25 Things to Make and Sell From Home (2026)

This post is for information only. You are responsible for reviewing and using this information appropriately. This content doesn’t contain and isn’t meant to provide legal, tax, or business advice. Requirements are updated frequently and you should make sure to do your own research and reach out to professional legal, tax, and business advisers, as needed. To sell products using the Shopify platform, you must comply with the laws of the jurisdiction of your business and your customers, the Shopify Terms of Service, the Shopify Acceptable Use Policy, and any other applicable policies.

Handmade products are still in demand. The global handicrafts market was worth $986.9 billion in 2025, and IMARC Group projects it will reach $2.04 trillion by 2034.

That means there’s real opportunity for makers who want to turn a skill, hobby, or creative idea into income. Candles and bath bombs are two popular starting points. IBISWorld estimates the US candle manufacturing industry at $2.7 billion in 2026. As long as they’re designed only to cleanse, bath bombs don’t need FDA approval, so you can go from first batch to first listing without waiting for sign-off. A standard bath bomb costs $1 to $2 to make, and a jar candle costs about $3 to $8 in materials.

Ahead, explore 25 craft ideas for things to make and sell online, plus where to sell them and how to choose the right idea for your skills and budget.

25 products to make and sell from home

1. Bath bombs
2. Soaps
3. T-shirts
4. Jewelry
5. Curated subscription boxes
6. Candles
7. Sweets
8. Art prints
9. Digital products
10. Enamel pins
11. Pottery and clay objects
12. Pet supplies
13. Music
14. Photography
15. Woodworking projects
16. Tote bags
17. Keychains
18. Condiments
19. Essential oil blends
20. Paper products
21. DIY tutorials and online courses
22. Personalized products
23. Gift baskets and boxes
24. Natural cosmetics
25. Bookmarks

Take a look at these 25 ideas for products to make and sell:

1. Bath bombs

Bath bombs are a solid mixture of baking soda, citric acid, and additives such as essential oils that fizz in the tub. Their global market is estimated at $2.24 billion in 2026. As a craft to make and sell, bath bombs have a low barrier to entry.

Founders Isabel and Caroline Bercaw started Da Bomb Bath Fizzers at home when they were preteens. Since then, they’ve collaborated with Disney and Mattel, and you can find their bath bombs on Target shelves.

Start your own bath bomb business with a few ingredients you might already have on hand (such as baking soda, Epsom salt, and essential oils), plus low-cost citric acid and plastic molds. A standard four-ounce bath bomb costs around $1 to $2 to make, and typically sells for $5 to $8.

Tips:

• Keep your inventory tight: fresher bath bombs have more fizz.
• Investigate your raw ingredient sources to ensure they’re safe.
• Focus on brand strategy and consider hiring design help.
• Watch your wording. A bath bomb made only to cleanse is a cosmetic, but in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s eyes, claims like “eases muscle pain” or “helps you sleep” make it a drug, and drugs need FDA approval before they can be sold.

2. Soaps

If you like experimenting with fragrances, you might consider starting a soap business. You can handmake soaps at home by mixing lye with fats like oils.

You’ll need supplies such as soap cutters, a blender, a microwave or slow cooker, lye-safe mixing containers, and soap molds.

For a special touch, consider adding fragrant essential oils and dyes. You might also try pressed flower petals and unique mold shapes.

In an example from Modern Soapmaking, a 4.5-ounce bar cost about $3 to make, including materials, packaging, labor, and overhead. The same guide shares a bar that cost $1.79 to make and retailed for $12.

Tips:

• Always wear gloves, long sleeves, and a face shield or goggles when handling lye.
• Use premium ingredients like olive oil in place of lower-cost ones like canola oil to market your soap as a luxury product.

3. T-shirts

Start a T-shirt business. With print-on-demand, you create digital designs, and when a customer orders a product, your print-on-demand partner manufactures and ships it to them.

“It’s a great option for those who are just starting out or even those who may want to test a product but don’t necessarily want to invest hundreds or thousands of dollars into buying in bulk,” Legendary Rootz founder Raven Gibson says in an interview with Shopify Masters.

Pricing depends on the print-on-demand service, the printing method, and the blank T-shirt, but expect to pay your partner around $9 to $14 per shirt, excluding shipping costs.

Tips:

• Sell merch to supplement an existing business. For example, gyms, musicians, and charities can sell branded swag to existing audiences.
• Use a print-on-demand app like Printful, Printify, or Gelato. These apps integrate with your Shopify store and automatically print, fulfill, and ship each order.

4. Jewelry

Jewelry is a craft that ranges from relatively easy (beaded necklaces) to highly specialized (silversmithing). Before you start a jewelry business, research how many sellers already offer designs like yours.

