60 Spare Room Business Ideas You Can Start Today [2023]

60 Spare Room Business Ideas You Can Start Today [2023]

Interested in starting a spare room business in 2023?

We put together 60 of the best spare room businesses you can start in today.

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

Here's the full list:

1. 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

2. Become a mobile personal trainer ($720K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$600 — $8,333,333/month
Average Initial Investment
$75,005
Time To Revenue
240 days
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 4 hours/week
Skills
Interests
Business model

Chris Anderson from Overland Park, Kansas, USA started Live Fit about 12 years ago, a mobile personal trainer.

  • Revenue: $60,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: Overland Park, Kansas, USA

Case Study

I started Live Fit because I felt I was running out of options in the industry I loved so much. Personally, I felt the misses in the personal training industry and wanted to change that. Personal Training, as well as all types of fitness, can be very intimidating to most people. And honestly, the people that are most intimidated by fitness are often the people that need it the most. I set out to create a company that provided the same types of exercises, programming, and results as generally all fitness companies, but I wanted to make it a comfortable experience from the moment a potential client stepped through our doors.

All our processes, our studio layout, our team of trainers we have hired, and our entire mission are based on making clients feel comfortable, appreciated, and valued. We do things differently and over the past 10 years, I have seen other companies in our area follow our lead. Long gone are the days of slamming weights, extremely loud music, and uncomfortable gym environments. People want to go where they feel comfortable and respected.

I have always loved sports and started at a young age, with my dad as my coach. I continued athletics through high school and went on to run college track where I based my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees entirely on building my career in the fitness industry. The last thing I was willing to do was to throw it all away based on a lack of opportunity, so I created my own with Live Fit. I believe in spirituality and the law of attraction and base my life on those principles. So in early 2011 when I couldn’t focus on my spiritual study and spiritual growth because my mind was consumed with running numbers about opening my own company, I knew that was a sign from God it was time to create something great.

how-i-started-a-60k-month-personal-training-company

3. Start a vacation rentals business ($150K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$12,500 — $295,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$160,000
Skills

Julio Sanchez from Cardiff started Cardiff Vacations almost 12 years ago, a vacation rentals business.

  • Revenue: $12,500/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 12
  • Location: Cardiff

Case Study

I was born in Guatemala, moved to the USA in the ‘80s, and went to school at Harvard Westlake. I managed to get US citizenship after serving for 4 years in the marine.

After marrying my wife, Alison in 2001 we’ve lived with her mom for 10 years to take care of her.

Once she passed away we were left with the question of what to do with the properties she and her husband have worked so hard to build.

how-we-started-a-12k-month-beachside-vacation-rental-business

4. Start a freelance writing business ($0/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$700 — $320,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$405
Time To Revenue
90 days
Skills
Business model

Eva Gutierrez from Los Angeles, CA, USA started Eva Gutierrez about 6 years ago, a freelance writing business.

  • Revenue: $/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA

Case Study

Five years ago I was really lost and confused about what career path to pursue. I had graduated from college with a degree in Biology in hopes of becoming a doctor. I quickly found out that I didn’t want to spend my life working in an office or having to see as many patients as I could fit into my schedule to make back my medical school expenses. At the end of my senior year, I started to watch blogging really start to take off and was immediately interested—this was an entirely new career path we hadn’t see before and something about it made me want to learn more. I figured out how to use WordPress and made a free account to start something like a food blog. I published a few articles and just wrote about what I was eating and why I was so focused on eating nutritious foods over others.

After stumbling upon a writer’s Instagram profile with the bio, “Contributing Writer at EliteDaily”—I Googled, “How to be a contributing writer at EliteDaily” and sent in my application. They accepted me (to be fair, I think they were accepting everyone at this time) and I wrote a few articles for them. That was my first taste of the writing life, unpaid work that could get views if it struck the right chord with their audience. Those articles are still online today haha. But, because this was so new into the blogging world and I had absolutely no idea how to monetize or figure any of this out on my own, I didn’t take the opportunity too seriously. I assumed I’d need a “regular” job and soon stopped writing for EliteDaily.

