The 32 Best Home-Based Businesses To Start In Colorado [2024]

Updated: January 20th, 2022

Interested in starting a business in Colorado in 2024?

We put together 32 of the best businesses you can start in Colorado today.

For each business idea, we’ll show you real-world examples of how you can start your profitable, home-based small business in Colorado.

Here's the full list:

1. Start a finance blog ($90K/year)

Alexis Schroeder from Colorado, USA started FITnancials about 11 years ago, a finance blog.

  • Location: Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $7,500/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

Hey! My name’s Alexis and I run a personal finance blog called Fitnancials. I teach millennial women how to manage their money, save & invest more, and earn extra money with side hustles.

I actually started my business back in 2013 as a fun hobby. Fitnancials was originally a health and fitness blog (as well as personal finance), but I ended up ditching the health portion altogether because it no longer resonated with me anymore. I wanted to be hyper-focused on finances.

I had zero intention of creating any income from Fitnancials. It was purely a passion project where I shared tips and tricks with my friends and family (because people were always asking me for weight loss tips since I had lost 60 pounds).

how-i-started-a-7-5k-month-blog-about-personal-finances

2. Start a backpack line ($300K/year)

Kelly Belknap from Denver, Colorado, USA started Adventurist Backpack Co. over 6 years ago, a backpack line.

  • Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $25,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$7K
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

My name is Kelly Belknap, and I co-founded Adventurist Backpack Co. along with my wife Matilda Sandstrom.

We design minimalist backpacks for travel, and for every backpack purchased, 25 meals are provided to families in need across the U.S. (We do this through our partner Feeding America, providing meals to over 200 food banks across the country.)

Our flagship product is our Adventurist Classic backpack, which is made as a daypack for travelers, hikers, students, and everyday use. It’s padded front/back for electronics and completely weather-resistant for any adventure - and also fits perfectly underneath the seat of an airplane. We have the Adventurist Classic available in 6 colors, and have 2 new designs on the way which will be available on our website starting at the end of August.

how-this-husband-wife-duo-started-a-backpack-brand-that-gives-back

3. Become an it consultant ($25.2K/year)

Dan Khadem from Denver, Colorado, USA started Access Database Support about 12 years ago, an IT consultant.

  • Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $2,100/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

My everyone. My name is Dan Khadem. I’m from Denver, Colorado and have a wife and 2 kids. I might have the most interesting or unique story because I have two very opposite things going on in my life. For my first business, I started a database consulting service for small and medium-sized organizations. This is using my technical skills and is very much using the Type A side of my personality. On the other end of the spectrum I do commercial acting and modeling. This is essentially for advertising in the form of print ads and commercials.

I’ll start with my database consulting business since that’s what I started with and what I’ve been doing longer. I essentially help organizations manage and declutter their data. My full-time day job is a database programmer in medical research so I’ve taken this skillset and applied it towards helping small and medium-sized businesses and organizations tackle a data problem that is holding their business back.

Typically it’s an organization that is struggling with managing their data and need some help moving from disorganized spreadsheets to a clean and efficient database program. Other times it’s a business that needs a custom program to automate or support a task like managing their human resources, their clients or some sort of maintenance schedule that they need to run their business.

how-a-database-consultant-became-a-commercial-model

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

Nick Thacker from Colorado, USA started Conundrum Publishing about 7 years ago, an author.

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

Case Study

My name is Nick Thacker, and I’m a full-time thriller writer. I write action-adventure fiction for armchair adventurers, and my books have been insultingly referred to as “airport books,” a descriptor I absolutely adore and use as often as possible.

I started like any author — making no money, and begging for people to read my stuff. Now I generate about $10-14k/month in revenue, between writing, business, and related projects.

nick-thacker-update-landing-a-three-book-publishing-deal-staying-focused

5. Develop a seo software ($2.64M/year)

Todd Hooper from Boulder, CO, USA started Prerender.io over 10 years ago, a seo software.

  • Location: Boulder, CO, USA
  • Revenue: $220,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 4

Case Study

My name is Todd Hooper, and I’m a software engineer. I founded Prerender.io in 2014. Prerender.io allows search engines to crawl SEO-friendly versions of React, Angular, and Javascript websites.

