The 41 Best Home-Based Businesses To Start In Vermont [2024]

Updated: January 20th, 2022

Interested in starting a business in Vermont in 2024?

We put together 41 of the best businesses you can start in Vermont today.

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

Here's the full list:

1. Start a golf club brand ($12M/year)

Tyler Sullivan from Williston, Vermont, USA started BombTech Golf over 12 years ago, a golf club brand.

  • Location: Williston, Vermont, USA
  • Revenue: $1,000,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

My name is Sully, and I am the proud founder of BombTech Golf. My team and I sell premium golf clubs direct-to-consumer.

  • I offer premium clubs priced fair and designed specifically for "regular" golfers.

  • Flagship product: BombTech Driver (Launched the company with 1 product)

i-make-500k-month-selling-premium-golf-clubs

Adam Vieira from Montreal, Quebec, Canada started Station 16 Editions / S16 over 10 years ago, an art gallery.

  • Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • Revenue: $350,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$150K
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 10

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

3. Start a lego reselling business ($19.9K/year)

Matthew Fiore from Grafton, MA, USA started Summerfield's Toys over 6 years ago, a LEGO reselling business.

  • Location: Grafton, MA, USA
  • Revenue: $1,661/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$2.5K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

My name is Matthew Fiore, a senior in high school and a long-time LEGO lover. I also turned my passion into a business. Three years ago I started Summerfield’s Toys, an online reseller of LEGO sets and individual bricks.

I’ve been building with LEGO since I was 4. I love the feel of the bricks in my hands and the creative process of recreating a model or making my own creation, whether it be spaceships, bases, or cities.

how-i-started-a-1-6k-month-lego-reselling-business-at-the-age-of-14

4. Start a junk removal business ($300K/year)

Sam Evans from Pennsylvania, USA started You Call We Haul Junk Removal almost 8 years ago, a junk removal business.

  • Location: Pennsylvania, USA
  • Revenue: $25,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$1.7K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 3

Case Study

My name is Sam Evans. I am 23 years old and a recent graduate from Penn State Altoona. I am the founder of You Call We Haul Junk Removal, a junk removal company that removes anything from single items to hoarder home cleanouts. We’re located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and have been in business (part-time) since May of 2016.

We service any and everyone who may have unneeded items they are looking to get rid of. People often ask what items we consider junk, to us junk is anything you no longer need or want.

Our main customers are middle-aged and up adults, typically with a higher income that do not want to or are unable to do the work themselves. We complete over 75 jobs per month, bring in about $20,000 in revenue per month profiting about 65% per job.

how-i-started-a-18k-month-junk-removal-company-before-graduating-from-college

5. Start a niche investment platform ($4.2M/year)

Justin Cooke from North York, Ontario, Canada started Empire Flippers over 11 years ago, a niche investment platform.

  • Location: North York, Ontario, Canada
  • Revenue: $349,983/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 53

Case Study

My name is Gregory Elfrink and I’m the director of marketing with Empire Flippers. We’re a three-time winner of the INC 5,000 award for being one of the fastest growing companies in America and we help people buy and sell online businesses.

In the last few years, we have become the thought leader and one of the largest M&A advisory businesses for digital assets in the sub $10 million range. Though, I am pretty certain we will soon be selling businesses above that $10 million mark as well.

We have brokered over $50 million worth of deals, and since we’re a big believer in transparency we also created a scoreboard that details most of our stats - from the hundreds of thousands of website visitors we get to our pool of potential buyers that grow by the hundreds every month.

empire-flippers-20m-year-helping-people-buy-and-sell-websites

6. Start an electronics repair business ($48K/year)

Allen Chiang from Connecticut, USA started Retro Radio Farm about 10 years ago, an electronics repair business.

  • Location: Connecticut, USA
  • Revenue: $4,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

My name is Allen Chiang, and I founded Retro Radio Farm, where I repair and restore old radios. I offer Bluetooth MP3 upgrade if the customer wants to play digital music.

I have a busy career as an IT professional. Retro Radio Farm is side business that grew out of a recent hobby of mine.

Right now, I make about $50K a year for the work I put in primarily on weekends. While it’s highly profitable, it has not yet lucrative enough yet for me to quit my day job. Although, the business has been growing 20% every year.

finding-and-repairing-retro-radios-turned-into-a-successful-side-hustle

7. Start a maze engineering business ($1.2M/year)

Shuhan He from Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA started MazeEngineers almost 11 years ago, a maze engineering business.

  • Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  • Revenue: $100,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 15

Case Study

My name is Shuhan He and I’m a doctor and entrepreneur. I am the founder of a Boston-based startup called Maze Engineers. We focus on creating innovative mazes for research, integrating cloud computing technologies, wireless systems, and automated data tracking technologies to assist behavioral research. Our aim is to provide support for researchers to conduct important neurological experiments and create therapies for patients. We were actually featured on Nature.com, where we explored the science behind the mazes.

Aside from being a founder, I am also hands-on in the process of designing and creating the mazes for our clients. I have created numerous mazes for different research and purposes, ranging from mazes created for mice to VR maze intended for humans. Some of our clients are private and public universities, the military, biotech and pharmaceutical companies, and researchers.

building-mice-mazes-and-growing-to-100k-month

8. Start a podcast

Matt Ward from New York, New York, USA started The Disruptors about 7 years ago, a podcast.

  • Location: New York, New York, USA
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

Hey guys! My name is Matt Ward and I’m the founder and CEO of The Disruptors, a podcast about the future of all of us where TED level scientists, startup founders and experts join me to discuss the big issues facing humanity and how we can solve them together. I also run The Syndicate, a podcast and investment group focused on early stage startup investing.

I wanted to make a difference in the world and for me, two things drive exponentially better results and impact for all of us, startups solving big problems and innovators tackling epic and existential problems.

I have structured my work and efforts around this to empower others to change the world for the better and have the pleasure of talking to the smartest, most influential folks trying to do the same.

how-i-grew-my-podcast-audience-to-180k-downloads

9. Start a travel products business ($12K/year)

Regina Ye from Boston, Massachusetts, USA started Zirui over 6 years ago, a travel products business.

  • Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • Revenue: $1,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

My name is Regina Ye, and I am the founder of ZIRUI.

Our flagship product is a modular magnetic travel toiletry case that is secure, sleek, and simple. ZIRUI is the best way to travel with liquids.

how-regina-ye-started-a-cpg-company-while-in-college

10. Start a luggage storage business ($780K/year)

Eugene Veeden from Toronto, Ontario, Canada started BagsAway Luggage Storage over 6 years ago, a luggage storage business.

  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Revenue: $65,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

BagsAway Luggage Storage is a marketplace that connects travelers and city locals with convenient, secure, on-demand bag storage locations across key cities. Utilizing the principles of the sharing economy we partner with local shops and businesses that monetize existing free-space by offering hourly/daily storage on location. We keep about 60% of all revenues while the storage partners keep the rest. With BagsAway locations in place, travelers and locals can now win precious hours back by conveniently dropping their bags at a location of their choice around the city, freeing their hands and their time to explore, experience, and sightsee without their bags in the way. Our overarching vision is to change people's relationship with things that weigh them down during travel and on the go.

We have stored over 150,000 bags for travelers thus far and have expanded to over 50+ cities and going strong! Our plan this year is to expand worldwide, with new funding and new members joining our company.

how-we-started-a-65k-month-world-wide-luggage-storage-service

11. Start an online food business ($480K/year)

Ethan Holmes from Cleveland, Ohio, USA started Holmes Mouthwatering about 9 years ago, an online food business.

  • Location: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  • Revenue: $40,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$500K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

My name is Ethan Holmes. I’m from Shaker Heights, Ohio and I am the 25-year-old founder and CEO of Holmes Mouthwatering Applesauce.

Holmes is an all natural applesauce product I created at the age of 15 and have since grown to hundreds of grocery stores throughout the Midwest.

how-an-entrepreneur-from-ohio-launched-his-own-applesauce-company

12. Create an online course ($240K/year)

Kelan Kline from Rochester, New York, USA started The Savvy Couple over 7 years ago, an online course.

  • Location: Rochester, New York, USA
  • Revenue: $20,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$500
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

Hi there! We are Kelan and Brittany the founders of The Savvy Couple. We are a personal finance and lifestyle blog with a mission to help families organize and simplify their entire life so they can do more of the things they love.

We do this by providing content on organization, meal planning, budgeting, paying off debt, making money online, marriage, and more.

