Do you want to own a business that generates extra income, keep your family together and make your kids smart? If YES, here are 50 low investment family business ideas with high profit.
A family business therefore, is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family—related by blood or marriage—who are closely identified with the firm through leadership or ownership.
Owner-manager entrepreneurial firms are not considered to be family businesses because they lack the multigenerational dimension and family influence that create the unique dynamics and relationships of family businesses.
If you think that you will love to start a family business, the you may want to make the following family related business ideas your own, as you act on it. Here are business ideas that families can venture into are as follows:
Best Family Owned Business ideas
The World Wide Web has grown into a huge market and it is continuously growing especially in this century that we are in. Therefore for families who have a love for website/graphic designing or any skill whatsoever, then it’s time to get your family online because this can prove to be a rewarding venture.
With just a small capital, a little space at home, a good plan and careful delegation of duties among family members; the business will indeed soar than ever envisaged.
A rental business is easy to start and does not require you to continuously create/purchase and sell products. You can choose to rent out anything from vehicles, equipment and camping gear to party supplies, instruments and photo booths for events.
When running this type of business with your family, it’s important to establish roles and dedicate someone to manage all the office and administrative tasks, a different person to handle the marketing, and someone else to deal with your customers face-to-face and drop the rentals off to them.
With this type of business, your biggest focus and expense will be maintaining the items you rent out and updating new materials and supplies to add to your inventory over time
Is your family full of great cooks? You may want to start a catering business together. Each person can offer something special and tasty to create a dynamic and diverse menu to offer clients. Operating a catering business with your family has its’ perks because you know their abilities and what their strengths and weaknesses are in the kitchen.
Even if some family members don’t want to actively participate in the business, they can invest in it and act as a silent partner to help get things of the ground.
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Specialty Service Business
If your family has always specialized in a particular trade or service, instead of simply working in that field you can try to start your own business together. There are tons of family-owned handyman, construction, auto-repair and landscape businesses and room for plenty more.
Customers are more likely to purchase products and services from local family-owned businesses because they are usually more authentic.
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Brick and Mortar Business
Buying and selling various different items at a physical store location has worked out well for some families. There are so many diverse duties involved with running a brick and mortar business that each of your family members can play an important role in making sure everything runs smoothly.
Running a storefront comes with lots of responsibilities like choosing an ideal location, maintaining and securing the property, and earning enough profit to pay all the bills. With the help of your family, you can share responsibility, delegate tasks and grow the business to become a solid valuable of your community.
Running a restaurant with your family is quite different from running a catering business. There’s so much time, money and effort that goes into running a restaurant compared to many of the others types of businesses but if it’s your dream you shouldn’t let the challenge derail you from pursuing this type of business. If you don’t want to establish a restaurant from scratch you can always purchase a franchise restaurant business.
One of the top family business ideas has to do with food, because food is very important and everybody eats no matter how dire the economic situation is.
This is one of the top-notch business ideas that have lesser risk of going wrong. Also, several successful food businesses run by family members are moving fine without any hitch. In this business, thorough understanding and effective communication is very important.
The laundry business as it is called is another money spinner and good business idea that a family can venture into. Though this kind of business may not be exactly glamorous but it is undeniable that there’s definitely money in the industry. Whether you want to cater to home or business clients, this venture can pay off big time at the end of the day.
Tutoring is simply all about teaching or sharing your knowledge with an individual or group of individuals. Thus, a tutoring business is simply the act of sharing your knowledge in return for a fee or profit.
To start a tutoring business, one prerequisite you must possess is passion. You must love teaching because if you don’t, you will see tutoring as a stressful and difficult task. Thus if you have a family of whizzes or geniuses, you may have what it takes to start a tutorial centre.
Keeping up with the demands of technology, you can put up a web design training centre, photography boot camp or whatever subject matter you are excellent enough to train other individuals for.
Event planning is simply the process of researching, planning and ensuring the smooth organization or flow of an event.
The process of a full scale event planning and management service include: Conducting initial research, Creating an event design and concept, Finding a good location, Making arrangement for food from caterers, Doing the interior décor, Organizing the entertainment needs, Sending invitations to attendees etc.
