In this article, we will take a look at the 30 small business ideas for teens. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to 5 Small Business Ideas for Teens.
Why is Mentorship Important for Young Entrepreneurs?
On September 27, 2022, Junior Achievement USA and EY partnered to survey 1,005 teens across the United States. According to the report, 58% of teens suggested that they were highly likely to start a business. These teens claimed they intended to start a business that solved or met societal problems or needs. Three in four teens stated they would consider becoming a business owner instead of working for someone else. Almost 55% of surveyed teens were skeptical and required mentorship and training to become successful. 32% suggested that having a role model who is a business owner would be immensely helpful for guidance and mentorship.
Mentorship in schools and universities fosters entrepreneurship among teenagers. On March 20, the Philippine News Agency reported that over 200 students from the San Nicolas National High School (SNHS) attended a youth entrepreneurship event held by Go Negosyo in alliance with the Department of Education. The session was mentored by Anna Magalona-Goo, a young entrepreneur and founder of But First Coffee PH, a leading Philippines-based cafe franchise, and James Amparo founder of the We Will Rice program for farmers.
Similarly, incubators help youth entrepreneurs execute novel business ideas. One such youth incubator is the Young Founders Lab. The Young Founders Lab is a start-up BootCamp. Students enroll to set up revenue-generating startups in groups or individually. The Young Founders Lab is present in 62 countries, has received more than 4,200 business applications, and has provided more than 22,000 hours of mentorship. The incubator allocated $390,000 in financial aid to business owners. Some notable mentors at the Young Founders Lab include Kevin Junker, Michael Bervell, and Luke Heine. Kevin Junker talks about finance and technology, Michael Bervell focuses on media and technology, and Luke mentors technology-based and non-profit startups. Luke's Fair Opportunity Project has delivered free college application advice to more than 63,000 educators and provided one-on-one mentorship to students. Michael Bervell's, Billion Dollar Startup Ideas, program has a reach of over 850,000 people.
Notable Startups by Teen Entrepreneurs
Let's now take a look at a few cutting-edge startups founded by teenagers. Delv.AI is a search workflow optimizer backed by artificial intelligence. The startup was founded by Pranjali Awasthi, a 16-year-old. She came up with the startup idea while she was interning at university research labs. In September 2021, she was accepted to the HFO residency, where she executed and launched her startup. While she was interning at university research labs she realized the challenges in extracting required information from a search engine. She pondered whether artificial intelligence could help users extract more relevant and concrete answers. On October 9, 2023, Business Insider reported that Delv.AI had raised $450,000 from funds and incubators. The startup is currently valued at $12 million. You can also take a look at some of the most powerful alternatives to Elasticsearch.
Another innovative startup is Cafler. Cafler is a marketplace that takes care of a user's vehicle needs. The company provides car wash, MOT, refueling, and transferring services. Ricard Guillem started the business as a 16-year-old in Spain. On September 5, 2023, EU Startups reported that Cafler accumulated EUR 8 million in the latest seed round, bringing its total funding to over EUR 10 million since its inception. The company provides services in over 3 countries, has executed 150,000 services, and has over 100,000 users. Some of the prominent clients of Cafler include Renault, Tesla, Virtuo, Hertz, Michelin, and Sixt.
Best Platforms and Tools for Teen Entrepreneurs
Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:WIX), Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP), and Canva are some of the best software providers that may assist teens in setting up businesses. Let's take a look at their offerings. You can also take a look at the biggest mistakes new business owners make.
Having an online presence is crucial to business success. Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:WIX) is a cloud-based web development services provider. Teen entrepreneurs may require a website for order taking, storing user information, and building brand reputation. Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:WIX) is home to more than 900 free customizable website templates. Teen entrepreneurs can drag and drop widgets and designs. They can also create a custom domain, logo, and other brand assets. Websites made on Wix rank higher on search engines and have a 99.9% uptime, even in high-traffic periods. To create a fully customizable website using Wix AI, users must provide prompts and feedback to the tool. The Light plan is priced at $17 per month. Users can acquire the plan to onboard two collaborators, enjoy 2 GB space, and use the Light marketing suite. It is to be noted that websites can be created for free.
Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) is one of the biggest e-commerce platforms in the world. Individuals must be at least 18 years old to start a Shopify account. Teenagers under 18, may ask their guardians to set up an account. The company offers a free digital business starter kit for kids and teenagers. It includes 10 business exercises, 5 bonus activities, branding exercises, and youth entrepreneur spotlights. Mateo Galvez, now 19, started his motivational apparel business three years ago at 16. LOTTA WORLDWIDE was one of the two winners of Shopify's BEASTMODE-a-Business competition. The competition was introduced by Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) in 2017 to help marginalized youth in establishing businesses. LOTTA WORLDWIDE is inspired by the struggles of communities facing racism, violence, and poverty. It sells hoodies, shirts, jerseys, hats, and accessories.
Canva is a visual studio and graphic design company for individuals and businesses of all sizes. Canva provides free templates to create logos, social media posts, presentations, reels, and videos, and also offers a free AI image generator. Teens with little time on their hands can use the tool to create images for their businesses. The free version is for individuals and has an easy drag-and-drop editor, over one million templates, more than 1,000 design types, and over 3 million stock photos and graphics. The free version also allows teenagers to use its generative AI tool and comes with 5GB of cloud storage. You can also take a look at the best Canva alternatives in 2024.
