Crafts & makingBrazil
BrazilThemed 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
How to startEfaru — Small business ideas you can start yourself, from all over the world.
Latest ideas
Crafts & makingUnited States
United StatesHand-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
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 & makingUnited States
Paid pumpkin carving for Halloween parties and offices
Two Halloween fans turned a seasonal hobby into paid work, with single pumpkins fetching as much as $700.
$60–400Easy6 steps
Food & drinkBrazil
Personalised religious sweets made in a home kitchen in São Paulo
A mother and daughter turned hand-decorated sweets for temple celebrations into a full-time income from their own kitchen.
$400–1.5kMedium6 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
Crafts & makingUnited States
Plush human-organ toys sold to schools and parents in the US
Soft hearts, lungs and stomachs let children learn anatomy by hugging the body part they are studying.
$300–1.5kMedium6 steps
ServicesUnited States
Free chalkboards for restaurants paid by local advertisers
Give a restaurant a free specials board, then sell the strip along the bottom to neighbouring businesses.
$150–600Easy6 steps
Crafts & makingBrazil
Scrap-built drums and instruments sold from a home workshop in Brazil
A music student with no budget turned plastic drums and bottle skins into a business earning about R$ 20,000 a month.
$300–1.5kMedium6 steps
Crafts & makingIndia
IndiaHandmade 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