After I graduated, I decided that I would take a break from applying to jobs I didn’t want and instead obligated myself to do something I loved every day with the hope of stumbling upon my passion and purpose. While it seems obvious now that I wanted to be a writer, at the time I was still pretty lost and confused. I didn’t know any successful internet writers and I wasn’t confident enough to ask people for help, guidance, or advice. But, a few weeks into obligating myself to do something that I loved every day, I started writing again.

how-i-went-from-posting-on-quora-to-making-7-5k-month-as-a-freelance-writer

5. Start a sewing and alteration business ($12K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
Skills

Saara Hafeez from New York, New York, USA started ALTRD almost 5 years ago, a sewing and alteration business.

  • Revenue: $1,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: New York, New York, USA

Case Study

We’ve been friends for awhile - we met right out of college in New York and stayed close even though we took fairly different professional paths.

Saara worked in the corporate world for a number of years before moving to Mexico where she launched a jewelry business aimed at rehabilitating sex trafficking survivors. Stephanie was a business consultant before going to law school and becoming a corporate lawyer; along the way, she launched an argan oil company that empowers women in Morocco.

these-two-founders-started-an-on-demand-clothing-alterations-startup

6. Start a language learning app ($224K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$9,000 — $13,500,000/month
Skills

Alex Chernikov from Berlin, Germany started Gikken ago, a language learning app.

  • Revenue: $18,635/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

Case Study

Gikken’s foundation was laid in 2011 or so. I don’t remember the exact year but I was in high school. I was amidst my most active English learning years. I was trying to read as many articles, blogs, essays, etc in English as possible. At some point, an idea that it’d be great to double click on words to get them translated right there struck me. It was the early days of Google Chrome that wasn’t the most popular browser yet. And, I think it already could translate pages entirely, but it was totally useless for me because when I can understand 80% of the text, why would I translate it entirely? It’s also terrible for mastering a language. Guessing the meanings of words from the context works better for memorizing new vocabulary. The more effort your brain takes, the stronger neural connections are.

So, physiology aside, I wanted a fast way to translate single words I didn’t understand or double-check sentences. The previous flow involved copying it, switching to a new tab with Google Translate opened there, translating it, and then switching back. Terribly inefficient and annoying when you have to do it 10 times per article, 100 times per day.

By the time I was obsessed with this idea, I could already easily implement anything I wanted on the web. I started coding at 13, so I had already at least 2 or so years of experience with copycatting news portals, trying to build my social network (who didn’t!), and reinventing a few popular JavaScript libraries. It was the early days of not only Google Chrome but also Chrome Web Store—the extension store. I made an extension that I needed for my own needs, called Instant Translate, and uploaded it to the Chrome Web Store. Uncunningly, the timing was perfect for organic growth through the store as Instant Translate happened to be one of the first extensions there. The 15-year-old me knew something only about building apps but absolutely nothing about turning them into a business. Thus, I relied on "organic growth". In other words, routinely checking analytics and praying that it grew. I did nothing more than that for the first few years.

how-we-started-a-18k-month-app-and-browser-extensions-development-business

7. 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

8. Start a dog treat business course ($396K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$33,000/month
Skills

Kristin Larsen from Franklin, TN, USA started Diva Dog Bakery over 2 years ago, a dog treat business course.

  • Revenue: $33,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1
  • Location: Franklin, TN, USA

Case Study

Before Diva Dog Bakery™ was a program, it was my dog treat business.

Not long after graduating college, I was working full-time and trying to work my way up the corporate ladder. On the side, I had started a fun hobby/side hustle baking healthy dog treats, which started simply because I wanted to feed my dog a cute, good-for-her cupcake for her birthday.

I really focused on taking a regular dessert and turning it into a gourmet lookalike dog treat. I created dog-friendly cupcakes, s’mores, and brownies, just to name a few!

how-i-created-a-11k-month-online-course-about-how-to-start-and-grow-a-dog-treat-business

9. Start a life coaching business ($120K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$100 — $660,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$3,375
Time To Revenue
240 days
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 5 hours/week
Skills
Interests

Sinem Günel from Vienna, Austria started Personal Growth Base over 3 years ago, a life coaching business.

