How to Start a $167K/Month Photography Business
May 30, 2023
May 30, 2023
Do you have a knack for taking pictures? Have friends and family asked you to photograph their special events? It may be time to consider how to start a photography business!
If you’re a budding photographer looking to make money from your passion, you’re in luck. In this article, we’ll show you how to start your own photography business.
To show you the ropes, we sat down with Katelyn James Photography. Katelyn got started when she was invited to help a friend with wedding photography. She barely knew anything about photography, but today she’s making nearly $2 million per year. She’ll share the strategies that she used to start a photography business.
Click any of the links below to jump to the section of your choosing.
Follow Katelyn’s advice and our step-by-step guide to start your own photography business in no time.
Katelyn told us:
Check out our interview with her below:
We’ll break down equipment costs later. But here’s a list of startup costs that professional photographers should include in their photography business plans.
Ongoing costs for a photography business include:
My wife and I started a photography business in 2017, and during the first year, we spent approximately $16,000 in expenses, including models, hair stylists, equipment, and props.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), photographers make, on average, $36K annually, with the highest earners making around $79K. But those figures only calculate the wage and salary of workers.
It’s really easy to calculate how much a business should make in revenue. Most businesses aim for employee costs to be less than 30% of revenue. That means a business should make $120,000 to $264,000 per photographer, based on the BLS statistics.
The truth is that there are a lot of numbers thrown around in the photography industry, and any research will net a wide range of reports. There are individuals claiming they make $50K per year as part-time wedding photographers. Other photographers have reported making six figures consistently within their niche.
Instead of asking what everyone else is making, ask yourself, “What do I want to earn?”
Remember, if you’re starting a photography business, you determine how much you earn! Give yourself an honest evaluation of your photography skills, value how much your time is worth, and go out and get some business.
Professional photographers know the actual cost of doing business. They follow the regulations to the best of their ability, and they continually invest in their business.
If you’ve ever seen a person walking around with multiple cameras so they don’t have to change lenses, that’s when they’ve reached the high end of the photography market. These are the people you want to model a business after.
Starting a photography business can be hard work, but if you stick with it, you can quickly be amongst the ranks of the most profitable professional photographers. Just follow these steps, and you’ll break into the photography industry.
Want to print off the instructions? We’ve created a starting a photography business checklist to make it easy for you. Download it below.
[maxbutton id=”3″ url=”https://www.upflip.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/photography-business-checklist.pdf” text=”Download the Checklist” ]
Now we’ll walk you through the steps of starting a photography business one by one.
We asked Katelyn about generalized photography.
Photography businesses have a lot of choices when it comes to their market. Knowing your specialty is key to developing a solid business plan. It will save you substantial time at launch and during the development of your business.
If you’re not sure which market you want to pursue, here’s a list of potential markets you can research:
The most commonly entered photography market is portrait photography, but there are a lot of different options. Depending on what you’ll be photographing, you’ll need different equipment. Keep reading for more information on how to start a photography business.
Many photographers stick to narrow target markets—such as wedding photography for 50 to 100 people—because each type of photography requires additional equipment. We’ll cover equipment costs and provide resources in the next step, but take note of the necessary equipment while you research markets.
For example, sports photographers use low f-stop, auto-focus telephoto lenses to capture the action on the field from a distance. When we spoke with Korbin and Whitney Korzan of Mile High Productions. Korbin pointed out that a wedding photographer might use a stabilizer vest to help hold their camera in place during a long workday.
See more of our interview with Korbin and Whitney:
You’ll need a camera, lenses, memory cards, and extra accessories that correspond to the type of photography you want to do.
Katelyn suggests:
A camera is the most important piece of equipment you’ll buy for a photography business. It’s important to get high-quality equipment. However, that doesn’t mean you need to break the bank.
Spending hours on the web trying to research the best camera on the market is a waste of time if you can’t even afford the equipment. So, we’ll save you some time. Let’s look at the types of cameras available.
Canon, Nikon, and Sony are the main manufacturers of camera bodies. There are forums where photographers endlessly debate which one is better, but most professional photographers use one of those brands.
Each camera maker creates three main styles of cameras:
You can find all of them on Amazon.
I love our Nikon D750, but I strongly recommend going to a photography local business and testing each of them out to see which you prefer. Fortunately, there are a lot of resources out there to help you make the right choice. I find B&H Foto and Electronics to be one of the best sources for photography knowledge.
Once you choose a camera, remember that you don’t have to purchase new equipment. You can try to find great used equipment on the web or from a local Canon or Nikon retailer to keep your startup costs in check.
Make sure to ask about the warranty, though. The number of photos taken impacts the usable life of the camera— shutters are what normally go bad first.
After you choose your camera, assess the costs of other equipment as part of your market research. Here’s a potential shopping list:
You don’t need everything on the list to start your business. Not everyone uses a drone as Korbin does, and you may not need lighting equipment for your market.
Here are some more sites to help you find everything you need:
When you’re learning how to start a photography business, don’t be surprised that a lot of your time will be consumed by editing photos. Editing can consume 30 to 50 percent of the time working in a photography business. To tweak your shots, you’ll need photo editing software, including Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom
Customers expect clean, crisp photos with digitally corrected lighting and colors. A professional photographer turns a picture you could get out of your phone into a masterpiece that exceeds all customer expectations.
