Inside: How to start a business as a Teen: Tips and Tricks to get you moving forward.
As a teen, I don’t think you realize how much potential you truly have. You have so many years ahead of you, and time is opportunity. Good things take time, after all. Imagine what five years from now might look like if you decided to try something new and stick with it. You could be a piano player, and baker, or you could even own your own business.
Yep, you can totally start your own business as a teenager. If this is something that you are interested in, then stick with me. Today I am going to go over how to start a business as a teen. I cover everything from tips and tricks to ideas.
So get yourself a yummy drink and your cutest planner/note pad, sit down and let’s dive into your future. This is a highly personalized thing; it’s not a one size fits all situation, so take what resonates with you.
How to Start a Business as a Teen
I am going to break this down into steps, that way, you have your own little checklist to follow as you go along your journey because that is what this is, a journey. It will not be quick or easy, but it can be very fun. So let’s get into step one.
Step One: Decide What You Want To Offer
If you want to start a business, you will need something to offer your clients. There are so many different directions that you can take this in, and it highly depends on you and your interests. You don’t want to pick something that you don’t care about because that is the quickest way to lead to burnout.
Choose something that you enjoy doing. That could be something like:
- Writing a Blog
- Making Jewelry
- Making Candles
- Digital Design
Or any other kind of craft. You need to be able to offer something. A blogger offers entertainment and information, a jewelry maker offers unique jewelry, find the things that you can offer.
Step Two: Pick a Niche
Now that you have picked a genre, you are going to want to niche down. The internet is a wide place filled with so many different businesses that I literally could not count them all. It’s kind of hard to find something that hasn’t been done in some shape or form, but you can pick one thing and make it your own. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel; you just need to get on the ride.
Finding a niche is basically finding the little corner of the internet for you to sit in. Niching down will help to make you more searchable on the internet, and if you are planning on having an IRL business(like dog walking or babysitting), it is going to be what makes you stand out.
So, if you plan on writing a blog about high school life, you can find a niche in High School Survival Tips or something like that. Are you picking up what I am putting down?
How to Start a Business as a Teen: Step Three
Now that you know exactly what your business will be, what it offers, and what niche it’s in, you can get to work. A great place to start is to search for businesses that are similar to yours so that you can learn from them. As I said, you aren’t inventing the wheel, so take that pressure off of yourself.
The hardest part about starting a business in this day in age is the number of businesses out there already, but you can use this to your advantage. See what has worked for some people and what has failed; chances are if you reach out to a fellow teen entrepreneur, they will be more than happy to share what they have learned so far.
There is si much that you don’t know yet, and that is completely okay. You have plenty of time to study and learn. Rome was not built in a day, and neither was a business!
Step Four: Put in the Work, Then Launch
Once you have gotten a good lay of the land from your research, you can start putting in the work. I am talking about building the foundation so you can prepare yourself for the launch.
Whatever the business may be, whether it’s online or in person, you’ll have to do a little preparation before you start. This can look like building your website or meeting potential clients. Pick a day to launch by, and worktop meet that goal. Once you are up and running, the real fun will begin.
Step Five: Be Consistent
One of the most important things you can do for your business is to remain consistent. I am serious about this one. If there is one thing that you will take away from this article on How to start a business as a teen, it should be this tip.
I know that starting a new business can be so scary, and it can make you feel very vulnerable. You may be worried about failing or about people seeing you with barely any views or customers right away, but here is the thing: Success takes time. I wish I could go back and tell the younger me this when I was trying to start a business. You are not going to succeed right away.
You are going to have a slow start; you are going to have mess ups and times that you feel like you are failing. You are going to feel embarrassed, but if you just keep pushing and showing up, I promise that there is basically no way your business can fail. So let yourself start out slow, fully knowing that your success is just waiting for you in the future.
Step Six: Be Kind To Yourself
This is an extra tip, but one that I felt was important enough to merit its own section. Be kind to yourself! As I said above, starting a business is a very darling venture, and you should be applauding yourself for having the bravery to do so.
So when the time comes, and you are feeling behind, low, or just overall questioning your decision to do this, remember how awesome you are and that these things just tend to take time.
Conclusion
So now you know How to start a business as a teen. Now is your time to get started. Grab yourself a plate of brain food and get to work! By starting today, you are setting a chain of dominos in motion that will eventually lead to your success. This is a big moment; soak it up!
If you loved this but need some more inspiration for business ideas, I have you covered on that front as well. I just didn’t have enough space to go over everything here AND a list of business ideas. But lucky for you, here is a whole separate list of some seriously great ideas.
Just so you know, I think what you are doing is really cool. You never know how things are going to go. You could literally be the next Oprah, and you don’t even know it yet. Life is funny that way.
I am Natalie, the eldest sister of two teens. I hope to bring not only a fresh outer perspective but an internal one as well when writing here.