  • Revenue: $10,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Vienna, Austria

Case Study

One and a half years after starting my studies in business administration I came into touch with entrepreneurship and I immediately knew that I wanted to dig deeper into how to build your own business and be your own boss.

So I started reading books, especially biographies, of successful entrepreneurs.

Pretty soon I found out there’s one major component all of them have in common: They all talk about their personal growth and how they had to improve themselves so that their businesses could grow.

This immediately triggered me and I started digging deeper into the topic of personal growth.

how-i-started-a-10k-month-personal-growth-advice-business

10. Become a proofreader ($24K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
Skills

Lenny Bron from New York, New York, USA started The Blog Proofreader almost 7 years ago, a proofreader.

  • Revenue: $2,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: New York, New York, USA

Case Study

This business idea was born in 2016, but the journey really began in 2014.

After working for a company for 8 years, I hadn’t really gotten far financially and felt stuck. I decided to find a job with better financial prospects and the possibility of advancement. After 6 months of searching, I was hired at a new employer and managed to double my salary in one fell swoop!

Just start! That little voice inside your head giving you doubts will always be there. Push through that voice and keep going until you reach a point where you’re lost.

how-i-added-2-000-to-my-monthly-income-proofreading-blog-posts

11. Start a woodworking business ($78K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$1,000 — $1,600,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$17,833
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 5 hours/week
Skills
Interests

Sasha Weekes from Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, Canada started Timber Grove Studios almost 6 years ago, a woodworking business.

  • Revenue: $6,500/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Case Study

I was always the art kid growing up, so I naturally began my post secondary education by pursuing a degree in Fine Arts. I spent my summers refinishing furniture and doing photography and that’s how I got my feet wet with business, so by my second year, I was also pursuing a minor in Commerce.

I had never really done much woodworking at all but became a lot more interested in design and home decor during those years. After finishing my third year, I was itching to do something more practical than becoming a gallery artist, so I set my sights on furniture design and enrolled in a college cabinetmaking course instead. It really wasn’t where I had ever expected to end up, but it was sort of a natural progression and I’m so glad I did it!

I started making mountain shelves in the morning before class to sell on Facebook and Kijiji. It was intended to be a fun side project but they were so popular that I started my business shortly after graduating with the mountains as my first product.

how-i-took-my-woodworking-hobby-full-time-to-build-a-successful-brand

12. Become a virtual assistant ($12K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$1,000 — $850,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$4,289
Time To Revenue
180 days
Skills
Business model

Julmar Grace Locsin from Davao City, Davao del Sur, Philippines started FVA Business Consultancy ago, a virtual assistant.

  • Revenue: $1,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 14
  • Location: Davao City, Davao del Sur, Philippines

Case Study

Ten years ago, my husband and I were working in an office set-up. Due to a mix of struggles experienced, my husband and I decided to quit our job and transition into freelancing. The transition phase was difficult since we didn't have the facilities needed like a computer and internet connection. We worked in an internet cafe for the first month of our freelancing career until we bought our personal computer and had our internet connection.

We had experience downtime in our new career at first, but we grow and learn from our mistakes as we go along. Freelancing changed the quality of our lives, our family, and so with our marriage. We embrace these benefits to realize that if mothers can work at home, they can earn while taking care of their family.

Another thing is the overseas workers. They have been working far from their family to make a living. Those who are exhausted and feel unproductive because of many circumstances like long hours of commute eat a lot of their time, endangering their work-life balance. These are a few of our realizations why we come up with putting Filipino Virtual Assistance. Because we know how difficult it is to work far from our family, we want to empower Filipino families, one freelancer at a time. We want to provide our graduates an avenue to earn dollars at their homes' comfort, without the hassle of traffic, toxicity of the environment, and an excellent opportunity for those who never got the chance to go to College.

on-starting-a-business-training-virtual-assistants

13. Start a podcast agency ($204K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$5,000 — $17,000/month
Skills

Tom Hunt from London started Fame over 3 years ago, a podcast agency.