Many top-tier photographers hire professional photo editors for image editing, but many small business owners will not allow others to edit their photos because they want to maintain creative control.
You should master editing, but if you really want to run your own business, I suggest creating workflows with well-defined processes for an editing team. There are a lot of online resources available for image editing that can get you up to speed on the latest techniques and software. We suggest Scott Kelby paperback books when someone asks us how to learn photography.
Here are more good materials:
Let’s be clear: not all photographers are videographers, and not all videographers are photographers. But if you can do both, you can book substantially higher priced photography jobs. Many photographers will partner with a videographer or hire one.
Korbin booked his first real estate photography gig because he owns a drone. Whitney told us about their photography services:
There’s an enormous market for both services, so here are some resources to help you educate yourself about videography:
If all of this seems like a lot to take in, don’t stress. Next, we’ll discuss the minimum you can do to get started—and learn the rest later.
If you expect someone to pay for your photography services, it needs to be worth their investment. And like any art form, amazing photos take a lot of practice.
Katelyn suggested:
From the time you pick up a camera to the time you retire, a professional photographer should always be looking to improve. If you’re just starting, you’ll probably spend a ton of time with your camera gear and editing software.
You’ll encounter plenty of resources out there for photographers. In fact, there are so many that it may seem a little scary at first. The beauty of photography is that you don’t need a degree to start your business. You can learn from free training online. Katelyn told us:
To learn from Katelyn, check out her free access training.
There are wonderful programs to choose from if you want to go that route.
For most new photographers, you can find courses online to help hone your skills. Here’s a short list so you can research and find the best course to fit your needs:
The next step on the photography business roadmap is choosing a professional photography business name.
Choosing photography business name ideas is a chance to show your style. Names for photography business services might be as simple as your name plus “photography.” You might also want to include the style of photography or the values in the business name. Check out our article about choosing business names or find your own name with our photography business name generator. Try it now!
Every business should have a business plan. Even if it’s only a one-page business plan, it will help keep you on track. You’ll want to include:
Katelyn told us:
Read our blog about writing a business plan for more info.
To start a photography company, you’ll need to:
As a business entity, you can open a business bank account under your business name to separate your business and personal finances. A business bank account is required to maintain limited liability status. Find out more about business banking.
Your local laws may require a business license for photography. If you’re doing photography as a side job, you’ll probably be okay. Many businesses and government properties require a license, permit, and insurance that protects the facility, too. This includes public parks.
Check with your local county clerk or tax assessor-collector to see what’s required in your city. Contact information for these officials varies by city and county, but here’s directory information for Texas, California, and New York.
Make sure it is legal within your city, county, and/or homeowners association. From there, you can do the editing and maybe even some of the photography from home. The best part is the IRS allows tax benefits for your personal office.
Many photography business owners forget that a small business needs insurance to protect their business and personal assets from lawsuit-happy clients. A photography career actually has some major risks involved, including:
A business owner should have at least general liability insurance and probably professional liability insurance. I suggest checking with Simply Business to get your photography business insurance. Get Coverage Today!
Marketing materials are a huge part of starting a photography business. We asked Katelyn about marketing a photography business. She suggested:
Your photography website is a combination of marketing and business for photographers.
If someone wants to see your work, then they should be able to type in a domain name that’s easy to remember and that takes them to a clean and dynamic site. Obtain a domain name from a domain seller like:
If you’re not good at web design or have no experience, that’s okay. Check out our blog about how to build a website.
Katelyn wants you to know:
No matter what, make sure your site is always up-to-date and running smoothly. You never know when a potential client may look at your portfolio. Also, be sure to establish a solid privacy policy and terms of use for potential clients.
Social media accounts are a phenomenal way for photographers to reach your target market. Set up business profiles on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Behance (Adobe’s site for creatives), and constantly post your work.
If you want to make connections with people on social media, interact with them on your posts. It makes your business more personal and creates opportunities to gain more clients. Katelyn told us:
You can use your profiles to guide potential customers to your website.
A photography business card is a great place to show off your skills. Put some of your favorite photos on the back and your contact information on the front. A lot of photographers love Moo business cards because they let you have a different back on each business card. If you’re looking for other photographer business cards, check out our blog on cheap business cards.
Don’t be afraid to reach out! If you’re just starting your photography business, try doing what Korbin did and contact local real estate agents. You never know who might be looking for someone to take fantastic shots of their properties.
If you want to work in wedding photography, you can attend bridal conventions. Not everyone has a big budget for their photographs, and when you attend trade shows you can meet potential clients. Plus, it’s a great networking opportunity.
Another tactic is to run Google Ad Campaigns. On their platform, you can create digital ads that are highly targeted to specific audiences and locations.
The ads cost less than traditional advertising platforms. It’s an easy and affordable method to reach a lot of potential customers with little effort. If you’re not sure about Google Ads, you can hire a specialist through freelancing sites like Upwork. Just be sure they have an AdWords Certification from Google.
Don’t forget to set up a Google Business Profile and add lots of pictures so local clients can find you more easily.