As a solo founder and employee, I bootstrapped Prerender.io from zero to $2.5 million in ARR over 5 years!

how-i-bootstrapped-my-saas-company-to-2-5m-year-in-5-years-as-a-solo-founder

6. Start a transcription business ($1.2M/year)

Ben Walker from Denver, CO, USA started Transcription Outsourcing, LLC over 13 years ago, a transcription business.

  • Location: Denver, CO, USA
  • Revenue: $100,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$150K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 5

Case Study

My name is Ben Walker and I am the CEO and Founder of Transcription Outsourcing, LLC in Denver, Colorado.

We provide guaranteed transcription services to the medical, legal, law enforcement, financial, academic, and general business industries. This means we work with doctors, lawyers, law enforcement agencies, wealth management companies, universities, authors, podcasts, and even insurance companies to help them run their offices better.

Transcription Outsourcing was awarded the NASPO ValuePoint ($16 billion in annual sales from 65 contracts) transcription services contract three years ago, over 26 other companies, and haven’t looked back since.

how-we-started-a-100k-month-company-that-provides-transcription-services

7. Start a marketing agency ($1.2M/year)

Travis Richardson from Denver, Colorado, USA started Impressions Agency over 10 years ago, a marketing agency.

  • Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $100,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 20

Case Study

From Honeymoon to Prosperous Company

I’m Travis Richardson. My wife Charisa and I started our company Impressions Agency in 2013--an online digital marketing agency. At that time we were living in Costa Rica on the beach. Our end goal then was to pay our bills of $800 per month (dreaming big :)) while living the Pura Vida lifestyle. My hidden motive was to turn our Costarican experience into an indefinite honeymoon. At that time we had been married for 6 months.

how-we-started-a-100k-month-marketing-agency-during-our-honeymoon-in-costa-rica

8. Start a crime scene cleanup business

Nick-Anthony Zamucen from Greenwood Village, Colorado, USA started Bio-One about 16 years ago, a crime scene cleanup business.

  • Location: Greenwood Village, Colorado, USA
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 7

Case Study

Hello readers, this is Nick-Anthony Zamucen again. I have created four franchised organizations, working on the fifth as I type this. I have sold two of those organizations to private equity companies for an 8x multiple and frankly, after the second sale, I don’t have to work another day in my life, but how boring would that be?

The reason for living is giving and creation and I love to do both. Plus, I enjoy showing aspiring Entrepreneurs actually how to be successful and not become Wantrepreneurs. Success breeds success.

how-we-grew-to-127-locations-and-got-featured-on-a-tv-show

9. Start a shoe brand ($48M/year)

Steven Sashen from Broomfield, Colorado, USA started Xero Shoes over 14 years ago, a shoe brand.

  • Location: Broomfield, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $4,000,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 67

Case Study

Hi, I’m Steven Sashen and I’m the co-founder (with my wife, Lena Phoenix) and CEO of Xero Shoes.

Xero Shoes are addictively comfortable, lightweight, minimalist, casual and performance shoes and sandals that people in 97 countries wear for everything from a walk on the beach to a mountain hike to running a 256k ultra marathon across Madagascar.

Everything we do is based on what’s natural.

xero-shoes-growing-a-shoe-brand-to-460k-month

10. Start a drinkware brand

Jon Fox from Boulder, Colorado, USA started EcoVessel about 13 years ago, a drinkware brand.

  • Location: Boulder, Colorado, USA
  • Starting Costs: $$15K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 11

Case Study

I grew up in a family where both of my parents started their own businesses, so I have had an interest in being an entrepreneur since I was fairly young. My brothers developed the same interests and one of them teaches entrepreneurship at an International University in Barcelona, and I have a twin brother that chef and founder of multiple restaurants in San Francisco.

To be successful, you can never stop innovating and trying out new ideas.

I studied Business with an emphasis in Marketing in college and got started in my career in technology sales in Arizona and then in the Bay Area. After working in technology for several years, I decided that I wanted to have a larger impact on people’s lives and do something that would help people, so I started an alternative health wellness center, called Whole Body Balance, in Boulder, Colorado. From there I got interested in designing and developing products and started a company that manufactured and sold water filtration systems.

on-starting-an-insulated-drinkware-brand-and-growing-sales-100

11. Start a food tour company ($900K/year)

Jessica Baumgart from Denver, Colorado, USA started Delicious Denver Food Tours about 6 years ago, a food tour company.

  • Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $75,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$2K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 3

Case Study

Hi, I’m Jessica Baumgart, and in 2017 I founded Delicious Denver Food Tours to connect Denver locals and visitors to my city’s amazing food scene.

Many people don’t know what a food tour is, although they are the fastest growing sector in tourism. Food tours are walking (sometimes driving or biking) city tours that feature local restaurants, dishes and chefs.

how-i-started-a-wildly-successful-food-tour-business

12. Start a niche accessories brand ($7.2K/year)

Alex from Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA started AR Catch22 almost 15 years ago, a niche accessories brand.

  • Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $600/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

Hi! I’m Alex Corstorphine, founder of AR Catch22. AR Catch22 produces and sells bolt catches for .22lr converted AR-15 rifles.

Before getting into the business side of things, it’s probably worthwhile to explain a bit about what a bolt catch is and does.

Standard AR-15s shoot a .223 caliber round and, like most other semi-automatic rifles, the bolt (the part that moves back and forth to load new rounds and eject old ones) is automatically held open by a bolt catch after the last round is fired. This feature is helpful because an open bolt shows the rifle is clear (i.e. no rounds are loaded) and helps with quicker magazine changes.

how-i-designed-an-accessory-to-use-multiple-types-of-rounds-in-a-rifle

13. Start a shipping company ($240K/year)

Dvir Edri from Denver, CO, USA started Car Shipping Calculator about 13 years ago, a shipping company.

  • Location: Denver, CO, USA
  • Revenue: $20,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$100K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 7

Case Study

Hi! I’m Dvir and I run Nationwide Auto Transportation. NAT is an auto shipping broker, which means that we connect consumers in need of car shipping services with truckers who transport vehicles across the United States.

Since the inception of our company 12 years ago, we have served more than 50,000 customers - many multiple times. We ship approximately 4,000 vehicles per month.

Transporting the Batmobile

how-i-started-a-20k-month-auto-shipping-broker-business

14. Start a marketing agency ($1.8M/year)

Kenn Kelly from Denver, Colorado, USA started Never Settle over 11 years ago, a marketing agency.

  • Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $150,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$5K
  • Founders: 3
  • Employees: 15

Case Study

Hello, I’m Kenn Kelly and co-found Never Settle with two dear friends Andrew Lundquist and Shaul Hagen. Never Settle is a Digital Agency where relationships with our customers come first - after all, they are everything in our business. Although small, we’ve been globally recognized as a leader in mobile, website & marketing solutions.

Our clients range from small mom and pop businesses to enterprises. Our flagship product is eCommerce development. Whether helping a business sell products for the first time online or helping a company manage online sales + in-store purchases + Amazon from one unified inventory and reporting system, we’ve completed a very diverse set of work inside the eCommerce ecosystem. While we technically do a lot of eCommerce, marketing, and web development - really what we’re experts in, is helping our customers build bigger stories.

We’re huge fans of ‘lean methodology’ and that’s one of the things that sets us apart. We’re the first to help clients reduce their overall budget while coming up with creative ways to leverage what’s needed at that moment to create the maximum impact. Because we’re in it for the long haul, we’re not focused on getting the most out of our clients, but rather we’re focused on building a long-lasting mutually beneficial relationship. From that starting position, everything else falls in line.

how-i-left-silicon-valley-and-started-a-100k-month-digital-agency

15. Start an education products business ($18K/year)

Alex Bricker from Fort Collins, Colorado, USA started ESL With Purpose over 6 years ago, an education products business.

  • Location: Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $1,500/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

My name’s Alex and I started ESL With Purpose, LLC. Our mission is to see millions of English learners change their lives through English skills.

Our flagship products are the Phrase It™ cards and Phrase It™ dice. I currently make between $600-$1,000/month, depending on inventory flow and availability of profit reinvestment.