  • Revenue: $17,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 3
  • Location: London

Case Study

This whole thing started when I was working as head of marketing at a B2B SaaS business. We started a podcast.

The podcast was focused on the sales operations resource, and was called Sales Ops Demystified. We interviewed sales ops people.

It started to go pretty well, we got social shares, SEO value and even had some sales calls with our guests (we sold sales software). Sales Ops Demystified is now the most downloaded podcast in the world of sales ops.

how-i-started-a-17k-month-podcast-growth-service

14. Start an affiliate marketing business ($6M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$500 — $500,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$77,129
Skills

Jan Kovac from Bratislava started Casino Guru almost 8 years ago, a affiliate marketing business.

  • Revenue: $500,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 54
  • Location: Bratislava

Case Study

Our product is a website. The process of designing and developing it was very similar to designing and developing any website or an information system. As both I and the other main founder were software developers, this part was pretty straightforward for us. However, we still did some things pretty right and some things pretty wrong.

The funny part about any SEO-based business is that you can’t really make decent planning. Do you plan to improve some parts of your website and grow? Well, good luck with that, almighty G can have completely different plans for you.

What we made right was a decision to create a system that models all the relations and information about online casinos as structured data. As an example: almost every online casino has a list of countries from which it doesn’t allow residents to play. To capture this information we have created a database table casino_restricted_country and fill it with 1 record for every casino and every country that is on its restricted list.

how-i-started-a-500k-month-website-about-online-casinos

15. 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 over 4 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

16. Start a mobile app development business ($960K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$7,500 — $2,333,333/month
Average Initial Investment
$191,806
Skills

Rob Bentley from Minneapolis, MN, USA started The Jed Mahonis Group about 11 years ago, a mobile app development business.

  • Revenue: $80,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 8
  • Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA

Case Study

Growing up, I’ve always been into technology. I built my first website when I was in first grade, I built my first graphing calculator app when I was in sixth grade, and I used to run the internet’s largest website dedicated to Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons.

I waited in line for the iPhone the day it launched in 2007, and I was instantly hooked. I knew I had to learn how to build software for this device. Eventually, I learned how to jailbreak my device which allowed me to run custom apps on it (this being before the launch of the App Store).

Even though I had a passion for technology, I never really wanted a career in it. My dream job was to work as a technical director for live television broadcasts, and the only class that was close to that at my school was the capstone course for the Professional Journalism program. I ended up switching my major from Computer Engineering to that and abandoned any dreams of professionally writing software.

how-we-started-a-82k-month-custom-ios-and-android-apps-development-agency

17. Start a subscription box business ($4.8K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$400 — $16,666,667/month
Average Initial Investment
$2,901
Time To Revenue
360 days
Skills

Lindsay Scholz from Saint Louis, Missouri, USA started Vowed Box Co. about 5 years ago, a subscription box business.

  • Revenue: $400/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Case Study

I got married in 2016, and if we’re being honest, the entire process was overwhelming – the wedding industry is saturated with ideas and opinions on “how” you should celebrate your big day, but I quickly realized that getting married is not a one-size-fits-all process.

Honestly, my goal was to sell just one box the first week that the website went live, but I ended up selling five!

Leading up to my wedding, my friends had a difficult time finding bridal gifts that aligned with my interests and taste. I had never really dreamed of a big fancy wedding, and I definitely viewed myself as a non-traditional bride. On the flipside, I also had a hard time finding gifts and keepsakes for my bridesmaids – we were all a little bit quirky, and a lot of the overly feminine and girly gifts in the market just weren’t for us!

how-i-started-a-gift-box-business-for-non-traditional-brides

18. Start a dropshipping business ($0/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$6,000 — $3,000,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$11,116
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 10 hours/week
Skills
Interests
Business model

Amanda Austin from Erie, Pennsylvania, USA started Little Shop of Miniatures about 6 years ago, a dropshipping business.

