51 Creative Small Business Ideas That Will Change Your Life
Starting my own business changed my whole life. That is probably the single most powerful sentence I’ve ever written, and honestly, it still feels like an understatement. Carving a career for myself (which relies heavily on my own creativity) is the best thing I’ve ever done. It is the sowing that keeps reaping benefits. And, I think it’s possible for everyone who wants to do it and is willing to work at it – especially for dreamers and makers. So I’ve put together 151 creative small business ideas to help you brainstorm.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. The best part about being an innovative thinker is that you’ll keep coming up with new things and new pivots and new products. But if you’ve been hesitant to figure out how to start your own business, here’s my collected thoughts.
These ideas are the product of industries that I am seeing growth in (either via data or anecdotally), areas that I work with clients in who book out within one year, or concepts that I’ve seen work previously that just need new life.
51 Creative Small Business Ideas
- Calligraphy & Lettering: Whether you want to address wedding invitations or create digital art prints, this is a great small business opportunity. You can learn via a class or teach yourself with YouTube videos and tutorial books. And, if you can come up with new ways of including calligraphy in people’s lives, the world will be your oyster.
- Candles: Candles seem like an oversaturated market, but the truth is that this industry just keeps growing. To stand out from the crowd you need a distinctive brand or an incredibly niche scent collection. Think about how you can marry a candle brand with another part of your life that you’re passionate about.
- Soap: More and more people are shopping for their self care products outside of the grocery store and big box stores. Presenting yourself as professional and high-quality will be instrumental in your success in this industry. There are a lot of home grown soap makers, but it’s the ones who give thought and care to their presentation that usually win out.
- In Person Classes & Workshops: There is a huge shift in people wanting to move away from digital to real life. Figure out what creative skill you’re an expert at and offer in-person workshops for it. Team up with local non-profits, bars, or shops related to your industry and offer to host a workshop there. This could be anything from painting to cooking over a fire to stained glass making.
- Seating Chart & Ceremony Designers: If you’re a whiz at building party installations, this is a business you should start immediately. Weddings are seeing a massive growth in couples who want to include more installations (usually for their seating chart and ceremony) in their big day. Not to mention what you could offer for other types of events.
- Murder Mystery Host Company: If you’re a performer with a few friends, consider starting a murder mystery party. Clients can hire you to host (and populate) a murder mystery at their event. What’s fun is that the more “extra” you are the more you can charge. So if you want to go all in with stories, costumes, and invitations, you could have a big business on your hands.
- Social Media Creation: Every business owner I know has a love/hate relationship with social media. There are lots of social media managers who can schedule and strategize social media, but usually the pain point is actually creating the content. If you’re decent with a phone camera and full of ideas, start offering to create and design business’ social media posts.
- Event Tarot Card Reader: We all want to know what’s in our futures, and tarot readers are a fun way to think about it. By learning tarot and being good at interacting with clients, you can offer your services for bachelorette, Halloween, and other parties.
- Personalized Scavenger Hunt Company: There are so many creative services that people love but are terrible at doing themselves. Offer a service that sets up scavenger hunts for clients. This could be city-wide hunts for a couple about to get engaged, building-wide hunts for a corporate event, or even themed backyard hunts for kids birthday parties.
- Self-Publishing Author: If you’ve got a story to tell, there’s no excuse not to tell it. Self-publishing is a huge and growing industry, and there’s room for everyone. Whether you want to share advice or finally write that novel, you can get on it.
- Curated Vintage Shop: This creative small business is perfect for the consummate shopper. The trick here is to niche down in some way, either by having a very distinct style or by offering only one particular item. Once you become known for finding the best of X, then you can branch out and your followers will stay with you.
- Artisan Butter Maker: I know, this seems wild, but it’s a real thing! Whether you churn your own butter or use premade butter and herbs to create new butter flavors, people will pay you for your products. Local festivals and farmers markets are great places to sell as are your local restaurants and caterers.
- Social Cooking Class Teacher: This idea comes from a woman I worked with who solely taught biscuit making classes at events. Seriously, people (and I mean a lot of people) would pay to have her come and teach them how to make home made biscuits. So whatever you’re great at cooking, go all in on it and start figuring out how you can teach it in a quick 30 minute class.
- Jewelry Designer: Jewelry design is a perfect creative outlet. You can go affordable or high-end, and the start-up costs can stay very low. Plus, jewelry is usually one of the top sales categories on Etsy and at local vendor markets. Just remember to create a distinct style and brand to help you stand out.
