7 Unique Small Business Ideas for Teens and Young Adults

Are you a teenager who wants to start your own business? If so, here are seven unique small business ideas for teens and young adults.

Being a teenager is not a good excuse not to make money from your skills or viable business ideas. That´s the great thing about entrepreneurship: it´s open to everyone, regardless of age differences. Many young people in the United States and other parts of the world have left their mark on the economy and inventions.

Why start working as a teenager?

Here are some examples of remarkable entrepreneurs who started their businesses during puberty: Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and many others. Bill Gates started with Microsoft in 1975 at the age of 20, Steve Jobs founded Apple at the age of 21 in 1976, and Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook at the age of 19 in 2004.

Without a doubt, the advent of the Internet and smartphones had a significant impact on a lot of teens – especially those who really want to start a business for themselves and earn money. As a teenager, if you don’t want to live off a salary, entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to start making money. It is safer to start a business during puberty because you have every opportunity in the world to experiment and learn as you try to develop your business ideas and skills.

In fact, most adults are afraid to start a business for fear of not being able to pay their bills and take care of their families. So, as a teenager, you have a world of opportunities to start a business through the Internet and technology, or you can look at retail, crafts and production, and many other things. There are many ways to profit and earn money.

Here are 7 Unique Small Business Ideas for Teens and Young Adults:

1. Etsy for young artists

For smart kids, Etsy is a great way to make money with own creations. Opportunities range from crafts, jewelry, office supplies, household items, candles and food products such as jams. Etsy supports a small list and payment costs, but again offers a complete store, including shopping cart and collection.

To make a profit, children need to make sure they find a cheap source of materials and evaluate their items to cover their time and costs.

2. Reselling unwanted and unused items on eBay

One of the best ways to motivate a teenager to clean their seat is to promise money for the points they can sell on eBay. Because many young people own branded products, they have an inventory they can sell online. Once they have sold their unwanted items, they can rebuy exciting things and make a high profit of it.

Also, the teen can identify items that are selling well and then look for an accessible inventory source. For example, if the designer does sell T-shirts, the teen can visit the used T-shirt store for sale on eBay.

3. Social Media Assistant

Companies know they have to use social media to reach their market, but they are often confused and overwhelmed. Young people who are active in social networks can help. They can focus on a single platform to help companies promote Instagram, for example, or they can have conversations on multiple networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

It will be important for the teenager to be professional and polite when publishing on behalf of a company. More than one company was injured by a social media assistant who posted something inappropriate.

Check out the story of a Digital Marketing Agency called Marketing hope which was founded by Richard Hopp, who was 17 at the time. He turned his passion for online Marketing into a 5 figure marketing agency.

4. Personal assistant

Many families would like to have a personal assistant on hand, but at an affordable price for domestic work. Teenagers are an excellent source for this kind of work, which can fold clothes, weed garden, paint a room, organize, and do almost anything menial that needs to be done.

Teenagers can also work in a home office by doing research, archiving, organizing and even providing virtual support.

5. Website development

Many children are more aware of the Internet than their parents, so it is good to consider online commerce, including different types of websites.

It’s very cheap to register a domain name and buy web hosting and rely on pure advertising revenue (such as Google AdSense), children don’t even have to sell anything.

Forbes for example, reports that Ashley Qualls established Whateverlife.com at the age of 14 “as a personal portfolio of images and graphics that have made themselves.” Later she added tutorials for creating images and other content for teenagers.

Now their website charges “up to $70,000 per month,” says Fast Company. The qualifications bought a $250,000 home with their incomes as teenagers and rejected a $1.5 million bid for their business.

6. Blogging

Blogs are not an easy way to make money, but many people have blogs that allow them to make a lot of money with advertising space.

Similarly, the most popular videos on YouTube can help people earn money. But you as a teenager need to understand that this is not an easy way to get rich and that sometimes it takes a lot of work to create a blog.

7. Graphic design

Image: Pixabay

Young artists can make money with graphic design. The Internet has given all older artists the opportunity to create and sell designs and logos. Teenagers can use different software to create images, and there are many websites where teenagers can promote their creations and offer their services.

Conclusion

Starting your business as a teenager might be the best opportunity ever to build something great. Remember that you have nothing to lose and no matter what happens you can always go back to your “normal” life and be successful there. Don´t be afraid to take your chance. This is an opportunity that will pass away sooner or later. Remember, that even if you fail you will learn a lot out of this lesson. Your experience will carry you forward to be successful in your future life. And also you can proudly say that at least you tried!