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The average rate on Rover for a 30-minute walk is $21.45. Use that rate to your advantage since Rover sitters must be 18+. Stick to your neighborhood and charge $10 to $15 per walk to undercut the online competition.
Let friends and neighbors know you’re interested and available, especially in the summer months.
4. Sell clothes and other stuff
Getting rid of unwanted clothes, books, toys, furniture and more can be another way to make money. For clothes, kids 13 and up can use popular resale site Depop, but its payment tools require an adult’s help.
For other odds and ends, kids can organize a garage or yard sale, or sell items through apps and websites.
Ask a parent or guardian to put your stuff on Facebook Marketplace and run interference with interested customers. Kids 16 or older can sell things on OfferUp, a similar selling app, with parental supervision.
5. Sell your arts and crafts
Crafty kids can also sell their art, jewelry, T-shirts and other creations in person or online. Have siblings that play sports? Bring your hand-crafted bracelets to their baseball game or the soccer clinic and set up a display table while they play.
Branch out to e-commerce with parental supervision. Children ages 13 to 17 may use a parent or legal guardian’s account (with their permission) to sell on Etsy.
6. Sell lemonade or hot cocoa
Don’t have any items to sell? Set up an old-fashioned lemonade stand when it’s warm outside, if your state/city allows (some require a permit, weirdly enough). Make your pitch to passersby. Mix the lemonade with a bubbly seltzer and add the option to your sign to really catch the attention of customers. Charge a little extra for the fizzy version.
When the weather turns colder, switch to hot cocoa.
7. Start a service business like cleaning trash cans
Seitz says young entrepreneurs should be on the lookout for a need in the neighborhood that presents an earning opportunity. Such needs can be houses with yards full of weeds, overgrown mulch beds and even dirty trash cans in the driveway.
A trash can cleaning business, for example, can keep kids close to home and doesn’t require much more than a hose and some cleaning supplies.
It shouldn’t be too hard to get the word out (with parental assistance).
“There’s neighborhood social media groups where parents can help advertise services,” says Seitz. Plus, kids can still post flyers and even make and share business cards where advertising is allowed, she adds.
The key is putting your “professional foot forward” and recognizing a problem you can solve, says Seitz.
Ways to earn money as a teenager
8. Find local gigs through Nextdoor
Use social networking groups to find work in your community, if allowed. Teens 13 and older can go beyond word-of-mouth and offer services such as babysitting, dog walking or mowing lawns through the Nextdoor app in most states.
9. Freelance
Freelancing can help teenagers make money online and build their portfolios. It provides flexible hours, the potential to set your own rates and a market for just about any skill you can think of. Potential jobs include writing blog posts, designing logos, editing a podcast or creating a website.
Most freelancing marketplaces restrict eligibility to people 18 years old and over, but you’ll find some sites with younger age limits. Fiverr, for example, is open to users 13 and older.
10. Tutor your peers
If you excel in one or more school subjects, offer to tutor fellow students for a fee. Simply asking classmates or siblings to hire you may be all you need to do at first. You can also post flyers in places like schools, libraries and coffee shops — just make sure to get approval first.
11. Work as a youth sports referee
Becoming a youth sports referee is a great gig for kids if there are opportunities.
Seitz’s oldest son started refereeing youth soccer games the day after he turned 13 and has done well with it. He makes up to $40 per game, and once pulled in $400 over a big tournament weekend, she says.
Search local league websites for openings and confirm age requirements.
Typical earnings range from $25 to $50 per game for youth and amateur sports. You’ll have to complete some form of training before you get the gig. For soccer, you need to be 13 years old to register, according to the United States Youth Soccer Association.
12. Search for regular jobs for kids
Child labor laws make a few employment exceptions for children under 16. Kids of any age can work for their parent’s business, for example, or take up certain agricultural and entertainment-industry work.
Of course, teenagers who meet the standard minimum age requirement have vastly more opportunities available to them. Grocery store, retail and restaurant industry jobs are popular options.
Check out online job boards, look for help wanted signs and ask about open positions at stores and <a t come easy, though.
Learn more about what it takes to make money on Twitch.
Learn (and earn) early
Earning money at an early age teaches responsibility. It also builds work ethic and money management skills.
Talk to family, teachers, counselors and other trusted adults to help set priorities and ground rules. They can offer guidance, supervision (when needed) and even connections to paying gigs in some cases.