- Home Organizer: This field continues to grow, especially in cities. If you’ve got a mind for sorting, and especially if you’re skilled at finding a beautiful way to display people’s things, you can have a thriving business in no time. Be sure to find ways of showing people how trustworthy you are. That’s a huge hurdle in this industry.
- Furniture Reupholstery: As more people look to keep and refinish beloved furniture, this is a rare skill set. Once you have some professional photos of your work and a good reputation, this can be a lucrative business.
- Furniture Flipper: Furniture flipping is something of a design trend. If you’re interested in this as a business, I recommend pairing it with a YouTube channel. Film your flipping projects and post long-form videos. This means you’ll have an income stream from your furniture sales and people watching your videos (and furniture videos are a popular category).
- Interior Designer: It’s hard to teach someone to have a good eye. If you’ve a background in art, textiles, or stage design, think about getting a certification in interior design. You can offer anything from full home design to virtual consultations to specific room focuses.
- Holiday Decorator: Holiday decorating is interior designs playful and colorful cousin, and it requires no degrees or certifications. You can focus on one particular holiday or even a part of the home (like front porches) to decorate. You’ll find that building a following here works quickly during holiday seasons.
- Baby Name Consultant: Another job that doesn’t quite feel real, but it is! You’ll want to determine your process and pricing for working with clients, but once you’re able to explain to them how you work and why you’re great you’ll be set. And, this business has virtually no overhead costs!
- Small Batch Potter: Love pottery but don’t want to buy your own kiln? Work with a local pottery studio to have them fire your works. And, if you focus on small batches or small items, you’ll be able to keep your costs low.
- Flower Farmer: Another growing industry. It doesn’t take much land to start a flower farm; in fact, several flower farmers only grow in their backyards. You can sell your bouquets at farmers markets or work with local florists to supply your stems when they’re in season.
- Niche Travel Agency: The travel industry is back on the ascent, and more and more people are using travel agents to help book their trips. To stand out in this field make sure you have a niche. You can book only in certain places (Europe or all-inclusive resorts) or only work with certain clients (honeymooners or family trips).
- Denim Jacket Customizer: Both Etsy and Pinterest are predicting this to be one of the top trends for the next several years. So if you are a skilled artist or seamstress, start sourcing some jackets. These can be one-of-a-kind or commissioned designs.
- Wedding Planner: People with visually creative backgrounds often make the best wedding planners! To be successful in this business requires a balance of creative design and impeccable organizational skills. No degree or certification is required either.
- Backyard Garden Consultant: The plant trend is taking root (pun intended). More and more green thumbs are attempting to plant flowers and food in their yards, and they want some professional help. Consider creating custom garden plans for clients based on their zone, yard size, and budget.
- Personal Stylist: This is a business I have on my to do list to hire this year. If you’re skilled at putting together outfits and helping people look their best, hang a sign outside your door. This business has ample opportunities for client work as well as affiliate sales.
- Hair & Make Up Artist: Similar to personal styling, this creative business is great for client work and affiliate sales. And you can look beyond weddings. More professionals are hiring hair and makeup artists for important events, meetings, and photos.
- Greeting Card Designer: If you’re an illustrator or simply have an artsy eye, try creating a small line of business cards. With minimal overhead you can handle your own print and production, giving you the ability to add new designs regularly.
- Boutique Nail Polish Brand: You don’t need to be a scientist to start a nail polish brand. You can purchase pre-bottled but unbranded polishes online. Skyrocket your sales by showing ideas for nail art using your own polishes. And, think about a YouTube channel where you walk everyone how to mimic your nail art, especially with their non-dominant hand.
- Painter: Painters are starting to really see success in the digital world even though their works are tangible. With great photographs and a cohesive collection, you can start building an audience. When you’re looking for sales, reach out to local interior designers to see if their clients would be interested in purchasing.
- Blogger: Blogging is a field that keeps growing. But you’ve got to have a niche! Food blogs are still one of the most popular categories, but home and DIY also see high traffic! You can monetize your blog usually with as little as 500 visitors a month.
- Vintage Rental Company: If you have an eye for tablescaping, think about starting a vintage rental company. And, you don’t have to serve wedding clients. Clients who love to host dinner parties and holiday dinners are a great alternative.
- Home Stager: Home staging is a growing service need! This is a business that requires more start-up money, but sales are also high. Most clients tend to be in homes worth more than $500,000 and are willing to pay to make sure their homes sell for top dollar. Get started on your portfolio!