I started with 0 sales a day in 2017 and now average 2-3 sales per day. In 2019, I started an online course to teach English called Learn American English Online: English on the Street. I designed this to help more students plus increase cash flow to keep my inventory cycles going.

how-i-started-a-side-hustle-making-an-extra-1000-month

16. Become a nutritionist ($42K/year)

Haley Hughes from Anchorage, AK, USA started RDRx Nutrition about 10 years ago, a nutritionist.

  • Location: Anchorage, AK, USA
  • Revenue: $3,500/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

I’m Haley Hughes, owner of RDRx Nutrition where I provide individualized nutritional counseling. I am a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, CrossFit Level 1 Coach, as well as an avid athlete and adventurer. I am measuring progress this year by being able to have a better work-life balance.

This year I was able to increase my rates by over 100% which has been an incredible way to provide higher quality service and prevent mental fatigue and burnout.

how-adding-virtual-counseling-sessions-increased-our-revenue

17. Start an online advertising agency ($15M/year)

Joel Cox from Denver, Colorado, USA started Strategus over 9 years ago, an online advertising agency.

  • Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $1,250,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 21

Case Study

I’m Joel Cox, co-founder and executive vice president of strategy and innovation for Strategus, an advertising technology startup founded in Denver in 2014. The company pioneered the first programmatic OTT/CTV (Over-The-Top digital streaming over Connected Television) advertising campaign the following year.

The Strategus Managed Services Platform produces real-time automated ad campaigns that instantly deliver custom, audience-targeted messages to CTVs and other internet-connected devices. With a wide variety of brand and agency customers, our growth has been phenomenal, with revenues of $14.8 million in 2019. We’ve been on the Inc. 5000 three years running due to our geometric sales increases.

how-we-started-the-first-programmatic-ott-ctv-advertising-company

18. Start a handmade paper goods business ($13.2K/year)

Abigail Butler from Denver, Colorado, USA started Chirps & Cricket Design Studio about 9 years ago, a handmade paper goods business.

  • Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $1,100/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$500
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

Hello again! My name is Abigail Butler and I am the owner and sole designer at Chirps & Cricket Design Studio, located here in Denver, Colorado. Chirps & Cricket is a design studio that specializes in Bespoke Wedding Stationery, Graphic Design and Illustration, and Handmade Paper Goods.

Currently, my design services are heavily rooted in custom illustrations, wedding invitations, and marketing materials, including brochures, branding, and email/digital marketing. My clients typically range in variety (which I love!) from soon-to-be-married couples, small business owners, to commercial real estate brokers.

I am currently making a little over $1k/month on average. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, that amount has fluctuated over this past summer, with some months being significantly higher, and some months being a bit under that amount. However I am happy to report that not only has my average monthly income increased since this time last year, but there also seems to be a much more consistent influx of new projects every month (even despite Covid)! This includes projects coming in from repeat clients as well as new clients.

how-i-gained-new-projects-and-designed-more-products

19. Start an electronics store ($48K/year)

Jeff Olson from Denver, Colorado, USA started LEVDisplay over 6 years ago, an electronics store.

  • Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $4,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

Hi, my name is Jeff and I live in Denver, CO. I started LEVdisplay last year after becoming fascinated with levitating magnets.

I am currently selling 30 units/month with 50% margin and ramping up to sell 100/month during the holidays.

starting-an-amazon-business-as-a-bartender

20. Build an iphone app ($120K/year)

Chelsea Rhoads from Arvada, Colorado, USA started Ivee about 4 years ago, an iPhone app.

  • Location: Arvada, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $10,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$250K
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 3

Case Study

My name is Chelsea Rhoads and I am the CEO/Co-Founder of pup-eeze, the smartest device on four legs. pup-eeze is a wellness tracker for dogs that tracks activity, monitors location and automates our dog’s lives by connecting them with hundreds of smart home devices giving ourselves and our dogs the ability to monitor, maintain and change the environment of the home if we’re concerned about separation anxiety or well-being.

We’ve built out a consumer-facing application for dog owners to monitor their pets’ data, visualize trends and send alerts when necessary. We’re focusing on the happy dog by creating an adjustable ecosystem for the dog’s environment.

