The Best Ways to Make Money from Home for Teens
TL;DR:
Gen Z is entrepreneurial, with 62% starting or planning their own business. Teens can make money from home with various side hustles. Starting a photo booth business is highlighted, citing low barriers, minimal costs, scalability, and market demand. Other options include online tutoring, reselling, arts/crafts, writing, surveys, YouTube, social media management, virtual assisting, website testing, and data entry.
Gen Z gets a lot of flack for always being online, but this generation is anything but lazy. Teens and young adults are known for multitasking and don’t shy away from a challenge.
A recent survey conducted by Microsoft found that 62% of Gen Zers said they have started—or intend to start—their own business. In fact, nearly half of Gen Z (48%) have multiple side hustles!
What’s keeping you from making money as a teenager?
In this blog, we’ll provide some ideas for awesome, money-making side hustles for teens to get you started. Read on to learn how to make cash as a teenager so you can start funding your own fun, education, and future.
The Best Side Hustle for Teens: Starting a Photo Booth Business
There’s one way for teens to make money that blows other options out of the water. Members of Generation Z should consider starting their own photo booth businesses. Best of all, you don’t have to be over 18 years old to take part.
Don’t just take our word for it. Learn how Josiah, a 14-year-old high school entrepreneur, decided to start and run their Photo Booth rental business. The whole story is in the video below.
Why Photo Booth Businesses Work for Teens
A photo booth business is one of the best side gigs because there are little to no barriers to entry. If you have the time, the tech, and the passion, you can start working right away. There are minimal upfront costs and plenty of opportunities to earn extra income in the long run.
Many young photo booth entrepreneurs continue to grow their businesses beyond high school or college. It’s a smart way to create a sustainable form of income. If you get to the point where you can hire other employees, you can even make money as a teenager without a job!
Let’s break down these benefits in more detail.
No Barriers to Entry
No experience is required to start this side hustle! Photo booths operate pretty independently and customers can easily snap their own pictures. With that said, people will pay more for an attendant. All you need are basic customer service skills and patience and you can bring in hundreds of dollars per event.
Minimal Upfront Costs
There’s no need to hire employees, rent an office, purchase and store inventory, or pay a franchise fee. All you need is a high-quality photo booth and a business plan! Once you start making money, you can start investing in things that add professionalism, like business cards and uniforms. In most cases, however, great tech and word-of-mouth are a great way to start!
Plenty of Opportunities
Photo booth rentals are always in demand. This is an industry in which your customers are looking for you! High school students have additional opportunities that adults don’t. For example, you can rent your booth out for your friend’s birthday parties, quinceaneras, graduations, and more.
It’s Easy to Scale
While you can easily start your business with one booth, growing your business is as simple as buying another one. You can also start slow by adding props, backdrops, green screens, and social media integration packages. If you make enough to hire an attendant, you can have booths at two events at once!
You Can Balance Work and School
A photo booth business is a great option for teens who are still in school. Many events take place on the weekends. You won’t have to sacrifice your studies to make hundreds or thousands of dollars each weekend. In other words, it makes work-life balance easy.
Market Where You Are
You don’t need to invest in marketing if you’re social media savvy. Consider posting about your services on platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Since taking photos is your job, you’ll have plenty of dynamic images to use to capture interest. Digital natives have an advantage in this arena!
10 Other Good Side Hustles for Teens
While babysitting and dog walking are solid ways to earn extra cash. Still, it’s easier than ever to run a side hustle from home. Consider some of these popular side hustles if you’re in high school.
1. Online Tutoring
Make money online by tutoring your peers! If you’ve mastered a subject or are passionate about a certain course, you can help other individuals. According to Indeed, online tutoring jobs often require teens to prove their mastery of the subject. They may also require the tutor to be at least 18 years old.
2. Online Reselling
Do you have a passion for finding the perfect fit? Are you a pro at searching thrift stores for hidden gems? It’s super easy to turn your love for thrifting or upcycling into a business.
Sites like Poshmark allow you to create an online shop to resell your items. Keep an eye out for fashionable thrift finds or items that can be polished up and sold online!
3. Arts and Crafts
Another great side hustle that combines passion with work is selling your art. Etsy is an amazing platform for selling your handmade items. People are always looking for unique gifts spanning from artwork and jewelry to crocheted items and more. Market your products online so people can see what you make!
4. Freelance Writing
This side gig is perfect if you love reading, writing, and all things books. MasterClass explains that freelance writers can work across a variety of forms and genres. That means you can sell your short stories to creative writing journals or, articles to magazines. You can even work as a copywriter for a company.
5. Online Surveys
One of the easiest ways to make money from home (at any age) is by taking online surveys. If you can knock out a few surveys in your free time you can make some nice additional income for yourself.
While it isn’t as profitable as other jobs you don’t need any experience!
6. Start a YouTube Channel
While social media may feel like an oversaturated market, there’s still room to carve your niche. Especially on platforms like YouTube. Share your passions, daily life, or tips and tricks, and start building your platform.
This side gig can take a little while to take off and definitely requires dedication. However, it can be a fun creative outlet that can potentially start making you money while you sleep.
7. Social Media Manager
Gen Z is the most tech-savvy generation yet. Your natural social media skills can be invaluable for those who want to grow their brands. You can manage their social media accounts, capitalize on trends, and help grow their following.
8. Virtual Assistant
If organization is your strong suit, you can make for a great virtual assistant. Some individuals need extra help managing their calendars, making reservations, and more. You can perform these various administrative tasks without ever leaving home.
9. Test Websites
Being chronically online means you can tell a good website from a bad one. In other words, teens have a keen eye for the online user experience. Many companies are looking for feedback on how to make their website better, and you can be the one to provide that.
10. Data Entry
You don’t have to be an Excel whiz for this side gig, but it definitely helps! Data entry can span everything from transcribing scripts from meetings to entering numbers into spreadsheets. If you know your way around a computer and can type quickly and accurately, you can get paid to do it from home.
What are you waiting for? Get started with one of the best side hustles and check out our high-quality photo booths for sale today.
