40 Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs
1. Build Furniture
This is a great business idea for children who like to work with their hands. Ana White has a website that gives very thorough plans for building all sorts of furniture. These range from a simple farmhouse kitchen table (which could be built for $50 and sold for $150-300) to solid truss kitchen table that retails on Restoration Hardware for over $3000. They have all sorts of furniture (not just tables). Look through the plans to find projects that 1) have low difficulty & 2) high markup so you can make good profit margins. Sell on Facebook Marketplace locally or Craigslist.
2. Create a Subscription Box Service
A subscription box is delivered to a customer each month with a specific type of product in it. The customer pays a monthly fee for the subscription and gets “surprised” by what is in the box each month. There are limitless product themes you could use to create a subscription box. Here are some interesting ones. Bath Blessing Box. My Garden Box. Coffee & Book Club. Standard Dispatch. Using a site like Cratejoy to setup the business will make this so much easier and provide you with an instant audience who can purchase your subscription.
3. Create a Platform
The last idea is a great one…using a site like Cratejoy to start a subscription box business. BUT, don’t you wish you had been the on who had come up with the idea to create the Cratejoy platform? Cratejoy makes millions of dollars (every month) by simply providing a platform for sellers who want to make subscription boxes with buyers who want to buy subscription boxes. Flippa.com is another example of a platform business. Flippa simply connects sellers who want to sell a website with buyers who want to buy a website. The website itself does very little other than make connections between two parties who want to find each other. And, they makes tens of millions of dollars doing it! Creating a platform is one of the most powerful types of businesses. And, often platform businesses can be fairly simple ideas.
4. Learn to Craft Leather
Only a few tools are needed to get started crafting leather. And, you can make some amazing products out of leather. Check out this intro video to leathercrafting (this guy is enthusiastic!). For some inspiration, have a look at this website for a couple of young kids that make leather products. Once you’ve made some products you can sell directly through your own website or use a platform like Etsy. Etsy is a great site that allows small businesses to get off the ground with almost no startup costs and provides an instant market.
5. Coding
Honestly, this is one skill that we think every entrepreneur should learn. In our own entrepreneurial ventures, the biggest pain point in almost every project is the coding. We don’t code ourselves, so we are regularly outsourcing our coding needs. Hiring good developers is very expensive. Hiring less qualified, cheaper coders can waste a lot of time on a project. Learning coding is a double-win because you 1) can code your own entrepreneurial projects & 2) set yourself up with a fall-back skill where you can make $100+ an hour and be in high demand for your services. There are so many different options for leaning coding…some paid, some free. One program we came across that seems like a good starting point is called Zero to Mastery. If this is a road you are going to go down, you’ll want to do a lot of research about what skills you want to focus on and what program for learning fits you best.
6. Restore Picture Frames
Go to thrift stores or yard sales and buy lots of old picture frames. You can easily finish these in rustic (shabby chic) style and resell them at a big profit. You might pay $1-4 for a frame and resell it for $10-25. Here are some examples. Here is a video to learn how to finish the frames.
7. Niche Buyers Group
Imagine you had an email list of 10,000 people that were passionate about a specific topic and they were happy for you to send them emails offering deals on products they were interested in. This would be a valuable list! You could charge a fee to companies trying to market to this group. The idea is very simple but the revenue potential is high. Go ahead and build an email list of avid golfers, or watch collectors, or travel enthusiasts, or horse owners, or backpacking enthusiasts, or…you get the idea. People will be willing to give you their email address if you offer them discounts on the kinds of products they are already looking to purchase. Once your list is built sufficiently, start selling advertising for dedicated email blasts. (This was actually the last type of business we created with BackerClub.co and were able to generate over $500K annually in profit with a list of just 10,000 members).
8. Sell Digital Prints with Scripture or Quotes
Making digital downloadable goods like printable Bible verses or wall hangings is a great business venture because it is 100% profit. And, your additional cost to produce another unit for sale is zero. If you have an eye for typography and design and can put together beautiful prints you can market these online (your own site or Etsy) and generate a recurring revenue stream.
