Food & drinkBrazil
BrazilGourmet dessert popsicles made at home and sold in Recife
She started with 15 popsicles and a blender; nine years later the business turns over R$ 1.4 million a year.
$150–800Medium6 steps
How to startEfaru — Small business ideas you can start yourself, from all over the world.
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Crafts & makingAustralia
AustraliaPen-and-ink house portraits sold as framed gifts to homeowners
People will pay to hang a drawing of the home they love, and you only need a pen and a photo.
$100–500Medium6 steps
AgricultureUnited States
United StatesWeekly goat rental for brush and weed clearing in the US
Goats that clear brush and vines for paying landowners, with no herbicide and no heavy machinery.
$1.5k–6kMedium6 steps
Creator economyBrazil
Food photo and video shoots for restaurants in Santa Catarina
A phone, a small light kit and a sharp eye can turn a restaurant's menu into scroll-stopping content.
$250–900Medium6 steps
Crafts & makingBrazil
Restoring and reselling vintage typewriters from a home workshop
People tired of screens will pay for a machine that does one thing: let them write.
$300–900Medium6 steps
ServicesIndonesia
IndonesiaMotorcycle helmet repair stall for riders in Jakarta
Riders throw away cracked helmets; a small Jakarta stall restores them from about $0.30 a job.
$150–800Medium6 steps
Food & drinkBrazil
Asian-style coconut ice cream served in the shell from a beach cart
A fresh coconut as the bowl turns a simple scoop into a dessert people queue and post for.
$1.5k–5kMedium6 steps
Crafts & makingIndia
IndiaHand-stitched sal leaf plates for caterers and temples in India
Fallen forest leaves, a bamboo splinter and a skilled hand become plastic-free plates that caterers buy by the hundred.
$50–300Easy6 steps
Crafts & makingThailand
ThailandHand-made stickers and colouring books sold from a home studio
Small drawings on paper helped one young artist clear a huge student loan.
$200–900Easy6 steps
ServicesBrazil
Wedding pet handler for dogs at ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro
Couples want their dog at the altar, but someone must keep it calm, clean and on cue.
$300–900Medium6 steps
Food & drinkBrazil
Cloud cake slices from a home kitchen, sold by pickup in Brazil
A fluffy white powdered-milk cream turned plain sponge cake into a viral dessert.
$300–1.2kEasy6 steps
Crafts & makingIndia
Hand-carved wooden Mukh shuttles for Pashmina weavers in Srinagar
One tiny carved shuttle sits at the heart of every handwoven Pashmina shawl, and almost nobody still makes it.
$200–800Hard6 steps
Crafts & makingBrazil
Build-your-own 3D-printed figurine kiosk in a tourist park
Customers pick heads, hair and outfits from wall niches and walk away with a figurine that looks like them.
$4k–10kMedium6 steps
Crafts & makingBrazil
Upcycled denim bags and accessories from factory offcuts in Brazil
Jeans factories throw away tonnes of scraps. A couple in Santa Catarina turned them into bags people queue to buy.
$400–1.5kMedium6 steps
Crafts & makingBrazil
Custom ceramic pet Christmas ornaments made from photos in Rio
Customers send a photo, and their dog or cat becomes a hand-sculpted tree decoration.
$900–3kMedium6 steps
Crafts & makingUnited States
Hand-printed city maze posters sold at markets and online
Turn a famous city into a puzzle people hang on the wall and gift to friends.
$300–900Medium6 steps
ServicesUnited States
Hand-pollinating tomato plants for home growers and greenhouses
Indoor tomatoes need a shake to set fruit, and some growers will pay someone else to do it.
$30–300Easy6 steps
Crafts & makingMexico
MexicoHandmade Christmas nativity scenes sold at Mexican bazaars
A centuries-old Christmas tradition that families still pay to put on their table, made with wood, clay or card.
$100–600Easy6 steps
Crafts & makingBrazil
Themed glass terrariums with axé motifs from a home workshop
A couple turned a tiny "planet in a glass" into a brand by adding Afro-Brazilian axé themes.
$150–800Easy6 steps
Food & drinkBrazil
Chopped garlic by weight from a home kitchen in Nilópolis, Brazil
She swapped manicures for peeled, chopped garlic and now buys up to 90 kg of raw garlic a week.
$300–1kMedium6 steps
RetailBrazil
Turn a ride-hail car into a mobile bookshop, as seen in Brazil
Every passenger gives you a few minutes of conversation. One author turned them into book sales.
$500–2.5kEasy6 steps
Crafts & makingBrazil
Scrap-built drums and instruments sold from a home workshop in Brazil
A music student with no budget turned plastic drums and bottle skins into a business earning about R$ 20,000 a month.
$300–1.5kMedium6 steps
Crafts & makingIndia
Handmade notebooks from elephant and rhino dung paper in Assam
A kitchen blender, window screens and wildlife dung can become a notebook that tourists happily pay extra for.
$300–1.5kMedium6 steps
Crafts & makingBrazil
Coloured rice sensory play kits made in a home kitchen, Brazil
A bag of pantry rice and food colouring bought one mother an hour of peace, then a paying online shop.
$100–500Easy6 steps
Crafts & makingBrazil
Giant custom flags for football supporter groups in Brazil
Supporter groups pay for huge banners that must unfurl the right way up in a packed stand.
$800–3kMedium6 steps