Best Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs

Ideas for Ambitious Kids & Teens (and How SignUp Can Help!)

Ready to help your motivated child or teenager start their own business? What special skill do they have that can be offered as a service or what homemade products do they love to make that can be turned into a profit? Teach your mini-me how to run a business and instill in them at an early age the values of hard work and dedication. Residents and local businesses are sure to support the young entrepreneurs in their community (especially at a fraction of the cost they’d get from a professional.) 

Ideas for Kids 6-12

1. Chore Services: Simple chores like folding laundry, dusting furniture, picking up fallen sticks, wiping window sills, cleaning out pet cages, emptying trash, etc. make for a prime business opportunity for aspiring tycoons. Tell everyone you know (in-person and online) that your kid is offering their chore services in exchange for a set fee. 

2. Handmade Crafts: If you’ve got a crafty kid, there are limitless options for selling their handmade items and a huge market to buy, whether they create greeting cards, jewelry, scrunchies, crocheted blankets, one-of-a-kind artwork, or something else. Check to see if there’s a children’s business fair in your area, set up an Etsy shop to sell online, create a business page on Pinterest and Facebook to advertise, and host a pop-up sale once or twice a month in your driveway. 

3. Lemonade Stand: Your kiddo(s) can jazz up this classic kid-biz idea by offering more than the traditional lemon drink – give the option to add blueberry, cherries, cucumber, mango, or other fruits to the drink. And/or offer slushies in addition to the standard iced drinks. (Pro Tip: For kiddos that love baking, you could also help them make cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and other treats to sell at their drink stand.)  

4. Online Reviewer: Help your child learn about online marketing at an early age! Set up a YouTube account that they’ll use to post video reviews of their favorite toys, games, foods, movies, home care products (like toothpaste), etc. Referral links mean cash in the pocket every time someone buys one of the products reviewed. 

5. Party Entertainment: Is your kid a natural entertainer? Help them start a business that allows them to shine in that spotlight! Whether their speciality is magic, standup comedy, music, juggling, balloon artistry, or something else, they’ll have a blast while making some cash. 

6. Pine Cone Pick-Up: In the fall, pesky pine cones fall from trees and litter yards – did you know that when pine cones break down, they make the ground acidic and can ruin grasses? (There’s a great marketing pitch for your kiddo!) Kids can offer a solution to the problem by offering to pick up pine cones for a nickel apiece. 

7. Poop-Scooping: Your kids can offer recurring pet waste removal services to keep peoples’ yards doodie-free. Base pricing on the number of dogs and frequency of visits needed. 

8. Slime Making: Help your child learn how to make slime for sale – it’s easy with YouTube to find different recipes and methods to make everything from basic slime to glossy slime to cloud slime and more. Spare other parents the mess and trouble of making their own slime in exchange for a few bucks.

9. Veggie Garden Sales: Spend quality time with your kiddo while setting them up for success and teaching them the value of hard work – plant and care for a garden, then sell the produce at your local Farmer’s Market or at your own pop-up stand in your neighborhood. 

10. Yard & Garden Decor:  Crafty kids can have fun making birdhouses, feeders, sun-catchers, painted garden rocks, wind chimes, and other yard decor – and even more fun spending the cash they make from their endeavors!

Ideas for Teens

1. Babysitting: A traditional teen job perfect for responsible teenagers who love children, starting up a babysitting service can be easy with simple word-of-mouth marketing. Tell all your friends and ask family members to spread the word at school, church, and work (and online!). Parents will jump at the chance for a night out sans the kiddos! 

2. Can Cleaning: Trash cans and recycling cans often become disgusting cesspools of filth over time – and who wants to clean them out? Nobody! Your teen can offer bi-weekly or monthly services to clean out cans.

3. Car Care Service: Your teen can offer to wash cars and clean car interiors in exchange for a set price. Suggest that they go door-to-door in your neighborhood to attract conveniently-located clients, post on social media, and hang flyers in high-traffic areas throughout your community. Use SignUp’s free scheduling tool to plan ahead!

