45 Creative Business Ideas For Entrepreneurs Who Love To Write

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.

Over the years I’ve built quite a bit of business knowledge (was a Director of Operations and helped build a company from 5 employees to 100 and $2.5 million to $16 million in revenue; also was a five-year member of Vistage, a business mastermind group) and wanted to leverage that.

Get started with something inexpensive that interests you. Then keep going as you try things and learn.

I started a website through an online marketing/website building course and began blogging on business and career topics. But I found monetizing that to be difficult. I wanted to do business strategy consulting and paid $1,000 for a three-month insert in a coupon mailing that did nothing and found trying to get that type of consulting off the ground part time around my day job wasn’t working.

I grew up in Johnson City, TN - a small town in the northeast corner of the state. For as long as I can remember, I dreamed of moving to Los Angeles and starting my own business. When I was 18, I moved to LA to attend college and haven’t left yet.

I started my first business in 2008 when the startup culture was very limited in Los Angeles. Resources were scarce and it was difficult to learn how to start and run a company with no experience. Nonetheless, I trudged through the journey for a few years trying to figure it out. It was filled with some success and a lot of learning lessons, but ultimately, it didn’t end the way I had hoped. I spent a few more years working with startup companies and learning more about the landscape and how to hone my skills as a leader and entrepreneur.

In April of 2014, I started my second company, Lemonlight, out of a second bedroom with my two co-founders, Daniel Marlow, and Chad Rogers. Lemonlight’s mission was to offer small and medium-sized businesses access to high-quality, affordable video content that they could use to advertise their brand online.

I’ve always been a fanatic reader, specifically in the thriller genre. I discovered Dan Brown as a kid, then James Rollins, and I’ve always love action movies that combine adrenaline and history (think National Treasure, Indiana Jones, etc.).

I decided to write a book (my first was called The Golden Crystal, and it has been re-launched as The Atlantis Stone) when my grandfather passed away. He had always been a strong positive influence in my life, and he, my dad, and I often swapped paperbacks we liked. That first book was intended as a gift for my dad for Christmas, and it was going to be the only one I ever wrote -- just to see if I could do it.

I had no idea what I was doing (arguably, I still don’t…). I just thought it would be fun to combine technology with the discovery of Atlantis… in some way. When I got started, I was naive enough to think that books simply happen, but the book very quickly got the best of me. I took a six-month break and consumed as much as I could on the subject of the craft of writing fiction. I’d never really written anything before, so it was an eye-opening experience to learn about structure, plot tropes, character development, and everything else that goes into a good, cohesive story.

I had a couple of years of experience working for a large corporation back in India. I genuinely felt that I was just a cog in the wheel and that whatever I did had little to no impact in the real world.

We were at a crossroads at that time – filled with constant self-doubt about the career path we wanted to take. We could have easily applied for corporate jobs in the US or in India, but we chose to follow our hearts by continuing to work in our consulting business.

I reached out to a few small businesses I had developed good relationships during my corporate career and started helping them out on developing marketing strategy to scale their businesses and also to instill robust operational efficiencies in their business processes. I realized that I was able to add considerable value to their businesses and that I felt a sense of satisfaction in being able to make their lives better. I soon started consulting for over 20 small businesses in India.

In 2011, coming out of college, I miserably tried to start a penny auction website. I studied Political Science at University, which had absolutely no bearing on this idea. I knew I wanted to do something entrepreneurial and was consumed by this auction model. I had my own specific mechanics that I thought would make the game a lot more fair for the average consumer. But alas, 6-8 months later, after burning through thousands of dollars trying to get the technology right, I was absolutely nowhere.

I was resigned to not give up, but the mechanics of the auction are critical to the smooth operation of the website and if you can’t get it right you don’t have a business. So I decided to start taking on some freelance writing work, just to get some cash in.

One thing led to another and I started getting some bigger clients with bigger asks. Eventually, I snowballed hiring some writers and copy editors. Turning this thing into a full-time business operation.

I’ve personally kept a journal for 10 years now, ever since I first went into therapy to recover from PTSD. My mum took her own life 2 years prior to my breakdown, and I never really got to grips with my emotions or how to process everything that had ever happened.

When I started therapy I was still stuck in the mindset that talking about how I felt was not something I should do. So talking therapy was the most unnatural experience for me. So to help, my therapist recommended I tried journaling – as a way of privately thinking about how I felt and what was on my mind. It was a game-changer of a moment for me.

My mum took her own life 2 years prior to my breakdown, and I never really got to grips with my emotions or how to process everything that had ever happened.

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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.

We started the company in 2018, raised a very unique round of funding, created open-sourced docs anyone can use and spent 18 months building this somewhat risky idea. When we finally launched in May 2020, we were pretty nervous the pandemic might sink our business, but thanks to high demand for this new concept, we turned the corner to profitability just six months later, and are now ~$75K in MRR.

