How to open your own business in 16. Current directions of business ideas for teenagers

You don't have to be an adult to start your own business.

In fact, there are many different opportunities that teenagers can use. Here are 50 mini-business options that are suitable for teenagers.

Sharing knowledge and skills

This option is suitable for students who excel in certain subjects. They can offer to help other teenagers by starting a business as an academic teacher and earn a good income.

Or you can focus your efforts on your tutoring services and focus on helping college students and students prepare for credits or other standardized tests.

Care for children

Babysitting and childcare are popular ways for young people to earn extra money.

Handmade

If you have any skills in arts or crafts, you can open your own shop selling handmade goods online. And you can sell crafts on various sites that provide such an opportunity.

Or you can personally sell your items to customers at local craft fairs or other events that help craft sellers.

Schoolchildren at the age of 16 are already physically and intellectually developed enough to be trusted with the performance of this or that work. They are ready and eager to make money, and you should not limit these impulses. Previously, adolescents with their parents need to study the legislative framework, assess the possibilities and desires, and draw up an optimal work schedule that does not interfere with their studies. Most of today's millionaires are people who started their careers and businesses in their teenage years, having studied from the inside and thoroughly all the possibilities and limitations. And, with youthful maximalism, they believed in the impossible, and achieved their goal.

Here are some examples of such success:

1. F. Doherty, who at the age of 14 started producing jam according to his grandmother's recipe and selling it to neighbors and acquaintances. Already at 16, he registered the SuperJam brand, under which he not only produced a sweet product, but also published collections of recipes (SuperJam cookbook, a popular publication on Internet auctions).
2. K. Johnson. It all started with the design of an invitation card that the parents asked the boy to make. The design impressed the guests and their acquaintances so much that in a few years the child was able to open his own line of postcards under the Cheers And Tears brand, and even before graduating from high school, to form a capital of $ 1 million.
3. David And Katherine Cook, brother and sister who created the popular online school diary at MyYearbook.com.

What needs to be done to repeat and surpass their experience? Work hard, have an interesting idea and come up with ways to implement it. And help and support from loved ones. For example, David and Katherine Cooke were able to accelerate their success because their older brother Jason believed in them and their idea and loaned $250,000 to start the business.

It is important to know! Not everyone in the family has the opportunity to help financially, but every parent can provide moral support and deal with the legal aspects of earning money for sixteen-year-old schoolchildren.

What does the Labor Code of the Russian Federation say about the employment of 16-year-olds

The law does not prohibit working and doing business at this age. There are some restrictions that you should be aware of and respect.

Starting a small business is a huge job that requires courage, determination, ingenuity, and motivation. Many teenagers have great ideas and are highly motivated but just don't know where to start when it comes to starting their own business. With a little time, study, and help from others, any teenager can turn their great ideas into a successful business.

Steps

Part 1

Turn housework into a paid service. One of the easiest ways for teenagers to start a business is to turn housework into a service to offer to others. Most likely, if your parents appreciate your efforts for doing a certain job, then others will appreciate it too.

• Offer a pet walking service. There are many people who do not have the opportunity to walk their pets during the day. If you offer dog (or other pet) walking services for a small fee, you will not only provide a valuable service, but you will also exercise while doing the work.
• Start cleaning houses. You're probably already a pro at keeping your room tidy, so why not help others tidy up the house. Start small by offering to clean one room before moving on to the whole house.
• Get to work in the yard. Every season provides an opportunity to work outside. Whether it's planting flowers in the spring, shoveling snow in the winter, or clearing the leaves in the fall, there's no shortage of this kind of work, so there's always money to be made.

1. Do some manual work. Turn your artistic talent or sewing skill into an enterprise that can interest people on a larger scale. With sites like Etsy, starting an online business is a breeze for those with a computer and internet access.

2. Name your business. Keep in mind that your business name will serve as the first impression for your customers. The name should take into account the practical benefits of your products or services, convey your difference from competitors and embody your business philosophy.

   Part 2

   Researching

   1. Study the market. Find out who your competitors are and what is the need for your chosen product/service. Be specific in your research. Even if your product or service occupies a unique niche in the market, there are always other companies offering something similar, or there are other ways to satisfy the customer's need for this service. Think about your competitiveness: why your product/service should be preferred.

