Are you looking for small business ideas for teens?
Nowadays, I have seen a huge record of a large number of people leaving their jobs in favour of freelance work, gig work, or starting a small business. So, are you from that group?
Don’t get stressed. Here, I am to help you out.
In this fast-changing world, the youth faces an uncertain future. When almost every student’s current plan is to start a job after becoming a graduate, you can change the way of thinking.
You can start a business to make an impact on the world. If you love the idea of becoming your boss, there is no such perfect time than now.
That is why, I will create a list of 12 exciting small business ideas for teens in the UK. You can choose the right one according to your interests, passion, and goals in life.
Moreover, all these businesses can be started with zero investment.
Let’s dive into the deep!
Benefits of Starting Small Business for Teens
If you enter into the world of entrepreneurship at a very early age, you will have a lot of opportunities to change the course.
Entering into the business landscape at a very young age will also give you an edge.
There are plenty of benefits to starting your own business at a young age. I will mention a few of them here:
1. Learn Financial Skills
Most schools do not teach financial skills to the students, and many parents also avoid discussing this subject altogether.
So, if you start a business at a very young age, you will be financially literate, and it is one of the most important skills in your life.
A business will teach you all kinds of money management skills, which will help you personally as well as professionally.
2. Enhance Your Time Management skills
Time management skill is an essential skill that will help you throughout your life.
If you can balance your work, study, and your personal life, you will be required to stay organized. You must know how much time you need to put on each.
A great key to enhancing your time management skills is that you must prioritize your work. You must list all of your tasks by level of importance.
Then plan for the time that you need to put on them. Then you can schedule the tasks.
3. You will Make Some Extra Cash
As a teen, it is harder to find a job that fits your other priorities such as school, extracurriculars, homework, and so on.
So, if you start a small business, you can work on that whenever you are free. You can work on it at your convenience time.
So, it makes it easier to earn some extra money without hampering your other priorities.
4. Educational Benefits
Starting a small business at an earlier age also provides invaluable lessons. These include problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, critical thinking skills, and so on.
These skills will serve the students throughout their life.
You can learn how to identify problems and solve them with creative solutions in the long run.
Besides, entering into the world of entrepreneurship at a very early age helps the students hands-on experience at various levels.
These include marketing, accounting, customer service, and more. All of these skills are very much essential skills that lead to success in the long run.
12 Unique Small Business Ideas for Teens 2024
1. Become an Online Creator
An online content creator is someone who creates content consistently. The content includes videos, photos, blog posts, eBooks, and Twitter Threads.
You do not require any special qualifications to become an online content creator.
You must be creative and post your content consistently so that people get engaged to your content regularly.
There are various platforms online where you can post your content such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and so on.
You can choose a niche from a pool. You can try beauty tutorials, DIY videos, and gaming tips. You can even be able to monetize your account.
Once, you have built a loyal audience, you can convert your brand into a business and earn money.
Yearly Estimated Income: 29,000 pounds
2. Offer Babysitting Services
As a young teen, a babysitting service can be your first venture. In the UK, most of the parents go out for their profession. So, it becomes harder for them to manage their children during their early days.
So, to help them out, you can provide a babysitting service to that particular parents. Further, it will be a good way to generate money.
You can start your babysitting game by opening a website mentioning your credentials, rates, and availability. You can upload an intake form on that website or you can create an app for your service.
Thus, you can easily manage the parents’s needs and requirements. You can promote your business by requesting your clients to provide testimonials on the website.
Yearly Estimated Income: 27,200 Pounds
3. Web Developer
If you are looking for business ideas for young adults, then you can consider becoming a web developer. To become a web developer, you will require special training and skills.
So, you can easily enroll in an effective course. Various boot camps out in the market will get you up to speed.
The amazing part of becoming a web developer is that you can choose from a variety of specialities such as marketing websites, e-commerce, blogs, and much more. you can browse for more options on the Internet.
Also, if you do not prefer to be a web developer yourself, you can start a small business with an expert team. Freelance web development is in high demand.
Yearly Estimated Income: 30,280 Pounds
4. Aerial Photography
In recent decades, the demands for aerial photography have risen to unpredictable heights.
If you are efficient at flying a drone, or if you can learn that quickly-you can consider starting an aerial photography business. It will not be a bad choice for you anymore.
A good drone is not so much expensive, so you can get a good one from any online website very quickly. However, you must be thinking who will be your clients?
intending couples with upcoming marriage events, real estate developers, movie and music producers, and more.
Additionally, photography is a great hobby. So, if you start this small business, very soon photography will become your pastime activity.
Yearly Estimated Income: 37000 Pounds
5. Food Delivery Service
Starting a restaurant can be capital-intensive. For a teen, it can be difficult. There are plenty of things that you need to consider if you open a restaurant.
These include the decor of the restaurant, the premises, the utensils, the chef, and other workers, and much more.
So, if you want to start a food business but you do not have the funds, you can go forward with a meal delivery service instead.
You can prepare quality, and healthy meals at your home and then deliver them to your customers. You can deliver the food either at the customer’s offices or at their home.
However, depending on the law of the city where you live, you may be required to obtain courier insurance to run the business. From this business, you can earn a lot of money.