Events planning is one of the top family business ideas that can be run by a family, especially if your family is female dominated. If you have the creativity, resourcefulness and all the planning skills necessary, it can be a fun venture to start. And it can pay off well too, especially after building your strong base of clients list.
Taking advantage of the internet popularity, you can also consider network marketing as part of the top family business ideas. You can put your tech, sales and marketing skills to practice and operate online.
In fact, network marketing is the perfect family business because you tend to work together as a family, grow together and the entry barrier is very low, as it even creates more bond, and the dissemination of ideas among members of a family.
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Livestock farming
Livestock farming or animal husbandry is simply the process of breeding animals for consumption purpose. But in this article, we will be looking at the profit or business side of livestock farming. It is a known fact that as long as humans exist, there will always be need for food and the two major sources of food for mankind are crops and animals.
Though livestock farming is one of the most profitable businesses in the agriculture or agro-allied industry. But most people shy away from this business because it is capital and labour intensive. Again, this may not be as glamorous as it sounds.
But if you have the space, the knowledge and ability, you can raise your clan by raising livestock. And there sure is a great demand to fill.
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Computer design services
In this age and time, people are always in need of services especially on a computer. These services includes but not limited to printing, photocopying, laminating, graphics designing etc. Thus, a family can specialise in this type of business and offer these services to clients for a fee. The return from this type of business especially if it is run by a family is very high.
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Biscuit/sweet making
Homemade biscuits and confectionery can be a great seller, this is because it tends to be more nutritious and is well prepared than the ones made in a factory. A family good in this type of making, can turn their home into one, Bake and package them well, and try reselling through a local gift shop. In fact People in your social network may buy batches for special occasions too.
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Cake making/decorating
People, clubs, organisations, clique of friends etc. are usually in need of cakes especially for special occasions and events. The making/decoration of cakes is indeed the business for this period. As a family, with members who are very good in this type of business, you can set up a cake making business that will be operated by members of the family.
This business though might be looked down upon by many families, but it is indeed a business that should be considered when looking for a family business.
Though it sounds strange, but it’s a business that a family can venture into. There’s great potential to earn extra money from looking after kids, but you’ll need to adore children (not just your own), have boundless energy and patience and in many cases must satisfy some criteria.
Any family can establish this child care business, though looking after another person’s child for more than two hours on any one day in a location other than the child’s home (so excluding most babysitters and nannies) needs to register with Ofsted – it’s not a particularly complicated process but does include medical, criminal and domestic safety checks.
In this century, many persons are mostly in need of repairs/troubleshooting for their computers/laptops. A family understanding this need can set up a computer repair/troubleshooting centre. This service and many more can be offered to many people who still find computers complicated to maintain and terrifying if they go wrong.
As a family, that have experts who have a reassuring manner and are experts in the inner workings of a PC, you can offer your services locally and let word of mouth do the rest.
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Online trading
The world today is a global village, and it is now easy to trade online (i.e. buying and selling). A family can venture into this type of business and trade their stocks on offer to people on an online platform. Sites such as eBay and Amazon make it easy for people to dabble in e-commerce.
If you start to sell other goods, focus on things you can get hold of easily, or are passionate about. And have an eye on the Christmas market: think about what will be selling well in a few months’ time. This is also a business idea for families to dabble into.
In a tough economy, businesses need all of the help they can get. As a business coach, you can empower individuals — often business owners and managers — to improve their work performance through personal change. The most successful business coaches have plenty of experience in the business world, along with specialized expertise (e.g., marketing, finance, or sales).
Whatever your niche, you need to have the ability to help your clients set and achieve their goals. Network with others in the business world, both business coaches and owners, to find out what clients want and how to market to them. A family can set out to be business coach for people who need it.
Consultancy services is always in high demand. Part of the roles of consultants include; businesses, identifying problems and implementing solutions.
To be competitive, you’ll need to be an expert in a special subject. Think human resources, IT, inventory management — the possibilities are nearly endless. Many consultants have master degrees, and all have plenty of real-world business experience.
