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20 Creative Design Related Business Ideas You Can Start Today

20 Creative Design Related Business Ideas You Can Start Today

Looking to start a design related business but not quite sure what to start?

First, you'll need to identify a niche.

The good news is, there are so many opportunities to become an entrepreneur and build an innovative product/service in this line of work.

We put together 20 creative design business ideas you can start today:

1. Start an online courses business ($60K/year)

Lidiya Kesarovska from The Netherlands started Let's Reach Success about 8 years ago, a online courses business.

  • Revenue: $5,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: The Netherlands

Back in 2013, I had already discovered my passion - personal development - and had realized writing is the best way to express myself. So I combined these and started a self-improvement blog.

Starting the blog was the best decision and not giving up on it over the years (even when no traffic or money was coming in) was what helped me move forward.

It was first just a hobby and I knew nothing about blogging. Over the years, after publishing a ton of content, gaining traffic, learning about SEO, email marketing, social media, and all the ways to monetize a blog, it became a real business.

how-i-created-a-5k-month-online-course-about-blogging

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Lidiya Kesarovska, on starting Let's Reach Success ($5,000/month) full story ➜

2. Develop a restaurant menu online designer tool ($3.6M/year)

Jim Williams from Ashland, OR, USA started MustHaveMenus ago, a restaurant menu online designer tool.

  • Revenue: $300,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 25
  • Location: Ashland, OR, USA

The idea for MustHaveMenus was a simple one: to replace aging desktop publishing tools with a menu design tool on the web. We also envisioned a wide selection of templates that would make it easy for restaurants to establish all of the cornerstones of marketing: strong branding, strong communication, consistency, etc. We started with a more general market approach, testing different markets to see which were the most receptive and in need of online design. Wedding invitations were a strong one as were church programs. Both of those turned into standalone businesses on their own. But the one that got the team excited, because of our passion for restaurants and great food, was MustHaveMenus.

I can’t say it was an overnight success. The technology risk in this business is very high. Browsers simply couldn’t handle graphics and text placement well in the years before 2010. Our first true editor was available for restaurants by 2009, and we were the first on the web to do so. But this editor still had a lot of problems managing graphics like food photos and logos. Despite the challenges with the software, restaurants still rushed to join us as the power of work-from-anywhere and quick edits online proved appealing.

how-i-started-a-300k-month-easy-online-menu-designer-for-restaurants

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Jim Williams, on starting MustHaveMenus ($300,000/month) full story ➜

3. Start an online video editing business ($72K/year)

Sabba Keynejad from London, England, United Kingdom started VEED over 2 years ago, a online video editing business.

  • Revenue: $6,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: London, England, United Kingdom

Tim and I met during an online hackathon. During the hackathon participants were encouraged to meetup for real. We actually got on really well, and stayed friends and kept spitballing ideas for a startup for years.

At this time, I was a design student at Central Saint Martins and I had recently won a competition for Sony Music creating an interactive music video for the band Hurts with my friend Virgil. Then soon after graduation, I started working as a creative technologist in London for a bunch of different advertising & branding agencies and a few startups too.

how-we-developed-a-6k-month-online-video-editing-software

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Sabba Keynejad, on starting VEED ($6,000/month) full story ➜

4. Start an event design business ($9.29K/year)

Charles Bronson from Chennai started Believe San Decors over 4 years ago, a event design business.

  • Revenue: $774/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 10
  • Location: Chennai

After becoming a commerce graduate, I went on to study entrepreneurship in Leeds, UK. I had always aspired to build a career that awards a unique identity. I wanted to walk through life on the paths that I had laid for myself. This very thought of mine was the foundation for starting a business.

I believe that when one focuses on being fit, healthy, and happy, one can achieve excellence in their life.

My attempts to create a business model began with a gaming zone. Event decoration was not the first of the business I had put my mind onto. I owned a snooker parlor for over a year before I started 'Believe San Decors'.

how-i-started-my-event-designing-and-decoration-business

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Charles Bronson, on starting Believe San Decors ($774/month) full story ➜

5. Start a graphic design business ($90K/year)

Junaid Ansari from Mumbai started Draftss almost 3 years ago, a graphic design business.

  • Revenue: $7,500/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 12
  • Location: Mumbai

We have been running a design agency for the past 10 years as a side business. After gaining inspiration from some of our competitors in this domain providing a productized service, we came up with an idea for an even better process that is more optimal and efficient bringing out better results at a more affordable cost comparatively.

The most effective method we tried for our validation was initiating a conversation with every person who visited our website to understand more about what they were looking for and what would make Draftss an ideal provider for their needs.

We wanted to productize the design and code service domain, where a design team is like a product subscription. You buy a Design or Code subscription and equip yourself with a design or/and development team that can get everything done for you. Subscribe when you require projects to be completed, unsubscribe once you are done.

how-we-started-a-7-5k-month-productized-graphic-design-website-coding-service

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Junaid Ansari, on starting Draftss ($7,500/month) full story ➜

6. Start a design podcast

Examples of a successful design podcast:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a design podcast ➜

article

7. Start a t-shirt designer business

Examples of a successful t-shirt designer business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a t-shirt designer business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a t-shirt designer business ➜

article

8. Become a costume designer

Examples of a successful costume designer:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a costume designer ➜

article

9. Start a designer lamp shades business

Examples of a successful designer lamp shades business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a designer lamp shades business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a designer lamp shades business ➜

article

10. Start a hat designing business

Examples of a successful hat designing business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a hat designing business ➜

article

11. Start a logo designing business ($12K/year)

Examples of a successful logo designing business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a logo designing business ➜

And for some real world inspiration, give Craig Barber's story on creating Logobly a read:

G’day, folks! My name is Craig Barber, I’m the founder of Logobly.

My goal is to help as many entrepreneurs launch their business and make Logobly the #1 place for logo design.

how-i-productized-my-design-service-and-created-logo-maker-tool-for-startups

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Craig Barber, on starting Logobly ($1,000/month) full story ➜

12. Start a machine building and design agency

Examples of a successful machine building and design agency:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a machine building and design agency:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a machine building and design agency ➜

article

13. Start a packaging design business

Examples of a successful packaging design business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a packaging design business ➜

article

14. Start a throw pillow designing business

Examples of a successful throw pillow designing business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a throw pillow designing business ➜

15. Start a games animation designing business

Examples of a successful games animation designing business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a games animation designing business ➜

article

16. Start a marijuana dispensary design business

Examples of a successful marijuana dispensary design business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a marijuana dispensary design business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a marijuana dispensary design business ➜

article

17. Start a paper crafts designing business

Examples of a successful paper crafts designing business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a paper crafts designing business ➜

article

18. Start a pool and garden designing business

Examples of a successful pool and garden designing business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a pool and garden designing business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a pool and garden designing business ➜

article

19. Start an interior design consulting business

Examples of a successful interior design consulting business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an interior design consulting business ➜

article

20. Start an ad banner design creation business

Examples of a successful ad banner design creation business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a ad banner design creation business:

Learn more about starting an ad banner design creation business ➜

article

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