Businesses You Can Start for Under $5,000, page 11

People with Salesforce hands-on experience who can translate business problems into platform solutions and manage client expectations

Startup cost

$1,000 – $8,000

Monthly earnings

$3,000 – $18,000 / mo

First income

2 to 6 months

Organized, hospitality-minded people who are good with guests and can sell their services to property owners without owning or leasing the properties themselves

Startup cost

$1,000 – $8,000

Monthly earnings

$1,000 – $9,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Patient, empathetic people who are good with anxious parents and want a flexible, remote coaching business helping families sleep better

Startup cost

$1,000 – $6,000

Monthly earnings

$500 – $6,000 / mo

First income

2 to 4 months

People in snowy regions who can handle odd hours, physical work, and income that swings with the weather

Startup cost

$1,000 – $25,000

Monthly earnings

$2,000 – $15,000 / mo

First income

Within the first snowfall (often days to weeks)

Comfortable-on-roofs, safety-minded people who want a recurring service riding the growth of solar adoption

Startup cost

$1,000 – $8,000

Monthly earnings

$1,500 – $8,000 / mo

First income

2 to 4 weeks

People with real product knowledge and risk tolerance who can buy and sell coolly without getting emotionally attached to cards

Startup cost

$1,000 – $20,000

Monthly earnings

$500 – $6,000 / mo

First income

2 to 6 weeks

Marketers or agency owners with a clear niche and audience who want recurring software revenue without building software

Startup cost

$1,000 – $25,000

Monthly earnings

$0 – $15,000 / mo

First income

2 to 6 months

Hands-on makers who enjoy building physical products and accept a real ceiling on how much one person can produce

Startup cost

$1,000 – $15,000

Monthly earnings

$200 – $6,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Calm, dependable people drawn to supporting families through birth and the postpartum period who can handle an unpredictable, on-call schedule

Startup cost

$1,200 – $5,000

Monthly earnings

$800 – $5,000 / mo

First income

2 to 6 months

People comfortable working at height who can sell a higher-ticket upgrade and want a focused, product-driven trade niche

Startup cost

$1,200 – $8,000

Monthly earnings

$2,000 – $11,000 / mo

First income

2 to 4 weeks

Patient, hands-on people who enjoy animal husbandry and the outdoors and are not relying on it for fast income

Startup cost

$1,200 – $8,000

Monthly earnings

$200 – $3,000 / mo

First income

12 to 18 months

Hands-on people who like recurring routes, are comfortable with water chemistry, and can learn basic equipment repair

Startup cost

$1,200 – $9,000

Monthly earnings

$1,500 – $8,500 / mo

First income

2 to 4 weeks

Photographers who genuinely love animals and have the patience to work with unpredictable subjects

Startup cost

$1,200 – $8,000

Monthly earnings

$800 – $6,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Working or former actors and theater educators who genuinely enjoy teaching and can fill seats locally

Startup cost

$1,500 – $25,000

Monthly earnings

$1,200 – $9,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Detail-oriented people who like hands-on outdoor work, live near water, and want higher per-job tickets than car detailing

Startup cost

$1,500 – $9,000

Monthly earnings

$2,000 – $12,000 / mo

First income

2 to 4 weeks

Experienced engineers or architects who already know cloud platforms deeply and can sell their expertise to businesses

Startup cost

$1,500 – $15,000

Monthly earnings

$6,000 – $30,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Confident facilitators who can sell to companies and run a room full of skeptical employees

Startup cost

$1,500 – $30,000

Monthly earnings

$1,500 – $14,000 / mo

First income

1 to 4 months

Healthcare workers, EMTs, firefighters, or strong public speakers who want a low-overhead training business teaching genuinely useful skills

Startup cost

$1,500 – $12,000

Monthly earnings

$1,200 – $8,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Creative makers who can design a clear, repeatable project and enjoy sourcing, assembly, and marketing a tangible product

Startup cost

$1,500 – $18,000

Monthly earnings

$200 – $7,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

People who already understand sales and operations and enjoy translating messy business processes into working software

Startup cost

$1,500 – $12,000

Monthly earnings

$3,000 – $18,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Experienced storage and electronics specialists who can invest in specialized tools and tolerate high-stakes, irreplaceable-data work

Startup cost

$1,500 – $40,000

Monthly earnings

$1,500 – $12,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Outgoing people who love music, can read a crowd, and are comfortable being the host of a room

Startup cost

$1,500 – $8,000

Monthly earnings

$600 – $6,000 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months

Skilled hangers and finishers who want to subcontract to builders and remodelers and don't mind hard physical work

Startup cost

$1,500 – $20,000

Monthly earnings

$3,000 – $15,000 / mo

First income

2 to 8 weeks

Patient, detail-oriented people willing to invest in real structured-literacy training before charging families

Startup cost

$1,500 – $8,000

Monthly earnings

$1,000 – $6,500 / mo

First income

1 to 3 months