A great way to see how much you should charge is to look at what others in your market are charging for their services and compare their quality level to your own. Ask questions like:
Katelyn told us how to start a photography business and get the most value for your time:
Make sure to create all your marketing materials and save them in ways that are easy to edit. Now that you know how to market a photography business, it’s time to discuss the photo shoots.
Photography businesses spend a lot of time working on sessions, and much of it isn’t apparent to clients. Let’s say you shoot family portraits. The time spent on the client shoot includes the time to:
As you can see, a successful business requires far more than what your customers will see.
Katelyn explained that a new photography business owner will normally play a much different role than when the photography business grows:
Many single-person photography businesses fail to succeed because the photographer forgets that they are a small business owner first. You can have the most amazing photography portfolio, but there are a few essential steps that a business photographer cannot ignore if they want to make more money.
At this point, you know how to start a photography business.
Photography is an awesome field! Many professional photographers find starting a new business to be a win-win scenario. Either you make a great living, you get to have some experiences you would never have imagined, or both.
Either way, you’ll learn a lot about yourself and about the world, and be better off for it. Dare to capture life’s beautiful moments.
As the Korzans told us:
What’s your favorite type of photography?
Brandon Boushy
You want your time to be used wisely when you start your own business. That means you should know the most profitable businesses to start with the time, education, resources, and connections you currently have.
What’s considered “profitable” is always changing, of course, and that’s why we continually update our rankings. Every year the most profitable businesses will change slightly as our economy evolves, products become obsolete, and technology advances.
What follows is a freshly updated ranking of the most profitable small businesses, plus the info and resources you need to get started.
[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]You’ll want to check out the following businesses. Click on any of the links below to jump to the one that interests you.
First, some context. We took a look at financial reports from early 2024 to ensure relatively recent data. When you consider industries with the most profitable businesses in demand, you’ll find:
Many of the most profitable businesses aren’t practical for people who want successful small business ideas for business owners.
Most of us don’t have access to venture capitalists or the ability to run a business for 10 years before it starts making money. So, we’re constraining our list to the most profitable and best small businesses to start.
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A good small business to start will normally have high growth opportunities and low barriers of entry, work well as a home-based business, and provide great profit margins. We’ve handpicked some of the most profitable small business ideas for you. Check out our picks for best profitable businesses 2024 below.
• Average Annual Revenue: $1.95M
• Average Profit Margins: 5.4%
• Startup Costs: $100-$3M
• Time To Revenue: 1-6 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.1%
• Best For: Cooks, chefs, bakers, or foodies with customer service, leadership, and marketing skills
Does your baking prowess receive rave reviews?
Consider exploring that talent! The cake industry is anticipated to see 3.3% growth, bringing it to $94.7 billion globally in 2028. Small specialty shops are poised to reap the majority of the profits.
A cupcake business emerges as a feasible option for individuals with limited resources. Launching this potential home-based venture requires only an oven and basic baking supplies.
As sales pick up, there's room for expansion to larger formats. Initially, you might sell cupcakes in a display case at a local shop, progress to a food truck, and eventually establish a standalone brick-and-mortar store.
Before diving in, thoroughly research the laws in your state governing the licenses, permits, and standards applicable to your budding bakery business.
Find out how Mignon Francois started the Cupcake Collection with just $5 and built a $10 million cupcake empire.
• Average Annual Revenue: $453,257
• Average Profit Margins: 6.7%
• Startup Costs: $100K-$3.5M
• Time To Revenue: 6-18 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.5%
• Best For: Sports and pop culture experts, customer- and community-focused entrepreneurs, collectors
The current valuation of the sports memorabilia market is $26.1 billion—and it’s expected to grow to $227.2 billion by 2032 according to a report by Market Decipher.
This projection suggests significant annual profits for brick-and-mortar sports memorabilia shops. The essence of this small business concept lies in acquiring genuine or replica memorabilia and reselling it at a markup.
Procure memorabilia through various channels, including wholesalers, auctions, estate sales, advertisements, and online platforms like eBay. Make sure to confirm the authenticity of any signed memorabilia by autograph authenticators.
As you become proficient in authenticating pieces, you can generate additional income by authenticating memorabilia brought to your shop by customers.
Find out how Jim Sears makes $750K a year selling sports cards.
• Average Annual Revenue: $114K+
• Average Profit Margins: 10.3%
• Startup Costs: $500-$250K
• Time To Revenue: 3+ months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.0%
• Best For: Designers, artists, and fashion experts with strong marketing and customer service skills
The bridal industry is expected to grow to $79.8 billion by 2027, which is a compound annual growth rate of 4.4%. According to BusinessWire, nearly 85% of bridal shopping is still done in retail stores.
Pro Tip: Note that bridal shops may cost $250,000 or more to get started because of all the gowns, veils, and accessories you’ll have to stock for your customers.
• Average Annual Revenue: $60K-$120K
• Average Profit Margins: 5-15%
• Startup Costs: $100-$10K
• Time To Revenue: 30-90 days
• Annual Market Growth Rate: -9.3%
• Best For: Fashion and style experts who are excellent negotiators and communicators
The projected growth of the secondhand market in the U.S. is astonishing. According to GlobalData and thredUP, the resale clothing market is expected to more than double its current value. With a growth rate that’s 16x faster than the overall retail clothing market, the resale clothing industry will reach a value of $82 billion by 2026.