      • Search the Internet for background information about the competitor's market, as well as study the market as a whole. For example, do a quick Google search for "dog walking" (without quotes) and see what the search engine brings up. Thanks to the search results, you'll get a pretty good idea of ​​how popular this idea is.
      • Once you have identified your competitors, feel free to reach out to them as they can be a valuable resource for better understanding what to expect and what the real demand is in the market.

   2. Define the target audience. Finding out who can benefit the most from your product or service is essential to the success of your business. The better you understand your customer, the faster your business will grow. When defining your target audience, you need to consider demographics such as age, gender, race, and so on.

      • Create an initial list of potential clients, including as many details as possible. For example, your clients will be local families with two sources of income who own a dog and are constantly employed. There is no such thing as too much detail, especially when it comes to defining your audience!
      • Study your target audience to see if your product or service will be in demand. Be sure to ask a lot of questions to determine the usefulness of your product in relation to the target audience.

   3. Consider funding. If you don't have enough money saved to start your business, you need to find someone who can help you finance it. Before contacting a parent, guardian, or other adult for help, be sure to include a brief description of how much money you need, how it will be spent, and how you intend to pay back your debts. In other words, write a business plan.

      • Create a simple yet detailed budget for your business.
      • Estimate how much money you have available and what additional funds you will need based on your budget.
      • Describe in detail how you plan to make a profit and reimburse depositors.
      • Present your business plan and budget to potential investors.

   Part 3

   Implementation of the plan

   1. Get the necessary tools. This can be anything from basic equipment to personnel that may need to be hired. For starters, less is more, especially if your budget is tight, but make sure you have the essentials.

      • Feel free to purchase used equipment if it is in good condition and use existing equipment whenever possible.
      • Seek help from friends and family as a temporary staffing solution. This may not be a long-term option, especially if your business is successful, but volunteering initially can be a great way to afford to grow your business profitably.

   2. Launch your product or service. If you have successfully opened a new business, then after many hours of planning and hard work, you deserve a holiday. If you're introducing a new product in a real location, throw a small party. In addition, you can enter special offers or promotions in connection with the opening of a new business, which offer lower rates for any services that you provide.

      • Contact your neighbors. One of the easiest ways to start a new business is to reach out to the people in your neighborhood (literally). Provide your neighbors with a list of your services, flyer or business card and ask them to spread the word.
      • Relax and enjoy! You have successfully started a business despite being a teenager. You deserve to enjoy the moment and be proud of what you have created.

   Part 4

   Business development

   1. Develop a business plan. If you are planning to take your business to the next level, you will need a plan. Using what you learned in the research phase, create a business plan, which is a written description of the future of your business, a document that outlines your next steps. Having a business plan will not only help you focus on the task at hand, but it will also serve as a valuable tool for growing your business.

      • Collect all of your materials from the research phase, including information about your target audience and market.
      • There are many online resources to learn how to write a plan and what to include in it.
   • You can use your website as a source of income by placing banner ads from larger companies. This is a great way to raise additional capital.
   • Don't be afraid to tell people about your business. This will help when you are trying to gain acceptance from your peers as an independent business owner.
   • Make your business as professional and formal as possible (try using a project documentation package, which will make your customers and competitors take you more seriously).
   • Always strive to make a profit, but friendly service and quality products should be the top priorities.
   • Make sure you don't spend more than you earn.
   • Make sure your business has something that sets it apart from other similar businesses.
   • Don't be afraid to ask for help when you start your business, and don't be afraid to ask for help when your business goes uphill.
   • Create a separate business bank account. It doesn't have to be a business account - a simple savings account is fine to separate business income from your personal funds.

   Warnings

   • Consider competing businesses in your area and, based on that information, change your business model a bit, add features, reposition, sell at a better price, or improve a product to make your business stand out from the crowd.
   • There is always a risk that you could lose every penny, so be sure to start small and don't borrow more than you can pay back.

For those who leave school for entrepreneurship. But young age is an obstacle to legal business. Russian legislators intend to eliminate this barrier. Observers are predicting a teen business boom. The creators of successful businesses are advised not to wait for government approval and start their own business with the support of their parents right now.

