Kid Business: Making Money at a Young Age

I have a confession to make: I spent the day yesterday on Yahoo! Answers. I was having a bit of writer’s block for the blog here, so I headed over the the Business & Finance section to see if any of the questions there would spark an idea for me. And boy, did it ever.

I see one question asked over and over again in that section. In fact, from what I’ve seen, it’s the most asked question. It goes something like this:

I’m a kid/teenager (somewhere between 11-17) and I want to make money, but I’m too young to be hired, or I can’t find a job for whatever reason. What can I do besides baby-sitting/lemonade stand/mowing lawns?

I love this question. I see myself in it, except I never asked this question as a kid. I already had the answer. I’d started my own business when I was 6 years old, writing and selling my own newspaper in my town. And I continued that business up until I was 13 years old.

So here’s my answer to everyone one of those young business-persons-in-the-making: You can start your own business. And you can do just about anything you want for your business.

But where to start? The library or bookstore. Head out and get your hands on one or both of these books:

Fast Cash for Kids* by Bonnie and Noel Drew
and
Better Than A Lemonade Stand: Small Business Ideas For Kids* by Daryl Bernstein.

I read these two books when I was a kid, and they helped so much with developing my idea into a real business. And they both come with tons and tons of ideas for businesses to start, if you haven’t thought of one already. I’m talking hundreds of businesses that you could start!

And teenagers, do not be put off by the fact that these books are targeted toward kids. Think of it this way - if a kid can do it, so can you, and you can probably do it bigger and better!

I would love to hear some stories of kids who’ve started their own businesses - please let me know if you’ve ever known or been a kid entrepreneur!

*Amazon Affliate Links