Business Ideas with under $100 Startup Costs

Want to start your business – but you have no money? No problem. Check out this big list of profitable small business ideas with low startup costs – some cost nothing. All are under $100!

Research further into ways to start and fund your business cheaply:

Freelancer and Gig Economy
The trend is towards a gig economy. Gigs are temporary positions with contract and independent workers for short-term engagements. It’s estimated that there are about 59 million gig workers in the United States. With a little creativity and smarts, entrepreneurs can build the business around this kind of self-service business.
People who want to start this type of activity and focus on the most popular services such as data entry, writing, computer programming spreadsheets like Excel and all kinds of website development tasks. Major sites such as Fiverr and Upwork list projects and gigs available all of which contain great new business ideas for you. I think this is a good place to start for business ideas for beginners.
Small Business Ideas for Women
Women-focused media is helping to reshape our society’s ideas about femininity, gender, and power. According to the SBA, women own 20 percent of all businesses and 42 percent of all businesses that don’t have employees.

While every woman is different, and there are no limitations on the types of businesses women can start, here are a few business ideas for types of businesses that women often start. Here are a few ideas, but don’t limit your search for business opportunities based on your gender, however. Women are increasingly starting traditionally male-owned companies and visa versa.

Affiliate Marketing – Over 80% of all purchases are made by women. Use your shopping expertise to direct other women to great products and services. In an affiliate marketing business, you’ll earn a commission when they make a purchase.
Beauty Salon – Here are some naming suggestions for a hair studio or nail salon.
Bookkeeping & Accounting businesses

Trending Business Idea for Women
Women’s Health Specialist – Today’s evolved mindset is removing the social taboo of women’s health and bringing it to the forefront of business opportunities. Entrepreneurs who want to make a difference in women’s lives are well poised to profit with firms that offer services, resources, and products related to women’s health and well-being. Here are five health and fitness ideas to look into.

Those are just the tip of the iceberg.

Here are 75 more small business ideas for women.
Related: Looking for grants for women? Check out this list of small business grants with resource links.

Startups for Men

There are still more male-owned businesses than woman-owned. Great. Certainly, every man is different and has particular interests and talents. Here are some industries in which males traditionally have excelled.

Building construction – Suggested names for a construction company
Barbershop
Demolition / wrecking services
Furniture making
Restaurants especially bars and BBQ joints
Automotive
Solar panel installation
Woodworking – America’s wood product business makes over $6 billion annually. Growth is forecasted to be in custom-made furniture for office and home. Offices require more open space, sit and stand desks, and team workspaces. Meanwhile, homes are more multi-purpose, which creates demand for multi-use rooms and furniture which folds and collapses such as Murphy beds, folding tables, and moveable cabinet walls. Here’s how to start a woodworking business. And here’s more than 125 possible names for a woodworking business.

There are many other choices, of course. Here are 39 small business ideas for men.
Related: Want to start a business but don’t have any ideas? Read our comprehensive guide for new entrepreneurs.
Business Ideas for Teens

It can be difficult to make much money when you are a teenager. During the school year, you may not have much time to work. And jobs you can get any time of the year are likely to pay minimum wage. If you think outside the box, you may be able to make more by starting your own business.

Internet influencer
3D Printing
Lawn Care – Here’s what it costs to start a landscaping business.
Pet Sitting

Teenagers are the next wave of entrepreneurs
Learn more about these business ideas for teenagers here.
Business Ideas for College Students
If you are a college student, free time may feel like it is hard to come by. With class, extracurricular activities, study sessions, and social life, there is not even much time to sleep, let alone explore options as a student entrepreneur. However, starting a business while in college can be an exceptionally profitable enterprise for a couple of reasons.