I'm Vaibhav Kishnani, an engineer but a passionate writer by profession. I established Content-Whale in 2017 when I was in my third year of engineering. Going by the maxim that quality writing is everything, Content-Whale caters to 42 different content types that form the backstory of every company’s digital presence and marketing efforts.

I started this content agency with a mere sum of Rs. 2,500. Today, we have drawn a revenue turnover of Rs. 4 Crores! In my opinion, it is not individual progress. Instead, a start-up is about connecting with the right individuals at the right time, who keep the show running ahead with their strife for perfection.

Hey, I’m Lacy and I’m a content strategist, author of the bestselling Kindle ebook Make a Killing With Content, and the Director of The Content Direction Agency. We specialize in done-for-you content strategy and writing retainers for the content between launches or promotions that helps businesses grow, nurture, and prime their audience to say “hell yes!” before they ever see the offer.

Over the past 9 years, we’ve helped hundreds of business owners create bespoke content strategies to consistently drive quality traffic to websites, increase monthly email leads by 300% or more, improve search engine rankings, enroll dozens of clients per month into membership programs, support multi-six figure launches, and drive millions of views of our articles.

I'm Vaibhav Kishnani, an engineer but a passionate writer by profession. I established Content-Whale in 2017 when I was in my third year of engineering. Going by the maxim that quality writing is everything, Content-Whale caters to 42 different content types that form the backstory of every company’s digital presence and marketing efforts.

I started this content agency with a mere sum of Rs. 2,500. Today, we have drawn a revenue turnover of Rs. 4 Crores! In my opinion, it is not individual progress. Instead, a start-up is about connecting with the right individuals at the right time, who keep the show running ahead with their strife for perfection.

Hi, I’m Barb Ferrigno, and I started Concept Marketing Group – a full-service marketing company. I started in 1978 working solo out of my home, and I grew the company over the years to 6 employees and 8 subcontractors.

I downsized the company to 2 employees and 4 subcontractors as I’m looking to retire within 4 years. What do we offer? Direct Mail Lists, Email Marketing Lists, Specialty Directories, Consulting, Writing Services, Business Coaching for the Executive Staff, Sales Team Coaching, Social Media Services, PR Services. I have 8,000 clients both global and international with new clients coming on board every week. We average 25 to 50 new customers a month.

My name is David Tile. I own and operate a Content Writing Service, under the banner Article-Writing.co.

We don’t consider ourselves a content marketing firm. But a firm dedicated to the business of writing. Project management offers most often attached to marketing agencies. We work against marketing briefs delivering content on time and under budget.

I'm Vaibhav Kishnani, an engineer but a passionate writer by profession. I established Content-Whale in 2017 when I was in my third year of engineering. Going by the maxim that quality writing is everything, Content-Whale caters to 42 different content types that form the backstory of every company’s digital presence and marketing efforts.

I started this content agency with a mere sum of Rs. 2,500. Today, we have drawn a revenue turnover of Rs. 4 Crores! In my opinion, it is not individual progress. Instead, a start-up is about connecting with the right individuals at the right time, who keep the show running ahead with their strife for perfection.

• Cody Iverson and Tyler Stephens founded Viscap Media, an advertising agency that collaborates with influencers to produce highly effective advertisements.
• Viscap Media is a team of in-house content creators and digital marketing experts who also work with influencers to boost sales of ecom brands.
• Cody launched his first company in 2016 after being motivated by his grandfather, who founded and grew his own prosperous business.
• In 2017, he and his partner Tyler launched their first e-commerce store, which generated multiple 6-figure sales by the second month.
• Now Cody & Tyler helps other ecommerce brands to drive more sales by making creative video ads and branded contents for them that will help turn clicks into customers.

Listen to the full podcast on podcasts.apple.com ➜

My name is Burak Kanber, and I'm a software engineer, entrepreneur, musician, and sometimes-educator and writer. Some consider me an expert on machine learning; enough so that I've been approached to write and publish two books on the topic. Secretly, though, I wish I were a fiction novelist. There's just something "capital-R Romantic" about that lifestyle. I picture myself like Hemingway, earning a living by writing 500 clever words a day while I lounge by the pool.

Once I came to terms with my poor discipline I decided to build an app that punishes me for my bad habits. So far, I've got a few dozen users writing regularly on the app, which is great seeing as it's only in public beta and I've done zero marketing!

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!

I'm Vaibhav Kishnani, an engineer but a passionate writer by profession. I established Content-Whale in 2017 when I was in my third year of engineering. Going by the maxim that quality writing is everything, Content-Whale caters to 42 different content types that form the backstory of every company’s digital presence and marketing efforts.

