Many people will tell you that your teenage years are some of the best. However, many teens still want to earn money. So what are the best side hustles for teens?
We have recently covered a series of teenage entrepreneurs, ranging from tech mogul Ben Pasternak to beverage baron Mikaila Ulmer. And these people aren’t alone, each year, thousands of teens around the world start their side hustle!
Many of these so-called “kidpreneurs” founded their businesses as side hustles, with them then growing out of control! Who knows, maybe we’ll be covering your teen for their side hustle-turned business!
15. Currency Trading
No, I don’t mean on the FOREX. Whilst your teen could do that, it wouldn’t be what I would personally recommend. After all, there is a more lucrative way of trading currencies…
As a kid, I always loved history. Even today, if you were to ask me about almost any time period, I could tell you about it, and especially their money. Indeed, people spend literally millions on a single genuine banknote.
During my early teenage years, I would buy an assortment of old currencies from my local currency dealer. Here, I would then sell these notes individually on the internet, often netting a large profit in the meantime.
And this is one of the best side hustles for teens in my opinion! Because they can do it with an eBay/Amazon account on their phone (although you will need to have the account in your name!)
This has the same principle, except you don’t need Step 5.
14. E-Commerce
In recent years, the concept of e-commerce has gripped the world. Many people have found incredibly profitable niches and are pulling in thousands per day, if not hundreds of thousands!
This has been so easy that several teen entrepreneurs have founded their own e-commerce companies, including the famed Mo Bridges and Rachel Zietz.
Whilst not belittling their achievements, it proves that your teen can do it too. Several of my friends when we were teens did it, and have ensured me that it is among the most profitable side hustles for teens.
As it is very much its own business, you could make almost anything from it. I’ve known teens who do this who make a couple of hundred per month, to one teen who makes several thousand per day!
13. Car Trading
You probably associate car trading with one of two things: a large dealership with brand new cars and sleazy salesmen or second hand car dealerships that occasionally sell cars that aren’t great…
What you probably haven’t thought about is whether your teen could do it. Indeed, they can. Many car traders buy their cars from auctions, many of which can be accessed on the internet.
However, you will likely need to open an account with them beforehand.
At these auctions, your teen will be able to bid on cars of varying quality. Once they have bought the cars, most auction houses will deliver the cars to your house, for a price of course.
Here, your teen will have to clean the cars (if applicable) and sell them. This can be done through things like Gumtree and eBay, as well as Facebook (assuming your teen is legally old enough to have a Facebook account).
12. Blogging
In the early 2000’s, blogging became the big thing, with many people trying to become the next big media magnate. And truth is, that your teen could do this too.
There are several stories of teenagers who have grown impressive media empires, from Alexander Pask to Eva Baker. Whilst not belittling their achievements either, it shows that your teen could also do this.
All your teen really needs to do is learn how to write for SEO but also for humans. Once they’ve done this, they need to pick a niche, pick a name, register the domain, and launch the site!
Once they’ve done that, they then need to start writing and get their content out there. They could also monetize their blog with things like Google Adsense as well as sponsored posts etc.
11. YouTube
By the same token, if writing isn’t really your thing, making YouTube videos might be! In recent years, there have been several high profile under 18s who have become millionaires from posting videos on YouTube.
Luckily, you can make YouTube videos on absolutely anything! If your teen is passionate about makeup, they could review/try on makeup. If their passionate about history, they teach people about history. And the same thing with any passion they have!
Initially, under YouTube guidelines, they will be unable to monetize their YouTube channel. However, once they obtain the necessary number of watch hours and subscribers, they can monetize their channel.
This is usually through services like Google Adsense, however, other services are also available.
Alternatively, you teen could also make videos for Twitch, charging people a subscription to watch you, rather than through ads.
10. Part Time Job
Personally, I was reluctant to call getting a part time job, a side hustle. However, I have been reassured by several friends of mine that it is indeed one of the best side hustles for teens.
According to them, a part time job is great for several reasons. For starters, it doesn’t take up a lot of your time. You can work for a couple of hours after school one day or for a few hours at the weekend.
This allows you to have more time to do homework and to catch up with your friends. On top of this, depending on what job you do, you can also earn quite a bit of money.
On the low end, you can earn $2-3 per hour. However, if you do a “high sill” part time job, you could potentially be bringing in as much as $10 per hour, and I have seen teens bring in more!
9. Research
Companies both large and small want to know what young people want, and especially what their competitors are doing about it. However, most don’t have the time or money to have a team go over it.
And this is where your teen comes in. As a teen, they have the benefit of knowing what they and their friends want from a certain industry, regardless of what that industry is.
With the research, a lot of it is just time consuming. Your teen will have to go beyond the first page of Google, and may have to visit the regional/main headquarters of the company.
There are several companies on the internet that connect companies and researchers, many of which a regional, varying from state to state and country to country.
8. Stock Market Investing
For me, I ran various side hustles as a teenager for one reason: to invest. For me, I never saw investing as one of the many side hustles for teens, or even for adults, but rather, it was the end game.
Nevertheless, if your teen has been saving up for years, and hasn’t really got anywhere to put it, why not invest it?! Obviously, you and your teen will need to learn to invest, or play it safe with index funds.
