70 Empty Barn or Vacant Land Business Ideas You Can Start Today [2024]
Interested in starting a empty barn business in 2024?
We put together 70 of the best empty barn businesses you can start in today.
For each business idea, we’ll show you real-world examples of other empty barn businesses to help you see what it really takes.
Here's the full list:
1. Start a hunting space business
How much you can make: $2,000/month
Silent Pursuit is a hunting industry startup that sells deer stalking/hunting moccasins designed to reduce noise and increase comfort while hunting, with a successful launch that brought in around $2k per month, and plans to expand their product line and improve online sales with efficient marketing on Facebook and Google.
2. Start a parking lot business
More people are purchasing cars, and the demand for parking spaces has increased significantly. Finding a safe parking lot is becoming a problem, and this is where the parking lot business opportunity emerges.
A private parking lot business provides customers with a convenient and safe space for automobiles.
Starting a parking lot business requires ample space, a parking attendant, a surveillance system, and payment collection software. To increase your income, you can introduce an EV charging station.
A parking lot business is an excellent low-maintenance business since you do not need to be there physically, as you can fully automate the parking lot as a self-service facility, available 24/7.
How much you can make: $61,583 — $100,000/month
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
Learn how the Co-Founder and CEO of NOSON grew their business to $1.2M in revenue in 27 markets using tools like Typeform, Zapier and Google for only $300 a month, and their advice for entrepreneurs just starting out.
3. Start a specialty farm business
4. Start a Sod Grass Farming Business
Sod farming is a business that grows grass on the ground. The grass is used for many purposes, including landscaping and making turf for sports fields.
Sod farms typically use high-quality seed blends or hybrid sprigs to grow sod. It takes anywhere from 10 months to two years to cultivate turf before it's ready for harvest.
In this business, you have to grow grasses on farm fields and then sell them to other farmers who want to use them as a form of fertilizer. You can start your own farm with no experience required at all. You will only need a plot of land, some seeds, and money.
It’s an ideal business for those who like to work outdoors, have a green thumb, or are looking for a new way to make money. Sod farmers' salaries range from $33,110 to $113,140, with a median salary of $64,170. The middle 60% of Sod Farmers make $64,170 each year; the top 80% make $113,140 each year.
5. Start a drive-in movie theater
A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen and a projection booth. The drive-in cinema structure is designed so customers can watch the movies while staying in their cars.
Based on the structural design, the drive-in cinema must be spacious. To start a drive-in cinema, you may hire a piece of land or purchase land large enough to host many customers.
6. Start a science and technology park business
7. Start a railroad storage and access business
8. Start an electrical substations business
9. Start an event rental business
10. Start a bird watching business
11. Start an access roads business
12. Start a golf course business
If you are a golfer, it is easier to fall in love with owning a golf course. A golf course business can be a passive idea and a great retirement plan.
To start, you can purchase a ready golf course. Alternatively, if you own a piece of land, you can do your golf course. The golf course is a passive source of income and similar to real estate, and its value increases over time. Therefore, the golf course business idea can be a profitable and secure investment.
How much you can make: $1,000,000/month
How long does it take to build: 580 days (?)
BombTech Golf is an ecommerce business that sells premium golf clubs direct-to-consumer; the BombTech Driver, which was the company's flagship product, was launched in 2017 and contributed to $6.3 million in sales that year, with the founder having designed the club with the help of engineering students at a local college before using Facebook to engage his audience in the design and production process.
13. Start a self-storage yard business
A self-storage yard provides a convenient and safe place for people to store the items they do not need at the present time, but do not want to dispose of them. Therefore, a storage yard eases the hassle of keeping things you do not need at home or office.
A storage yard is a relatively low-cost business and does not require much of the owner’s involvement. All you need is a safe storage location and staff to help the customers. To ensure convenient bookkeeping, consider self-storage software that monitors available storage units and collects payments from customers.
A self-storage yard can charge by storage period or a fixed rate depending on the items stored.
14. Start a storage facility
Starting a storage space business is an accessible venture that allows you to utilize unused space effectively.
Additionally, you can start this with little capital. If you have available space, such as a warehouse, garage, or unused rooms, you can repurpose it for storage purposes.
Apart from renting out storage space, self-storage facilities make money by selling locks, cardboard boxes, packing supplies, insurance, and other products.
Pros of starting a storage space business include the following:
- Great profit potential
- Growing demand
- Low overhead compared to other businesses
- Requires minimal management
How much you can make: $150,000 — $2,500,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
How a logistics company grew its revenue over 300% in 2 years, starting with just 2 vans and 25k+ square feet of warehouse space, and focused on relationships, efficiency, and building trust with its customers.
