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Starting a profitable family business can be challenging, but it’s highly rewarding. To get inspiration, and to start your best family business idea today, we are listing here 50 family business ideas that can be highly profitable.

Your family knows you inside and out. They understand your strengths and weaknesses, and you know theirs, creating a balanced team. The best family businesses use the talents and interests of everyone involved.

If you want to work with your family but aren’t sure what kind of business to start, check out this list of fun family business ideas. It includes everything from local shops to online stores, to help you get inspired and start a business close to home.

Contents

1 50 Best Family Business Ideas That Are Profitable

50 Best Family Business Ideas That Are Profitable

Starting a family business can offer stability that you might not get when starting out on your own. Family members are your go-to people during tough times, making them perfect business partners.

Here are 50 best family business ideas:

Plant nursery business
Holistic pet care business
Child care service
Interior design business
Singing telegram business
College consulting business
Skin care business
Experiential learning business
Flower delivery company
Antiquing business
Travel planning business
Rental business
Organizing business
Personal stylist business
Organic extermination business
Food truck business
Produce business
Tutoring business>
Car wash business
Catering business
Lawn care business
Photography business
Cleaning business
Event planning business
Grocery and errands service
Baking business
Laundry business
Gardening or landscaping business
Wedding business
Meal prep business
Family-run apiary
Fitness business
Costume business
Jewelry business
Late-night cookie delivery business
Kids’ theater camp
Print-on-demand business
High-end condiments business
Crochet business
Cooking class business
Open a restaurant
Doggy day care
Pottery business
Vending machine business
Sell your inventions
Tour company
Vintage clothing business
Candle-making business
Property rental company
Custom lighting business

1. Plant nursery business

Does your family have a knack for gardening? Consider starting a family business that grows and sells plants, from cherry tomato seedlings to rare variegated monsteras.

Perfect Plants is a great example of how this idea can become a successful business. Founded by the current owners’ father in 1980, this plant nursery shares its story on the About Us page of its website, highlighting both the company’s and the family’s history.

2. Holistic pet care business

Pets need food, water, and exercise, but they can also benefit from massages, custom diets, and even therapy. Stand out in the market by offering these special services alongside your dog walking or pet sitting business.

3. Child care service

The US has a big shortage of child care providers. You can help by offering daycare or babysitting services in your home or by renting a nearby community space.

4. Interior design business

If you love rearranging furniture, turn that passion into a family business by helping clients design and decorate their homes and offices.

Take HÁM Interiors, for instance. This family-run interior design company is operated by various family members, including a husband, wife, son, and daughter.

5. Singing telegram business

Is your whole family full of performers? Turn their talents into a family singing telegram business, and be sure to include the kids!

6. College consulting business

Do you know a lot about the stressful college admissions process? Many families will pay for help with financial aid forms, choosing schools, and studying for tests. You can also assist with admissions materials, making college consulting a great family business idea.

7. Skin care business

If you want to start a family business, think about launching a skincare line. Some skin conditions run in families, so your products might help solve problems that your own family experiences.

For example, look at Fresh Heritage. This skin care brand was started by siblings who were inspired by men’s grooming habits they saw during a trip to Morocco.

8. Experiential learning business

Does your family love fishing or rock climbing? Schools, businesses, and social groups often seek exciting outings to boost morale and teamwork.

Your lawyer cousin can handle the legal and regulatory details, while your Gen Z niece can choose the best social media platforms and create content to promote your business.

9. Flower delivery company

Many flower shops and farmers market vendors sell loose flowers. Use your floral design skills to create and deliver custom bouquets through your own online store.

10. Antiquing business

If you enjoy hunting for antiques, you can turn that passion into a business by selling vintage clothes or antiques.

Get the whole family involved by having them help with tasks like fixing up furniture, listing items online, searching for treasures at yard sales, and coming up with cool ways to promote your business.

11. Travel planning business

Planning a trip can be a hassle, but who has the time for it?

Make your family experts in researching and booking trips for others. You can charge a small fee for each trip you organize.

To spread the word about your service, you could start a blog or set up social media accounts to share your family’s travel experiences. This way, you’ll build trust with other travelers and show that your family knows its way around the globe.

12. Rental business

Horses or a garage full of folding tables and chairs? You can make money by renting them out.

Renting items for events like weddings can be a good business idea. You can loan out things like cutlery, vases, chairs, or decorations several times a year, earning some extra cash.