A consignment shop is the ideal business model for entrepreneurs with limited funds. Entrepreneurs can participate in the profits without purchasing inventory by showcasing other people’s used products, including clothing, antiques, collectibles, and memorabilia.
Additionally, selling items on online marketplaces like Poshmark, Mercari, and eBay creates additional profitable opportunities by expanding to a national or even global market.
Primary consignment shop expenses are:
Overall, the growth in the secondhand market presents a promising opportunity for entrepreneurs interested in the consignment business model.
• Average Annual Revenue: $41K+
• Average Profit Margins: 6.4%
• Startup Cost: $1K-$100K
• Time to Revenue: 3+ months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.2%
• Best For: Foodies, chefs, cooks, bakers, and other food service veterans
Many people start food trucks because they are more profitable than owning a restaurant. You can save money by:
Kyle Gourlie, the owner of Vet Chef, told us:
[su_quote]To get started, it cost me around $41,200. Today, I am making $417K a year and aim to keep my food costs under 35%.[/su_quote]
Check out our interview with him below to learn how to start a profitable food truck business.
Keep reading for more of our top small business ideas that will make for the most profitable, best businesses in 2024.
• Average Annual Revenue: $263K+
• Average Profit Margins: 10.1%
• Startup Cost: $100K-$3.5M
• Time to Revenue: 6-18 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.3%
• Best For: Property owners who are service industry pros with a passion for entertaining and hosting
If you happen to own a charming, rustic, or historically significant home, a bed and breakfast could serve as an excellent starter business.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. bed and breakfast (B&B) industry is presently valued at $2 billion. While it faced a slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, its typical growth rate stands at 3.8% annually.
One notable advantage is you’ll live in the business, which cuts down the costs of accommodations. Customers normally expect:
Pro Tip: It's important to invest in home insurance, a food handling permit, and potentially a license to sell alcohol, if applicable. Additionally, if you plan to convert a traditional home into a B&B business, collaborating with your local planning commission may be necessary.
• Average Annual Revenue: $444K+
• Average Profit Margins: 35-40%
• Startup Cost: $100-$3.5M
• Time to Revenue: 6-18 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: -0.8%
• Best For: People who own rentable assets, collectors, great networkers
The party rental industry boasts a valuation of $5.9 billion and is experiencing a steady annual growth of 4.3% as indicated by Research and Markets.
A business in party rentals involves leasing various products for events, including tables, tents, caterers, sound equipment, and stages. The venture holds significant profit potential, and your business could cater to a range of events, from nonprofit fundraisers to upscale galas.
While the potential earnings are promising, it's crucial to make a substantial upfront investment in equipment before expecting to see profits. The strategy involves recovering these costs through repeated equipment rentals.
When setting up your business's inventory, you can consider the option of renting a storage facility to potentially save costs. Then maximize community awareness of your offerings by engaging in robust marketing efforts. Establish a physical location as early as possible to build brand credibility and reap long-term savings.
• Average Annual Revenue: $27K+
• Average Profit Margins: 8.3%
• Startup Cost: $500-$250K
• Time to Revenue: 3+ months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.6%
• Best For: Detail-focused entrepreneurs, fashion and clothing experts who excel at listening and communication
Tailoring and alterations earn $9.4 billion, and the industry is anticipated to experience 4.7% year-over-year growth according to a report by Polaris Market Research.
The beauty of venturing into this type of business lies in its scalability, plus it will help you expand your skill set. Tasks like sewing simple hems and replacing buttons might evolve into dressmaking and design as your knowledge and experience grow.
I actually have an acquaintance who designed costumes for Cirque de Soleil before opening her own small business. With that experience in altering and customizing high-end garments, she opened a brick-and-mortar shop and gets asked to design work for businesses and live performances throughout the country.
During the initial stages, it is entirely respectable to launch your operation in a clean, smoke- and pet-free space within your home.
Pro Tip: Begin by making gradual investments in a commercial-grade sewing machine, a variety of fabrics, backup equipment, and a point-of-sale (POS) system. The costs can range from $150 for an entry-level sewing machine to $10,000 or more for a top-of-the-line model.
• Average Annual Revenue: $60K-$120K
• Average Profit Margins: 5-15%
• Startup Costs: $100-$10K
• Time To Revenue: 30-90 days
• Annual Market Growth Rate: -9.3%
• Best For: Fashion and style experts who are excellent negotiators and communicators
In 2021, the maternity wear industry held a valuation of $12.2 billion, and projections from Research and Markets indicate a growth to $16.5 billion by 2028, featuring a 4.4% year-over-year increase.
The demand for formal business women's maternity attire is notably driven by the nearly 57% female composition of the U.S. workforce, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Following their pregnancies, many women opt to pass their maternity clothing on to others in need. You can play a role in facilitating this by establishing a shop specializing in gently used maternity attire and other pregnancy supplies.
Start your used maternity clothing venture by selecting and legally formalizing your business structure.
Then, get a seller's permit and source inventory from social media, consignment shops, and thrift stores. Promote your business within the community, expressing your interest in purchasing used maternity clothing. Finally, ensure profitability by selling the clothing at prices that exceed your purchase cost.
