who need a low-pressure, flexible learning schedule.

My business brings in five figures every month, and I built everything from the ground up. I knew I had a unique take on piano lessons, but I had to learn everything about digital entrepreneurship and marketing in real time. It took a lot of effort, but it worked: I quit my engineering job and have been supporting my family this way for over eight years now.

i-created-a-480k-year-online-piano-lessons-business-with-100

31. Start a child care business

Average Initial Investment
$100,000
Time To Revenue
180 days
Skills
Business model

Examples of a successful child care business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a child care business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a child care business ➜

article

32. Start a summer camp

Examples of a successful summer camp:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a summer camp:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a summer camp ➜

33. Start a landscape designing business

How Much Can You Make?
$2,500,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$129,000
Skills

Examples of a successful landscape designing business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a landscape designing business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a landscape designing business ➜

Case Study

I'm Bryan Clayton CEO of GreenPal which is best described as Uber for Lawn Care.

Good thing early investors told us no because with their capital they would have owned and controlled 30% of our business.e are self-funded and my cofounders and I own it all.

uber-for-lawn-care-how-i-built-a-30m-software

34. Start a caricature artist business

How Much Can You Make?
Skills

Examples of a successful caricature artist business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a caricature artist business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a caricature artist business ➜

Case Study

Hi, my name is Janina, and back in 2002, I founded SP-Studio.de- a free tool for anyone to create cartoon characters without any drawing skills. What started as a fun little side project became one of the biggest and most popular avatar creation websites.

At its height, sp-studio.de attracts more than 60,000 visitors per day and you stumble upon the pictures all the time when browsing Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram.

i-built-a-cartoon-creator-tool-that-has-over-60k-unique-daily-users

35. Start a gardening business

How Much Can You Make?
$27,000 — $150,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$46,000
Time To Revenue
360 days
Skills
Business model

Examples of a successful gardening business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a gardening business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a gardening business ➜

Case Study

My name is Chris Crawford and I am the founder of RinseKit. We design, manufacture, and sell the RinseKit- a portable pressurized shower that’s like having a hose to go. It doesn’t require pumping or batteries, fills from a hose spigot or sink in 30 seconds, can maintain pressure for up to a month, and is entirely portable. We started the business back about 5 years ago and have since grown to average over $1.5 M in sales each year.

how-i-designed-a-150k-month-portable-pressurized-shower-and-went-on-shark-tank

36. Start an used book store

Examples of a successful used book store :

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a used book store :

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an used book store ➜

article

37. Become a business plan consultant

How Much Can You Make?
$100,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$2,789
Skills

Examples of a successful business plan consultant :

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a business plan consultant :

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a business plan consultant ➜

Case Study

Hi guys! We are Elena and Andrew, and we are corporate services providers in the UAE - we run a business consultancy company in Dubai for 9 years already.

We started as a “one-man-show”, but managed to grow quickly. We now reached a point of having about 15 full-time employees and average monthly revenue of over 200K USD.

we-make-1-2m-year-helping-people-set-up-their-companies-in-uae

38. Become a ghost blogger ($147K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$450 — $24,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$125
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 5 hours/week
Skills
Interests

Examples of a successful ghost blogger:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a ghost blogger:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a ghost blogger ➜

Case Study

Hey, I’m Lacy and I’m a content strategist, author of the bestselling Kindle ebook Make a Killing With Content, and the Director of The Content Direction Agency. We specialize in done-for-you content strategy and writing retainers for the content between launches or promotions that helps businesses grow, nurture, and prime their audience to say “hell yes!” before they ever see the offer.

Over the past 9 years, we’ve helped hundreds of business owners create bespoke content strategies to consistently drive quality traffic to websites, increase monthly email leads by 300% or more, improve search engine rankings, enroll dozens of clients per month into membership programs, support multi-six figure launches, and drive millions of views of our articles.

i-make-300k-year-with-a-team-of-ghostwriters-that-create-content-for-brands

39. Start an educational day camps business

Examples of a successful educational day camps business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a educational day camps business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an educational day camps business ➜

40. Start a grant writing business

How Much Can You Make?
$42,857 — $180,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$35
Skills

Examples of a successful grant writing business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a grant writing business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a grant writing business ➜

Case Study

I’m Dave Thornton and I am the Founder of Thornton & Lowe. I started the company 10 years ago, at the age of 23.

  • Sales over $130,000 per month
  • Complete over 400 tenders each year with a win rate over 75%
  • Train over 500 delegates
  • One of the largest UK databases of Bid Professionals
  • Highest customer satisfaction in the industry

how-i-started-a-130k-month-business-selling-bid-writing-services

41. Start a speech writing business

Examples of a successful speech writing business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a speech writing business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a speech writing business ➜

article

42. Start a toddler educating business

Examples of a successful toddler educating business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a toddler educating business:

Learn more about starting a toddler educating business ➜

article

43. Start an acting lessons business

Examples of a successful acting lessons business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a acting lessons business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an acting lessons business ➜

article

44. Start a home tutoring business

Examples of a successful home tutoring business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a home tutoring business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a home tutoring business ➜

article

45. Start a foreign language training business

How Much Can You Make?
$91,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful foreign language training business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a foreign language training business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a foreign language training business ➜