  • Revenue: $/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0
  • Location: Erie, Pennsylvania, USA

Case Study

I was unhappily working in marketing for a Fortune 500 insurance company when I started looking at ways to create a new income stream. I became interested in ecommerce and invested in a course to learn more. I compiled a list of keywords for products that had decent search volume and not terribly competitive to rank for in organic search. I used Long Tail Pro to get ideas--I had so many when I first started!

My business is a small, mostly passive income stream and I’m okay with that. There is so much more I could be doing with my store, but right now I am loving the extra income stream that allows me to work part-time at my day job and spend more time with my infant daughter.

A bunch of keywords in the dollhouse miniatures space fit the bill. I used Long Tail Pro and looked for keywords that were competitive--which on there is a score in the twenties or low thirties. I also wanted them to have at least 2,000 searches per month. This is not a ton, but five keywords with that search volume that are not that competitive can lead to a decent number of organic traffic if you build your site the right way. My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to find a niche with a nice handful of keywords you can rank for with quality content and a nice backlinking strategy. Don’t try to be number one for some saturated keyword that has a million searches a month. Go for keywords where you stand a chance of ranking--this is usually so-called long tail keywords that are really phrases--for example, “wooden dollhouse furniture” instead of just “dollhouse.”

how-i-started-a-part-time-dropship-business-on-shopify

19. 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

20. Start a lettering service business

Examples of a successful lettering service business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a lettering service business ➜

article

21. Become a scrapbooker business

Examples of a successful scrapbooker business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a scrapbooker business ➜

article

22. Start an art collectible business

How Much Can You Make?
$350,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$150,000
Skills

Examples of a successful art collectible business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an art collectible business ➜

Case Study

Hi, my name is Adam Vieira, and I’m the creative director for Station 16 Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in Montreal heavily influenced by graffiti and street art.

We showcase original art, sculptures, and works on paper, which changes every month, sometimes every week. We also launch a new limited edition silkscreen print every month with international artists.

growing-an-art-gallery-to-150-000-month

23. Sell stock photos

How Much Can You Make?
$10,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful sell stock photos:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a sell stock photos:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a sell stock photos ➜

Case Study

Hi! I'm Viktor and I run a free stock photo site picjumbo. Anyone can visit it and download any photo of mine for free, without any registration or email input, and use it for their blog, website, Instagram, or even a billboard.

While all photos are free, you can buy the All in One Pack to download all the free photos to your computer at once or sign up for PREMIUM Membership to get access to more unreleased photos, entire collections, and extra content every month. Together with advertising, these are the main sources of income and currently, picjumbo is above the $10,000/month mark.

how-this-solo-founder-built-a-120k-year-stock-photographs-website

24. Start a handmade products kiosk business

Examples of a successful handmade products kiosk business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a handmade products kiosk business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a handmade products kiosk business ➜

article

25. Start a portrait photography business

Average Initial Investment
$5,000
Skills

Examples of a successful portrait photography business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a portrait photography business ➜

26. 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

27. Become a tee shirt designer

How Much Can You Make?
$6,600 — $101,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful tee shirt designer:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a tee shirt designer ➜

Case Study

Hi, I am Alex Dumitru and I am a co-founder at Designious. Designious is a graphic design library that provides extra tools like an online designer app and an API that helps both graphic designers and print-on-demand entrepreneurs. At the moment we make around $12-13k per month.

My background is in IT and business development, but I’ve worn many hats along the way, from sales to customer support.

generating-15k-month-in-extra-income-with-a-graphic-design-library

28. Become a domain reseller

How Much Can You Make?
$1,300 — $500,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$400
Skills

Examples of a successful domain reseller:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a domain reseller ➜

Case Study

Hi, I’m Laurids the founder of Indiebrands. I’m 25 years old and live in the beautiful city of Vienna, Austria.

how-we-created-a-1-3k-month-domain-logo-package-for-startups

29. Start an adwords website business

Examples of a successful adwords website business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an adwords website business ➜

article

30. Start an art prints business

How Much Can You Make?
$6,600 — $350,000/month
Skills
Business model

Examples of a successful art prints business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an art prints business ➜

Case Study

Hi, my name is Adam Vieira, and I’m the creative director for Station 16 Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in Montreal heavily influenced by graffiti and street art.

