30 Businesses You Can Start With $40k Or Less [Updated for 2024]
If you're looking to start a business on a budget, you'll be pleased to know that there are plenty of options out there. You can start many businesses for under $40k.
So if you're ready to take the plunge, here are some great ideas to get you started.
1. Start a commercial fishing business
The commercial fishing industry is one of the most exciting industries to get involved in and can be lucrative if you are willing to put in the time and effort. Do you love the ocean and fishing as your hobby? The idea that you could get paid for doing something you thoroughly enjoy can be an incredibly tempting proposition. Fishing for a living seems like the perfect job.
Listed are the steps to start a commercial fishing business.
- Register your business name
- Get the proper licenses and regulations in order.
- Get a boat that fits the boat requirements.
- Get a buyer and secure the contracts.
- Hire a crew
- Secure all needed materials and supplies
2. Start a home tutoring business
A home tutoring company is an educational company that offers private tutoring from a tutor who visits the students at the student’s home.
Home tutoring is a growing business opportunity for motivated people and comes with the flexibility of working anytime, anywhere, and creates a passive income.
If you love teaching and helping others, one way to make money is to start a home tutoring business. Whether you want to tutor kids or adults, there’s a niche for you.
Once you have started your home tutoring business, promote it by putting fliers at other stores and on bulletin boards at colleges and libraries. Also, engage parents and guardians for home tutoring opportunities.
3. Start a carpet cleaning service
One of the most common household decorative items is a floor carpet. Carpets are extensively used in commercial and residential spaces to provide an aesthetic look. The increased use of carpets has influenced the demand for carpet cleaning services.
If you are starting a carpet cleaning company, you will need quality equipment and an on-point marketing strategy to stand out from the competition. You will be challenged by managing customer quoting, invoicing, allocating labor, and collecting payments. Therefore, invest in the right software for managing business operations and tracking invoicing.
How much you can make: $250,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $23 (?)
4. Start a hardwood floor refinishing business
How much you can make: $20,000/month
5. Start a financial service business ($370K/month)
How much you can make: $21,000 — $3,141,666/month
How long does it take to build: 100 days (?)
6. Start a small business guides business
How much you can make: $100,000/month
7. Start a private tutor business
How much you can make: $300,000/month
How long does it take to build: 1200 days (?)
8. Start a vegan bakery
More people are becoming aware of the benefits that vegan food products offer to their health. Therefore, vegan food establishments and vegan bakeries are increasing at an unprecedented rate.
Vegan bakeries use plant-based ingredients to produce and sell sweet and savory products made in compliance with the strict requirements of a vegan diet.
How much you can make: $25,000 — $200,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $7,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
9. Start a mobile phone repair kiosk
A cellphone repair kiosk is a low-startup cost business; hence easy to start. However, the profit margins may be low as you start the business, but they increase over time as you become well-known and successful.
To start a mobile phone repair kiosk, find streets with high foot traffic, and open a store. Advertise your business widely to get more foot traffic to your shop.
10. Start a remote software engineering business
Software engineering is one of the most lucrative careers for work-at-home enthusiasts. Software engineers can work from anywhere and accomplish project goals as long as they have the right skills and the right equipment.
Demand for software engineering has been rising for quite some time now, and there are no signs of stopping. Experts project software developers' employment rate to shoot by over 20% in the next few years. If you have software engineering skills and are passionate about working from home, there is no suitable time to start your business like now. A software engineering business begins with completing a relevant programming course and building some projects. Hence, you gain the skills and experience required to become a software engineer.
You can start your own software building company targeting companies, startups, or even individuals.
11. Start an online diet and fitness business
The concept of wellness has been around for decades. The latest IPSOS report has shown that more than half of the world’s population is interested in exercising and eating more healthily.
A majority of people falling under this classification are using the internet to help them through their health and fitness journey.
Therefore, starting a website dedicated to teaching and helping people in dieting and exercising presents a potential business opportunity.
How much you can make: $10,000 — $33,333,333/month
12. Start a catering business ($20K/month)
A catering business is responsible for providing food & beverage-related services for vast types of events.
Catering businesses are known to be more flexible than other businesses because they don’t have to worry about location or pricing and can even work 24/7. They can cater anywhere and offer any price point that they want.
However, starting a catering business requires a lot of planning.
To start a successful catering business , you'll need to plan and prepare menus, manage budgets, handle clients, and more.
In addition, catering allows you to meet more people and show off your cooking skills.
How much you can make: $3,750 — $48,333/month
How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
13. Start a co-working space rental business ($300K/month)
The co-working spaces are becoming essential in the post-pandemic world. Experts estimate five million people will occupy coworking spaces in the next few years. The projections are based not only on the growth the coworking industry has experienced over the past few years but also on the sharp increase in the number of startups coming up each year.
Therefore, creating your coworking space business will become a lucrative opportunity. To create a coworking space, do proper market research to ensure you have the demand for a co-work space in your target area.
Then, focus on finding an ideal location to attract the maximum number of customers.
How much you can make: $4,000 — $300,000/month
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
14. Start a crowdfunding platform ($203K/month)
Raising money for your project can be difficult. Crowdfunding is one way to get funding through a large number of smaller investments. If you have some expertise in a particular area that may be useful to other people, there's no better time to take action. The crowdfunding revolution is happening right at your fingertips.