We’ve had great success speaking with and testing the wellness tracker among those who love their dogs and love technology. We thought, “we bring our dogs on every other journey with us, why not include them in the technology journey as well?” With the overwhelming support from the technology community we were able to strategically partner with an emerging leader in the IoT enterprise solution field; Fathym.

how-i-created-and-launched-a-fitbit-for-dogs

21. Start a skin care product line ($24K/year)

Danna Norek from COPLEY started Aura Sensory about 12 years ago, a skin care product line.

  • Location: COPLEY
  • Revenue: $2,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$4K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

Hello, my name is Danna Norek and I am the founder of Aura Sensory. I am a company of one, supported enthusiastically by my husband who lends the occasional genius business idea. My company offers a growing line of safer, high-quality, effective skin, and hair care products that are universally affordable.

My flagship product is Natural Shine Enhancing Shampoo, followed closely by Nourish & Hydrate Face Cream. These two products have been around since almost day one, have attracted the most repeat customers, and continue to be strong performers, and attract the most significant volume of glowing reviews and unwavering customer loyalty.

how-i-start-a-2k-month-skin-and-hair-care-brand

22. Start a maternity store ($18K/year)

Kate Johnson from Greeley, Colorado, USA started Tula Fit almost 6 years ago, a maternity store.

  • Location: Greeley, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $1,500/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

Hi! My name is Kate Johnson! I am a CrossFit and Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism Coach in beautiful northern Colorado. I’m also a mom to two adventurous little boys!

In 2018, I started my personal training business TulaFit, to fill a much-needed gap for women. It’s my mission to help educate and empower pregnant and postpartum women with the mindset and movement strategies that support long term strength and function to handle everyday mom life and get them back to the activities they love.

I offer in-person and remote consultations, programming, workshops, and coaching services. I work 5-10 hours a week in my business but have been able to reach hundreds of women by hosting workshops, working virtually, podcasts, and utilizing social media platforms like Instagram.

how-i-started-a-business-helping-mums-get-in-shape-during-and-after-pregnancy

23. Start an online food business ($2.1M/year)

Scott Unkefer from Boulder, Colorado, USA started Just Panela LLC over 8 years ago, an online food business.

  • Location: Boulder, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $175,000/ month
  • Founders: 3
  • Employees: 10

Case Study

Hello, I’m Scott Unkefer - I started Just Panela, now, about 7 years ago. We purchase (from our partner farm), package, and export (from Colombia) and Import (now too) United States, Canada, and Asia, and Australia our 1lb, 5lb, bulk ingredient, and individual serving size sachets of ‘panela’ cane sugar. Panela is 100% unprocessed, unrefined, artisanal, and certified organic sugarcane.

Our core competency and primary market is retail/ customer (I hate the word ‘consumer’) packaging of Panela. It is by far the hardest ‘powder’ type substance on the planet to package due to its characteristics. Our motto is “terrible for machine consumption, great for human consumption”. As it is by far the healthiest form of sugar cane on the planet as it is 100% unprocessed, unrefined, and organic.

Flagship product? As an ingredient, it’s really a question of “flagship application” as far as what food and beverages it’s best in. The current answer is this, but the funniest part about Just Panela® is that we have end users innovating with it and telling us what they want to do with it all the time:

how-the-pandemic-increased-our-sales-by-200

24. Start a clothing boutique ($300K/year)

Emilie Casseday from Greeley, Colorado, USA started Blush Boutique Co ago, a clothing boutique.

  • Location: Greeley, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $25,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 7

Case Study

Hello there! My name is Emilie Casseday and I own and run Blush Boutique Co in historic downtown Greeley, Colorado. Blush is a boutique full of clothes, home goods, jewelry, bath and body products and more. The goal was to have a highly curated and beautiful space full of quality products where you can find something for yourself and someone else as well. One of the most beautiful things that have evolved out of becoming a brick and mortar shop is the community. While first and foremost we are retail space, Blush has an amazing community of women and men. We host events, classes, meetups and more and the relationships that have evolved from that have been an incredible blessing.