Case Study
  • Benny Lewis is a famous Irish polyglot and the creator of the language learning website Fluent in 3 Months.
  • He has appeared in numerous national media outlets, such as The New York Times, Business Insider, Forbes, LifeHacker, National Geographic, and the BBC.
  • This language learning website receives over 2 million visits monthly.
  • Benny is fluent in seven different languages. He shares the experiences of real people who struggle and succeed in learning foreign languages, including his own.

article

Listen to the full podcast on podcasts.apple.com ➜

46. Start an art lessons business

Examples of a successful art lessons business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a art lessons business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an art lessons business ➜

article

47. Start a tech writing business

How Much Can You Make?
$2,000 — $42,857/month
Average Initial Investment
$67
Skills

Examples of a successful tech writing business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a tech writing business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a tech writing business ➜

Case Study

I'm Vaibhav Kishnani, an engineer but a passionate writer by profession. I established Content-Whale in 2017 when I was in my third year of engineering. Going by the maxim that quality writing is everything, Content-Whale caters to 42 different content types that form the backstory of every company’s digital presence and marketing efforts.

I started this content agency with a mere sum of Rs. 2,500. Today, we have drawn a revenue turnover of Rs. 4 Crores! In my opinion, it is not individual progress. Instead, a start-up is about connecting with the right individuals at the right time, who keep the show running ahead with their strife for perfection.

how-we-started-a-514k-year-content-curation-agency-with-just-35-from-india

48. Start a notary public business

Examples of a successful notary public business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a notary public business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a notary public business ➜

article

49. Start a college planning business

How Much Can You Make?
Skills

Examples of a successful college planning business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a college planning business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a college planning business ➜

Case Study

Hi, I’m Prof. Jed Macosko, and I have the privilege of telling the story of how AcademicInfluence.com got started. I serve as president and academic director under the capable leadership of our CEO, Wayne Downs, and alongside an incredible team that includes Prof. Robert Marks, Drs. Winston Ewert, Brian Carlson, and James Barham, and Dave Tomar, Jenn Finley, and Dan Edelen. Our website helps parents and students find colleges that are a good fit. But more importantly, we strive to connect learners to leaders, which is why a large portion of our site is devoted to highlighting the works and lives of influential people.

We launched the current version of our website in August 2020, and as of the time of this writing in August 2021, our traffic, as measured by SEMrush, has grown to over 100,000 organic search visits per month. We monetize by generating leads for universities and college consultants and by licensing our proprietary ranking algorithm to other sites.

academicinfluence-com-pioneers-a-new-way-to-compare-colleges-and-scholars

50. Start a museum consulting business

Examples of a successful museum consulting business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a museum consulting business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a museum consulting business ➜

article

51. Start a real estate brokering business

How Much Can You Make?
$199,999/month
Average Initial Investment
$50,000
Skills

Examples of a successful real estate brokering business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a real estate brokering business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a real estate brokering business ➜

Case Study

Sanya Gurnani and Biju Ashokan are the founders of Radius Agent, an online real estate brokerage focused on helping agents succeed.

The company gives real estate agents the appropriate tools to market and brand themselves, generates leads, and uses technology to increase sales conversions.

Their Series A funding of $13.1 million accelerates their expansion plans as they aim to reach a 5X growth rate and add eight more states by 2022.

article

Listen to the full podcast on podcasts.apple.com ➜

52. Become a swimming instructor

How Much Can You Make?
Skills

Examples of a successful swimming instructor:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a swimming instructor:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a swimming instructor ➜

Case Study
  • Paulana Lamonier started this swimming coaching school named Black People Will Swim specifically to break the stereotype that black people don’t swim.

  • Although Black People Will Swim officially launched in January 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the start of swim lessons until July 2021.

  • Paulana Lamonier's small business journey began operations thanks to a tweet. When she tweeted that she wanted to teach 30 Black people how to swim on Long Island, New York, she received hundreds of requests from people all over the country.

  • Motivated by her personal experience and tired of stereotypes and statistics, Lamonier set out to change this statistic, and thus Black People Will Swim was born.

  • Within a few years, the 31-year-old was able to secure a pool, hire swim coaches, and begin teaching students.

  • The founder used $5,000 of her savings to start the company, which included forming an LLC, renting a pool, and hiring a business coach and a creative director.

  • Since then, she has raised nearly $136,000 in grants, including a $10,000 grant from Adidas and a $25,000 grant from American Express, both of which aim to support female founders who are making a difference in sports.

  • Currently, Paulana makes around $500 to $1000 after paying for the rent, the instructors, and her aquatic director.

article

53. Start a professional organizing business ($96K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$8,000 — $100,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$1,500
Time To Revenue
210 days
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 100 hours/week
Skills
Interests
Business model

Examples of a successful professional organizing business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a professional organizing business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a professional organizing business ➜

Case Study

Hey there! My name is Amber Barrett and I’m the founder and CEO of Arranged by Amber. I started this business in 2018 as a Professional Organizing service, but through pivots and lots of trial and error, this business now supports other Professional Organizers by implementing business systems and automation into their businesses.

