Get Started Young: 9 Business Ideas for Kids

Courage is acting despite fear, and in today’s world, courage is needed in good measure, not only by adults but by children as well.

We need more trailblazing kids to start young and develop the resilience and fortitude that entrepreneurship provides. 

There are a lot of problems facing younger generations and it is often businesses and the entrepreneurs that run them that end up having a huge impact on our society, culture, and planet. 

The good news is that there are dozens of business ideas for kids that are easy to put in place, and with a bit of adult supervision, can sail into the seas of entrepreneurship. 

Some of these ideas are quite ubiquitous. Like running a lemonade stand, or tutoring younger children. But there are many more ways to make money in today’s world, that you and your child might be missing out on.

Most of the items in the below list of businesses are not exactly going to change the world, but teaching a young child about entrepreneurship at a young age is sure to help them become game-changers in the future. 

Get them started young, by giving them this list of good business ideas for kids. Read on to see what these 9 cool business ideas for kids are all about.

Ryan ToysReview, made 11 million dollars in a year by opening up toys, playing with them, and reviewing them. Does your child have a talent on camera that he/she can harness to build the ultimate online business?

I know the above example is a longshot and for every millionaire kid with a YouTube channel there are thousands of kids trying to pull the same thing off and not coming close with those results. 

There are also hundreds that are making $50, $500, and $5000 a month and that won’t pay off the lake house but it will help teach a kid about finance, persistence, failure, branding, and so much more. 

There are hundreds of children’s book authors who are looking for authentic illustrations for their books. If your child has a talent for drawing or painting, this could be a good gig for them to start.

When kids show a spark of creativity, sometimes they aren’t interested in the business aspect of it all, and can often be quite shy with their talents, so it is important not to press them on these things unless they are interested. 

If they are interested, a valuable lesson for a child to learn is that being creative does pay off. Both in the confidence they will earn and the cash. 

If your child loves to talk, and has a great voice, there are always businesses looking for voice artists who are children. Getting them started on a platform like Fiverr is a great place to quickly build a portfolio and see if you can find a few gigs. 

If they really enjoy it and are getting a lot of great feedback, talking to local media companies to see if they could use a child voiceover actor could be a great option as well. It’s an awesome way for them to work with a larger company and get some small business chops in the process. 

There are hundreds of coloring books for sale on Amazon and if your child likes to draw, they could create these as a side hustle. Self-publishing books of all types is getting easier by the day.

Essentially, you have them draw, digitize the artwork, publish, and start selling. You could even start by selling them at their local school or giving them away to their friends to get the word out. 

If your child loves baking cookies, cakes, and more, and decorating them, there is definitely a need in this world for more creative bakers. Everyone loves a good cookie, muffin, cake, or pie!

Food can get tricky, but there are often local commercial kitchens that will rent out hourly or you can work with a company that is already paying for space but does not use it all the time. 

Starting out in the home kitchen is your safest bet, and there are even CSAs that will buy in bulk to include in their weekly deliveries. 

Is your child always making and giving away friendship bracelets and other kinds of jewelry? Maybe he/she has a talent for jewelry making that has business potential.

Online eCommerce platforms like Shopify (affiliate link) make it super simple to start selling online. They make the jewelry, take pictures of the products, write up descriptions, and you are off to the races. 

Promoting locally with friends and family, going to local markets and art shows, and eventually building a brand online are all a lot of work, but can be a lot of fun. 

Does your child love to write? With the advent of Grammarly and other apps that check grammar and spelling, all your child needs to do is spill their heart on the screen and share their writing with the world.

It really doesn’t matter what they write about, I can assure you, that there are people out there that would love to read it. Writing can be such a fun and expressive way for kids to dip their toes in entrepreneurship. 

One thing is for sure there no signs of the need for quality writers letting up anytime soon and becoming a freelance writer may be a perfect fit for your child. 

Instagram and TikTok are full of dance videos of children who are better than most adults out there. If your child likes to dance, here is a great opportunity for him/her to start teaching dance to others.

YouTube is also a great place for long-form dance instructions and building a following on each of these platforms can help your child learn about branding, marketing, and keeping an eye on the metrics that matter in business.

Is your child always tinkering with (and breaking) electronics in the house? They could do something like the inventor and YouTuber, Simone Giertz, who makes “useless” robots as she calls it.

If your child has some entrepreneurial spirit and likes to tinker and invent things, teaching them about the business side of inventing could keep them from ending up like Nikola Tesla and other inventors who changed the game but did not get the credit they deserved. 

The list of business ideas for kids above shows that the possibilities are endless when it comes to starting a new business. All you have to do is get your child started.

With some adult supervision, your child can start a successful business as well.

One thing is certain entrepreneurship and learning about business as a child will help them develop their confidence, build strong problem-solving skills, and if they pull it off they will be quite popular amongst their peers. 

If you would like to apply to join our ‘School For Startups’ program with your child, please click here.