Some of our top articles include:

the-savvy-couple-update-why-we-re-focusing-on-seo

13. Build an api ($360K/year)

Ervin Ruci from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada started Geocode.xyz about 7 years ago, an API.

  • Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • Revenue: $30,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$10
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

I’m Ervin Ruci. Since 2005 I have been interested in the problem of geoparsing and geocoding - a piece of software that analyzes a string of text for geographical locations, then matches them to a database of locations with latitude, longitude values. Geoparsing is the process of extracting and disambiguating location entities from text, and Geocoding is the process of matching them to latitude, longitude values.

As a graduate student, I built geocoder.ca in the summer of 2005 then I went on to build several other businesses that relied on its geocoding API. Many of these businesses are now defunct, but geocoder.ca is still going strong with 2020 being its best year to date - over 90% growth from the year before:

how-we-grew-our-revenue-by-70-in-one-year

14. Start a men's grooming company ($1.2M/year)

Doug Geiger from Mount Clemens, Michigan, USA started CanYouHandlebar about 11 years ago, a men's grooming company.

  • Location: Mount Clemens, Michigan, USA
  • Revenue: $100,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$400
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 10

Case Study

I’m Doug Geiger, founder of Can You Handlebar, a men’s grooming product company. We’re one of those low-key-high-quality brands.

We are best known for beard oils and balms, moustache wax and inventing the first application brush for beard products, the Can You Handlebar Beard Oil Brush®. We are carefully and consistently extending our product line and distribution.

In our first three years our production grew from a kitchen countertop with a crockpot I stole from my wife to “making a million bucks” and a 10,000 square foot building with a whole fleet of crockpots. Meanwhile, our retail presence -- which began on the counter of a gracious proprietor of the corner gas station -- has grown to our own network of barbers and salons across the US, international distribution and most visibly, the shelves of every Art of Shaving.

how-i-turned-a-moustache-wax-recipe-into-a-million-dollar-business

15. Start a waterbottle business ($636K/year)

Jesse Hambly from Elora, Ontario, Canada started Pressa Inc. over 8 years ago, a waterbottle business.

  • Location: Elora, Ontario, Canada
  • Revenue: $53,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$100K
  • Founders: 3
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

My name is Jesse Hambly, I’m 1 of 3 brothers working at Pressa Inc. Luke and Mason are full-time founders as well. We have a diverse background, Luke manages engineering and manufacturing duties. Mason is in charge of media, content creation and strategy, and I (Jesse) oversee marketing, operations, and customer relations. We’ve been in business since 2015 where we’ve been selling our flagship product, Pressa Bottle. Pressa Bottle is a unique water bottle that allows the user to juice and press real fruit into any beverage.

Our company operates at just over $50k per month and we do this primarily through our .com and Amazon. We do sell in a few retailers which are Saks Fifth Avenue, Dillards and Uncommon Goods. The product lends itself well to the healthy/active crowd but we also sell a lot of units for flavored cocktails.

how-we-created-a-53k-month-innovative-water-bottle

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

Lenny Bron from New York, New York, USA started The Blog Proofreader almost 8 years ago, a proofreader.

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

Case Study

Hi, my name is Lenny Bron, and I am The Blog Proofreader. I’m the annoying grammar police person you’ve always been tired of hearing from every time you use an ellipses incorrectly in a Facebook post you wrote 3 years ago.

I content edit/copy edit/proofread the work of several clients on a regular basis. Some of this is done as a freelancer for larger companies, some of it is done for startups looking to make sure their content marketing looks clean and presentable, and some of it is done for bloggers or other content creators who want their readers to enjoy the work they put out without stopping to try and process a sentence with a missing word in it.

I’ve been able to build my business from scratch to consistently make ~$2,000 per month with zero experience in the field, no expenses, and barely any upfront costs.

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

17. Start a quilt business ($9.6M/year)

Ross Lohr from Boston, Massachusetts, USA started Project Repat almost 12 years ago, a quilt business.

  • Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • Revenue: $800,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

My name is Ross Lohr, and I’m a co-founder of Project Repat. We make it easy and affordable for customers to turn their memorable t-shirts into a one of a kind, custom t-shirt quilt backed with cozy fleece.

People buy quilts from Project Repat because we have the most affordable price, which is due to us fine tuning the production process by making more than 250,000 t-shirt quilts over the past 6 years. While traditional quilts can be very expensive, we’ve found a way to make them at a much more affordable price.