We showcase original art, sculptures, and works on paper, which changes every month, sometimes every week. We also launch a new limited edition silkscreen print every month with international artists.

growing-an-art-gallery-to-150-000-month

31. Start a youtube channel

How Much Can You Make?
$800 — $4,500,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$8,757
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 5 hours/week
Skills
Interests

Examples of a successful youtube channel:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a youtube channel ➜

Case Study

I am Chhavi, the founder and owner of the blog and YouTube channel Mrs Daaku Studio along with my husband Amit.

Our blog, YouTube channel, and products are designed to help you achieve what we have (...and, more).

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

32. Start a social media management business

How Much Can You Make?
$15,000 — $166,667/month
Average Initial Investment
$3
Skills

Examples of a successful social media management business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a social media management business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a social media management business ➜

Case Study

I’m Amanda Shepherd, the owner and lead mentor at the Social Media Manager Society. Aside from social media consulting to businesses in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries, I created a program to teach other women how to run successful social media businesses so they can have the time and financial freedom they’ve always wanted!

I quit my 9-5 and in one year made almost $100,000 working an average of four hours per day - and still growing!

how-i-started-a-7-5k-month-social-media-consulting-and-training-business

33. Start a membership site business

How Much Can You Make?
$5,000 — $100,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$7,720
Skills

Examples of a successful membership site business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a membership site business ➜

Case Study

I’m Lidiya, a full-time blogger, course creator, and the founder of Let’s Reach Success. With the content I publish on the blog and the courses I create, I help people start a side hustle and earn passive income so they can pay off debt, quit their job and live their best life.

My signature program - Financial Freedom Through Blogging - is the formula for starting a blog, growing it to 100K page views and $5,000/month, and living life on your terms. Inside it, you’ll find answers to all your questions about becoming a full-time blogger, behind-the-scenes content, real ways to make money and build blog traffic, a ton of video tutorials, how-to guides, and bonuses.

how-i-created-a-5k-month-online-course-about-blogging

34. Start a phone answering service business

Examples of a successful phone answering service business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a phone answering service business ➜

article

35. Start a phone repair business ($1.44M/year)

Examples of a successful phone repair business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a phone repair business ➜

article

36. Start a resume and cover letter business

How Much Can You Make?
$2,500 — $42,857/month
Average Initial Investment
$33,346
Skills

Examples of a successful resume and cover letter business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a resume and cover letter business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a resume and cover letter business ➜

Case Study

Hi, my name is Ana Colak-Fustin and I am the founder of ByRecruiters, a website and resume shop for job seekers (originally named Recommended By Recruiters). In 2018, I started an Etsy shop selling resume templates that have since supported over 6,000 job seekers on their career journey.

Since 2018, I have sold over 6,000 resume templates supporting job seekers from 50+ countries. Today my business brings in between $1,500 to $4,000 per month.

i-launched-a-30k-year-etsy-shop-that-sells-resume-templates-side-hustle

37. Start a meal planning business

How Much Can You Make?
$62,000 — $600,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$5,250
Skills

Examples of a successful meal planning business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a meal planning business ➜

Case Study

Hi - I’m Jeremy Hendon, one of the co-founders of Nourishing Brands (a direct-to-consumer media company that operates popular sites like KetoSummit.com). My wife and I started the company just over 5 years ago to help people make the transition to eating a healthy diet easier and way more delicious.

Today, our main products are cookbooks (both digital and physical) and challenges and courses centered around various diets. To provide a bit of context, we sold over 300,000 cookbooks in 2020 alone. But our first really successful product in late 2016 was the Keto Summit, a digital summit with over 30 Keto experts.

how-we-started-a-600k-month-business-selling-keto-cookbooks-and-mealplans

38. Start a herb gardening business

Examples of a successful herb gardening business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a herb gardening business ➜

article

39. Start a music lessons business ($420K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$35,000 — $70,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful music lessons business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a music lessons business ➜

Case Study

Hello! My name is Brooke Schrager and I am the founder and studio manager of Lessons By Brooke & Company. We provide customized, in-home, private music lessons to students of all interests, ages, and ability levels.

