Ideal businesses for kids require little training, minimal equipment, and little time commitment (or at least should be time-flexible). Before officially selling their services, children should practice the job with family and friends. For example, before providing lawn maintenance services to paying customers, they should learn the basics of lawn care by tending to their family’s yard.
Here are some interesting business ideas for kids:
Creative Business Ideas
These business ideas cultivate kids’ creativity, out-of-the-box thinking, and presentation skills. In addition to the creative side of the business process, your kids will also need to think about how to get their products and services in front of buyers.
1. Story Writing
Does your kid have a flair for the creative? Can they get and keep the attention of adults and other kids with their storytelling and writing? Encourage them to cultivate this skill by writing short stories or poems for others to buy, read, and appreciate.
Eventually, your kid could experiment with different genres, compile their collected works into a larger volume, and even begin to sell online.
Kids can learn:
- How to communicate effectively and creatively
- How to deal with and push past writer’s block
- How to publish and sell their work
2. Crafts & Artwork
Crafts and artwork are avenues for kids to naturally express their creativity and learn how to build things with their hands. As their skills improve, they can consider selling their products to family, friends, acquaintances, and eventually anyone who wants to buy. Ideas include miniature paintings, cards for special occasions, desktop containers for small items, dreamcatchers, puppets, model airplanes, knitting and crochet projects, clothing designs, and bird feeders.
Start by letting your kid create whatever they want and trying to sell it. Later on, you can introduce the idea of asking interested buyers what they want and having your kid try to build this on their own.
Kids can learn:
- Creativity and flexibility when building things
- How to ask people what they would like
- Sales skills
3. Flower Stand
The traditional idea for a business for kids is a lemonade stand out on the sidewalk. If you want to teach your kid not just about selling but also about creating and developing a product to sell, have them set up a flower stand instead. Instead of just getting flowers from somewhere and then reselling them, your kid will need to plant, grow, and nurture the flowers for a while before they are ready to sell, which will help them appreciate the entire process.
Make sure your kid understands that getting to the selling stage will take some time, and they’ll need to invest some time and effort in the beginning without seeing any returns. This approach will help your kid develop patience and perseverance for future endeavors.
Kids can learn:
- How to be patient instead of just getting immediate results
- How to create something and take care of it
- How to market and advertise the things they plan to sell
Tech Business Ideas
These business ideas are suitable for kids whose interests lie in coding, website design, and anything to do with technology. Refining these skills will likely give kids a boost in tech-related fields during their future working years.
4. Basic Website Building
With advances in software, it has never been easier to build a website. Companies like Wix and Squarespace have created website builders that make it easy to publish a website without using code. A tech-savvy kid could learn how to use one of these web builders and create simple websites for local small business owners.
Kids could design a website and charge a decent amount of money for it. Additionally, they could charge extra to teach business owners how to use the website builder software, so they can edit without having to contact the web designer.
Kids can learn:
- How to build and customize websites
- How to coordinate and interact with a client
- How to teach technical skills
5. Tech support
As a complement to website building, kids can also offer technical support services to clients who are having trouble with their websites, software, or hardware. Many kids today are more familiar with the latest devices and software programs than adults are and will be able to provide valuable assistance. If the clients are small business owners themselves who need their business websites to be in tip-top shape, then your kid’s services will be even more welcome.
Basic tech support services can start out as helping friends and family members. Then, your kid can slowly branch out by advertising their services and expertise around the neighborhood and the local community.
Kids can learn:
- Troubleshooting skills
- How to work with busy or frustrated clients
- How to advertise and market their skills
6. Video Game Guides
If your kid is an avid gamer, then creating video game guides is a fun way to indulge in their favorite pastime, develop writing skills, and discern the needs of other people—not to mention carve out an income. The more enthusiastic and familiar your kid is with the video games in question, the more comprehensive and useful their guides will be.
This business can take many formats: physical copies of written guides (which will also make your kids think about how to publish), online guides (a good combination with the website-building suggestion above), or perhaps even in-person sessions where your kid guides another kid playing the game in real time. Each option presents lots of useful skills for your kid to learn.
Kids can learn:
- How to organize their thoughts and suggestions into a finished piece of writing
- How to anticipate the needs and questions of other people
- How to interact, teach, and help others improve
Social Business Ideas
These business ideas emphasize working with and around other people. Besides business or technical skills, kids will learn about how to communicate and coordinate with others as well as negotiate, present ideas, and find win-win solutions.
7. Looking After Other Kids
If your kid is a little older and ready for more responsibility, you and they can consider looking after other, younger kids as a business. If you have friends or family members who need to be out of the house for several hours or up to a whole day, your kid can look after theirs. This teaches your own kid about higher levels of responsibility, as well as practical considerations like keeping other people fed, entertained, and out of trouble for a period of time.
Have your kid bring some board games, books, and other items that will be useful for keeping other children entertained.
Kids can learn:
- How to be responsible for other people
- How to manage household tasks on their own
- Problem-solving skills
8. Elderly Companionship
Loneliness and feelings of isolation are common challenges for the elderly, especially as younger friends and family members become busy with their own lives. Even if elderly people are getting all their physical needs met, social isolation can creep into their lives and cause psychological harm. One way to alleviate this is for kids to provide companionship to elderly people in retirement homes and the like.