15. Start a cell phone towers business
16. Start a dog breeding business
The dog breeding business is a great business to start if you have a passion and love for dogs. It can be a profitable business, but it takes time to build.
Starting to breed dogs is a lucrative business. The dogs are sold by breeders to buyers at an exorbitant price, who then sell them for a profit.
If you want to start a dog breeding business, then you need to first find out what kind of dogs are popular at the moment. You'll have to find and breed dogs that are compatible with each other and their new owners before they're ready for adoption!
As of October 27, 2022, the average Dog Breeder salary in the United States is $55,175, but the salary range typically falls between $49,079 and $61,740. Salary ranges can vary substantially based on a variety of critical factors, including education, certifications, extra competencies, the length of time you've been in your profession.
17. Start a collateral assets business
18. Start a movie theater business
19. Start a dirt bike track business
20. Start a christmas tree farm
Are you looking for an exciting way to make money every December? Starting a Christmas tree farm could be the right business for you. You can grow Christmas trees in your backyard and harvest them in December, then sell them to décor companies and consultants.
Here are steps for starting your Christmas tree farm:
- Choose the Christmas tree variety and purchase the seedlings
- Prepare your backyard farm
- Plant the seedlings and care for them to maturity
Some Christmas trees will take more than two years to grow to maturity. However, the waiting time also depends on the size of the Christmas tree you desire.
21. Start a health fair business
22. Start an office space rental
Demand for office space rental is booming. The forces that trigger the increase in demand for office space include a more significant number of startups, remote work culture, and an increase in office space per employee as businesses seek to decongest.
With demand for office space expected to increase, starting an office rental business is a wise investment. If you plan to start an office rental business, consider proximity to essential amenities, and ensure the office is accessible.
Before starting the office rental business, it’s a good idea you research the competition in your area. Be sure to understand the competitive landscape and choose where the office rental business fits best.
How much you can make: $14,000 — $300,000/month
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
The founder of The Farm Soho, one of the earliest New York City co-working spaces, shares how he built his affordable workspace model for solopreneurs and startups, as well as discussing his tips for attracting and retaining customers while navigating the challenges of running a business.
23. Start a large equipment storage business
24. Start a timber exportation business
25. Start a fashion photoshoot business
26. Start a jamborees business
27. Start an athletic tournament business
28. Start a livestock farming business
Livestock farming has undoubtedly been a successful business. Whether small-scale or large-scale businesses, animal farms can generate a huge profit.
The factors driving increased demand for livestock products include immense population increase, income growth, rapid urbanization, and improved animal breeds, which are easier to take care of. To start a livestock farm, define your purpose and find an ideal location.
Remember, livestock require proper nutrition and veterinarian care. Register for training lessons and join relevant livestock farming groups in your area to gain the needed knowledge.
How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
29. Start a music festivals business
30. Start a skateboard park business
31. Start a mini trade fair business
Starting a mini trade fair business can be a great way to tap into the lucrative world of trade shows and exhibitions. This type of business involves organizing and hosting small-scale events that allow businesses to showcase and sell their products or services to a targeted audience.
To get started, you’ll need a few key things. Firstly, you’ll need to identify a location for your mini-trade fair. This could be a convention center, hotel, or large warehouse. You’ll also need to secure the necessary permits and licenses to host your event, which will vary depending on your location.
Next, you’ll need to start recruiting businesses to participate in your event. This can be done through online and offline marketing, such as social media advertising, email marketing, and networking events. You’ll need to establish your target audience and choose businesses that appeal to them.
Once you have a solid roster of participants, you’ll need to start organizing the logistics of your event. This will involve everything from setting up the layout and design of your event space to coordinating catering and entertainment. You’ll also need to consider additional services you might offer, such as on-site childcare or shuttle services for attendees.
Running a mini trade fair can be a lot of work, but it can also be extremely rewarding. With the right planning and execution, you can create a successful event that provides value for businesses and attendees.
32. Start a painting business
If you are looking for a self-employment opportunity that gives you a chance to define your working schedule, consider starting a painting business. Painting is one of the low startup costs craft businesses with a high-profit margin. However, only some have the patience or the skill to do painting tasks.
To start a painting business, craft a business plan and register your business. Then, get insurance cover for your business and apply for licenses. Finally, get the right painting equipment and focus on marketing your business.
How much you can make: $4,000 — $105,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $4,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 74 days (?)
