15 Productivity-Related Business Ideas You Can Start Today

Updated: July 24th, 2023

Let's face it - one way or another, everyone wants to be more productive.

So, where do most people turn to? Tools and software to make them more productive (or at least feel more productive).

Businesses like Trello, Monday.com and Hubspot are all wildly successful - and more businesses like these are coming into the market every day.

If you have a passion for productivity and are looking to start a business, we put together 15 different productivity-related business ideas you can start today.

Here they are:

1. Start a podcast

The podcast business involves creating and producing audio content that people can listen to online.

It’s a popular form of entertainment and information-sharing.

To start a podcast business on a budget, you'll need a few key steps.

First, choose a niche or topic that you're passionate about and that has an audience.

Next, get basic recording equipment like a microphone and headphones.

Then, find a free or affordable hosting platform to publish your episodes.

Finally, promote your podcast through social media, online communities, and word of mouth to build an audience and potentially attract sponsors or advertisers.

How much you can make: $400 β€” $1,020,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $2,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)

Time commitment per week: Min. 2 hours/week

How I Started A Successful Podcast Production Company

A successful podcast production company that grew from one client making $15/hour to a team of 10 contractors producing over 30 shows per week with revenue of over $10k/mo, primarily through referrals and with a focus on providing high personal touch and being picky about working only with clients who are a good fit.

About
Jeremy started Counterweight Creative over 7 years ago
Revenue
Jeremy grew the business to $16K/month

2. Start a team collaboration app

How much you can make: $3,000 β€” $1,000,000/month

How long does it take to build: 200 days (?)

How Our Team Collaboration Apps Generate $600K/Month

Meister Labs, creators of MindMeister and MeisterTask, have close to $10 million ARR with their Freemium subscription business model, providing software tools for small to medium-sized businesses from all verticals and private users as well, which include 11 million MindMeister and 3 million MeisterTask users.

About
Michael started Meister almost 17 years ago
Revenue
Michael grew the business to $1M/month
Costs
It cost Michael $20000 to start the business

3. Start an email automation platform

How much you can make: $3,500 β€” $400,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

How We Launched A $35K/Month Tool To Send Bulk LinkedIn Messages

Two entrepreneurs developed Coldinbox, a bulk LinkedIn messaging tool that assists B2B business development managers in converting high-value prospects into leads and customers, resulting in $35,000 in monthly profits.

About
Arthur started COLDINBOX over 3 years ago
Revenue
Arthur grew the business to $35K/month

4. Start a time tracking app

A time tracking app is a tool used allows its user to clock in/out via an internet-connected device or to use a stopwatch to record the start and end of tasks. The time tracker apps also have analytics and reporting features that consolidate the data so that users can gain insights into time spent on different tasks, projects, and clients.

The growing need among managers and enterprises to improve employee productivity and adopt a remote work culture contribute to the high demand for time-tracking apps.

Therefore, if you are looking for the best App-based business, you may consider developing a time tracker application. Here is a high-level overview of some steps to get you started working on your business idea of the time tracker App

  • Define the project scope
  • Choose a software development methodology
  • Formulate the approach for your development project
  • Create a project team
  • Develop the project plan with timelines
  • Test the prototypes
  • Find suitable API solutions
  • Publish the Apps

How much you can make: $350 β€” $500,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $3,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

How I Launched A $185K/Month Employee Time & GPS Tracking App

Labor Sync is a mobile application that provides business owners with the ability to track the time and GPS location of their mobile workforce and after just one year of use, they savedΒ $104,000Β across 45 employees despite starting off with no funds for advertising or marketing.

About
Dean started Labor Sync over 14 years ago
Revenue
Dean grew the business to $185K/month

5. Create an online course

Online course businesses are one of the fastest-growing online business models. Creating an online course is an awesome way to generate extra income because it allows you to monetize the knowledge you already have. More people are taking online courses every day, and the COVID pandemic has accelerated that, with some online learning platforms having seen 15-fold growth in the number of users.

Another advantage is that these new platforms are so easy to use for instructors that you don't have to worry at all about the tech side of the business. You just need to focus on creating exciting content that is informational & engaging at the same time.

Starting an online course allows you to eliminate some of the huge costs associated with setting up a physical training facility, and it's a great way to reach as many people as possible.

How much you can make: $350 β€” $3,735,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,850 (?)

How long does it take to build: 88 days (?)

How This 28-Year-Old Couple Quit Their Jobs And Make $20K/Month Running A Blog

Learn how one couple created a successful personal finance blog, The Savvy Couple, that now makes over $20,000 per month and has sold thousands of digital workbooks and courses, by focusing on purposeful content and optimizing their ROI with efficient time management.

About
Kelan started The Savvy Couple over 7 years ago
Revenue
Kelan grew the business to $20K/month
Costs
It cost Kelan $500 to start the business

6. Create a website builder

How much you can make: $200 β€” $350,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $4,750 (?)