You can arrange the logistics of this in various ways. Get in touch with a local retirement community or elderly care home to pitch your idea (or even better, have your kid do it). Define the terms of the agreement clearly; for example, your kids will be there to provide simple companionship, not skilled elderly care. Finally, prepare your kid for what to expect, and what will be expected of them.
Kids can learn:
- How to communicate and interact with people much older than they are
- Active listening and thoughtful questioning
- Perspectives, lessons, and insights about life in general
9. Tutoring
As a follow-on idea to looking after other kids, tutoring is a great business idea for older kids who are further ahead in school than younger kids. Tutoring can also go hand in hand with sitting services. Your kid will have lots of flexibility with tutoring: it can be done in person, or your kid could offer online tutoring services. These can also be one-on-one sessions, or in a group format.
Guide your kid in identifying the school subjects they excel in, drawing up some rudimentary lesson plans, and figuring out how they’re going to connect with potential students. This can become a recurring line of work and it’s also ripe for expansion into related ventures such as releasing a series of tutoring or instructional videos.
Kids can learn:
- How to teach, instruct, and guide others
- Patience and empathy
- More about academic subjects
Domestic & Hands-on Business Ideas
These business ideas will teach your kids some hands-on, physical skills—a good balance against sitting at a computer all the time. While these tasks are practical and not necessarily complicated, they aren’t always easy, which will teach your kids more about the value of hard work.
10. Food Preparation and Selling
A kid sitting inside a little homemade lemonade stand on a sidewalk is the classic picture of the young, budding entrepreneur. That said, a simple food prep-based business is a great fit for a kid: it’s not too complicated, teaches a valuable life skill, and can potentially impress adults who sample your kid’s wares.
Get your kid started by showing them how to prepare and cook a few shelf-stable dishes (like brownies, jams, or baked goods) and helping them advertise via word of mouth, a simple website, social media posts, or even neighborhood posters.
Kids can learn:
- Cooking and baking skills
- Packaging and delivery basics
- Advertising and marketing
Food and beverage businesses have a lot of regulations to adhere to. For a business for kids, check with your local health department to get a list of approved “cottage foods.” These are dishes that can be prepared in a home kitchen and sold without a special health permit.
11. Lawn Care
Another classic choice for a young business person, lawn care will remain relevant as a business idea for as long as grass grows and people have lawns. Be sure to clarify logistical matters such as whether the kid will need to bring his own lawn care equipment or if these will be provided by the client (who could just be a friend or family member to begin with).
Encourage your kid to do their best work on their first day on the job; if the client is happy with the work, your kid will likely be able to arrange recurring work and income with them.
Kids can learn:
- How to make a good first impression
- How to endure and adapt to physical labor
- How to be meticulous in their work
12. Pet Sitting
Pet sitting is a simple business for kids to try; it can be arranged quickly and easily, doesn’t require much preparation, and teaches important lessons. It’s a good way to expose your kid to greater levels of responsibility, without yet crossing into the level of looking after another human being.
Make sure your kid understands that while looking after a pet may be simpler than looking after a human being, it’s no excuse to be careless. Pets need to be monitored, fed, entertained, and protected from accidents or mishaps. Your kid will also need to keep their own safety in mind while around animals such as dogs.
Kids can learn:
- How to take responsibility for other beings
- How to stay on top of feeding, cleaning, playtime, and similar tasks
- How to communicate nonverbally
13. Household Chores
There’s always something to do around the house, so why not get your kids to help other people with this? The good thing about performing household tasks as a business is that there are a million things that need doing, so it won’t be difficult to find age-appropriate and reasonable tasks for kids to do. They can vacuum and mop floors, do laundry, clean up kitchens, assist with simple household repairs, collect garbage, or organize items.
When looking at doing household chores as a business idea for kids, we recommend having your kids sell their services to people outside of their own homes. When it comes to chores and tasks within their own household, kids should learn to perform these as a matter of course, without expecting payment.
Kids can learn:
- How to stay on top of typical household tasks
- How to work hard and thoroughly
- Time management
14. Errands
Errands are along the same vein as household chores, except performed outside the house. This is a good opportunity for your kids to offer to check off tasks that people need to get done, but are often too busy to do themselves. This can include grocery shopping, delivering letters or packages, heading to the post office, walking pets or taking them to the vet, getting clothes dry-cleaned, grabbing items at the pharmacy, and more.
Work with your kid to specify exactly what errands they are comfortable doing, and make sure they can safely handle the jobs.
Kids will learn:
- How to manage a variety of tasks and take on increasing responsibility
- How to manage schedules, deadlines, and workload
- How to be results-oriented
15. Dog Walking
Take the pet sitting suggestion above a step further by having your kids start a dog walking business. Besides taking care of the animals’ needs, this will teach your kid about safety for themselves and for other beings, navigation, scheduling, and multitasking.
As with elderly companionship, letting your kid be the one to pitch his business idea to potential clients is a great way to get started with business skills like communication and negotiation. Help your kid plan their dog walking day so that it becomes a stimulating and educational experience, rather than a confusing or overwhelming one. Help them plan the walking route, organize any necessary items like dog toys and food, and know what to do in an emergency.
Kids can learn:
- How to plan and organize a short trip
- How to stay vigilant for the safety of the pets, other people, and themselves
- How to be independent
Bottom Line
Starting a business as a kid is a fantastic learning experience. They learn that they can provide a service or create a product and get paid for it. After experiencing a little business success, kids can start scaling their business by hiring other kids as their employees. Additionally, they’ll learn quality money management skills through managing income and expenses within the business.