Once you’ve identified your niche, find out if there’s a market for your services and what the competition is like. To set yourself up as the expert in your field, you’ll need to make yourself heard in the local community (via speaking engagements, business events, interviews) and online (via your website, blogs etc.
In today’s tech-savvy world, more and more businesses and organizations are realizing that DIY websites or — gasp — no website at all just won’t cut it. And with mobile Internet usage set to overtake desktop usage by 2014, the do-it-yourselves are going to have a hard time designing websites that are smartphone compatible.
If a family has got what it takes, Web design can make for a satisfying career. But the road isn’t easy: as it needs been able to market your skills effectively to stand out. Network as much as possible. You can start a blog, speak at local events, and learn from others in your field. You’ll also need to have the skills to complete complex projects and the personality to please demanding customers
While royalty-free stock photo websites are taking a bite out of some photographers’ profits, assignment photography is still big business. For a family skilled with a camera and have a mind for business, you can make money as a portrait, event, or wedding photographer.
Keep in mind that starting a photography business requires substantial capital for lighting, cameras, lenses, and photo-editing software, in addition to normal business expenses. Aside from skills and equipment, you’ll have to market your business (think a cutting-edge website, social networking, and mailers) and set your pricing.
With scores of people falling behind on debts, now’s the perfect time to start a debt collection agency, which requires little more than a phone and a computer. You’ll help retailers, hospitals, and credit card companies recover money they’re owed, and in return you’ll get a percentage of the collected debt.
A family can also venture into this, though not required, training or a degree in business or finance may add credibility to the family’s business company profile. Finally, realize that debt collection requires a certain amount of finesse, empathy, and resolve.
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Healthcare
Healthcare or healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of health via the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in human beings. Healthcare is delivered by health professionals (providers or practitioners) in allied health professions, physicians, dentistry, midwifery, nursing, medicine, optometry, and other health professions.
It includes the work done in providing primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care, as well as in public health. A family can offer any of these health-care services and grow a business from there.
A family can specialise in this new business definition of the century. Thus with some time and a computer, becoming a social media consultant may be just right for you. The other prerequisites needed include being comfortable online and using social media platforms and a love for talking to people.
To get started building your portfolio, work with a few non-profits in your area or offer your services at a discounted rate to local business owners.
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Grocery delivery services
Though some major Grocery Store chains already offer online shopping and delivery, not all stores are covered with this convenience. Local and natural food stores are ripe resources to consider creating a delivery partnership with. A simple way to get this business going is to contact local stores and work out a deal to deliver groceries to customers for a fee.
Another option is to provide your own online purchasing options for groceries you are willing to stock. When a customer makes an order through your site, you can go purchase the items and deliver them.
This option allows for you to work out wholesale or resell partnerships with local stores so you can make revenue not just on the delivery fees, but the products themselves. This business, when done with the right division of labour will take no time to blossom for a family.
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Project Management Services
With the proliferation of projects springing up by government, individuals, organisations etc. it is necessary to have proper management for it to ensure that it succeeds. Often projects go off the rails due to poor management ending up costing companies extra time and revenue.
However, not all companies can afford a full time project manager. They may only need one for a specific project. This is where a project management service comes in. As a project manager, a family can work with all types of businesses and industries. Your job is to help the company get their project completed on time and on budget.
If you have a family that is blessed with avid writers who are passionate about what they do, you might consider freelance writing as the business for your family. With content marketing becoming a key aspect for companies, there are more and more job opportunities opening up for writers.
To get started, check with some local businesses in your area and see if they need help with blog posts or creating other information products such as reports or short eBooks, and you can grow the business from there.
Do you have a family that has interest in pets and are willing to stay with them always? You can consider this service as a very good business for your family, while only 3% of households annually hire a pet sitter, this number is on the rise. If you think this is a hobby job, you might want to think again.
The national average for pet sitters is $16 per visit. If you’re keeping an eye on eight different pets a day that could earn you up to $32,000 a year.
This business is indeed very good for families which have many elderly members. This is because while we may be able to see exactly what someone else needs in a particular situation, figuring it out your own life isn’t always as easy. That’s where a life coach or mentor can be of help, especially if you specialize in a specific area.