9. Make Custom Pens
Learn to turn wood (or other materials) and create high end pens. These often sell for $100+ and look beautiful. For inspiration look at this group of 4 brothers who have built a successful business doing this.
10. Sell Flowers at Farmers Market
Grow flowers in your garden at home (or in a greenhouse). Rent a booth at a local farmers market during the summer and sell cut flower in bunches. Here are 10 of the most profitable cut flowers to grow and sell (according to this article you can make up to $30K per acre…if you are REALLY ambitious)! 🙂
11. Voiceover Talent
If you are a strong reader and have a voice people find pleasant to listen to (or unique) then voiceover freelance work might be a great opportunity for you. Check out these young entrepreneurs on Fiverr doing voiceover freelancing.
12. Design Jewelry
Create unique handmade jewelry. There are many online outlets where you can sell this (eBay, Etsy or your own website). Check out these custom jewelry examples to get some great ideas.
13. Keeping Bees
There are a number of ways to make a profit by keeping bees whether you are selling honey, using the bee’s wax to create various products or offering commercial pollination services to farms. Starting this business is relatively low cost and the basic skills can be learned fairly quickly. Here is a fun video from an 11 year old girl who had a passion for bees and used that love to get herself successfully funded through SharkTank.
14. Bath Salts, Bath Bombs, Soaps and more…
There are many niche markets for selling bath or beauty products such as soaps. Learn the skills to create these types of products at home and then focus on creating a strong niche brand to help your products stand out.
15. Lawn Mowing
While this is one of the most common and simple businesses you can start as a young person, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it some serious consideration. It is a great summer job since lawn mowing is a seasonal job and can return some great profits. Make a flyer (or grab one from a template online) and knock on doors in your neighborhood to get your first customers. With a mower, weed eater, and gas can you can get started. If you want to expand your business and don’t drive yet, you can even build a trailer to haul your equipment!
16. Fix iPhones
Does fixing electronics sound daunting? Take a look at this video of a 16 year old who made $24,000 in a year fixing broken iPhones. There are many resources online to learn the skills you’ll need to start this business. While there are full paid classes you can take online (like this one) you might be better off just using free resources. YouTube has many videos to get you going in the right direction or a site like iFixit.com has awesome tutorials for each individual fix project…see this handy video on how to fix a cracked iPhone screen as an example.
17. Design a Board Game
Do you enjoy playing board games? Have you ever considered creating your own game? This is a competitive space so it isn’t a business idea for the faint of heart. Creating a board game can be a fun project, and potentially very profitable if you make a game that is well received, but can also end up being a lot of hours invested into something that doesn’t produce any profit. So, proceed with the awareness of the amount of time you are putting at risk. Kickstarter has a strong community of board game enthusiasts and a good platform to try and get some initial support for your game. There are also a number of Print on Demand board game websites that allow you buy individual components or design your entire game and packaging on their site. Here are a few: 1) Print & Play 2) The Game Crafter 3) Board Games Maker. Whenever you have your prototypes done you should definitely consider sending copies to some board game reviewers to have them play it and give an honest review…often these reviewers have a strong following and can help you get some interest from the game community.
18. Photography
Learning to take high quality photographs is a valuable skill that will serve you well. Once you master the basics and can shoot quality pictures you’ll find your skills are in high demand. This is an easy business to start small and grow starting with people who already know you (friends, family, church, neighbors). Once you find your schedule filling up you can easily start branching out to a wider audience.
19. Piano YouTube Channel
Are you a natural on the piano (or some other instrument)? Do you enjoy being creative in your performance? There are a number of YouTube channels that get millions of views by those who have mastered the art of entertaining an audience with their creative presentations of familiar songs in new arrangements. They make money through selling sheet music of their arrangements, giving lessons, taking donations and of course advertising. Here are some interesting examples: Jacob Koller, Peter Bence, Jonny May (and an interesting live stream he does, Jarrod Radnich, David Hicken.
20. Music Lessons
Looking for a more traditional way to put your musical talents to work…how about offering music lessons? Depending on your skill level you may be ready to take the next step and start teaching others. This can be a great skill to develop and something you can continue to do as you get older as a side business even if you have another job.