- Bread Supplier: This could work for any baked good! Breads and cookies tend to be most popular though. Consider starting a small business where you make these goods and sell them directly to coffee shops and restaurants. Your baked goods will make less per item, but you’ll be able to sell in bulk and won’t need to find your own customers.
- Destination Wedding Planner: Travel lovers who are great at design and scheduling, this is the perfect creative small business for you. Pick an area in the world that you’ll focus on and work to build relationships with the venues and vendors in that area. After a few clients and good reviews, your business should start to bloom.
- Baby Clothier: Baby clothes are the best, and the wilder and more original the better. Start a baby clothing brand with a distinct style, and then get all the adorable pictures of babies in your clothes that you can. You can sell directly to customers or develop a wholesale business.
- Voice Actor: If voices is your thing, start a voice acting business. There are so many entry points for this industry right now that require no previous experience. I recommend a website with a small portfolio of your work (you can read works in the genre you’d like to be in) to start getting your name out there.
- Local Tour Guide: Websites like Viator and AirBNB are leaning heavily on local tour guides and pushing their customers there. Figure out what you love about where you live, and start offering specialized tours.
- Stationer: Whether you want to own a vintage letterpress or simply design wedding invitations on your laptop, opening a stationery shop is a great idea. You can be wildly creative. This is a great creative small business for anyone with a visual arts background.
- Corporate Gift Shopper: Corporate gifting is an artform, and most places would rather hire someone who can do this for them. You can make corporate gifts or be the point person for a corporation and find options for them. Develop relationships with your favorite gift places and perhaps you can work out a kick back deal as well.
- Photo Album Designer: We have all these pictures on our phones, but what do you do when you want them printed. Photo album designers are solving this problem for families. Create a business that designs one-of-a-kind albums for families based on the photos they send you. You can outsource the actual printing.
- Genealogist: Genealogy is creative research. With an Ancestry.com account you can help clients track their family trees (and even put it in a personalized album for them). Or, you can go a step further and tackle multiple generations back by traveling to areas of births and deaths to trace information on people’s distant heritage and history.
- Disco Ball Designer: Disco balls aren’t going anywhere, and now there’s a growing field of custom disco ball designs. So if you’ve got a love of shiny things, get to making. Disco ball planters are done, so find a new way of using a disco ball in everyday life.
- Party Goods Shop: Everyone loves a good party. You can create physical party decorations or digital party downloads for people. This is a competitive field, but it’s also a popular one. So your work needs to be very good or very different.
- Photographer: For a while everyone was (and maybe still is) a wedding photographer. If you love a love story, that’s still a great field to get into. But also consider interior photography, wildlife photography, newborn photography, and even travel photography.
- Travel Retreat Host: If you have a creative way of experiencing travel, start a travel retreat company. Design travel experiences different from what’s out there, and find adventurers who are ready for something new.
- Ghostwriter: Writing is a hard business. And despite the obsession with AI, there’s growing proof that writings from humans are better than writings from computer programs (just like we thought all along). So if you can write or love to write, try a copywriting business. You can write novels and memoirs for other people or even write website copy for businesses.
- Costume Curator: A delightful business idea for those who have an eye for fashion! Costume curators source and curate looks for clients who are going to a costume party. This is mostly virtual work, so you can find clients across the nation.
- Visual Display Artist: If you are a skilled maker with an eye for scale, you could start a visual display business. Visual display artists create window displays, product displays, and other installations for businesses. Start small with a local business or two and grow your experience and portfolio from there.
- Brand & Website Designer: You’ll need a little education to be sure, but this field is deep and wide and perfect for creatives. I’d love to have you join my industry.
There are so many ways your unique creativity and interests can intersect and lead you to starting a business. If there’s been something that’s been sitting in the back of your mind for a while, it’s time to try it.
If you’ve never had your own business or worked for yourself before, I recommend starting with a proof of concept period. Try the service you want to offer or make the product you want to sell and use friends and friends-of-friends as a test audience. Do they genuinely like it? What would they change? How’s your pricing? If that goes well, sign up for a booth at a festival or outdoor market and see how you do there. Or, try an Etsy shop to see if you get any traction. There are so many ways to start with minimal start up costs.
I would love to hear your creative small business ideas, especially if you’ve got any that I left off the list!
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Quietly doing good work in my own little corner of the internet.
Having been a visual artist for over 10 years, I know that every part of a brand (even the parts that are often unseen) deserve to be expressed with honesty and beauty. I am happiest standing behind the scenes, creating every design and detail for focused and intentional business owners. I created EP Design to stand beside visionaries and thought leaders who are fueled by joy.
