The 33 Best Home-Based Businesses To Start In Georgia [2024]

Updated: January 20th, 2022

Interested in starting a business in Georgia in 2024?

We put together 33 of the best businesses you can start in Georgia today.

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

Here's the full list:

1. Start a chimney repair business ($252K/year)

Mitchell Blackmon from Blue Ridge, Georgia, USA started Patriot Chimney over 5 years ago, a chimney repair business.

  • Location: Blue Ridge, Georgia, USA
  • Revenue: $21,000/ month
  • Founders: 3
  • Employees: 5

Case Study

Hi everyone, my name is Mitchell and I’m one of the three founders of Patriot Chimney. We sweep, repair, and build chimneys and also service and repair dryer vents around the Roanoke Valley in Virginia.

We created the company in order to provide really, really awesome, transparent, and trustworthy chimney and dryer vent services in our region. You see, chimney companies don’t typically receive a positive reputation and we’re out to change that. In fact, we’ve been fortunate enough to provide our services to more than 350 homes in an area that spans from Lynchburg, VA all the way down to Blacksburg, VA. What’s more is that we’ve also been able to generate more than $212,000 in revenue during our first year, with 8% of that being net profit.

I studied marketing in college, but my experience in the past few years has been a mix between marketing and sales, so my focus is primarily around building the sales and marketing strategy for us. My brother (Matt) and a friend of his (Billy) focus on the operations, actually getting on the roof and doing some real dirty work.

how-i-started-a-21k-month-chimney-service-company-while-working-full-time

2. Start a clothing boutique

Savitra from Smyrna, GA, USA started New Era of Style almost 5 years ago, a clothing boutique.

  • Location: Smyrna, GA, USA
  • Starting Costs: $$4.5K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

Hello! My name is Savitra and I am the owner of the influential online boutique New Era of Style, LLC. New Era of Style is a mid-priced online boutique that is dedicated to catering to the fashion needs of working professional men and women.

New Era of Style is a Career and Lifestyle brand. Our selections are versatile and transition with the busy schedules of our customers. Our best-selling items include our selection of tops, vegan-leather bags, and wardrobe accessories. We work with several unique wholesalers and designers to bring the best in fashion. To create exclusivity with our merchandise, we offer a limited inventory of selected items.

on-starting-a-men-s-and-women-s-online-boutique-while-working-a-full-time-job

3. Become a temporary tattoo artist ($12K/year)

Anslea from Atlanta, GA, USA started Forgotten Mermaids over 5 years ago, a temporary tattoo artist.

  • Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
  • Revenue: $1,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$100
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

Hey there! So excited to be going over everything that’s happened this last year. My name is Anslea and I run Forgotten Mermaids, a brand of temporary tattoos inspired by mermaids, designed by humans. Our tattoos give the illusion of mermaid scales so even if you’re not ready to commit to the mermaid lifestyle, you can still add a little mermaid magic to your every-day outfit. Currently, we have two tattoo styles available in six colors, alongside a variety of clothing items such as leggings and swimsuits that share this same scale pattern.

We started the year with big plans for expanding our sales channels and product line, but due to COVID-19 our timeline was pushed way back and ultimately we had to change our vision quite drastically. Thankfully, since the business was built on the premise of being adaptable, adjusting to our new reality was relatively painless and has since opened up opportunities we otherwise wouldn't have explored.

Currently, we’ve seen a 40% increase in sales compared to this time last year and hope to keep that trending upwards with new products and expanded marketing tactics.

forgotten-mermaids-update-how-we-ve-grown-sales-by-40

4. Start a technology consulting business ($480K/year)

David Bishop from Atlanta, Georgia, USA started Agile Worx ago, a technology consulting business.

  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • Revenue: $40,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 3

Case Study

My name is David Bishop, and I started Agile Worx, an organization that provides tools, training, and consulting services to technology companies. Our main product is “Metagility” a new, patented framework that leverages agile principles to help technology companies become #1 in their market.

“Metagility” is based on the concept of Agile Vorticity, which was derived from over 10 years of peer-reviewed scientific research. At Agile Worx, we’ve productized this research into an entire ecosystem of products and services that maximizes productivity, efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction for our clients.

