24 Gen Z Business Ideas You Can Start Today [2023]

24 Gen Z Business Ideas You Can Start Today [2023]

Interested in starting a gen z business in 2023?

We put together 24 of the best gen z businesses you can start in today.

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

Here's the full list:

1. Start a mobile photography ($1.32M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$2,000 — $500,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$24,583
Skills

Kyle Nelson from Chico, California, USA started Results Imagery almost 6 years ago, a mobile photography .

  • Revenue: $110,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 8
  • Location: Chico, California, USA

Case Study

We both had previous experience in another start-up called Soul id which was a social media platform for action sports. We ran the marketing and media at that company which was a blast. After we left that company, we split directions. Eli got involved in the eCommerce industry by starting a brand called Winterial which he grew to hundreds of SKUs. Kyle headed in the media direction and started a commercial photography company where he worked with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses.

At this time Kyle wanted to be able to get back in the start-up world, grow a large brand and a team of like-minded creatives and innovators. So like any entrepreneur, he jumped on Google and started to search for media companies that were also technology-based companies as well. That is where the inspiration of starting a digital agency that solely focused on the media portion for brands and product companies came to life.

Culture is the centerpiece of a successful company. Creating a place for employees to come to work and enjoy what they do, the environment and who they work with will pay long term dividends.

how-we-started-a-45k-month-product-photography-and-video-company

2. Start a website development business ($57.6K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$200 — $350,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$2,945
Time To Revenue
210 days
Skills
Business model

Gavin Pedley from Redruth, UK started ThriveWP almost 6 years ago, a website development business.

  • Revenue: $4,800/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: Redruth, UK

Case Study

My experience in websites started many years ago when the average site was just using an HTML template. I used to build sites for my own little projects or friends and family.

Over time my knowledge and expertise grew. I started playing with the forum software and eventually created my own forum using software called phpBB.

This was for a forum about autism and parenting, something I also have experience in. This then leads me to create another forum on different software for self-employed window cleaners, which I once was. This site which is called the Window Cleaning Forums is still going strong today, with over 480,000 posts at the time of writing this.

how-i-started-a-4-8k-month-wordpress-maintenance-service

3. 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

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

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

Michael Moloney from Boston, Massachusetts, USA started FilterGrade over 9 years ago, a graphic designer.

  • Revenue: $30,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 2
  • Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Case Study

I started FilterGrade in late 2013 after getting some encouragement from a friend and mentor of mine. I was selling digital products on a few different marketplaces and just starting to get curious about entrepreneurship and software. In the beginning, it was just a collection of Photoshop Actions I made and packaged under the FilterGrade brand. I didn’t even launch my website with a store at first, I sold through Creative Market to test the products and see if there was any traction. I wrote more about this on Medium where I detailed the experience of using marketplaces to build an MVP.

Business models that worked 2-3 years ago are not as effective anymore, so we are constantly looking at new ways to adapt and better serve people who are both buying and selling on the marketplace.

After 6 months and some reasonable traction, I decided to set up a full eCommerce website and store using WooCommerce. It started slow. I was just focused on product development, marketing, and building the brand and learning about the industry.

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

5. Start a water filter store ($2.4M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$1,500 — $200,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$95,333
Skills
Business model

Jay Vasantharajah from Canada started PureFilters almost 8 years ago, a water filter store.

  • Revenue: $200,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 4
  • Location: Canada

Case Study

Honestly… I accidentally got into the business.

I run a digital marketing agency and at the time we had a lot of HVAC Contractors as clients. One of my clients was explaining to me how he sells furnace filters to customers that he visits, and wondered if he could sell them online instead. I researched this for him and concluded that there were a ton of Google searches for furnace filters. I pitched him on creating a new campaign to sell these filters online. He decided not to do it.

Once an idea comes into my head, I don’t rest until its given a fair shot, that’s just how I am. Even though my client said "no", I still wanted to do it because I was curious. I saw it as an opportunity to get a better understanding of the e-commerce landscape and the marketing challenges involved.

launching-a-furnace-filter-store-and-growing-to-60k-month

6. Start a startup instructing business ($72K/year)

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

Ozan Dagdeviren from London started Startups of London over 3 years ago, a startup instructing business.

  • Revenue: $6,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 4
  • Location: London

Case Study

My expertise is understanding human behavior. Yes, I know it sounds vague and unusual! I studied psychology and sociology, went on to do a master's in consumer behavior. My academic interest is still very fresh. I have researched and written 5 books such as the one on Belonging, two on Recruitment and Career Decisions, one on Happiness Through Critical Thinking and the last one with the title Startups Grow With People.