Now that we have discussed teen entrepreneurship, let's discuss the 30 small business ideas for teens.
To gather a list of the 30 small business ideas for teens, we consulted over 10 rankings and reports on the internet. We picked the business ideas that appeared in 50% of our sources and then ranked them.
30 Small Business Ideas for Teens
30. Fashion Design Consulting
Teenagers can provide fashion design consulting. A fashion consultant earns somewhere between $10 to $40 on Upwork. Jobs on Upwork demand client outreach, fashion strategies, and image consultancy.
29. Online Selling
Starting an online selling business is one of the best business ideas for teenagers. Teenagers can sell products on Amazon. Best-selling item categories on Amazon include electronics, clothing, and personal care products.
28. Social Media Consulting
Becoming a social media consultant is one of the best business ideas. Teenagers usually have a lot of insights to share about social media and its impact on teenagers. These insights can be provided to brands that sell products to this demographic.
27. Baking
Teenagers with a knack for baking can set up a baking business and deliver items for festivities such as birthdays, weddings, and meetups within their vicinity.
26. Freelance Services
Teenagers can provide freelance services in writing, designing, or development on Upwork or Fiverr. The average ghostwriter on Upwork earns somewhere between $12 and $75 per hour for a project.
25. Home Delivery
Home delivery services for basic necessities are crucial. Teenagers can deliver commodities for their neighbors or family in their free time after school, on weekends, or during term breaks in winter and summer.
24. YouTube Channel
Starting a YouTube channel is one of the best business ideas for teenagers. Alex Guzman, who goes by Blesiv on YouTube, has 1.44 million subscribers, as of April 27, 2024. The teenage vlogger holds a strong social media presence.
23. App and Website Development
An app developer may earn as low as $250 or as high as $10,000 for an app development project on Upwork. To apply teenagers must be highly skilled in coding languages and must have a portfolio to present.
2. Neighborhood Services
Neighborhoods demand a plethora of services such as delivery, cleaning, washing, and laundry. Teenagers can sign up on the Nextdoor application and connect with their neighborhood to provide such services.
21. Data Entry
Teenagers can provide data entry services on Upwork. Teens may earn $500 for a large project or somewhere between $15 and $30 per hour for a small-scale project.
20. Transcription Services
Starting a transcription services business is one of the best business ideas for teenagers. Teenagers can provide transcription services on Upwork. Teens can earn somewhere between $20 to $200 for a project on Upwork.
19. Videography
Videography is one of the best business ideas for teenagers. Teenagers can volunteer to videograph for events in and out of school. They can also sell their videography or drone content to platforms such as Adobe Stock Studio.
18. Social Media Influencer
Becoming a social media influencer is a popular business idea for teenagers. Charli D'Amelio is currently 19 years old and is a social media influencer. She has more than 153.8 million followers on TikTok and 44.4 million followers on Instagram. Teenagers can establish a social media presence and monetize their content.
17. Candle Maker
Teenagers can create candles at home and then sell them on Etsy. The "Calm and Destress" candle on Etsy is priced at $21.16. It has more than 23,800 reviews on Etsy, as of April 27, 2024.
16. Podcaster
Becoming a podcaster is one of the best business ideas for teenagers. Some of the popular niches for teenage podcasters include gaming, academics, and celebrity news.
15. Art and Craft
Starting an art and craft business is one of the best business ideas for teenagers. Teenagers can then sell their crafts on Etsy. The "Paper Birds" printable coloring sheet is available for $1.08 on Etsy. It has over 1,300 customer reviews.
14. Musician
Teenagers blessed with a melodious voice or knack for music can become musicians. To start, teenagers can either set up a YouTube channel or create a TikTok or Instagram account.
13. Errands Running
Teenagers can run errands for their neighbors and family members in their free time after school or during term breaks in the winter and summer.
12. House Sitting
Teenagers can provide house-sitting services within their neighborhood. According to data by Glassdoor, a house sitter or manager may earn somewhere between $15 to $30 per hour in the United States.
11. House Cleaning
House cleaning is a lucrative business opportunity for teenagers. According to data by Glassdoor, the average house cleaner in the United States earns somewhere between $14 to $39 per hour.
10. Tutoring
Tutoring is a great business idea for teens. Teenagers can not only engage in peer-to-peer tutoring but they can also provide tutoring to kids. Tutoring can be done via online video and webcam software to save costs.
9. Car Washing
Car washing is another great business opportunity for teenagers. Teenagers often do not have enough capital to start a large-scale car washing business or franchise. Therefore, to limit startup costs teenagers can provide car washing services in their neighborhood.
8. Sales Agency
To start a sales agency and to understand the basics, teenagers can enroll in sales courses on Udemy. The "Business Development for Startups and Tech Companies" is a sales course with more than 36,000 enrolled students. The course is available for $59.99.
7. Pet Sitting
Teenagers can also start a pet-sitting business targeted at busy individuals. Teenagers often have time on their hands to engage in ancillary activities over the weekend or during the summer break.
6. Blogging
Blogging ranks sixth on our list of the best small business ideas for teens. Teenagers can start a blog on WordPress or Medium. Seventeen Magazine is a blog by teenagers for teenagers.