A home décor blogger turned her website into a $20,000/month business thanks to SEO, which drives 400k pageviews/month, as well as Pinterest, with over 300k pageviews/month, and through diversifying her income streams and traffic sources.
33. Start a vineyard business
Do you love horticulture and fruit growing? You can turn your passion into a profitable business by starting a vineyard. A vineyard is a plantation of grapevines used in winemaking. To start a vineyard business, prepare your land and learn how to grow grapes. Choose the best grapes and start growing them on your farm.
Your target market for the mature grapes will be local wineries. Alternatively, if you love wine production, you can start your own winery.
34. Start a scouting events business
35. Start a zipline attraction business
36. Start an antique fair business
How much you can make: $500,000/month
WorthPoint is a steadily growing online subscription platform, specializing in antique, art, and collectible price guides, which has seen a rate of five percent or more user growth per month and is predicted to ride the wave of the largest period of wealth migration in US history predicted to be worth over $30tn.
37. Start a paintball game center business
38. Start a community garden business
A community garden is a plot of land, usually in urban areas, rented by individuals or groups for gardening. As more people get into gardening as a hobby or a way to produce food for their own consumption, starting a community garden has become a profitable venture.
The rented community gardens include access to tools and water, and the soil is organic, so no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers should be used. The key element of success is ensuring the community garden responds to the needs and wants of the community.
39. Start a scavenger hunt business
How much you can make: $7,500/month
How long does it take to build: 25 days (?)
Constructed Adventures, a company that creates custom-tailored adventures for special occasions, charges a flat rate for adventures and expects a profit of around 60k in 2019, having learned valuable lessons about pricing structure for events, always being open and transparent, and using Google Drive to organize expenses and schedules among other tips.
40. Start a car race and drag strip business
41. Start a research cameras business
42. Start a RV and camping trailer storage business
43. Start a training grounds business
44. Start a wind energy business
45. Start an ice skating rink business
46. Start a bamboo firewood business
47. Start a beekeeping business
When done correctly, beekeeping and apiculture can be profitable.
Use high-quality hives and practice proper management for the best commercial beekeeping results.
Having more than one hive is also helpful if you intend to run a profitable business. Additionally, you can interact with other beekeepers in your area while improving your profitability by joining a beekeeping group.
How long does it take to build: 720 days (?)
48. Start a mountain bike and hiking trails business
How much you can make: $280,000/month
ESKUTE started a successful electric bike brand during the pandemic, with a team of nearly 30 staff members, and now makes $280k per month with sales across Europe.
49. Start a roadside attraction business
50. Start an outdoor shooting range business
An outdoor shooting range refers to any area designed and operated for rifles, shotguns, pistols, or any site for the exclusive use of archery or air guns.
Owning a commercial shooting range can be a profitable business venture. According to reports, the shooting ranges market will cross $38.6 Billion in a decade.
The market growth is attributed to firearm owners, archery fans, and even hunters realizing the importance of practicing at shooting ranges to help them improve accuracy.
To start the gun range business, research and learn the applicable law in your area and research the licensing and zoning requirements. Joining the National Shooting Sports Foundation could help you find new customers and publicize your business.
51. Start an Agriculture Farming Business
Agricultural farms are the backbone of our economy. The agricultural farm business is also known as agribusiness. Agribusiness involves the entire process of sending an agricultural good to market, from production to distribution.
To start an agricultural farm, you need to decide what kind of crops you want to grow. Choose from different crops like vegetables, fruits, nuts, or flowers. Once you have decided on your crops, then all that's left is raising them and selling them at farmers' markets or online stores.
Agriculture farming can be profitable in many ways. One of the most important ways to make money with agriculture is through selling your crops at the market and by renting out your land for other uses, such as growing crops or raising animals.
The profit from an agricultural farm can be very high, especially if you have a lot of land and a lot of cattle. The Average net cash farm income (NCFI) for farm businesses is forecast at $98,200 in 2022.
How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
52. Start a restaurant garden business
53. Start a billboard and outdoor advertising business
Starting a billboard and outdoor advertising business can be a lucrative and exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs. This business involves leasing space on billboards and other outdoor structures to advertisers who want to reach a broad audience through visual marketing.
To start a billboard and outdoor advertising business, you will need to secure leases for billboard locations and negotiate rates with advertisers. You will also need to design and install the advertisements and maintain and repair the billboards. It is essential to have a strong understanding of the local market and demographics to target your advertising campaigns effectively.