Rest is about a growth mindset.

So I sit at the intersection of entrepreneurship & business on the one hand, and human behavior on the other. I find it to be enriching, it gives me a lot of novel ways to look at things and solve problems.

on-creating-a-media-website-to-cover-london-s-startup-ecosystem

7. Start a blog ($60K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$200 — $160,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$2,687
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 5 hours/week
Skills
Interests

Chhavi Agarwal from New Delhi, Delhi, India started Mrs Daaku Studio almost 5 years ago, a blog.

  • Revenue: $5,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 3
  • Location: New Delhi, Delhi, India

Case Study

I am a licensed attorney in India and right after my master’s in law, I started working with a leading company as a lawyer. I worked there for about two years before I quit my job to become more location independent.

Choose a niche in whatever you start. It is critical for streamlining your efforts and make money.

My job paid me well but I worked 12 hours a day, I was exhausted by the end of each day, spent my weekends sleeping and I almost quit the things I liked to do - for example, sketching, yoga, traveling, etc.

how-this-couple-makes-5k-month-generating-content-about-ways-to-make-money-online

8. Become a social media marketer ($120K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$100 — $250,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$16,437
Time To Revenue
180 days
Skills
Business model

Mahsun Avci from Frederiksberg, DenmarkTaastrup started Avci socso over 3 years ago, a social media marketer.

  • Revenue: $10,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Frederiksberg, DenmarkTaastrup

Case Study

Growing up, I went to private school and was very blessed that my parents cared about my education. Somewhere around 9th grade, my perspective on the education system changed. I realized through books and YouTube videos that the life trajectory of a lot of the people I looked up to, was not aligned with what I wanted in life.

I was never a fan of what was taught in schools. Instead of religiously following what was being taught in high school, I self-educated in business, personal development, and leadership. When I was fifteen, I tried out various online businesses. I failed miserably at first. At this time I was very much into Fitness and I tried to sell training and diet plans. I managed to sell a few plans to my classmates for like $50, but it never really amounted to anything and most importantly it wasn't scalable.

After that, I tried stock trading and the likes. That too didn’t really work for me. One day I stumbled across SMMA. I was so intrigued by the concept, so I went ALL IN. I didn’t care what people thought. I was going to make it big here. I needed some proof of concept, so I convinced my dad to make me run his restaurant's Facebook Ads. I watched 100’s of videos and read tons of blogs, to know how to run successful ads and we were both pretty stoked about the results.

I knew it was the right business for me, but it was not all gold and green forests. In fact, at the start of my “agency journey,” it was so hard getting my feet on the ground and getting my first few clients after my dad.

how-i-built-a-10k-month-online-marketing-agency

9. Start a credit and debt counseling business

How Much Can You Make?
$41,667/month
Skills

Examples of a successful credit and debt counseling business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a credit and debt counseling business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a credit and debt counseling business ➜

Case Study

Daniel Massimino is an Italian serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and technologist. He is the founder and CEO of The Credit Connection, a company that provides credit services and business financing.

article

He grew up in South Park, Pennsylvania, and was passionate about helping people and solving problems. His parents instilled in him the values of hard work, positivity, and perseverance. Massimino's father became disabled when he was 12, so he started working at a young age to support his family. He studied finance and economics at Duquesne University and started his first business, MassTech, at 12, selling and repairing cell phones. To date, has successfully grown MassTech into a multimillion-dollar company.

In 2018, he established The Credit Connection to assist consumers in turning loan denials into approvals and help business owners access financing. In 2022, he founded Massimino Ventures, a global private equity venture capital firm based in Pittsburgh.

Believes that the ongoing pandemic has created the perfect opportunity for entrepreneurs to start a business. Credit Connection offers programs to help entrepreneurs start, grow, and scale their businesses.

Massimino Believes that failure and success go hand in hand and that the key is to stay focused and never give up. His parents taught him never to give up despite the circumstances. Starting a business is a challenging but rewarding experience that allows for a sense of freedom.

article

The Credit Connection Success Story

The Credit Connection assists consumers in turning loan denials into approvals. It helps business owners access financing, and the company offers programs to help entrepreneurs start, grow, and scale their businesses.

It is also noted that he believes that the current economic climate created by the ongoing pandemic is an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs to start a business and that Credit Connection can help guide them down the path of success.

