21 Profitable Business Ideas for Teens | Updated

Here’s a white truth; It’s easier to stay wealthy in adulthood if you learn the art of wealth creation as a teen. It’s simple enough. If you can create wealth as a teenager, by adulthood, you’d have gained mastery of the golden art. You only need to know all the business ideas for teens there is, to make this your reality.

At 6, Cory Nieves had an earnest intent to sell hot chocolate in Englewood, N.J. neighborhood. The plan was to save enough money to buy his mom a car. For him, “I was tired of taking the bus… and I wanted to help my mom.” 

In 2015, Nieves would appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and got an overwhelming public response. Today, the company offers 14 flavours with realistic hopes for expansion. He says when he’s older and done with college, he’ll start all over and work his way to the top.

Sure he would. He’s become a master already in the art of teen business.

This read will prove a salvaging lifeline for all teenagers. It will expose you to beautiful business ideas for teenagers that will not only make you some good money but will expose you to the world of wealth creation.

And you know what that means? The more you focus on a business idea and deliver on it, the more mastery you attain and by adulthood, you’d have lived so many years as a millionaire and more!

What business can a teenager start?

Very importantly, I need to establish this point; to build mastery of wealth creation by adulthood, it is just sufficient that you explore one business idea in your teens. You don’t have to do everything, one idea that can captivate all your focus suffices.

There are limitless business ideas for teens, that can even be started with little or no capital.

Nevertheless, a teenager can startup any of the following business ideas and grow same to become a brand;

  • Taking Surveys
  • Pet sit
  • Play an Online Game
  • Sell your Photo
  • Sell your Designs
  • Tutoring
  • Start a YouTube Channel
  • Check out Online Freelance jobs
  • Become a Social Media
  • Brand Influencer
  • Designing T-shirts
  • Create and sell Illustrations
  • Sell Crafts and Jewelry
  • Making Music
  • Test Apps
  • Sell Used/ old Items online
  • Gift Wrapping Service
  • Tech Support
  • Computer Setup Service
  • Technology Tutor
  • Online Graphics Seller
  • Clothing Designer
  • Greeting Card Maker
  • Pet Photographer
  • Event Photographer
  • Delivery Service
  • Packing Service
  • Co-working Service

How can I start my own business at 15?

At 15, most teenagers ain’t thinking about making no money, especially if you’ve got parents who would rather not disturb you about making money now or saving it even.

Though legally, teenagers below 16+ -18+ are considered children, the truth remains that it’s NEVER too early to lay foundations for wealth creation for any human person. The earlier, the mastery!

Binge on that last line Fam.

Thus, the best way to start your own business at 15 is to check out profitable business ideas that require less capital and you can be passionate about.

Here are few tips on how you can start up that business idea you’ve got, even in your teens;

  1. Self Determination
  2. Choose a Business Idea
  3. Write a Business Plan
  4. Choose a Business Type
  5. Register/file your Business
  6. Define your Brand
  7. Pick a Business Location and Check Zoning
  8. Establish a Web Presence
  9. Create business banking and credit accounts by a next friend/parent/guardian
  10. Join Professional-Associations

What is the most profitable business to start in 2022?

Several business ideas are profitable, but some require little or no capital. The most profitable business ideas for teens that can be leveraged, with little or no capital even, include;

1. Taking Surveys

Surveys are one of the ways businesses get feedback concerning their products and services. Businesses use survey-takers to get information about the performance of their products or services, most times these survey takers get paid or receive gifts. 

This is one cool business idea for teens that will make you money from home and it doesn’t require much time or involve a lot of hard work.

All you have to do is sign up on an online survey platform like Swagbucks or Survey Junkie, though the age requirement for this is 13+, you can seek the assistance of your parents if you’re below that age and you still want to go ahead with it.

You can earn between $5 and $55 per survey or receive gift items.

2Pet sit

If you’re old enough to handle pets like dogs or cats without supervision and you love them, then you can explore the business idea of pet sitting for teens during your free time.

You can sign up on sites like Rover or Fetch to connect with people who own pets, you can as well tell your neighbors if they’re the busy types. 

The good part is you get to take them home but make sure you don’t have anyone allergic to dogs or cats and other pets at home and get the consent of your parents.

You can earn an average of $25 – $85 depending on the time spent watching over them.

3. Play an Online Game

A lot of kids love games. It’s a cool way to relax and have fun alone or with friends. But you can go the extra mile of making money while doing one of your favorite things in the world. 

If you play games with your smartphone or you’ve got a gaming setup, you can turn those hours spent playing games into extra money too. It’s one of those small-but-very-consistent-never-extinct business ideas for teens.

