When you close your eyes and imagine a kid running their own business, what do you see? There’s a good chance that you just pictured a child sitting behind a lemonade stand.
That is, after all, one of the simplest business venture ideas for someone who is still young to start up. It doesn’t take much for kid entrepreneurs to get a lemonade stand up and running in a matter of just hours if they really put their minds to it.
It’s worth noting, though, that kids can (and should!) try to open up more than just lemonade stands. In this day and age, there are all kinds of money-making ideas that kids can put to good use.
Whether you’re a kid interested in starting a business or a parent looking for business ideas for your child, you should learn about these potential business opportunities. Check out some excellent business venture ideas for kids—and quite frankly, those of all ages—below!
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Selling Candy
It’s not exactly a secret that kids love candy. Some studies have actually shown that they might be drawn to candy for biological reasons.
With this in mind, an age-old business venture idea for kids is buying a bag of candy for a few bucks and selling it one piece at a time for a profit. It’s a great way for kids to turn a small investment into a money-making venture in no time at all.
It’s also a great way for kids to learn all kinds of valuable business-related lessons. For example, they’ll become experts in “supply and demand” within just a few weeks in most cases. And they’ll enjoy figuring out which kinds of candy they should and shouldn’t offer based on their profit margins.
Just make sure that kids don’t get too out of control with this particular idea. The last thing you want is for them to cause distractions in school and get themselves into trouble while starting a business.
Reselling Sneakers
Back in the day, a lot of kids used to beg their parents to buy them Air Jordans so that they could wear them to school and show them off to their friends. But nowadays, there are many kids begging their parents to buy them Air Jordans so that they can turn around and resell them for a profit.
It’s very much possible for kids to do this, too. These days, there are tons of sneakers that sell out quickly when they’re put up for sale. This results in people paying more for sneakers on the secondary market than they’re actually worth.
A kid might be able to pay, say, $200 for a pair of Air Jordans and resell them for $300 on a site like eBay. It’s what makes buying and reselling sneakers one of the most profitable business venture ideas around.
It might take a child a little time to save up enough money to start buying and reselling sneakers. But once they get the ball rolling, they should start to see real results fast.
Mowing Lawns
Selling candy and reselling sneakers can help kids make a lot of money. But these things aren’t going to give them much of an opportunity to get their hands dirty.
Obviously, not all kids are going to be cut out to do manual labor, but those that are could eke out a nice living by doing something as simple as mowing lawns for neighbors. A cheap lawnmower should only cost them a couple hundred dollars at most, and once they have it, all they’ll need to do is devote time to marketing their services to begin bringing in some steady income.
There are lots of people out there who would gladly pay kids good money to mow their lawns so that they don’t have to. There are also people who are physically unable to mow their lawns that wouldn’t mind paying kids to do it for them at all.
Kids should also think about expanding their horizons once they begin mowing lawns by offering services like raking leaves and shoveling snow as well. It’ll keep them busy during the colder months of the year and ensure that they’re able to continue to bring in money during most months.
Running Errands
People seem to hate leaving their homes these days to do almost anything at all. They have everything from food to groceries to prescription drugs delivered straight to their front door so that they don’t have to worry about going out to get them on their own.
This pretty much proves that there is a strong market for those kids who would be willing to run errands for those in their neighborhood. If kids can market themselves properly and show people how they can help them save time, people will likely respond by requesting their errand-running services.
To make this business venture idea especially lucrative, kids should invest in bikes that they can use to get around. They should also consider banding together to form teams so that they can better serve those in their communities and help them get whatever it is that they need done on a daily basis.
Walking Dogs
Dog ownership is definitely on the rise right now. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were already about 48 million American households with at least one dog living in them. And that number is expected to go way up now that people are buying up dogs in bunches since everyone is stuck at home.
Dogs are great. But the one problem with them is that they usually need to be walked—a lot—and people don’t always have the time to walk them on their own. That’s where kids can step in by offering to walk dogs for those in their neighborhoods for a flat fee.
Once kids mastering walking dogs, they can also begin to offer other services to dog owners. From picking up the poop that dogs leave behind in their backyards to feeding dogs when people are away from home for a full day, kids can step in and assist dog owners who could use the help.
Streaming Video Games
As recently as a few years ago, people would have laughed at the idea of kids using video games to make money. But believe it or not, the video game industry has grown so much in such a short period of time that there are now things like League of Legends betting available.
Most kids aren’t going to have what it takes to become professional gamers. There are only about 500 of those in the whole world.
But some kids have started streaming themselves playing video games and found a way to monetize it. They’ve done it by setting up accounts on platforms like Twitch and then either accepting donations from their followers or finding other ways to make money (advertising, sponsorships, etc.).
Kids are going to have to be good, er, make that great to turn a consistent profit streaming video games. They’re also going to have to spend tons of time playing video games. But the idea of making money through the use of video games isn’t anywhere near as laughable as it used to be.
Teaching Technology
How many parents—and grandparents!—have turned to their kids for help setting up and using their technology in recent years? Kids might not know a whole lot about how the world works, but they do know how to use tech and, for that, their elders are thankful!
Kids might be able to use their technological know-how to their advantage by agreeing to teach tech to those who want to know more about it in exchange for money. They can make appointments with anyone who wants to learn how to use a smartphone, tablet, social media site, etc. and charge them for it.
As we alluded to a few moments ago, many kids are already doing this for free. They’re showing their parents and grandparents the ropes when it comes to using the latest tech.
But there’s a chance that they could start pulling in a profit by sharing what they know about tech with others out there. There are people who would pay good money to have a teenager help them set up their phone, fix their printer, or alter the settings on their flat-screen TV.
Kids Should Give These Great Business Venture Ideas a Try
Starting a business doesn’t just have to be for adults. Kids can also get in on the action by utilizing these business venture ideas.
These ideas will teach kids so much about how to run a business. They’ll also be money-making ideas that will allow them to put extra money into their piggy banks every month.
Adults should think about watching over kids as they get their business venture ideas off the ground to ensure that they don’t get themselves into any serious trouble. But they should, for the most part, sit back and let kids learn what it’s like starting a business for themselves.
Read the other articles on our blog to find more great business-related advice.
