15 Low Investment Business Opportunities For New Years 2023

15 Low Investment Business Opportunities For New Years 2023

There's no better way to ring in the New Year than launching your own side hustle or business.

There are plenty of ways to make quick money on New Years, so why not turn that idea into a lucrative business?

We put together a list of 15 low investment business ideas that if started today, you could have your first customer solidified by or before New Years 2021.

Here's the full list: 



1. Start an event planning business ($420K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$35,000 — $400,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$19,725
Time To Revenue
240 days
Skills
Business model

Akshay Patel from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA started Simply Decor and Events ago, a event planning business.

  • Revenue: $35,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2
  • Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Case Study

I always had an eye for decor whether it was with my room, home, or anything. I was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM, and went to college at the University of New Mexico where I got my bachelor’s in Biology and a minor in Psychology. All along with my schooling, I was following the path to becoming a dentist which I thought was my passion and what I enjoyed. When I graduated high school I wanted to throw myself a big party. So my dad gave me a budget of $3,000 which had to include the venue, DJ, catering, bar, and decor.

I learned that when advertising you have to try different and unique ideas. From this you will learn what will work for your specific clientele, this process is a trial and error.

Of course, you know when you want a real fancy party the venue usually takes most of the budget, as it did. I was left with $200 for decor. I then began talking to decor companies and found that everything I wanted was not going to be possible with that amount. I thought out of the box and began making all my own decor.

how-i-started-a-35k-month-event-decor-business

2. Start a photo booth business ($6M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$350,000 — $500,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$6,000
Skills

Brandon Wong from California, USA started Photobooth Supply Co. about 10 years ago, a photo booth business.

  • Revenue: $500,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 10
  • Location: California, USA

Case Study

My wife and I were wedding photographers. If you’ve been to a wedding lately, you’ve probably seen a photobooth.

The same was true 8 years ago. We saw booths everywhere, and started thinking… why not add one of those? We purchased the “old” style photobooth, the enclosed box. It became clear very quickly that at least two things could be done better. It wasn’t really portable and it didn’t take the prettiest pictures.

I contacted a few metal suppliers down here in Orange County and asked if they could put something together for me. I wanted something sleek and portable, but it also had to be able to take gorgeous pictures.

embracing-the-experience-economy-with-a-300k-mo-photo-booth-startup

3. Start a planner brand ($270K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$1,000 — $50,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$10,000
Skills

Jess Yasuda from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia started Planner Peace over 7 years ago, a planner brand.

  • Revenue: $22,541/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Case Study

When I started Chasing Planner Peace I was a mum of two very small children, working part-time in a job for the government. I found my job extremely unrewarding and boring and had a little avenue for creativity. I never dreamed that starting an Etsy store would lead to growing a company that could become a full-time career. I had always had it drummed into me to find a secure job and stick with it - don’t take risks!

After my second child was born I became interested in using a paper planner as a hobby. There’s actually quite a big community of people (mostly women) who combine organization and creativity and love using their planners as a memory-keeping, scrapbooking tool using stickers and washi tape to decorate.

I loved the idea of using Filofax type planners where you could really customize your planner by adding in what “inserts” (refill pages) you wanted. I would download printable inserts off Etsy for calendar pages, meal planning, etc. but I could never find a layout that really worked for me. I would also waste huge amounts of time, money and printer ink trying to print out the printable inserts - as every file was a different format.

how-i-started-a-12k-month-selling-productivity-planners-online

4. Start a greeting cards business ($1.2M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$2,000 — $100,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$11,166
Time To Revenue
300 days
Skills
Business model

Travis Peterson from Irvine, California, USA started Joker Greeting almost 8 years ago, a Greeting Cards Business.

  • Revenue: $100,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Irvine, California, USA

Case Study

My background is in finance. I worked in investment banking for six years in New York. I loved the job, the people, and the hours. But as a service job I wanted to be making things not just helping others make things. This desire has led me to where I am today.

My brother and I have always loved to make fun of everything. Around 2014, we visited my mom’s house and she had this musical greeting card. We thought it was annoying. We asked each other, "Who wants to listen to this!?" Then Nick asked, “What if it didn’t stop?”

That was it. Nothing more. No market research.

i-created-a-prank-card-company-grew-it-to-30k-month

5. Start a dog walking business ($648K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$8,000 — $54,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$2,125
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 2 hours/week
Skills

Melodi Landi from Bristol, TN, USA started Furry Fellas Pet Service LLC almost 17 years ago, a dog walking business.

  • Revenue: $54,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 19
  • Location: Bristol, TN, USA

Case Study

I have always had a passion for animals. I was going to school full time at the University of Rhode Island as a Pre-Vet student while working full time at a local veterinary hospital AND picking up pet sitting and dog walking clients on the side.

Since my late teenage years, I have known that I wanted to work with animals. While working at the animal hospital, I saw a great need for this type of service, and soon after decided to start this business!

I would often come across clients who had not traveled in years because their pets required specialized care or medications or because they did not know who to ask or whom they could trust with their pets and their home.

how-i-started-a-54k-month-pet-sitting-and-dog-walking-business

6. Start a catering business ($240K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$3,750 — $48,333/month
Average Initial Investment
$356
Time To Revenue
180 days
Skills
Business model

Nestor Nidome from Crestmore, California, USA started Elegante Catering ago, a catering business.