Some cool new business ideas and jobs students can start pursuing while in the university include:

Event Promotion
Social Media Influencer

For more ideas,
See this list of business ideas for college students to start.
Easy Business Ideas for Beginner Entrepreneurs
Beginner entrepreneurs can make money by performing services they know how to do. Some typical examples are tutoring, pet sitting, cleaning services and blogging. Depending on your background, some of the following ideas might be easy for you to start.
Art Business Ideas

Creative individuals make super entrepreneurs. In addition to creating your art, you need to know how to run a business. Here are some ways to use your creativity to make money in your own company.

Artist
Art dealer
Art broker

Art gallery
Art instructor
Children book illustrator

Draw caricatures
Paint wall murals
Greeting card designer

Freelance graphic artist – Make commercial art your specialty. Big and small businesses alike need graphic designers to create original graphics and to design brochures, posters, logos, websites, packaging, signage, graphics for presentations, and so much more. Creating animated videos can be another source of revenue.
Hand-paint designs on furniture, and decorative items
Paint and sell your original works of art. From landscapes to abstracts, decorative art (tole painting), there is a market for good art. Here are some ideas
Sell hand-painted or handmade holiday ornaments
Teach painting – You can make money by charging for the classes and bring in additional income by selling your students the supplies they need for projects.
Sculptor – Artists carve and sell everything from granite statues to ice sculptures and even pumpkins at Halloween.

If none of these ideas for artists are to your liking, get inspired by these additional art business ideas.

Automotive Business Ideas

Auto parts sales
Auto repair garage
Brake replacement and repair
Body Shop

Car wash
Car accessories business
Gas station
Limo service

Mobile car tune-up service
Muffler shop
Tow truck service
Car delivery and pick up

Car detailing – People who love cars love to keep them in great shape. And if you love cars too, and are incredibly meticulous, then this could be a great business for you. target your most likely customers – owners of high-end cars. Executive transportation companies may be another possibility.
Car Rentals – Buy and rent new cars or used cars. You’ll need significant finances to build your fleet of cars and market the service, pay employees and pay for your location. You’ll also have ongoing costs for maintaining the vehicles. Alternatively, you could start a business getting other people to rent out their unused cars. Pay careful attention to insurance and liability issues.

Need more ideas?
Put your foot on the entrepreneurial pedal with these additional automotive business ideas.
Beauty Business Ideas
The beauty industry can be pretty profitable (pun intended).

It is a huge industry at over $511 billion in revenue globally. If you want to capture your piece of the action, consider these beauty business ideas

Beauty blogger (or Vlogger on YouTube)
Image consultant
Makeup artist
Makeup consultant
Eyebrow grooming and lash extensions

Cosmetic sales
Product development – skin care lines and hair products
Beauty salon
Nail salon
Freelance modeling

Beauty business suggestions
Want more beauty business ideas? Read this full list of beauty business ideas.