13. Organizing business

If you love organizing and tidying up messy spaces, offer your services to help people in your community clean out their closets, garages, basements, and attics.

Look at the Style Sisters for inspiration. They’re a pair of sisters who advertise their wardrobe organizing services on Instagram.

14. Personal stylist business

Transform your love for clothes into a small family business by finding unique wardrobes for your clients.

Everyone in the family can help out by shopping, keeping up with fashion trends and designers, finding and selecting clothes, setting up appointments, managing alterations, and handling marketing, administrative, and accounting duties.

15. Organic extermination business

If you care about the environment, you can start a local business that gets rid of pests using organic pesticides or traps that are safe for animals.

16. Food truck business

Start a small, mobile restaurant and bring your family’s favorite recipes to bars, festivals, and tourist areas. But remember, starting up can be expensive.

Food truck owners usually spend a lot in the first year on permits, licenses, and following the rules.

17. Produce business

Grow a vegetable garden and sell what you grow at a local community store, farmers’ markets, or through a program called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Valley View Produce is a family business that’s been selling fruits and veggies for thirty years, passed down through different generations.

18. Tutoring business

If you’re great at math, your uncle speaks Spanish fluently, and your husband is a physicist, you can start a tutoring business together as a family. Tutoring is also a good way for high school students to earn some extra cash.

19. Car wash business

Starting a family car wash might need a lot of money upfront to buy the right equipment, but it can also make a lot of money. The car wash industry is expected to be worth $23.79 billion by 2030.

If you’re not sure about buying equipment yet, you can start small. Get your family together with some buckets and sponges and set up a car wash where lots of people go by.

20. Catering business

Make money from your famous enchiladas and Grandma’s secret pozole recipe by catering for corporate events and private parties with a small family business.

Take Ginger Snap, for instance. The husband and wife run this business together, catering for weddings and events.

21. Lawn care business

Similar to a small cleaning business, a lawn care business can give you regular customers and a steady income. As long as grass keeps growing, people will need your help to keep their lawns tidy.

22. Photography business

A family photography business can capture conferences, weddings, family reunions, and other events in your community.

You can assign different tasks to family members: one or two can take photos, another can choose and edit them, and someone else can handle the online gallery and orders.

23. Cleaning business

Cleaning services are always in demand, which makes them a great idea for a family business. You can start a cleaning business and make a steady income by tackling the constant messes people make.

Brian Winch, the owner of Cleanlots, was inspired by his dad, who worked as a janitor and did extra jobs to make ends meet. Brian remembered how his dad cleaned up litter outside a shopping plaza, so he decided to try it himself when he was 21, even while working another job.

Sadly, Brian’s dad passed away when Brian was just starting out, but Brian kept going, determined to make his dad proud.

He got his brothers involved, and their business grew from a one-person operation to a successful business making six figures, over 50 years later. They know their dad would be proud of what they’ve achieved.

24. Event planning business

Planning an event involves a ton of tasks, from remembering small details like forks to setting up equipment like microphones. But if you know who you’re aiming to help and set fair prices, it can be a great idea for a family business that brings in money.

Corporate event planning can be especially profitable. Companies usually have bigger budgets for events than individuals, and their staff are often too busy to plan everything themselves, so they’re happy to pay for expert help.

25. Grocery and errands service

Big apps like TaskRabbit and Instacart are popular for getting tasks done and delivering groceries. You can start your own grocery delivery business on a smaller scale and avoid paying fees to those big platforms.

Get your family involved to connect with customers and local suppliers, ensuring you get the freshest groceries.

To stand out from the big companies, offer flexible delivery times that suit your customers’ schedules.

26. Baking business

If you love baking, you can open a bakery or supply fresh-baked goods to restaurants and coffee shops in your area.

For instance, Roeser’s Bakery in Chicago is the oldest family-owned bakery in the city. It’s been in the same spot for years and is now run by a fourth-generation Roeser. They’ve even expanded their family business by selling their treats online while still keeping their physical store.

27. Laundry business

Don’t be discouraged by the struggling family laundromat in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Running a laundry business with your family can actually be a great idea for making money.

You can offer extra services like washing, drying, dry cleaning, or even starching clothes to charge higher prices.

28. Gardening or landscaping business

If you love dreaming about hedge mazes or have a backyard that looks like Ryōan-ji, you could start your own landscaping business. You can share your unique style and talent with your local community by making their outdoor spaces beautiful.