We currently make 2,000 custom t-shirt quilts per week at 2 production facilities in the United States. In 2018, we will make 90,000 t-shirt quilts and do $10MM in sales per year.

project-repat-10mm-business-making-quilts-from-old-t-shirts

18. Become a corporate trainer ($150K/year)

Andrew Tarvin from New York, New York, USA started Humor That Works about 15 years ago, a corporate trainer.

  • Location: New York, New York, USA
  • Revenue: $12,500/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

I am Andrew Tarvin and I am the world’s first humor engineer (at least according to all the Google searches that I’ve done).

I run Humor That Works, a training company focused on human effectiveness. Our primary goal is to deliver programs that help people get better results while having more fun in the workplace.

We’ve worked with thousands of people at more than 250 organizations, including Microsoft, the FBI, and the International Association of Canine Professionals.

how-being-the-funny-guy-at-work-turned-into-a-full-time-career

19. Start a franchise development business ($120K/year)

Andrew Hoffman from Brampton, Ontario, Canada started My Franchise Partners over 9 years ago, a franchise development business.

  • Location: Brampton, Ontario, Canada
  • Revenue: $10,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

Hello, my name is Andrew Hoffman. I am the founder of My Franchise Partners.

My Franchise Partners is a $15-20K/month consulting agency focused on helping people understand the franchise industry before they take the plunge and invest in a franchise.

I help people find the best franchise for them through in-depth research, analysis, and due diligence. The best choice is always an informed choice.

how-i-started-a-10k-month-franchise-development-business

20. Start a slack bot business ($2.94K/year)

Daniel Doubrovkine from New York, New York, USA started Vestris LLC about 8 years ago, a slack bot business.

  • Location: New York, New York, USA
  • Revenue: $245/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

My name is Daniel Doubrovkine, and I go by “dB.” I was born in Moscow, Russia, and my family emigrated to Geneva, Switzerland in 1990. That’s where I got my first computer (a Commodore-64, from a relative who upgraded to an Amiga 2000), and started programming by copying some x86 assembly code from SVM Magazine and trying to run tasm.exe. There was no Internet, then.

By the time I enrolled in C.S. at the University of Geneva, I had been selling shareware to users in 42 countries. That business was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (I was not old enough to incorporate in Switzerland) and was called Vestris, after a sunken Spanish ship in the 1400s. I made tens of thousands of dollars selling Windows shareware between 97 and 99, including XReplace-32 and Expression Calculator (sold as Global Calculator on a CDROM in Germany). I then made hundreds of thousands with a very popular Alkaline Search Engine, which powered some of the biggest websites in the late 90s, ranging from bbc.co.uk to warez.com. If you’re old enough to remember, you may have used the aGNeS forum, too. That was ad-sponsored - ads which I may or may not have been clicking on in my sleep.

I also tried to co-start another company, Xo3, but that didn’t quite pan out. So In 1999 I decided to get serious with starting a programming career, and moved to Seattle to work for Microsoft. I completely shut down my old company around 2003, and in 2004 came to New York after getting my Green Card. I held engineering jobs at various startups and spent 8 years as CTO of the fine arts marketplace artsy.net. I am currently a Principal Engineer at AWS Data Exchange.

on-developing-and-marketing-slack-bots-while-working-a-full-time-job

21. Start a leather business ($48K/year)

Jamie Clawson from New York, USA started Jamie Clawson almost 13 years ago, a leather business.

  • Location: New York, USA
  • Revenue: $4,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 1

Case Study

Hi I’m Jamie Clawson, and I run Jamie Clawson - a small business designing and producing leather products and accessories. I do everything from designing, testing, manufacturing, shipping etc. All operations are done in house.

My main product line is leather skins for Apple products - iPhone, MacBook, iPad, etc. My premium leather accessories mediate between technology and a way of life that champions quality, craft, and traditional aesthetics.

My products reintroduce an enduring look and feel to the devices you use most and love best. I source the finest grade leathers from respected New York City-based purveyors. The pressure-sensitive adhesive, custom ordered from 3M, simplifies the process of application and respects your device, leaving no residue upon removal. Each product can be applied and reapplied multiple times to the same or similar devices.

being-a-solo-founder-and-manufacturing-your-own-products

22. Start a meal prep business ($1.56M/year)

Andrei Calinescu from Toronto, Ontario, Canada started One Life Meals about 11 years ago, a meal prep business.

