Small Business Ideas For Teens – In every teen group I lead or teach, I ask the BIG question! Do you have a job? Inevitably, I get a lot of blank stares and a few raised hands. During the awkward silence, parents often tell me that their teen can’t work because they aren’t 16 or 18 yet. aful to find regular work for teens and tweens has gotten harder with age for almost all job requirements, other ways to help your teen find work is easier than ever! Let’s think outside the box today as I share 12 smart small business ideas for tweens and tweens!
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Small Business Ideas For Teens
Working part-time teaches your teen to work hard, think for herself, and follow the instructions of others.
Smart Small Business Ideas For Teenagers
Part-time jobs also give your teen a chance to learn how to manage money, learn new skills, and figure out what he likes (or hates) to do.
With all the amazing benefits of the job, we definitely want to help our teenagers. But as parents we also have to consider how we’re going to get them to work, conflicts with other activities and sports, and age restrictions. Ugh, a teenage job doesn’t seem possible now.
But before we give up, let’s explore all the job opportunities outside of flipping burgers at the local fast food joint.
A small business has so many added benefits over a regular part-time job. When your teen starts a small business, they can:
Business Ideas For Teens
I first learned about this thing called “microbusiness” at a homeschool convention I attended years ago. Since I really wanted to know how to encourage my teenager to be more entrepreneurial, my interest was peaked! What is microbusiness?
A micro business is a small business for teenagers that they can start at home in their teens or twenties. With little investment to get started, teenagers have created some amazing businesses. Small business ideas for teenagers
I hated babysitting as a teenager! Unless I really knew kids well, I did NOT want a babysitter. Luckily, there was a lady at my church who worked full time and wanted to help with the cleaning.
I was only a teenager at the time, but I was dropped off and working with this church friend as a cleaner. I usually did the weekly cleaning, like the kitchen and bathrooms. But I was also given different tasks each week depending on what she wanted us to focus on cleaning.
United States Small Business Ideas For Teens
I was later able to branch out and do another cleaning job. House cleaning was much more rewarding for me than babysitting and paid better!
People love their pets and are willing to pay a responsible teenager to take care of the beloved family pet. If your teen just enjoys being around animals, consider a pet grooming business.
Your teen can start small by watching the neighbors’ pets when they go away on vacation. And if they do their job well, the neighbor can be a great reference for getting the next job.
Often couples who work full-time will hire someone to walk the dog during the day. Or, if you live near an airport, you may have pilots or flight attendants who require their animals to be cared for when they go on overnight trips!
Business Ideas For Teenagers
My son Ethan shot his first wedding when he was just 11 years old. He volunteered to do it and we thought the bride was a little crazy to agree, but he did a great job with Mom and Dad acting as production assistants. My husband refused to let him charge this family friend, but it helped land many paying gigs.
As a teenager, he filmed weddings and gymnastics competitions for his sister’s teammates, created promotional videos for several businesses, and converted old VHS tapes and other media into digital files for clients. As his skills grew through his high school production and assembly training, he was able to showcase his work and charge more. He even set up a booth at a wedding show his freshman year of college and landed a few jobs.
As he plans to pursue a career in the film industry (he’s currently a film student at the University of Texas), the experiences he gained as a teenager and teenager have been invaluable in practicing his skills, learning to work with clients and learning to recharge.
You can read more ideas for jobs for teens/teens and students in Laura’s post: Summer and Online Jobs for Teens and Students
Low Cost Business Ideas For Teens
When it came time to get high school student photos, we went with one teenager. College Boy chose two teenagers who ran a small photography business. We were given prices from both and what services they offer.
We were all very pleased with his senior pictures. The price of the senior package was great for us, but the quality and pictures were still great! And in just a few hours, the student’s photography earned almost $20 an hour!
An added bonus…our teenager was so comfortable with the photographer that we all loved our oldest’s genuine smiles!
One day a young man from my class told me that he did not work anywhere. Since he was 15 or 16, I was frustrated, so I asked him a few questions as to why. Come and find out he’s too busy flipping cars!
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This creative young man bought cars on Craigslist, fixed them up and then sold them back on Craigslist. He loved working on cars, so buying old cars with some problems and fixing them was a great pleasure for him. What a great idea to use the skills he has already acquired!
The internet has opened so many doors for moms and teens alike to work from home. Starting an Etsy shop selling crafts or handmade products is definitely one of the best business ideas for students!
If you have a creative teen, consider selling their stuff online through Etsy. Etsy does take a commission, but Etsy offers a safe and easy way to get started quickly.
Do you have a baker at home? We know several young ladies who have either started small cupcake businesses or sold their baked goods at the local farmers market.
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Teen Red is currently in the early stages of creating a clothing business. She makes welding caps for her father and his work friends. We needed to find a pattern that worked. And then, since I don’t sew, we worked with a friend in our homeschool group to learn how to sew welding hats that were well made and comfortable.
Teen Red loves to sew, so we thought this was a unique way to use her talents. There is a need for welding caps as the women who used to supply most of them have stopped making them. And with every hat she makes, Teen Red becomes more knowledgeable!
My niece, who is in high school, started making costumes a few years ago. She does some of the work herself, and she hires others to make other costumes. She has developed a reputation for quality work, so she only opens her sales page every once in a while, otherwise she would have too much work to do! Instagram has been a useful place to advertise her business.
I heard of a teenager who offered a dance camp in his backyard in between college years, and another teenager offered a craft camp. Has your teenager been taking classes (music, dance, art, etc.) for many years and loves working with children? Consider offering a summer camp for a few weeks in the summer.
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Parents are often looking for fun and affordable summer activities for their children. What may seem like a good deal for parents will still add up to a lot of hard earned income in a few weeks for your teenager.
Does your teen love animals? Consider breeding animals as a way to learn about animals and earn income from home. We purchased a purebred German Shepherd as a pet when our daughter was 10 years old. When Daisy was old enough to breed, she had 9 puppies.
I didn’t know anything about the puppies because it was Twin Red and her parents’ plan. So I had a crash course in raising puppies! Twin Red and I learned how to change the puppy papers and clean their cage. We took the puppies for walks, talked to them, fed them. And we taught them to poop outside on command when they were 6 weeks old (cutest site ever to see 9 puppies pooping on command 🙂
Now there are people who are VERY adamantly against animal breeding because there are some breeders who do not care about the animals. But all people
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