21. Furniture Upcycling/Flipping
Buying old furniture at thrift stores or yard sales and then restoring them can be a great business for a young person. Some important tips…Buy quality furniture (solid wood typically). Photography is really important (you’ll get a lot higher price with crisp, professional, well-lit photos). Sell on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist or Etsy (if they aren’t too big and awkward to ship). Here is a helpful article to get started. And, a couple inspiring furniture flip videos (table, desk) to get your creative juices flowing.
22. Tutoring
If you are a math whiz or a grammar fanatic or chemistry ace? Start your own tutoring business in your local area. There are also opportunities to do tutoring through technology such as Skype, but unfortunately most of the official online tutoring platforms have minimum age requirements that most children won’t meet. Don’t let that discourage you though. Work through your own network to get started. You could also advertise on Craigslist or even run local classified ads. Once you have established yourself and have some happy students ask for referrals or even go speak with a local school to see if they have children needing help with specific subjects.
23. Flipping Used Books
Have you ever noticed just how many books there are in your local thrift stores? And have you noticed how few people are shopping in those sections? Well, believe it or not, there is a very viable business opportunity here. You can make a lot of money buying and reselling books if you are armed with the right information. Not every book in a thrift store is going to be worth re-selling. In fact, most books probably won’t be. But, if you know which books to pick, you can plan on making $10, $20 or even $50+ per book that you purchase! Simply download the app called Barcode Scanner for Amazon. Then, visit your local thrift store (or go to yard sales) and scan the bar codes on the books you think might be valuable. Often hardback books and textbooks are the most likely suspects to have a higher resale price. You’ll be able to quickly determine how much profit you can make on each book and fill your shopping cart. Then, resell these books on Amazon (or eBay).
24. Dropshipping Products
Calling all ambitious entrepreneurs…this one isn’t for the faint of heart but has the potential to allow you to build a very large business if you succeed. So, what is dropshipping? Here is a simple definition from Shopify: “a method where a store doesn’t keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a store sells a product, it purchases the item from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer. As a result, the merchant never sees or handles the product.” The advantage of creating an online store that only does dropshipping is that you never have to own any inventory. You bring customers to your website, they make a purchase online and then the manufacturer sends the item directly to the customer. If you think this could be for you, here is a helpful article to get started. This is also a good video to watch to help you choose which types of products to dropship.
26. Fiverr (logo design, social media, video editing, etc…)
Fiverr.com is a platform that connects freelance workers with customers. The unique thing about this freelance platform is that the majority of the services are offered are sold for just $5. This is very appealing to customers. The idea is that a customer can get a logo designed or an article written or some marketing services performed…all for just $5 per gig. Once you dig into the site further you’ll see that many of the freelancers offer a very basic version of their service for $5, but then have many higher priced services as well. The minimum age requirement to offer services on this platform is 13, so it can be a great place for young people to get a start on a freelancing career. The services offered range from graphic design to video editing to marketing and voiceover services and much more. You’ll do best on this (now) somewhat crowded platform by picking a niche and trying to be unique. Several years back I offered social media boosts (sending tweets) just for Kickstarter crowdfunding projects. There wasn’t a lot of competition and so I was able to make over $1,000 a month just by sending tweets for this niche group of customers for mostly $5, $10 and $20 each.
27. Freelancer.com
This is another freelancer platform to explore. The minimum age 16 for creating an account on Freelancer is 16. Tasks range from writing articles, coding, data entry, translating, transcribing, proofreading & editing and lots more.
28. Start a Blog
Passionate about a specific topic? Maybe you should consider starting a blog and writing. Here is an example of a 16 year old homeschooler who started blog for teens about using money wisely. She has been at it for 5 years now and makes over $5000 a month! Focus on a niche and slowly build a following (on your blog and also other social media accounts) by offering consistent, quality content that people love and want to share with others.