Stanislav Yagupov

IT entrepreneur, co-founder of LiveCover studio and NeuroSender social mailing service:

As a mentor, I talk a lot with young entrepreneurs from Young Business: most of the members of the “club” are under 18, which means they started their business a couple of years before coming of age. The passage of the law can be a psychological trigger: “Man, are you 14? It's time to do business!"

I launched my first project when I was 14-15 years old. At this age and with the small scale of his own business, a teenager, as a rule, is of little interest to regulatory authorities (unless, of course, he is engaged in licensed activities). And if his business grows, you can do business through friends and relatives. But if the law is passed, there will be no need to hide.

The author of the bill, State Duma deputy Andrei Svintsov (LDPR), is convinced of the relevance of his initiative.“A huge number of young people want to do business - they watch TV, they see how young people in other countries achieve some fantastic fortunes, and, in their opinion, having rather modest starting financial and legal opportunities ...”, - the parliamentarian in a conversation with Inc.

According to Svintsov, now in Russia about a million teenagers are doing business according to "black" and "gray" schemes: with cash payments, in electronic money or cryptocurrencies, using the legal entities of their parents, friends and acquaintances. “We would like all these people to be able to do legal business. To do this, they can register a bank account,” added the author of the bill.

According to a survey of Russians aged 18 to 54, conducted by Online Market Intelligence commissioned by Vedomosti, 33% of respondents earned their first money at the age of 14, and 43% in high school. There are successful entrepreneurs who started their business before adulthood. Vsevolod Strakh founded the Sotmarket online store at the age of 17 - his mother helped him, the company was registered in her name. The founder of Svyaznoy, Maxim Nogotkov, took his first steps in business at the age of 14.

The current version of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation allows only adults, from the age of 18, to engage in entrepreneurship. Under certain conditions (if the full legal capacity of a citizen is recognized by the court) - from the age of 16. An exception is for minors who have entered into marriage (in some regions of the Russian Federation, you can get married at the age of 14).

Eleventh-grader of the Tyumen school No. 62 Danil Shusharin became the first legal teenage entrepreneur in Russia and the director of a company with millions of turnover. To do this, he had to go through the emancipation procedure: government agencies recognized him as capable and gave permission to open a legal entity with the consent of his parents. Alexander Rumyantsev, a venture investor, has already invested in Shusharin's GrapTil project.

Emancipation is “a long and difficult process,” says Margarita Zobnina, director of the IIDF Ecosystem Projects Department. “So the law will make life easier for young entrepreneurs and help them get out of the shadows without bureaucratic procedures. It would also be a good signal to teenage entrepreneurs that they are finally being taken seriously,” Zobnina says.

If Svintsov's project is approved by the parliament, Russian legislation will become advanced in this matter. According to the Thomson Reuters Practical Law database, in India, Canada, China, South Africa and other countries of the world, it is only possible to head a company from the age of 18. In the UK, you can legally engage in entrepreneurship from 16, and in the US the situation varies depending on the state, and in some there are no age restrictions - for example, in California. There are also no age restrictions in Bermuda, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Japan.

In some countries, due to age restrictions for entrepreneurs, there is a leak of underage startups abroad. This problem has escalated in Australia, where the government is aware of the problem but has no plans to change the law. According to the research project StartupMuster, teenagers make up only 1.3% of the Australian startup community. According to the executive director of the project, Monica Wolf, if the legislation is liberalized, this figure could increase.

I do not think that this initiative will push teenagers to entrepreneurship. The problem is not in administrative barriers, but in the absence of an appropriate level of culture and the basic attitudes of society.

The main school curriculum should include a mandatory course on entrepreneurship, covering both the issues of creating a business (especially in the field of IT technologies) and start-ups, as well as the potential difficulties that young entrepreneurs may face.

I would advise young Russians not to wait for the weather by the sea, but to create something new and interesting right now. At 14-18 years old, two important factors work: lack of financial obligations (thanks to parents) and maximalism.