  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Revenue: $130,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 29

Case Study

Hi, I’m Andrei Calinescu and I am the Founder and CEO of One Life Meals.

One Life Meals is a healthy meal delivery service located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We handle the complete process from ingredient sourcing, cooking and delivery. We also work with our clients on a one-on-one basis to understand their requirements and help them select the right plan.

We cook and deliver twice per week to keep the meals fresh. The plan is for 6 days per week, with Sunday as a day off or a “cheat day”.

starting-a-1-5m-healthy-meals-delivery-business

23. Become a shopify app developer ($504K/year)

Dan Pepin from Manchester, New Hampshire, USA started Bonify almost 10 years ago, a shopify app developer.

  • Location: Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
  • Revenue: $42,000/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

Hey there! My name is Dan Pepin and I co-founded Bonify five years ago with my business partner, John Carbone. Bonify started out in life as a small web development agency focused on building amazing websites for clients. However, for the past three years, we’ve been slowly transitioning the business from client services to paid online app subscriptions, which has been no easy feat!

Our current major endeavor is growing our portfolio of Shopify apps and increasing customer acquisition. We currently have three apps in the Shopify app store and we’re quite happy that the apps are bringing in $15,000/mo, but our goal is to nearly double our app revenue by the end of this year.

The most popular app we have is the first one we launched about three years ago called Custom Fields. The app allows store owners to add extra structured data to anything in Shopify, which enhances a lot of the flexibility of what you can do with store customizations. We very recently launched Mr. Arigato - Task Automator, which we are very proud of! It’s a very sophisticated app which allows store owners and developers to automate their store tasks, such as subscribing users to their mailing list, adding data to Google Sheets, sending emails and text messages to customers, and a whole lot more.

how-we-are-building-profitable-shopify-apps-from-our-consulting-experience

24. Start a web testing software ($38.4K/year)

Fitz Nowlan from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA started Reflect almost 5 years ago, a web testing software.

  • Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Revenue: $3,200/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 3

Case Study

Hi there! My name is Fitz Nowlan and I am one of two co-founders of Reflect. Reflect creates and manages automated web regression tests to verify a web application's appearance and functionality. Using Reflect, you can create automated web tests that replicate how a user actually uses your web application---all without writing a line of code. The benefits are two-pronged: 1) creating a Reflect test is faster than using a code-based automation tool, and 2) anyone in your organization can create a test because it requires no programming. Thus, businesses improve the quality of their web applications while simultaneously saving time and allowing anyone to contribute to their testing efforts.

Our customers are technology companies who sell either B2B, or B2C, and deliver their services or products through their web application. Therefore, they have a critical dependency on their web application behaving as expected in order for them to make money. They’ll usually have employees test (i.e., use) their web application to ensure it’s working, but the testers can range from technical folks like web developers and testing engineers, to non-technical folks like marketing and SEO specialists. As a result of the varied technical skills of application testers, we decided to make Reflect zero-code and zero-installation. This means anyone can use Reflect without coding or downloading anything, and create a test with nothing more than a URL!

Our customers access Reflect through a monthly, pay-as-you-go subscription that includes creating, executing and managing their suite of web tests. Reflect has been publicly available since November 2019 and generates around $3K in monthly recurring revenue. The cost of a subscription scales based on the number of test executions and the month-to-month plans range from ~$100/mo to $1,000/mo or more for our Enterprise customers. Our most exciting statistic is that we have not lost a customer yet!

how-we-launched-a-3-2k-month-automated-software-for-testing-websites

25. 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

26. Start an ice cream scooper business ($216K/year)

Michael Chou from South Lyon, Michigan, USA started Midnight Scoop over 9 years ago, an ice cream scooper business.

  • Location: South Lyon, Michigan, USA
  • Revenue: $18,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 4

Case Study

My name is Michael Chou, and I am an aerospace engineer by trade.

It’s always bothered me how difficult it was to scoop hard ice cream. I hated trying to melt the ice cream using heated spoons, or the microwave. I just knew there was a better way. It took me years to develop the most perfect ice cream scoop.

There is definitely blood sweat and tears in the product. Heck, we call it the Midnight Scoop because I spent so many nights obsessing about it and losing so much sleep.

how-an-aerospace-engineer-decided-to-reengineer-the-ice-cream-scooper

27. 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

28. Start a food truck ($2.4M/year)

Jen and Ben Goldberg from New York, NY, USA started New York Food Truck Association over 7 years ago, a food truck.

