Are you a teenager looking for ways to make some cash? I’ve got 20 ideas to help you make money as a teen!
As a teen, I was itching to start making some money. At age 15 I came up with the idea to give tennis lessons to kids and also worked at a sandwich shop. I’ve always like making my own money. Plus, I think it’s great for teens to show some ambition and get out there to have some responsibility with part-time jobs.
Making money as a teenager can be a great way to start finding some independence, save for the future, or fund your hobbies. With some creativity and hard work, there are countless opportunities for teens to earn an income.
It’s actually easier than ever before for teens to make money. You just need to be a hard worker!
Whether you’re looking for a part-time job after school or a way to turn your skills into a side hustle, these are some of the best ways to do that.
In this post, we’ll talk about 20 different ways teenagers can start making some money. Some of these ideas involve working for someone else, while others encourage entrepreneurship and creativity.
Whether you’re into sports, music, technology, or even just helping out around the neighborhood, there’s something here for everyone.
1. Teach Sports Lessons to Younger Kids
If you’re good at a sport, consider offering lessons to younger kids in your neighborhood. You don’t even have to be amazing at the sport. Most parents will gladly pay you to teach them a few techniques and provide them with an extracurricular activity.
When I was a teen, since I played on the high school tennis team, I offered tennis lessons to 5 middle school girls. I did teach them and help them improve on their skills, but I also just provided a fun hour and a half activity after school for them. Even if you only charge $10 per kid like I did, you can make $50 for an hour and a half of work with 5 kids!
Parents are often very willing to pay you $10 (and probably a lot more) for an hour and a half of essentially babysitting, exercise for their kids, and the fact you are helping them with a sport.
I’d recommend posting to facebook that you are looking to put together a weekly lesson. Have your parents or friends share the post so other neighborhood or community moms can see. I bet you’ll have so many parents reach out to you interested!
2. Work After School and on Weekends in a Coffee Shop
Many coffee shops look for part time employees who can work after school and on weekends. It’s a great way to learn customer service skills, and you might even get some free coffee out of it!
Working in a coffee shop also gives you a chance to interact with different people and learn to manage your time effectively. It just might be the right place for you!
Plus, you don’t really have to put yourself out there finding clients, planning lessons etc. Once you are hired you pretty much just show up and work!
3. Wash Cars
Car washing is a classic way for teens to earn money. You can offer your services to neighbors, friends, and family. All you need is some basic supplies like soap, sponges, and a hose. It’s a simple job that can bring in steady cash, especially during warmer months.
Plus, you can take on more customers or less depending on what your schedule allows during the different seasons.
4. Teach Music Lessons to Kids
If you play a musical instrument, teaching music lessons can be a fun and profitable way to earn money! Since you are a teen, your rates may a little lower than standard BUT I bet you’ll still earn way more than you would working in store, restaurant, etc.
Parents often look for affordable music lessons for their kids, and as a teenager, you can offer rates that are super budget friendly.
If you know how to play piano, guitar, etc. market yourself and take on a student or two! Post to facebook groups in your community, try to talk about your services to homeschool groups and other places that parents might see your ad.
5. Work at Your Local Grocery Store
Many grocery stores hire teenagers for roles like bagging groceries, stocking shelves, or cashiering. It’s a steady job with flexible hours, and it can teach you valuable skills like customer service and money management!
This is another job that doesn’t require any prep, planning, or marketing of your services. You really just show up once hired and get to work! It’s a good way to start work immediately.
6. Start Doing Yard Work for the Elderly or Busy Adults
Helping people with simple yard work tasks like mowing lawns, raking leaves, or shoveling snow can be a great way to make money. Talk to family friends to see if anyone is in need of extra help.
Not only do you earn cash, but you’re also learning very valuable landscaping skills. There are many elderly people who need someone to cut their grass. Plenty of regular adults who are also very busy in their careers or family life will also pay you to do this, too!
7. Start a YouTube Channel
If you have a passion or hobby in a particular subject, starting a YouTube channel can be a good idea. I know it sounds crazy, but you could make some serious money by investing lots of time into this. It could actually turn into a full time career earning you six figures or more annually.
