Specialty Mail Order business. Let customers buy obscure items from your catalog. Business Overview Specialty mail order catalogs are one of the hottest businesses going these days. With so many two-income and single-parent families around, nobody has much time to shop. And people today are more interested in spending their scant leisure hours on quality time at home with family and friends than on exhausting expeditions to the mall. So catalogs are the obvious alternative. ...

Restaurant Placemats business. Put designing capabilities to use on restaurant placemats. Business Overview Like restaurant menus, many restaurant owners are more than happy to have community businesses featured on their table placemats in exchange for receiving the placemats for free. Here is how the business works. Assume that a busy 50-seat restaurant would use 200 paper placemats each day or approximately 6,000 per month, and the cost to print 6,000 black and white...

Specialty Greeting Cards business. When people need to say more than "Happy birthday, Mom," they turn to specialty greeting cards. Business Overview Millions of greeting cards are sold annually in the U.S., and starting a business that designs and produces one-of-a-kind custom greeting cards for clients is a terrific desktop publishing business to set into action. In addition to a high-quality color printer, you'll also need a computer and design software. Ideally, marketing...

Instruction Manuals business. People joke about not reading instructions, but you can bring in serious profits by publishing manuals from home. Business Overview Worldwide, millions of products are manufactured that require an instruction manual be included in the packaging of a product to describe assembly methods or how to use the product. This creates an outstanding opportunity to start a desktop publishing business that designs and produces instruction manuals. On the...

Digital Printing Service business. Traditional print shops are a thing of the past. With more businesses taking advantage of digital technology, a digital printing service is an ideal way to follow the trend. Business Overview The printing industry has been revolutionized with the advent of digital technology. No longer are business owners and consumers at the mercy of print shops to create their short-run marketing brochures, event programs and invitations as these types of...

Freelance Writer business. Live by the pen as a freelance writer. Business Overview If you've always wanted to pen articles for magazines or newspapers, then this is the business for you. As a freelance writer, you can specialize in a particular industry or area of interest, or you can play the field, writing about anything that catches your fancy. There are thousands of magazines devoted to more specialties than you can imagine. You can also write for corporate...

Literary Agent business. If you have marketing skills and love books, this may be the right business for you. Business Overview A six-figure income can be earned as a literary agent, providing you have a good understanding and knowledge of the publishing industry. You agree to represent authors' works and market the literary works to publishers. Many literary agents will specialize in one or two particular fields of interest, such as business books, children's books,...

Stock Watch Publication business. Use writing and stock market know-how to develop your own publication. Business Overview Do you have a publishing background and advertising sales experience? If so, you can put it to good use by starting a business that publishes a weekly stock watch report. The stock watch publication can be distributed free of charge throughout the community and feature information and articles on world stock markets, publicly-traded companies and, of...

Company Newsletters business. Companies don't always have the in-house resources to produce their own newsletters. That's where you come in. Business Overview Designing and printing newsletters for companies, salespeople and stockbrokers is a fantastic low-investment business startup that can generate a great income. Monthly newsletters are a terrific way for salespeople and business owners to stay in contact with clients, promote monthly specials and help secure new business....

Business Directories business. A collection of contact information for members of an industry can direct profits your way. Business Overview Manufacturers, charity organizations, business organizations, wholesalers, printers, publishers, home based businesses, tour operators and engineering professionals are only a few examples of the numerous business directories that can be created by a desktop publishing or internet business that specializes in developing business...