  • Location: New York, NY, USA
  • Revenue: $200,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$25K
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 5

Case Study

My name is Ben Goldberg and, along with my wife, Jennifer Goldberg, we founded and run the New York Food Truck Association (NYFTA) and Food Truck Promotions. We focus on mobile culinary solutions for private and large events (everything from weddings to Comic Con), as well as experiential marketing for top brands such as Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Califia Farms, Match Group, Google, Viacom, and Twitter.

Our association is composed of 50+ NYC local food truck vendors, which are mostly small, family-owned businesses. Through our events and promotions, we can provide our members with an additional (high margin) revenue stream. In markets outside of NYC, we operate under our sister company, Food Truck Promotions, where we tap into local food trucks in cities all around the country.

Within our first year of business (2016-2017), we did >$1M in revenue with consistent and every year we have had 50%+ YoY growth.

how-starting-the-new-york-food-truck-association-resulted-in-a-200k-month-business

29. Start a skin care product line ($24K/year)

Meredith Moseley-Bennett & Yolanda Grbic from Glen Ridge, New Jersey, USA started Oh My Balm about 7 years ago, a skin care product line.

  • Location: Glen Ridge, New Jersey, USA
  • Revenue: $2,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$10K
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

Oh My Balm was founded two years ago and we make kitchen-crafted all-natural body products. Our tagline is “Two Mom’s Making it Real.”

Those two moms are us: Meredith Moseley-Bennett and Yolanda Grbic, and this is our side hustle. Meredith has worked for a non-profit in the entertainment business and before that was a costume designer for theatre, film, and television. Yolanda has been a middle school teacher for 19 years and going in Jersey City school system. Between us, we have 3 kids (12, 10 & 7), two dogs, two cats, 3 guppies, 5 goldfish and a parakeet. The kids tag along with us to craft fairs, sort containers and stick on labels; the 12-year-old is great at recon at craft fairs and the 10-year-old is already a pro at merchandise display. The first-grader gets extra math lessons by helping on inventory day and loves to count drops as they go into what we create. For a video about our crew, check out TEAMOMB.

how-two-moms-started-a-business-selling-homemade-body-butter

30. Start an online fitness business ($360K/year)

Tobias Young from Canada started Tobias Young Fitness about 9 years ago, an online fitness business.

  • Location: Canada
  • Revenue: $30,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

Hi! I’m Tobias Young, IFBB Pro, Online Fitness Coach, and Nutrition Expert with 21 years of fitness industry experience.

How did I get started? Growing up without a father, my mother decided to get me a big brother from the Big Brother’s Program.

how-i-started-a-18k-month-online-fitness-coaching-business

31. Start a dog training business ($60K/year)

Donald Hutcherson from Manhattan Community Board 1, New York, USA started Fraternity K9 over 4 years ago, a dog training business.

  • Location: Manhattan Community Board 1, New York, USA
  • Revenue: $5,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

Hey! My name is Donald and I run Fraternityk9 dog training. In this business, I specialize in dog obedience and behavior modification. Most people that enter our program are dog owners who either need or want their dog to listen whether the dog is displaying dog aggression or just pulling the owner down the street.

Monthly on average, we are making $5,000.

how-i-started-a-5k-month-dog-training-business

32. Start a meme-based product ($162K/year)

James Reina + Davis Harari from New York, USA started The Nut Button over 6 years ago, a meme-based product.

  • Location: New York, USA
  • Revenue: $13,500/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

We’re Davis Harari and James Reina and we’re the co-founders of The Nut Button.

So, what is The Nut Button?

Our core product is a push button toy based off of the popular “NUT” meme. Our success is largely due to the inherently viral nature of the product - when people see a funny meme, they want to share it with their friends.

how-we-created-a-product-based-on-a-meme-and-made-100k

33. Start a skin care product line ($195K/year)

Roberta Perry from Farmingdale, New York, USA started ScrubzBody Skin Care Products over 17 years ago, a skin care product line.

  • Location: Farmingdale, New York, USA
  • Revenue: $16,250/ month
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

My name is Roberta Perry and I am the founder of ScrubzBody Skin Care Products. I started the business in June of 2006 with my late sister Michelle after she insisted the scrub I was making for myself deserved to be used and sold to others.