• Average Annual Revenue: $74K+
• Average Profit Margins: 6.7%
• Startup Costs: $1K-$30K
• Time to Revenue: 1-6 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.2%
• Best For: Self-motivated, independent, and detail-oriented entrepreneurs
Cleaning businesses are virtually gold mines. They’re easy to start, and they have high success rates. Our friend Chris Mondragon pulls in over $125K monthly with his company, Queen Bee Cleaning! In his words:
[su_quote]As you start out, your margins are 40-50%.[/su_quote]
Forty to fifty percent! Seasoned business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs know how significant that is! With only 13 weekly cleaning contracts, you can rake in $7,800—not in revenue, but pure profit! Now imagine signing 20 or 30 of these high-paying contracts.
Cleaning is a business built to scale. But be careful: You can’t scale to millions of dollars just anywhere. There’s a tried-and-true calculation that reveals the earning potential in your area. If the numbers line up, you can scale to seven figures.
If you’re curious about how to use the calculation and want to know how to start your cleaning business from scratch—no franchise required—check out this free masterclass with Chris Mondragon.
You can read Chris’s incredible story here or watch our exclusive interview below.
• Average Annual Revenue: $35K-$50K
• Average Profit Margins: 10.5%
• Startup Costs: $100-$200
• Time To Revenue: 1-3 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.9%
• Best For: People with strong organization and communication skills, those who want to work from home and set their own hours
Becoming a virtual assistant for clients you choose is a profitable business to start. Some of the top virtual assistants on Upwork make $85 an hour. That’s up to $152K per year for doing things like scheduling appointments, sending emails, completing research, and other jobs you can do remotely.
Like other jobs that use a knowledge-based business model, the main startup costs are licensing and software. If you want to make more than that, you can start a VA agency and hire other people to help with this small business idea.
• Average Annual Revenue: $817K
• Average Profit Margins: 6.9%
• Startup Costs: $100-$10K
• Time to Revenue: 1-6 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.3%
• Best For: Social media experts, writers and content creators, people with search engine optimization (SEO) expertise
Social media marketing is a vast industry. According to Statista, it is a $153.7 billion industry. And all you need is a computer, some software, and to find some clients.
Jason Yormark of Socialistics told us:
[su_quote]You can expect each client to be around $2,000-5,000 per month and require 20-40 man-hours to give them proper service.[/su_quote]
That means a single person can make up to $40K monthly from home without investing in inventory. Find out how Jason turned his company into a $500K-a-year social media marketing agency:
Pro Tip: You can also learn from our blog on how to start a marketing agency.
• Average Annual Revenue: $244K per employee
• Average Profit Margins: 18%
• Startup Cost: $500-$2.5K
• Time To Revenue: 3-12 months (plus accounting degree)
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 1%
• Best For: Certified accountants, entrepreneurs with strong math and financial skills
To become a certified public accountant, you will need 150 hours of education in accounting. That’s a bachelor’s degree and passing the CPA exam, which is a test for proficiency created by the American Institute for Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Once you have a CPA license, you can start a company and make a great living. There are only 40,000 AICPA members and over 80 million tax returns filed annually by tax professionals, so there’s plenty of work.
Granted, tax prep services do some of those, but CPAs do the big ones. Even at the low end of $100 per tax return, that’s still $8 billion in revenue, and that’s just part of what CPAs do.
Add in payroll, quarterly minimum filing, certifying businesses for SOC 2 compliance, managing business sales tax payments, and other business finances, and it’s obvious why working as a CPA is one of the most lucrative business ideas in 2022.
• Average Annual Revenue: $364K
• Average Profit Margins: 6.4%
• Startup Costs: $1K-$3.5M
• Time To Revenue: 6-18 months
• Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.2%
• Best For: Executives and business leaders, entrepreneurs with management or business expertise, people with strong analytic, problem-solving, and communication skills
A consulting business is focused on helping other business owners solve their problems. You can choose a niche if you have a specific area in which you are an expert, or you can be an all-in-one solution.
When I initially started my consulting business, I was consulting on everything. One day I’d analyze payment processors, and the next, I would look for good influencers for a brand. I eventually gravitated to writing about business and technology because it makes it easier to pass knowledge on to thousands of people per month.
Business consultants can make anywhere from several hundred per day to billions per year. Consultants who specialize in mergers and acquisitions can earn huge commissions.
Check out this interview with Ryan Gromfin, who makes $35K a month with his consulting business:
There are some industries that are really struggling right now. You might want to avoid these industries if you want to make a profit fast.
Industry | Net Income |
Entertainment | -0.23% |
Telecom Services | -0.28% |
Chemical (Diversified) | -1.01% |
Broadcasting | -1.41% |
Furniture & Home Furnishings | -2.24% |
Rubber & Tires | -2.53% |
Electronics (Consumer & Office) | -3.05% |
Real Estate (Operations & Services) | -3.14% |
Precious Metals | -4.26% |
Drugs (Biotechnology) | -11.88% |
Software (Internet) | -14.32% |
Real Estate (Development) | -16.35% |
Most of these industries are tied to big purchases. You’re seeing losses tied to inflation of expenses like materials and wages, combined with people cutting back on making new purchases. This is expected when discretionary income decreases.
