Are you a teen looking to earn some extra money or start your own business? Exploring Small Business Ideas For Teens can be the perfect way to get started.
From offering services like pet sitting and tutoring to selling handmade crafts online, there are plenty of opportunities that don’t require a lot of money or experience.
With the right plan, you can turn your hobbies or skills into a successful business, giving you valuable experience and financial independence while still in school.
Let’s get into these ideas now.
21 Small Business Ideas For Teens In 2024
Here are the 21 small business ideas for Teens to choose from as per their availability or interest:
- Pet Sitting
Urban regions now have an increasing number of pet owners, but many of them lack the spare time to care for their animals. At the same time, many teenagers have a strong love for animals. Pet sitting may be the finest small business concept for youngsters interested in caring for animals. You can provide dog walking or pet grooming services for dogs and other pets.
- Cleaning
While some consider cleaning a productive activity, others dislike the chore. Teenagers who enjoy organizing and cleaning can provide a range of cleaning services to busy professionals and other people who need them. It is another wonderful simple method that doesn’t require any initial investment. In the beginning, you can start by helping your neighbors in need, and after a few days, you can package your services.
- Tutoring
Tutoring is one of the excellent ways to start a business while advancing your knowledge. Teenagers can serve as tutors in their favorite or strongest subject areas. Children from lower classes can receive tutoring in various disciplines, and the services can be packaged on an hourly or by-the-syllabus basis. Additionally, tutoring can be done in various areas, including dancing, painting, and art.
- Photography and Videography
This is a great way to learn and explore the profession for someone who is enthusiastic about photography and videography. To find work in photography and videography, you must promote your services. You will need a camera and the necessary equipment to start this business.
You can provide portraits and other types of photography and videography for people and other businesses. This can be a little risky for teenagers, but it’s worth a shot if you’re genuinely interested.
- Home Delivery
As eCommerce and quick commerce have become increasingly popular, people are addicted to things delivered at home. Multiple eCommerce businesses offer home delivery on a quick basis.
This creates new opportunities for teenagers to take a chance and work at home delivery businesses in dedicated time shifts when they do not have school. You can offer local delivery of groceries or any other simple items to pick up in your region if you have access to a car or bicycle.
- Selling A Product Online
This may be the greatest option to choose if you want to start an online business. You must first understand how to launch an online business and what things to sell. Outsourcing allows you to establish a dropshipping business without retaining any stock or reselling the items.
You can do it yourself or hire others to do it for you. To successfully run an online business, you also need strong parental supervision because it involves things like opening a bank account, handling finances, and registering. It can be an exciting and educational adventure if you are interested in starting with it.
- Personal Shopping
Few Busy professionals do not find free time for shopping between their busy work schedules. You can offer them a shopping service for people who needs your help. You can shop for the products from a list they provide. But you can always broaden your services as per the customer’s requirements. Your area of expertise or interests should define the services you provide. It will make it simpler for people to trust you, and you’ll be able to offer the best services.
- Freelance Writing
It is one among the many business ventures that anyone may begin; all you need is proficiency in the language you will provide. You can provide services like authoring blogs, website material, whitepapers, case studies, etc. Freelance writing jobs can be found on websites like Upwork and Freelancer.com.
You can also sign up for several online forums that post this work. This will assist you in getting the jobs as soon as feasible.
- Car Washing
Starting with minimum knowledge about car washing is the easiest business idea. You just need to have car-friendly sponges and car-washing detergent. You can also take this business step further by cleaning interiors using brushes, battery-powered vacuum, and fabric detergent. This is one of the potential business plans to earn more by getting more gigs. You’ll be able to swiftly recover your supply costs if you have a large enough customer base.
- Social Media Content Creation
Creating social media content has been increasingly popular these days. This is a terrific option if you are interested in a certain niche. You must frequently publish authoritative content to increase account engagement. You can initially test out new things and assess what works for you and the kind of content people are interested in.
The creation of content for social media can then occur predictably. Initial earnings with this strategy may be challenging, but once you have a sizable following and level of involvement, it can be very lucrative.
