DIY Business Ideas: Easy Products to Make and Sell

DIY business ideas are ideal for a budding entrepreneur like you, especially if you are good at making handmade items. A DIY craft business makes a decent profit and is in high demand because you will only need a low upfront capital, unlike reselling products from manufacturers or retailers. 

Suppose you are interested in selling online and you want to have your own creative business. In that case, you might want to dive deep into this article as we will guide you on the DIY business niche market. 

While most of the niches we’ll share are considered small business ideas, they have the potential to scale into bigger businesses in the future.

14 Best Products To Make and Sell Online 

If you plan to own a business and save money simultaneously, setting up your own DIY business is the best business idea for you. Setting up an e-commerce store is easy.

What you need to think the most are the products that you would make and sell online. In starting up a business, you should never forget the local regulations and important compliance that you should do, even if it is a DIY craft business.

Choose your e-commerce platform, online marketplaces, and online platforms wisely, and never forget to research your market niche. Your product depends on your skills and startup capital, so make sure to choose what you think would suit you best before setting up a business plan. We have here 14 products that would make your lucrative business earn profit.

There is significant market demand in the US and worldwide for these products and they would guarantee you profit and, at the same time, minimal upfront investment.

Handmade Jewelry

Jewelry making is a very trendy and potentially profitable home business idea in the US, especially if you can create a unique touch. It is one of the most accessible DIY products you can make and sell online. You can have your potential customers pick custom designs for more variety and volume of sales.

For this product, your startup capital depends on the materials and quality you would use, but generally, you can start it with as low as $600 and up to $16,000. It includes all the other materials and tools you will need, as well as the marketing and branding of your ecommerce store or online product. 

In terms of profit, it also varies depending on several factors like your pricing strategy, number of orders, quality and uniqueness of your product, etc. Generally, you can earn up to $2,400 monthly as a whole profit. Material cost is already lessened. 

Home Decor

Due to the growing interest in home design and aesthetic home decorations, many Americans buy handcrafted home decor, which is why it is also considered a profitable business from home.

With this type of home-based business model, you can start with a startup cost of $1,000 – $5,500, depending on the size and quality of the materials you will use. It also depends on your pricing strategy and customer orders. 

You can earn a profit margin of 20% to 60% of the selling price.

Natural Bath and Body Handmade Products

Soap-making business development, essential oil formulation, and bath bombs are very underrated these days.

Self-care essentials are among the top products that people in the US purchase. The demand for organic and handmade natural bath products with essential oils is growing these days. It may not be exponentially increasing, but it can still guarantee sales.

To start your own business, you will need a budget of $1,200 up to $5,000. It includes the materials, tools, and equipment you need, as well as the formulation, branding, and packaging. The good thing is the basic structure of soap only requires a few basic ingredients.

But remember, it is only the estimated general capital; it will always depend on the products you focus on. Depending on your pricing strategy and sales traffic, you can get a profit margin of 40% up to 70%. 

Personalized Gifts

You can sell your own greeting cards, gift baskets, custom t-shirts, mugs, etc., for personalized gifts with the help of screen printing. The screen printing business is very much in demand, especially during the corporate world’s holiday or events season. Besides, the gift market is an evergreen one, giving you a higher chance of creating a sustainably successful business.

With a startup capital of $70 up to $5,000, you can have materials, equipment, tools, and packaging materials for your business. This also depends on whether or not you go with the print-on-demand option, or whether you want to buy your own printing machine. With the print-on-demand service model type, you can guarantee a 30% – 60% profit depending on your selling price and traffic sales.

Upcycled and Recycled Products

The United States is getting more and more sustainability-focused and many people are pro on supporting upcycled and recycled products sold online. This business model can also help you start with low-cost capital for as low as $600 up to $5,000.

You can guarantee to have your materials, tools, and equipment on hand, as well as your branding and packaging. If you have materials at home that you can use, you can guarantee that your startup capital will be as low as possible. 

With the right niche market and the right upcycled and recycled products (trending products like recycled bags, upcycled aprons, your own custom holiday ornaments made from recyclable materials, etc.), you can guarantee a 30% to 60% profit margin, depending on your pricing strategy and other factors.

Handmade Candles

Handmade candles, especially those unique and aesthetic scented candles, are popular these days. Thus, this makes a good DIY product that could guarantee you money. Your startup capital varies depending on the product’s number of productions, quality, and complexity.

With this business type, you can start with as low as $600 to $5,000. It includes all the packaging, materials, branding, and equipment you will use. This business can guarantee you a 40% to 70% margin profit because it is still highly in demand and bought for gifts most of the time.

Children’s Toys and Accessories

Parents often seek toys that are super friendly for their kids, and many people seek aesthetic and unique toys for gifts, which is why children’s toys and accessories are an ideal business product for DIY business. You could even use this as an opportunity to write and sell your very own book for children.