Pro Tip: Assuming wage growth continues and outpaces inflation, we should see these return to profitability in a few years. Until then, our blog on recession-proof businesses can provide even more inspiration for getting started in a bad (or questionable) economy.
According to CompaniesMarketCap.com on December 11, 2023, the five most profitable businesses were
Note that the values of these companies fluctuate daily.
Dog walking, house cleaning, and sewing businesses are the easiest to start because they have low startup costs and low barriers when it comes to getting licenses and permits.
IBISWorld states that fruit and nut farming, solar power, online gambling services, hybrid and electric vehicle manufacturing, and 3D printing and prototyping are the fastest-growing businesses in 2024.
We’ve discussed the most profitable business ideas from multiple vantage points. Some are easy businesses to start from home, and some are not as easy to get into because of education requirements or other barriers to entry.
When it comes down to it, the most profitable business for you to start is one you have knowledge in, you know how to find customers for, and you want to spend the rest of your life exploring and working with.
You can make any of your favorite 2024 business ideas one of the most profitable and successful business ideas if you:
What other profitable and successful small business ideas are you thinking about starting?
Making a million dollars isn't hard. You'll probably make that much or more in your lifetime, but that doesn't mean you'll develop wealth. For those who want to know how to become a millionaire, just spend less than you make. It's that simple!
We talked to Todd “TJ” Johnson, The Millionaire Mentor. TJ grew up poor and wanted to get out of South Carolina. He started out cutting grass and delivering newspapers as a kid just to feed himself, then joined the Air Force at 17 and went to school to study computer science.
When he left the military, he asked for a salary of the highest-paid military person, and people laughed at him. That didn’t discourage him. He asked what skills he needed to be worth it… then he developed the skills.
Now he owns multiple businesses including weight loss brands and supplements and coaching, and he’s even buying up others’ businesses. Here he’ll share the lessons he’s learned in his path to becoming a millionaire. We’ll share the wisdom he’s developed to make more money and get rich.
Throughout this article keep in mind this advice from TJ:
[su_quote]The fastest way to become a millionaire is to help as many people as possible.[/su_quote]
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If you want to jump to a specific portion of the article, use the table of contents below:
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You'll need to invest $12,600 per month and earn a 10% annual return to become a millionaire in 5 years. That's matching the average stock market return. I don't know about you, but I'm not making enough to save that much money.
That means we need to find a way to increase our income to build financial freedom. Check out the blogs below to find ways to increase your income:
Most have low-cost barriers for a start-up and can make a ton of money quickly.
To become a millionaire, you'll have to do more than make a ton of money to meet your financial goals. You can't spend the money. You need to reinvest it so your money makes more money while you sleep. TJ explained that the company you keep impacts how well you invest in your own business:
[su_quote]Stay away from bad entrepreneurs. If your dog or your kid doesn’t like someone, stay away.[/su_quote]
Spending money badly is also the most common reason for failure:
[su_quote]Inconsistency is the main cause of failure. Chasing skirts, drinking too much, and smoking weed harm success.[/su_quote]
Watch our interview with TJ below.
[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zZdn3mlU2A"]
Becoming a millionaire doesn’t have to be hard. As TJ told us, you just have to keep rising. The best way to do that is keep your personal finances and goals in perspective. The plan should include:
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To reach financial security, you need to know where you are currently. This isn’t about judgment. It doesn’t matter where you currently are; you are capable of changing. But to be realistic about what steps to take, you need to know:
We created a worksheet to help you reach millionaire status. Download it below.
[maxbutton id="3" url="https://www.upflip.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/UpFlip-Financial-Planning-Worksheet.pdf" text="DOWNLOAD HERE" ]
Becoming a millionaire takes time. Sure, you could reach millionaire status by winning the lottery or knocking your first business out of the ballpark, but most successful people do it over years or decades. As TJ told us:
[su_quote]The term ‘easy business idea’ has failure written all over it. It’s not easy to make money. You have to work for it.[/su_quote]
The more time you have, the higher your likelihood of becoming a millionaire. While most people will only reach their millionaire goal close to retirement, the earlier you get started, and the more often you invest, the sooner you’ll reach your goal. As TJ explained:
[su_quote]You don’t just make a million at once. You invest, and it grows, then you get to $100K, then $500K, then $1M. It takes time.[/su_quote]
So how quickly do you want to be a millionaire?
If someone wants to be a millionaire by 30, they’ll need to invest money routinely. How much you need to invest varies based on your age and the percent on your returns. We’ve used some common ages people start investing to help you estimate the amount you should invest monthly to have a million dollars by age 30. All figures assume the long-term stock market average of 10.5%.
Age of First Investment | Number of Years Till 30 | Monthly Investment To Have $1 Million By Age 30 | Reason |
Birth | 30 | $439.92 | Parents Investing For Kids |
5 | 25 | $750.32 | Parents Investing for Kids after Kindergarten |
16 | 14 | $2,742.61 | Legal Working Age |
18 | 12 | $3,610.76 | Transition to Adulthood |
21 | 9 | $5,737.71 | After College |
22 | 8 | $6,832.87 | After College |
25 | 5 | $12,904.78 | After Grad School |
You’ll need to invest $4,874.42 monthly and earn a 10.5% return on your investment to become a millionaire in 10 years.