Sites like Appcent, Applike, AppNana and Cashcrates are a few online sites that pay you for playing games.

So have fun earning an extra $10 – $20 hour playing games. A great business idea for an awesome teenager right?

4. Sell your Photo

Photography is another awesome and creative way of making money. If you have a camera or smartphone with a cool lens and you love taking pictures for fun, then you can as well start making money from it.

Your photos could be cool landscape images, fashion, architecture or even portraits.

A lot of businesses and people love using beautiful images, you don’t really need to do much to get started, just sign up on sites like ShutterstockGettyimages, Dreamstime or Istockphotos

The downside of such sites is that you’ll have to be 18 years of age before you can sign up, anything below this age then you’ll have to seek the assistance of your parents or guardians to help you out until you come of age.

You can also post them on your social media handles to get more audience.

Each purchased photo could make you about $0.25 – $0.50 and more as your online portfolio grows. The fun part is your photos can be purchased several times.

Thus, you really should consider exploring this particular business idea for teens like yourself.

5Sell your Designs

Do you love creating beautiful art designs? If you’ve been doing this as a hobby and you’re looking for ways to make money from home as a kid, then it’s time to step up your game by signing up on any online site to promote your artwork.

Society6 is one such site where you can sell your designs, they could be used on phones, face caps, as stickers, etc. The site pays you 10% of your sales price, which could vary depending on the item.

This is one of the coolest and most profitable business ideas for teens.

6. Tutoring

Tutoring is also a cool business idea and an even cooler way to make money from home as a teen. If you’re very good at Math, Science, English or any other subject you can teach them to junior students or your classmates and you can invite them home for the classes.

You can also tutor online, and seek the assistance of your parents in finding good online sites for tutoring jobs. Check out Tutor Care, Get study room, Tutapoint or Kaplan.

You can earn as much as $20 to more than $80 per hour from tutoring jobs.

7Start a YouTube Channel

As a kid, you can own your YouTube channel. It could be videos on anything from playing music to games, guitar, unwrapping new toys, comedy etc. 

Starting up a YouTube channel under the age of 18 requires parental permission. You might want to discuss your idea with your parents or guardians.

The only way to start monetizing your video is to link your YouTube channel to an approved AdSense account belonging to a parent or guardian who’s over 18.

Ryan’s world is a children’s YouTube channel featuring Ryan, his parents, and twin sisters. 

According to Forbes, Ryan kaji earned nearly $30 million from his channel which has over 40 million subscribers. It includes videos of reviews on new toys and home science experiments. The amazing thing is that he’s just nine years old.

His story should serve as a motivation to kids under 13, don’t give up, get your idea and discuss it with your parents.

For every 1000 and more views you get, you’ll earn between $10 – $30.

Great business idea for teens right? What’s still holding you back now?

8. Check out Online Freelance jobs; Cool Business idea for teens

There are tons of freelance jobs you can engage in as a kid to make money from home. 

If you’re good at voiceovers, graphic designs, transcribing, or even writing, you can check out sites like WritersGig to source for freelance jobs.

You can sign up on Fiverr from the age of 13, anything below this requires your parent or guardian to operate the account for you.

You can earn as much as $10 – $2000 and more, depending on the kind of services you provide.

9. Become a Social Media/Brand Influencer; Lucrative Business idea for teens

A brand influencer is someone who collaborates with a brand and advertises things like fashion, food, lifestyle, hotels etc. 

You can also post videos on your music, favorite toys, trips to beautiful places with friends and family, etc. You’ll never believe how blossoming this business idea for teens like you can be.

A teenage influencer can be as young as a 13-year-old testing out new games, posting pictures, and doing other amazing stuff. The minimum age requirement for most social media handles is 13 years.

As an influencer, you’ll post fashion trends, make-up, or any cool stuff you feel people will be interested in. Most times, with a lot of followers, you can be contacted to do ads for popular Brands and get paid or receive free items. 

You can also earn money from your account if you have a lot of followers. Parents run accounts on behalf of younger influencers.

You can charge brands up to $2700 and more with a lot of followers.

10Designing T-shirts

If you love designing and have an eye for fashion, here’s one business idea for teens you should leverage on.

You can create beautiful designs on T-shirts and sell them. Buy a blank T-shirt and create your designs on them with the assistance of your family or friends.

Sign up on sites like Shopify and Teespring to get started and if you’re not up to the minimum age requirement, your parents can sign up on your behalf. 

You can earn $10 – $100 and more. It all depends on the amount your item costs.

