Starting a small business can be an exciting and rewarding experience for kids. With some guidance from parents, kids can turn their interests and skills into real money-making ventures. The benefits are immense – kids learn valuable life skills like responsibility, time management, and financial literacy. The sense of accomplishment and independence also does wonders for their confidence.
In 2023, there are plenty of great small business ideas for kids to consider. The key is finding something that aligns with the child’s unique personality and interests. Here are some of the best kid-friendly business ideas to inspire the budding entrepreneurs in your life:
15 Kid-Friendly Business Ideas
1. The Classic Lemonade Stand
This summertime staple never goes out of style. A lemonade stand is often a child’s first foray into the world of business. With help from parents to set up the stand, make signs, and mix up batches of lemonade, kids as young as 5 or 6 can start to learn the ropes of running a small business. They’ll practice money management, customer service skills, and how to attract customers. It’s an ideal low-stakes way for little kids to get business experience.
2. Pet Sitting or Dog Walking
For the animal lovers out there, pet sitting or dog walking can make an excellent business idea for older kids and teens. Kids can start by reaching out to neighbors, friends, and family members who need someone to look after pets while they are on vacation or at work. They’ll learn how to care for animals as well as manage client expectations and schedule appointments. Having references is crucial, so beginning with the pets of people they know is key.
3. Lawn Mowing or Yard Work
As tween or teen entrepreneurs build their skills and stamina, offering lawn mowing, raking, snow shoveling, and other outdoor work is a great business idea. Equipment like lawnmowers, rakes, and shovels have some start-up costs, but kids can earn good money, especially in the summer by going door to door in their neighborhood offering yard work services. It’s a bonus if they team up with friends to take on bigger jobs.
4. Arts and Crafts Shop
For creative kids, an arts, crafts, or vintage items shop can be the perfect business idea. They can create their own jewelry, paintings, clothing accents, candles, decor items, or other handmade goods to stock their online or local store. Sites like Etsy make it easy for crafty entrepreneurs to set up a simple online shop with parental guidance. Artsy teens can also sell their work at craft fairs, local shops on consignment, or through custom orders.
5. Tutoring or Teaching Lessons
Sharing their knowledge with others is a fulfilling business venture for brainy students who excel in subjects like math, science, language, music, or art. They can tutor classmates struggling with concepts they’ve mastered or teach lessons for younger kids. This is an ideal part-time business for teens who want to earn money doing something meaningful. And it looks great on college applications too!
6. Babysitting
Caring for little ones in the evenings or on weekends provides a flexible income stream for responsible teenagers. Kids who take a Red Cross babysitting course to learn basic first aid and gain experience with children can start by sitting for family, friends or neighbors. As they build up references and confidence, their services will be in high demand. This is one of the most classic business ventures for middle or high schoolers.
7. Running Errands or Doing Chores
For tweens and teens, a business doing odd jobs, running errands, clean-up projects, or household chores for neighbors can provide a steady stream of work. This can include things like grocery shopping, packing up items for donation, cleaning garages or attics, yard clean-up, washing cars, or even helping with event set-up and take-down. Their services will be welcomed by busy families or seniors.
8. Tech Help Desk
Tech-savvy teens can put their skills to use by offering technology help for local families and small businesses. They can help with things like setting up new devices, building websites, providing computer/device tutoring, doing data entry, designing flyers/brochures, managing social media accounts, and any other basic tech needs a client has. Teens can even make house calls for installation and troubleshooting issues.
9. Food-Based Businesses
For kids who love to cook and bake, food businesses are a yummy opportunity. Teens can sell homemade treats like cupcakes, candies, or cookies at events and farmers markets or take custom orders for birthdays and parties. With an adult’s help inspecting the kitchen and managing food handling rules, this can be a sweet business idea.
10. Making and Selling Candles
Candle making allows creative kids to make unique homemade candles to give as gifts or sell online or at craft fairs. They can experiment with scents, colors and designs. Low-cost supplies are needed along with close adult supervision.
11. House Cleaning Service
Many busy professionals need help keeping their homes tidy. Responsible teens can offer to come in weekly or bi-weekly to vacuum, dust, do laundry, change sheets, scrub bathrooms and anything else that needs cleaning. Reliability is key.
12. Selling Plants and Cut Flowers
Kids with green thumbs can nurture seedlings into fully grown plants or cut flowers to sell. Local gardening stores, farmer’s markets, or florists may buy wholesale to resell. An online shop for bouquets is also an option.
13. Pet Grooming
Animal-loving kids can learn to bathe and groom dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, etc. They can market their services to family, friends, neighbors and on community boards. As skills progress, they can open a proper grooming salon.
14. Errand Service
Some clients may prefer to outsource their “to-do” list. Savvy teens can offer to handle tasks like grocery shopping, prescription pick-ups, package shipping, waiting for home repair appointments and other basic errands for busy clients.
15. Power Washing
With adult supervision for safety, power washing is a profitable summer business for teens. Services like driveway cleaning, house siding, deck and patio cleaning are needed regularly and offer high income. Equipment rental is an initial expense.