4. Caretaking: Families that go on vacation and need help taking care of their pets, plants, or house while they’re gone make for a prime business opportunity. Post an announcement on your HOA website or local Nextdoor that your teen will dog or house sit, water plants, or do whatever caretaker service is needed for an hourly rate.

5. Home Cleaning Service: Another teen business that’s easy to get going with word-of-mouth marketing is a cleaning service – teens can offer to clean anything from roof gutters to home interiors to the backyard pool. Joining forces with other teens in the community means tackling more jobs – use SignUp’s free online planner to manage the work schedule!

6. Dog Care: Employed and elderly folks are often looking for help with caring for their dogs. Teens can offer to walk, feed, bathe, or play with their precious pups. Have them hang flyers in the community, advertise on social media, and go door-to-door to drum up business. Create a Flexible SignUp with Add-a-Spot to allow interested clients to add their own spots when help is needed.

7. Errand Running: This service is ideal for teens with drivers’ licenses or that live within walking and biking distance of a supermarket or store. Depending on the situation, your teen can offer to run various errands like grocery shopping, dry cleaning pick up, 

8. Hair Styling: Aspiring hairdressers or teens that just love to style other peoples’ hair can make money by offering their styling services for hosts and attendees of parties, dances, weddings, and other special events. (Pro Tip: This business could be targeted at adults and/or kids events.)

9. Lawn Maintenance: If your teen loves being outdoors, lawn care may be the perfect business for them. Post in your neighborhood, school, and workplace bulletin boards that your teen is offering services like grass mowing, weeding, raking, leaf removal, and other basic lawn maintenance for a fee. (Pro Tip: In the winter, your teen can shift gears and offer snow removal services.)

10. Lifeguarding or Swimming Instruction: Help your teen become a certified lifeguard in order to offer these services – they can offer lifeguarding for private or community swim parties and swimming lessons to younger kids. 

    

11. Painting Service: Teens can offer painting services for various interior and/or exterior structures like rooms, garages, outdoor fencing, sheds, furniture, and more.

12. Party Planning: Does your teen have natural organizational, planning, and people skills? Planning parties for birthdays, anniversaries, and other events could be a fun way to put those skills to use while making money at the same time. 

13. Personal Chef Service: If your teen likes to cook, they can offer various chef services to folks in your community – like pre-meal food prep, making complementary sides to planned main dishes, preparing full meals, etc.

14. Pet Photography: Perfect for teens that like taking pictures and love being around animals, this small business takes very little to get started – just a camera and some good marketing skills! What pet owner wouldn’t love a low-cost option for a snapshot of their favorite furball?

15. Pressure Washing Service: Home exteriors get dirty, too, but many homeowners don’t have the equipment or physical ability needed to power wash a house – your teen can be the solution! Have them watch a YouTube video that teaches the “how to” of pressure washing. Then, after securing a few jobs, help your teen buy or rent a power washer. (Home Depot and Lowes both offer rentals.) 

16. Seasonal Helper: From decorating to gift wrapping to shopping and more, teens are the perfect resource to take some of the holiday workload off of adults. (Pro Tip: Don’t just think ”Thanksgiving” and “Christmas” opportunities – people celebrate holidays year-round!)

17. Taxi Service: Responsible teens that have licenses and a proven record of safe driving can offer to drive younger kiddos to and from school, practice, camp, and other activities for their parents.

18. Tech Assistance: Teens that are technologically-savvy can offer their services to provide older adults and other non-technological folks with setup and basic training on how to use smartphones, TVs, computers, streaming networks, and other new technologies.

19. Tutoring: Teen students with a passion for helping others can offer to tutor younger kids or peers struggling in certain subjects for a set rate.

20. Website Building: Another opportunity for techie teens is building websites for local businesses. Self-learning this skill  is possible with a ton of good online sources.

About the Author

   

Diana Schlott

Customer Champion & Content Creator

Diana is a SignUp co-founder and content creator of how-to user guides, YouTube videos, and Idea Center content on fundraising, mentoring, and business management. More about Diana →