This particular business idea is lucrative because it’s inexpensive to get started and the fields of specialty are endless. You can coach or mentor in any area from sports to weight loss, organization to personal happiness.
A family can as well go into the art of publishing books for clients, and other writers. This, can be done via the traditional way of publishing or in fact they can even employ the recent revolution in publishing which is via online medium to make this happen.
In fact they can start their own online publishing company which makes it all modern and a means of diversifying the business.
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Direct Sales Consultancy
A family which has a wide range of network of friends and acquaintances can go into this type of business. What it basically entails is to If you have a big network of friends and acquaintances, and you don’t mind selling, you may want to have a go at becoming a direct sales consultant.
Most of the reputable companies offer starting costs under $100 and provide training and team support to help you succeed. This is a great idea for someone who wants to branch out on their own, but wants a little help and support behind them.
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Homemade Gourmet Foods
There are a lot of laws restricting what food products you can and can’t sell out of your home, but as long as you’re following them, there’s always a great market for delicious homemade treats. If you’re at home in the kitchen, this may be the perfect business idea for you.
With the growth of different diets, you have a great opportunity to carve out a niche for yourself in a specialized area such as low carb, gluten-free, vegetarian, paleo, etc. You can start out small and test your recipes with local food stores.
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Translation expertise services
For a family with lots of persons who can converse very well in many languages, this business might just be the right choice for them. This is because more and more companies are venturing into other countries and want to reach more demographics.
This means the need for translation services are growing. Website translation is an especially growing area since there is a global reach. If you know a few languages, you might consider offering your services as a new business opportunity.
In this era, applications are as useful as you deem it fit. Therefore its importance and need cannot be over-emphasised, thus for a family with a lot of Apps geeks, this business should be considered by them. From developing an app for a company to creating something for yourself. All you need is a great idea and the technical know-how to actually build it.
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Personal Home Chef Services
Are you a family of great cooks? Who have made a niche for themselves in cooking, then this might just be the perfect business idea for you. While people may not need someone to cook in their home for them, they may need some extra help during their busy day with lunch or even breakfast.
One of the benefits of being a personal chef is that you don’t necessarily have to cook at a person’s home. You can also offer foods that are already prepared that just need to be reheated. This is a great way to offer your services to a larger amount of people without having to be committed to one client or customer.
Health is a high priority for many, and losing weight and getting fit are top concerns in this area. If you have a track record for helping people with their fitness in a specific area, you could have a very profitable business. Like many of these suggestions focusing on niche or target area can help you stand out as an expert in a growing industry.
Therefore, a family with a lots of personnel in home training can delve into this, and surely the results cannot be quantified nor measured by any standards.
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Computer Skills Tutoring
While many people own a computer today, many do not actually know what they can use the computers to do. In today’s connected world, people can often feel out of the loop when it comes to new technologies, and the constant stream of new products means it’s only going to get worse.
If you have the patience and the teaching ability, it could be a great idea to start a business getting the “technologically inept” up to par with the current software.
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Personal Grocery Shopping
Not everyone has the time or ability to get their own groceries. You can offer a needed service and work your own hours by completing someone else’s shopping list.
This is an especially helpful service for new moms, seniors and if you are diet conscious, those with dietary restrictions or special dietary needs. By offering this service, a family will not only block the loophole that is connected in this aspect but also make a name and a fortune for themselves.
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Crafts Seller
Do you love making things? Use your talents to generate a profit with an online craft business. With sites like Etsy.com, selling your homemade goods has never been any easier. It’s especially helpful if you focus on a specific trend or niche that fits into a specific category.
This will help you get found easier and will help people share your products on sites like Pinterest easier as well. In fact this will be an innovative idea that will make the name of the family remain memorable in the minds of people, though this is a very lucrative business but it is yet untapped by many families and businesses.
The proliferation of today’s world and activities with the internet cannot be over-emphasised, hence the underlying opportunities therein cannot be overlooked. With privacy and security concerns at an all-time high, now is the perfect time to consider a business as a internet security consultant.