Yearly Estimated Income: 29,770 Pounds
6. Virtual Assistant Service
various business entrepreneurs including small to medium-scale businesses may require helping hands to manage their business activities.
These helping hands help business owners keep their business running. In return, the business owners pay the helping hands.
So, you can consider choosing a virtual assistant service. You will need to help your employer manage booking appointments, make calls to their clients, send and reply to emails, reply to clients’ queries, and more.
The amazing part of becoming a virtual assistant is that all tasks you can handle without being physically present. You can find clients on Upwork.com, Indeed, and more.
Yearly Estimated Income: 27,906 Pounds
7. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is an ideal small business idea for young teens, stay-at-home moms and dads, and anyone looking for a passive income.
You need to look for a physical or digital product of your choice and you have to promote it. You have to drive traffic to that product and hope for a sale.
Every time the product gets sold out, you can earn a commission. So, it is one of the most exciting small business ideas for teens since there is no 9 to 5 work to perform.
Yearly Estimated Income: 36,000 Pounds
8. Home Tutoring
Home tutoring is one of the best small business ideas for young adults in 2024. If you are patient and interested in enhancing your skills, you are a natural-born teacher. It is worth giving a try.
You can start offline tuition classes, or if you are not comfortable then you can also start online coaching. It is the best part of starting home tutoring.
Moreover, you can teach about anything including maths, science, music, swimming, and more. You can grow your teaching business with customer reference and word of mouth.
So, you can open an online website and ask your students and their parents to post online reviews.
There are various platforms on the internet where you can search for your clients.
Yearly Estimated Income: 35,000 Pounds
9. Freelance Writing Business
The freelance writing business is one of the easiest online businesses to start in 2024. If you are good at writing, you can consider starting this business. You only require a computer and an internet connection.
There are some rumours that you need to have a degree in Journalism, Literature, or English to start a writing business.
You do not need to be a native English speaker at all. If you are expertise or have some experience in a particular field then you can start your business in that field.
Suppose, you have vast knowledge about crypto then you can start writing your content on that topic. You can also shoot videos for your YouTube channels.
you can start your content with what is crypto trading, how to start crypto trading, which exchanges people can consider, and so on.
However, if you do not have any expertise, you can start your business by hunting for re-writing gigs on platforms like Upwork, Fiver, and more.
Yearly Income: 32,449 Pounds
10. Start a Neighboring Service business
If you love to talk to people and meet new people, you must consider starting a service business.
It is a great business idea for teens because your work schedule will not conflict with your school schedule. You can plan for your hours and only take as much as work you can handle.
Neighbouring services include car washing, house painting, snow removal, and mowing and lawn care.
Further, if you have a car then you can start helping with services like grocery delivery, or personal shopping services.
For creative teens, starting a decor consulting business is another great idea.
Service businesses are quick-start and low-risk businesses. If you start a service business, it will be a low-invest business option to start.
Yearly Estimated Income: 34980 Pounds
11. Sell Handmade Items
You can use your creative side to start a small business for young adults.
There are plenty of possibilities to run a handmade items business. You can sew clothes with your unique designs, you can make some jewellery, can bake truffles, or something else.
These are just a few ideas for teens, but you can explore more on the internet.
If you love hands-on activities then just go forward with this small business option. Some other ideas for selling handmade goods include:
- Handmade soaps, hair oil, or cream items
- Beaded or textile jewellery
- Pet supplies such as treats or leashes
- Greeting cards
To start your business, you can build up your business website, and try selling your items on that e-commerce site.
You can also consider Etsy and local craft fairs, and you can use social media platforms to sell your creations.
Yearly Estimated Income: 14000 Pounds
12. Start Your Pet Care Business
Start a pet care business is one of the best small business ideas for young adults.
As a teen, you are old enough to start this business and take care of pets. You can consider a dog-walking business or you can start a pet-sitting service.
Similar to other small businesses, this business can prosper through word of mouth. You can build an e-commerce store to sell pet services as well as authentic pet products such as collars, dog sweaters, treats, etc.
You can target the pet owners of your neighbourhood and hand over your business card. Thus, your business will be known to them for a shorter period.
Yearly Estimated Income: 18,000 Pounds
FAQ
Can a 14-year-old start a business in the UK?
Ans: Yes, if you are 14 years old and studying at school even then you can start your own business in the UK. However, there are a few of things caveats to this rule. In the UK, you must be a full-time learner until you are 16 years old.
How can I start a business with no money at 15?
Ans: Indeed, young entrepreneurs often need parental support to start and run their businesses. However, the scenario has been changed for now.
In this present era, there are plenty of business options that can be started with no money. Here, I am providing a list of a few of those you can consider.
- Photography or Videography
- Blogging and Vlogging
- Tutoring
- Babysitting
- Pet sitting
- Selling handmade crafts
- Cleaning services
Conclusion
This is a guide for teens and their parents to know more about the benefits of starting a small business at a young age and 12 exciting small business ideas for teens in the UK. You can select one or more options from the list and collect more information on that from the internet.
You must spend a while researching the business option you choose. Moreover, with all the business options that I have mentioned in this guide, you can start with very little or no money. All the best for the new journey!