Also consider how to make your designs stand out, whether there’s a niche market you can serve, and how you can differentiate your brand.

Lauren and Alexander Ludwig, founders of Their Jewelry, decided to sell products made without copper or brass, since Lauren is allergic to both.

“I wanted to create a line that shied away from using those types of metals and things that are a common allergy to so many people,” Lauren says in an episode of Shopify Masters.

Depending on your skill level, you might start with a simpler type of jewelry that doesn’t require soldering equipment and an upfront investment in gems or precious metals.

Tips:

• Validate your idea by tracking trends in jewelry: use Google Trends and follow popular fashion creators and influencers.
• Invest in great jewelry photography by hiring a pro. Save money by partnering with complementary apparel brands to share the cost of lifestyle shoots.

5. Curated subscription boxes

If you’re an expert in a specific product category (like spices, olive oil, or wine), consider launching a curated subscription box business.

You can even partner with third-party warehousing and shipping companies so you can focus on growth rather than logistics, as the meat subscription business ButcherBox did.

“The way that we built this company and did it in a capital-efficient way was to partner with third parties everywhere that we could,” ButcherBox founder Mike Salguero says in an interview with Shopify Masters.

ButcherBox also uses third parties for farming, processing, steak cutting, distribution, shipping, customer service, and technology.

Partnerships also let you focus on sourcing the best products in your category, rather than focusing on packing and shipping each box.

If you’re considering a wine or beer box, know that alcohol comes with extra rules:

• You can’t mail it. Under federal law, drinks with 0.5% or more alcohol by weight can’t go through the US Postal Service.
• You’ll need federal permits. Alcohol producers, wholesalers, and importers need a permit from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
• Each state sets its own rules. States decide whether alcohol can be shipped straight to consumers, and those that allow it often require a separate license or permit. Some cap how much a customer can receive.

Tips:

• Calculate your storage and assembly needs and consider whether your home can accommodate your business, or if you need to rent additional space. Review your financials to see if you can hire a third-party partner to help you store and ship boxes.
• Ease your customers into commitment. Offer a substantial discount for year-long subscriptions, or offer the first month free.
• Use a subscription management app like Shopify Subscriptions, which is free. It handles auto-billed weekly, monthly, or yearly subscriptions, and lets customers skip, pause, or cancel on their own.

6. Candles

P.F. Candle Co. Founder Kristen Pumphrey suggests finding a new angle if you want to start a successful candle business.

“All the candle brands that you admire already exist,” Kristen says in an episode of Shopify Masters. “You have to figure out: What is my niche in the market and what’s not being fulfilled?”

Early in P.F. Candle Co.’s history, Kristen decided to create a unisex candle to fill a market gap she noticed when attending craft fairs with her partner.

“He worked the booth, and he’d be at all these craft fairs, and he’d say, ‘You know, there’s not a lot of stuff for guys here,’” says Kristen.

At the time, the candle market leaned heavily toward floral scents and pastel colors. P.F. Candle Co. stood out with its nature-inspired scents and its amber glass jars with simple paper labels.

It costs around $3 to $8 to make a simple eight-ounce scented candle in a jar (not including labor costs). You can sell these candles for roughly $15 to $30.

Scented candles are regulated by The Consumer Product Safety Commission, not the FDA. The National Candle Association publishes guidance on safety labels.

Tips:

• Consider purchasing product liability insurance. Because of the risk of injury or fire damage, protect your craft business from lawsuits that may result from the use of your product.
• Make your products stand out with unique packaging and strong branding.
• Consider offering messaging and scent customizations for personalized gifts like wedding favors.

7. Sweets

If you have a knack for baking—or a fine-tuned sweet tooth—you might consider selling candy, cookies, baked goods, chocolates, jams, or other sweets.

Candy, chocolate, and jams have a longer shelf life than other food products, so you can make products ahead of time and store inventory. Keep in mind that this is a category with unique regulations and labeling requirements.

You can explore several niche markets, including holiday sweets and custom sweets like bespoke cakes. Turn this craft into a unique business idea with an online store and good branding.

Consider the luxury chocolate brand Compartés. The company sells specialty chocolates in design-forward packaging.

“I wanted to make it look like fashion, not like what everyone else had on the market, because why do something if I’m going to do it like everyone else?” Compartés Owner Jonathan Grahm says on an episode of Shopify Masters.

Storage affects how long your products last and how they look when they arrive.

• Chocolate. Store it at room temperature, between 65 degrees and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, with humidity below 50% to 55%. Keep it in an airtight container somewhere dark.
• Refrigerations. Skip the fridge where you can. Chocolate picks up odors and moisture in the fridge, which leads to bloom, a white, powdery film on its surface. Freezing can cause bloom too.
• Shelf life. Dark chocolate keeps its best quality for two years, milk chocolate for a year after opening, and white chocolate for up to six months.
• Jams and jellies. Some states let you sell home-canned jams and jellies directly to customers, at farmers’ markets or farm stands, and some don’t. Selling to another business, like a grocery store, usually requires producing them in a licensed commercial kitchen.

