Kid Business Ideas

Business Ideas for a Kid

A business idea for a kid can be many things. Of course we all remember having a lemonade stand when we were young. But that doesn't mean it's a silly idea in this day and age.

Kids running their own business and earning their own money can do more than give them cash to blow on candy, game rentals and cell phones.

Kids can learn how to prepare for the future by running their own business. It can also help build their confidence. I can remember selling Girl Scout cookies to earn prizes, but also to help pay for a trip I wanted to take. Learning to approach prospective buyers in a helpful, confident way increased my sales and my own personal worth. That's a lot to walk away with when all you're doing is selling cookies!

There are kids in your neighborhood and mine right now that mow lawns, babysit and tutor. There are also kids that help prepare for the family yard sale. The learn to price things, not by what they want for it–but by the worth of the item and how it's depreciated or how the shape it's in effects, it's worth.

I know a mother whose 13-year-old son makes over $200 a month on eBay! Yes–legally. He takes his allowance each month ($20), and goes to yard sales finding things to sell on eBay. He uses his moms eBay account and the family digital camera to put his listing online. He prices everything fairly and after his minimal fee, he always makes a profit. Talk about an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age!

Kid businesses are growing. And kids getting involved in their parents business can be just as wonderful experience for the child and the family.

Kids are so computer savvy now–some are building websites for others and charging for their expertise! Trust me–I know of several!

Kids just need the opportunity and the room to imagine and find what fits “them”. Not YOU, Mom and Dad!
Encourage them to “want” their own spending money and savings account. Cultivate and nurture their respect
for money and how not to be consumed by society's pressure to BUY NOW. We all struggle with thinking our car defines us, or our clothes define us. It simply doesn't. NO magazine or notion of how celebrities live is going to pressure me into living beyond my means. I certainly don't want my kids, who are SO impressionable anyway to think they HAVE to dress this way, or drive this car, or have that latest gadget in order to be cool.

A kid business can help them in a long way to understand how hard money is to come by and how far money goes when you spend it. (Sometimes it hurts to know 20 hours of work doesn't get you everything you want.) Money doesn't just fall out of the ATM, someone had to work for it. I preach this to my two kids daily!

The lesson of learning the link between working for money and spending money is a valuable one. A kid business just might be the way to go for your child. Create the atmosphere to foster such thinking, you won't regret it.

No kid is too young. My 4-year-old helped bake cookies and sell them with her little friend during our recent yard sale. They sold cookies, cupcakes, banana bread and lemonade. (Sales were easy to come by since it was A. Hot outside and B. Both girls were adorable salespeople!)

Give your child some food for thought when it comes to deciding on their kid business idea:

-What are their interests
-Do they like to work alone, with other kids, adults
-Do they like work outside (like at the pool?)
-Do they have any interests in sales
-Is there a best friend they want to partner with
-Can they help with your own family business

With gentle guidance and reassuring help, your child just might turn out to be the next Bill Gates! How bad would that be?? Below I have a list of ideas to look over and though one not specifically fit your child's interests – it might in fact help inspire them in a direction that suits them more or that they hadn't even considered before.

What you might “think” your child would love or they are best skilled for could be completely different than what you think. (I have learned this many times with my own two kids!) But just getting them to think about possibilities and mulling them over can be fun!

The internet has opened the door for a lot of opportunities for kids (and yes, there is a lot of bad with the internet too!), and many have achieved success, even fame. But there is also a lot of room for everyone — whether they are the next Bethany Mota or not, doesn't matter. I think it's just good to encourage kids to follow their hearts and explore, try and even fail. There are take-aways from learning, and I think we can all agree that this is a life-long process! Heck… I just learned all about SnapChat today!

Now, on to Actual Kid Business Ideas!

1. Selling Stuff Online
– There are some very art-y, creative and talented kids out there that like to make “stuff”. Whether it's necklaces, clay cups, paintings, videos, photos, voice overs or logo designs — there is a place to sell it too. There are plenty of places to sell online as well. Take making money on GigBucks for instance, I know there are kids and grown-ups making full time incomes on sites like GigBucks and Fiverr.

2. Babysitting
– Yes, I know this is an obvious one, but still it's a tried and true way for kids to earn cash. My daughter is 14 and she's had CPR training. We also live in a large neighborhood. She's asked to babysit almost every week. She's also paid $13 to $15 an hour. YES… I am not joking. Trusted, convenient childcare is a commodity. She made cute flyers with homemade business cards on them and took them around the neighborhood. Not simply leaving them – but knocking on doors and introducing herself. Mony of those that didn't have kids or there kids were grown, passed the info along to others.

3. Social Media Consulting
– Yeah… you want to laugh, yet you know it's true! Your tween or teen knows more about social media than you do in most cases. Sure, maybe your hip on Twitter or Facebook — but that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's also Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and so many more. Kids are also pretty enthusiastic about helping or teaching someone else something.

4. Dog Walking or Pet Sitting
– I've actually hired kids to do this for me. If your child is responsible and loves animals, this is a perfect fit.

5. Sports
– I know where we live, kids can make cash being a referee for soccer at the age of 14. There are also opportunities to umpire softball games. I have a friend whose son is bat boy for our city baseball team.

6. Website Creation
– My son started doing this years ago. He started with a forum, then a blog and now he majors in web design in college. He's helped many senior citizens create their first blog. From helping them understand how to buy a domain name, get it hosted and creating content within the blog, many kids know how to do this by 6th grade and once they've hit middle school, they are experts.

7. YouTube
– Do I need to say much here? Millions are being made over at YouTube. Kids create channels for their game play, their videos and their make up hauls and some are making more than their parents ever thought about making doing the 9-5 grind.

8. Yard Work
– Yeah.. no kid probably really LOVES it, but there is money to be made in mowing, spreading mulch, painting fences, weeding and raking. I'd probably add washing windows and cleaning out garages here as well.

9. Baking
– Though there are health code hurdles if your child decided to go full on with food creation or baking, letting them test the waters at Farmer's Markets, bake sales and yard sales is a good way to see if they enjoy it and have a flare for it.

10. Mobile Apps
– There are 25,000 apps being created every week. Some hit it big like Candy Crush or Angry Birds — kids have fabulous imaginations, so even if they couldn't actually code a game themselves, they could pitch their idea and sell it. Or have mom and dad hire a coder/app builder on sites like Freelancer. Some teens know enough to create an app on their own.

Kids want and can earn their own money. Brainstorming ideas is a good place to start. And remember that if they earn over $400 a year, they have to file taxes on it. It's important to go through the hoops to do this correctly so there are no penalties to deal with.

Share your kid business ideas below in the comments section! We'd love to hear them and so would other readers!

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