Whether it’s gaming, cooking, or makeup tutorials, you can build an audience and eventually earn money through ads and sponsorships. It takes time and effort to stay consistent with content creation, but with consistency, it can turn into a profitable venture.
I’d suggest looking up some tutorials and videos about how Youtubers make money. Once you understand how they generate profit, you can get to work building your audience.
8. Become a Virtual Assistant for Content Creators
Many content creators need help managing their online platforms, responding to emails, or scheduling posts. As a virtual assistant, you can do these tasks from home and earn a decent income. It’s a great way to get experience in the online world.
I actually do this full-time myself. However, since I am more experienced I can charge more. But as a teen, you can still make great money (probably even more than you’d make at a retail or customer service representative job) by becoming an assistant to an influencer.
Wondering how to get started? Join facebook groups with influencers or send an email to some of your favorite creators. Explain that you are a teen looking for social media experience and would love to assist them with any tasks they need. Start with a super low rate just to get your foot in the door. Wow them with your awesome work ethic and eventually raise your prices!
Some tasks that would be ideal for a teen include collage creation (product round-up posts), engaging with their IG audience/responding to DM’s, product data entry, editing reels, scheduling posts, creating weekly e-mail newsletters, youtube video editing, etc.
9. Start a Blog
You can eventually monetize blog posts through ads, sponsored posts, or affiliate marketing. If you don’t know how bloggers make money, I suggest watching some youtube videos or Googling it. Basically, the more visitors a blogger gets to their website, the more profit they can generate through ad revenue. They can also make money with sponsored posts and affiliate links.
To build traffic to your blog, learn Google SEO strategies and how to use Pinterest. Like building a youtube channel, this little side hustle you start as a teen could turn into a very lucrative full time endeavor.
I would suggest following By Sophia Lee. She started a blog in her dorm room and now has a very impressively high full-time income from it. She has a lot of free videos on youtube you can watch that are a great option. Or, she also has online courses you can buy. Honestly, just taking a closer look at the free content is enough to at least get an understanding of how to start!
10. Use Online Survey Sites
While online surveys won’t make you rich or turn into a full time career, they’re an easy way to earn some extra cash in your spare time. Websites like Swagbucks or Survey Junkie pay you to share your opinions on various topics.
I actually did this myself as a teen. I cashed in my earnings every few weeks or so for $25 Walgreens gift cards. I was just excited to finally have some makeup money. You won’t make a ton doing this, but if you want to do something while you sit on the couch and watch TV, it’s an option.
11. Dress Up as Characters for Birthday Parties
If you enjoy entertaining kids and don’t mind dressing up, consider offering your services as a character performer for birthday parties.
It’s a fun and unique way to earn money, especially if you can play popular characters that kids love. All you need to do is choose what outfit you want to buy (a princess outfit, movie character, etc.) and then start spreading the word that you’re available to come to birthday parties as that special guest!
Great places to market this service include in your church community, on Facebook groups, within your own circle of friends, at your workplace, etc.
12. Walk Dogs
Dog walking is a great way to make money while spending time outdoors. It’s one of those simple tasks that is actually in high demand! Many busy pet owners are willing to pay someone to walk their dogs, especially during the workday. It’s a flexible job that you can do before or after school.
Again, share on facebook that you are looking to walk dogs. Or if you live in a large neighborhood, you can walk around with flyers advertising your services! Great thing about this is you really don’t need work experience.
13. Sell Digital Products on Etsy
If you’re creative, consider selling digital products like printables, artwork, or design templates on Etsy. If you are under 18 you’ll need a parent but you can definitely at least get started.
It’s a low cost way to start a business, and once your products are listed, they can continue to sell with minimal effort.
Things you could design as a teenager include birthday invitations, social media templates. etc. You’ll just need to pick one of your family members to help you set things up since the account has to be in the name of a legal guardian if you are under 18. The initial investment is so minimum (I believe it’s 20 cents per listing) so it’s worth a shot if you are creative!
14. Design Logos
If you have graphic design skills, offer to design logos for small businesses! Logos are one of those things that could cost $25 or $10,000. It REALLY varies. Since you are a teen just getting started, I’d probably charge on the lower side of things just to start getting some experience.