29. Product Review Video Channel
There are lots of examples of YouTubers who have built a very large following reviewing niche products. For example, this guy reviews all sorts of apple products. Here is a board game reviewer that focuses on Kickstarter previews. Here is an unboxing/review channel for all kinds of stuff (including lots of kids stuff). And, last but not least, here is a kid who reviews all kinds of toys & games (and makes over $1 million a year doing it!!!). Basically, if you can build a following of people who want to see reviews for a specific niche of products, you can probably get paid pretty well by sponsors wanting to get their product in front of your audience. Like we’ve said in a lot of the other ideas, you’ll be best served by choosing a niche and focusing on one area. For example, maybe as a young person, you could review products that are targeted at people your age. If you could build a big following there would be lots of companies interested in paying you to review their product.
30. Selling Stock Photos Online
If you are into photography, there are more ways to make money than just doing photo sessions for people. Another great avenue for generating revenue is to take pictures and upload them to a stock photo site. Sites like Adobe Stock or Shutterstock allow you to post your images and then they pay you a commission each time someone buys/downloads it.
31. Paper Route
Don’t overlook this simple idea for younger children. Picking up a paper route allows children to make some money and learn a lot of valuable character skills as a paper route requires discipline and consistency.
32. Watching/Feeding Pets
Go around neighborhood with flyer offering to feed pets when people are on vacation. This is a much simpler business to start than a full pet boarding business because there is no overhead and simply requires your time. Offer to feed animals, walk them or let out one or more times a day. Charge depending on how many trips you need to make to the house each day and what is required.
33. Bicycle Repair Business
Getting bikes tuned up at a shop is very expensive. And, there are a lot of people don’t have the skills needed to fix their own bikes. So, this means there is a great opportunity to start a business fixing people’s bikes. In fact, if you learn some of the basic skills needed to tune-up a bike you will probably find that your skills are in high demand. Try making a flyer and going around your neighborhood door to door asking if anyone needs their bikes tuned up. Often people want to get their bikes working better, but don’t prioritize it enough to go out and get it done at a shop. So, you’d knock on their door might be all the incentive they need to have you fix their bike.
34. Fix Up and Sell Bikes
If you have the skills to fix bikes, then you might consider buying cheap bikes that need to some work done to them at yard sales, thrift stores, or on Craigslist/FB Marketplace. Then, do any needed repairs and give them a good tune-up and re-sell them at a higher price. One great thing about this business is that there is a huge supply of bikes out there for very cheap that can be acquired and fixed.
35. Create & Sell 3D Printing Designs
The 3D printing industry has had explosive grown in recent years as prices for 3D printer units has come down significantly. Learning to create 3D models and selling these (similar to the stock image idea above) on a platform like Turbosquid or Shapeways can be a great way to create a recurring revenue stream for yourself.
36. YouTube Channel for Trick Shots
This channel has built hundreds of millions of views on multiple videos doing trick shots. Who knows how many hundreds of times they had to try to film these shots, but the result is pretty fun to watch (and 150,000,000 other people agree). Get creative by creating something entertaining and post on YouTube.
37. Drone Pilot
Drone photography and videography has become increasingly popular for events and real estate. This is a growing and young industry that could allow you to build a local business providing drone services. Note that to get licensed by the FAA (in the United States) you must be 16 at least 16 year old to operate a drone business.
38. Start a Niche Travel Deals Newsletter
People love to travel! And, helping people find great deals on travel is a great way to build an audience. Scott’s Cheap Flights is a great example. They regularly search for international flight deals and send email with really outstanding specials when they find them. They allow a 30 day trial so someone can get a feel for the newsletter and then a paid subscription after that. If you were to focus on a specific niche in the travel industry and manually search for deals that come up (maybe something like cheap flights to Orlando for example) you might find an audience willing to pay you a small recurring fee for access to this information.
39. Mobile Cash Washing
This is similar to starting a lawn mowing business in your neighborhood. Grab a bucket and sponge and some soap and go door-knocking. This is one you really don’t even need a flyer for (though it wouldn’t hurt to have some business cards to hand out after you do a wash). People will be happy to have you wash their cash on the spot if you look ready to work!
40. Paint Rocks
Find some smooth roundish rocks around and paint them in creative ways. Check out these cute lady bugs. Or these intricately designed colorful patterns. Here are lots more ideas. Sell them door to door in your neighborhood, through a website like Etsy or at a local farmers market or even local consignment shop.