12 Profitable Desktop Publishing Business Ideas

12 Profitable Desktop Publishing Business Ideas

If you are looking for desktop publishing business ideas to begin your path to entrepreneurship, you are in the right place.

With starting a desktop publishing business, there are plenty of opportunities that can help you follow your dreams and build a successful career. 

In this post, you will discover profitable business ideas, perfect for those who want to have a flexible job, capable of multiplying the average income, while becoming your own boss.

Check out the full list below to help you find your next idea!

Here they are:



1. Start a niche web design business ($300K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$200 — $200,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$30,881
Skills

Scott Bishop from Boston, Massachusetts, USA started Up And Social almost 9 years ago, a niche web design business.

  • Revenue: $25,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Case Study

I began my business career with the family in-store sampling business, C.A. Courtesy, in the 1990s, while at the same time attending college at Johnson and Wales University, where I pursued a degree in Web Management & Internet Commerce.

I’ve always had a knack for marketing and technology, and when I left C.A. Courtesy, I was the Vice President of Marketing and Technology.

People don’t remember what you say as much as they remember how they felt when you said it.

how-i-started-a-20k-month-web-design-agency

2. Start a custom prints business ($300K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$3,700 — $3,000,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$135,000
Skills

Zach Katz from Amsterdam, Netherlands started Framed Tweets almost 6 years ago, a custom prints business.

  • Revenue: $25,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Case Study

I dreamed up the idea for Framed Tweets a year prior to starting it.

It was December 2015, and I was holed up in my room, avoiding the New Year’s party my parents were hosting downstairs. I was scrolling through Twitter, when suddenly, I thought, “what if you could frame a tweet?” (Honestly, that’s how most ideas come about, at least for me. They just randomly happen.)

That night, I tweeted the link to some random people who I found by searching Twitter. The next morning, I woke up to find Framed Tweets featured on Product Hunt, Mashable, Uncrate, and a few other websites.

how-i-stumbled-into-a-300k-business-framing-tweets

3. Start a branding agency ($120K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$3,000 — $741,666/month
Average Initial Investment
$15,913
Time To Revenue
270 days
Skills
Business model
Work from home

Elva Li from Melbourne Victoria, Australia started Elva Li Luxury Branding almost 7 years ago, a branding agency.

  • Revenue: $10,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: Melbourne Victoria, Australia

Case Study

There’s a song on repeat in my world and whenever I play it, it reminds me of the time I started my own business and finally left my corporate job.

“I spend too much time thinking about who I'm supposed to be I play by everybody's rules that don't seem right to me

Should I even care? They're all sitting there and everyone's staring at me If I step out in the spotlight maybe I'll be set free

how-i-started-a-5-000-month-luxury-branding-agency

4. Start a print communication business

Examples of a successful print communication business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a print communication business ➜

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5. Become a graphic designer ($360K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$15,000 — $81,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$333
Skills

Examples of a successful graphic designer:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a graphic designer ➜

Case Study

Hi, I’m Mike Moloney, the founder of FilterGrade. FilterGrade is a marketplace for creators where you can find digital assets such as presets, LUTs, video templates, and much more.

Today thousands of creators from all around the world buy and sell digital products on FilterGrade and more than 450,000 users visit the site every month.

how-we-created-a-30k-month-marketplace-of-photo-filters-and-digital-assets-for-creatives

6. Start a souvenir shop

Time To Revenue
180 days
Skills
Business model

Examples of a successful souvenir shop:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a souvenir shop ➜

article

7. Start a large prints design business

Examples of a successful large prints design business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a large prints design business ➜

article

8. Start an ebook formatting business

How Much Can You Make?
$17,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful ebook formatting business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an ebook formatting business ➜

Case Study

In the year 2016, we had negligible revenue from the blog but the blog has grown substantially since then. Our average revenue is about $17K per month. Our gross profit margin is about 80% since we maintain a very small team and there are no physical products. Our target is to achieve 100% revenue growth by the end of next year.

how-i-started-a-17k-month-business-selling-project-management-ebooks-and-courses

9. Become a painter/decorator business

Examples of a successful painter/decorator business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a painter/decorator business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a painter/decorator business ➜

10. Start a cartoonist business

How Much Can You Make?
$100 — $4,700/month
Skills

Examples of a successful cartoonist business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a cartoonist business ➜

Case Study

I’m Zoltán, together with my two colleagues Arnold and Gergő, we founded Avatoon.net
We are selling custom hand-drawn avatars, drawn by professional illustrators through our website.

how-we-started-a-4-7k-month-business-selling-custom-hand-drawn-avatars

11. Start an office supplies business

How Much Can You Make?
$500,000 — $749,997/month
Skills

Examples of a successful office supplies business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an office supplies business ➜

Case Study

Hi, my name is Greg Hayes. I’m the CEO and co-founder of Branch Office Furniture, but you can just call us “Branch.” We’re taking a new approach to the office furniture industry, selling our line of desks, chairs, and other essentials directly to businesses and saving them thousands of dollars along the way.

With Branch, we’ve brought together the best of both worlds. We saw an opportunity to produce high-end office furniture and sell it directly to our clients, applying D2C principles to an antiquated B2B industry littered with middlemen. The result is a series of desks, ergonomic chairs, storage products, and conference furniture sold at between one-third and one-half of the price of comparable quality products, with space design, delivery and installation included. We also offer a trade-in program, so you can add and exchange furniture as your team grows and needs change. Since launching our first products in Q1 of 2019, we’ve done over $1M in sales, including nearly $400k last month!

how-i-started-a-300k-month-premium-office-furniture-business

12. Start a desktop publishing tutorials business

Examples of a successful desktop publishing tutorials business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a desktop publishing tutorials business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a desktop publishing tutorials business ➜

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Pat Walls,  Founder of Starter Story
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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.

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