You can help educate people on setting up their home networks and securing their personal information. You can also work with companies by helping them secure their websites and their business/customer data. So, a family which is very good in this can venture into this niche and write their name in gold for many more years to come.
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Organization Consultant
Many people are finding it very difficult with organisation, they are so helpless and need an expert who can handle this very well for them. From personal to business organisation, there’s rarely any aspect that these consultants are not needed.
A family which is well organised can tap into this, and start making right organisation for people. A business as an organization consultant might be right up your alley. Not everyone has the ability to control the chaos. Luckily, organization consultants can help in a number of areas from personal organization to business organization.
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Dog Training
The dog/pet industry is a growing business, and for this reason its training is also very essential and necessary, it is a fact that the pet business is a huge industry. As long as there is a desire for a family pet, the need for dog training is always present.
One way to set yourself apart in this area is to offer mobile and home training. With a mobile service, you can help train animals in the home setting as well as help train them in social settings like dog parks.
If you have a family that loves local history and lore, becoming a local tour consultant might be your perfect business idea. You can start off by simply offering walking tours of your city or specific history regions within your city. You’ll need to contact your local city offices to make sure there are no laws or regulations that would interfere.
However, if you’re good to go, the only thing you need to get started is a website with your tour information and some local word of mouth to start your first tours. You may want to consider partnering with your local visitor’s bureau to help attract tourists to your business.
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Plants Selling
Many persons are in need of plants always, especially the farmers and horticulturists, a family which has an interest in this and have persons who are dedicated to plants and its biology can venture into this business. This is a newer growing niche, but with concerns over seed origins growing, this could be a lucrative business venture.
This business will be somewhat seasonal, but you can offer garden design and landscaping plans during the off season to help provide some additional revenue.
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EBay Selling
Selling your stuff on eBay can seem like a great way to earn a few bucks on the side, but for many people it’s too much of a hassle to research prices, take pictures, put together a good post and keep track of payments, shipping, etc. The idea of selling something online is appealing, but when it comes down to doing all the work many would just rather donate the items in question or let someone else sell it for them.
For this business idea, you would just need to reach out to friends and family and see if they have anything they’d like to sell. You can do all the setting up of the shop and products, and you can split the profits. And, if you don’t like eBay, consider other online shops too.
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Pet Grooming
It’s probably no surprise that pet grooming is a growing business. In 2012, 62% of households had pets. That’s a lot of animal baths! As a groomer, you can not only handle pet bathing, but also other basic grooming needs. If you have the resources, you can expand your business by offering a mobile service as well.
So, when it involves a family you can re-brand your model of pet grooming and include services that are qualitative and are hitherto unavailable before.
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Errand Service
Some companies such as TaskRabbit have started offering these services, but it’s a business that can really thrive for a family. Are already employing this idea, but they’re only available in certain cities. Offering similar services in your local area could be quite lucrative if you’re willing to do the tasks at hand.
This can be especially fruitful if you are offering your services to the senior market. This demographic isn’t as able to get around and would benefit greatly from having someone they trust run some local errands for them.
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Homemade Natural Soaps/Beauty Products
Similar to making your own gourmets foods, you can also create your own natural soaps or beauty products. The trend for going natural in all areas of our lives is growing and this is an area with some real potential. If you’re not up for actually making the products, you can set up a drop shipping relationship with vendors you trust or create a blog related to this topic. This indeed will work out even better with families been involved.
A family can dedicate its business into helping other people start their businesses! This is even most especially when the family has members who are experienced in business and have virtually seen it all in the business terrain. Business plans are needed to help secure loans, investments and to make sure you keep your business running on target.
If you have a keen knack for creating business plans, considering helping out one of the fastest growing employment areas – the self-employed. No matter how you look at it, family businesses have usually proven to stand the test of time, and are usually more rewarding, befitting and more appreciable than any other type of business.
So, if you think of tinkering with any business idea today, that you can look back at the end of centuries and be proud of what you have put together, then you must consider starting a family business. Integrating a family aspect is one of the best ways to humanize your business and get your customers and clients to become more familiar with you on a personal level.