Today, Arranged by Amber averages $8,000/month helping Professional Organizers implement business strategies and systems that save them time and money.

how-i-make-8k-month-helping-organizers-automate-their-business

54. Start an educational toys business

How Much Can You Make?
$400,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful educational toys business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a educational toys business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an educational toys business ➜

Case Study

Hey, y’all! I’m Hagan Walker - one of the co-founders of Glo! We make liquid-activated products under two different brands - Glo Cubes, which are light up drink cubes - and Glo Pals, light-up sensory toys for children. Both incorporate the same patented liquid activation circuitry.

Hold on to your seats. I believe telling a story should be real - it should include the highs and lows, tell you about how the path isn’t always straightforward, and detail how some things work out for a reason, so let’s start from the beginning.

how-we-built-a-1-2mm-year-business-selling-light-up-ice-cubes

55. Start a public speaking instruction business

Examples of a successful public speaking instruction business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a public speaking instruction business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a public speaking instruction business ➜

article

56. Start a book rental business

Examples of a successful book rental business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a book rental business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a book rental business ➜

article

57. Start a daycare

Examples of a successful daycare:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a daycare:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a daycare ➜

article

58. Start a pottery business

How Much Can You Make?
$110,000/month
Skills
Business model
Work from home

Examples of a successful pottery business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a pottery business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a pottery business ➜

Case Study
  • Joel Cherrico, at the age of 18, decided that he wanted to become a full-time potter and pursue this as a career.
  • In 2010, after graduating from college with a degree in art, Joel founded Cherrico Pottery which specializes in selling cosmic-themed mugs and other pottery items.
  • Joel makes beautiful ceramics by hand and sells them online for $100-$500 each.
  • In just five years, he went from selling zero to 100 cups per day. Now, he has a team of four pottery studio employees who help him with creating & delivering unique handcrafted pottery items to pottery lovers all around the world.

article

Listen to the full podcast on scribd.com ➜

59. Start a babysitting service

Examples of a successful babysitting service:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a babysitting service:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a babysitting service ➜

article

60. Start a tour guide business

How Much Can You Make?
$1,500 — $43,300,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful tour guide business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a tour guide business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a tour guide business ➜

Case Study

In the late 1980s, Darrell and Geoff Manchester established Intrepid as a brand new way of exploring the world.

Intrepid Travel offers more than 1,150 trips on all seven continents that are sustainable and experience-rich.

They didn't set out to build the biggest purpose-led adventure travel brand in the world, but they have done so now, by generating $43 million in annual revenue.

They are the biggest adventure tour operator in the world, operating a network of 26 DMCs and a nonprofit foundation.

Since 2002, their nonprofit organization, The Intrepid Foundation, has raised over AUD 12 million for 135 charities worldwide.

article

Read the full story on forbes.com ➜

61. Start a special needs coaching business

Examples of a successful special needs coaching business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a special needs coaching business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a special needs coaching business ➜

article

62. Start a digital research analysis business

How Much Can You Make?
$40,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful digital research analysis business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a digital research analysis business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a digital research analysis business ➜

Case Study

Hi, my name is Ľubomír Lajoš and I'm the CEO of UXtweak - a user research platform. Simply said, our platform can tell you if your users like your website if they can use it, or find what they are looking for.

We launched UXtweak.com about a year ago and so far we have MRR 60k without any external investments. To be sincere, we only have some investment from ourselves as I also own one of the biggest marketing agencies in Slovakia.

our-480k-year-solution-can-tell-if-people-like-your-website

63. Start a business school business

Examples of a successful business school business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a business school business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a business school business ➜

article

64. Start a fashion design school business

Examples of a successful fashion design school business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a fashion design school business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a fashion design school business ➜

article

65. Start a stress management consulting business

Examples of a successful stress management consulting business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a stress management consulting business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a stress management consulting business ➜

66. Start a self defense school

Examples of a successful self defense school:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a self defense school:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a self defense school ➜

article

67. Start a photography courses business

How Much Can You Make?
$15,000 — $250,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful photography courses business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a photography courses business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a photography courses business ➜

Case Study

Marc Andre is the creator of Loaded Landscapes, a blogging website specializing in travel, wildlife, and landscape photography. He also offers Lightroom presets and Lightroom training.

He previously built & sold 3 photography-related websites - that used to sell digital products to other photographers.

The journey with Loaded Landscapes began in 2012. Marc wanted to upgrade from a point-and-shoot camera to a nice DSLR. So, he set himself a challenge to see if he could raise the $5k to start a photography-related side hustle.

Over the following six years, Marc increased the size of his company, added more products, and launched two more websites centered around photography. This helped him generate more than a million dollars in revenue.

article

Read the full story on sidehustlenation.com ➜

68. Start an auto maintenance course business

Examples of a successful auto maintenance course business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a auto maintenance course business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an auto maintenance course business ➜

article

69. Start a charter school business

Examples of a successful charter school business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a charter school business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a charter school business ➜

article

Pat Walls,  Founder of Starter Story
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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.

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