The FDA doesn’t require a private home to register as a food facility, but you must still follow FDA rules and your state and local health departments’ regulations. Most prepared foods need labels with nutrition information and major food allergens.

Tips:

• Trace the supply chain. Carefully select your raw-ingredient suppliers to ensure that what’s on your label matches what’s inside.
• Learn local food business laws by checking local and state government websites. For example, California maintains a list of foods you can make at home and sell, and you need a permit from your local environmental health department to sell through restaurants or food markets.
• Rotate inventory and train your staff to do the same to keep products fresh.

8. Art prints

Paintings, photographs, sculptures, and textiles are all good candidates for selling your art online. Art prints are well-suited to ecommerce, since you can sell multiple versions of the same product.

To handmake your prints, you can explore mediums like screen printing and risograph printing. Note that you’ll likely need to produce these from a printmaking studio, since the necessary equipment can be expensive.

To make prints at home without a substantial upfront investment, you might consider linocut printing. A beginner kit like Speedball’s Block Printing Starter Kit costs around $22 and comes with a carving block, three cutters, a brayer, and a small tube of black ink. Extra ink colors cost around $9.50 per 2.5-ounce tube.

You can also outsource the printing process with a print-on-demand integration. Your print-on-demand partner will make and ship your product, saving you the time it takes to manufacture and ship your products.

Tips:

• Consider having your work professionally photographed or scanning it on a flatbed scanner. If you’re selling wall art, consider showing it within the context of a room.
• Consider reproducing your art in multiple formats, like prints, cards, T-shirts, and mugs. Do it yourself through a partnership with a print-on-demand company, or license your work to other ecommerce brands.

9. Digital products

You can sell digital products like font licenses, wedding invitation templates, and printables from anywhere with an internet connection. Selling digital products offers several benefits, including low overhead costs and no inventory or shipping.

If you’re creative, you might also consider selling digital art products such as virtual reality experiences, downloadable graphics, and sewing or knitting patterns. For example, designer Dustin Lee started the ecommerce company RetroSupply Co. to sell illustration packs to fellow designers.

On Shopify Masters, Dustin says his connection to the creative community allows the brand to better understand its target market’s needs.

“We’re able to provide value to the creative community because we’re creatives ourselves,” he says. “We understand the pain points, we understand what people are looking for, and we’re able to create products that solve real problems for designers.”

You can create digital products with low startup costs: you need a computer and design software, which may require an initial purchase or subscription cost. Your prices will vary depending on what you’re selling.

Tips:

• Choose an ecommerce platform that supports digital downloads. If you’re on Shopify, the free Shopify Digital Products app lets you attach files or links to products and sends customers an access link after they buy. You can set download limits and sell a digital file alongside a physical product, like a printed pattern with a PDF copy.
• Turn off the physical product setting on digital listings so customers aren’t charged shipping. If you sell to customers in the EU, they pay VAT on digital goods at their own country’s rate, so check your tax settings.
• Try promoting your digital products with customer testimonials, especially if you’re selling information material like sewing patterns or design assets. This can help potential customers trust your brand.

10. Enamel pins

If you can create eye-catching designs, you might consider making and selling enamel pins, including offset epoxy pins (when a thin layer of plastic is adhered to the underlying enamel), dual-plated enamel pins (when you use two different types of metals), and soft enamel pins (when you paint the recessed areas of the pin).

You’ll usually work with a manufacturer to make enamel pins, but the design is up to you. Start with your original artwork, or hire a designer and get the rights to the design in writing.

You can then outsource manufacturing to companies like WizardPins, or find a manufacturer on a marketplace like Alibaba. There, pins cost around 50¢ to $3.50 per piece for 100- to 500-piece orders, depending on metal type, plus a one-time mold fee of $50 to $120 per design.

Selling fan art can land you in legal trouble. Under US copyright law, the owner of a work, such as a character or illustration, has the exclusive right to copy it, make new works based on it, and sell copies. Selling a pin of someone else’s character without permission can be copyright infringement.

Here’s how to stay on the right side of the law:

• Create your own designs. Your original artwork is protected by copyright automatically as soon as you fix it in a tangible form, like a sketch or digital file.
• License what you don’t own. To use someone else’s work, buy a license or get written permission from the owner.
• Use the public domain. Works published in the US before January 1, 1931, are now in the public domain.
• Watch out for names and logos. Copyright doesn’t cover names, titles, or short phrases, but trademark law can protect words, names, and symbols that identify a brand.
• Consider registering your best designs. Registration isn’t required, but for US works you’ll need it before you can sue another party for copying yours.