Blush started as a humble idea between myself and a friend that quickly went from thought to action. We opened Blush in my basement in 2017 with just a few pieces of clothing, some fun jewelry, and a whole lot of hope. We quickly grew in customers and needed a new space and began to talk brick and mortar. My partner had to step away but I geared up to move into an actual space in our downtown and we continue to grow. Blush is now an established business in the downtown community in Greeley and we are going on our 4th year in business and we aren’t slowing down!

how-i-started-a-25k-month-boutique-that-sells-clothes-home-goods-jewelry

25. Start a ski touring gear ($1.08M/year)

Michael Hagen from Breckenridge, CO, USA started Hagan Ski over 13 years ago, a ski touring gear.

  • Location: Breckenridge, CO, USA
  • Revenue: $90,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$10K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

Hagan makes ski mountaineering gear—exclusively. We focus without distraction on alpine ski touring. We don’t make downhill skis, clothing, hiking boots, or running shoes.

Our focus is entirely on backcountry ski touring/ski mountaineering — especially light and fast backcountry skiing. Hagan skis are intended for the alpine lifestyle — long and adventurous ski touring. To the big companies, ski mountaineering is a curious, insignificant aside. They make a few products and stick them at the back of their catalogs. Ski Mountaineering isn’t insignificant to Hagan. It is all we do — our life blood. We have the world’s widest selection of mountaineering skis.

Our focus on high-performance ski mountaineering gear is recognized and appreciated by devoted backcountry skiers and has 50% annual growth in recent years. Hagan is Pure Ski Mountaineering.

how-i-started-an-online-store-selling-backcountry-skis

26. Start a marketing agency ($102M/year)

JB Kellogg from Fort Collins, Colorado, USA started Madwire almost 15 years ago, a marketing agency.

  • Location: Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $8,500,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 520

Case Study

Hi, I'm JB Kellogg and I'm the Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Madwire®. I co-founded Madwire with my Dad when I was 28 years old and grew it from just the two of us, in a tiny little office, to over five hundred people and a hundred million dollars in annual revenue in under 10 years. I guess that's pretty rare to achieve, so they call companies like that "rocketship companies".

For those of you that don't know, Madwire's mission is to help small businesses grow and their local communities glow. Madwire does this by enabling SMBs and entrepreneurs to manage and grow their brand from a singular platform called Marketing 360®. At Madwire, I enjoy being a part of building a championship team that pursues championship performance and making a difference every day.

In between all the "madness" and spending precious time with my amazing wife and kids, I enjoy sharing tips and lessons I've learned over the years with regards to marketing, leadership, and more across my social media channels. Why do I do this? Because a lesson learned should be a lesson shared. If I can help just one person, I've increased my radius of impact while at the same time helping someone else increase theirs.

how-i-started-a-8-5m-month-company-providing-marketing-solutions-to-smbs

27. Start a lead generation business ($216K/year)

Joel Allen from Nashville, TN, USA started GoEdison about 8 years ago, a lead generation business.

  • Location: Nashville, TN, USA
  • Revenue: $18,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$500
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

I’m James Harper, Founder of GoEdison. We’re a small business marketing agency that specializes in helping service-based businesses increase call volume and lead-generation.

Our main service is very specific B2B email drip campaigns that help power sales professionals in strange niches such as crime scene cleanup, the cannabis grow room cleaning, niche medical billing, water restoration, etc get more cold leads. Our nurture campaigns help them go from cold to close. Our intent is to never sell our clients services via email but to help their sales reps get a cold prospect engaged and sell a meeting. In addition to our B2B email drip campaigns, we also advertise on Google in these specific niches to help their overall company increase lead-generation and call volume.

Currently, GoEdison does about $17,000 - $20,000 recurring revenue servicing unique service based clients in strange niches. We’re a small team that truly has a passion for helping our clients get tangible results. We want to see our clients dominate their strange niche. We understand there are a TON of marketing agencies around, but very few actually talk about increasing clients' bottom line and total revenue with them. That’s what we do. We believe your marketing should be pushing your growth.

on-starting-a-20k-month-lead-gen-marketing-agency

28. Start a men's underwear brand ($3.6M/year)

Robert Patton from Woodland Park, CO, USA started SHEATH LLC almost 10 years ago, a men's underwear brand.

  • Location: Woodland Park, CO, USA
  • Revenue: $300,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$5K
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 7

Case Study

Hello, my name is Robert Patton and I am the CEO of SHEATH, a premium men's pouch underwear company that sells to active men in over 74 countries.

