Whether it’s summer break and your kid wants an activity to pass the time or you’re trying to instil innovative habits with a good side hustle, encouraging your child to start their own business can pay big dividends. Start with this list of ideas, then get to selling.
Encouraging kids to pursue their business ideas and solutions has benefits far beyond just financial. Critical life skills — including those that impact the emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing of children — are gained when kids are well-supported in starting their own business and in seeing their ideas come to fruition.
We believe that there are infinite ways for kids to put their talents and skills to good use when it comes to being Kidpreneurs. Look beyond traditional ideas, find a market niche, and hone in on the areas your child would like to apply themselves. Capitalize on a child’s eagerness, curiosity, and unique perspective to help build their confidence and get them running with their business concepts.
Starting a business can be hard work but also incredibly rewarding! To help keep parents and kids enthusiastic about the process, we offer this guide to 15 of the most creative and accessible business ideas for kids of all ages.
To keep the inspiration going, the guide also includes successful and inventive Kidpreneurs that we’ve featured on our website. Finally, we’ve outlined important skills and character-building areas that each of these business ideas can help to cultivate and nurture.
We hope you find this guide helpful!
Creative Business Ideas
1. Face Painter and Balloon Artist
A party isn’t complete without these fun services! Kids can easily learn DIY techniques for face painting designs and balloon creations that will spice up any party.
2. Art With Heart
Put artistic skills to good use by creating/designing and selling greeting cards and postcards. Kids can use their own drawings or inspirational photos and can easily have these printed with affordable, online printing services.
3. Copy Editing and Copywriting
Great writers are always in demand! Kids can offer editing services or copywriting services to business professionals, students needing help with essays, or authors with editing requests. Online tools for grammar and spell check make this job so much accessible to young kids.
4. ’Tis the Season
Holidays provide a huge opportunity for those willing to offer seasonal services such as gift wrapping, holiday decorating, meal planning, wreath-making, or holiday baking. Advertise far in advance to book out customers (if allowed, your neighborhood, parent’s workplace, and school are an excellent place to advertise your services).
5. DIY cosmetics
DIY natural bath and body products are all the rage. Kids can learn how to craft soaps, cosmetics, natural fragrances, deodorants, and hair products that are both natural and better for the environment. These make great gifts for any gender and can be sold online or in person.
6. Yard Maintenance
No matter where you live in the country, people need their lawns mowed, leaves raked, show shoveled, weeds pulled, and plants tended. Kids with a good work ethic can quickly build their reputation with this service and gain steady customers.
7. Cleaning Campers, RVs, and Cabins
When camping season begins, folks could really use a helping hand with cleaning and freshening up their campers and cabins that may have been vacant in the offseason. This is an awesome service to advertise to your local community or to places that store or repair RV’s and campers.
8. Laundry Extraordinaire
Even some hired housekeepers don’t include laundry services as part of their job. Capitalize on this very needed opportunity by offering to wash, fold, and even put away laundry. Kids could do this task at their customer’s homes or offer to pick up and deliver service for the laundry.
9. Practice Coach
Athletic kids can offer to practice sports with others after school or on the weekends. If they are skilled in their sport, they can even include coaching skills. But even just having another hand to catch or throw a ball, shoot hoops, or provide encouragement and mentoring can be a huge help to parents and their kids.
10. Lifeguard
Older children who receive their lifeguard certification can enjoy a rewarding seasonal job at the local community center or water park. Additionally, they could offer to be a lifeguard for parties or even just to keep an extra safe eye on kids while swimming at home.
11. Social Media Influencer
If your kid has some expertise or credibility in a certain niche — and has been a decent following on social media — they can consider using that knowledge to become a social media influencer. This means they help to promote or advertise certain products or services and are compensated for doing so.
12. Tech Support
With technology on the rise and always evolving, there is a huge demand for mobile tech support services. Kids with these technical skills can help with internet or equipment set up, cell phone navigation and apps, or even with getting streaming services ready to go.
13. Web and Design Pros
Combining their technical and creative skills, kids can find an abundance of jobs requesting website design, video creation and editing, photography, and graphic design. These jobs are often posted online but many small business owners can benefit from these skills as well.
14. Social Media Managers
Social media is trendy and for good reason. Everyone from entrepreneurs to teenagers uses social media to promote their brand, services, or image. Kids that are savvy with social media can be hired to manage social media accounts, create posts, and encourage follower engagement.
15. Tech Research
With so many overwhelming options for new technology and products, many people are in need of someone who can provide in-depth research on products to make recommendations. Kids that are interested in the newest tech can research options, read reviews, and compare products such as cameras, laptops, cell phones, video gaming systems, and much more.