  • Revenue: $20,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 10
  • Location: Crestmore, California, USA

Case Study

For as long as I can remember I have always been attracted to the idea of being a business owner. I’ve tried many businesses starting with my own DJ company. I got some business cards, printed them at Staples, passed them out, and waited for the calls.

It took a bit of time, but eventually, the calls started to come in and bookings started to happen. I did that for a couple of years until one of the DJ gigs some gangsters got into it and I was almost in the middle of a gang fight. Thank GOD things calmed down, but after that, I started looking for another business!

During this same time, the whole tech bubble was growing and I wanted a part of it. I took some coding classes in college and started using HTML to code my website from scratch. I kind of borrowed a lot of ideas from Yahoo but it was going to be mainly focused on my local city. I visited some businesses and got some of them to advertise. Things seemed to be going well when the bubble burst and I was once more left to venture out and look for something else.

how-i-found-success-with-a-20k-month-catering-company-after-starting-many-businesses

7. Start a child care business

Average Initial Investment
$100,000
Time To Revenue
180 days
Skills
Business model

Examples of a successful child care business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a child care business ➜

article

8. Start a doggy day care

Examples of a successful doggy day care:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a doggy day care:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a doggy day care ➜

article

9. Start a cleaning business ($1.05M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$2,000 — $708,333/month
Average Initial Investment
$115,831
Time To Revenue
180 days
Skills
Business model

Examples of a successful cleaning business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a cleaning business ➜

Case Study

Hey! My name is Neel Parekh and I am the Founder and CEO of MaidThis® & MaidThis® Franchise, a cleaning franchise that helps residential homeowners and short-term rental hosts (Airbnb, VRBO, etc) with their cleanings.

  • We made our niche focus on cleaning Airbnbs and vacation rentals, in addition to regular home cleaning, which is a rapidly growing industry. We became the first cleaning franchise specializing in vacation rental cleaning.
  • Local businesses are often pretty old school and typically aren’t the best with marketing, especially digital marketing. We’re bringing new-age marketing tactics to this old-school industry.
  • Remote work: we’ve been able to stay extra nimble and lean with having a global workforce. This was initially done out of necessity so I could travel, but quickly became a huge competitive advantage. Our office team works across 8 different countries.

how-i-started-a-100k-month-home-cleaning-service-for-busy-individuals-and-airbnb-hosts

10. Start a party rental business

How Much Can You Make?
$35,000 — $400,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$500
Skills

Examples of a successful party rental business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a party rental business ➜

Case Study

Hello, I am Akshay Patel from Albuquerque, NM the land of enchantment. I started an event rental and decor company that led me to an event venue. The View Event Center is a lavish space that is an indoor and outdoor event venue with panoramic city views. Our high-end venue with experienced staff will assist from venue decor to the smallest details entailed in making memories of a lifetime. Simply Decor, Tents, and Events ensures exclusive decor and thrives to bring your event to life through customized, elegant decor for all of their clients.

The full-service company will individually work with every client to design their event that will intrigue every eye in the room. Our company is broad that we get many different types of customers and we make many great connections with them as well. The company was making upwards of $380,000 a year.

how-i-started-a-35k-month-event-decor-business

11. Become an Airbnb host

How Much Can You Make?
$1,333 — $270,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$2,000
Skills

Examples of a successful Airbnb host:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an Airbnb host ➜

Case Study

My name is Gary Fox, and I run HostButlers, an Airbnb concierge service in Dublin, Ireland.

Since we started nearly four years ago, we have hosted over 200,000 people and have been profitable from month 5.

how-i-bootstrapped-an-airbnb-management-service-to-35k-month

12. Start a professional organizing business ($96K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$8,000 — $100,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$1,500
Time To Revenue
210 days
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 100 hours/week
Skills
Interests
Business model

Examples of a successful professional organizing business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a professional organizing business ➜

Case Study

Hey there! My name is Amber Barrett and I’m the founder and CEO of Arranged by Amber. I started this business in 2018 as a Professional Organizing service, but through pivots and lots of trial and error, this business now supports other Professional Organizers by implementing business systems and automation into their businesses.

Today, Arranged by Amber averages $8,000/month helping Professional Organizers implement business strategies and systems that save them time and money.

how-i-make-8k-month-helping-organizers-automate-their-business

13. Start a christmas tree removal business

Examples of a successful christmas tree removal business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a christmas tree removal business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a christmas tree removal business ➜

article

14. Start a gift baskets business ($24K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$550 — $125,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$10,000
Time To Revenue
240 days
Skills
Business model

Examples of a successful gift baskets business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a gift baskets business ➜

Case Study

My name is Adam Elliot, and I started Dick At Your Door, an e-commerce shop for people who like to gift pranks, gags, and funny novelties to their friends and family.

Yes, you read that correctly... Dick At Your Door sells chocolate penises you can send as a fun prank to friends and family.

generating-25k-month-sending-chocolate-penises-to-your-friends

15. Start a bartending service

Examples of a successful bartending service:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a bartending service ➜

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Pat Walls,  Founder of Starter Story
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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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