- Blogging or vlogging
Starting a blog or YouTube channel about a topic you’re passionate about is another small business idea for teenagers. It can result in profitable deals, but you need to understand the complete process with in-depth research. Moreover, this can be done from anywhere you want, but you need to have a laptop or a phone for vlogging. Building an audience takes some time, but you can earn consistently with brand collaborations once you have the following.
- Podcasting
Another fascinating technique to launch a small business is through podcasts. You may start podcasting for free with a variety of software that makes editing any audio easier. These days, podcasts are gaining popularity and are the best approach to discovering new information.
So pick a niche and speak with industry leaders with credibility to help you cover everything related to the topic. If your podcast has a following, you can earn money by charging subscribers for access to paid content episodes on some platforms.
- Graphic Designer
If you are a creative person interested in design, this can be the perfect way to start. You can offer graphic designing services like social media posts, gifs, and video editing services to brands or influencers. Once you land a gig, there is a possibility of continuing to work on a retainer basis. To get started with this, you just need a laptop and graphic designing software like canva, Adobe Spark, Krita, Lunacy, Gravit, etc. By doing so, you can gain new skills while also earning some money.
- Card And Stationery Designer
This is a simple side project for young people interested in illustration. You can provide services to any customized stationery shop, gift shop, or other stores. Additionally, you have the option to begin selling privately on social media. You can make designs, print very tiny quantities, and sell these things online. This business initially requires less capital, and after you start seeing solid sales, you may scale up.
- Subscriber Newsletter
Newsletters may look outdated from a few years ago, but they’re making a strong comeback. There are many platforms available for creating subscriber newsletters and growing your following. By writing about a topic that interests you, you can establish a steady, largely passive income stream. This is another opportunity with no or less investment.
- Fashion Designer
Teenagers will have excellent design senses and creative ideas regarding apparel. They can comprehend current trends and incorporate them into their designs. Those might start the venture with a genuine passion for fashion design. If you have a sewing machine, you may create and market your fashion products.
You can also hire someone else to design your products, but this option could be too pricey for a young person just starting in business.
- Web Designer
This is an excellent chance to provide basic web design services if you are interested in coding. You can study various technologies and apply them to the client’s website. People will occasionally even hire you if you have a sincere interest in web design but lack the necessary abilities. You can follow their lead and provide the services according to their requirements. To get started, you’ll need a laptop and an internet connection.
- Print On Demand
This falls under the category of drop shipping, which is a form of online business. It involves selling customized products like t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, water bottles, etc. You won’t have to wait with stocks because the product will only be printed once an order has been placed for a certain design. To create this business, you must have a strong online presence and connections. You can print the design yourself or drop ship the print-on-demand products. The initial investment and an internet presence are required to launch this business.
- Transcriber
This work involves translating the audio files into written format. This is the best option when you know multiple languages to get multiple gigs in different languages. Once you get a retainer client, you can easily earn at a small level, and with experience, you can charge more. To get started, you need to have a laptop.
- Jewelry Designer
If you are interested in designing jewelry, handmade jewelry is one of the finest ways to begin. You can create various jewelry types, including beaded jewelry, thread jewelry, or any other type of jewelry you are enthusiastic about. With little money and experience, you can get started. Later, you can make more money when you are a more experienced designer. You can sell them on Amazon or in physical shops. You can learn the fundamentals of jewelry making on YouTube and get the necessary supplies on Amazon for a reasonable price.
- Candle Making
This has been the trending business idea these days. People are often drawn towards scented candles or light tea candles to beautify their presence. You can choose to make different kinds of candles like fragrance candles, t-light candles, plain candles, etc. You need to have a decent investment with parental supervision to get started with candle making. You can also create a social media business page to improve the business’s visibility.
Conclusion: Pet Sitting, Photography & Video Editing Can Be A Good Idea For Teens
Here are the top trending small business ideas for teens that can be started with little or no investment. These are the perfect way to start as they help explore themselves with small earnings. You can choose any one of these ideas and learn to offer services. I hope this article has helped you understand the small business idea you can start and learn solid skills.