Business

20 Small Business Ideas for Teens

20 Small Business Ideas for Teens
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Are you a high school student? If yes, then you may have enough autonomy to successfully run a business almost entirely on your own. Get to know the small business ideas for teens.

However, there are a few legal and financial considerations. You want a parental sign-off to get started when you’re under 18. More often, it depends on national and regional law, in most places not legally start a business on their own, nor can they sign legally binding contracts. 

You should discuss with your parents and friends your skills and interests. Talk to your parents about how much involvement each will have and how roles will be divided. You must know what safeguards are in place to manage both studies and business.

Related: Unique Ideas To Establish Online Business With Less Investment

Why start a teen-run business?

Successful entrepreneurs don’t take traditional paths. They forgo the educational route and opt to learn by doing. No matter what are your current plans! Plans for your graduation—college, gap year, or jumping straight into a job— just remember that you’re a teen and can always change your path. What you have the most valuable resource is time. It’s important to try on a few futures following the business ideas for teens to explore which fits best at this stage of their life.

When you start your own small business while you’re still in school, you shorten the distance between theory and practical. It might also allow you to follow the best post-graduation decision. Maybe your small business will be worth pursuing full-time! Want to know tips for young entrepreneurs in business? Read this!

Even if you continue your study or enter the larger workforce after school, your own small business is an amazing thing to put on your CV. It will show your ambition, skills, initiative, leadership, discipline, and self-sufficiency. Best of all, creating your own successful business will make you get paid. You’ll enjoy more money to spend on the things you like. What’s not to like about that?

But the next question is what will your business look like? To ease your problem, here is a list of small business ideas for teens. These ideas will not only make you financially stable, but you’ll also wish to become a successful entrepreneur in a long run. Following these ideas, you will get paid in the quickest and simplest way possible.

How to start a business if you’re a teen

Follow the small business ideas for teens to get yourself financial stability and unbeatable confidence.
Best Business Ideas for Teens

Before checking out the complete guide of small business ideas for teens, ask yourself the following questions before making any decision:

  • What are the laws and rules to start and run a business in my country for a person of my age?
  • How much time can I commit to my small business every week?
  • Who will manage my accounts and finances?
  • How much am I ready to invest in my business before I see a return?
  • What should be my exit strategy?

If you can answer all of those questions without any doubt, you’ll be well on your way to teen profit and loss business.

1. Offer specific services

What about opening a company to offer your services? There are hundreds of markets to cash in on; it all depends on your skills, knowledge, and expertise.

For example, if you are a health care provider, you can supervise patients, offer timely treatment and care, take care of children and older people, etc.

Are you an expert in art and craft? Make your work available on a site like Etsy. You can also consider establishing your online store!

You can offer your services in different gyms, training schools, or at the client’s place if you’re a personal trainer.

If you take a lot of interest in designing and stitching clothes, start selling your services. Make your clothing brand. You can also make your website or open a boutique. If you are good at and enjoy taking care of children, you open a day-care. Remember, teen entrepreneurs that are energetic when it comes to emergencies and last-minute calls will always have work.

2. Share your skills and knowledge

Isn’t the essential ability nowadays is “Learn to Learn”.

As a young entrepreneur, try helping students with difficulties. Accelerate their learning, extend and motivate them to perform well.

For example, if you are a musician, an expert in digital subjects, excel in languages, or a teacher, you will find a massive market of clients who want to increase their learning.

You can also do it at home or by going to the client’s place. Companies also hire employees to teach their clients. You can provide group or individual classes, both for children and adults. There are multiple other options and business ideas for you. Ever thought of forming a team of specialists to open an academy?

3. Tutoring

Do you own a sharp mind and great communication skills? Whether you are an expert in math, English, science, or music, you can become a good tutor who can earn a solid amount of money per month. It can be a hugely rewarding business venture that also doesn’t require much upfront investment.

As a teen and high school student, it is one of the best logical options. It can also be one of the most profit-making. You just need to turn your strengths into a tutoring business which is a great option to capitalize on the subjects you’re already good at. Plus, when you showcase a tutoring business on your resume, it will be bound to impress, especially if you’re tutoring in difficult subjects that you’ve successfully mastered.

That’s not the only thing great about this business. Other than having next to no startup costs, a tutoring business has a built-in in-person audience right there next to you at school, every single day. 

Your peers, class fellows, and siblings’ friends are all potential customers. With referral marketing, you may get a flood of more customers than you can take on. So, don’t be misled; it can become a lot bigger than just you and your struggling fellows.

4. Social media influencing

You can influence the masses through your social media presence. You can earn money from brands by endorsing their products if you have a large and engaged following.

In today’s social media age, being a digital influencer or live-streamer is a real job. It is 100% a lucrative and impressive one! If you want to start this business around your social media accounts, there’s little stopping you, and you may often be at the forefront of the trends in these scenarios. However, don’t be misled into thinking about this. It’s going to be easy or all fun and excitement. 