Although there are other “agile frameworks” on the market, “Metagility” is the only framework that has received a US patent and proven by scientific peer-reviewed research to accomplish what we say it does.

how-i-designed-and-patented-a-40k-month-agile-framework

5. Start a medical device company ($2.5M/year)

Amy Baxter MD from Atlanta, Georgia, USA started Pain Care Labs a dba of MMJ Labs over 17 years ago, a medical device company.

  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • Revenue: $208,333/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$150K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 7

Case Study

As a pediatric emergency doctor, I invented a device to block needle pain, with the goal being to improve the home self-injecting experience and make vaccinations easier. In 2006 I filed for the patents and started trying to get grant money to do the R&D. (As an academic, I figured if the NIH thought it was worth funding, that was a good indicator that the idea was solid.) We started selling Buzzy in 2009 to patients and healthcare centers and went on Shark Tank in 2014. I turned down their offers of investment because I felt the valuation was worth more than the 2.5M for 20% they were offering.

By 2015 Buzzy had been used for over 30 million needle procedures worldwide. More importantly, one of my colleagues had successfully used the device to completely avoid opioids after a total knee replacement. The opioid crisis was hitting home personally, so I decided to stop practicing medicine and focus on opioid reduction and musculoskeletal pain relief full time. Our VibraCool ice/compression/mechanical stimulation devices and Buzzy are HSA/FSA eligible, so we primarily sell directly to patients, but with COVID19 the business is heating up.

how-we-expanded-our-product-line-grew-revenue-by-64-yoy

6. Start an art business ($42K/year)

Sarah Miller from Atlanta, Georgia, USA started Sarah Paints Pets about 6 years ago, an art business.

  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • Revenue: $3,500/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

Hello! I’m Sarah Miller, aka the “sarah” in my small business, sarahpaintspets. I make a living painting custom watercolor pet portraits for the biggest of animal lovers across the United States and Canada.

My paintings are based off customers’ favorite reference pictures of their dog or cat. The goal is always to capture the pet’s unique disposition and soul in their portrait, so I ask for my customers to give me some fun facts about their pet (favorite toys, activities, quirks). I’m basically the person you can show pictures of your pet to all day and won’t get sick of it!

sarah-miller-started-a-business-selling-her-own-artwork-online

7. ($44.4K/year)

Vamshi Vangapally from Atlanta, Georgia, USA started BearTax almost 6 years ago, .

  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • Revenue: $3,699/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 7

Case Study

Hello, I am Vamshi Vangapally, CEO and Co-founder of BearTax. We built a platform for cryptocurrency traders and accountants to help them consolidate trades and calculate taxes without heavy lifting.

BearTax offers 2 SaaS products, Beartax of traders and an accounting suite for accounting professionals. The B2C platform for traders is widely used by those who invested or traded cryptocurrency to file their taxes. The complexity of the problem is crazy because there’s not just one Bitcoin! But there are 2000+ cryptocurrencies and they are sold/traded over 1000+ exchanges across the world.

To maximize profit, traders often trade on various exchanges using USD (Fiat currency) or Bitcoin (BTC). Everytime a trader sells a cryptocurrency to USD (called Fiat currency which means a native currency to their own country) or buys one coin with another (he’s selling first coin to buy a second one), it is a taxable event (at least in the US according to IRS guidelines). More about the problem explained here. To solve this, we created BearTax.

how-i-built-a-0-to-100k-month-crypto-tax-calculator

8. Start a framed prints ecommerce ($6M/year)

Mehdi Kajbaf from Atlanta, Georgia, USA started Matboard & More about 12 years ago, a framed prints ecommerce.

  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • Revenue: $500,000/ month
  • Founders: 3
  • Employees: 10

Case Study

My name is Mehdi Kajbaf, Co-Founder at Matboard and More , the company that makes framing your art easier than you think. We brought sophistication to one of the oldest industries on earth, picture framing.

Our website allows unlimited choice to get your artwork framed beautifully. You can order framing supplies for any kind of art, whether it’s a standard 5x7”, or a collection of coins. No other company offers as much flexibility as us, particularly when it comes to custom matting which is our flagship product.

Black Picture Frame and Matboard with Multiple Openings

finding-financial-freedom-through-starting-a-matboard-business

9. Start a christmas tree accessory business ($420K/year)

Ryan Kenny from Atlanta, Georgia, USA started The Christmas Tree Hugger about 7 years ago, a christmas tree accessory business.