Business and Consumer Services

Advertising specialty sales
Aquarium maintenance
Administrative support services
Apartment preparation service – when rental apartments turn over, there is work to be done. The same is true for office rentals. The work might range from filling in nail holes in the walls to emptying leftover trash
Appliance repair
Association management service
Bakery
Bed and breakfast inn– Some people enjoy owning their own bed & breakfast and do well in the business. Others find serving breakfast every morning and dealing with guests to be more work and more difficult than they anticipated. Guests expect personalized attention and some will be more demanding and problematic than others. You’ll need to deal with special requests and with guests changing and cancelling reservations. Your building and property will have more wear and tear than a private home and cleaning is a never ending chore.
Bicycle rental – Bob Adams started a rent-a-bike business when he was 19. He took $1,000 from his savings and bought a bunch of second hand bicycles. Then, he arranged to have a motel, a gas station and a sporting goods store serve as rental locations. But his competitors had better rental locations. And they also had shiny new bicycles. Almost no one was renting Adam’s bikes. To solve the problem, he offered free delivery of bicycles to customers at their motels and campsites — something no one else was doing. His customers loved it and the business took off!
This example shows why it is so important in any business to develop a unique business model. You shouldn’t start a business and try to follow what your competitors are doing. And you shouldn’t just try to “be better.” Instead you want to be different in a way that really matters to your customers. Use this sample bicycle rental business plan for inspiration.
Bicycle repair– The demand is constant providing you with a strong, steady income. You could start by only taking on the easier repair jobs. Then for more complex repair jobs you could contract them out to other repair shops and keep a percentage of the repair price.
Balloon decorating service
Boat excursions and tours – If you own a boat big enough to comfortably and safely seat groups and like being on the water, make some extra cash in the summer by renting yourself and your boat out for private excursions. You captain the boat and take the groups around to the best spots for sightseeing and swimming. Let the guests bring their own food or you supply it. Be sure you have lifejackets for all and follow all safety precautions.
Boat, kayak, canoe and jet ski rentals
Boat maintenance and repair
Business plan writer – To get going as a business plan writer, develop a specialty. For example, offer a low priced flat rate service for people looking to start a fairly simple business. Or offer a more consultative hourly approach targeting people raising money for larger startups. You could also consider targeting entrepreneurs by industry.
Career counseling
Cabinet maker
Carpet and upholstery cleaning– Don’t overlook carpet/upholstery cleaning! It can be a highly profitable, repeat customer, steady income business for you. To be successful, learn and stay up-to-date on the techniques for cleaning carpets and stains.
Catering
Chemical testing
Childcare Service – Daycare has that very important great business characteristic — repeat customers and steady income. It’s also flexible. You can start a daycare practice in your home, at a leased location or at a location provided by a third party such as a corporation that would love to have convenient daycare on its premises. To get going, you will need to check out your state regulations and get licensed. You’ll need insurance such as for liability and worker’s comp, if you have employees. You’ll need specific policies on issues such as late payments, sick children, possible injuries, and late pickups. And you’ll want to make extra sure your facility is totally safe for children.
Child learning center
Chimney sweep
Cleaning service– Repeat business from private homes and commercial establishments make this a good business to start. Most people first grow their cleaning business by adding a couple helpers to work alongside them. This way, they can keep a close eye on the quality of the work and remain the primary contact with the customer. You can grow this business much more quickly by adding additional crews.
Clown
Coin dealer
College coach
Collectibles dealer
Collections service
Commercial disinfecting service – Take your cleaning service a step beyond by providing professional disinfecting services for offices and other businesses.
Concert promotion business
Concrete construction and repair
Construction business – There are many smaller construction projects you can do to ease your way into this field. For example, you could start by building sheds, playhouses, garages, outside decks, house additions, studios, pool houses or basement remodels. You could also consider taking on a little more risk yourself by buying a house that needs work, rehabbing it and selling it for more. It’s relatively easy to get bank financing for rehab projects.
Construction management consultant
Cook
Copywriting/ Content Writing – Companies of all sizes want to put articles on their websites and add posts to their blogs to drive traffic and attract customers. For example, a business that sells office furniture may commission articles on the latest trends in office décor or perhaps on how to choose the best seating for various office tasks. What most business customers will have in common is that they would like their articles and blog posts to show up in relevant searches in Google and other search engines. So the more you can learn about search engine optimization (SEO), the more marketable you will be.
Cosmetologist
Crafts instructor
Teach other people how to make decorative accessories, sew, paint, or do other crafts. Bring in extra money by selling supplies and patterns.
Currency auctions
Dance instructor
Daycare for adults
Delivery service – The demand for delivery services is booming driven by online shopping and services. Some delivery businesses focus on servicing Amazon. There is also a lot of demand for delivery of food from restaurants. And for grocery pickup and delivery. Some small furniture companies contract out their deliveries. Another variant is a courier service where you deliver rush items such as documents and other packages. Still another twist is medical deliveries such as test samples, medicine or even human organs.

Here’s how you can start your own delivery service business.