Tips:

• Use software like Canva or Adobe Photoshop to help you design your pins. Stick to solid colors (no gradients) and avoid fine details to ensure a professional-looking result. Check with your manufacturer on the acceptable file format for your designs.
• Research manufacturers before committing. Consider clasp and material options, and whether you can obtain physical samples before committing to a bulk purchase.

11. Pottery and clay objects

Throwing pottery on a wheel is a specialized craft that takes practice. If you’re new to it, check out local ceramics programs to develop your skills and access shared studio space with a kiln and tools.

If you’re an experienced potter, consider selling your work to hospitality businesses in addition to retail consumers. That’s how New Jersey ceramicist Jono Pandolfi operates his business, Jono Pandolfi Designs, which supplies dinnerware to high-end restaurants.

“The direct-to-consumer and the hospitality channels have really reinforced each other,” says Nick Pandolfi, Jono’s brother and chief financial officer, on an episode of Shopify Masters. “The hospitality channel is what gets our name out there and what lets so many people find us, and then we sell direct-to-consumer at a higher margin.”

If you focus on vases, try partnering with a local florist or event planner. If you make mugs, consider selling to local coffee shops at a discounted rate.

If you’re an efficient potter, you can make each mug for around $3 to $8.50 in clay and glaze, not counting kiln, studio, or electricity costs. If you don’t own a wheel and kiln, a community studio membership provides access to both. Prices vary by location and included services:

While wheel-thrown ceramics are the gold standard for objects that will hold food or water because their glass-like glaze makes them food-safe and easy to clean, some other ceramics have lower startup costs.

Try air clay, which hardens on its own, or polymer clay, which hardens in a home oven. Both require only sculpting tools. Use them to make a variety of items, including beads, candle holders, and personalized jewelry boxes.

Tips:

• Think beyond plates, bowls, and mugs. Use clay or clay alternatives for planters, sculptures, ornaments, jewelry, magnets, containers, and coasters.
• Use safe clay alternatives in your ceramic business ideas for kids.

12. Pet supplies

Pet owners in the US spent an estimated $158 billion on their furry friends in 2025, and the American Pet Products Association projects $165 billion in 2026. Start a pet business by making handcrafted products like pet treats, collars, pet clothing, toys, and more.

Solidify a unique selling proposition that differentiates your products in the market. For example, the dog food and treat company Full Moon Pet promises human-grade products cooked in the USA.

Check with your local government to ensure you meet certification requirements. To sell pet food in New York state, for example, you must register each product you sell every year.

Tips:

• Use your own pets as the “faces” of your business. Lifestyle photos can help potential customers see how an item will fit their pet.
• Do market research if you’re selling dog treats or food. Make sure your cookie ingredients are pet-safe, and obtain the necessary licenses and registrations from your local government.

13. Music

If you’re good at making music—or have an ear for it—you might consider starting a music business. You can make money with music several ways, including selling digital downloads of your songs, working as a songwriter, and teaching music lessons.

If you opt to sell digital downloads, you can sell songs or albums. Your startup investment will vary depending on your recording setup: You can spend thousands on studio time and sessions with musicians, or you can record an album at home.

Once you’re happy with your finished product, choose an ecommerce platform that facilitates digital downloads, like Shopify.

If you aren’t a musician, you might start a music supply shop or launch an ecommerce record store. Take Vinyl Moon, a store that sends subscribers a new vinyl mixtape each month. Each release features music from emerging artists, with original artwork and packaging designed by a different visual artist.

Tips:

• Build your following by collaborating with other artists and sharing your music across multiple platforms.
• Create a website to sell your records and consider selling merch and digital downloads, too.

14. Photography

If you can capture the perfect shot, you can start a photography business selling your photos online. Sell physical prints of your work by partnering with a local print studio, printing at home, or outsourcing to a print-on-demand company. Or sell photos online by licensing your images on stock photography websites.

If you like working with people, consider becoming a photographer for hire, capturing weddings and special events. Build a photography portfolio website to showcase your work style to potential clients.

You’ll need to invest in professional-grade equipment. Canon’s US store lists some mirrorless cameras for under $1,000, while its top-end EOS R1 body costs $6,799 before you add lenses. On the earning side, couples paid an average of $3,000 for a wedding photographer in 2025, according to The Knot Real Weddings Study.

Tips:

• Use release forms to ensure you have permission to sell photographs of people captured in your shots. You may also need permits for larger shoots in some locations, like national parks.
• Create packages for your product photography services so potential clients can find an option that suits their budget.
• Try out a free photo-editing app to give your work an extra edge on a small budget.