  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • Revenue: $35,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

Hello My name is Ryan Kenny. I’m the founder of The Christmas Tree Hugger, and our product has one goal... Fixing The Fake!

It’s a faux tree bark wrap that covers up the fuzzy ugly green base pole found at the bottom of so many artificial Christmas trees. I like to think of it as the perfect pair of shoes to finish off a killer outfit.

It started as a quick fix for my personal tree and has quickly turned into a 5 star rated one of a kind problem solver holiday item for those who want a better looking fake Christmas tree.

how-ryan-kenny-started-the-christmas-tree-hugger

10. Start a glue business ($204K/year)

Tripp Phillips from Dalton, Georgia, USA started LeGlue LLC almost 9 years ago, a glue business.

  • Location: Dalton, Georgia, USA
  • Revenue: $17,000/ month
  • Founders: 3
  • Employees: 4

Case Study

I am just an average 13-year-old kid with a small business poised to eclipse half a million in sales in 2019.

My name is Tripp Phillips and I go to Dalton middle school. I play football and golf on the DMS team and still manage to do my homework and run a business. I give speeches about once a week to schools, colleges, local chambers of commerce, Rotary clubs, Kiwanis clubs along with podcasts, television and print publication interviews. I love to tell my story and try to inspire people I touch to believe they can achieve whatever goal they set for themselves. I am also one of the youngest patent holders in US history!

My product is Le-Glue, the world's 1st water releasable adhesive created for building bricks like Legos. We sell to brick builders, young and young at heart, all over the world. We are the answer to that evil KRAGGLE!

how-this-13-year-old-made-it-on-shark-tank-and-did-500k-in-sales

11. Start a junk removal business ($48K/year)

Matthew Jones from Atlanta, Georgia, USA started MJ Home and Truck Services about 7 years ago, a junk removal business.

  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • Revenue: $4,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 4

Case Study

My name is Matthew Jones. I have a waste management company, MJ Home and Truck Services. We specialize in junk removal and cleaning services. I service residential and commercial clients...most are repeat customers.

I started my business in 2017. Since day one we have been pretty busy and work demand has not slowed down since the day we started. We are based in Atlanta, GA and we service any area within 40 miles of the metro Atlanta district. We cater to public demands and try to do as many jobs that can fit in a day. The only thing that interferes with how much we can acquire in a day is traffic and distance of the jobs so we have a 2-3 hour window in between each job.

We usually complete a minimum of 20 projects a week and the project costs range from $75 and go up depending on the number of items we have to pick up from the customer. We price based on the type of items, weight, quantity, and labor/disposal costs. We provide free estimates and usually only need a description or photo of what a customer has to generate an exact price they will have to pay. There are no hidden costs.

how-i-started-a-4k-month-junk-removal-service

12. Start a home building company

Dan Louche from Alpharetta, GA, USA started Tiny Home Builders over 14 years ago, a home building company.

  • Location: Alpharetta, GA, USA
  • Starting Costs: $$10K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

In August 2009 I received an unsettling call from my mother. The poorly constructed trailer home she was living in was beginning to deteriorate around her. Water lines had been leaking for some time and mold was growing rampant. Living under these conditions was causing her health to deteriorate, but neither she nor I had the money to purchase a conventional house or even a new trailer home. So I started researching our options. I had always been interested in smaller homes, but up until this point, I had no idea there was an entire movement around tiny living. Once I discovered it, I was hooked. I began building my mother a tiny house of her own in September 2009.

After the house was complete and my mother had moved in, I was amazed by the level of joy that it brought her. Her excitement was contagious as others who had previously been skeptical of tiny living were now genuinely considering the possibility of living in a tiny house themselves. Even my wife, who had likely thought I was crazy as I built a house in our driveway, was inspired by my mom’s joy at having a safe place of her own. When I saw this reaction, I knew that I wanted to help others experience a similar level of happiness and independence. I founded Tiny Home Builders and have been sharing my knowledge of tiny houses ever since.

on-building-a-blog-about-tiny-homes-that-attracts-millions-of-readers

13. Start a hair product line ($7.8M/year)

Mikey Moran from Atlanta, Georgia, USA started Private Label Extensions about 11 years ago, a hair product line.

  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • Revenue: $650,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$14K
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 20

Case Study

Hi! My name is Mikey Moran and I am one of the owners of Private Label Extensions. We started this company a little over 5 years ago to create another option for women looking for amazing quality hair and entrepreneurs looking to get into the hair industry.

