Business kits
Each guide shows real startup costs, how they compare to buying a franchise, and what it takes to run. More businesses are on the way.
A low-cost service business with steady residential demand and several revenue streams: houses, driveways, decks, and commercial flatwork.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A low-cost, year-round home service with weekly and every-other-week repeat customers, which many owners grow from cleaning homes themselves into hiring and managing a small team.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A low-cost route business with repeat residential customers, where a water-fed pole lets you clean second-story glass while staying on the ground.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
Cleaning and restocking Airbnb and Vrbo homes between guests on a schedule set by bookings, with the option to co-host (manage listings and guests) for owners who live elsewhere.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A weekly mowing, edging and cleanup route needs no state license in California and modest equipment, while fertilizer and weed treatment is a separately licensed add-on.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A repair-and-install service for people who already have practical skills, which in California starts with small jobs under $1,000 and can grow into a licensed contracting business.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A twice-a-year repeat service that can start with a ground-level vacuum system for a few thousand dollars, and grow into gutter-guard installation, which in California needs a contractor license on jobs of $1,000 or more.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A project-based home service that suits a career changer best as the estimator and salesperson who runs a licensed painting crew, starting with small interior jobs under California's $1,000 limit.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A low-cost, hands-on service that helps people declutter, set up organizing systems that last, and sort a lifetime of belongings before downsizing.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A mobile cleaning business you can start lean with a portable extractor and your own vehicle, or set up professionally with a van-mounted truck-mount machine.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A low-cost service with a real fire-safety purpose, where most homes need one visit a year and property managers can bring steady repeat work.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A hauling business with simple equipment and steady local demand, best run as a manager with a two-person crew because the lifting is heavy every day.
A weekly residential route of pool cleaning and water-chemistry visits that brings in steady monthly revenue, year-round in the Sun Belt and seasonally elsewhere, with equipment repair as a separately licensed add-on in California.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A recurring outdoor service that treats home yards for mosquitoes and ticks every few weeks through the warm months, with a real licensing hurdle in California before you can work for hire.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
Run a small delivery company that contracts with Amazon (as a Delivery Service Partner) or FedEx Ground (as an Independent Service Provider): a fleet and people-management business with thin margins, where one customer sets your pay and can end the contract.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A very low-cost, ground-level route business where homeowners pay a small weekly subscription to have dog waste cleared from their yards.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A very low-cost service business built on daily and weekly repeat visits, where growth means hiring walkers as employees.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A desk-based business that turns your own subject knowledge into hourly sessions, online or in students' homes, with very little to buy up front.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A no-storefront business that runs weekly sports or STEM classes for children at preschools, schools, parks and rec centers, taught by you or by part-time coaches you hire.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A licensed agency that sends trained caregivers into older adults' homes for companionship, meals, bathing and errands; in California there is no legal one-person version, because the agency needs a state license, workers' comp and caregivers on its own payroll.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A desk-and-phone advisory business that helps families choose assisted living, memory care and other senior housing, usually free to the family and paid by the community the senior moves into.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A planning-heavy service that helps older adults downsize and move: sorting, floor plans, selling or donating belongings, and coordinating licensed movers.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A patient, one-to-one service that helps older adults set up and use phones, tablets, computers, Wi-Fi and smart-home devices, and spot scams, in their homes or remotely.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A desk-based service that keeps small businesses' books each month for a recurring fee, with almost no equipment, best suited to people with finance or accounting experience.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A home-based service coaching small-business owners on growth, sales, operations and leadership, one-on-one or in groups, that costs little to start but usually takes a long time to fill with paying clients.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
An analytical, report-heavy service that examines a house's systems for buyers and sellers, usually booked around a home sale.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A year-round business-to-business service where the owner wins recurring cleaning contracts with offices and small businesses and, over time, manages crews who clean after hours.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
A neighborhood storefront that rents private mailboxes and offers packing and shipping, printing, and notary services.
* Some startup costs aren't priced yet.
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