Crowdfunding has exploded over the past year, and you need to be a part of it. The Worldwide crowdfunding market share is expected to increase by $240B from 2021 to 2026. Crowdfunding is one of the quickest ways to get funding and build your brand.
How much you can make: $5,000 — $400,000/month
How long does it take to build: 272 days (?)
15. Start a digital marketing business ($179K/month)
Digital marketing businesses serve local and international companies to expand their reach and grow revenue. A top reason digital marketing is so exciting is that the field is constantly evolving and is easy to learn.
If you plan to start a digital marketing business, educate yourself and understand how digital marketing agencies work. Then, focus on building your digital skills and advancing your career through online digital marketing courses.
To stand out, find a digital marketing niche and focus on the audience interested in your services.
How much you can make: $2,000 — $6,660,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $1,260 (?)
How long does it take to build: 58 days (?)
16. Start a bitcoin vending machine
A bitcoin vending machine allows customers to purchase bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
To Start a bitcoin vending machine you need to buy a bitcoin ATM and register the AML/KYC requirements with the BTM compliance. Then, you have to secure a steady bitcoin supply before deploying the machine to a secure location. Finally, you need to load service cash before launching the business.
The BTMs recoup costs through a margin for profit attached to any fees levied on the consumer. With the rate of fees and the overall popularity of Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency ATM is still a highly profitable venture.
17. Start an online vape shop ($180K/month)
How much you can make: $60,000 — $300,000/month
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
18. Start a food truck ($125K/month)
Food trucks are a highly profitable business that offers customers a variety of meal options out of a mobile truck. This basically operates inside a large vehicle equipped with kitchen and food products. Starting a food truck is a dream for many people, but it's more challenging than it looks. To make it work, you need the ideal location and menu.
To start a food truck business in a particular city, it is mandatory to check what kind of food trucks are already operating, identify a gap, and bring in some new experiences. Then, with the right plan and the right approach, you can be on your way to starting your own food truck empire.
How much you can make: $29,166 — $61,650,000/month
How long does it take to build: 75 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week
19. Start a graphic design app ($32.5K/month)
A graphic design application is a SaaS application that allows users create online graphics. Examples of graphic design applications include Snappa, adobe Photoshop, and GIMP.
Modern businesses need digital branding, holograms, and poster designs, to maximize the customer reach abilities. Therefore, graphic designers are becoming the most in-demand professionals.
The high demand is a good basis for choosing graphic design applications as one of the best app business ideas in 2022. Before you kick start the graphics design app business idea, here are technical skills you may consider:
- Design principles
- Idea generation
- Branding skills
- Typography
- Print designing
- UX and UI Design
While coding skills and cross-platform development skills are important to start developing applications, you can hire developers online.
How much you can make: $100 — $83,500/month
How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 130 days (?)
20. Start a tanning salon business
A tanning salon is where affluent clients expose themselves to ultraviolet light to darken their skin. A tanning salon offers a wide range of benefits, such as improved appearance, enhanced mood, and increased vitamin levels.
Depending on your location and operation, a tanning salon can be profitable. You can establish your tanning salon in a gym, spa, hotel, or within a sporting facility.
21. Start a conversation chatbots creation business
How much you can make: $25,000 — $166,666/month
How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)
22. Start a meditation studio ($13K/month)
Starting a meditation studio is a great business idea for those passionate about wellness and helping others find inner peace. This studio provides a relaxing and calming environment where people can practice mindfulness and meditation.
At your meditation studio, you can offer a variety of classes and workshops, including guided meditation sessions, yoga classes, and other wellness practices. You can also offer one-on-one coaching and personal development sessions to help your clients achieve their goals and find more balance in their lives.
To create the perfect atmosphere, you will want to design your space with calming colors, comfortable seating, and soothing lighting. You may also want to consider adding essential oil diffusers, calming music, and other elements that help create a peaceful environment.
The demand for meditation and mindfulness practices is growing, so starting a meditation studio is an excellent opportunity to tap into this trend and positively impact your community. By providing a place for people to relax, de-stress, and find inner peace, you can help people live happier, healthier lives.
How much you can make: $13,000/month
23. Start a sports copywriting business ($20K/month)
A sports copywriting business involves creating written content related to sports, such as articles, blog posts, advertisements, and social media posts, for sports teams, athletes, or sports-related companies.
To start a copywriting business with $50K or less, you’ll need a computer, an internet connection, and basic software for writing and communication.
Begin by building a portfolio of sample sports-related content to showcase your writing skills. Next, reach out to potential clients, such as local sports teams, sports blogs, or sports apparel companies, and offer your services.
As you gain clients and build a reputation, you can reinvest profits to expand your business further.
How much you can make: $300,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
More business ideas
- 24. Start a naturals2go vending franchise business
- 25. Start a peer to peer lending business
- 26. Start a grand opening service business
- 27. Start an online custom tailoring business
- 28. Start a hair lice removal business
29. Start a social media manager
How much you can make: $166,667/month
How much does it cost to start: $3 (?)
How long does it take to build: 720 days (?)
More business ideas
- 30. Start a drone instruction business
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