Some of his marketing strategies may include

  • Targeting small business owners and entrepreneurs looking for financing options.
  • Utilizing online and offline marketing channels to reach potential customers
  • Leveraging personal connections
  • Networking to build relationships with potential clients.

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10. Start a financial service business

How Much Can You Make?
$21,000 — $3,141,666/month
Skills

Examples of a successful financial service business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a financial service business ➜

Case Study

Hello everyone! My name is Avi Grunwald; I’m the founder and CEO of Fair Capital.

Based on ACA International's recent report, our unique debt collection strategy demonstrated a debt collection success rate 52% higher than the industry average.

how-an-industry-outsider-started-an-80k-month-debt-collection-business

11. Start a craft business

How Much Can You Make?
$1,000 — $80,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$1,300
Time To Revenue
270 days
Skills
Business model
Work from home

Examples of a successful craft business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a craft business ➜

Case Study

Hi, I’m Theresa the owner of the blog DIY Lifestyle. On my blog, I share dozens of gluten-free, vegan, paleo, raw vegan and healthy recipes, fun crafts & DIYs, helpful life hacks, and travel tips. I started my blog because I was looking for a place to write down useful information to share with people all around the world but it quickly turned into something more.

how-i-turned-my-passion-for-crafts-and-writing-into-a-side-income-source

12. Start a credit card analytics business

Average Initial Investment
$200,000
Skills

Examples of a successful credit card analytics business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a credit card analytics business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a credit card analytics business ➜

article

13. Start an uber service

Examples of a successful uber service:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an uber service ➜

14. Start a vlog

Examples of a successful vlog:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a vlog ➜

article

15. Start a t-shirt customization business

How Much Can You Make?
$200 — $4,255,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$4,000
Skills

Examples of a successful t-shirt customization business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a t-shirt customization business ➜

Case Study

Thanks for giving me this lovely opportunity, I’m Arpit Aryan Gupta and I’m currently running a garment export unit called NG Apparels that is based in Ludhiana, catering to all clothing segments across the globe.

My father lost a lot of money in the 2008 crash in the US market which pushed us out of the market and my father had to shut down his fabric trading business but I established the garment manufacturing business back in 2012 and with God’s grace the business has grown exponentially. I have a turnover of 12cr($1,581,547) without any loan or CC limit requirements.

how-we-bootstrapped-a-1-4m-year-clothing-manufacturing-business-from-ludhiana

16. Start a furniture rental business

Examples of a successful furniture rental business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a furniture rental business ➜

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17. Start a sole proprietorship business

Examples of a successful sole proprietorship business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

article

18. Start a bookkeeping business

Examples of a successful bookkeeping business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a bookkeeping business ➜

19. Start a transitional housing business

Examples of a successful transitional housing business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a transitional housing business ➜

article

20. Start a car sharing service

How Much Can You Make?
Skills

Examples of a successful car sharing service:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a car sharing service ➜

Case Study
  • Giovanni Smith, Kendell Johnson, and Preston Martelly co-founded Subskryb, a luxury vehicle subscription service.
  • Through Subskryb, car owners can list their high-end cars while renters can choose from the listed cars and book them daily, weekly, or monthly.
  • This subscription-based car-sharing & car rental company leverages technology to revolutionize personal mobility while building a VAAS (Vehicle-As-A-Service) model with car owners and renters.

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Watch the full interview on youtube.com ➜

21. Start a healthcare services business

How Much Can You Make?
$66,000 — $200,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$15,250,000
Skills

Examples of a successful healthcare services business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a healthcare services business ➜

Case Study

Hi, my name is Joe Cohen and I’m the founder and CEO of SelfDecode. The company was born out of the journey I went through to decode myself.

In 2021, we launched a crowdfunding campaign and raised a total of $8M and have generated about $2.7M in revenue over the past year. SelfDecode started with my desire to just get healthy and now we’re poised to change the future of health care as we know it. If that isn’t motivation to go after what you want in life, I don’t know what is.

i-created-a-2-7m-year-software-that-extends-people-s-lives-by-analyzing-their-dna

22. Become a driving instructor

Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 15 hours/week
Interests

Examples of a successful driving instructor:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

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23. Become a food critic

Examples of a successful food critic:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a food critic ➜

article

24. Start a drive-thru coffee shop

Examples of a successful drive-thru coffee shop:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a drive-thru coffee shop:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a drive-thru coffee shop ➜

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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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