Dental claims processing
Dog Grooming – Many people don’t have the time or the patience to do groom their dog themselves. This is another great repeat customer, steady income business. You can even try starting small in your home – but you will need to keep an eye on local zoning laws. Or outfit a van with needed equipment and travel to clients homes. Perhaps you start just by grooming dogs for a couple friends and see if you really like it.
Dog obedience training
Have experience training your own dog? Turn it into a business with almost no investment.
Dog rescue
Dog walking service – Start a dog walking business in your neighborhood or town. It’s simple to start and, with people busier than ever, there’s a lot of demand. The key to success in dog walking? Keeping your clients happy and finding new customers Happy customers are repeat customers. They will keep using your service forever and they will recommend you to their friends at the dog park. As you build up your list of loyal customers you are not only increasing your income, you are also building the value of your business. That means if you get tired of walking dogs, you can sell your business for a good bit of money.
Dog/yard cleanup – Help to clean up the home and pets and get paid. Here’s how one person made money two ways from this idea.
Drive for ride-hailing service
Make your own hours and work for Uber, Lyft, or even start your own local airport shuttle business.
Drive for local businesses – Create your own business delivering food or packages to customers of local restaurants and shops. Or, sign up to be a driver with a service like DoorDash.
Dry Cleaner
Elderly companion – Adult children of the elderly are often looking for someone to spend time with their parents. You can get paid to visit and do fun and interesting things.
Electrician – Always loved electrical work? Get licensed and become an electrician. There’s plenty of demand in most areas. Already licensed? Look for local electricians who may be retiring and ask about buying their business.
Employment agency/staffing service –Employment agencies recruit, evaluate, screen and recommend job candidates to companies that are filling job openings – typically long term job openings. Staffing agencies hire employees on a temporary basis and then contract them out to companies that need short term help. Most employment agencies and staffing services specialize to a greater or lesser degree. The type of jobs or industry they focus on make a significant difference on the characteristics of their business. For example, if you have a staffing service focusing on providing unskilled day laborers for construction sites your business will be quite a bit different than a staffing service providing software developers to Internet companies.
Environmental cleanup service
Cleaning up after environmental disasters can be a lucrative business if you have the knowledge and skills to handle the problem.
Environmental contamination detection and analysis
Manufacturers and other companies have a need to monitor and analyze groundwater and other pollutants.
Errand service – Run different types of errands for busy people in your area. It’s a business you can start in minutes with no investment, and it can be publicized by word of mouth.
Estate Sale Brokers – As our population ages, many families are left with the estates of lost loved ones that can be both emotionally and financially overwhelming. They need help in organizing, appraising, and selling their families’ possessions. The most successful business owners will have experience and knowledge in the antique and secondhand market sales. The ability to work with people, logistical organizing, and team management will ensure your business success.
Executive recruiter
Family Historian – Many people are deeply interested in their family history but find these sites, and the research process, overwhelming and time-consuming – thus your business opportunity is born. You can start with a small investment that is affordable.
Fence installation and sales
Financial planner
Fishing boat rides
Flea market seller
Formal wear rental service (male or female)
Framing service (picture frames)
Furniture reupholstering
Genealogist
Grant writer – Nonprofits need money to do the work they do. If you have experience with grant writing, you can get paid as a freelancer for helping them get access to the funding they need.
Hair salon –Enjoy making people feel beautiful? Start a business where people pay you to help them look and feel confident. Keep startup and overhead costs down by starting out in a coworking salon facility that divides up a large space into small, private salons individual stylists can rent.
Gutter Cleaning Service – This is a seasonal business, but one that you can make good money from if you are sure-footed and comfortable walking on roofs. You may want to decline jobs that are very high or very steep pitched surfaces unless you have adequate safety equipment.
Handyman service – Get paid to help people repair broken furniture, fix loose cabinet doors, install shelves, and do a variety of needed fix-it services in their homes. You will need the ability to do very basic household repair work reasonably well and know which jobs to turn down because you can’t do them well. As the business grows, you can hire subcontractors to do the work. As a handyperson you’ll get a lot of repeat work. But each job is typically small so you’ll need a bunch of customers to turn it into a full time business.