15. Woodworking projects

Woodworking is a business idea that requires specialized equipment like lathes, so it can carry high startup costs.

Before you invest, consider taking a woodworking class at a local shop to make sure you enjoy the process. You could also start by refurbishing existing wooden objects like dressers and tables, which can help you learn finishing without investing in expensive equipment.

Other woodworking objects to make and sell include cutting boards, salt and pepper shakers, boats, ornaments, planters, furniture, toys, decorative handmade items, and more.

The cost to create wooden objects varies widely depending on what you’re making, the quality of your materials, and the tools you have on hand.

For example, if you’re building a hardwood coffee table from scratch, you can expect to pay around $100 to $200 for wood. You’ll also need to factor in the initial startup cost of tools (or the cost of visiting a woodworking shop) and the cost of finishes.

Tips:

• Specialize in bespoke items like custom one-of-a-kind furniture or affordable templated pieces. Let the level of effort and skill inform pricing strategy.
• Capture content to document the process. Potential buyers may be interested in how you make your products.
• Get started by refurbishing existing wooden objects like tables and chairs.

16. Tote bags

If you can sew, you can make tote bags from scratch using canvas, upcycled materials, or leather. To make your bags pop, try craft techniques like screen printing, felting, or appliqué.

But you don’t need to handmake each product. Consider partnering with a print-on-demand company. Upload your tote bag designs to a print-on-demand app, and when a customer buys the product, your partner will manufacture and fulfill the order.

The Printify app for Shopify is free to install and lets you add your designs to more than 1,300 products, totes included. You pay for the product and shipping only when a customer orders. Printify’s totes start at $5.94 per bag.

Tips:

• Think about selling totes as a low-cost way for customers to buy a wearable reproduction of your work.
• Consider making and selling (or giving away) branded tote bags as promotional merch for any type of business.

17. Keychains

Keychains are a practical accessory and can be made from acrylic, leather, macramé, resin, or titanium, as utility brand WESN does.

Because they are small and lightweight, keychains are also easy to store and cheap to ship, compared to larger items. You can start making them with minimal space and machinery. For example, you could use a Cricut machine to cut vinyl designs and stick them onto acrylic blanks.

Depending on your materials (metals are pricier), keychains can cost anywhere from 50¢ and $8 to make, and you can sell them for $8 to $20, according to CreatePins.

Tips:

• Offer a discount when a customer buys a matching set, such as a keychain plus a wallet or tote bag.
• Consider adding practical elements, like a bottle opener, a safety whistle, or a lip balm holder, to give your product extra utility.

18. Condiments

Consider making small, non-perishable food items that you can sell online. Oils, hot sauces, and spice blends are relatively simple ideas for new business owners.

Oaktown Spice Shop founders John Beaver and Erica Perez sell freshly ground individual spices and spice blends like Campfire Coffee Rub. Their products are freshly ground.

The cost of starting an ecommerce condiment business depends on scale. If you make small batches at home, you’ll only need to pay for ingredients (plus licenses and registrations).

Commercial spice grinders from Waring cost around $300 to $400 at Chefs’ Toys. For smaller batches, you might consider a small, blade coffee grinder that also handles spices.

Here’s what to know before you start packaging:

• Hot sauces and pickled products may count as “acidified foods.” These are low-acid foods, like peppers or cucumbers, with acid added so the finished product has a pH of 4.6 or below.
• Acidified foods have their own federal process. Commercial processors must register with the FDA and file a scheduled process for each product and container size. Someone who has completed an FDA-approved course must supervise production, and records must be kept for three years.
• Some products are excluded. The acidified foods rule doesn’t cover jams, jellies, preserves, or foods that are stored, distributed, and sold under refrigeration.
• Test the pH levels. Processors must test and record pH often enough to confirm every batch stays at 4.6 or below. If a batch goes over, it must be reprocessed, evaluated, or destroyed.
• Check your state’s cottage food rules. A private home doesn’t have to register with the FDA as a food facility; state and local health departments license home food businesses.
• Label for allergens. Most prepared foods need labels listing nutrition information and major food allergens.

Tips:

• Start at local markets and expand your reach with an online store once your packaging is shelf-stable and shippable.
• Follow government guidelines to keep customers and employees safe.

19. Essential oil blends

You can make essential oil blends from home. Experiment by mixing skincare-grade oils to produce and bottle your unique scents. Look for wholesale essential oil suppliers to keep your costs low.

Pricing varies considerably between oils. Consider blending expensive oils with a carrier oil (an unscented oil like sweet almond oil) or other essential oils with complementary scents.