I started this content agency with a mere sum of Rs. 2,500. Today, we have drawn a revenue turnover of Rs. 4 Crores! In my opinion, it is not individual progress. Instead, a start-up is about connecting with the right individuals at the right time, who keep the show running ahead with their strife for perfection.

My name is David Tile. I own and operate a Content Writing Service, under the banner Article-Writing.co.

We don’t consider ourselves a content marketing firm. But a firm dedicated to the business of writing. Project management offers most often attached to marketing agencies. We work against marketing briefs delivering content on time and under budget.

I’m Katja Kaine and I am the founder of The Novel Factory, a novel writing software that helps guide new writers through the novel-writing process.

When we first started we would sell just a few copies of our software every month, but now we get over 1000 free trial signs up every month and over 100 new subscriptions.

My name is Janina Moza, and I’m the Chief marketing officer of Flipsnack. I’ve joined the team a year after launching Flipsnack and I’ve been part of this project for almost 10 years now.

We’ve been on the market for over 10 years now and over the past few years, we’ve increased our business revenue by over 50% year over year.

I'm Vaibhav Kishnani, an engineer but a passionate writer by profession. I established Content-Whale in 2017 when I was in my third year of engineering. Going by the maxim that quality writing is everything, Content-Whale caters to 42 different content types that form the backstory of every company’s digital presence and marketing efforts.

I started this content agency with a mere sum of Rs. 2,500. Today, we have drawn a revenue turnover of Rs. 4 Crores! In my opinion, it is not individual progress. Instead, a start-up is about connecting with the right individuals at the right time, who keep the show running ahead with their strife for perfection.

Hey! My name is Marti Sanchez and I am the CEO of Influence Podium. We help B2B CEOs get placed on podcasts their target audience listens to and repurposes those episodes into LinkedIn or Twitter content to grow their personal brand and drive inbound.

We just crossed $30k MRR and are looking to hit seven figures by the end of the year. We’re a young company in our 3rd year in business, and completely self-funded.

We started the company in 2018, raised a very unique round of funding, created open-sourced docs anyone can use and spent 18 months building this somewhat risky idea. When we finally launched in May 2020, we were pretty nervous the pandemic might sink our business, but thanks to high demand for this new concept, we turned the corner to profitability just six months later, and are now ~$75K in MRR.

We are Lisa and Ted Van Liew, owners of Superworld Comics, Inc., purveyors of vintage comic books, and original comic book art. Superworld is in its 34th year buying and selling comics from the 1930s to the 1970s. Our customers are nostalgia seekers who remember buying from the newsstands when they were kids, collectors who love comics and filling in their runs, and also investors looking to add some diversity and some fun to their portfolios. Prices of Silver Age (1955-1970) and Golden Age (1938-1955) comics have risen consistently since the 1970s.

Joe Fish (at a computer) and Adam Fish (with camera) and Ted during an episode of Treasure Chest Tuesdays

Hey there! I’m Jeremy Enns, the founder and Storyteller In Chief at Counterweight Creative, a podcast production and strategy agency.

I started the company 3 years ago, in 2016 with one client, making $15/hour and have grown into a team of 10 contractors producing more than 30 shows per week with revenue of over $10K/mo.

Hello, my name is Ferenc Denes and I have 40+ websites with a total of roughly 8-10 million monthly visitors. I’m going to share the story of one of my sites that brings $6K per month as passive income.

I’m going to share the story of my online HTML editor at htmlg.com. This online text editor converts documents to HTML. It helps to process and clean the code. It runs in the web browser without installing any desktop program. It has a free demo that allows you to give it a try and learn how it works.

Hi, my name is Sravani and I am the chief executive officer of Apna Writer. At Apna Writer, we offer various forms of content writing services to our clients with the utmost professionalism.

I always measure my success through the number of repeat clients I have, and I am happy to announce that I have been successful in retaining over 95% of the clients. All thanks to the wonderful team behind Apna Writer, who leave no stone unturned to deliver more than the client’s expectations every time we onboard someone.

Hello! My name is Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, and I run Making Sense of Cents, a personal finance and lifestyle website that helps readers earn more, save more, and live more.

I earn around $100,000 a month from Making Sense of Cents and have made over $5,000,000 from it over the years. Much of it is profit, as my expenses are extremely low. I am the only full-time employee of my business, but I do outsource some work. I have a virtual assistant, an editor, and a technical manager.

Hi there. I am Gaynor Paynter and I run Typewrite Transcription and Typing Services CC, a business which I started in 2005. You can probably tell by the business name I do typing and transcription, but I also do proofreading, editing, and most other virtual services. Right now I am busy with a project that involves doing some research to help someone compile a letter she wants to send to funders for her business, so I’m pretty versatile.