In addition to the practical skills needed for this business, you should also have excellent communication and negotiation skills to work with advertisers and secure leases. Strong marketing and sales skills will also be beneficial in attracting new clients and growing your business.
To run a successful billboard and outdoor advertising business, it is essential to stay up-to-date on industry trends and best practices constantly. It would help if you also were willing to adapt and pivot your strategies as needed to meet the changing needs of your clients and the market.
With hard work and dedication, a billboard and outdoor advertising business can be a lucrative and rewarding career path.
54. Start a tiny house building business
People love living in small spaces. They're affordable and easy to maintain. Starting a tiny house-building business is a great way to help people and make money. You need to be licensed and insured to work in the state you live in, and you will also need a business license. Additionally, you will also have to research how much it costs to build a tiny house as well as what materials are needed for the project.
Tiny houses are becoming increasingly popular, offering a unique opportunity for you to get involved in the construction industry. The tiny homes industry is expected to grow to 3.57B by 2026.
How much you can make: $295,000 — $10,000,000/month
How long does it take to build: 700 days (?)
Tiny Away, a network of eco-friendly 'tiny houses' across Australia, has grown to over 75 private locations and brings in an average of $156,000 in monthly rental revenue, appealing to city dwellers seeking unique and comfortable accommodation experiences.
55. Start a telescope business
56. Start a gardening course
As human population keeps growing there is demand for more food, which has resulted to increased need for gardening to feed the growing population. Thus, if you are a trained and experienced gardener, you may consider starting a gardening course. You can start online gardening classes by creating a simple website with different course modules.
57. Start a cross country skiing business
58. Start an arts & crafts fair business
59. Start a campground business
If you’re an outdoor enthusiast and looking for a business opportunity, a campground business might be a perfect fit for you.
To make your campground a success, it is essential to choose a location that is easily accessible to your potential customers.
Secondly, offer amenities such as showers, restrooms, and a camp store to make your guests' stay more comfortable and enjoyable and leverage social media and local advertising to promote your business and reach more customers.
Providing exceptional customer service will create a positive and memorable experience for your guests.
60. Start a religious revival events business
61. Start a film set rental business
62. Start an animal grazing business
63. Start a school field trip business
64. Start a junkyard business
A junkyard is a place where scrap is collected before recycling or discarded. The junkyard operators purchase scrap metal at their weighted price and sell it to recyclers for a profit.
With the demand for scrap metal and recyclable items expected to touch $60 Billion in the next few years, starting a junkyard can be a profitable venture. To start, you need to meet the legal paperwork, so authorities allow you to purchase scrap metal.
How much you can make: $37,000,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)
This case study examines how the founder of 1-800-GOT-JUNK grew his business to $37M/month by offering franchise-based, full-service junk removal to homes and businesses, including donating any possible items to charity.
65. Start a Dairy Farming Business
Dairy farming is a business that involves the raising of dairy cattle to produce dairy products. The products made from dairy farming include milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and other dairy products.
Dairy farming is one of the most profitable businesses in the world. It is one of the few industries where a small farmer can earn more than an industrialist.
The average salary for a dairy farmer in the United States is $48,733 as of October 27, 2022. However, the salary range typically falls between $45,405 and $54,912.
This business can be started on any scale, depending on your financial position, availability of land, and capital required for starting this business. You will need proper land for your cows and other animals that will be used in the process of producing dairy products.
66. Start a farmers market
Farmer’s markets offer small businesses and farmers the chance to sell their products. The farmers’ market has become crucial to rebuilding local food systems and meeting the growing demand for locally produced food. A farmers’ market can be a successful business venture in your area if located strategically.
67. Start an outdoor concerts business
68. Start a horse breeding business
Horse breeding is a meticulous process that requires pairing male and female horses selectively to produce offspring with desirable traits, such as good conformation, temperament, and athleticism.
To ensure the quality of the resulting foals, breeders carefully choose the parent horses based on their pedigrees, health, and performance. The ultimate goal is to produce horses with specific purposes in mind, such as racing, show jumping, or leisure riding.
This business has the potential to be quite lucrative, as well-bred horses with exceptional qualities can command high prices in the market. This is especially true when they excel in their chosen discipline, making them highly sought after by buyers looking for quality equine companions or competitive partners.
69. Start a drone racing business
Today, drone racing is a premier, professional game with a large, dedicated fan base. With drone races now happening all over the world and drone technology accelerating at a rapid pace, starting a drone racing business in 2024 can be a profitable venture.
70. Start an agritourism business
- 4,818 founder case studies
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
