Start a Business with your Kids this Summer

Kids Health & Fitness

Due to high obesity rates, parents are more invested in the health of their children than ever before. You can capitalize on this trend by offering a fitness class for kids that blends exercise with nutrition in a fun and positive manner. For instance, you could offer a day camp that emphasizes outdoor activities like hiking or soccer while educating them on eating well.

Recreational Tournaments

If you love competitive events, setting up fun events like tournaments can pay off in a big way. For example, you might think about renting a bowling alley and running a team-based elimination competition. You could also organize a Scrabble or chess tournament and charge entrants a modest fee in the hopes of winning a cool prize like a gift certificate.

Physical & Digital Books

Nowadays, it’s easy to publish books on a small scale without having to go through a major publisher. Books that are targeted at kids are even better since children tend to be voracious readers who are curious. Whether your books are meant to entertain or educate, publishing them is a snap thanks to platforms like Amazon Kindle, Lulu, DogEar andiUniverse.

Mobile App Development

While iOS and Android development may seem like a challenge, it’s actually pretty easy. Quite a few kids with coding skills have published massively popular apps in recent years that rake in the bucks. Educational games are a big draw for kids. You can hire a developer on elance, Upwork or Freelancer to do the heavy lifting once you have a concept.

Electronics Recycling

The number of devices in the average home that feature a circuit board and a CPU continues to grow at a rapid pace. That means more and more obsolete technology that’s destined for a landfill or a recycling center. Many recycling outfits will buy old electronics in bulk if you’re willing to collect it. Offer curbside pickup or set up a drop-off bin in your area.

Pet Care & Grooming

If your kid partner is big enough to handle moderately sized pets, a pet care business is a great idea. It goes without saying that most children love interacting with animals. You might consider a simple dog-walking business to start. Once things really get rolling, you can add services like bathing and grooming to the mix to really enhance your profits.

Craft Jewelry Manufacturing

You don’t need to be a metallurgist to produce eye-catching jewelry that will capture a nice price. A few stones, beads and threads from the likes of Fire Mountain Gems or Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft will provide you with the raw materials necessary. All you need to do is put them together in an appealing manner and market the final product to the masses.

Food and Candy Production

If you’re looking for an easy business to start, use the sweet tooth lurking inside all of us as a basis for it. Despite health code restrictions, selling delectable treats isn’t that tough. Try producing something like peanut brittle or banana bread to start and sell it throughout your local community. If it catches on, work on going into commercial production.

Fresh and Bottled Juices

A juicing business can take many forms depending on how far you’re willing to go. It can be as simple as a mere lemonade stand or it could be the start of the next Sobe. Play around with juice recipes and sell your product at farmer’s markets and regional events. If the public responds positively, you can think about commercial bottling.

Miniature Organic Farming

Another great food-based option that only requires a fraction of an acre of land to come to fruition is small-scale organic produce. Just 1/10th of an acre can produce 6,000 pounds of food under the right circumstances. Begin with a roadside stand by the house and move on to local farmer’s markets once you’ve made a real name for yourselves.

Landscaping & Lawn Care

There’s no better beginner business for the kids than the classic lawn care concern. Whether it’s raking leaves, weeding gardens or planting flowers, homeowners are always willing to pay handsomely to hand off grunt work to lively youngsters. The key is to develop specialties beyond raw manual labor such as pruning ornamental bushes for optimum growth and doing decorative rock work.

Daily Equipment Rentals

While this option requires some investment, renting sports and leisure equipment delivers solid returns. For instance, you could buy old bikes, tune them up and rent them to tourists for day trips on local recreation paths. In the winter, you can turn to renting ice skates at the local hockey pond. Processing payments from parents is easy with an iPad and apps like Stripe.

Kid-Themed Clothing Lines

This is possibly the easiest way to start a business that exists at the moment. You can use the insights of children regarding what’s “hip” to churn out nifty t-shirts and other apparel based on designs that they come up with. Companies like CustomInk and will crank out the actual product for you at a fair price so that all you have to worry about is marketing. Test your designs by running a short campaign on Teespring.

It’s Not Just About the Money

For many kids, starting a business has many benefits beyond remuneration. For one thing, they’ll learn the value of hard work and taking risks. Helping them to launch a business may well set them on the path to lifelong entrepreneurship and independence. It’s also a great bonding experience for kids and their parents or mentors. Any of the ideas listed above can be a smashing success given a little grit and elbow grease.