With a startup cost of $1,200 up to $5,000, you can now guarantee your product’s materials, tools, equipment, packaging, branding, and marketing. You could also expand into other types of types, for example, targeting pet owners.

Eco-Friendly Products

Beauty products and subscription boxes are another great business idea for starting a DIY business. 

Subscription box handmade businesses with eco-friendly products are very in demand for giveaways and gifts for people in the Millennial age. They are very environmentally conscious and often make buying decisions based on product origin and the ethics of the company they’re purchasing from. If you successfully position yourself among this target audience, you can attract and maintain a sizable group of loyal customers.

Your initial investment for this business product varies depending on your niche. The more complex your niche is, the higher it’ll cost. But generally, you can start this DIY business idea with as low as $1,500 up to $5,000, including all the operating costs you need, as well as the marketing and branding costs.

Knitted Fashion and Accessories

Knitted fashion has been trending in the US for years. That is why this is also a promising product for your DIY business, especially if you own a sewing machine or know how to knit crafts like clothes, bags, beanies, etc.

Sewing business is in demand, especially if you have unique and appealing products for your target niche. For this business model, you will need a startup cost of about $600 up to $4,000 if you plan to do bulk products and market them online rather than sew per order. 

You can guarantee a profit margin of 30% to 60% for this product

Printables 

With the increasing demand for digital products, you can actually sell digital products as a DIY business. Unlike the traditional print-on-demand business, here you only sell the digital file, which customers can use to print on their own as they see fit.

You can sell prints from stock photo sites for abrupt and rushed printables, making this one of the ideas you can start right away, only requiring an internet connection. Or you can invest in graphic design software or printing equipment for better quality and pricing strategy. 

With this business model, you can start selling with a capital of $50 – $1,000, depending on the type of printables you offer.

Custom Art and Crafts

Some of the business models you can do with custom art and crafts are:

• Scrapbooking business;
• Pottery business;
• Stained glass business;
• Leather business;
• Upholstery business;
• Calligraphy business;
• Quilting business;
• Other local craft store ideas.

For this type of business, you must first identify your niche market and determine what you would offer. A big advantage of many handmade shop owners is that they may act as resellers for other local craftspeople, thus providing a much wider selection of goods. 

In the US, many successful upholstery businesses started by making products in small quantities to become large physical stores. Your startup capital depends on the custom crafts business that you would do. So you better do your market research well. 

Handmade Bouquet

Making handmade bouquets, dried flower business, and picture framing business is actually very popular these days in the US, particularly with Generation Z. 

For this business, you will need a starting capital of as low as $400 up to $2,000, depending on the quantity and quality of your flower bouquet.

Handmade Music Box

The woodworking business is underrated in the US but is very much in demand, especially the mini handmade music boxes that are trendy these days. If you know how to create a music box with woodworking, this might be one of the best handmade business ideas for you. You will need a startup capital of $600 up to $2,500 to create prototypes and, at the same time, a few of the products and market them.

If you’re just getting into woodworking, a standard Beavercraft carving set and a Dremel rotary tool are usually more than enough in terms of tools. There are also tons of online classes and YouTube videos to help you learn the intricacies of the craft.

Service-based Creative Businesses

In case you don’t want to get your hands physically dirty, you can always sell online services on the Internet and become a freelancer. This way you can become your own boss and start making money online.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs choose this path because it allows them to reach customers worldwide (in this case, clients) and because there are barely any business expenses to kick-starting a freelance career. 

There are also plenty of creative DIY niches you can try:

• Photography business;
• Graphic design;
• Music production, etc.

If you build your own brand and find reliable clients you can set up a repeat business arrangement and create assets for them consistently. And because you create your own schedule, you’ll have a much better work-life balance.

How To Sell Your DIY Products Online 

Many of the best small business ideas succeed primarily by word-of-mouth marketing, participating in local craft fairs and local markets, and other marketing strategies that don’t scale well. Yes, this can lead you to success, but you will eventually hit a wall.

In terms of developing your own craft business, you need to find the best e-commerce platform that you think would help your business and your products to be noticeable.

After finding the right platform for you, create your online store, set up your product pages, categorize your products well, and define your pricing strategy. Then, you can select your channels and applications/platforms for your products, choose your payment gateway, and market your products.

With the right marketing strategy, you can market your products through social media presence and your own website. You can also choose to do paid social media marketing for a more effortless boost to your business, including your physical store and other campaigns like opening pop-up shops. If you don’t know where to start, look for specialists and use their digital marketing services.
In addition, there are many online courses and online tutorials you can find on the internet regarding how to sell your crafts online. Do your research well and apply all the learnings as a starting business owner. Good luck!