Starting a business around social media, be it as a makeup influencer, gaming live-streamer, or online comedian can take two things: marketing savvy and perseverance. The success stories of today are no accident, and whether the influencers are teens or adults, it takes some real time to build up a loyal. Marketing prowess, how to engage your following, and monetizing that audience is the ultimate goal to achieve. You must be patient, perseverant, and consistent to go along the way.

Even if use social media as a hobby and business in one, your college will be impressed if you can lay out what you’ve built up as a brand and business. This will, automatically, show them your consistency and dedication to your interests. If this is one of your small business ideas for teens, start it right now. There’s no time like the present, as the competition is fierce. You will need to be creative and innovative to stand out and succeed.

Related: Social Media Marketing Trends That Could Break or Make Your Business

5. Podcasting

Does you as a teen have loads to say? If you have issues or topics that you’re passionate about, you like many other people can share your feelings. Being a podcaster is the best idea if you are outspoken, charismatic, and don’t mind organizing thoughts.

Podcasting is a new and exciting opportunity that does not require an overly expensive budget, to begin with. First, you have to decide on the format. How often will your podcast air in a month, will you work on your own, or will you be inviting guests to your interview?

Get the right equipment like headphones, a podcasting laptop, a microphone specially designed for this purpose, editing, and production software, and an audio interface. Good sound is necessary for podcasting, so you will need to get the proper equipment.

These are the necessary bits of material. As you earn more money and become more successful, you can add equipment like pop filters, shock mounts, and boom arms.

6. Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is probably one of the best profitable businesses for young adults that can become a big and profitable venture at a later stage. There are multiple platforms that are willing to hire and pay virtual assistants to handle some of their business works. Do you have marketable skill sets? If yes, then becoming a virtual assistant is the best and the simplest business idea for you. 

As a virtual assistant, you have to handle various responsibilities such as online marketing, contacting to clients, discussing with loads of clients on the internet, responding to emails, product listing, blogging, webpage editing, and report writing.

7. Web Development

As a website developer, you need to understand what your clients want for a website to help them with their business. Being a website developer is the smartest way to make extra money. It also allows you to build skills that will make you very profitable to future employers. You’re giving your clients a presence on the internet by creating a website, so you must be professional in your career.

As a teenager, the idea of web development can pay you around $500 to create a simple 5-10 page website, isn’t it great for you? The pay rate also depends on how skilled you are in creating a website and understanding clients’ needs. Once you have become an experienced web developer, keep making more websites. You will learn more styles and skills as you go this way. However, you have to make sure to increase your prices as your skills enhance.

8. YouTube channel

If you’re wondering how to get small business ideas for teens, YouTube is a perfect choice for you. Make money on YouTube and look no further. You don’t need to be a partner to make a channel on YouTube, but being a Partner can make it a lot easier. Reach 1K subscribers on your channel and then apply for the YouTube Partner Program

Monetize your YouTube traffic by affiliate marketing especially if you want to make product review videos. You can also land a brand deal, also a form of affiliate marketing, to get paid on YouTube. Companies taking interest in your channel’s audience can sponsor your videos. You may also be offered product placement packages in exchange for a shoutout.

Related: Top 10 YouTube Channels of 2022

9. Freelance Writing

Are you good at writing articles, descriptive work, content writing, essay writing, academic writing, or any other type of writing? These are so simple business ideas for teens that demand different types of skills. Sometimes you may think that you are not good at particular types of writing until you actually give it a try.

Use the basic writing skills that you have learned as a student in school. Do not be afraid to come upon writing information if you need a refresher. Remember this is a paid opportunity, you are writing and clients expect you to do your best. Maintain a good reputation as a freelancer web worker with feedback. If you become successful in maintaining exceptional feedback, you will get more jobs. Don’t forget to stay in touch with your clients. It is fine to check in with previous clients to remind them that you are available if they need any work.

10. Graphic Illustration & Designing

As a graphic designer, you have to create awesome graphics for other organizations and businesses. You’ll probably not get a full-time job; rather you’ll become a freelancer and do work for lots of different websites, businesses, organizations, and clients.

Graphic designers get to be creative, innovative, and expressive. You can sell your time and skills to earn a handsome amount. Charge your clients on a per hour/per day or on a deadline basis for the amount of time it takes to produce graphics for them. Terms of payments depend on you, but you should generally discuss it with your client in advance.

11. App development

Are you good at web development or graphic designing? Make use of these skills to earn money – just a little training along with the software updates can help you get started. If you can confidently and skillfully showcase your expertise, you will be doing what you love the most while also earning money.

With the help of acknowledgment and experience in technology, you may want to consider a journey in app development. Smartphones are an everyday accessory for everyone, which has increased the need for mobile apps. Similarly, virtual reality software has become extremely popular nowadays, so VR app development is also in great demand. 

12. Animation

Are you interested in classic drawing or painting? You can be a successful animator! You must have really good skills in drawing humans and animals. Having a business as an animation expert is an amazing career, where you enjoy the opportunity to give life to different ideas in fields as diverse as film, law, education, television, healthcare, and gaming.