If you are not familiar with pouch underwear, our original design has what we call an inverted kangaroo pouch for your joey located inside of the garment to separate the package from the inner thigh region. Our latest models now feature a similarly-designed dual pouch which offers separation not only from the inner thighs, but also for the penis from the testicles, keeping everything dry and comfortable.

We sell mainly men's underwear, but recently introduced the women’s line and we are currently generating over $4K a day in sales with that projected to double by end of summer 2019.

how-i-grew-a-men-s-pouch-underwear-line-to-1m-year

29. Start a sustainable clothing line ($96K/year)

Brandon Dendas from Denver, Colorado, USA started IndieGetup over 6 years ago, a sustainable clothing line.

  • Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $8,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$289
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

My name is Brandon Dendas. I'm the co-founder of IndieGetup. IndieGetup is a fashion discovery platform that allows people to shop and discover clothing brands & products by a curated list of lifestyle and location-based categories.

The mission at IndieGetup is to help to emerging, consciously-driven, and local apparel brands gain exposure and generate sales through creative digital strategies. In return, we allow consumers to shop for alternative clothing brands that better align with their lifestyle and that contribute to their local economy.

We have recently relaunched the platform as IndieGetup 2.0, which has thoughtfully designed brand profile pages, along with new features that include product pages that link directly to Amazon, style collections, as well as detailed product reviews.

how-i-started-a-5k-month-business-selling-eco-conscious-lifestyle-clothing

30. Start a bedding company ($2.4M/year)

Colin McIntosh from Denver, Colorado, USA started Sheets & Giggles almost 6 years ago, a bedding company.

  • Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $200,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 6

Case Study

I’m Colin McIntosh, Founder & CEO of Sheets & Giggles, a pun-based, eco-friendly bedding brand that launched in May 2018 on Indiegogo with our first product: lyocell bed sheets made from eucalyptus trees.

Our bedding is softer than cotton, more breathable, and more moisture-wicking, and it also uses up to 95% less water than cotton sheets to make. (Major trade-off: it’s generally more expensive than cotton, and you have to take better care of it [no bleach, cold wash, low heat, etc.].)

In our first 6 months in business, we received over 6,000 orders and nearly half a million dollars in revenue, and in September we won first place at Denver Startup Week 2018. In October, we began shipping preorders and got about 4,500 out the door, and we’re still catching up with demand! Nearly ⅘ of our customers are women, and more than half are in their 20s and 30s.

starting-a-bed-sheet-business-making-600k-in-first-8-months

31. Start a waste management business ($2.76M/year)

Dustin from Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA started SOCO Waste about 7 years ago, a waste management business.

  • Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $230,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$150K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 32

Case Study

Hi! My name is Dustin Maze. I am the owner of SOCO Waste, a locally owned and operated residential waste removal business based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Currently, we offer waste removal services such as Residential dumpster rentals, Construction dumpster rentals, junk removal, and weekly residential trash service.

how-i-started-a-41k-month-residential-waste-removal-service

32. Start a lawyer training company ($3.6M/year)

Ali Katz from Boulder, Colorado, USA started New Law Business Model over 11 years ago, a lawyer training company.

  • Location: Boulder, Colorado, USA
  • Revenue: $300,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 10

Case Study

I’m Ali Katz (formerly Alexis Martin Neely), an attorney and creator of the New Law Business Model, which is a “re-training” company for lawyers who want to make a great living, have a great life, and do it by using their law degrees in a truly fulfilling manner serving families and/or small business owners as we teach.

Rather than the traditional transactional approach to law, the New Law Business Model gives attorneys the knowledge and skills they need to gain control over their schedules and income while delivering a truly meaningful service to clients who are more than willing—even happy and grateful—to pay very well for estate planning and strategic business planning. We call this the “relational” approach.

Now, previously unhappy, unfulfilled, overworked lawyers are able to build high six- and seven-figure law practices while making a positive impact on the lives of their clients and in their communities—and, best of all, they’re having an amazing time doing it. They’re working fewer hours and earning more money, and have plenty of time for family, travel, and hobbies.

how-i-created-a-3-7m-year-new-business-model-for-lawyers

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.