Your marketing impacts how you’ll be regulated. The FDA looks at claims on your labels, website, and ads, and considers customer expectations to decide your product category:

• Cosmetic: A product meant only to cleanse or scent, like a perfume oil, is a cosmetic. Cosmetics don’t need FDA approval before they’re sold, but the FDA can act against one that’s unsafe or mislabeled.
• Drug: Claims that a product relieves pain, relaxes muscles, treats anxiety or depression, or helps you sleep are drug claims. Drugs, including plant-based products, need FDA approval for safety and effectiveness before they can be sold.
• Both: A product with cosmetic and drug claims has to meet the rules for both.
• Something else: Some fragrance products, like air fresheners and scented candles, are regulated by The Consumer Product Safety Commission instead.

The FDA also notes that “natural” doesn’t mean safe. Cumin oil, for example, is safe in food but can blister skin, and some citrus oils can harm skin exposed to the sun. The FDA has no rules defining “natural” or “organic” for cosmetics.

Tips:

• Explain that customers will need to dilute essential oil products with a carrier oil like coconut oil before applying to their bodies.
• Consider working with a white-label manufacturer to expand your line into creams, soaps, and other body care products.

20. Paper products

If you’re an illustrator or designer, you might consider making paper products like greeting cards, stationery, wedding décor, and stickers.

To print stationery at home, you’ll need high-quality paper, ink, and a printer.

To make complex paper objects, you might consider investing in a Cricut, a cutting machine that lets you make items like stickers and greeting cards with cutouts.

You might also use a traditional printing method, such as woodblock or linocut, to craft greeting cards and stationery. Carve a wood or linoleum block, then use that block to mark sets of your chosen product. These methods let you avoid creating each object from scratch while still keeping a handmade touch.

Tips:

• Consider how to scale your business. If you make your cards from scratch, you could eventually partner with a print-on-demand company to handle manufacturing and shipping.
• Plan your collections and products around holidays, seasons, and other occasions.

21. DIY tutorials and online courses

If you’re an expert in a particular area, such as sewing, soap making, woodworking, or a business skill like Excel, you can create online courses to share your knowledge. You can stream videos in real time, or prerecord them.

On Shopify, you can sell courses and tutorials with these tools:

• One-off downloads. The Shopify Digital Products app sells videos, PDFs, ebooks, and courses as downloads or access links. You can set download limits, and customers get their link by email after they buy.
• Subscriptions. The Shopify Subscriptions app supports digital products, so you can charge weekly, monthly, or yearly for ongoing lessons. Customers can pause, skip, or cancel.
• Live classes. For real-time workshops, a service booking app from the Shopify App Store lets customers book a time slot. You set availability and class size.
• Members-only pages. To lock a page or collection to paying customers, you’ll need a third-party app from the Shopify App Store, such as Locksmith, or a theme customization.

Whichever you use, turn off the physical product setting on the listing so customers aren’t charged shipping, and place a test order before you launch.

To begin, consider offering free full-length videos or posting short tutorials on platforms like Instagram or TikTok to hook potential customers. Once your audience knows how valuable your content is, they might choose to pay for it.

Tips:

• Test video courses as a way to earn passive income.
• Consider what value you can add to compete with existing free tutorials on platforms like YouTube.

22. Personalized products

Offer product customizations like embroidery on textile products, paper products like calendars, jewelry with engraved pendants, or customizable charm necklaces and bracelets.

Jewelry and accessory brand BaubleBar sells several customizable products, including charm necklaces. Customers choose their own charms, then BaubleBar sends them an assembled necklace.

You can also offer customized products through a print-on-demand partnership. You create the designs, and the print-on-demand company adds them to the product and ships it to the customer.

Tips:

• Invest in a quality printer or Cricut machine for a professional look.
• Consider increasing your ad spend around holidays to capture seasonal interest in personalized gifts.

23. Gift baskets and boxes

Make and sell gift boxes if you like curating products. Assemble pre-made baskets for specific gift-giving occasions to sell online, or allow customers to build their own from a curated offering.

Toronto-based Present Day sells curated boxes with themes like “cozy” and “shareable sweets.” They also let customers create their own box or basket from a handpicked selection of local products.

Operation costs depend on the products you include. Source wholesale products when possible to secure lower prices, and remember to account for time spent sourcing products and assembling the boxes when setting your prices. You’ll also want to consider packaging material costs.

Tips:

• Consider partnering with other makers to provide curated items for your gift baskets.
• Focus on a niche for your online business. For example, narrow in on handmade beauty and fill your boxes with essential oils, bath bombs, or natural cosmetics.
• Invest in clean, consistent product photography. Show the full box, individual items, and close-up details to help your gift baskets feel premium and gift-ready.

24. Natural cosmetics

Clean beauty, meaning personal care products made without ingredients considered harmful, was worth $8.9 billion worldwide in 2025. Market.us projects it will reach $20.4 billion by 2035.