Starting a Business: Tips for Parents
When it comes to starting a small business, your child will need some guidance and support. While you want them to learn independence and responsibility, there are still important things parents need to oversee. Here are some tips:
- Help them choose a business that fits their interests and personality. Starting a business will be most rewarding if it aligns with something they genuinely care about. Offer advice but let them make the ultimate decision.
- Set aside some startup funds. While some businesses have minimal costs, you may need to provide some cash upfront for supplies. Some funding options are allowances, birthday money, or doing extra chores.
- Assist with the business plan. Walk them through the key elements: mission statement, description, target audience, pricing, competitive analysis, marketing strategy, etc. Keep it simple but help them think through the details.
- Set up a business checking account. Open a student account at your bank so they can manage income and expenses. Oversee transactions until you’re sure they’re ready.
- Help procure any licenses or permits. Make sure to research what’s legally required for their type of business in your state or municipality.
- Manage contracts and legal documents. Review any agreements like for vendors or clients. You may need to sign on their behalf since they are a minor.
- Provide supervision as needed. This depends on their age and the type of business. Be around for potentially risky situations.
- Set workload boundaries. Make sure business doesn’t interfere with schoolwork or extracurricular activities. Set clear guidelines.
- Offer encouragement through challenges. There will be hiccups and learning experiences. Keep them motivated when obstacles arise.
- Let them manage day-to-day operations. Resist the urge to micromanage the business. Let them learn from mistakes in a safe environment.
- Help market the business. Use your own social media and connections to help spread the word. But let them take the lead creatively.
- Teach financial literacy. Show them how to track income and expenses, calculate profit margins, pay taxes, and manage accounts.
By giving them space to operate semi-independently, parents can provide kids with valuable real-world business experience. Use the opportunity to impart wisdom and instill an entrepreneurial spirit in them.
Benefits of Kid Entrepreneurs
Beyond earning extra income, starting a small, kid-friendly business has many advantages:
- It teaches strong work ethic and responsibility – they learn work isn’t always fun and business takes dedication.
- They gain real-world business skills like customer service, marketing, record keeping, managing time and money, problem solving, and following regulations.
- It builds confidence and self-esteem as they accomplish goals and interact with clients.
- They learn to take initiative and be self-starters. The business won’t run itself.
- Creativity flourishes as they develop products, brands, marketing materials, and content.
- They get experience collaborating if they team up with other young entrepreneurs.
- Research, learning, and critical thinking skills improve as they teach themselves new skills.
- They learn how to overcome challenges when the business has setbacks.
- It provides an outlet to explore passions, whether that’s baking, animals, arts, or technology.
- Starting young helps build an entrepreneurial mindset they can apply throughout life.
- They gain financial literacy and the value of earning their own money through hard work.
- It looks great on college applications and resumes later on.
- They learn to give back to the community and help others by donating a portion of proceeds.
For kids who show an interest, the experience of planning, launching, managing, and growing their own small business is truly invaluable.
Choosing a Business – Evaluating Options
If your child has come to you with the declaration that they want to be an entrepreneur, how do you get started deciding what type of business is right for them? Here are some tips for choosing:
Consider your child’s interests and hobbies – Try to align the business with something they already enjoy and have some knowledge of. This makes the learning process more engaging. Don’t force them into a business just because it seems lucrative.
Assess their skills and personality – What comes naturally to them? Are they more creative? Outgoing with customers? Comfortable with technology? Organized managers? Match the business to their inherent skills.
Identify needs in your local market – Is there a service people in your area would welcome that your child could provide? Research gaps and opportunities.
Evaluate start-up costs – How much money will be needed for supplies, equipment, inventory, etc to start? Make sure the costs are reasonable for your child’s budget.
Consider any licensing or permits – Some businesses require registration or licenses, especially working with food or animals. Make sure you know the rules.
Think about time commitment – Will this be a full-time summer job or a just few hours on weekends? Find the right balance for their schedule.
Assess complexity – Consider your child’s age and abilities. A single service like dog walking is very different from a clothing boutique. Start simple.
Think about scalability – Could this be a long-term business they grow progressively over several years through high school and college?
Identify risks and challenges – What potential issues could arise like unsatisfied customers, production problems, or financial loss? Gauge the level of risk.
Discuss legal considerations – Review any contract, insurance, or liability concerns. You may need to manage certain aspects on their behalf.
By thoroughly evaluating these factors, you can guide your kid to choose a business that’s rewarding, safe, and sets them up for success as a young entrepreneur. The right business will let their passion and abilities shine.
Getting Funding and Support
So your talented and driven child has decided they want to start their very own small business. That’s wonderful! But now comes the tough part – how can you help them get the funding and support they’ll need to successfully launch their big idea? Here are some options:
Family funding – As a parent, you may decide to contribute some startup funds or invest in your child’s business. Set clear expectations for repayment terms.
Savings – Encourage your kid to save up their allowance, gift money, or earnings to put towards their new venture.
Crowdfunding – Platforms like Kickstarter and GoFundMe allow people to raise funds from their community. Oversee this process closely.
