If you like the idea of starting your own business with the people whom you trust most in the world, keep reading – because in this article, we’ll be giving you fun and profitable business ideas for families that you will find very interesting.
Challenging is an understatement to describe the difficulty of starting a business alone. But if you started one with your family, things just might be easier because you’ll be able to get the support and motivation that you need – especially in times when you’re close to giving up.
If that isn’t sweet, we don’t know what it is. So without further ado, let’s jump right into our topic.
Outline
- Profitable And Fun Family Business Ideas
- Auto-Detailing Business
- Online Fitness Training
- Travel And Tours
- Catering
- Food Truck
- Designs
- Gardening Or Landscaping Company
- Content Creation
- Baking
- Online Business
- Successful Family-Run Businesses On Shopify
- The Bottomline
Profitable And Fun Family Business Ideas
Everything starts with a plan, and a plan starts with a simple idea. Here are some great ideas for you so you can start that family business that you have always dreamt of.
And to prove that these are, indeed, great businesses to start, we used Google Trends to check the popularity of each business in the United States over the past twelve months.
01. Auto-Detailing Business
Photo by Brad Starkey on Unsplash
Google Trends popularity score of Carwash Business: 92
Are you a family obsessed with cars and cleanliness? Well, this car cleaning services business is for you.
Most people want their mechanical workhorses clean and on top condition. However, with the hustle and bustle of daily life, not everyone has the time to clean their cars on a regular basis.
So why not make a business out of it. Grab yourself some car cleaning kits, a power washer, and learn car cleaning skills from the internet and you have a business idea waiting to be executed.
You can either set up a physical shop, or you can be an on-call home-service car wash business.
This definitely isn’t a one-man job. As such, you’ll need the jobs delegated to your family members so you can maximize your time and clean as many cars as you can in a day.
02. Online Fitness Training
Photo by Gabin Vallet on Unsplash
Google Trends popularity score Online Fitness Training: 100
If fitness and health consciousness runs in your blood, an online fitness concept is a fun family business idea that’s perfectly suited to your DNA.
Since you're fitness buffs, you’re probably working out every morning. And what about earning money during your workout session? Now, that’s efficient!
To start with, you can start creating some fitness programs that your target customers would benefit from and enjoy. As you finish formulating your fitness programs, you can either sell recorded workout sessions or conduct live workouts where you can interact with your customers in real time.
Here’s an interesting idea… Make it a family activity. Have your husband or wife, and your kids join your workout sessions and create an enjoyable program tailored for other families who want to start a healthy lifestyle.
This way, you can also help other families develop a closer relationship.
03. Travel And Tours
Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
Google Trends popularity score Travel and Tours: 74
If you're one who doesn't say no to new adventures, a travel and tours business has your name written all over it.
Having a rich knowledge and understanding of awesome places to visit would be a great plus since you have places to recommend for a start. But let’s be honest, this is a competitive industry. Good thing you are not on your own. You can delegate crucial tasks so that each family member has an important role to fulfill.
One for ticketing and booking, one for sales and marketing, one for the technical stuff, and so on.
But one thing’s for sure, you’d uncover new places that you and your entire family would want to try in the near future. Isn’t that fun and exciting?
04. Catering
Photo by Pablo Lancaster Jones on Unsplash
Google Trends popularity score Catering Services: 98
Cooking and marketing. If your family has these two skills on the table, a catering business is one that you would want to try.
Catering is not an easy business. It has a lot of moving parts in it that requires teamwork and mutual trust – you should have a marketing team, a kitchen team, and a food service team to complete your catering roster.
And all these different departments need a leader – ones whom you can trust and wont turn their back on you when times get tough. Thus, these are best handled by family members – provided that they have the appropriate skills.
But if everyone is inexperienced in the field, you can all work together in starting small and scaling up as you learn how to play the game. Despite the hardships that you will encounter, you won’t be hungry doing this business.
05. Food Truck
Photo by Joana Godinho on Unsplash
Google Trends popularity score of Food Truck: 93
Speaking of food business, if a catering business sounds overwhelming, too much work, and too much initial capital, starting small in the form of a food truck can be a business that you can win.
Do you have a century-old family recipe that you want other people to enjoy? Or does your culture pride itself with its world-class cuisines? Then, it’s about time to ignite your inner chef and share these delightful flavors with the world.
Food trucks have a certain appeal that people enjoy – the convenience, atmosphere, affordability, and of course, the unique foods that people get to taste.
Running a food truck business with your loved ones is also one that will bring you closer as teamwork and chemistry is required to entice customers.
So if you like the idea of meeting locals, making new friends, and making people happy, give this one a shot.
Tip: Park near a farmers market. That way, you don’t have to worry about foot traffic. Just make sure that you got the necessary permits.
06. Designs
Photo by Maheima Kapur on Unsplash
Google Trends popularity score Handmade Items: 95
In some families, children follow the footsteps of their parents. And if you are a family of professionals – like designers, architects, and engineers – combining your talents and skills together to establish a design firm could be a powerful combination. As they say, “Two heads [or more] are better than one.”
If you don’t have a degree in said fields but your family members are artsy in nature, you can still pursue this path by creating unique and handmade crafts that you can sell in your physical or online store.
With your collective effort, innate creativity, and love for craft, you might just create a thriving business out of the works of your hands. This isn’t just wishful thinking. In fact, we have provided some sample Shopify stores below that succeeded as family-run businesses that have been passed on through generations.
07. Gardening Or Landscaping Company
Google Trends popularity score of Landscaping Services: 66
As simple as it sounds, maintaining a lawn clean and organized isn’t a job for those who don’t have a passion for nature and beauty.
Look around your neighborhood and see how many lawns are well-maintained. If not much, then a gardening or landscaping company could be profitable in your local community.