Even if you are not good at drawing, you can learn courses on how to become an animator and how to break into this action-packed and adventurous field. Once you’ve learned for a few weeks, it’s time to speak with the clients who need an animation expert. Remember, an important part of how to become an animator enfolds the time and effort to your own work and success!

13. Babysitting

Teenagers can find the jobs of babysitting which can offer some much-desired cash and is a job that provides flexibility around your other activities as well. 

Hourly rates for a babysitter usually depend on your location, how long the family requires your service, and how many children are there to care for. It also depends on your age and the time of year (festivities typically command higher rates).

What you need to do is find out the going rate in your area. Once you find it, stay within that range. When you charge from one family one amount, stay consistent with another family if all conditions and situations are the same (like number/ages of kids).

14. Car Washing

Starting a car washing business, especially during the summer is one the easiest and smallest business ideas for teens to earn an extra amount of money. There are just little startup costs which you can arrange with your friends. Sounds fun?

Take a bucket with some soapy water to clean a car. People will pay you to have their cars washed. This business is in more demand during summers as cars are more dusty and stained. Smart Locations to start a car wash business are outside shopping centers, car parks, in towns, and alongside beaches

You along with your friends get a load of a handsome amount!

15. Greeting Cards

Making Greeting cards to run your own business is one of the simplest and smallest business ideas for teens. People need greeting cards for countless occasions or festivities. Not only the cards are used to mark births, anniversaries, deaths, and graduation, but they are also just used to add cheer to a loved one’s day.

You can make and sell handmade greeting cards to simply earn a few extra dollars. Pen down your creativity on paper and design an incredible greeting card. Birthday cards are the most demanding card type. You can make birthday cards which usually account for more than half of the total cards sold. Greeting card prices may depend on designs, events, festivals, and clients’ style requirements.

16. Musician

Are you musically talented? And at the same, do you have the potential to make a great entrepreneur? So, grab the opportunity to showcase your musical talents or work in the music industry. There are different business ideas for musicians, such as writing or shooting for a publication, working at a music venue, joining a street team, working with local bands, working at a record store, and supporting your local scene.

The music industry is one of the most profitable business fields. Do not think that it’s a difficult business to break into, you can get a number of ways to get involved… even if you’re still in high school.

17. Party entertainer

A teenager, who likes selling party entertaining services can easily run a party entertainer business. If you love this idea you can even sell party entertaining services online. Starting a business as a party entertainer can be really rewarding work, as you solve an immediate issue for your client. This business allows you to become more experienced while you are working for multiple different businesses – which will add to your resume and can make things interesting for you!

Party entertainer businesses have the power to choose the clients you work with. You can work with only a few loyal clients of your choice or with hundreds of clients! It is the best money investment for your client, so plan and predict a long way and stay in touch with the potential customers.

18. Photography

Want to start a photography business as a teenager? You can earn a substantial living as a teenage photographer or you can also make it your profession after high school. You need three basic elements to become a photographer, the perfect photo shoot, the camera along with its camera equipment, and the post-production editing.

Charge people by clicking their photographs and editing those clicks. Contact customers from different events like weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, trips to the beach or other tourist-friendly places, graduation, bridal shower, or just as a local service. You can also take photos of certain things like the local countryside, natural views, things happening around- or whatever takes your fancy. Sell the best of those pictures to the respective enthusiasts and earn money.

19. Craft fair vendor

You may already be aware of what to sell at craft the vendor shows under different categories. Typically the main categories include accessories, bath & body, clothing, food, and home décor.

First, you need to define your category. Then, find your favorite niche within a category. In most cases, you should not sell items falling in one category. Selling under the same category like accessories and home décor can cause chaos for you and your clients. Also, you should be able to have customers who would be perfect for your products. Make sure to define the features of your product. What type of materials is your client interested in? What’s their go-to style?

20. Translation service

The translation services industry faced a turndown in 2020, as did many industries; but, IBISWorld forecasts a “major uptick” for the industry for more than the next five years, according to research from IBISWorld. That projected success isn’t astonishing, as the online system has opened up entrepreneurs to English-speaking markets.

This trend is providing opportunities for multilingual speakers so they can offer specific services, like document translation, subjective translation, and the translation of website information into different languages for use in several other markets. If you’re fluent in more than one language, you can successfully carve out a niche in this translation services industry.

Related: 6 Business mistakes that you should avoid

Final Words

Lastly, the most important thing to keep in mind while thinking about business ideas for teens is how this will be managed with your college plans. Every family behaves differently in this area, like:

  • A college-bound senior who wants to major in physics might not be perfect for a small business at all.
  • A junior who wants to learn business could start a business to make tuition money and give them a leg up in admissions.
  • A teen not good in college might start a small business with the aim from the beginning of making enough money to not need higher education.

I hope these small business ideas for teens would help you in deciding your future roads. Whatever the college goals you have, it pays to consider how a small business can be managed with them. It may include planning with other teen entrepreneurs from the start. Also plan for what to do with the business, if you leave town for school.

Related: Importance of Leadership in Business

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