Olio E Osso’s tinted balms for lips and cheeks are made from shea nut oil, olive oil, beeswax, and grapefruit peel oil, plus a colorant. The Oregon brand labels its balms as small-batch and hand-poured.

If you’re making homemade lip balm, one supplier’s tinted recipe works out to about 50¢ per tube, based on a 48-tube batch made with shea butter, coconut oil, and beeswax. The figure includes the tube, but not the tools.

Keep in mind the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), which apply to some (but not all) small businesses:

• Safety records. Keep records showing your products are safe. No specific tests are required, and you don’t need animal testing to sell a cosmetic.
• Adverse event reports. Report any serious adverse event linked to your product to the FDA within 15 business days. That includes serious rashes, burns, or significant hair loss.
• Facility registration. Register the facility where you make your products, and renew it every two years.
• Product listing. List each cosmetic product with the FDA, including its ingredients, and update the listing every year.
• Coming rules. MoCRA also requires the FDA to set good manufacturing practice and fragrance allergen labeling rules.

Tips:

• Follow FDA rules. For example, you’ll need to comply with labeling regulations and MoCRA.
• Keep a sharp eye on your inventory to avoid spoilage.
• Start with simple formulations, like lip balms or salves, before moving into more complex products such as creams, serums, or makeup. Simpler recipes are easier to test, scale, and keep consistent.

25. Bookmarks

Bookmarks are small and flat, so you can often ship them in a standard envelope. You can also design them for specific reading communities, like fans of a particular genre. On TikTok, the #BookTok hashtag has more than 77 million posts, up 65% in the past year, according to TikTok.

You can create bookmarks from a variety of materials, such as hand-painted watercolor paper bookmarks, stamped leather markers, or resin bookmarks with pressed flowers.

For example, Nakayah’s Cozy Corner sells handmade paper bookmarks with seasonal and reading-themed designs. Its “Just One More Chapter” bookmark is printed on cardstock with a glossy finish and rounded corners.

Tips:

• Check top sellers on Amazon Handmade and Etsy to see which designs sell.
• Create designs for specific genres like fantasy, romance, or thrillers to target specific reader groups.
• Sell bookmarks to use leftover materials from other DIY projects, such as leather scraps or fabric strips.

Where to sell your handmade products

Once you’ve decided what to make, the next step is choosing where to sell. Some entrepreneurs start with one channel to test demand, then expand as sales grow.

Your own online store

Launching a Shopify store lets you sell handmade products online from home while owning your brand, customer data, and the end-to-end experience.

Your store can also be the hub for your marketplace sales. The Shopify Marketplace Connect app links your product catalog to Amazon, eBay, Walmart (US only), and Target Plus (US only). You manage orders, listings, and inventory from your Shopify admin, and changes sync across every marketplace you connect.

Online marketplaces

Marketplaces like Etsy and Amazon Handmade let you reach built-in audiences actively searching for handmade products: Etsy had 86.5 million active buyers at the end of 2025. Both platforms charge fees and offer limited control over branding and customer relationships.

Online marketplace fees:

Etsy

New shops may pay a one-time, non-refundable setup fee, shown during sign-up. After that, Etsy charges a 20¢ listing fee per item, whether it sells or not. When an item sells, Etsy takes a 6.5% transaction fee on the total order amount, including shipping and gift wrap. US sellers also pay a payment processing fee of 3% plus 25¢ per order. If a sale comes through an Etsy Offsite Ad and your shop made less than $10,000 on Etsy in the past 365 days, there’s a 15% fee on that order.

Amazon Handmade

You’ll need an approved Handmade application and a Professional Selling Plan, which usually costs $39.99 a month. Amazon waives the monthly fee for approved Handmade sellers after the first month. There are no listing fees for approved vendors after the first month. When an item sells, Amazon takes a referral fee of 15% or 30¢, whichever is greater.

Social media

Social platforms double as discovery and sales channels. Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook let you demonstrate how you make your products, build trust, and sell directly through shoppable posts or links to your store.

Shopify’s social sales channels sync your products so you can sell on social platforms without managing a separate catalog:

• Facebook and Instagram. The Facebook and Instagram by Meta channel syncs your products to a catalog for Facebook Shop and Instagram Shopping. It’s free on all Shopify plans, subject to store eligibility.
• TikTok. The TikTok channel syncs your catalog, inventory, fulfillment, and orders with TikTok Shop. You’ll need a TikTok for Business account, a return policy page, and a verifiable store address in one of 10 countries.

Local selling options

Use craft fairs, pop-ups, farmers markets, and wholesale partnerships with local retailers to test products in person, generate early feedback, and build momentum while selling things from home.