We have also been able to expand our offerings to include lessons in arranging, bass, brass, composition, guitar, piano, sound engineering, viola, violin, and voice. I could not be more proud of and grateful for my team and our community of incredible students and families.

how-i-started-a-20k-month-private-music-lessons-business

40. 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 ➜

41. Become an interior designer ($1.32M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$100,000 — $415,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$2,000
Skills

Examples of a successful interior designer:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting an interior designer ➜

Case Study

Well, to make a long story short, my mother and I started this company together in 1996. I was working as a staff interior designer at a private firm in NYC, and my mother, Rosemarie was the manager of the Estate and Trust department at a large Law Firm. We both HATED our jobs and dreamed of doing our 'own thing'. We had no idea what that looked like, and so we turned to our passion..antiques and design.

That passion has morphed into a boutique design firm that boasts over 1M in annual revenue and has completed hundreds of trophy projects.

how-we-mother-and-daughter-started-a-1m-year-boutique-design-firm

42. Become a massage therapist ($2.88M/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$2,000 — $240,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$37,500
Skills

Examples of a successful massage therapist:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a massage therapist ➜

Case Study

Hi there! My name is Sam Varnerin and I created Snuggle with Sam, my independent professional cuddling practice, while I was still working full-time as a construction engineer.

Here’s all of the contributors on the panel at CuddleXpo in Chicago presenting how we came up with the Code of Ethics for Professional Cuddling. Back left to right: Maryelen Reid, Madelon Guinazzo, Samantha Varnerin (me!), Samantha Hess, Jean Franzbleau, Fei Wyatt, Janet Trevino. Front left to right: Keely Shoup, Lisa Meece. Photo credit Rellian Chen Merrin

how-i-make-a-living-professionally-cuddling-with-people

43. Become a business consultant ($60K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$5,000 — $1,500,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$10,390
Skills

Examples of a successful business consultant:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a business consultant ➜

Case Study

I am Christos Kritikos and I am the founder of Emerging Humanity. I see entrepreneurship as a catalyst for business activity, economic development, and (ultimately) social progress especially in developing parts of the world.

Since we started (3-4 years ago) I have personally helped more than 50 founders/entrepreneurs. We are also seeing promising activity with our (more recent) educational offerings like the accelerator and the eCourses.

i-built-a-60k-year-blog-that-helps-startups-succeed

44. Start a laundry business

How Much Can You Make?
$24,000 — $83,333/month
Average Initial Investment
$465,000
Skills

Examples of a successful laundry business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a laundry business ➜

Case Study

Hello! My name is Nishant Tripathi, and I founded Dhobilite, a premium online dry cleaning, and laundry service. I started this company in 2011 with a vision to pioneer laundry service in India.

We started operations in the year 2011. Over the years, we experimented with and developed our business model and software. In 2015, we disrupted the laundry market and became India's first app-based, on-demand laundry service provider. We have expanded into more than 15 cities in the last two years and have around 20+ stores today. In addition, we have 30 plus franchises. We also have factories in Gurgaon, Noida, Lucknow, Hyderabad, and Faridabad.

i-built-a-318k-year-business-by-digitalizing-the-laundry-industry

45. Start a customer service rep business

Examples of a successful customer service rep business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a customer service rep business ➜

article

46. Become a tech rentals provider

How Much Can You Make?
$200,000/month
Skills

Examples of a successful tech rentals provider:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a tech rentals provider:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a tech rentals provider ➜

Case Study

We are Eugenio Ferrante and Ahmed Nizar, co-founders of Casa Mia Coliving.