11Create and sell Illustrations

A lot of kids love arts and illustrations. If you’re good at drawing and illustrating captivating pieces like comic figures, Animes, and digital portraits as a hobby, you can start making money from them by selling them. It is one of the more lucrative business ideas for teens.

To assist you, your parents or guardians can get you a tablet and a good stylus pen for drawing, check out apps like procreate which are one of the best apps for drawing.

You can also sign up on DeviantArt, to sell and showcase your work. You can also post them on your social media accounts to get commissions as well as start-up a Patreon membership page. Your Artworks can be used as stickers, wallpapers, and a lot more.

On DeviantArt, you’ll earn as much as $20 – $100. Don’t ignore this great business idea for teens.

12Sell Crafts and Jewelries

If you love making jewelry or have an eye for crafts, you can also start making them and selling them online, it’s a beautiful business idea with great prospective returns. It could be anywhere from handmade necklaces, Christmas ornaments, wrist bands, and a lot more.

To get started, you can sign up on Esty and post your favorite artworks there. You can also share it on your social media handles to get more audience.

You’re earnings vary, depending on the items you’re selling and how much you charge for them. Esty charges you 5% of your selling price.

13Making Music

If you’re talented in making music or as a parent you’ve got a child who’s talented in music-making, then you can monetize your talent or your parents can assist you with that.

There are different platforms you can sign up on to make it easier for you like Spotify. Spotify pays you between $0.03 – $0.05 per stream.

14. Test Apps

Most teens these days are so engrossed in the digital world. A lot of GenZ spend their time exploring the internet and checking out new apps. There’s a million-dollar teen business idea in this!

You can make money from home as a kid testing new apps. Check out Ubertesters and Testerworks which are a few of the best platforms to get started. On average you’ll earn $10 per 20 minutes.

15Sell Usedold Items online

If you’ve got a lot of old items that you’re no longer using and they’re still in great condition, you can explore the teen business idea of selling them off to make money. It could be toys, clothes, shoes etc.

Make sure they’re all in good shape and also seek approval from your parents before selling them off.

Check out sites like eBayAmazonPoshMark and Craigslist to sell your used items. 

Sign up on any one of your choosing, create an account, take photos of your items and post it. Select a price that works well for you but don’t overcharge the items. Your earnings could range from $25 and more, it depends on the item you’re selling.

16. Gift Wrapping Service

During the holidays or other popular gift-giving occasions, you can offer gift-wrapping services to gift-givers who don’t want to wrap their own items.

17. Tech Support

If you’re fairly competent with computers or technology, you can start a tech support business where customers can call or chat with you to get help solving their tech issues.

18. Computer Setup Service/Technology Tutor

As a teen, one business idea you can also start that’s specifically targeted at helping people who recently bought new computers or devices and need help getting them set up is a computer setup service.

Alternatively, you can focus more on teaching clients how to set up their devices or solve other tech issues on their own by starting a business as a tech tutor.

19. Online Graphics Seller

If you have some design skills, explore the business idea of creating your own printable or online graphics and sell them to customers as downloadable files online.

20. Clothing Designer

You can also potentially channel your design skills into creating your own clothing line and selling pieces online or in local boutiques.

Or you can keep it simple and create your own designs to include on t-shirts and then get them printed to sell online or in stores.

21. Greeting Card Maker

If your creativity is suited more toward creating your own paper goods, you can also design your own line of greeting cards to sell.

22. Pet Photographer/Event Photographer

Additionally, one business idea for teens is to start a photography business that specifically caters to pet owners who want photo portraits of their furry friends.

Or, you can offer your photography services at weddings or special events.

23. Delivery Service

You can also start a delivery service business where you deliver items to different locations on behalf of your customers as long as you have a reliable form of transportation.

24. Packing Service

Starting a full moving service might not be super realistic for a teenager. But you can start a business that helps people pack up their items before moving in order to make some extra cash.

25. Co-working Service

Coworking services have gained a lot of popularity in recent years. And they can even be useful for young entrepreneurs. This is one business idea for teens.

So you can start your own business by opening a coworking space for other teen entrepreneurs.

26. Graphic Designer/Web Designer

If you have some basic design skills, you can start your own graphic design business where you help clients by designing logos and other branding elements.

Or you can help them put together websites by starting a business as a web designer.

Conclusion

Thankfully, business ideas for teens are limitless. You can become a master in just anyone.

The point is to explore the ideas, at most one, and focus on them with all your youthful vitality so it can blossom into something huge and very magnificent, earning you the wealthy life you deserve.

I should remind you, Bill Gates started his multi-billion dollar tech business in his teens. This should be all the motivation you need!

References

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