Shopify POS is a point-of-sale app for iOS and Android that you can use at markets, pop-ups, or in a shop. It syncs with your Shopify admin, so orders and inventory stay in step across in-person sales, your online store, and your other channels. You can also connect hardware like a barcode scanner or cash drawer as you grow.

Factors to consider when choosing what to make and sell

• Your skills
• Market demand
• Market saturation
• Time-to-market expectations
• Business goals
• Startup resources
• Personal interest
• Pricing and profitability

If you’re not sure how to come up with a business idea, here are some things to consider:

Your skills

Start with an existing skill. Maybe that’s making jewelry, taking photos, baking standout cookies, or putting together thoughtful gifts.

Or, if you’re open to learning, choose ideas that let you start small and grow your skill set over time rather than trying to perfect everything at once.

Things to make and sell for beginners

If you’re new to selling products from home, start with items that are inexpensive to make and quick to launch. These ideas require minimal upfront investment.

• Candles. Easy to formulate, with low startup costs.
• Jewelry. Can be produced in small batches, with flexible pricing.
• Print-on-demand products. Create custom designs without holding inventory or managing fulfillment.
• Digital products. Make templates or guides once, then sell them repeatedly.
• Gift boxes. Curated products let you focus on branding and presentation rather than manufacturing.

Market demand

Before you develop a business idea, understand what people actually want to buy. Look at sites like Etsy or Instagram to gauge market demand, or check out local craft fairs to see if consumers are buying the type of product you want to make.

You can also ask friends and family what they’d be interested in buying. It may seem basic, but that’s how Kristen of P.F. Candle Co. got the idea for a gender-neutral candle.

Search data, publicly available from Google Trends, can help validate your ideas. If searches for your product idea are rising, then demand for it might be picking up, too.

Market saturation

Popularity can mean competition. Before testing a business idea, gauge how many established competitors are already on the market.

A crowded market isn’t a deal-breaker, but it might indicate that you need a clear angle, a niche audience, or strong brand to stand out.

Time-to-market expectations

Consider how quickly you want to get to your first sale. You can make and list some items within days, while others require sourcing materials, testing, or compliance checks.

If speed matters, choose items with shorter production cycles and fewer setup steps. Faster time to market lets you test ideas, gather feedback, and adjust before investing heavily.

Business goals

Your product should support what you want from the business. If your goal is quick cash flow, lower-cost items with faster turnaround times may make sense.

If you’re building a long-term brand, you might prioritize products that can evolve into a broader line over time. Aligning what you sell with your goals helps you make smarter decisions as your business grows.

Startup resources

Figure out exactly how much you’ll spend on supplies and how long it takes to make each item. If it costs you $40 to make a necklace, but similar necklaces sell for $45, the margins may be too tight to justify the effort. Products with healthier margins give you more room to grow and adjust pricing over time.

Time matters as much as material costs. If an item takes five hours to make but only sells for $20, it will limit how much you can earn.

Also account for hidden costs, which can add up quickly. Packaging materials, shipping supplies, licensing or permits, and website or marketplace fees all impact profitability. Even small expenses can eat into margins if you haven’t planned for them.

Personal interest

Pick something you actually like making, because you’ll be spending a lot of time creating it if your business takes off.

“When I started crocheting, I was immediately drawn to amigurumi, which is the art of crocheting plushies, specifically because I’m a huge stuffed animal lover,” says Genna Tatu of Crochet by Genna. “Having the passion for it definitely helped keep the hobby alive, versus with my other, failed businesses. I wasn’t necessarily passionate about them.”

Pricing and profitability

To earn a profit, you’ll need an effective pricing strategy. At a basic level, start by adding up your material costs, labor, shipping, marketing, and overhead expenses like rent or utilities. From there, apply a markup. That markup is what turns a product into a profitable business.

Pricing doesn’t stop at covering costs. You’ll also want to make sure your prices support sustainable profitability as you scale. A price that works for small batches may not leave enough margin to reinvest in inventory, marketing, or new products over time.

Keep a close eye on competitor pricing as well. If similar products sell for less, you may need to stay within that range to remain competitive. Another option is to clearly communicate why your product costs more. Premium ingredients, sustainable materials, ethical sourcing, or small-batch production can justify higher prices when customers clearly see the value.

The goal is to balance competitiveness with margins that allow your business to grow.

Make it, sell it

To find the right DIY business idea, balance your current skill set with your passion and market demand.

Next steps to get started:

• Choose one product idea. Validate demand with quick research or small test batches.
• Calculate basic costs and pricing. Make sure the idea can be a profitable business.
• Decide where to sell. You might choose a marketplace, social media, your own online store, or all three.
• Create simple product photos and descriptions. Clearly demonstrate your product’s value
• Launch, collect feedback, and refine your product. Base changes on customer responses and preferences.