Today, we have 150 bedrooms in central Singapore across popular neighborhoods such as River Valley, Tiong Bahru, and Orchard. We have reached an annualized revenue of $2.5M, and we’re growing fast!

we-started-a-2-4m-year-coliving-business-in-singapore

47. Become a mobile makeup artist

Examples of a successful mobile makeup artist:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a mobile makeup artist:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a mobile makeup artist ➜

article

48. Start a power tool rentals business

Examples of a successful power tool rentals business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a power tool rentals business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a power tool rentals business ➜

article

49. 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

50. Start a travel planning business

How Much Can You Make?
$14,167 — $1,500,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$157,500
Time Commitment Per Week
Min. 5 hours/week
Skills
Interests

Examples of a successful travel planning business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a travel planning business ➜

Case Study

Manoj: Kamlesh Ramchandani and I (Manoj Tulsani) are the founders of Rayna Tours and Travels. Fueled by our deepest interest in travel and entrepreneurship, we kicked off our business journey a decade ago from a small travel counter inside a five-star hotel in Dubai.

Kamlesh: We’ve been in the industry for over a decade and have now become a niche provider of destination management services in Dubai. As a one-stop, customer-oriented business for all travel needs, our main organizational goal is to design and craft travel services and packages in such a way that each of them ideally responds to the dynamic market trends as well as our clients’ specific travel requirements. We offer our full suite of travel solutions through our wholly-owned Rayna Group.

how-we-started-the-35m-year-dubai-s-leading-tour-operator

51. Start a vintage reselling business

Examples of a successful vintage reselling business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a vintage reselling business ➜

52. Become a voiceover artist

How Much Can You Make?
Average Initial Investment
$10,000
Skills

Examples of a successful voiceover artist:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a voiceover artist ➜

Case Study

My name is sandeep salwann, A professional voice actor based out of New Delhi, India, and I operate from my recording studio. I have been in the voice-over domain since 2005.

We aim to provide the best voice-over projects to our voice talents so that clients can get thriving benefits from their products and services.

i-turned-my-passion-for-voice-acting-into-a-108k-year-business-india

53. 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

54. Start a bike rental store

Examples of a successful bike rental store:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a bike rental store:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a bike rental store ➜

55. Start a hair styling training center

Examples of a successful hair styling training center:

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Here are some great videos on how to get started with a hair styling training center:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a hair styling training center ➜

article

56. Start a bed and breakfast business

Examples of a successful bed and breakfast business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a bed and breakfast business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a bed and breakfast business ➜

article

57. Start a personal shopper business

Examples of a successful personal shopper business :

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a personal shopper business ➜

article

58. Start a cosmetic store ($102K/year)

How Much Can You Make?
$8,500 — $490,000/month
Average Initial Investment
$800
Skills

Examples of a successful cosmetic store :

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a cosmetic store ➜

Case Study

My name is Alexis Evans aka Da Mademoiselle. I am a native of South Florida who has started a cosmetic and skincare company named FBI Cosmetics d/b/a Flawlessly Beautiful Individual in the middle of a pandemic.

I am also the owner of Boss Talk Expo an annual expo and conference company. I branched out into the beauty industry, I started FBI Cosmetics off with just lipsticks and have progressed into the skincare business in December. I have grossed over $62,000 in sales. People ask where the name comes from and I tell people “it’s a crime to be so damn beautiful.”

how-i-started-a-8-5k-month-cosmetics-brand

59. Start a knitting business

Examples of a successful knitting business:

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

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a knitting business ➜

article

60. Start a car washing and detailing business

How Much Can You Make?
Average Initial Investment
$500
Skills

Examples of a successful car washing and detailing business:

Here are some great videos on how to get started with a car washing and detailing business:

For further info, check out these books and products:

Learn more about starting a car washing and detailing business ➜

Case Study

My name is Josh Belk and I’m the founder of Belk Mobile Detailing. Belk Mobile Detailing is a mobile automotive detailing business in Springfield, Missouri. We come directly to our customer’s homes to make their vehicles look new again. I’m currently a co-owner in the business, with the other owner being my brother Austin.

We have four main types of customers that use our services: professionals, business owners, busy moms, and people looking to sell their vehicles. Our business has been generating an average of $8,000 over the past 12 months and detailing 60-80 vehicles per month.

how-we-started-our-96k-year-mobile-auto-detailing-business

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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