Start with the margin

Most advice tells you a business is a great idea. Almost none of it tells you what it costs, how many hours it eats, or how long before a single euro arrives. StartMargin does that first — including when the answer is no.

Run my numbers → Browse all 105

Cheapest to begin

Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Home cleaning

Direct service to households, no middleman

€400–€1,500 · first income ~3 wks ceiling €2,600/mo
Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Office and commercial cleaning

Recurring contracts with small businesses

€1,500–€6,000 · first income ~6 wks ceiling €4,200+/mo
Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Elder home support

Companionship and non-medical help

€300–€1,500 · first income ~4 wks ceiling €2,600/mo
Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Dog walking and pet sitting

Walks and in-home care

€200–€1,200 · first income ~2 wks ceiling €1,800/mo
Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Personal trainer

One-to-one training, gym or at home

€800–€5,000 · first income ~5 wks ceiling €3,000/mo
Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Freelance web development

Sites and apps for small businesses

€200–€1,200 · first income ~3 wks ceiling €7,000/mo

Why the numbers here are different

Automated idea validators give you a score and four plausible paragraphs. There is no number in them you can check. Every figure on this site was researched one business at a time, and when a model doesn't work for you it says so — and points at three that do.