Russian businessmen and investors agree on the need to reduce the entrepreneurial age. Interest in startup culture among teenagers has grown significantly, confirms the founder of the Qiwi payment service, the shareholder of Evotor and Run Capital, Andrey Romanenko (he himself invented his first business back in school, in the 10th grade). “For me, the situation is already becoming commonplace: I came to visit my friends - I ended up on the pitch of their children's project. Moreover, the presentations are very confident, at a fairly high level,” says Romanenko in a conversation with Inc. In his opinion, the adoption of the law will make life easier for young businessmen, but they can start their own business even now - by convincing their elders and enlisting their support. “Once upon a time, my father believed in me,” Romanenko added.

Entrepreneurship among Russian teenagers is “extremely widespread and popular,” confirms Zamir Shukhov, CEO and partner of the Global Venture Alliance. Evidence of this is the large number of applications received for the GVA TeenStart Entrepreneurial Skills Development Program for 12-15 year olds. “The bill will unequivocally lower the threshold for access to legal entrepreneurial activity and bring some of the teenage businessmen out of the “shadow,” Shukhov believes.

19-year-old Kazan entrepreneur Denis Shelestov (who created the Shelest Ventures micro-venture fund at school age) advises his peers to act now. “You need to believe in yourself, think adequately and try to do something - everything else will follow,” he says. Shelestov confirmed that now it is most difficult for teenagers to register a company or individual entrepreneur. “I had several acquaintances who worked in the shadows because they could not open a checking account and move out from their parents,” he said.

According to 18-year-old entrepreneur Daler Artemenkov from the Tver region (he started earning money in social networks while still at school), many teenagers already earn many times more than their parents. “They hide or do not tell their relatives about what they earn. My good friend “made” 300 thousand rubles this month (he is 17 years old). His parents think he plays games, and his company is already working with top brands,” says Artemenkov. He also advises teenagers to start their own business without waiting for the law to be passed. “There is no way to wait in this case. Just now!" - added the young entrepreneur.

For kids, starting their own business is more than just making money. This is an interesting job, perhaps a hobby, and earning is a nice added bonus here.

From a pedagogical point of view, it is useful to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship in a child, as he develops vital skills such as the ability to communicate with people, negotiate, independence, the ability to organize himself, and so on.

The task of parents, at the initial stage, is to help their children with advice, money and moral support. They should also be helped to form a simple business plan and an algorithm of actions.

They should include the following items:

1. The initial minimum of finance that needs to be invested in the business.
2. How many goods can be made and sold (or services provided) with the initial funds.
3. How can you sell goods.
4. Possible income and profit taking into account costs.
5. How much money you need to invest in a business from income.

So what can teenagers do?

1. Homemade meals and pastries.

If the child gets along well with cooking, then he can bake buns, cookies, cakes for sale, prepare sandwiches, hamburgers, salads and pack all this in transparent plastic containers and sell it to retail grocery stores. However, prepared food products must comply with sanitary standards, parents should take care of this.

2. Souvenirs.

The child can also make souvenirs - candles, jewelry, soft toys, photo frames, postcards. It should be noted that handmade souvenirs are highly valued by buyers.

3. Services for animals.

During the holidays, children can walk dogs, take care of pets for a fee.

4. Computer and printing services.

Most children know how to use a computer much better than adults. They can write abstracts and reports, print texts, create simple flyers and brochures, some can even program, create websites and earn good money from it.

5. Seamstress services.

If a child is fond of fashion, design, design and tailoring, then he can safely earn money on this. You can also offer a clothing repair service.

6. Sale of knitted products

Beautiful knitwear is always in trend and creating fashionable clothes with knitting needles and crochet, a talented teenager can dress not only himself, but also his customers for a fee.

7. Home greenhouse.

The child loves to take care of plants, knows how to grow them, then this activity can also earn money. Indoor plants are needed in every home, as they are useful and beautiful, so they will be bought with joy.

8. Babysitting services.

Older teenagers can also work as a nanny, they can accompany small children to school and meet them, sit with the kids while their parents are not at home, walk with them on the street.

9. Purchasing services.

It costs nothing for a teenager to run to the store and buy food or medicine. However, there are busy people who have no time to do this and they will gladly instruct someone to buy products for a fee.

10. Posting ads, distribution of flyers.

Teenagers are often hired for this job and paid by the hour, which is very convenient for schoolchildren. This is a great opportunity to earn.

In general, there are much more opportunities for a child to earn money than it seems at first glance. The main thing is that parents help at first.