Handyman Business Resources

Here are several business models for a handyman business.

Home or office organization services – Help people organize their homes or businesses and get paid to do it.
Home attendant service – The aging population makes this a business that will be needed for years to come. Check state licensing requirements as you research this idea.
Home design service – Help people bring harmony to their home with Feng Shui, or simply help them design their homes for efficiency, comfort, and beauty.
Home staging service – Help home sellers get the best price by making minor changes that maximize the home’s eye appeal to potential buyers.
Home healthcare service – Hire and send trained medical professionals to the homes of people who have healthcare and rehabilitation needs. Licensing is likely to be required.
Home inspector – Inspect homes for real estate buyers ahead of their purchase so they are forewarned of possible structural damage, the potential for flooding basements, and other issues they’d want to avoid.
Housekeeper – As a housekeeper, you’ll take care of light cleaning and other household chores such as ironing clothes, washing dishes, preparing meals, running errands, and other chores needed on a regular basis.
HVAC installation and service
Interior decorator
Inventory control service
Janitorial service
Junk removal services– It seems like everyone has a garage or attic or other room full of junk they would love to get rid off! Like a moving service, you don’t even need a truck to get started in this business. You could begin by either renting a truck at a place like U-Haul or buying a little trailer to tow behind your car. You can even keep your day job and do all the junk removal jobs on the weekend. Develop extra income by efficiently sorting the junk you take away into items you can resell, items you can get paid to recycle, and items that have to be disposed of. You can develop repeat business and good word of mouth if you are polished and professional.
Landscaping – This is another perfect business that you can start small or part-time, and then grow at your own pace. You can start with just a basic lawn cutting service. All you’ll need is a second hand lawn mower and a grass catcher. You don’t need a fancy truck or trailer. You can grow this business quickly by adding both customers and services. Typical add-on services include leaf collection, yard clean up, edging, weeding, snowplowing, and applying fertilizer. The next level of services you could offer would be flower, bush and small tree planting. The highest level of services would be landscape architecture/design, designing and creating beautiful landscapes for higher end homes and commercial locations.

Get started in the Landscaping Business

Here’s how to get started in a landscaping business.

Laundromat business or laundry service – People need clean clothes, so it is a classic steady income business. Location is important. Consider offering extra add-on services or products such as folding of clothes, full laundry services, and pickup and delivery. In addition to selling detergent and bleach you could sell other products such as snacks and beverages. Before starting a laundromat from scratch look to see if you can get a reasonable deal buying an existing laundromat that the current owner has become tired of operating.
Lawn cutting
Lawnmower and motor repair
Lawn sprinkler business –This is a niche business and not too competitive. It’s also a good mix of both product and service so solo operators can successfully compete against the larger companies. Finally, it’s a repeat customer, steady income business. You could do it all – both the installation and the service part of this business or you could just do one or the other. Of course installing a new sprinkler system can be a lot work and requires knowledge of how to do it properly.

Lead generation service
Limousine service
Loan consultant
Locksmith
Magician
Mailing service

Market research
Marketing agency
Masonry and paving for homeowners
Meal preparation service
Medical claims billing service
Medical transcription

Millennial Fitness & Social Club – America is home to 80 million millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, with $2.5 trillion in annual buying power. These people are very healthy, and fitness minded but won’t come to your father’s health club. They want fun and lots of social media presence to connect with the company and their friends. Offer this type of fitness adventure, and you are sure to profit in the years ahead.

Fitness Business Resources

Here’s how to start your own gym or fitness club.