How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)

On Starting A $160K/Month CRM & Automations Company After A US Air Force Career

GreenRope, a self-funded CRM and marketing automation platform with over 1,000 customers in 20 countries, was built organically and focused on creating a positive, customer-centric culture without outside investment, with an all-in-one interface solving challenges in managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations.

About
Lars started GreenRope over 15 years ago
Revenue
Lars grew the business to $160K/month

7. Create a calendar sync tool

How much you can make: $1,500 β€” $177,000/month

How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)

How We Built A Resource Scheduling App to $2.1M ARR

Resource Guru is an online team calendar software, used by around 20,000 people in 88 countries around the world to help them manage their team's time, and has a current ARR of $2.1m.

About
Andrew started Resource Guru over 12 years ago
Revenue
Andrew grew the business to $177K/month

8. Start a journal brand

A journal is a newspaper or a magazine that covers a particular subject or a professional activity based on the author's thoughts and feelings. The beauty of journaling is there is no right or wrong way to start.

The approach depends on your personal experience and can take many forms.

Find a journaling habit that works for you and create a writing routine. Get creative and journal about anything that comes to mind, so long as it interests your target audience.

How much you can make: $200 β€” $150,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 105 days (?)

How I Started A $12K/Month Business Selling Productivity Planners Online

Chasing Planner Peace is a planner company that has expanded from selling planner inserts on Etsy, to offering a one-stop shop customizable planner experience with over 300 inserts, a planner line, and various other related products, gaining a monthly revenue of around $25,000 at its busiest time of year.

About
Jess started Planner Peace over 8 years ago
Revenue
Jess grew the business to $22.5K/month

9. Start a task management software

How much you can make: $700 β€” $45,000/month

How long does it take to build: 365 days (?)

I Bootstrapped My $48K/Year Project Management Software [From India]

SmartTask is a project management tool that has received $300K in seed funding this year and it currently has 40,000+ active users, serving prominent brands such as Amul, Adecco, Ecolab, and ABB, among others, aiming to make people 3x more productive.

About
Shyamal started SmartTask almost 7 years ago
Revenue
Shyamal grew the business to $4K/month

10. Start a time management/productivity coaching business

11. Become a youtube personality

YouTube personalities produce videos on YouTube and post them on their channels. YouTube personalities make money through the following:

  • Advertising revenue - Ads revenue from the display, overlay, and video ads
  • Channel Memberships – members earn recurring revenue in exchange for special perks they offer
  • Merch Shelf – When channel fans browse and purchase official branded merchandise, you showcase it on watch pages.
  • Super Chat & Super Stickers – Fans pay to get their messages highlighted in chat streams
  • YouTube Premium Revenue – Get part of a premium subscriber’s subscription fee when fans watch your content.

You can start earning money through either or all of the above options, so long as you meet their YouTube-defined criteria and they are available in your location.

If you want to make money on YouTube, you must apply and be approved for the YouTube Partner Program, which gives creators greater access to YouTube resources and features.

How much you can make: $3,055 β€” $4,500,000/month

Interview with Kirsty Partridge

This case study details how Kirsty Partridge grew her art YouTube channel to over 1.3M subscribers and 81,296,486 views, and expanded her business by launching an art tutorials website and personalized art course which has taught 21K+ students.

About
They started Kirsty Partridge Art almost 9 years ago
Revenue
They grew the business to $3.06K/month

12. Start a project management tool

A project management tool business involves developing software that helps managers and teams organize, plan, and track projects.

Features may include task lists, Gantt charts, time tracking, resource planning, collaboration tools, reports, and more.

You can offer the software as a web or mobile application through a software-as-a-service subscription model.

Building an innovative and user-friendly project management tool has excellent business potential as organizations constantly seek solutions to improve workflow, accountability, and efficiency.

How much you can make: $3,000 β€” $1,466,666/month

How long does it take to build: 271 days (?)

On Starting A $160K/Month CRM & Automations Company After A US Air Force Career

GreenRope, a self-funded CRM and marketing automation platform with over 1,000 customers in 20 countries, was built organically and focused on creating a positive, customer-centric culture without outside investment, with an all-in-one interface solving challenges in managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations.

About
Lars started GreenRope over 15 years ago
Revenue
Lars grew the business to $160K/month

13. Create a goal setting app

How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)

How long does it take to build: 730 days (?)

14. Start an online calendar business

How much you can make: $50,000/month

How long does it take to build: 100 days (?)

How We Developed A $50K/Month Scheduling API

Spurwing, a scheduling API start-up, developed a cost-effective solution to help developers and managers avoid the complex process of building custom scheduling solutions from scratch, resulting in powering millions of appointment bookings for thousands of companies.

About
Ilya started Spurwing almost 4 years ago
Revenue
Ilya grew the business to $50K/month
Costs
It cost Ilya $100000 to start the business

15. Start a to do list business

How much you can make: $1,466,666/month

How a Simple Idea Turned Into a Product Loved By Millions of Users
About
Michael started Trello almost 10 years ago
Revenue
Michael grew the business to $1.47M/month

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.