29. Wedding business

Weddings have always been popular, and they’re here to stay. The average couple spends a lot of money on their wedding, with $30,000 being the average cost.

There are many things that need to be paid for, like dresses, suits, invitations, and decorations.

Ava Rose Hamilton sells wedding dresses using this family business idea. The stores are run by a mom and her daughters, which helps brides feel at ease when they’re shopping for their special day.

30. Meal prep business

Lots of folks want to eat three healthy, homemade meals each day, but they’re just too busy to cook them. This is a chance for your family to start a business. You can make and deliver pre-made meals that showcase your family’s favorite recipes.

31. Family-run apiary

You can start a family beekeeping business called an apiary. You’ll need to wear protective gear when tending to the hives.

You can keep the bees for yourself, rent them out to farmers who need help pollinating crops, sell raw honey, and create products like lip balm, candles, and soap from beeswax.

Take Bee Lovely Botanicals, for instance. It’s a business run by a husband and wife who sell honey and beeswax products online.

Jodie Kieliszewski, one of the co-founders, explains, “When I was pregnant with my second son and staying home with my kids, my husband lost his teaching job. He found another job, but it paid much less. To help support our family, I started selling honey soap and beeswax skin care at farmers markets. Over time, our business grew. My boys help out now by taking care of the bees, packing orders, making products, and even helping with photo editing.”

32. Fitness business

If your family loves fitness, consider opening a gym, yoga studio, or offering personal training or exercise classes. You can also buy affordable products in bulk, like protein shakes, workout gear, or meal prep kits, to sell to your clients and make extra cash.

33. Costume business

There’s something special about rocking a one-of-a-kind, cool homemade costume. Get your kids’ creative ideas, your design skills, and your brother’s sewing talent together to create custom costumes for holidays and themed parties.

You can make unique costumes for customers, or sew popular ones and rent them out each year.

34. Jewelry business

Some of the best family businesses don’t need a lot of money to start but can still make good profits. Making jewelry is a great example. You can buy beads, string, and wire in bulk and then sell your handmade jewelry online for a good price.

Bead Time is a successful business in this field. In a TikTok video shared by the owner’s daughter, we get to hear how the business has been passed down through the family.

35. Late-night cookie delivery business

Lots of food places shut down by 10 p.m., but there are still people who get hungry late at night. You can bake and deliver homemade cookies to satisfy those late-night cravings. And to cater to everyone, offer different types of milk like cow’s milk, oat milk, soy milk, or almond milk.

36. Kids’ theater camp

Lots of parents want to find fun things for their kids to do outside of the house. How about putting on a small play like Macbeth in your backyard?

Your kids can take care of props and lights, your partner can build the stage, and even your family pets can join in and play the witches if needed.

37. Print-on-demand business

If you’re good at art or have a knack for making people laugh with witty lines, there’s a demand for home goods and clothes with your unique style. You could think about starting a family print-on-demand business.

It’s an online business where you don’t need a lot of money to start, and you only make products when someone orders them, so you don’t need to keep a big inventory.

38. High-end condiments business

Are you the master of ketchup? The queen of mayo?

A wizard with hot sauce? Create, bottle, and sell your own homemade condiments and sauces to share your skills with everyone.

Lillie’s of Charleston is an example of a family-owned business that sells condiments through its own online store.

39. Crochet business

Teaching your kids to crochet can be a wonderful business idea for them. There are lots of easy-to-follow crocheting tutorials on YouTube that are perfect for kids. With your help, they could become vendors at the farmers market in no time.

40. Cooking class business

Cooking classes are a fantastic idea for a family business because recipes are often passed down from one generation to another. If you’re thinking about starting a new business, consider your family recipes. Could you make money by teaching others how to cook them?

There’s a huge demand for cooking classes. Chiara Nicolanti started her cooking class business, Nonna Live, with her grandmother teaching Italian recipes that had been passed down for generations.

Today, many grandmothers are involved in keeping this culinary tradition alive by teaching classes both in person and online.

41. Open a restaurant

If you’re not keen on teaching your skills or sharing your family recipes, you could think about opening a family restaurant. There are roles for everyone, from young servers in the dining area to experienced cooks running the kitchen.

42. Doggy day care

Many American households, about 65.1 million, have a dog, and a lot of them work full-time.

This means there’s a big need for pet sitting services. The pet day care industry, especially, is expected to be worth $2.02 billion by 2030.

If you love dogs, this could be a great business idea for your family. Pet owners want to make sure their furry friends are safe and well looked after.