You’ll need to invest $12,904.78 per month with a 10.5% average return to become rich within five years. This is a fairly short time frame for most investments. If you want to become rich fast, consider these words of advice from TJ:
[su_quote]Buy an existing business without putting money down.[/su_quote]
TJ recommends marketing because it is an in-demand skill. He explained:
[su_quote]It doesn’t matter if the market is saturated. I like to use the example of Hint. If they can break into the water market, you can break into any industry, as long as you know how to market your business.[/su_quote]
The easiest way to become a millionaire with no money is to go buy a lottery ticket and hope you win. You probably won’t get rich this way, but like Mark Cuban says:
[su_quote]It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. You only have to be right once, and then everyone can say you are an overnight success.[/su_quote]
Write down your goals and be as detailed as possible. In the worksheet we created we have separate areas for each area of personal finance so that you can compare them to your current scenario. Be as specific as possible regarding net worth, diversification, emergency fund, real estate, and other investments.
You’ll want to use the worksheet to compare where you are with where you want to be. Some commonly provided advice you might want to follow includes:
The more money you make, the easier it is to become a millionaire. Getting a high-paying job, a side hustle, and investing in real estate are some of the easiest ways to increase your earnings and start saving money. Find out what a day int the life of a millionaire who owns a cleaning business is like:
[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_pvi1q9lMo"]
Various asset classes offer different ways to increase your wealth. Consider some of the ideas listed below.
If you have a low risk tolerance, buying businesses is one of the best ways to choose investments. Legendary investor Warren Buffett has turned Berkshire Hathaway into a conglomerate that owns businesses including:
Ben Bridge Jeweler | Jazwares |
Clayton Homes | NetJets® |
CTB Inc. | Pampered Chef® |
Duracell | Pilot Travel Centers |
Fechheimer Brothers Company | Precision Castparts Corp. |
FlightSafety | RC Willey Home Furnishings |
Fruit of the Loom Companies | See's Candies |
GEICO Auto Insurance | Star Furniture |
General Re | TTI, Inc. |
Helzberg Diamonds | United States Liability Insurance Group |
H.H. Brown Shoe Group | W&W/AFCO Steel |
HomeServices of America | XTRA Corporation |
International Dairy Queen, Inc. |
This strategy has been successful for a lot of wealthy people.
Investing in passive income opportunities is a great way to create a diversified portfolio. A millionaire depends on their own money making them more money.
If you have little excess cash but still want to invest, consider using Stash, which allows you to invest with just five dollars. Once you invest, they’ll give you a free $25. If you’d prefer a passive income business, check out one of the best ways to become a millionaire: vending machine businesses.
An index fund is the best way to become a millionaire if you want to avoid brokerage services and financial advisors. If you have a wealthy family, you may know good financial advisors, but I don’t trust people to manage my money. An index fund matches the performance of the stocks in the index it tracks.
When considering index funds, pay attention to their fees. Most have less than 1% fees. If you choose one with the lowest fees, you’ll save money.
You can also use mutual funds, but they have higher fees and are less liquid.
If you are an employee or self-employed with a 401K, check if employer match options are offered. Many will match up to 10% of your salary when you put it into a retirement account. If they do, you should be using it. That extra cash is effectively additional funds. Over time, the additional funds will create a nice nest egg for retirement.
If you want to retire early, never have to worry about extra money, or want to provide for your loved ones when you die, you have to treat money like a game. It's just a means to an end.
Three of the most important strategies you can use are:
Compound interest is interest that is reinvested to create more gains. Want to know how I figured out that you'd need to invest $12,600 monthly at 10% interest for 5 years to become a millionaire? I used the compound interest calculator I created to calculate the figure. Check out the table below.
Month | Starting Net Worth | Amount Invested | Compounding rate | Ending Net Worth |
0 | 0 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $12,705.00 |
1 | $12,705.00 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $25,410.00 |
2 | $25,410.00 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $38,326.75 |
3 | $38,326.75 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $51,351.14 |
4 | $51,351.14 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $64,484.07 |
5 | $64,484.07 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $77,726.43 |
6 | $77,726.43 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $91,079.15 |
7 | $91,079.15 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $104,543.15 |
8 | $104,543.15 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $118,119.34 |
9 | $118,119.34 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $131,808.67 |
10 | $131,808.67 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $145,612.07 |
11 | $145,612.07 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $159,530.51 |
12 | $159,530.51 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $173,564.93 |
13 | $173,564.93 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $187,716.30 |
14 | $187,716.30 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $201,985.60 |
15 | $201,985.60 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $216,373.82 |
16 | $216,373.82 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $230,881.93 |
17 | $230,881.93 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $245,510.95 |
18 | $245,510.95 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $260,261.87 |
19 | $260,261.87 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $275,135.72 |
20 | $275,135.72 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $290,133.52 |
21 | $290,133.52 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $305,256.30 |
22 | $305,256.30 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $320,505.10 |
23 | $320,505.10 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $335,880.98 |
24 | $335,880.98 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $351,384.99 |
25 | $351,384.99 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $367,018.19 |
26 | $367,018.19 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $382,781.68 |
27 | $382,781.68 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $398,676.53 |
28 | $398,676.53 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $414,703.83 |
29 | $414,703.83 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $430,864.70 |
30 | $430,864.70 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $447,160.24 |
31 | $447,160.24 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $463,591.57 |