Private Label Extensions is a hair distribution and technology company that builds hair brands from A to Z for entrepreneurs looking to get into the industry. We provide a variety of hair extension products including, hair extensions, wigs, frontals, closures, and much more. We also provide custom hair branding packaging and labels, websites, dropshipping, and wholesale options.

When we began this company we started off with an affiliate model and had distributors that sold our branded products. It wasn’t the best model to use in the hair industry and then found a gap, which was people wanting to start their own hair brand versus selling someone else’s brand. About a year and a half into the company we pivoted the model so that people couple purchase hair to sell for their own brand.

how-i-started-a-650k-month-hair-extensions-and-products-business

14. Start a dating website ($15.6K/year)

Samantha Whitlow & Lya Kimbrough from Atlanta, GA, USA started Love Runners almost 3 years ago, a dating website.

  • Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
  • Revenue: $1,300/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$2K
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

I am Samantha Whitlow, Poughkeepsie N.Y. native, creator, and co-owner of Love Runners Intimate Events LLC. My business partner and friend is Lya Kimbrough, a Chattanooga native, and our Chief Operating Officer. We are the ladies of Love Runners. Together, we serve as a romance concierge to couples in Atlanta, Chattanooga, and surrounding areas.

As personal memory makers, we save the time it takes to plan, so our couples can enjoy the authenticity of quality time. With our sensual designs and attention to detail with soul-specific sentiments, we’re able to create the perfect date night experience that will ultimately ignite/reignite intimacy in personal relationships.

Our mission is to highlight the importance of maintaining a healthy love-life balance. We are driven by my foundation of compassion for the lack of effort upheld by the people in the dating world. Our genuine love and unmatched passion for all the little things that count, in making others know and feel how loved they truly are, is what makes us Queens of hearts and the perfect candidates to curate romantic experiences.

how-we-started-a-1-5k-month-business-creating-unique-romance-concierge-experiences

15. Start a digital subscription business ($6M/year)

Will Seippel from Atlanta, Georgia, USA started WorthPoint almost 17 years ago, a digital subscription business.

  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • Revenue: $500,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 8

Case Study

Thank you for the invitation to Starter Story!

I’m Will Seippel, founder and CEO of WorthPoint Corp., also known to our subscribers as WorthPoint.com. We offer an online subscription service that encompasses three databases that include a price guide to help people easily and quickly find the value of art, antiques, and collectibles; a search tool to identify marks, autographs, patterns, and symbols (M.A.P.S. – more than 130,000 of them); and an electronic library of over 1,000 books and articles on collectibles and antiques by topic. Our newest feature on WorthPoint.com, The Vault, helps people value their collections as well as archive and share them.

Our customers are antique dealers, longtime and new collectors, professional or amateur pickers, insurance adjusters, and just about anyone with accumulated “stuff” that they want to research for values in seconds.

how-i-built-a-6m-year-antiques-art-database

16. Start a candle business ($168K/year)

Elise Phillips from Atlanta, GA, USA started Coco & Bubbles almost 5 years ago, a candle business.

  • Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
  • Revenue: $14,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$5K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

Hi there! My name is Elise Phillips and I am the owner of Coco & Bubbles Candle Company. As the name suggests, we make and sell candles, specifically, soy wax candles which are our flagship products.

A Coco & Bubbles customer is someone who is looking for an eco-friendly alternative to paraffin wax candles. You see, most of the mass-produced candles you can buy at the store today are made from paraffin wax. Ever heard of Yankee Candle? Yep... the most beloved candle company in the world makes most of their candles are made from Paraffin wax. Paraffin wax is a by-product of petroleum. There is plenty of research out there that shows how harmful petroleum is for our environment. So, naturally, consumers are also concerned about using a petroleum-based product in their homes and therefore many are looking for non-toxic, healthier alternatives.

Our typical customers also tend to be gift-buyers-- this goes for the majority of the industry as a whole. Since our customers are largely gift-buyers our busiest time of year tends to be during major gift-buying holidays such as Christmas and Mother’s Day. Father’s Day is also usually a busy time for us since launching our Man Approved candle line. However, Fall and Christmas are the busiest on average where we’ll typically do 80% of our revenue for the year.

how-i-bought-a-business-for-3k-and-grew-it-to-14k-month-selling-all-natural-soy-candles

17. Start a benefit corporation ($60K/year)

Tippy Tippens from New Orleans, Louisiana, USA started Goods That Matter over 13 years ago, a benefit corporation.

  • Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
  • Revenue: $5,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

Hi, I’m Tippy Tippens, Chief Eternal Optimist at Goods that Matter. I started with a soap that gives to oil spill cleanup in 2010, BirdProject Soap. This was my way as a designer to help after the BP Oil Spill Disaster in 2010. I got my start on Kickstarter with that product and then was inspired to start the company, Goods that Matter. We design and make a variety of eco-goods from candles to custom first aid kits to cards - each product raises funds for a unique cause.

Goods that Matter creates everyday design goods, with extraordinary impact. Each Matter product is handmade in the U.S., of eco-friendly materials, & gives back to unique social and environmental causes. 10% of all proceeds flow to causes that impact the health, happiness, and sustainability of our communities both locally and for our neighbors around the world.

We are proud to be the first Benefit Corporation in the state of Louisiana and to have donated $43,632 to date to our partner causes! Goods that Matter works to make the world a better place by creating products and collaborations that matter.

how-we-added-new-products-and-opened-a-new-location

18. Start a stuffed animals business ($120K/year)

Justin Baum from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA started ZZZ Bears over 8 years ago, a stuffed animals business.

  • Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
  • Revenue: $9,999/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$5K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

My full-time job is in advertising. (Think Don Draper with less Brylcreem,) And from 2005 to 2012, I worked at JWT, the United States Marine Corps’ longtime ad agency. As the Creative Director, I was in charge of recruitment advertising - writing the television commercials, print ads, billboards, etc - for the Marines during two of the most unpopular wars in our nation’s history.

Every time I’d go to a Marine base to film a commercial, I’d bring my then 5-year-old daughter back a small gift from the Marine Exchange. At the time, she was having trouble sleeping - bad dreams, fear of the dark, monsters under the bed - the usual fears of a young kid.

So I bought her a teddy bear and told her a story.

how-i-built-a-teddy-bear-business-helping-military-kids-sleep-at-night

19. Start a craft photography business ($76.8K/year)

suzanne kaltbaum from Lake Mary, FL, USA started Suzann K Fine Art about 7 years ago, a craft photography business.

  • Location: Lake Mary, FL, USA
  • Revenue: $6,400/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$6.5K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

My name is Suzann Kaltbaum, I am a fine art photographer.

“I just snap and go”. Intuition is an entrepreneur’s secret weapon. What started as a passion project, travel photography has turned into a lucrative business.

how-i-started-a-late-career-making-thought-provoking-art-that-generates-6k-month

20. Start a specialty food business ($1.2M/year)

Stacey Schlaman from Alabama, USA started Liberated Specialty Foods almost 9 years ago, a specialty food business.

  • Location: Alabama, USA
  • Revenue: $100,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 20

Case Study

I’m Stacey, founder and President of Liberated Specialty Foods, based in the quiet town of Madison, Alabama. We run a food manufacturing business making a full line of baked food (made mainly from nut flours) like almond flour pizza crust, cashew bread, and coconut flour donuts, along with additive-free sauces like ketchup and pizza sauce; with the specific mission to help those suffering from autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s and Colitis, that ALSO fill the niche of Keto, Paleo, Atkins, and other trending diets.

We sell online and to retailers. We went from about 100 retailers with our products in 2016 to over 1,000 today, including major chains from Whole Foods and Sprouts to Wal-Mart -- and we hope to keep adding more!

how-i-started-a-100k-month-food-for-auto-immune-sufferers-business

21. Start a candle business ($1.68M/year)

DShawn Russell from Raeford, North Carolina, USA started Southern Elegance Candle Company about 8 years ago, a candle business.

  • Location: Raeford, North Carolina, USA
  • Revenue: $140,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 20

Case Study

Hello! My name is D’Shawn Russell and I am the founder and CEO of Southern Elegance Candle Company. I started the company 4 years ago as a side hustle to make some extra money on the weekends and to get me out of the house. But it quickly grew to much more than I expected.

Southern Elegance Candle Company is all about loving and living in the South. We created home fragrance products that all have a southern theme to them and all of our fragrances are based on Southern agriculture. Apple? Check! Pine? Check! Cotton (or course) Check! Missing the Southern Sunshine? We got a fragrance for you. Our core group of customers are women that live in the South or people that appreciate Southern culture.