Whether you use your own home or rent a space, starting a doggy day care business with your family could be a really good option.

43. Pottery business

If you’re good at making pots, mugs, or other things out of clay, this family business idea might be perfect for you. You’ll need a pottery turntable and a kiln to get started, and then you can teach your family how to make ceramics too.

By Glaze is an example of how you can turn this idea into a successful family business. It’s run by a mom and daughter who have their own ceramics studio and jewelry business. They use TikTok to show off their products and get people to buy them from their online store.

44. Vending machine business

Vending machines make money by buying products in bulk and selling them through the machine. You’ll need to learn how to use the machine, but the rest is figuring it out as you go.

If you’re thinking of starting this business with your family, where you put your vending machine is really important.

Pick a spot with lots of people passing by, where it’s convenient to grab a snack and there aren’t many other options. Schools are a good example because students often want snacks they can’t get in the cafeteria.

45. Sell your inventions

Many families have special items passed down through generations that were made to solve a problem. If you’re facing a challenge, chances are others are too. That’s how EazyHold, a business run by sisters, started.

“My two sisters and I created, patented, and made a new product for people with grip issues,” says co-founder Kerry Mellin. “We opened a shop on Shopify, and now our product is used in over 15,000 care facilities and schools, with 30 distributors worldwide.”

“Even eight years later, our partners and employees are all still family: sons, daughters-in-law, nieces, nephews, sisters. We never imagined our product and business would have such a big impact.”

46. Tour company

If your family has been in the same area for a long time, you probably know a lot about its history.

You can earn money by giving tours to visitors who want to learn more about your town’s past. You can advertise these tours on websites like Get Your Guide, TripAdvisor, or Airbnb.

47. Vintage clothing business

If you enjoy shopping for vintage clothes, here’s a family business idea for you. It works well if you have different family members from various age groups.

Older folks can help pick out classic styles, while younger family members, like Gen Z, who are always up-to-date with trends, can choose clothes to sell in your online vintage store.

48. Candle-making business

When you’re starting a family business, it’s important to pick something everyone can be a part of. Candle making is a great choice for that.

You might have one family member who enjoys making candles, another who’s good at selling them in person, and another who knows how to sell online. That way, you have a team that’s good at different parts of the business, and you can all make money together.

Frères Branchiaux is an example of this. It’s a candle company started by three brothers, all under 13 years old. They wanted to buy a PlayStation 4, and their mom gave them two choices: get a job or start a business. They chose to start a business.

49. Property rental company

If you’ve moved out of your parents’ house, and they still have extra space, you can make money by renting out your old room. Websites like Airbnb help connect travelers with people who have rooms to rent. You can earn a lot of money, especially if you clean the room yourself between guests.

50. Custom lighting business

People love buying things that are personalized just for them. Jess Munday, who started Custom Neon, got into this business by making personalized lighting.

It all began as a side project while she was on maternity leave. Her husband, Jake, joined in, and the family business took off.

“Then our family got involved,” Jess explains. “Jake’s parents helped us with hiring people for the business. They handled things like scheduling and shipping, which let me focus on selling our products. Our business grew faster than we expected.

“Having family members working with us wasn’t just about convenience; it was about trust and having the same goals. We were all determined to make Custom Neon successful because we saw its huge potential. Our team’s dedication has been a big part of our success.”

Key Takeaways: Start your own Family Business Today

Starting a family business can feel overwhelming at first, but you don’t have to figure everything out on your own. Use the skills you and your family already have, and together, you’ll be off to a great start.

Who knows?

Your small business today could grow into something big that you pass down to your kids and grandkids in the future.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do you decide what type of family business to start?

When you’re thinking about family business ideas, think about:

What you’re good at and what you like doing
How much money you have to invest
How much time you can dedicate to the business
How much money you need to keep the business running smoothly

Then, ask the same questions for everyone else in your family who will be involved in the business. Choose an idea that uses everyone’s strengths, fits your budget, and meets your financial needs.

What is the easiest family business to start?

The best family business to start varies based on what you’re good at, what you already have, and where you live. But for many people, online businesses that don’t need inventory, like print-on-demand shops, are often the easiest to get going.

What are the most common family businesses?

Lots of families start businesses like restaurants, clinics, shops, and salons.

What is the best business to start with your family?

Here are best family business ideas that you can start today:

Pet sitting
Hairdressing salon
Baking company
Child care business
Construction company
Landscaping business
Catering business