Business pitch competitions – Some organizations and school business clubs host contests where kid entrepreneurs can pitch their business idea to win funds. Look for these in your area or online.
Business plan competitions – Similar to pitch contests, some competitions reward kids who present the most promising and viable business plans with monetary awards to invest in their concept.
Micro loans – The non-profit Kiva offers small entrepreneurship loans at 0% interest that your child can pay back once up and running.
Grants – The National Federation of Independent Businesses offers a Young Entrepreneur Award that comes with $15,000 for startup costs. Many more exist if you do some digging.
Pre-sales – Consider letting your kid start taking orders before officially launching so they have funds to purchase initial supplies, inventory, and tools.
Consignment sales – Earning a commission selling products via consignment online or at local shops is a good starting point before stocking their own inventory.
With a little creativity and some adult guidance around contracts, loans, and financing, your kid’s business can get the capital required to get started on the right foot. This experience is invaluable as they learn how to fund and scale a concept.
Kid Entrepreneur Spotlight
To really get inspired about the amazing potential of kid entrepreneurs, take a look at these real-life examples of young business leaders:
Mikaila Ulmer started selling her grandmother’s lemonade recipe at age four from a stand in her front yard. Now at the age of 17, Me & The Bees Lemonade is sold in over 1,500 stores across the country and aiming to give back to bee conservation.
Moziah Bridges, now 20, learned to sew neckties at age nine and went on to launch his accessory company Mo’s Bows. He landed deals with the NBA and Disney and even scored an investment from Daymond John on Shark Tank.
Alina Morse began selling homemade candy at age 7 to raise funds for a charity. This sparked the idea for her health-conscious confectionary brand Zollipop which offers sugar-free lollipops. Now 18, her treats are in over 7,000 stores.
Callie Cavanaugh combined her passion for the arts and giving back to start Callie’s Kindness Spreads Joy nonprofit at just 12 years old. She sells her own Kindness Kit boxes and donates art supplies to schools.
Amira Willighagen was just nine when she blew away the judges on Holland’s Got Talent with her stunning opera singing skills. This viral moment launched the now 16-year-old’s music career with Sony Music.
Jayden Perez began performing magic tricks on YouTube at age seven and now at 14, he travels worldwide as a magician. He uses his platform to speak out against bullying.
Taylor Rosenthal didn’t let age hold him back, pitching recycled athletic shoe insoles to the Shark Tank judges at just eight years old. Now 17, the young innovator is a motivational speaker.
Ryan Hickman, now 16, was bothered by how much plastic he saw being thrown away so at just three years old he began recycling trash for pocket money. Six years later, Ryan’s recycling nonprofit has generated over $75,000 in donations.
Alexis Olympia Ohanian, daughter of tennis icon Serena Williams and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, launched her first business at just three years old – a Qai Qai doll. The popular toy sold out in just a few hours.
These outstanding kid entrepreneurs prove that innovative business ideas can become phenomenally successful ventures when passion meets effort. Their stories show how age is just a number when you have vision, grit, and supportive mentors. The future looks bright with young talent like this leading the way!
How can kids balance schoolwork and running a small business?
Kids can balance schoolwork and running a small business by following these strategies:
- Set priorities: Focus on the most important tasks and deadlines for school and business. Determine which activities require immediate attention and allocate time accordingly.
- Manage time effectively: Create a schedule that includes dedicated time for schoolwork, business tasks, and breaks. Use a planner or digital calendar to keep track of assignments, meetings, and deadlines.
- Create consistent routines: Establish daily routines for both school and business activities. This will help kids maintain a sense of structure and make it easier to manage their time.
- Plan: Anticipate upcoming school assignments and business tasks, and allocate time accordingly. Break down larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
- Communicate with parents and teachers: Keep parents and teachers informed about the business and any potential conflicts with schoolwork. They can provide guidance and support in managing both responsibilities.
- Use school resources: Take advantage of resources available at school, such as clubs, workshops, or mentorship programs, to gain knowledge and skills that can be applied to the business.
- Delegate tasks: Delegate some business tasks to family members or friends to help manage the workload.
- Avoid burnout: Ensure there is time for relaxation and self-care. Engage in hobbies, exercise, and social activities to balance school and business responsibilities.
By implementing these strategies, kids can successfully balance their schoolwork and small business ventures, gaining valuable experience and skills.
Conclusion
Inspiring kids to embrace their entrepreneurial spirit and start their own small, kid-friendly business is a rewarding experience for the whole family. By providing guidance while also giving them independence, parents can impart wisdom while building their confidence.
The number of business opportunities suited for children is endless – whether they enjoy baking cupcakes, walking dogs, making crafts, or offering tech help, their interests can be transformed into real income streams and meaningful learning experiences.
Beyond earning money, kid entrepreneurs will pick up valuable life skills and knowledge that will help them tremendously as they grow up. And they will have a blast bringing their ideas to life.
So in 2023, consider helping your little leaders get a taste of entrepreneurship. With drive and determination, they may just be the next generation of innovative business trailblazers!