Our flagship products at the moment are our candles. We offer three different sizes; travel tin, mason jar and large tumbler. We also have wax melts and room spray. But, we will be slowly rolling out new products over the next year to include an apparel line.

how-i-started-a-20k-month-southern-inspired-candle-business

22. Become a shopify app developer ($780K/year)

Todd Trimakas from Charlotte, North Carolina, USA started ByteStand about 8 years ago, a shopify app developer.

  • Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
  • Revenue: $65,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$50K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

Hi, my name is Todd and I’m a serial entrepreneur. After a long history of building various businesses, I created ByteStand, a friendly software development company run by ecommerce nerds who get excited about weird things like “cross-platform integrations” and “fulfillment networks” and “coffee”.

We design Shopify apps, with three apps currently in the app store and over 2,000 shops using our software. Our two main apps are ByteStand and FBA Shipping, which were designed to help Amazon sellers diversify and generate more revenue by importing their Amazon inventory to Shopify and exporting their Shopify orders to Amazon for fulfillment.

We also created FreshCredit, Shopify's first true store credit app. Between all three apps, we generate about $17,000/month in revenue.

how-i-taught-myself-how-to-code-and-built-my-own-business

23. Start a tutoring business ($1.2M/year)

Adam Shlomi from Miami, FL, USA started SoFlo Tutors almost 5 years ago, a tutoring business.

  • Location: Miami, FL, USA
  • Revenue: $100,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$100
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

Hey! I'm Adam Shlomi, founder of SoFlo SAT Tutoring. I went to Georgetown University, scored 1570/1600 on the SAT, and now SoFlo annually brings in 6 figures in income.

At SoFlo we offer online SAT/ACT prep to students around the world and now have 100 tutors on our team, but I founded SoFlo a little more than two years ago in my room, where I was bedridden and recovering from ankle surgery with doctors saying I may never walk again.

how-we-grew-revenue-and-profit-by-600-in-2020

24. Start a cocktail ingredient business ($540K/year)

Christopher Thomas from Nashville, Tennessee, USA started Eli Mason over 9 years ago, a cocktail ingredient business.

  • Location: Nashville, Tennessee, USA
  • Revenue: $45,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$10K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

My name is Christopher Thomas. I am the managing partner and co-owner of a cocktail mixer brand called Eli Mason. We make premium cocktail mixers and syrups using real ingredients like cane sugar and premium bitters in Nashville, Tennessee.

Our flagship product is The Old Fashioned Cocktail Mixer. Just mix it with your favorite whiskey and you have a delicious Old Fashioned in less than 30 seconds. We have two main customers. Our first customer is someone who enjoys a delicious cocktail, but they don’t want the hassle of figuring out the right ratios of sugar to bitters, should they muddle fruit or not, we make it super easy for them to make a consistent and delicious Old Fashioned in less than 30 seconds. Our second customer is the cocktail enthusiast who loves making cocktails from scratch in their home, but sometimes they just want EASY. We give them that EASY option for a solid drink made with real ingredients.

how-we-grew-revenue-to-600k-and-launched-a-new-product-this-year

25. ($204K/year)

Natalie Kay Costello from Jacksonville, FL, USA started Sustainably Chic over 9 years ago, .

  • Location: Jacksonville, FL, USA
  • Revenue: $17,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$3K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

Hi! My name is Natalie, and I help people build conscious wardrobes through my blog Sustainably Chic. It’s the ultimate destination for everything in a sustainable fashion. From learning what it is to brands who produce it, you can find all of that information on my blog. Sustainably Chic is here to show you fashion can exist responsibly.

While I mainly write about women’s fashion, I also speak about men’s fashion, children’s fashion, fashion in the home, and green beauty. I find fashion to be everywhere in life, so it’s important to touch on every little aspect I can. Most importantly, almost anything you use has a sustainable option, and Sustainably Chic is here to showcase it.

on-growing-a-blog-about-sustainable-fashion-to-60k-monthly-visitors-and-6k-month-in-revenue

26. Start a respirator mask business ($1.08M/year)

Michael Vahey from Virginia, USA started Breathe Healthy over 14 years ago, a respirator mask business.

  • Location: Virginia, USA
  • Revenue: $90,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 3

Case Study

My name is Michael, and I’m the owner of Breathe Healthy.