But hey, if you find that you have a knack for it and enjoy doing it, start charging more. Maybe you could even open up a graphic designer studio in the future!
I’d probably start marketing myself by asking local small businesses (if they don’t have a great logo) if they would like for you to design one for them. Let them know you have greatly discounted rates since you are young and just getting started. Once you find a few takers you can start building a portfolio and charging way more.
I’m sure there are more potential clients out there than you realize! Any content creator you follow needs a logo, pitch to them! You can DEFINITELY add this skill to your cover letter and resume in the future.
15. List Clothes on Poshmark
Forget the thrift stores, we’re going to see if we can get some money for those old clothes!
If you need some quick cash today, do a closet clean out and sell some old clothes either on Poshmark, Facebook marketplace, or just make a Facebook post for your friends and family with photos of what you are selling.
I’ve had really good luck on Poshmark so would suggest starting there for most young people who are tech savy enough to sell online.
Hosting a yard sale or a garage sale was the thing years ago, now you can easily sell your old stuff with online marketplaces for cash!
16. Work as a Golf Caddy
Many golf courses hire older teens to work as caddies. It’s a physically active job that allows you to be outdoors, and if you’re into golf, it’s a perfect fit. Caddies often earn tips, which can add up REALLY quickly. I remember being really amazed at what some of my teen friends were making by working at the golf course.
There really is so much money to be made with this one! You can build your bank account up nicely with those tips.
17. Babysit
Babysitting is a classic way and great idea for teenagers to earn money. It’s a timeless teen job for those in the 12-18 years of age range!
Parents often need a responsible teen to watch their kids for a few hours, and the pay is usually pretty good. Best part? It’s a job that can fit around your school schedule, too.
18. Stream Video Games
I know it seems crazy, but you can actually make money playing video games if you are good at it! It just might be the best thing for you if this is your style.
If you’re a gamer, consider streaming your gameplay on platforms like Twitch. With enough followers, you can earn money through ads, donations, and sponsorships. It’s a fun way to turn your hobby into an income.
You’d be surprised what kinds of weird gigs there are out there in the growing online presence world we live in.
19. Social Media Manager for a Local Business
Many local businesses need help managing their social media platforms. If you’re good at creating content and engaging with followers, offer your services as a social media manager. It’s a flexible job that can be done from home.
You may need to visit their shop to take a bit of video footage, but then you can create reels and content for their social media accounts and schedule it all from home and on your own schedule.
This is a great way to be involved on social media without putting a lot of your own personal information out there in the online content world.
Any smart investment advisor would tell these businesses that investing in social media is worth the expense for marketing!
20. Write for TheTeenMagazine.com
If you enjoy writing, consider submitting articles to websites like TheTeenMagazine.com. Have you ever heard of this site before? It’s so neat! There seriously are so many good jobs out there.
It’s a great way to get your work published and earn some extra money. Plus, it can help you build your writing portfolio with the added bonus of good money.
It’s one of the best online jobs!
Conclusion
As a teen, you aren’t really looking for financial independence or need a lot of money (like enough to pay a mortgage). Rather, in those teenage years you’re probably more concerned with having money to spend at your favorite clothing store or football game. While I’m all for that, now is also a great time to learn some skills and responsibility.
Making money as a teenager is easier than ever with the variety of opportunities available today. Whether you prefer traditional jobs like babysitting or more modern ventures like starting a YouTube channel, there’s something out there for everyone. It doesn’t even take much time to get started.
With the fair labor standards act letting you start work as early as 13, you can start hustling young! One final thought that I have is to try online tutoring. I’ve never personally done it or know much about it, so I didn’t include it, but hear it can be pretty profitable.
If you’re ready to start swiping that debit card as a teen, it’s time to start earning with at least a few summer jobs. Utilize your internet connection resources like Facebook to market your skills to get those paying customers!
The key is to find what you enjoy and turn it into a profitable venture. There are so many creative ways to build passive income and gain valuable experience. With hard work and dedication, you can start earning money and learning valuable skills along the way!