If you want a wider coverage for your business, investing in a truck and a couple of gardening equipment is the way to go. Some people can do this business alone because of the machines that they use.
But if you want to serve as many customers as possible in a day, then being efficient is the key. Lucky you, you got your family members involved in your business so you don't need to worry about manpower.
Be good at delegating tasks so you can finish fast while upholding quality service. The good thing about this business is that repeat customers are a sure thing after just a few months – that is, if you were able to satisfy them.
08. Content Creation
Photo by Jose P. Ortiz on Unsplash
Google Trends popularity score Content Creation: 100
You’ve surely seen YouTube channels where family members are the main characters. We love these kinds of shows – and we’re assuming that other people do too.
In 2017 alone, time spent watching family channels on YouTube grew by 90% – and family YouTube channels have been profiting from this increased interest to their content.
Just look at the subscribers these top five YouTube family channels have:
- The ACE Family - 18.5 million
- Roman Atwood Vlogs - 15.4 million
- The LaBrant Family - 13 million
- The Bee Family - 10.4 million
- The Shaytards - 4.8 million
Of course, growing a YouTube channel is not an easy mission. You’d have to be extremely creative and persistent. And most importantly, your family should show real chemistry in order to hook your target audience.
09. Baking
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Google Trends popularity score of Bakeshop: 94
Combining art, finesse, knowledge, and passion – you get bread. Yep, that’s right, bread.
These satisfying foods are one of the most difficult crafts to create. Get the ingredients a little off proportion and your bread won’t be as good as it’s supposed to be.
So if your family has a long standing heritage in baking, it might be time that you teach the next generation in order to pass on the tradition.
But if none of you are experienced at baking but you have a deep love for breads and cookies, this could be the best time to start learning the art so you can build a profitable business out of it.
Attend the workshop with your family so all of you can learn the basics. After that, practice together at home until you perfect your recipes.
By that time, your family-owned bakery is ready to launch.
10. Online Business
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
Google Trends popularity score of Ecommerce: 87
The truth is, any business that you can think of can involve your family members in it. And let’s be honest, some businesses mentioned here require a hefty capital while there are also those that require some skills that aren’t easy to master – like designs, cooking, and baking.
But don’t let that discourage you.
There are simpler family business ideas that you can execute while learning – just like online businesses.
Believe it or not, running an online store is very easy. And with the help of ecommerce platforms like Shopify, you don’t need a master’s degree in tech to start your own online business.
All you need is a laptop, an internet connection, and an idea. The rest can be learned with perseverance. And since you’ll be learning with your family, things become a little easier as you have the support system that you need in your early stages.
The good thing about running an online business is that you can run it from your home so you can spend as much quality time as you want with your loved ones. Nail the right concept and you’re up for an exciting and prosperous journey.
Successful Family-Run Businesses On Shopify
Speaking of online family businesses, here are some great examples that would inspire you if you are looking to establish a successful venture with your family.
01. Au Lit Fine Linens
Au Lit Fine Linens is a Canadian company that sells fine linens. They pride themselves as a company that upholds excellent quality on all their products by maintaining traditional methods of creating their products. To achieve that, all their products are handcrafted in their Canadian factories.
Au Lit Fine Linens’ story goes back to 1981 when Peggy Byron opened up her first-ever physical store. Since then, the business has been taking its time and steadily expanding.
After the original founder passed away, the daughter took over control of the business and has remained as a family-run entity up to this day.
02. Garden Tool Co.
Garden Tool Co. is a husband-and-wife-run online business. They sell a wide range of gardening tools that help those who have green thumbs till their gardens.
The company has a very interesting story. It all started with low-quality, brand new edger from a big box store that broke down the first time it touched the soil. Though it’s quite funny, Blake and Anne were so frustrated with the low quality gardening materials available from their local shopping centers.
Ironically, these are supposed to be rugged tools that should withstand harsh conditions. And that’s why decided to establish a company that sell high-quality gardening tools that would last for years – not days
03. Kalifano
Kalifano is an online store that sells a wide variety of artistic crafts like bonsai, jewelry, furniture, and more.
But among their opulent collection, what piqued most of our interests are these recycled metal scraps welded together to form different sculptures of fictional characters.
If you look closer, you will see that these sculptures are made by bending metals and welding together chains, bolts, wrenches and other items you’ll find in a toolbox.
Their story began more than a century ago in the year 1912 when they first immigrated from Palestine. They initially sold linens and lingeries and as decades went by, they have expanded their product line.
Today, they are a 37-man team creating handmade items using metal and gemstones as their primary materials. They have a pretty strong statement about keeping the business run by family to uphold quality.
In their own words:
“We started as a family business and we intend to keep it that way.”
04. Ardmore Pottery
Ardmore Pottery is an embodiment of trust, passion, and patience between a mom and her two lovely daughters. The business was established by Mary Lincoln (mother) in 1981. But as times evolved, their business, products, and designs evolved, too.
But despite all the modernity, one of the core values that Ardmore Pottery still upholds today is advocating for and honing Irish talents. That’s why they only hire Irish makers.
They are currently selling knitwear, jewelry, homeware, toys, paintings, and prints that are handmade by various designers and artists.
Today, the business is run by Mary’s two daughters, Sarah and Katie, and is now thriving in both local and online sales.
The Bottomline
The concept of starting a business with your loved ones and creating a successful venture out of it is quite interesting and exciting to think about. There’s no doubt that this is possible if everyone puts their minds and hearts into it.
But similar to running other ventures, managing a family business has its own set of challenges that you need to face. And let’s be honest, the involvement of emotions make this type of business quite hard to execute the right way.
However, if you successfully establish a clear line between work and family life, and approach the business with patience and maturity the challenges become more bearable. There’s no sweeter victory than succeeding as a family.