32 | $463,591.57 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $480,159.83 |
33 | $480,159.83 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $496,866.17 |
34 | $496,866.17 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $513,711.72 |
35 | $513,711.72 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $530,697.65 |
36 | $530,697.65 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $547,825.13 |
37 | $547,825.13 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $565,095.34 |
38 | $565,095.34 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $582,509.47 |
39 | $582,509.47 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $600,068.71 |
40 | $600,068.71 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $617,774.28 |
41 | $617,774.28 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $635,627.40 |
42 | $635,627.40 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $653,629.30 |
43 | $653,629.30 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $671,781.21 |
44 | $671,781.21 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $690,084.39 |
45 | $690,084.39 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $708,540.09 |
46 | $708,540.09 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $727,149.59 |
47 | $727,149.59 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $745,914.17 |
48 | $745,914.17 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $764,835.12 |
49 | $764,835.12 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $783,913.75 |
50 | $783,913.75 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $803,151.36 |
51 | $803,151.36 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $822,549.29 |
52 | $822,549.29 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $842,108.87 |
53 | $842,108.87 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $861,831.44 |
54 | $861,831.44 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $881,718.37 |
55 | $881,718.37 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $901,771.02 |
56 | $901,771.02 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $921,990.78 |
57 | $921,990.78 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $942,379.04 |
58 | $942,379.04 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $962,937.20 |
59 | $962,937.20 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $983,666.67 |
60 | $983,666.67 | $12,600.00 | 0.83% | $1,004,568.89 |
Compounding can be done with any form of cash flow. You just have to put the money into something that will earn returns that beat inflation. Wasting your time putting more money in a savings account that earns less than 1% per month will never get you to your financial goals. You’ll lose money yearly if you make less than inflation on your returns.
Does this mean you should find the highest return and ape into it like crypto bros?
No, please don’t!
Do you remember companies like Enron? How about Bernie Madoff? These famous scammers helped millions of people become rich, then went bankrupt—along with the many investors that they scammed. We’ve seen the same thing occur with some bankrupted crypto projects that failed to separate client funds from company funds.
During my finance courses for my MBA, one of the lectures was about why the Dow Jones Industrial Average uses 30 stocks to simulate the returns of the entire stock market. Using statistical analysis (which I will spare you from for the sake of readability), they found that you could accurately model the performance of the entire stock market with 30 well-chosen stocks. This strategy saves a lot of money over buying every stock, and the difference in risk was less than 1%.
You can also use diversification to become a millionaire by investing in a combination of assets like:
If you have a good amount of diversification, you’re not likely to lose over the long term, but most financial advisors still recommend thinking about investing over a ten-year time frame.
There are other strategies you’ll want to use as you build more wealth. You’ll learn about them in the next section.
In today’s world, a million dollars isn’t that much, but to become a millionaire, you need to learn to play legally within the system. There are numerous financial instruments the wealthy use to increase and protect their financial freedom and build wealth. They use:
Let’s look at some of the ways you can use these to accelerate your journey toward making a million dollars.
You’re probably familiar with a retirement account like a 401(k), Individual Retirement Account (IRA), or a Roth IRA, but did you know there are over 16 types of retirement plans? Some like a Simplified Employee Pension allow up to 25% of a salary to be paid to an employee in their IRA without a matching contribution.
Retirement accounts can greatly enhance your personal financial scenario. 401(k)s and traditional IRAs reduce your current tax liabilities, but you pay taxes on the withdrawal. Meanwhile, with a Roth IRA, you pay taxes on the front end, and you collect the withdrawals tax-free. Depending on your current tax rate and your tax rate when you collect, you can pay fewer taxes over the course of your life.
You can use a trust to protect your money when you die. These contracts prevent probate because they specify how the money is distributed. A common trust used if you want to pass on more money to people who are at least 37.5 years younger than you is an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT), which can be set up by a financial planner to help protect generational wealth.
Corporations have a 15-21% tax rate, while personal income tax can be as high as 37%. Dividend payments can also be used to reduce your overall taxable consequences. Plus they get a lot of deductions that individuals don’t. Filing your taxes as a corporation rather than an individual can help you save significantly come tax time.
Most millionaires have multiple small business ventures protected under separate LLCs. Doing so prevents one investment from being harmed by another investment in the case of a liability claim. This makes becoming a millionaire easier because one failure won’t destroy your other businesses or your pursuit to build wealth.
Now you know how to become a millionaire with no money.
Are you still asking yourself how can I get rich?
Check out our cleaning business course with Christopher Mondragon. This free course explains his strategies, while the paid version will provide you with all the actual tools he uses.
Why do you want to become a millionaire, and what would you do to get there?
[…] some, like Mile High Productions, social media is the only marketing they do—and they’ve used it to grow a $35,000-per-month […]
Hi! what high-end cameras do you suggest?
I am curious how a photography business would be able to pivot or survive during the COVID-19 pandemic with so many events being cancelled or held to a limited capacity. What is the best way to attract client leads given the new norm of social distancing?
As you said a lot is changing now in photography industry compared to the old days. Creative photography became popular. That is why a lot of people have entered this business. The highlight of this that it costs less than any other businesses.
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