8 Ways For Kids To Make Money And Be Entrepreneurial

Being an entrepreneur and having your own business can start from a very young age. A lot of millionaires today showcased their entrepreneurial spirits when they were kids and used that early experience later on in their lives. It is not impossible for kids to start a business and become successful entrepreneurs.

As summer is drawing close, it will be a great opportunity for kids to start a business at home. Children today are more addicted to computer games and social media sites, so one way to get them out of the house might be through the lure of earning some cash. By getting them some early experience in the real world, this may cultivate an entrepreneurial drive later on in their lives.

Here are 8 ways for kids to make money and be entrepreneurial:

1. Sell Lemonade

Lemonade stands have been popularized for decades as the perfect way for kids to get their feet wet in the business world. However, this common trend really hasn’t changed. During a hot summer day, children can set up a roadside stand and make batches of lemonades or other types of drinks to sell.

The only thing I would change about making a lemonade stand today versus 20 years ago is the content in your lemonade. Instead of selling regular lemonade that is filled with sugar, can you find a healthier alternative or recipe that tastes good but has a low sugar content? Can you make cold pressed lemonade at home and charge more than just $1? Give your kids some ideas on how they can capitalize on trends today, but the idea of selling lemonade is still better than ever before!

2. Pet Sitting Services

Believe it or not, pets need someone to look after them as well. Whether the owners are out at work all day or on a vaction, pet sitting is an extremely profitable and fun business. More and more people are hiring pet sitters to give their animals company. Kids who love animals, especially dogs, can make money out of a sitting service they can give to their neighbors’ pets.

Kids are usually great with animals and for a short period of time, they can be a great caretaker for pets. They can provide regular walking, feeding, grooming services and most importantly can provide the pets with company. Using this approach, the child can eventually enlist the help of his/her parents to set up their very own pet sitting business.

3. Recycling

Recycling is not only great for the environment, but it’s an easy way to earn extra cash on the side. Teaching kids how to recycle or repurpose items from their own home is the best place to start. It’s a great way for kids to get their entrepreneurial feet wet as they learn how they can make money.

The children can start by taking the items they find in their own home, recycle it and earn cash from it. If they want to take it a step further, they can even re-purpose these items to create awesome creations and see if they can sell it at a garage sale or to other artists. If kids have the skill of recycling, they can make use of old items themselves and sell them online, to their neighbors or others. It will not only teach them how to operate a small business, but also how to take care of the environment through recycling.

4. Lawn Service

Nowadays, everyone has a lawn. The most tedious part of a lawn is that it is filled with grass, plants and trees. Especially with summer coming along, a lot of people in the neighborhood want to clean up their yards because they’re going to spend more time outside.

Kids who are looking to money can easily start up a lawn service. They can help others in the neighborhood for a small fee to mow their lawns, trim their grass, clean up weeds, water plants and even potentially help them plant new flowers/foods. Kids can come up with various fee structures depending on the size of the yard. They can go door to door pitching their services or advertise in the neighborhood letting everyone know of their new services. Children can learn a lot from doing a few of these things!

5. Make And Sell Crafts

For kids, especially girls that are extremely artsy, making craft is a very profitable hobby. Whether they’re making things like scarves, crocheted hats, gift baskets, jewelry or other things, the creation of crafts can be an extremely good source of income. For kids that have the patience and the creativity, entering the crafts space is a great idea.

Crafts made can be sold in events and festivals or sold online to reach more customers. Not only that, but this type of business is great because children can learn a lot. Give your kids a ‘small loan’ to buy them the crafting supplies they need and then they can spend their time making various crafts and charging others. From there, they can learn about profit, loans and the entire cycle of a business.

6. Sell Online

Growing up, another business venture that I took part in was selling things online. My parents house had a ton of random figurines, dolls and other items that would sit around in boxes. Even though my parents didn’t know it at the time, I thought they were a waste of space so I decided to go on ebay.com and auction off my parents antiques. I made a quick $100 until I got busted.

Well, kids should definitely not do what I did because they’re going to face the wrath of their angry parents. However, I did learn something from that business venture. If you have items or things around the house that you don’t use, give them to your kids to sell. Teach them the art of creating listings online, collecting payments, packaging/shipping items and valuing things. Not only that, but they can also sell old clothes or shoes that they don’t need anymore through a site like Ebay. This will clean up the house and give them some early entrepreneurial experience!

7. Car Wash

As a kid, I probably would have washed cars for free because of how enjoyable it was. If your child is looking for a fun business opportunity, starting up a local car wash business might be ideal. Not only that, but this is actually a fun business where they can also enlist the help of a friend or sibling.

Car washing is another form of business that kids can do during their summer vacation or even on weekends throughout the year. Everyone will have cars for the foreseeable future and they will continue to get dirty. The demand will always be there and if children are willing to come to their house to wash the car, they can charge a higher fee than normal. Kids can gather up a bunch of cleaning materials and go door-to-door asking neighbors if they want their cars washed.

8. YouTube Channel

My younger brother has recently given it a go at starting a YouTube channel. I encouraged him to do so after I learned about how massive the opportunity is. He told me of an impressive 12 year old that is earning around $500,000 a year from his YouTube channel. If your child has a hobby related to video games or anything else, they can simply record awesome videos and share them through YouTube.

Videos may even contain things that interest them or tutorials that other people can benefit from. From there, the child just partners up with YouTube/Google and throws advertisements on their videos itself and they get paid for each person who views or clicks on the advertisement. While it takes a lot of views to earn a significant chunk of money, the internet has shown us that anything can go viral at any time. If your child has a solid interest int he digital space, this is a creative business that can help them make some quick money.

Conclusion

Age is just a number and your age is never a hindrance to succeed in the field of business. If you want to develop or test the entrepreneurial drive in your child, have them pursue a business opportunity that might be fun and exciting for them to see where it takes them. In this post, I shared with you 8 ways for kids to make money and be entrepreneurial.