As a kid, I ran a lawn and field mowing business. Unfortunately, I also had allergies. There were times when I would be in the fields all day, but then had to come home with my eyes swelled shut because of my allergies. I tried masks, but they were uncomfortable, and not very easy for a kid to keep on his face.

A more urban lifestyle and career kept me away from the worst of my allergies until I entered the military. Once again, time “out in the field” brought back my allergies with a vengeance. While serving in a desert environment, we often had to operate in sandstorms and high dust and dirt environments. Often, a shirt or rag wrapped around the face was what we used to protect ourselves.

starting-a-90k-month-respirator-mask-business

27. Start a construction company ($4.2M/year)

Clifton Muckenfuss from Apex, North Carolina, USA started Carolina Exteriors over 13 years ago, a construction company.

  • Location: Apex, North Carolina, USA
  • Revenue: $350,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$3.5K
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 10

Case Study

I’m Clifton Muckenfuss, I am Co-Founder of Carolina Exteriors, a Specialty Replacement Contractor based in Apex, NC, serving the Raleigh Metro Area. Carolina Exteriors offers residential home improvement services including Roofing, Siding, Windows, Doors, and Gutters. We believe that if we “build people, we build a winning team and combined, we Build Exceptional Customer Experiences. Our dedication to our people and customers and execution on our mission has led to us receiving numerous industry awards for customer service.

Carolina Exteriors was founded in 2010 amidst the last housing crisis and recession. We realized and understood that most contractors were great carpenters or “tradesmen” but not savvy business owners, and many found themselves overleveraged and without a sustainable business model. We [founders] drew from our previous business experience in Sales, Management, Customer Service and Operations Management to create a “customer first” company backed by systems and processes.

We bootstrapped the business on $3,500 and now 9 years later generate $4,000,000 in revenue.

growing-an-exterior-remodeling-company-from-3-5k-to-9m-year

28. Start a seo agency ($336K/year)

Russell Michelson from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA started Paper Box SEO over 7 years ago, a SEO agency.

  • Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Revenue: $28,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

My name is Russell Michelson and I’m the founder of Paper Box SEO. We’re a boutique SEO agency based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Unlike most SEO agencies, we focus 100% of our efforts on SEO and don’t work in other types of online marketing like PPC or social media.

Most of our clients are small to medium-sized businesses who want to grow their organic traffic and get more customers. We almost exclusively work long term contracts for a fixed monthly fee. Our packages are all-inclusive, meaning they include on-page optimization, content creation, link building, and monthly reporting. At the moment, we’re doing $20k/month in revenue and our team consists of me, a full-time employee, and a part-time contractor who is our dedicated writer. We also have an accountant and web developer who we use on an as-needed basis.

how-i-started-a-28k-month-boutique-seo-company

29. Start a hvac equipment shop ($4.5M/year)

Mike Luongo from Ohio, USA started Total Home Supply about 14 years ago, a HVAC equipment shop.

  • Location: Ohio, USA
  • Revenue: $375,000/ month
  • Founders: 5
  • Employees: 5

Case Study

My name is Mike Luongo and I am the Managing Member of Total Home Supply in Fairfield, NJ. Total Home Supply was founded in 2010 by a group of disgruntled people working for other Internet companies. We were not happy with the direction of these companies so we got together under a common concept of creating a company that would treat our customers the way we would like to be treated.

Since we sell heating and cooling products that can be purchased elsewhere, we knew we needed to find a compelling reason for customers to choose us. We also knew that just selling cheap was not the answer so we became the leader in customer service, both before and after the sale.

The above is why we have double-digit growth while our competitors struggle to maintain the volume from previous years.

how-5-founders-left-their-jobs-to-start-a-4-5m-heating-cooling-business

30. Start a wordpress template business ($132K/year)

Sam from Kalamazoo, MI, USA started Sam Munoz Consulting, LLC about 6 years ago, a wordpress template business.

  • Location: Kalamazoo, MI, USA
  • Revenue: $11,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

Why hello there, my name is Sam and I am the owner and head developer over at Sam Munoz Consulting, LLC! We are a WordPress development company, specializing in upscale websites for high-performing businesses as well as affordable website templates called the Effortless Website Kits for new business owners & entrepreneurs.