Miniature golf course
Moving company – Start small and grow at your own pace. Most moves are local, so the market for local moving services is huge. You can keep your day job and focus on the highest demand moving days – weekends and holidays. Start by renting vans or trucks as you need them. This will allow you to get the exact size vehicle you need for each move. Truck rental services like U-Haul will also sell you insurance and provide supplies. You can hire helpers by the day or the hour. Charge by the hour rather than by the job. If the customer underestimates the number of items to be moved, you still earn the same hourly rate. Offering packing services is a nice add-on for extra income.
Music teacher – private lessons
Nail salon
Novelty T-shirt sales – Custom T-Shirts are perfect for selling online, but you could sell them locally too. Even if you are going to focus on your local market you might want to initially skip the cost of a storefront and try running this business from your home. You could approach local businesses, social groups and sports teams. Wouldn’t it be great to get a sale for your town’s entire youth soccer league? You can even contract out the actual T-shirt printing and focus exclusively on making sales and customer service. Of course instead of doing custom T-shirts you could try to sell your own designs. This is a riskier approach but the upside potential is huge! Learn more about starting a t-shirt business.
Nutritional supplement sales
Nutritionist
Outsourced HR services
Paddleboard lessons
Painter – Sell your services painting the insides or outsides of people’s homes. One cautiont: consider buying insurance in case you accidentally spill paint on priceless antiques or the home owner accuses you of damaging their siding.
Party bus– You’ll need to buy or rent a bus or a boat big enough for groups and know how to meet and exceed your guest expectations. You’ll need a party host – not just a bus driver – who is super energetic and upbeat. You’ll need some great destinations, typically bars and nightspots. You’ve got to choose ones your customer will love, not just the ones that will give you the best deals. And you’ve got to keep the momentum of the party going. You’ll want to set up some strict safety guidelines. And for this business you’ll also want to consider liability insurance and creating a separate business entity such as a corporation or LLC.

Personal fitness trainer
Personal concierge / personal shopper
Personal chef
Pet clothing
Pet grooming
Pet sitting

Pet walking
Pet waste cleanup
Pest control service
Plant care and watering services for businesses
Plumber
Pool sales and service

Professional photographer – There are all kinds of ways to turn photography into a business. You can do portrait photography, commercial shoots for businesses, real estate photography, or wedding photography. You can sell photos through stock photo services. You can even do photojournalism or sell your outstanding photos in the photo art world.

Photography side hustle

You can also start your photography business as a side gig and grow it into

Private investigator
Promotional products
Property Management – In this business you handle inquiries, review references and process rental applications for tenants. You answer questions and handle requests from existing tenants. And you arrange for maintenance and basic repair services.

Power washing service
Public relations agency
Public speaker
Real estate appraiser

Remodeling service
Researcher
Reupholster furniture
Seminar producer

Senior companion serviced – This is an excellent repeat customer, steady income business. Plus, you are providing a tremendous service. You will want to check any licensing requirements in your state. And you will want to exercise diligence on any companions that you contract.
Senior transportation, care-giving and other services
Screen printing
Shopping service
Shuttle service
Sightseeing tours – There are many types of tours you can offer as a tour operator. Bus tours, bicycle tours, food and wine tours are a few examples. You can also offer other services such as helping groups develop an interesting itinerary including educational, cultural and historic venues, securing tickets and making arrangements for restaurants and ground transportation.
Small business consultant
Sports equipment sales and service
Stairlift business – As our populations age, there is an increasing need for stairlifts to allow elderly people to age in place.

Swimming pool installation
Swimming pool maintenance
Tailor
Tax preparation
Telemarketing service

Telephone service reseller
Test prep coach
Tool rental
Travel agency
Tutor music

Travel Adventures – Nowadays, people will want to have more adventures traveling. The combination of enticing social media stories and wealthy early retirement baby boomers makes this idea very profitable. From active fitness travelers to ecotourism the opportunities are endless.

Tree trimming and removal
Tutor
TV installation
Veterinarian

Walking tours
Water taxi service
Wig store
Window cleaning

Window treatments – Homeowners and apartment dwellers want attractive valances, drapes of other “treatments” for the windows in their homes. Help them select the right look and sell them the products to create the look.
Yard cleanup

Best Business Ideas 101

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