Our sugar scrub is most definitely the main product and we have about 20 different scents at any given time. We will customize a special scent for our customers as well. We started making creams and lotions and other variations of the scrub.

We now have 12 other products that are all wrapped around our botanical oil blend. Our customers love coming to our shop in Farmingdale, NY as well as shopping online. We like to think of ourselves as a customer experience company that happens to sell great products.

creating-a-product-for-yourself-and-turning-it-into-a-business

34. Start a shoelace brand ($1.5M/year)

Tim Talley from Rochester, New York, USA started U-Lace No-Tie Sneaker Laces ago, a shoelace brand.

  • Location: Rochester, New York, USA
  • Revenue: $125,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 2

Case Study

I’m Tim Talley and I am the founder and CEO of U-Lace No-Tie Sneaker Laces. U-Lace is the originator of the modular No-Tie Sneaker Lace. Our product is a stretchy woven lace segment that is designed to span just a single set of sneaker eyelets at a time. A couple of packs of U-Laces transforms most pairs of lace-up sneakers into slip-on that never need to be tied or untied.

Our consumers are kids and adults; convenience seekers; parents looking for a way to get kids out of the door and on the way to school without lace-tying hassle; frequent fliers and people who lack the ability or dexterity to tie and untie standard shoelaces; and those seeking to add a bit of fashion pop to their sneakers.

Our customers are retailers such as Learning Express, Pigtails, and Crewcuts, Once Upon a Child and Global distributors covering the UK & EU, Israel, Asia, Canada and a few other regions of the world. We sell about $1.5MM worth of U-Lace’s every year. While lots of copy-cats have come into the market we boast the largest color range of about 60 colors which shows our total commitment to this business and product category

how-i-got-mark-cuban-to-invest-in-my-1-5mm-year-tieless-shoelaces-business

35. Start a food startup

Isabelle Steichen & Alexandra Dempster from New York, NY, USA started Lupii almost 4 years ago, a food startup.

  • Location: New York, NY, USA
  • Founders: 2
  • Employees: 3

Case Study

Alexandra:

I am not someone who always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. However, over the last 6-7 years, what became clear to me was my deep passion for health and well-being, which has been informed by my personal journey dealing with health challenges and delving into self-discovery. Over the years, I have developed a deep belief we can change the world through what we put in our bodies from a multitude of perspectives. The more passionate I became about that, the more clear it became to me that I wanted to find something I could do that would give me as much congruity as possible between my values and the work I do in the world. It wasn’t until the last few years when I truly started contemplating going down the entrepreneurial path in some capacity. Coincidentally, I have spent the bulk of my career working across the food and beverage industry in marketing, and when Isabelle and I met each other, it was so clear that the work we want to do in the world is incredibly aligned and we would be able to bring our complementary skills together to build Lupii.

Perfection doesn’t exist, and moving quickly and learning from the market holds a great amount of value as well.

on-selling-plant-based-protein-bars-and-growing-394

36. Start a recruiting agency ($3.48M/year)

Sharon Koifman from Montreal, Quebec, Canada started DistantJob almost 16 years ago, a recruiting agency.

  • Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • Revenue: $290,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 26

Case Study

My name is Sharon Koifman, and I am the president of DistantJob. DistantJob is a unique recruitment agency that specializes in finding remote employees. That means we go all over the world to find outstanding talent who works remotely for our clients.

To make a clear distinction - because confusion often arises on this point - this is not outsourced talent, they are not freelancers, they are not people who fly from across the world to move into the client’s office. These are full-time, permanent employees who would work directly for our client companies, focusing on their processes and culture.

The next big question is: why remote? Well, when you work with remote, it gives you access to the world and with that comes a much bigger pool of talent. This means you get to find much better people faster, and you also get the benefit of working with countries where the cost of living is lower. On top of it there is a huge body of research showing that remote people are happier and more independent, and that reflects on their productivity.

how-i-started-a-3m-year-remote-worker-recruitment-agency

37. Start a soap business ($60K/year)

Angela Carillo from New York, USA started Alegna Soap over 14 years ago, a soap business.

  • Location: New York, USA
  • Revenue: $5,000/ month
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 0

Case Study

My name is Angela Carillo. I’ve been a soap maker since 2000, and in 2009 I started Alegna Soap®. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Alegna is Angela backward. Hey, if it worked for Oprah...