Our purpose is to EMPOWER business owners & entrepreneurs to harness their website to work for their biz as the #1 MVP. We strive to make the tech side of the business overall less scary and overwhelming through bite-sized education, our digital products, and speaking in human terms.

We are a dynamite team of 3 tech-savvy ladies. The team includes Sam (me!) owner & lead developer, Laura Kåmark - business and project manager & Karyn Paige - head tech wizard.

how-i-started-a-9k-month-wordpress-templates-business

31. Start a wedding rental business

Marie Kubin from Miami, FL, USA started RENT MY WEDDING about 12 years ago, a wedding rental business.

  • Location: Miami, FL, USA
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees:

Case Study

I am originally from Appleton, Wisconsin and now reside in Miami, Florida. I earned my Bachelor’s Degree with majors in Marketing and Management at the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. Afterward, I completed a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Maryland School of Law, and am a member of the Florida Bar.

Only start a business if you are ready to put in the hard work and make sacrifices to (maybe) achieve success.

I started RENT MY WEDDING nearly 10 years ago while planning my own wedding. I was frustrated with the fact that there were no online shopping options for wedding rentals. And I was also disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to have wedding lighting for my reception because the high cost of full-service lighting vendors didn’t fit in the budget. Determined to find a way to get wedding lighting, I decided to purchase my own professional event lighting. At the time, there was no information about what equipment to use or how to operate it. After extensive research and testing, I finally figured out the “secret recipe” for wedding lighting. To recoup my costs on purchasing the equipment, I started posting classified ads on Weddingbee, offering to loan out the lighting along with instructions on how to use it. The response was overwhelming, and soon I was buying even more lighting than I needed for my own wedding! Initially, I ran the business out of my apartment. It finally reached a point where there was not enough space in the apartment or time in the day to keep up with all the orders. Having recently completed law school and passed the bar exam, I knew that pursuing a career as an attorney would be the safe bet. But I took the plunge and started my own company! I couldn’t be happier with that decision. The company has now become the largest online event rental company in the U.S., with the most 5-star reviews of any company in the industry. I have truly found her passion for helping others create the weddings and events of their dreams.

on-starting-the-largest-online-event-rental-business

32. Start an ecommerce platform ($1.2M/year)

Nick and Angelica from Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA started Romans Tide almost 9 years ago, an ecommerce platform.

  • Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
  • Revenue: $100,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$20
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 5

Case Study

My name is Nick and I am the founder of Romans Tide. My business started out selling on eBay in early 2015, by November we moved to Amazon. Our method of selling was 100% arbitrage back then.

By 2017 we did over $1,000,000 in revenue on the Amazon platform. I had no idea what I had gotten into. I had no business experience and had no idea how to manage all this money flowing through the business.

Now we have our own Private Label Products, a couple of wholesale accounts (pursuing more), and a full-scale countrywide Retail Arbitrage operation that generates six figures a month in revenue with 20-25% profit margins.

A lot of people say “you can’t scale Retail Arbitrage”. We prove them wrong on a daily basis.

Nowadays, Romans Tide is becoming more of a distributor for my other product creations and brands. My journey in E-Commerce has had me sell everything from toys and clothes to trampolines and patio sets. We sell to all types of customers so that led me to develop my own brands.

Right now we have:

Java Advisor - Sells coffee, tea, and related products @JavaAdvisor

Mind Your Grind - Started out as my personal blog but is being turned into a sales channel for customers focused on health, fitness, and mindset. @Mind_Your_Grind

RTX (in development) - This is my Sports and Outdoor Brand focused on serving the customers involved in extreme sports. My love for riding waves is what fuels this project

how-i-started-a-private-label-small-business-generating-six-figures-a-month

33. Start a credit card comparison website

Adam Van Wie from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, USA started Van Wie Financial almost 9 years ago, a credit card comparison website.

  • Location: Jacksonville Beach, Florida, USA
  • Starting Costs: $$25K
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 3

Case Study

Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be an entrepreneur. My Dad owned several companies when I was young, and when I graduated from college, I planned on getting started in corporate America and then eventually starting my own business.

One of the keys to survival is to not get too discouraged by the bad days, no matter how bad it might seem at the time.

In 2001, my Dad went to work with a financial planning firm, and then in 2014, I joined him. We quickly realized that we wanted to run things a different way, so in November of 2014 we set out on our own and Van Wie Financial was born.

on-starting-a-free-only-independent-financial-advisory-firm

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.