By investing, your teen gets the best of both worlds. On the one hand, they get to enjoy a few extra years of compound interest. Each year, their stocks compound at an average rate of 7%.
On the other hand, your teen will also earn dividends (assuming the stocks they buy issue dividends). Whilst these dividend payments may not be much, it will grow each year, especially if they reinvest!
7. Freelancing
Prior to the internet, freelancing was relatively uncommon, only really being used by photographers and writers. However, with the invention of the internet, the concept of freelancing has become extremely popular.
Sites like Fiverr and Upwork (among others) have made it easier than every to outsource work to third parties. As long as your child is over 13, they can have a Fiverr account (it’s 18 for Upwork).
Here, your teen could do a number of jobs. If they’re good at writing, they could be a freelance writer. If they’re good at logo design, they could design logos. If they’re good at admin, they could be a personal assistant.
You get the idea.
Depending on what job they choose to do as a freelancer, they can make anywhere from a couple of dollars per hour to a couple of hundred dollars per hour!
6. Translating
Today’s teenagers are the most multicultural generation in recorded history. Today, many teenagers are bilingual, if not trilingual. If this is you, why not turn something you’ve never really thought about, into an income stream!
One of the two main ways to do this is to become a translator. Having done this myself as a teen (with several large British translation agencies!) I can hand-on-heart say that it is one of the best side hustles for teens.
Essentially, all your teen needs to do is type “Translation agency” into Google. This will yield hundreds of results. Then, they should go through their websites and look for the “Work with us” page.
From there, they can apply to be a freelance translator for these agencies. From my experience, as long as you do the work well and on time, they rarely, if ever, ask any questions!
When I was doing it, I was earning around $0.05 per word!
5. Transcribing
If you don’t have any foreign language skills, and don’t fancy learning another language, you can always try transcribing. And best of all? You can apply in the same way, and get paid similarly to your translator colleagues!
As a transcriber, you only really need access to Microsoft Word, a pair of headphones and a computer. All you’ll do is listen to the tape and write down what is being said by the people.
You will always be given context behind what you are transcribing, for example, an office setting with three people. Depending on who you work for, you may be given parts of it completed (mostly to establish who is who).
If you wanted to you could also combine the two. If your teen speaks a foreign language to a high or native level, they could also transcribe in that language and/or translate it, netting more money in the same timeframe.
4. Scrap Dealer
No, it’s not glamorous. And no, it certainly won’t make you rich.
However, if you are just learning the ropes of how to be an effective businessman/woman, becoming a scrap dealer may be right up your street!
If you live in a city, chances are that there is a lot of abandoned scrap metal. Most people don’t realize that metal is a very valuable commodity, even if it isn’t gold.
As a teen, you could go around areas with high levels of scrap metal with a wheelbarrow and cart it away (make sure that it isn’t on private land, or has been there for a fair while, so you don’t get arrested for stealing).
Then, go to the local scrap yard and weigh it in. You’d be surprised how much you can earn from only a couple of hours of scavenging!
3. Test Video Games
Many of today’s teens LOVE to play video games.
For my eight year old, he loves to play a vast array of different games, both on his XBox (sorry PlayStation lovers) and on his IPod.
However, I’d never have guessed he could make money from it! Many game developers have their own in-house game testers, however, these people aren’t exactly unbiased and solely in it to play the game.
As such, many gaming companies will also pay private individuals to play their games. But it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Yes, you get paid to play the game, however, you also have to help the creators too.
For the most part, this will be through suggesting improvements to the game. For example, if a certain mission or level feels out of place, your teen will have to explain why and suggest improvements to make it feel more natural.
2. Movie Extra
For many teens, it’s their dream to become a famous movie star and become the next Tom Cruise or Angelina Jolie. And whilst they are unlikely to get a main part, there is another way.
This is as an extra.
As an extra, your teen will likely not have lines, and will just be in the background of the film/tv show. If your teen does have lines, it will only be a few words (think things like “Hello” or “Sorry” or “Pardon me”).
The money you get paid will vary from studio to studio as well as what medium your teen is appearing in. For instance, films pay far more than tv shows will per hour (roughly $100 per day compared to $50).
One of the best things is, is that you can often do this around your schooling, making it one of the best side hustles for teens. Due to their age, they are also quite adaptable, able to play school children, children or any other “generic role”.
1. Party Character
Up until writing this article, I had never really given this side hustle much thought. Indeed, after giving it much thought, this is actually one of the better side hustles for teens I could come up with!
Each year, children have superhero or character-themed birthday parties. Naturally, these children’s parents want Spiderman or Batman or Buzz Lightyear or whoever to attend.
As they don’t exist in real life, a real person has to fill in for them. Naturally, most adults don’t want to do this. If your teen is willing to sacrifice a little dignity and suffer a little embarrassment, they could turn it into a profitable business!
Surprisingly, this pays rather well, with parents paying anywhere from $10 to $100 on average for only a hour or two’s worth of work. If you live in a more expensive neighborhood, it could quite easily be double or even triple!
Which are your favorite side hustles for teens? Have you tried any? Tell me in the comments!