In addition to selling soap online, at fairs and events across Long Island, I produce custom private label soaps for other Bath and Beauty companies. I also teach soap making classes and speak at soap conferences all over the country.

how-angela-carillo-started-a-soap-company-out-of-her-kitchen

38. 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

39. Start a digital agency ($6M/year)

Billy Ash from New Jersey, USA started Todays Business over 12 years ago, a digital agency.

  • Location: New Jersey, USA
  • Revenue: $500,000/ month
  • Founders: 3
  • Employees: 40

Case Study

My name is Billy Ash and I’m the Co-Founder and Chief Digital Officer of Today’s Business. We are a full-service digital marketing agency. We are one of the only full service digital and affiliate marketing agencies in the world.

Our flagship services are search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), website development & maintenance, affiliate marketing program management, social media marketing, creative design, athlete/influencer marketing, and email marketing. Our customers span across a variety of industries but a few of the most prominent include:

  • Physician groups & hospitals
  • Multi-Specialty
  • Orthopedics
  • Physical Therapy
  • Dental
  • Women’s Health
  • Real-Estate
  • E-commerce & direct to consumer brands
  • Apparel/Fashion
  • Food & Beverage
  • Supplements
  • Tech & SaaS
  • Consumer Packaged Goods

how-i-started-a-500k-month-full-service-digital-and-affiliate-marketing-agency

40. Start a digital magazine ($600K/year)

Drew Williams from Toronto, Ontario, Canada started SWAGGER Magazine almost 17 years ago, a digital magazine.

  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Revenue: $50,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$500
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 25

Case Study

My name is Drew Williams and I run and operate a digital lifestyle magazine for men called SWAGGER Magazine. SWAGGER Magazine is one of the first products created under our parent company, Swagger Publications Inc.

Our product is simple. It is targeted to the affluent males that aspire to have great things in life, and are on the path to building themselves to be powerful and successful people in all aspects of life - no matter what their interests are. We focus on Lifestyle, Fashion, Gear, Food, Dating, and Business and Careers.

The mission statement for Swagger is to take the average man from nothing to something, by featuring successful individuals in every domain and outlining what steps they took to get there and how anyone else can follow in their footsteps.

swagger-starting-a-digital-men-s-magazine

41. Start a marketing agency ($6M/year)

Darren Magarro from Midland Park, NJ, USA started DSM almost 17 years ago, a marketing agency.

  • Location: Midland Park, NJ, USA
  • Revenue: $500,000/ month
  • Starting Costs: $$5K
  • Founders: 1
  • Employees: 14

Case Study

My name is Darren Magarro and I am the Founder and President of DSM. DSM is a full-service marketing agency based in Mahwah, NJ. We’ll be 14 years old in February 2021 and I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world.

We’re labeled a marketing agency, in reality, we’re a “results agency”. It’s pretty simple and definitely not rocket science. Our core competencies are digital marketing, creative, traditional marketing, and without a doubt really good account management. Without good (truly passionate and empathetic) humans managing our client’s portfolios, we’re nothing. Over the course of the last 7 years, we’ve almost tripled in size because of our team and a straightforward love of what we do. In that time, I would say our main services have really shifted into the digital space with regards to our marketing tactics. The transparency and accountability it provides our clients and our staff to “fail fast and learn quickly” has been paramount to our success. Our motto at DSM is “stop selling and start helping”, and it permeates everything we do on our own behalf as well as our clients’ efforts. 2020 was a difficult year for everyone, and we’re proud to say that we were down just a few percent on the top line to 2019 (which was our best year in the company’s history). We really focused internally on creating more efficiencies and providing a better process for our clients, and our own employees. We’re extremely data-driven and this was definitely the theme for 2020 as we realized we weren’t going to grow. We’re currently doing over $500K/month and our mid and bottom line have never been in better shape. The members of the team at DSM get all the credit here. They worked very hard this year to make sure we’re leaving 2020 in better shape than when we entered it. Our goal in 2021 is to provide more education, growth opportunities and really allow our team to continue to push the envelope. At DSM, we constantly say, “best idea wins” and it’s creating a culture that is pretty amazing from top to bottom.

how-we-3x-d-revenue-and-landed-massive-press-opportunities

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.